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DrBouvenstein posted:Cool, thanks. I've called around to a few places already that have their certifications on their website and have things like voted best in county, etc... Yes, be there. They will show you all the things in person. I used the inspection as a chance to see the house again and learn where the main water shutoff was. I also used the time to take a thousand pictures that were extremely helpful in planning our renovations and where to put furniture. I asked the inspector lots of questions.
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Jul 10, 2015 16:32
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You should absolutely be there. Full stop.
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Jul 10, 2015 16:58
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A good inspector will explain so much stuff about the house as you go through, you really need to be there.
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Jul 10, 2015 18:42
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DrBouvenstein posted:Cool, thanks. I've called around to a few places already that have their certifications on their website and have things like voted best in county, etc... I think it's a great idea to be there, you'll learn a lot more by being there than you would have by just reading the report. It'll put everything in the report in its proper context, which is invaluable. You can ask for recommendations, you can ask him to add things that he might not have added normally, etc. If your inspector is any good then he'll also be able to give you suggestions for long-term home care
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Jul 10, 2015 18:58
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Your presence will also help to reduce any tendency by the inspector to cut a few corners today because it's been a long day and he really wants to get home soon and so we'll just poke the head down into the crawlspace and shine a flashlight around rather than suit up and put on the knee protectors and actually crawl all the way around the circumference to inspect every length of the foundation wall. I mean you're already trusting the inspector, but a little supervision might help to keep a person honest.
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Jul 10, 2015 20:09
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DrBouvenstein posted:Cool, thanks. I've called around to a few places already that have their certifications on their website and have things like voted best in county, etc... You should definitely be there. They will give you a report, a good company will give a really detailed report, but if you are there in person they can point out and explain everything they find directly to you. In my opinion, it is invaluable.
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Jul 10, 2015 20:27
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Leperflesh posted:Your presence will also help to reduce any tendency by the inspector to cut a few corners today because it's been a long day and he really wants to get home soon and so we'll just poke the head down into the crawlspace and shine a flashlight around rather than suit up and put on the knee protectors and actually crawl all the way around the circumference to inspect every length of the foundation wall. Crawlspace? I'm pretty sure we've been down this road before. Basement or GTFO.  Thanks for the replies. I'll definitely be there, then.
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Jul 10, 2015 20:31
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Yay offer accepted! Bastard seller listed that it was a multiple-offer on the MLS, and also countered on the winning Highest and Best we offered as well, but the counter was small enough - and still under the max we put on ourselves for a counter - that we took it. Far from the best (or worst) financial decision I've made, but I'm still satisfied. Still got the home below list. Now to get the inspector out. We are going with one that was recommended by a couple friends who've purchased homes, and definitely plan to be following him around.
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Jul 10, 2015 21:09
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Dazerbeams posted:Ugh, where is the fast forward button on life? All this waiting around is killing me. We entered the negotiation phase with the sewer inspection still unresolved. The clean out vent might just be in the side yard, or it might be covered up with asphalt. We're asking for 7 days after location/excavation to get it looked at. This is the last potential big issue with the house and could probably be the most costly if something was wrong. We had this issue with a house we were looking at and the inspector just unscrewed a toilet and used that drain as an access.
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Jul 10, 2015 21:20
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couldcareless posted:We had this issue with a house we were looking at and the inspector just unscrewed a toilet and used that drain as an access. There was a drain in the basement so the plumber snaked that but said he couldn't reach anything beyond what was under the house. I am a first time house attempting to become owner and I joined Angie's list to trawl through local businesses for highest and most recently reviewed inspectors to narrow my search down. I felt like my home inspector was very thorough but I think my plumber ripped me off.
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Jul 11, 2015 01:58
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Everyone thinks their plumber ripped them off. Their job looks "easy" but the consequences of loving up are huge.
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Jul 11, 2015 02:28
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Went to look at a house, had been put on the market on Thursday. Saw it, definitely a fixer upper with tons of potential in a very highly desired neighborhood (homes typically go for between $350k-$550k, this one was listed at $229k). Driving away talking about it with our realtor friend, he gets a call from the listing agent. "Yeah, they decided to just give the home to their son." My agent was pissed. Apparently there's been a rash of realtors not keeping their listings up to date, so we've seen five homes that have been sold/put under contract and no one has said anything. But who puts a home on the market for a day and a half, then pulls it and gives it to their son? We were ready to buy the drat thing. Home searching sucks.
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Jul 12, 2015 16:51
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Do laws regarding updating the MLS vary greatly between states? We saw our house marked Contingent before we got the signed contract back.
