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Is anyone from the UK (specifically England) that posts in this thread? Ah, if not then likely this won't make much sense to anyone. But if there is, how do chains normally work? My wife and I are first time buyers, we offered on a house which accepted - great! But then the owner of that house (the vendor) didn't yet have anywhere to move to, so had to find that, which took them about two months (I was on the phone to the estate agent - realtor - twice a week but she kept emphasising how keen he was and everything so we didn't push too much then). He's finally found somewhere, but now that guy, the vendor's vendor, has to find somewhere (he did have somewhere lined up but lost it). And of course, once the vendor's vendor has found somewhere there's no guarantee that'll be the end of the chain. So three months after having our offer accepted we are no closer to actually buying the house, haven't even had surveys done since apparently that only happens when everything is lined up, no guarantee we'll even get this place as since contracts aren't exchanged there's no penalty if our vendor just walks away, and we're very aware that there's potentially lots of places been and gone which might have been great for us. Is this normal, or is there normally a timescale/deadline that you complete by and if the vendor doesn't have a place yet they'll have to arrange some stopgap? I have finally asked the estate agent if she can ask the vendor if he's willing to agree to a timescale*, and if he's not we'll ask to start looking elsewhere (but keeping our offer on this place) but i'm not sure if our vendor/real estate agent are being unreasonable or if we're just being naive - is three months (so far) a short or long time to hang around waiting? Technically we are a good catch - substantial deposit etc, but I'm not sure how we can leverage that. Also, my wife is very keen that I approach the vendor directly. I can't see what this could achieve but make me look weird and stalkery, but thoughts? *while we waited for the vendor to find a place we did ask the real estate agent to ask him if he was willing to rent etc if he couldn't find anywhere soon - we should have been more specific/ pushed this issue, as I've found out this week that the answer was no but the estate agent never passed that on. mediadave fucked around with this message at 12:53 on Jul 23, 2015 |
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Jul 23, 2015 12:50
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I have an offer accepted on a condo for 300k and now when getting the finalized quotes for the mortgage rate the lender I made an offer with is 1.25 points higher than a competitor. When I was preapproved 2 months ago and made another offer the rates were better with 0 points. If it was a little bit of money it wouldn't be worth the paperwork, and I have 27/30 days until closing so I feel like there is still time to change. It is the difference between $3400 in lender credit to go with the new company and paying $500-$750 to get the same rate with the lender I got pre-approved on and made the offer. Would you change lenders in contract to save ~$3500?
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Jul 23, 2015 19:08
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I would change to save $500. Ask the first one to match the second one.
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Jul 23, 2015 19:15
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Spermy Smurf posted:I would change to save $500. Ask the first one to match the second one. I have my answer then.
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Jul 23, 2015 19:35
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^^ With regards to chaining, just tell the guy to get a loving apartment until he gets a place or you're retracting your offer, otherwise there's no end. I know sometimes people make arrangements for the previous owners to live in the house for some time after the sale, but that is just a terrible idea in my book. Protip for people buying a new house, during the inspection, pull off the cover of several outlets and check the wiring behind it (after shutting off power from the breaker of course). I made a lovely discovery a few months back when I went to replace the kitchen outlets with GFCI receptacles, that wiring was a mishmash of melted, burned, 12G & 14G, and overexposed wires (which was causing the arching and very well could have burned down the house). But it tested fine when the inspector plugged the receptacle tester in!  That's only the tip of the pile, do never buy.
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Jul 23, 2015 21:27
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baquerd posted:What does one do with a crawl space except perhaps store a few things? I can see an argument for a slab or a basement, but a crawlspace seems pretty marginal, like a detached shed would. I've made easy plumbing repairs, easy ductwork repairs, wiring modifications, and ran both audio and network cable throughout my entire house because I have a crawlspace. Of course with wifi my network cables are now basically useless but still. I'd rather have a basement than a crawlspace but I'd rather have a crawlspace than a slab. And some crawlspaces are different than others, mine's a good 4-5 feet deep over most of it so I don't have to belly crawl or anything nasty like that.
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Jul 23, 2015 22:19
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We offered on a house that wound up needing a sewer line replacement that was going to cost $50k, so we walked away. It would have been way cheaper if the house had a crawlspace. However, crawlspaces can be a real nightmare of mildew and mold growth. Even if everything is installed correctly (lol) a good hvac system is still going to create condensation, and if you live in a wet climate then you're hosed unless you regularly inspect your crawlspace. Seems like too much work. You can do all of your duct repair and wiring additions through the attic, the crawlspace is really only useful for plumbing work QuarkJets fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Jul 23, 2015 |
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Jul 23, 2015 22:48
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Home security systems: worth it or not? My State Farm agent brought it up while quoting out a policy, I for some reason didn't think to ask what the discount is.
