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Spamtron7000 posted:Anyone else been waiting for the right time to lock? Would have liked to lock a rate yesterday for a refi of an investment property, but ran into trouble. I inquired about streamline refinance options for it and found that the LTV was too low to qualify for HARP, given the new status as investment property. That makes no sense to me, but whatever, on to conventional refi. Except the way they calculate DTI on those is screwing me over. Considering the full cost of my primary residence on my income alone makes my DTI look way high not to mention the necessity of fitting the PITI of both properties in the 50% limit. So now I'll have to drag my wife into this as well to make the underwriters happy. Mountain of paperwork, here I come.
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Aug 29, 2012 14:02
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We've been farming (with permission from the owner) on this abandoned lot, and have decided that we would actually like to purchase it. There is a house that is unlivable and needs to come down, and about 2 acres of space. 1) Does anyone know how much a home demolition tends to run? We think we would rather the current owner do it and roll it into the cost instead of deal with the headache ourselves. 2) Is there some sort of land-only equivalent to a home inspection? What pitfalls are there to look out for? How much does such an inspection tend to run?
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Aug 29, 2012 14:38
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Well costs are very location dependent, but $7,500 for a home demo is about average in Indianapolis, Indiana. You might get your city to do it or a local revitalization agency if you are in a target area or a city. The local fire department might want to practice putting a fire out on it. I don't know if this raises the demo cost or lowers it.
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Aug 29, 2012 14:43
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gtkor posted:Are you sure this isn't a prepayment penalty they are going to make you pay the prorated PMI off of? Not 100% sure but that would definitely throw a small wrench in things (and make my blood boil). So many unscrupulous loopholes in this business. I'll find out - thanks for the tip.
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Aug 29, 2012 17:15
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Chin Strap posted:We've been farming (with permission from the owner) on this abandoned lot, and have decided that we would actually like to purchase it. There is a house that is unlivable and needs to come down, and about 2 acres of space. It's going to be super dependent on location. Also on whether the house has a lot of asbestos or leaking diesel tanks or other stuff that might piss off the EPA if an inspector catches wind of it.
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Aug 29, 2012 18:31
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Chin Strap posted:We've been farming (with permission from the owner) on this abandoned lot, and have decided that we would actually like to purchase it. There is a house that is unlivable and needs to come down, and about 2 acres of space. You may want to see if the Seller even has the resources to demo the old house and clean the lot. My guess is that they probably do not if they haven't been maintaining it before now. Chin Strap posted:2) Is there some sort of land-only equivalent to a home inspection? What pitfalls are there to look out for? How much does such an inspection tend to run? But before you even put down money for a detailed inspection of the property, I'd recommend looking into zoning regulations for the land to see if legal farming is even an option. Often urban and suburban farming are classified as 'business' from a zoning standpoint, which may be restricted in an area that's strictly residential. If you're a few hundred feet from a major sewage line or drainage ditch, you may be looking at health restrictions. And good luck if a HOA is involved.
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Aug 30, 2012 01:52
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I'm pretty sure at this point a HOA would rather have a well kept farm rather than a rotting house that will be sitting on the market for years. Plus, if the neighborhood isn't too conservative, you could grow organic and sell truly local food to them, which would help smooth things over.
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Aug 30, 2012 09:13
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Have Some Flowers! posted:Would you be looking to finance the purchase or pay for it out of pocket? The reason I ask is that a cleared lot is much easier for a lender to finance than a dump. Pay out of pocket. It is too cheap to even qualify for a mortgage I think. quote:You may want to see if the Seller even has the resources to demo the old house and clean the lot. My guess is that they probably do not if they haven't been maintaining it before now. He has already offered to do so at an extra cost. I was trying to gauge how reasonable the extra cost is. He is in construction so I'm sure he is getting it at a discounted rate. quote:Sure there are. Pricing is typically based on the size of the land and the extent of the inspection you're requesting. It is about 2 acres. What I really don't know is what to be looking for. We just want to make sure that potential issues are all clean. quote:But before you even put down money for a detailed inspection of the property, I'd recommend looking into zoning regulations for the land to see if legal farming is even an option. Well this isn't farming for sale. It is for personal use (and also we are trying to turn it into a community garden but it has been hard bringing more people on). So I don't really think that is an issue. Even if so, our city has pretty good urban agriculture laws spelled out (even allowed to keep poultry and bees!). And there is no way in hell there is an HOA in this neighborhood.