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Jul 13, 2015 00:21
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I purchased my house with cash and as a result went a few months before realizing I did not had homeowners insurance (thank god I didn't find out he hard way). I feel like as part of a loan you have to sign up for a solid set of insurance so now I ask, what else might I be missing? I have homeowners, title insurance. What else should I know about?
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Jul 13, 2015 02:45
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notlibber posted:I purchased my house with cash and as a result went a few months before realizing I did not had homeowners insurance (thank god I didn't find out he hard way). I feel like as part of a loan you have to sign up for a solid set of insurance so now I ask, what else might I be missing? HOA fees and review your CC&Rs, if you have any Some places give discounts on property taxes if you live in the property, but you have to apply for it before you can start benefitting Flood, hurricane, etc insurance if you're in an area that is effected by specific natural disasters. For instance, our coverage doesn't include hurricanes, but our bank required that we have hurricane coverage; we have a separate policy for that Do you know how to pay your property taxes? That's pretty important Other than that I think that you just need to try and stay on top of maintenance and payments to insurance, HOA, and the government
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Jul 13, 2015 03:17
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Forum Credit Union accepted my counter so no highest and best offer results. So much better than trying to deal with Chase. Would buy from again. I am paying an inspector $125 bucks to walk through the house with me and look for major flaws, verbally report rather than typing up anything. He has an awesome beard and a multitude of certifications. Interest rates have jumped up terribly last week. I hope something makes them drop. Conceivably I will have 2 mortgages and 3 HELOC if nothing sells before I have to buy this latest one. As long as housing keeps bubbling I will be in great shape though! Prices never go down right?
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Jul 13, 2015 20:55
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Yep, looks like our CU's interest rates just went up by 0.1% between Friday and now, they had dropped by that amount some time last week. Oh well. 3.875% on a 20 year note is still fine by me. Just got back from the home inspection on it, inspector found a good amount of corners cut by the renovators (kitchen sink drain vent isn't to code, they didn't install enough outlets in the kitchen peninsula, they vented the range hood into the attic, and he found out the hard way they failed to hook up the dishwasher drain) and some stuff that's just part of the home being 140 years old (drains need to be snaked, circuit breaker box is fully populated and has no room for expansion, some interior doors don't close right, roof is new but not properly sealed and we have free birds), but nothing that showed up as seriously, seriously wrong. Just a laundry list of stuff that we'll be submitting to the seller asking to be fixed. Full report should be returned tomorrow or Wednesday. $125 is seriously low for an inspection, but if you're not planning on submitting it back to the seller for discounts or repairs, I guess it doesn't matter. That alone is what we'll be paying for a follow-up appointment after the seller gets a chance to fix stuff.
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Jul 13, 2015 23:25
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....aaaaand found a house Sunday, made an appointment to view today, sold before we could see it. It's not "Do Never Buy" but "Can't Ever Buy" in Memphis apparently.
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Jul 14, 2015 00:00
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Do Never Buy in Memphis.
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Jul 14, 2015 00:06
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minivanmegafun posted:they vented the range hood into the attic With poo poo like that I'd definitely worry about what they've done that wasn't visible to the inspector
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Jul 14, 2015 04:30
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minivanmegafun posted:they vented the range hood into the attic Speaking of vent hoods, why is it so hard to find overs that actually vent? Of all the houses I looked at, only 2 had vents that actually went outside. The rest were either nothing, or the over-the-stove microwave fan that just sucks up the smoke and blows it back into the kitchen, only a foot higher up. Real helpful. Even the place I'm trying to buy now only had the crummy non-vent vent, and the stove if right on an outside wall! Is it that loving hard to install a real one? Are my plans to install one (after removing the microwave) doomed from the start?
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Jul 14, 2015 13:52
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DrBouvenstein posted:Speaking of vent hoods, why is it so hard to find overs that actually vent? Of all the houses I looked at, only 2 had vents that actually went outside. The rest were either nothing, or the over-the-stove microwave fan that just sucks up the smoke and blows it back into the kitchen, only a foot higher up. Real helpful. It's a really easy install, at least if you vent through the roof. I just cut a hole in the ceiling, paid a roofer $100 to install a vent, and then connected them. I imagine it would be just as easy through the wall.
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Jul 14, 2015 14:10
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Vent chat. Well on a two story it can be impossible to go straight up if there is a room above you that you don't want a vent pipe running through it and if the microwave is on an inside wall you canlt just go straight out. You are also piercing the buildings envelope with a giant hole that will likely not seal very well when not in use for the few times you are creating large amounts of cooking smoke. Also it is cheaper to just install a non vented hood which is code and move on. Builders always choose the cheapest option and most buyers have so many other things they want instead.