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Jul 24, 2015 00:57
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minivanmegafun posted:Home security systems: worth it or not? My State Farm agent brought it up while quoting out a policy, I for some reason didn't think to ask what the discount is. They won't stop or catch a criminal that broke in and set off the alarm but signs in the yard can discourage burglars. When we moved in I looked in to it and decided to just ask the in-laws to order us a couple of signs to stick in our yard. No break-ins so far. I installed them right next to this rock that keeps tigers away. If my homeowner's insurance gave me a reasonable discount, though, I would look in to installing a real system.
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Jul 24, 2015 01:03
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minivanmegafun posted:Home security systems: worth it or not? My State Farm agent brought it up while quoting out a policy, I for some reason didn't think to ask what the discount is.
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Jul 24, 2015 01:21
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Economic Sinkhole posted:They won't stop or catch a criminal that broke in and set off the alarm but signs in the yard can discourage burglars. When we moved in I looked in to it and decided to just ask the in-laws to order us a couple of signs to stick in our yard. No break-ins so far. I installed them right next to this rock that keeps tigers away. Having some cameras around can help, too. My parents had some stuff stolen out of their carport once, so they mounted a fake security camera with a battery-powered blinking red light out there. Whether or not it has actually worked is a mystery, but it's cheap and could convince someone to move on to an easier target
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Jul 24, 2015 04:30
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Monoprice even has them for like $5
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Jul 24, 2015 04:40
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For anyone that gets a motion detector, apologise in advance to the relatives you have on the contact list that will get phone calls at three in the morning when you are on vacation just because there is a mouse running through your garage. Or be prepared for them to just declare open season on all your belongings and disable the alarm because they are tired of having to inspect the zero burglars that show up every night.
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Jul 24, 2015 06:42
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Seller initially wanted to give us a credit for clearing out the roots in the sewer. Our plumber quoted us for $800 with hydro jet and included recam. Now the seller says the sewer should be snaked instead and that they will take care of it? I just want it done and I want proof.
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Jul 24, 2015 13:06
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minivanmegafun posted:Home security systems: worth it or not? My State Farm agent brought it up while quoting out a policy, I for some reason didn't think to ask what the discount is. We have State Farm. Our discount for having an alarm system was like 15-20% iirc.
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Jul 24, 2015 15:18
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Dazerbeams posted:Seller initially wanted to give us a credit for clearing out the roots in the sewer. Our plumber quoted us for $800 with hydro jet and included recam. Now the seller says the sewer should be snaked instead and that they will take care of it? I just want it done and I want proof.  Don't quibble over a few hundred bucks when you have a multi-$thousand issue on your hands?
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Jul 24, 2015 15:39
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I admit I didn't read through the whole thread (just the great OP and the last few pages), so I'm sorry if I'm asking an already answered question. What is the general consensus on Redfin? I didn't realize it was anything more than a listings site before I started my search. They seem to push the convenience factor and that their agents aren't on commission. Are they a better option than Remax/Weichert/{insert local realty chain here}?
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Jul 24, 2015 15:41
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Kakairo posted:What is the general consensus on Redfin? I didn't realize it was anything more than a listings site before I started my search. They seem to push the convenience factor and that their agents aren't on commission. Are they a better option than Remax/Weichert/{insert local realty chain here}? They're fine, but they won't hold your hand much unless you explicitly ask for it. The agents won't care as much if you buy or not. Having used them only once, my general impression is that you are going to get consistently decent quality from them at a discount, but you're unlikely to find rock star agents or dipshits.
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Jul 24, 2015 17:24
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I bought a house last August with an FHA loan. Part of the provision for buying the house was that the roof needed to be replaced. The inspector came out after the previous owner had the roof replaced and gave it a pass and so we were able to get insured and buy the house. Hooray. Fast-forward to now - the walls in the upper floor are starting to crumble and there's 2 old chimneys that are leaking hardcore because the previous owners just had a few parts of the roof (that you could see from the street) replaced. The rubbed roof is still well over 15 years old and according to the roofer we had up there today "coming up very easily just from me walking on it". The banker said that their appraiser gave it an "average" and so they proceeded with the sale. They are appearing to present the issue like it's completely our problem, when the wording of the paperwork we signed clearly states replacement of the roof as condition of buying, in addition to it needed to have at least 3-5 years of life left per FHA guidelines for us to get the loan. Clearly that's not what happened, but the bank is basically saying "gently caress you" and we don't know what recourse we have at this point. Should we involve lawyers, HUD, and if so, who do we sue? The previous owners, the bank? I am getting the feeling that we were taken along for a bullshit ride by a handful of groups that simply wanted to make a sale. Any advice is appreciated.