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Aug 30, 2012 12:28
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Konstantin posted:I'm pretty sure at this point a HOA would rather have a well kept farm rather than a rotting house that will be sitting on the market for years. With a lot HOAs I sincerely doubt this would be true.
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Aug 30, 2012 14:40
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Konstantin posted:I'm pretty sure at this point a HOA would rather have a well kept farm rather than a rotting house that will be sitting on the market for years. Plus, if the neighborhood isn't too conservative, you could grow organic and sell truly local food to them, which would help smooth things over. Even when you're making a small purchase, you're also taking on the responsibility of owning that property. That includes things like taxes, and what happens when issues arise regarding its maintenance or impact on neighboring properties. Chin Strap posted:Well this isn't farming for sale. It is for personal use (and also we are trying to turn it into a community garden but it has been hard bringing more people on). So I don't really think that is an issue. Even if so, our city has pretty good urban agriculture laws spelled out (even allowed to keep poultry and bees!) I'd just recommend taking an hour or two to do some research just to make sure you're all clear. It would suck to put in months of work farming and gardening just to have a spiteful neighbor call in the city and muck everything up. Often city websites have map tools that can clarify zoning restrictions, or at least they'll get you contact information for who you should talk to.
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Aug 30, 2012 16:12
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So I've found a place that I'm looking to purchase, and we've completed negotiations, the contract has been signed and I have the waiver indicating that I've satisfied the conditions for the purchase contract. However... the seller has come back today and indicated that she no longer wants to sell the property. There is nothing in the contract that allows her an 'out' here, but basically that in case of a dispute: If the Seller or the Buyer fails or refuses to complete this Contract according to its terms, then the other party may pursue all available remedies. The Buyer can claim reasonable costs including legal fees and disbursements on a solicitor/client full indemnity basis. I've basically been working away-from-home (on holidays) for this entire process, and I've had to move money from investment accounts and withdrawn money from my RRSP as per the Home Buyer's Plan program (Canada), so its really been a big hassle overall. I've been advised by my lawyer / real estate agent that basically she'll be in breach of the contract and that it'll be on me to sue her damages. Any input / advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Aug 30, 2012 17:29
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Pieces posted:So I've found a place that I'm looking to purchase, and we've completed negotiations, the contract has been signed and I have the waiver indicating that I've satisfied the conditions for the purchase contract. Document everything and work with a lawyer. If you can't afford one hourly, you could look into pre-paid legal help or other cheap options. This is a legal matter and while you have options to recover various damages, I can't really give you much more advice than that. It sounds like the seller is in breach of contract and that you had not presented them with unnecessary delays or other actions that might have justified pulling out of the contract, but I have no real way of knowing and without legal assistance there is no way to verify that or do anything with it. The better your documentation in terms of what EXACTLY happened post-signing the contract and what communication between you and the seller was like, the better for your legal situation.
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Aug 30, 2012 18:03
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I'm in the process of my first purchase, and it bugged me a lot to find out that the buyer is expected to front earnest money in case of a breach, but that the seller can pretty much do whatever and force legal action. Seems like it could be more fair that way, but I'm sure buyers backing out is the much more common case.
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Aug 30, 2012 18:37
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I Love You! posted:Document everything and work with a lawyer. If you can't afford one hourly, you could look into pre-paid legal help or other cheap options. I have full documentation of everything, I've worked with the seller and have been nothing but cooperative during the negotiation phase (closing date, deposit, price). I have a friend living in the same building so I had the condo docs checked out prior to putting in an offer (and again after), I'm putting a 20% down payment on this place and I've provided full transparency for my mortgage broker, there is nothing on my end that would raise any red flags - my realtor mentioned that the seller just found out that she'd have to stay around this province for another year and thats why she wants to go back on the sale, but that really isn't my problem. If she really decides to cancel the sale I will most definitely be seeking legal advice.