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Jul 14, 2015 16:16
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Elephanthead posted:Vent chat. Well on a two story it can be impossible to go straight up if there is a room above you that you don't want a vent pipe running through it and if the microwave is on an inside wall you canlt just go straight out. You are also piercing the buildings envelope with a giant hole that will likely not seal very well when not in use for the few times you are creating large amounts of cooking smoke. Also it is cheaper to just install a non vented hood which is code and move on. Builders always choose the cheapest option and most buyers have so many other things they want instead. My grandmother in law's house has this vent panel that pops open when the fan is running and shuts and seals when the fan is turned off. Pretty neat.
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Jul 14, 2015 16:29
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Hashtag Banterzone posted:It's a really easy install, at least if you vent through the roof. I just cut a hole in the ceiling, paid a roofer $100 to install a vent, and then connected them. I imagine it would be just as easy through the wall. Good to hear. It's a raised ranch, so going up through the roof from the kitchen is do-able. And I've done enough roofing in my day to feel confident to do the whole thing myself, provided it's not something I'd actually need any sort of permit for or whatnot.
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Jul 14, 2015 17:06
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minivanmegafun posted:Just a laundry list of stuff that we'll be submitting to the seller asking to be fixed. Remember they may just try to fix things as cheaply as possible if you leave it up to them, better to get quotes for anything major and have them compensate you to have it fixed properly
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Jul 14, 2015 17:41
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Credit Union is offering 4.125% on a 30 year. That seems high. I guess rates are going up? Should I lock that in or is there any chance it will go down in the next month?
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Jul 14, 2015 18:37
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You should compare rates from multiple banks. Locking in a rate is wise when you're in contract and don't want to risk the rate suddenly going up right before you sign. Rates can always go up or down. Nobody can tell the future. If someone could be certain about what rates will do in the next 30 days, they could make millions upon millions of dollars with zero risk! 4.125% on a 30-year fixed loan is a little higher than the lows we've seen in the last couple years. Historically speaking, it's still a very low interest rate. If it helps, I refinanced about a year ago at 4.375%. I used a broker, and that was the best rate available on that particular day when I locked it in. Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 18:44 on Jul 14, 2015 |
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Jul 14, 2015 18:42
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DrBouvenstein posted:Credit Union is offering 4.125% on a 30 year. There is no way to predict the future. Rates went up from last week. If you knew for sure if they were headed up or down you could be a millionaire. If rates going up more means you can't close you should lock. If not you can gambol on lower or lock. You can always refi in 6 months if they go down. You can also ditch your lender if they go down immediately and rush to find a new lender.
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Jul 14, 2015 18:43
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DrBouvenstein posted:Credit Union is offering 4.125% on a 30 year. It's extremely low, but not the lowest that it's ever been. Rates have been going up recently; two months ago rates were closer to 3.875%. We're only talking about a quarter percent difference
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Jul 14, 2015 19:07
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I closed two months ago at 3.375% on a 30 year, but it was a VA loan, so I think that helps.
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Jul 14, 2015 19:13
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DrBouvenstein posted:Good to hear. You should put one of the pop-open through-wall panels in, like my grandma-in-law has. I think Nutone makes them. They're good.
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Jul 14, 2015 19:50
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Thanks for the rate advice. Going through all of this poo poo is a God-drat cluster, and every day it's some new thing I'm unsure of, or that has to be done, or gets pushed back (like home inspection...was supposed to be this Friday, now it's Tuesday.) God, why does anyone ever want to buy a home? Is all of this worth it just so I have the freedom to paint the walls and install new cabinets? 
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Jul 14, 2015 20:15
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DrBouvenstein posted:Thanks for the rate advice. Going through all of this poo poo is a God-drat cluster, and every day it's some new thing I'm unsure of, or that has to be done, or gets pushed back (like home inspection...was supposed to be this Friday, now it's Tuesday.) I've been looking for a couple weeks and I think the answer is "some color of mental illness."
