|
Leperflesh posted:We used realestate.com and zillow.com (neither of which is specific to SF). Zillow shows a fair amount of neighborhood stuff: http://www.zillow.com/homes/san-francisco_rb/ lets you look at prices by neighborhood, and http://www.zillow.com/local-info/CA-San-Francisco/r_20330/ has a fair amount of by-neighborhood data. We really like SF, its convenience, the ability to walk/bike everywhere, its neighborhoods. I grew up in the South Bay and I'm aware that a 2-bedroom place that shares a roof/floor is the same price as a 3-bedroom house out of the city. Of course cost will be a consideration (I'm compiling a spreadsheet of mortgage and associated costs like taxes, HOA, and appliances), but we will be happy with a much smaller house in a place we like. I also found a neighborhood price map at http://www.trulia.com/home_prices/California/San_Francisco-heat_map/ this is very useful. I'm sure I'll come back with lots of questions 
|
#
?
May 7, 2010 23:26
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 04:26 |
|
|
I can certainly understand your enthusiasm. I'm a native SF boy and the place is home to me in a way no other place will ever be. It is also, unfortunately, prohibitively expensive for someone of my own means, given that I was unwilling to buy property that didn't include actual land. If you can afford it, though, then best of luck to you!
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2010 06:54
|
|
|
Leperflesh posted:I can certainly understand your enthusiasm. I'm a native SF boy and the place is home to me in a way no other place will ever be. But buying shares in a cooperative is almost like real land! I swear!
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2010 05:50
|
|
|
Can anyone point me to a "Congratulations, I Just Bought A House...Now What The gently caress Do I Do" resource? I close on June 18th. Fredericksburg, VA, end unit, 1-car garage, 3 story, 3 bed, 2 bath, about a mile off of I-95, great neighborhood, $189k. My folks have bought and sold way more property than I ever have and I have a great friend-recommended realtor, so both of them have held my hand and guided me through the looking/bidding/contracting phases. All that's left to go horribly, horribly wrong is the appraisal and closing. So, I will be a homeowner soon, but the question is, what the heck's next? I'm talking in terms of "well you need to get the heating system serviced" or "make sure you put in fresh light bulbs" or "time to sell a kidney for an emergency fund."
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2010 17:42
|
|
|
Wait until things break and then fix them? Make sure you're cleaning thoroughly. Apart from that, a new coat of paint on makes everything look so much better and is the cheapest remodeling you can do. But don't worry, you will find things to do right away.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2010 17:47
|
|
|
There are certain things that, if you want to do them, will be much easier to do before you move in. For example, my wife and I wanted to sand down and re-finish the hardwood floors in our house. It was a ton of work (we did it ourselves) but I'm really really glad we did it right away; we generated huge amounts of sawdust, and the varethane stank for quite a while afterward. Also with nothing moved in, we could do the entire house without having to figure out where to put all our furniture, etc. Painting is also much easier without all your stuff in there. If you are going to need to do major work on the kitchen, that's another thing that's nice not to have to live around while it's being done. If you need to work on the sewer line, heating, etc.... well you get the idea. All that said, millions of people have all those things done while they're living in the house as well, so it's not like you're totally screwed if you decide to wait a year before doing one of those things. Once you move in, I suggest taking plenty of time to closely inspect everything about the house yourself. A used house will have all manner of weird things and "what the christ why did the previous owner do this" moments. You can then prioritize your projects and decide how and when to do them. But I agree with moana, there's not really any way to give you a definitive list or guide, because there is too much variation from one house to the next, and a lot depends on what you care about and what you don't.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2010 18:01
|
|
|