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Jul 24, 2015 18:09
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(1) Take pics and document the whole thing (2) Fix the roof properly (3) If the previous owners actually did have a contract with you to replace the whole roof, you can sue them, if you want to.Monechetti posted:taken along for a bullshit ride by a handful of groups that simply wanted to make a sale.
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Jul 24, 2015 18:32
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Anyone familiar with real estate law? Our owners title insurance was charged on HUD, but the lawyer neglected to actually purchase it. This is for a condo in NJ, closed in 2014. Now the lawyer says it will take a month to get the owner title insurance. Is there any cause for concern?
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Jul 24, 2015 18:45
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Unfortunately I don't have any advice. However (and this isn't meant to just rub salt), for anyone else reading that is dealing with inspection findings, this is one of the reasons the buyer should try to get money from the seller to fix issues rather than having the seller hire contractors to address findings. Sometimes it's not possible or that kills a deal, but your opponent is going to do the shittiest possible passing job to get their house sold. Sorry you're having to go through this, I hope you can get some satisfaction from whoever you take to court.
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Jul 24, 2015 18:51
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Monechetti posted:I bought a house last August with an FHA loan. Part of the provision for buying the house was that the roof needed to be replaced. The inspector came out after the previous owner had the roof replaced and gave it a pass and so we were able to get insured and buy the house. Hooray. Could you somehow not tell whether or not the roof had been replaced when you did the final walk through? I can't imagine anyone being responsible for this other than you.
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Jul 24, 2015 19:05
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baquerd posted:They're fine, but they won't hold your hand much unless you explicitly ask for it. The agents won't care as much if you buy or not. Having used them only once, my general impression is that you are going to get consistently decent quality from them at a discount, but you're unlikely to find rock star agents or dipshits. This was exactly our experience with Redfin. We had a competent guy but there was relatively little guidance especially with negotiation tactics. I was ok with this and would use them again. I appreciated their high reliance on their app and communicating via email.
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Jul 24, 2015 19:30
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Andy Dufresne posted:Could you somehow not tell whether or not the roof had been replaced when you did the final walk through? I can't imagine anyone being responsible for this other than you. The house is two stories, with about four different roof faces, and you can't see the place where the damage is from the street at all. We were told the roof needed to have 3-5 years of life left in order for the house to be salable (or maybe more correctly, for us to get the loan) and so they hired contractors to get it to that point, which it obviously wasn't. The appraiser came back and said it was "satisfactory" but it's pretty obvious that it wasn't. I'm not a licensed contractor or an expert in roofs, so even if I'd climbed up there, I don't know what I'd be looking for. I feel pretty strongly that the bank and appraiser should have been the ones to figure out if it was safe or not. In fact, the first appraiser said the roof needed to be "greatly repaired/replaced and inspected by a licensed roofer" and neither were done.
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Jul 24, 2015 19:35
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Monechetti posted:The house is two stories, with about four different roof faces, and you can't see the place where the damage is from the street at all. We were told the roof needed to have 3-5 years of life left in order for the house to be salable (or maybe more correctly, for us to get the loan) and so they hired contractors to get it to that point, which it obviously wasn't. The appraiser came back and said it was "satisfactory" but it's pretty obvious that it wasn't. I'm not a licensed contractor or an expert in roofs, so even if I'd climbed up there, I don't know what I'd be looking for. I feel pretty strongly that the bank and appraiser should have been the ones to figure out if it was safe or not. In fact, the first appraiser said the roof needed to be "greatly repaired/replaced and inspected by a licensed roofer" and neither were done.
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Jul 24, 2015 19:54
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The inspection company we went with charges $150 for a follow-up visit. If I was going to give the seller the option to fix stuff (I'm not going to, they can give us a credit or pound sand), I'd absolutely throw another $150 to have them walk through again and make sure that they did it right.
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Jul 24, 2015 20:15
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We had our inspection today. Needs over 50% of the roof replaced, new furnace and AC, new electrical box because the current one is overloaded, basement leaks worse than we anticipated, and the sellers aren't willing to go down on the price at all (they actually want to get rid of our $3,000 closing credit and keep the price of the house the same). Out $500 but better than buying a piece of poo poo that wasn't well maintained.
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Jul 24, 2015 20:29
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Monechetti posted:I feel pretty strongly that the bank and appraiser should have been the ones to figure out if it was safe or not. In fact, the first appraiser said the roof needed to be "greatly repaired/replaced and inspected by a licensed roofer" and neither were done. I guarantee you that the bank and appraiser didn't give you any warranty about the condition of the property. In fact I guarantee that you explicitly signed a piece of paper saying so. Maybe you can get your fee back from the appraiser if you raise enough stink with them - what's that, $300? If the seller made a written commitment to you to replace the whole roof and didn't do it, you probably have legal recourse there. On the other hand if your contract with the seller says something vague like "3-5 years of life remaining" or "essential repairs" . . . Do never buy!
