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It is very economical for me relative to renting in my neighborhood, and more personally satisfying. Anyway, if you don't like PMI, all you have to do is save up a 20% down payment  However - the insurance associated with FHA loans has always been kind of high, and I think it's a lot higher now that they changed the rules. FHA loans don't seem great to me for that reason.
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Feb 9, 2014 21:48
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slap me silly posted:Not sure why you're asking...
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Feb 9, 2014 21:54
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It was a sweet deal here, too, even given the overall low interest rate situation. I'm pretty sure the lender was trying to grow their mortgage portfolio by a lot. They were advertising really low rates - it took them too long to get to closing because they were so busy, but they were really good about guaranteeing the rate past the lock period. The refinance was early 2013 and I think I applied Dec 2012. I think rates are back up a bit now.
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Feb 9, 2014 21:57
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I'm closing on a new house in just a few more days. Considered several different types of loans and ended up going through the builder's mortgage company as they were offering a decent rate plus all closing costs and several thousand in upgrades. I did not put down enough to waive PMI, but one of the loan products they offered was a 30-year fixed rate at .375% higher than their standard rate and they would waive the PMI requirement. The monthly payment was about $100 cheaper with the higher-rate loan less PMI but the rate never goes down so you pay 100% of the loan value at the higher rate assuming no refi. Of course since PMI is not deductible you'd also have to consider your marginal tax rate but even then I doubt it would make sense to choose the higher rate unless you aren't planning on staying in the house very long.
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Feb 9, 2014 22:15
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PMI isn't deductible anymore?
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Feb 9, 2014 22:19
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slap me silly posted:PMI isn't deductible anymore? 2013 is currently the last tax year it can be deducted unless the law changes.
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Feb 9, 2014 22:54
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Cyrezar posted:2013 is currently the last tax year it can be deducted unless the law changes. Gotcha. I couldn't deduct it for last year anyway because of the income limit. Haha sneakybrag!
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Feb 9, 2014 23:26
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slap me silly posted:Gotcha. I couldn't deduct it for last year anyway because of the income limit. Haha sneakybrag! Yes it seems like the limit is very low particularly for married couples.
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Feb 9, 2014 23:29
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PMI will only be like $15 bucks for me if I'm reading this right. I would have to put another 5k down in order to get it to go away.
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Feb 9, 2014 23:39
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Orange_Lazarus posted:PMI will only be like $15 bucks for me if I'm reading this right. I would have to put another 5k down in order to get it to go away. It's definitely a question of how much liquidity you are willing to sacrifice in order to get a lower monthly payment. I put down 5% instead of 10% because I'm planning on getting roommates anyway and I wanted to have a reserve in case I ran into unexpected problems, house-related or otherwise. Once everything is lined up I'm planning on putting another 5% down and will take it from there. The difference in monthly payment was insubstantial.
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Feb 9, 2014 23:48
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OK just to be sure. I'm about to make an offer on a property and according to most of the resources I've read the buyer usually makes an offer and once the offer is accepted the inspection happens. If the inspection turns up problems then the buyer can back out. Is that always the case? What if the property is listed as an investment property? Sephiroth_IRA fucked around with this message at 17:40 on Feb 10, 2014 |
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Feb 10, 2014 17:38
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Orange_Lazarus posted:OK just to be sure. That is how it works, yes. Your offer letter should contain "contingencies" which are basically a list of reasons for which you can back out of the deal and the seller has to return your earnest money deposit. Something bad on the inspection should be one of your contingencies. You can of course back out for any reason or no reason, but if it's not on your list of contingencies then the seller gets to keep the earnest money, so you don't want to do that. Ask your agent what exactly your contingencies are, if you're not sure. The fact you're not sure about when you do your inspections suggests your realtor is not talking you through the process very well.
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Feb 10, 2014 18:05
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Yeah, I looked over everything again and I'm just being a little paranoid which I think is a good thing. Earnest money was only $500 and my realtor seems to have a good reputation.