moana posted:Wait until things break and then fix them? Make sure you're cleaning thoroughly. Apart from that, a new coat of paint on makes everything look so much better and is the cheapest remodeling you can do. But don't worry, you will find things to do right away. This is the best advice. We moved in on Monday 4/26. we've been cleaning and painting, but in that time period I have... 1. adjusted the garage door tensioners since the loving doors would just keep opening. 2. put in a new faucet in one of our bathrooms. 3. call a plumber because the shutoff valve started spraying water everywhere as soon as I turned it back on. Cost for plumber - $115. 4. put in a new 220v outlet for the dryer because the one that was there a. didn't fit my dryers outlet b. was 6' off the floor. Who the gently caress puts a dryer outlet on the ceiling? 5. replace the water lines under the kitchen sink with flex hose because the hot and cold were reversed and drove my wife crazy. 6. painted one room so far and replaced all the recepticles and covers in that room. Just a fun note, plugs and switches are cheap as poo poo, at least non-gfci ones, and really make everything look nice and new. All of this fun is in addition to unpacking, storing, and cleaning of course. And having family and friends over, and the new wonder chores such as yardwork. Oh also and filing an ammended return for my $8k from Uncle Sam. Projects upcoming. 1. continue painting all the rooms. 2. finish unpacking. 3. finish putting up window treatments for all the rooms. 4. replace stove hood. its fugly avacado green and ancient. 5. replace all the indoor light fixtures. i hate them all. 6. An important one. Get quote for replacing the furnace. Its 40+ years old, and at 70% efficiency its going to destroy me this winter if I don't replace it. 7. See if I can afford central air when I do #6. 8. Replace all the forced air vent covers. they all have 12 coats of house paint on them. BTW, do not be a lazy motherfucker and paint over your outlets and light switches and air vents. 9. drylock my b asement. It isn't to bad with water, but I want to seal it. 10. landscaping. I must have moles or some poo poo, my hard has more holes in it than a putting green. 11. remove several tree stumps from my property. 11a. post stump removal, I will need to replace a portion of my sidewalk that said treestump has hosed up. 12. water seal my deck and front porch 13. sift some of the available flower beds which are full of rocks and poo poo, then plant some nice stuff. 14. cut down a giant out of control bush. 15. scape, sand, and paint all of the outdoor trim which is in bad shape and peeling. 16. clean all the windows inside and out. 17. clean the entire exterior of the house, probably with a power washer. 18. replace the 2nd floor bathroom door with a bifold door. its very cramped and this will help out. 19. rip out the carpet in my office, i'm pretty sure there is a hardwood floor under there. I'm almost certain if there is, it will need refinished. 20. replace the kitchen floor. its ugly and has some holes in it. 21. replace all the carpets. 22. buy a lot of new furniture for the living room. 23. buy a lot of new furniture for my office. 24. buy new racks for the dishwasher or replace it . It is old and the tines break off super easily. 25. replace the walls in the kitchen as bathroom as they are ugly as gently caress. This will probably end up being tied into complete remodels of these rooms because if you rip all the loving walls down you might as well redo the cabinets, shower, etc. I could keep going, but at my conservative estimate this list is probably about 5 years worth of work, saving and spending.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2010 21:51
|
|
|
jassi007 posted:I could keep going, but at my conservative estimate this list is probably about 5 years worth of work, saving and spending. I also did the sanding/staining before moving in so I wouldn't have to deal with the sawdust, much like Leperflesh (great minds think alike). If you want to garden, I would suggest doing that as soon as you can since planting season is right now and you don't want to miss out on being able to grow tomatoes this summer
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2010 22:57
|
|
|
jomiel posted:Thank you for the reply! I bought a TIC in San Francisco half a year ago, so if you decide to get that and not an entire house I can answer some questions.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2010 00:58
|
|
|
Mailed off our return the first week in April, and our $8000+$Refund treasury check came on Monday. They must have thrown a lot of people at processing, I was pleasantly surprised at a month turnaround after reading some of the horror stories about wait times for the tax credit. As for house projects, I'm pretty sure it will be a never ending process. However, since closing on march 5th we have done the following: Unpacked and organized everything. Cleaned every room and window exteriors. Paint drat near every room (wood trim everywhere  )Installed replacement light fixtures for almost everything. Installed and rewired for overhead ceiling lights and fans in the back 3 bedrooms. Installed cat-6 to every room with a wall mount rack in the garage. Installed tv mount over the fireplace and ran electrical + hdmi + ethernet. Mulched the beds all around the house. Built a massive workbench in the garage, and organized all my tools. Added additional shelves and organization around the garage. Shelf lining in kitchen cabinets. Replaced knobs on all bathroom cabinets. Replaced main gasket seals for toilets, as well as seats. Added a small flowerbed around the mailbox. We're now to the point of having everything done that we really wanted to get done, and everything after that is just incremental improvements that we can take our time doing. It's a lot of work, but being able to do stuff like below makes it all worth owning a house. 