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Jul 14, 2015 20:23
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DrBouvenstein posted:Thanks for the rate advice. Going through all of this poo poo is a God-drat cluster, and every day it's some new thing I'm unsure of, or that has to be done, or gets pushed back (like home inspection...was supposed to be this Friday, now it's Tuesday.) One thing I learned with the rates was that from day to day the market fluctuation will be reflected not in the interest rate you are quoted but in the lender credit you receive or the amount you pay the lender for a given interest rate. So to me the game is, do I wait for a couple of days and hope the market goes in my favor and I save a couple of hundred dollars? I took that gamble (against advice from others) and lost, and I would advise you to not try to time things perfectly. Lock in the rate and have that stress of your mind. On the day you decide to lock, call up multiple lenders and find the one that will give you the best terms for the given interest rate. Don't be afraid to use the written quote from one lender to get another lender to improve their quote. Keep in mind that because the market changes so quickly, you need to really call around and get multiple quotes in a single morning or single afternoon and make your decision that same morning or afternoon, otherwise the quotes may no longer be valid.
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Jul 14, 2015 20:31
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gently caress Appraisers. I just got my appraisal back for a refi and it came back at $179k. A direct comp (same builder, same style, same finishes, same year built) just sold next door for $200k after less than a week on the market. The appraiser used 6 comps that all sold or are under contract from $200k to $215k. And one listed at $180k that hasn't sold because its directly on a busy highway the next county over. I needed to hit $192k to get 80% LTV, which the appraiser assured me I would have no problem getting. I paid $430 for the loving appraiser to gently caress up the appraisal so now I get to pay an extra $640 in PMI. gently caress that bitch. It's like she just pulled the $180k number out of her rear end and tried to make it stick. Anyone ever have any luck appealing an appraisal like that?
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Jul 14, 2015 23:13
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You can appeal appraisals. Basically this is how I would do it if it was me on the loan. 1) Review the appraisal primarily page 1 and 2. You aren't looking so much at the final value here, as you are looking for material errors. Things can matter are above grade rooms, and GLA. Also worth bringing up would be if the appraiser has the wrong heat source or is labeling interior or exterior materials incorrectly (though this often doesn't equate to an obvious value change). 2) Assuming you did not find anything egregious in step 1 focus on sales that are recent and proximate that sold for higher value. Remember that lenders cant really ask an appraiser why they didn't chose the higher value home directly, so you have to kind of help them build a case. Make sure to look for commentary in the addendum section of the report to see if the appraiser covered this already. Maybe the appraiser didn't use the home nearby that sold for me due to superior updating, or it has a basement or it has some kind of disparity in size. If you cannot find sales that are more recent, proximate or more comparable to your home, that's probably the end of your appeal. I would especially look out for an increasing market checked on page 1, and then the appraiser using dated sales. That's a common argument that can get different comps used, even if they are farther away. Just keep in mind if the value appears supportable (even if it is lower than what someone might buy the home for) it can be pretty tough to get any change. It sucks and it is a stupid part of the industry, but the investors who securitize are happy with a more conservative value.
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Jul 14, 2015 23:28
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Dik Hz posted:gently caress Appraisers. A friend had to appeal an appraisal (or whatever it's called) because their appraiser knocked off huge amounts for stupid poo poo, like the working washing machine not being plugged in during the appraisal. They were successful but had to get a new appraiser. I don't know what was involved
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Jul 14, 2015 23:33
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I also know that, at least in my area, an appraiser basically ignores anything that's not in the county record. We saw a house with a huge "guest house" that was bigger than the main house, really nice, but it was completely unrecorded. The seller had a potential buyer, but the appraisal was way lower than the offer due to the house being left out of the report. Maybe check to make sure that your house matches the county record, and that the appraiser used the correct records (maybe they got the parcel number or MLS wrong)
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Jul 14, 2015 23:44
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The first step is going back to the appraiser and trying to get the report amended via an addendum. This can be done as quickly as a day or so, or can take forever (especially if you are in the middle of nowhere). You might have to try a few times via addendum and it might ultimately go nowhere. At this point, things can either a) drop off completely or b) a field review will get ordered. Typically speaking the best thing the borrower can do is to lay things out there to their loan officer, who is more or less their conduit to underwriting. If the underwriting decides after trying a few times to work with the appraiser that they are getting nowhere, they will make a decision on whether or not to try and order a field review (which is a lot like and in some cases means a second appraisal). Field reviews cost more money (and typically this is coming out of your pocket, not the lenders) and there is no guarantee the second appraiser is going to consider the value to be different than the appraiser who did the first one. They cannot be from the same company so their should be no conflict of interest between the two appraisals, but again there is a range of valuation that is probably considered acceptable. One caveat to this, if you are changing loan programs due to a low appraisal, a conversion or even a second appraisal might be ordered. Typically the lender goes off of whatever the value is on the loan product you are using, so that is kind of its own thing. A VA appraisal on a VA loan is the value you would go with (whether or not it is done first or second) even if the FHA appraisal you already had done comes in lower (or higher)
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Jul 14, 2015 23:47
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