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Aug 30, 2012 19:02
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Rooster Brooster posted:I'm in the process of my first purchase, and it bugged me a lot to find out that the buyer is expected to front earnest money in case of a breach, but that the seller can pretty much do whatever and force legal action. Seems like it could be more fair that way, but I'm sure buyers backing out is the much more common case. The case of earnest money can actually be beneficial to the buyer - basically, it's there as an option which, if taken by the seller in the event of any sort of breach or dispute, essentially frees the buyer from any additional liability. A seller who ever accepts the earnest money is saying "I am taking this instead of pursuing any sort of legal action, you are free to go" which is usually good for both parties. While it sucks to have to put money down, it's there to protect you legally from litigation by providing incentive for a pre-agreed settlement in the event of something going wrong. It's rarely "dead money", so think of it similar to insurance that you get to use toward closing costs if you don't need it. In the example above, the seller is potentially liable for a lot more than the cost of an average earnest money payment and doesn't have an out other than manually settling, if the buyer chooses to pursue legal action and it proves justified.
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Aug 30, 2012 19:53
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Concerning Pieces condo, Your legal fees should be covered. Call up an attorney and put them to work. That is what they are for. You could probably get a judge to force the sale if you really wanted too.
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Aug 30, 2012 20:29
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I'm starting out on trying to buy my first home and a friend just emailed me a link to the LIFT program from Wells Fargo, that offers down payment grants: https://www.wellsfargo.com/mortgage/lift I have enough money saved up for a down payment for the price range I'm looking at, so it's not as if getting a grant would drastically alter my plans, but it would maybe give me more cushion. It looks like I'd be eligible, and so far I haven't seen any draw backs (outside of repayment if I moved within five years, but I'm not planning to), so I can't help but wonder what the harm would be to take advantage of it? Anyone far more knowledgable than I, have opinions about this program or ones like it?
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Aug 31, 2012 18:55
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I hadn't seen that program before. It does say thatquote:This down payment assistance program is available for households earning 120% or less of the area’s median income, adjusted for household size, although specific loan products have lower income limits. Although Wells Fargo is the sponsor of the CityLIFT and NeighborhoodLIFT programs, you may seek financing for the remaining balance of the home purchase from any lender who accepts the CityLIFT or NeighborhoodLIFT down payment assistance program. So, if your income qualifies, and you're in one of the participating locations you could use the program even if you don't get a loan through WF. I would be wary of the "Financial education to help buyers prepare for homeownership" if that turns out to be a commercial pitch for Wells Fargo products and/or explanation of how you really should buy a house you can only just barely afford, and "Events to showcase area homes for sale" sounds like an even more blatant sales pitch. It appears that the first thing is required. But personally, I'd happily attend a blatant infomercial for a day if it meant $15k in free money. Go into it with the attitude that you're not going to take anything you are pitched at face value, and you should be OK.
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Aug 31, 2012 19:11
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The Wells Fargo flyer does reference a group called Avenue Community Development Corporation for the education requirement, though I think there are other HUD-approved education providers. ACDC has more information about classes and requirements here: http://avenuecdc.org/home-ownership/pre-purchase-education/ There's also mention of online classes ($50) to satisfy Neighborhood LIFT program requirements, so that may save you some time. My guess is that Wells Fargo can only offer these products to 'informed' home buyers due to insurance requirements resulting from the mortgage fiascos of years past, which is why they're mandating the education component. Britt I would recommend finding an agent who specializes in helping first time buyers with understanding financing options and incentives that are out there. If you need help, another goon and I just recently started a free service to help connect people with agents who are qualified to help with their specific situations. There are more details in the SA Mart thread here - http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3504190.
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Aug 31, 2012 21:07
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I was owed money from the government, but a really small amount so I never filed a tax return for 2011 (no plausible or intelligent reason given other than it was low down on my list of things to do). Going to apply for a mortgage with someone after being pre-approved. Both of our credit scores are very good to almost spotless. Will not having a tax return on file for the IRS in 2011 hurt or stop me from getting it? I have all the paperwork and can give a W-2, in addition to having all my tax returns back to 2000.