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2010 16:18
|
|
|
Not quite sure if this belongs here, but I didn't see a selling megathread (or I didn't look hard enough). My girlfriend bought a condo here in Reno about 3 years ago. At the time, the market here in Reno hadn't crashed yet, she was at a good job, and was partially supported by her now ex-husband who was serving overseas. Since then the construction business she was working for had to fold because of the economy, and she got a job making about half of what she used to make. She's really, really upside down in it. She owes $130,000 on it. It's a nice place; when she bought it she put about 10 grand into it. Well, it's nice on the inside anyway. The outside leaves something to be desired, but what can you do. She moved into my place 7 months ago. At first, we wanted to rent it out (it's in a great location close to UNR) to just offset the cost of 2 mortgages and keep a rental property down the line. We had some people interested but they all fell though. We contacted a realtor to see what our options were, and decided to submit a hardship letter (divorce, loss of work) to see if the bank would approve a short sale so we could get out from under this. We had approval to sell it for $70,000. We had a few people interested, but our realtor was telling us that the banks aren't doing FHA loans anymore and that anyone that wanted to buy would need to come up with 20% down, which none of the interested parties could do. I really hate that fact that she is steadily draining her savings with no end in sight. I don't know what's going to happen when her savings are gone. I'm already paying the entirety of the mortgage on my place and obviously can't afford a second one. Anyone with experience with this kind of thing have any ideas?
|
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2010 17:22
|
|
|
Can you take a picture of the rack in the garage? I'm probably doing something similar pretty soon, wouldn't mind seeing what you installed and how.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2010 17:22
|
|
|
skipdogg posted:Can you take a picture of the rack in the garage? I'm probably doing something similar pretty soon, wouldn't mind seeing what you installed and how. Sure, i'll send you a PM later when I get home from work.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2010 17:28
|
|
|
Wojtek posted:We had approval to sell it for $70,000. We had a few people interested, but our realtor was telling us that the banks aren't doing FHA loans anymore and that anyone that wanted to buy would need to come up with 20% down, which none of the interested parties could do. I'm not familiar with that market, but I have a hard time believing that the banks "aren't doing FHA". Four months ago, something like 80%+ of all home sales were FHA. Certainly a short sale can take a very very long time, but I don't see why the seller's bank gives any crap at all about the kind of loan; they get x dollars from the lender regardless of the loan type. The only reason for a seller to be leery of an FHA loan is because the FHA will require that the home meet certain requirements in terms of livability, and of course it must appraise for at least the sale price (but that will be required by any lender). Nobody is going to go for an apartment in Reno that they have to put 20% down on when there must be dozens or more with no such need. So, for your options: I'd advise getting advice from another realtor, first off. Second, your girlfriend does have the option of simply stopping making payments and wait for foreclosure. Essentially she can choose to trade destroyed credit for potentially thousands of dollars in savings. This is only a good option if she does not need good credit (no intention of trying to buy a home in the next 8 years, or get a good car loan, etc.). Given that the place is vacant, so she's not going to have to deal with eviction, that might not be a terrible plan. But first, get another opinion on that no-FHA stuff because it sounds like utter BS to me.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2010 18:51
|
|
|