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Feb 10, 2014 18:06
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You can do "pre-inspections," inspections of the home prior to making an offer. I hadn't even heard of this until my brokerage blogged about it. If there's multiple offers for the home, and your offer doesn't have an inspection contingency, it could make your offer more attractive to the sellers, even if you don't have the highest bid.
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Feb 10, 2014 18:18
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So my fiance and I are about to accept the seller's offer on a house we like and begin the inspection period. It's a full renovation this past summer, had been a Katrina house that wasn't gutted until May, got a termite certificate and a mold assessment, both which seem to check out. This is our first home purchase ever, so is there any good general advice for getting a thorough inspection out of this?
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Feb 11, 2014 02:50
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I've been bracing myself for weeks knowing that the first offer I put in probably wouldn't be accepted, but this still feels like a punch in the gut. Hot markets are a son of a bitch.
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Feb 11, 2014 08:10
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couldcareless posted:So my fiance and I are about to accept the seller's offer on a house we like and begin the inspection period. It's a full renovation this past summer, had been a Katrina house that wasn't gutted until May, got a termite certificate and a mold assessment, both which seem to check out. This is our first home purchase ever, so is there any good general advice for getting a thorough inspection out of this? Get your head in the attic and below the house. You'll see mold and rot. Inspectors are lazy.
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Feb 11, 2014 14:05
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couldcareless posted:So my fiance and I are about to accept the seller's offer on a house we like and begin the inspection period. It's a full renovation this past summer, had been a Katrina house that wasn't gutted until May, got a termite certificate and a mold assessment, both which seem to check out. This is our first home purchase ever, so is there any good general advice for getting a thorough inspection out of this? Get a quote on homeowner's insurance that includes both hurricane damage and flood damage, and then try to keep your head from exploding. Probably you've already done that, of course. I only say that because an acquaintance of mine owns a house in new orleans, which is worth maybe $150k, and he's paying over $5k a year just for the basic policy on his house, so it's going to be a big percentage of your monthly ownership costs.
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Feb 11, 2014 17:17
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Leperflesh posted:Get a quote on homeowner's insurance that includes both hurricane damage and flood damage, and then try to keep your head from exploding. Probably you've already done that, of course. Yup, I've been getting quotes before we even were considering houses as flood insurance alone can make or break it. yeah, the insurance is rough but punching out the worst case numbers, we are still ahead, and I've got a few quotes to consider plus a pal of mine that has his own insurance brokerage is gonna throw me a quote and see if it can be competitive at all. As far as mold concerns, it's a slab so not much to go by for underneath but I'll give the attic a closer look just in case.
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Feb 11, 2014 18:44
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So I just said yes. We offered $45k on the property, with the contingency that they will pay for a $500 2-10 warranty and will allow us the right to an inspection. They counter offered with $49900, they will pay for the $500 warranty, the closing costs ($1500) and will allow us the right to an inspection. Sounds like a good deal.
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Feb 11, 2014 22:04
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Actually the more I read about this 2-10 warranty the shittier it sounds, it's weird that they have a ton of complaints with the BBB but still have an A+ rating with them. Too bad I'm at work and can't look further into it. At least the seller is paying for it.
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Feb 11, 2014 22:18
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Home warranties are pretty lovely in general because of the deductibles and low coverage limits, but I wouldn't fixate on it. If it helps, great, but let the seller buy it now and probably don't renew it next year.
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Feb 11, 2014 22:28
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Yeah, a co-worker suggested the same thing. To me the most important thing was the inspection contingency
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Feb 11, 2014 22:53
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^^^^^ Would someone seriously give a counteroffer removing the inspection contingency? Talk about a red flag...couldcareless posted:This is our first home purchase ever, so is there any good general advice for getting a thorough inspection out of this? Make sure you're present for the inspection, so you actually see what the inspector is checking out. I'd think this is obvious, but apparently not everyone does it.