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Sep 2, 2012 22:44
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Yeah its likely to be a problem. I know on the refi side that every single mortgage we originate has a 4506 T - which is a request for tax transcripts.
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Sep 3, 2012 01:54
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gtkor posted:Yeah its likely to be a problem. I know on the refi side that every single mortgage we originate has a 4506 T - which is a request for tax transcripts. So I can submit it, wait six weeks and then everything should be ok to move forward?
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Sep 3, 2012 02:23
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I would believe so, at this point we cannot take an application if you do not have your 2011's filed, so once they are in, I would assume it is not a problem.
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Sep 3, 2012 03:18
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gtkor posted:Yeah its likely to be a problem. I know on the refi side that every single mortgage we originate has a 4506 T - which is a request for tax transcripts. Yeah, my bank requires at least 1 year of 4506t results on all borrowers as well (2 for government). If you had filed an extension for 2011 we'd take 2010 results with evidence of the extension having been filed, but other than that we will require 2011 at this point as well. Generally it takes 4-6 weeks from filing before results are available from the IRS so file soon.
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Sep 3, 2012 04:14
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Went and looked at a HUD house yesterday that I really liked, so I slept on it and decided this morning that I'd throw out a bid. I sent my agent a text and while waiting to hear back I checked the HUD site and the house isn't listed anymore. I'm now realizing that the initial 10 day bid period might have just expired yesterday and I might miss out on it 
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Sep 10, 2012 18:39
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mono posted:Went and looked at a HUD house yesterday that I really liked, so I slept on it and decided this morning that I'd throw out a bid. I sent my agent a text and while waiting to hear back I checked the HUD site and the house isn't listed anymore. I'm now realizing that the initial 10 day bid period might have just expired yesterday and I might miss out on it Sometimes they just get re listed. First time home buyers still get priority in deciding a buyer.
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Sep 11, 2012 18:18
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Well, a bunch of other bids came in and now it's showing an accepted offer but pending the sales agreement, so I guess I still have a chance if that falls through somehow
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Sep 12, 2012 02:55
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Hello, House Buying Megathread. I have a very silly question about two options for refinancing my house. I apologize if I missed the tools to answer this in the OP.  Option 1: $180,000 at 2.866% APR, 15 years, $1221.52/month principal and interest payment. Option 2: $180,000 at 3.661% APR, 20 years, $1032.40/month principal and interest payment. Current Arrangement: 6.75%, 26 years remaining on a 30 year mortgage, $1333.62/month principal and interest payment. I'll be having a daughter soon and my wife will be working part time so we'll be seeing an increase in expenses and a decrease in income. Lower monthly payments would be helpful. Assuming we can afford the higher payment of Option 1, would I be better off going with Option 2 and saving or investing the difference in monthly payments ($189 for 15 or 20 years)? TIA. 
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Sep 13, 2012 00:37
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Difficult to say. From a pure numbers perspective, your "return" on that money would have to be better than 3.661% in order for it to have been worth it compared to just putting the money straight into the loan. But to me, the main consideration is payment flexibility. The lower payments from Option 2 give you the option to pay as if you took Option 1 (and be paid off in virtually the same amount of time), or if you lose your job or have sudden medical expenses or something, lower your payments to the minimum for a while to give yourself better cash flow. The second consideration is, how soon will you be selling (if ever)? Option 1 is objectively better if you pay off the entire loan. If you're going to sell in four years, the difference between the two becomes smaller; negligible if you pay the 1221 against an Option 2 loan. The investing question might be affected by the current condition of your retirement savings, or the need for any upcoming expenses. Do you want to put money into a college fund for your daughter? Are you behind where you should be in your retirement savings? Maybe Option 2 is better, if it lets you do that where Option 1 doesn't. (In theory, you could take a home equity loan if at some point you needed that money back: but probably not at quite as good interest, and I don't think one should generally plan on taking home equity loans as it reduces your effective equity which, if your value drops significantly, could be the difference between being underwater or above-water.) In the end, though, it's not really all that much money ($189/mo isn't going to make a huge difference in your standard of living) so going either way is reasonable. I am wondering how you've managed to wait this long before refinancing. 6.75% is way higher than anything anyone's been paying for a new loan since at least 2008. Weren't you tempted to refi two or three years ago? Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Sep 13, 2012 |
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Sep 13, 2012 00:54
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My opinion is that you should go for the 15 year mortgage.