FHA drastically changed their condo rules last year. http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/new-fha-condo-rules-may-hinder-mortgages.aspx It's drat near impossible to get FHA financing on a condo these days. In fact the condo market is so hosed up some places (Florida) it's almost impossible to get any kind of condo financing.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2010 19:21
|
|
|
CobiWann posted:Can anyone point me to a "Congratulations, I Just Bought A House...Now What The gently caress Do I Do" resource? 1) homeowners insurance; 2) replace furnace filters regularly - I'd probably have an HVAC come in and clean it as well. Leperflesh posted:Second, your girlfriend does have the option of simply stopping making payments and wait for foreclosure. Essentially she can choose to trade destroyed credit for potentially thousands of dollars in savings. This is only a good option if she does not need good credit (no intention of trying to buy a home in the next 8 years, or get a good car loan, etc.). Given that the place is vacant, so she's not going to have to deal with eviction, that might not be a terrible plan.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2010 19:34
|
|
|
skipdogg posted:FHA drastically changed their condo rules last year. I did not know that... well, that changes things a lot. I could see this really loving condo foreclosures because everyone is using FHA these days.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2010 19:36
|
|
Leperflesh posted:Certainly a short sale can take a very very long time However, we aren't getting to that point because banks aren't giving people approval for loans. It's kind of hosed up. I'm not sure on the specifics, but the people interested in buying are being told they have to come up with 20% on their own, which is pretty much impossible for a lot of people. My girlfriend is absolutely against bankruptcy. She has otherwise spotless credit. I told her it would be okay because my credit is stupidly good as well, but she still wants to avoid it at all costs. What happens if she files bankruptcy and then in a year or so we get married? Likewise, what happens to things she currently owns (most notably her car) if she files bankruptcy? I'm sure I can find a bankruptcy megathead, but hey why not ask.
|
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2010 19:39
|
|
|
Pinkied_Brain posted:I bought a TIC in San Francisco half a year ago, so if you decide to get that and not an entire house I can answer some questions. First immediate question that comes to mind: Why do so many flats have HOAs even if it's just for 1 house? What does the typical HOA cover? (water, garbage, insurance?) Is the insurance similar to an apartment or condo--you'd still have to get your own policy of house insurance for your personal belongings? I assume most places do not have earthquake insurance.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2010 19:52
|
|
|
jomiel posted:First immediate question that comes to mind: Why do so many flats have HOAs even if it's just for 1 house? What does the typical HOA cover? (water, garbage, insurance?) Is the insurance similar to an apartment or condo--you'd still have to get your own policy of house insurance for your personal belongings? I assume most places do not have earthquake insurance. HOA dues for our house is mostly insurance (only common things like walls, this does not cover the inside of your place), then water + garbage + electricity for common areas, and reserves (for example roof needs fixing every 30 years, and it's lets say 30K to do it, so you allocate 1000 each year, which is ~100 a month which is 25 bucks per apartment every month - just for the roof!). There are also things other places might need like hiring an accountant (HOAs are somewhat complicated - you need get a special account in the bank, manage spreadsheets, deal with taxes - this is probably the hardest part, etc..), and there are other things that might come up, like a gardener if no one wants to take care of the yard, or what if a light in the main hall is broken. We are lucky to have a CPA in one of the apartments, and an electrician in another, so we save on many things. Earthquake insurance is almost impossible to get in San Francisco. Some areas are a lot less vulnerable to it through - which are on hard surface. The vulnerable areas are Marina and SOMA I believe that are on landfill. Pinkied_Brain fucked around with this message at 23:32 on May 12, 2010 |
|
#
?