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Jul 24, 2015 20:30
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Monechetti posted:The house is two stories, with about four different roof faces, and you can't see the place where the damage is from the street at all. We were told the roof needed to have 3-5 years of life left in order for the house to be salable (or maybe more correctly, for us to get the loan) and so they hired contractors to get it to that point, which it obviously wasn't. The appraiser came back and said it was "satisfactory" but it's pretty obvious that it wasn't. I'm not a licensed contractor or an expert in roofs, so even if I'd climbed up there, I don't know what I'd be looking for. I feel pretty strongly that the bank and appraiser should have been the ones to figure out if it was safe or not. In fact, the first appraiser said the roof needed to be "greatly repaired/replaced and inspected by a licensed roofer" and neither were done. How much does it cost to repair/replace the roof now?
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Jul 24, 2015 20:40
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SiGmA_X posted:Run ducts This one in particular can be fairly important. Slab on grade homes usually get their HVAC equipment in the attic, which is an awful place (particularly in hot areas), and increases heating and cooling costs by about 25% on average. You still get fairly substantial losses in a vented crawl space, but encapsulating a crawl space is a lot easier & cheaper than an attic. QuarkJets posted:However, crawlspaces can be a real nightmare of mildew and mold growth. Even if everything is installed correctly (lol) a good hvac system is still going to create condensation, and if you live in a wet climate then you're hosed unless you regularly inspect your crawlspace. Seems like too much work. You can do all of your duct repair and wiring additions through the attic, the crawlspace is really only useful for plumbing work It's only really an issue in moist climates. A good crawlspace should really be built like a basement, which avoids most moisture risks.
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Jul 24, 2015 22:24
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A guy on Reddit just found $300,000 in cash in the walls of his new house: http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3ed4ay/ma_purchased_a_home_9_months_ago_found_a_large/quote:I purchased a home about 9 months ago that was built in the 1920’s. This home has been in the same family since it was built. I think I'm going to kick holes in all the walls of my house now.
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Jul 24, 2015 22:37
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Rated PG-34 posted:Anyone familiar with real estate law? Our owners title insurance was charged on HUD, but the lawyer neglected to actually purchase it. This is for a condo in NJ, closed in 2014. Now the lawyer says it will take a month to get the owner title insurance. Is there any cause for concern?
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Jul 24, 2015 23:03
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Dik Hz posted:That's a pretty serious ethical violation and reportable to the state bar. It's highly unlikely that you'll have any use for owner's title insurance, though. I assume you're trying to refi and need it for that? The concern is that if we try to resell, we may run into trouble: potential buyer may refuse purchase, since the title isn't clean for instance.
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Jul 25, 2015 00:05
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Rated PG-34 posted:The concern is that if we try to resell, we may run into trouble: potential buyer may refuse purchase, since the title isn't clean for instance. Title insurance doesn't make title clean or not clean.
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Jul 25, 2015 00:48
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Rated PG-34 posted:The concern is that if we try to resell, we may run into trouble: potential buyer may refuse purchase, since the title isn't clean for instance. Title reports don't include whether or not previous owners had title insurance, if title is clear and remains clear through a sale then not having title insurance is fine
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Jul 25, 2015 03:05
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Economic Sinkhole posted:A guy on Reddit just found $300,000 in cash in the walls of his new house: http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3ed4ay/ma_purchased_a_home_9_months_ago_found_a_large/ I keep hoping I will come across a large quantity of cash, or maybe jewels, or at least a sizeable quantity of zinc, but no such luck for me. As for that guy, that cash is his.
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Jul 25, 2015 17:16
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Okay, I don't think there's any cause for concern regarding the title insurance. Turns out there was just some holdup due to a paperwork misfiling.
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Jul 25, 2015 18:17
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Economic Sinkhole posted:A guy on Reddit just found $300,000 in cash in the walls of his new house: http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3ed4ay/ma_purchased_a_home_9_months_ago_found_a_large/ I gut and renovated my pre-1880's house and all I found was a pretty well-preserved calendar from the 1920's stapled to the inside of a wall. I gave it to the village's historical society. 
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Jul 26, 2015 00:25
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baquerd posted:They're fine, but they won't hold your hand much unless you explicitly ask for it. The agents won't care as much if you buy or not. Having used them only once, my general impression is that you are going to get consistently decent quality from them at a discount, but you're unlikely to find rock star agents or dipshits. Thanks for this. I'm a first time homebuyer, so it sounds like I may want to go for a more traditional agent.
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Jul 26, 2015 01:16
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