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Feb 11, 2014 23:36
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Zhentar posted:Make sure you're present for the inspection, so you actually see what the inspector is checking out. I'd think this is obvious, but apparently not everyone does it. E: Buddy paid over 2k for an inspection that missed some massive visible code violations. Things my buddy asked the inspector about and he said they were all fine. In his state, there is no recourse, or he was too lazy to even try to get his money back. Installing new AC wiring (way under gauge) and linesets on your first week in sounds super enjoyable. The inspector told my buddy that he went up a ladder and checked out the lineset, based on my friends pics from the ground I wtf'd and then his up close pics...inspector probably left the ladder in his truck. Same w the attic... 
SiGmA_X fucked around with this message at 01:09 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 01:07
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Zhentar posted:^^^^^ Would someone seriously give a counteroffer removing the inspection contingency? Talk about a red flag... Yeah I decided to bring my dad along (carpenter/handyman) and probably another handyman I know who I'll be paying to fix things up after the closing. edit: Either my parents are stuck in the past or there's just something I don't get about real estate. They keep going on about how I should stick with my current property because it's more expensive so it'll be worth more one day. When I try to say "Well, couldn't I just put the savings into an REIT or the S&P or something." they just give non answers. I think a mortgage is a good hedge against inflation but besides that I don't think of my primary residence as an investment. It's just where I live until I want to live somewhere else. Sephiroth_IRA fucked around with this message at 02:03 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 01:57
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Orange_Lazarus posted:my parents are stuck in the past Hth
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Feb 12, 2014 02:40
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So I haven't had any issues with my house since I bought it in November, and it's been a great ride. But today I came home and had a little bit of water dripping through my ceiling. It wasn't much water that came out, the spot on the floor was really small and maybe a quarter of a cup came out when I put a pot down and poked the little paint bubble that had formed. I went up in the attic and was able to follow it along some 2x4s along the attic floor and then up to the roof. So I went up on my roof and all of the shingles in that area looked just fine. The house was just roofed 5 or 6 years ago. It was extremely wet, because snow has been melting for the last 4-5 days, and the gutters are completely full of ice. My dad mentioned that the gutters being full can form a dam and the water will soak back up under the shingles, but the area that it apparently came through the roof is several feet above the gutter, so it's not possible that it formed a pool of water on the roof at that point. The roof also has a pretty good slope, I don't know exactly what it is, but I'd say 15-20 degrees, so water should be able to flow down pretty easily. I don't really want to repaint the ceiling and replace the dry wall and poo poo without fixing the source of the problem. But I really have no idea how or where the water came through. It's like the shingles just came saturated. So... any ideas on roof leaks with long slow snow melts?
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Feb 12, 2014 03:01
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scavok posted:So I haven't had any issues with my house since I bought it in November, and it's been a great ride. But today I came home and had a little bit of water dripping through my ceiling. It wasn't much water that came out, the spot on the floor was really small and maybe a quarter of a cup came out when I put a pot down and poked the little paint bubble that had formed. I went up in the attic and was able to follow it along some 2x4s along the attic floor and then up to the roof. Your dad was probably on the right track. Sounds like an ice dam to me. Has it snowed recently, gotten warm, then cool again? Doesn't need to be the gutters, but you'll get little ice blockades that cause water to pool on your roof, allowing it to soak through. E: Go to Home Depot and get a long pole thing with an attachment to scrape large amounts of snow off the roof.
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Feb 12, 2014 03:34
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Cranbe posted:Your dad was probably on the right track. Sounds like an ice dam to me. Has it snowed recently, gotten warm, then cool again? Doesn't need to be the gutters, but you'll get little ice blockades that cause water to pool on your roof, allowing it to soak through the roof. It snowed most of last week and was barely above 0, probably 6-8 inches total, and then probably about every day since Friday it has been above freezing during the day and well below at night. Is there anything that can really be done about this? efb. Thanks, I'll see what I can find.