May 12, 2010 23:29
|
|
|
Pinkied_Brain posted:Earthquake insurance is almost impossible to get in San Francisco. Some areas are a lot less vulnerable to it through - which are on hard surface. The vulnerable areas are Marina and SOMA I believe that are on landfill. By law, any insurance company that provides homeowner's insurance in California is also required to offer earthquake coverage. Earthquake insurance in SF may be extremely expensive, but it is widely available, and whichever company you are buying hazard insurance from may offer a multi-policy discount. They must offer something. You are correct that structures on bedrock are much safer than those not. Most of the Sunset and outer Richmond are on sand dunes, and the worst areas are on fill - Marina, China basin, parts of downtown, etc. But even structures on bedrock are vulnerable, and multi-story buildings much more so, and older structures much more so as well. I have a single-story house in Concord, a quarter-mile from the Concord faultline. I got a pretty good deal on earthquake insurance by getting a broker who specializes in it. Typically earthquake insurance premiums are roughly double a given home's hazard insurance premium, but mine is about the same: ~$500 a year. Of course, earthquake insurance also has huge deductibles (25% is typical), so it's really only useful for major structural damage. On the other hand, consider your potential loss if the building is a total loss in a major quake: you will be on the hook for demolition costs, you'll still owe the rest of your mortgage, and you'll be in a marketplace flooded with lots with ruined structures on them and both owners and banks trying to sell them. Any equity you had in the home will be gone. Personally I think a few hundred bucks a year to protect the equity in my home is worthwhile; especially given that a major earthquake in the Bay Area is inevitable. People think back to Loma Prieta, but it was not the 'big one'; the epicenter was in the Santa Cruz mountains, so San Francisco was actually hit pretty lightly (for a certain value of 'pretty lightly'). The Hayward fault is also a ticking time-bomb; it has a major quake on average every 140 years, and the last one was in... 1868. 142 years ago.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2010 00:22
|
|
|
For those that are making little fixes and adjustments to your home, make sure to keep all the documentation and every receipt. This adds a tremendous amount of value when you go to sell the home later on. Home Buyers have so much more confidence in a home when they see the paper trail for updates, new appliances, fixes, etc over the years. This does weigh in heavily when Buyers are considering multiple homes. "I like this home because blah blah blah, but I feel way safer about Goonshouse."
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2010 00:44
|
|
|
Leperflesh posted:EARTHQUAKES! The biggest SF earthquake in recent times was in 1906, and the house I am in is from 1885 (USF/Panhandle) The earthquake insurance has really bad terms in the city, and there is a reason only about 10% of the people have it.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2010 01:21
|
|
|
I bought my first house in June last year and have a couple insurance questions about a letter in the mail from Travelers insurance saying: 1 "we must adjust your policy as follows: add actual cash value loss settlement windstorm hail losses to roof....our records show that your roof is over 7 years old we require actual cash value loss settlement on this roof" "you will receive your revised policy bill for renewal premium shortly" What does this mean? that they'd pay an age-pro-rated value for the roof if it's ever destroyed? And what's this about a bill? are they going to want money from me? I thought all money going to them would be handled by the escrow account/mortgage bank? and 2 They mailed this letter to my correct address but on the letter it says "insured premises: 123 fake st" where fake st is right but 123 is way off for my house #. Is it possible they got bad data about the roof from a bad address? There actually is a house half mile away at the address they made up. How can they even tell how old a roof is? there's no database of that sort of thing is there? I had a professional paid inspection on the house before I bought and they said the roof looked perfect and estimated it to be less than 5 years old. Would the bad address mean I might not have had coverage this whole time? would they have denied a claim due to their own paperwork error? if they would've denied a claim should I be asking for some type of refund? I have been trying to call them for a few days and ask them this themselves but there really was a bad hailstorm close-by and I can't get through.
|
|
#
?
May 18, 2010 21:34
|
|
|
Wagonburner posted:What does this mean? that they'd pay an age-pro-rated value for the roof if it's ever destroyed? Correct. Most roofs these days are good for 30/35/40 years depending on the type of shingles used. What travelers is saying is that if you have a big wind storm or hail event they're not paying 100% to replace your 15 year old roof. They'll probably pay half of it. As for how they tell, who knows, it'll probably be a fight like everything else with an insurance company.
|
|
#
?