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Sep 13, 2012 01:07
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Thank you for the input. At this point I think we're strongly leaning toward the 15 year, mostly because we have no plans to move. Any concerns about the slightly higher payments mostly stem from my wife not qualifying for paid maternity leave, but that's a fairly short term situation that we can compensate for with a few sacrifices. We first considered refinancing about a year ago. Before that it was a matter of low equity and a couple foreclosures in the area possibly affecting our property value. We just recently inherited some money that we can use for refinancing, so that helps as well.
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Sep 13, 2012 01:27
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Konrad posted:Thank you for the input. If you need to convince your wife, it's as simple as saying "The difference between the two payments is 190 bucks a month. If that small an amount breaks us then we would have been screwed regardless."
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Sep 13, 2012 02:33
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Konrad posted:Hello, House Buying Megathread. I have a very silly question about two options for refinancing my house. I apologize if I missed the tools to answer this in the OP. Keep in mind you can do option 2, and then simply pay more. For example if you take option 2 and then pay 300$ more a month, making it equivilent to your current payment or 190$ more to make it same as option 1, you are paying slightly more interest in the later case, but you have the flexibility to not pay more principle each month, in case your expenses are higher than you figure.
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Sep 13, 2012 14:52
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Well, looks like we are on schedule for closing tomorrow. Just got the final number for funds due, and are doing the last walkthrough tonight. We were starting to get a little worried because our mortgage guys sat on the final approval for nearly two weeks for whatever reason. I read this thread from start to finish and it was a huge help in removing some of the mystery from this awful process, but now there is nothing left to do except completely freak out for the next 24 hours. Woo!
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Sep 13, 2012 16:09
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A question for AusGoons, specifically Melbourne Goons if possible. I am looking to purchase a house, however, it looks like the only places available in my price range are apartments, in a fairly dodgy suburb, Springvale. :iamafag: My question is: Is an apartment in Australia shooting myself in the foot? I know its the land that appreciates in value etc.
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Sep 14, 2012 01:10
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My wife and I have put in an offer on a house, and we've been told that the seller is going to counter, but is waiting on word from Bank of America as to what the loan payoff will be before coming back with a number. We put in our offer a week ago, and have been waiting ever since for the counter number. Is it a drawn out process to get a mortgage loan payoff from a bank, or am I just being overly impatient?
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Sep 14, 2012 04:45
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It's something they should be able to get a number for over the phone on demand. Perhaps a few days if they want it in writing. BlueArmyMan posted:Is it a drawn out process to get a mortgage loan payoff from a bank, or am I just being overly impatient?
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Sep 14, 2012 05:02
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SlapActionJackson posted:It's something they should be able to get a number for over the phone on demand. Perhaps a few days if they want it in writing. Thanks; that's kind of what I figured. I know our realtor is keeping the pressure on, but it seemed kind of simple to call up the bank, get a number, and be done. It feels like the seller keeps forgetting to make the call, frankly.
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Sep 14, 2012 05:06
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BlueArmyMan posted:Thanks; that's kind of what I figured. I know our realtor is keeping the pressure on, but it seemed kind of simple to call up the bank, get a number, and be done. It feels like the seller keeps forgetting to make the call, frankly. On the other hand, it's Bank of America, so there's a pretty legit possibility that the seller has been trying over and over every day to get an answer.  Take a look back through Ozmiander's posting in this thread.
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Sep 14, 2012 14:09
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Splizwarf posted:On the other hand, it's Bank of America, so there's a pretty legit possibility that the seller has been trying over and over every day to get an answer. Hence my worry of being too impatient. I will have a look at Ozmiander's posts this weekend, thanks for that tip. I'm more or less admittedly grasping at straws because I'm curious as to what the counter will be, and it's driving me nuts.
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Sep 14, 2012 16:24
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