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Feb 12, 2014 03:45
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scavok posted:It snowed most of last week and was barely above 0, probably 6-8 inches total, and then probably about every day since Friday it has been above freezing during the day and well below at night. Is there anything that can really be done about this? Yeah, failing that, get out the ladder and go to town with a broom or something. You may need to chisel a bit since the ice is already formed now. Careful not to damage your roofing, though. If you live in a place where that kind of weather happens regularly or occasionally, you should get used to doing that whenever it snows more than a few inches.
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Feb 12, 2014 03:57
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Yeah, I'm in Colorado so the temperature changes can be pretty extreme. After doing a bit of reading on ice dams, which are typically caused by the attic being heated and melting the snow to freeze again in the gutter, I think I might have an idea on why it happened where it did for me. The area of the roof that it soaked through was just a couple feet below where the furnace exhaust pipe is running through the attic. I don't know how hot that exhaust gets, but it has no insulation and I'd imagine it gets warm enough to melt the snow on the roof above that refreezes a little further down the roof building a dam. So I'm going to try putting some insulation around it and watch it next time conditions are like this.
scavok fucked around with this message at 04:42 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 04:18
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Zhentar posted:^^^^^ Would someone seriously give a counteroffer removing the inspection contingency? Talk about a red flag... The seller's had been in the place for over forty years and so there were bound to be issues from inspection. However, the location is essentially a never-ending seller's market (it would likely be affected if Boston's economy completely collapsed). There was zero downside to the sellers to disallow an inspection that might affect price negotiations and they essentially sold to my sister-in-law as a favor. The idea of making a property purchase without a contingent inspection was appalling to me until I understood their particular location circumstances which would seem to apply to only an incredibly small segment of real estate environments.
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Feb 12, 2014 13:41
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So how do I go about finding a really reputable inspector? I'll definitely be there when the guy does his thing but I want this place looked over top to bottom once I get the opportunity.
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Feb 12, 2014 14:14
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Pretty much sign up to Angie's List for a month for their reviews. I had a coworker recommend a guy, checked Angie's List and his reviews were glowing, and he sent me an example inspection of his when I contacted him. Other then that, just find the guy with the most 1996-ish era web site and hire him.
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Feb 12, 2014 17:52
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General inspection went ok, no huge issues found. No insulation in attic which we already knew, new HWH doesn't have power hooked up, a poorly installed jetted tub in the master bath that we are probably going to ditch anyway, and a hole in ground on side of the house that we will be having a plumber come do some camera work and pray it's not a leaky pipe causing erosion or anything. Aside from that, foundation checked out, electric was fine save for some empty spots in the panel that need blanks put in, HVAC seems to be working great. Hopefully this guy wasn't the nightmare case that I expect every inspector to be after reading this thread. Crossing my fingers plumbing checks out and then it's back to pestering the seller to do some of these really dumb punch list poo poo.
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Feb 13, 2014 23:39
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Blanks in the panel are a big DIY red flag. Did your inspector pop the panel cover off and make sure things look ok? It should be 'obvious' to anyone with a little experience, and a decent inspector should be able to ID panel code violations.
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Feb 14, 2014 00:26
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SiGmA_X posted:Blanks in the panel are a big DIY red flag. Did your inspector pop the panel cover off and make sure things look ok? It should be 'obvious' to anyone with a little experience, and a decent inspector should be able to ID panel code violations. Nope, but I'll get an pal of mine that's an electrician to come by and do that.
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Feb 14, 2014 00:55
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couldcareless posted:Nope, but I'll get an pal of mine that's an electrician to come by and do that.
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Feb 14, 2014 04:47
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One thing I've discovered about wanting to find a deal in real estate is that realtors don't want you to find a deal. One realtor even basically told me over the phone "look honey, that one just aint worth my time". Should I just contact the owner's realtor next time or what? It seems like there aren't very many people willing to sell homes without a realtor to help them through it.
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Feb 15, 2014 04:59
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