May 18, 2010 22:41
|
|
|
Pinkied_Brain posted:I bought a TIC in San Francisco half a year ago, so if you decide to get that and not an entire house I can answer some questions.
|
|
#
?
May 18, 2010 22:57
|
|
|
Wagonburner posted:And what's this about a bill? are they going to want money from me? I thought all money going to them would be handled by the escrow account/mortgage bank? Maybe and Yes. If it results in an increased premium for your policy they will want money, but it is still paid by the escrow account. That means that escrow account needs more money though and your monthly mortgage payment would rise accordingly. However if it is what it sounds like they are actually reducing your coverage, probly meaning your insurance premium will go down a bit. If the policy used to pay out the full value of the roof and now in the event of a loss they pay out less, they should be charging you less premium. Regardless of which way it goes once you get the revised declarations page/ policy bill from the insurance company you should call your mortgage company/escrow service and go over it with them, make sure they got the same changes etc.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2010 13:59
|
|
|
qirex posted:I've heard that getting a loan for a TIC can be really difficult, did you have any problems? There are just significantly stricter requirements and higher rates. I did not have a problem getting approved, but I put down over 40% down, and have a very good credit score and income. You will not be able to get a TIC loan without having 20% down payment - this is pretty much a must. Also despite having such good economic "prereqs", there are still no fixed rate loans, so I got an ARM loan that starts at 6.5% which is horrible for 2009. So basically that's it - it's not hard, it's just limited to people with who can afford big down payments and have a good credit score, and you'll still get a terrible rate. That said, you will be able to refinance if you do a condo conversion.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2010 01:00
|
|
|
emocrat posted:However if it is what it sounds like they are actually reducing your coverage, probly meaning your insurance premium will go down a bit. If the policy used to pay out the full value of the roof and now in the event of a loss they pay out less, they should be charging you less premium. Ok so they're probably reducing coverage due to the roof thing but check this out. I said they have the wrong address for the insured premises right? Well now I've got the renewal papers and still wrong address and the coverage amount for "dwelling" is about 33% more than what I paid for my house. Maybe that's the value of the wrong address and they've been overcharging me for that too all along? There are separate coverage amounts for "personal property" and other stuff so I don't think that kind of thing is where the 33% increase came in. still can't get insurance company or agent on the phone. more hail and tornadoes last night so I guess all those guys are busy.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2010 15:46
|
|
|
Your coverage is for replacement cost, not purchase price. Replacement cost includes tear down, debris removal, and rebuilding and does not include the lot. There's a few programs out there that calculate that price based on construction materials, location, etc. While we're talking about insurance, a general pro tip - sump pump failures are not covered by flood insurance. There's generally a sump pump rider you have to add.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2010 16:08
|
|
|
I just wanted to quickly poll people's experiences with short sales. We placed an offer on a place during the winter and we accepted the BoA's counteroffer on April 29th. We are set to close on May 28th but have not yet received the Acceptance Letter from BoA. Can we expect to be put off until the end of June on this or what? I realize this is not a question that can really be answered but I wanted to see if anyone else had similar experiences with this.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2010 17:24
|
|
|
Pinkied_Brain posted:There are just significantly stricter requirements and higher rates. The only ones I've seen that are attractive are in buildings with 6 or fewer units, I can't imagine people in those 30-way TICs.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2010 17:51
|
|
|
Those are probably condos.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2010 20:05
|
|
|
Wojtek posted:My girlfriend is absolutely against bankruptcy. She has otherwise spotless credit. I told her it would be okay because my credit is stupidly good as well, but she still wants to avoid it at all costs.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2010 20:25
|
|
Shalinor posted:Have you involved a property management company yet? Being unable to find renters yourself doesn't necessarily mean you couldn't rent it out, you just might need to cast a larger net. It would also help you to avoid some of the risk/stress.
|
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2010 20:51
|
|
|
Seventyfour posted:Those are probably condos.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2010 20:53
|
|
|
qirex posted:That's pretty harsh, especially the no fixed rate thing. What's the reasoning behind that? Increased liability? It's not increased liability anymore (because there are now ways to split the mortgage and have the bank repossess just one of the apartments), it's purely lack of competition. The big banks don't know how to do it, and don't bother hiring lawyers and developing all the necessary paperwork to go after this small market. So there are TWO banks in the US that do TIC loans. Since no one else does it, they can charge however much they want. In fact I think Sterling is now buying the other bank, so it will be a monopoly. The loan situation sucks, but I am definitely hoping to get out of it soon. And definitely only do the <6 TIC. Otherwise you will never be able to convert to a condo. Overall it is worth it though - condos are approximately 15% more expensive than TICs for identical places. So you are paying more now, but the moment you convert the value of your apartment goes up 15%. Pinkied_Brain fucked around with this message at 23:40 on May 20, 2010 |
|
#
?
May 20, 2010 23:37
|
|
|
Hi guys and gals, I just wanted to vent. We closed on a house on the 13th of May -- it was a foreclosure, 6 bed 4.5 bath(an amazing deal, built in 2006). We knew it had renters when we bid, and I asked to see the lease to confirm they were on a month-to-month contract. We were also told that Fannie Mae wouldn't evict anyone from a foreclosure and that rent would be prorated. Well, two days before we close we find out the renters haven't paid rent since Feb., making them three months behind. Our attorney had us get an "assignment of lease" and advised us to evict them immediately and file for the full three months of rent. Well, my husband and I went to talk to them Monday. They didn't take our offer to get out in two weeks (we would charge them no rent and not pursue the back rent if they did no additional damage), so we told them they could stay a whole month if they paid one months rent plus a deposit that I would return the last day (at the walk through, in cash). Of course, we call them today to pick up the money and hey! they don't have it! They "thought we meant another day" and "we're being really rude." They also decided not to pick up the certified mail I sent them Tuesday (which went over all of our discussion including a list of damaged property). Oh man, I lost it. These people, in the weeks between the first walk through and final bought a front-loading washer and TORE the entire trim and door off of the laundry closet -- they didn't take it off, they just ripped it out leaving gouges out of the wood and splinters everywhere and tossed the door on the floor where it still sits. I am having them served with a three day eviction notice on Monday, but geeze oh man, I just cannot believe these people -- they told me when we met with them that they "basically haven't paid rent anywhere in three years, because they foreclosed on their home and then moved into this foreclosure." If they do crazy damage to the place I have pretty good homeowners insurance -- does anyone know offhand if I need to let my insurance company know that there is a renter there? I didn't say anything when we got the policy because I thought this would be resolved quickly, now that I've spoken to the tenants we seem to have a case of "serial squatters", and I want to make sure if they rip up the carpet and sell the fridge it will be covered.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2010 03:03
|
|
|
I would check with your insurance agent, but I'm pretty sure that a standard homeowners policy isn't going to cover tenant damage. Pretty Good Time posted:it was a foreclosure, 6 bed 4.5 bath(an amazing deal, built in 2006). I hope you got a really really thorough inspection done, the McMansions thrown up during the boom are some of the shittiest construction out there.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2010 04:48
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 04:26 |
|
|
I will call them Monday, thanks. The inspector was phenomenal. He is really well known in our area (and has been an inspector for over 30 years. He took me through the entire house and showed me every tiny little thing that needed fixed. I have no doubt there will be things that come up in the next ten years because of quality issues, but I am really confident in our inspector/inspection. The issue with McMansions and recent development meant it was even more critical for us to have a through inspection since we're in Florida and the housing bubble was crazy bananas here.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2010 17:37
|
|