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I'm about to put an offer on a 4k sqft 100 year old Tuscan style mansion with a moldy basement on one of the largest parcels in the city it's in without a contingency that I sell my current residence first. Also the annual property taxes are over $13,000. Forget Do Never Buy. 
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Aug 25, 2015 20:37
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And here I was concerned about the $320k place I was looking at with $1,950/yr property tax.
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Aug 25, 2015 20:47
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Yeah, 13k in taxes implies it's a very expensive house right? market value is around 360k
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Aug 25, 2015 20:56
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There's like four property tax increases on the ballot every two years where I live and they ALWAYS ALL PASS NO MATTER WHAT. Even for the transportation projects a hundred miles away that will never benefit anyone in this county voting for them. After a few decades of this it gets tiresome.
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Aug 25, 2015 22:05
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Hashtag Banterzone posted:It's 10% of appraisal down and then 30 days to pay in full. Opening bid is $180k. I doubt I will call the law firm thats representing the mortgage company, I can't imagine he would give me any info. So no contingencies and as-is, regardless. Those are some pretty huge risks unless you're the kind of rich where losing $200k in a single hand of poker doesn't phase you.
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Aug 25, 2015 23:02
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SiGmA_X posted:Power and water were removed from the house? You better get a big discount. Main line and power company drop and new wiring can be spends. He probably meant that they were turned off, not removed. It would be extremely unusual if power and water were removed
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Aug 25, 2015 23:05
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Elephanthead posted:So has anyone shopped for title insurance? The title company usually just picks whomever gives them the most kickback but how do I shop for my own coverage? The buyer gets to decide what company to use. Thanks Obama.
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Aug 25, 2015 23:16
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OSU_Matthew posted:Just outta curiosity, what was the modification? Regardless, that guy is an idiot, unless you set aside some of the seller's money in escrow specifically for that kind of contingency, there's nothing he can do once the check is cut and closing papers signed. My ex wife didn't like closet doors, so we took them off when we moved in, they got water damaged in the garage so I threw them out. He asked us to put doors on early in the process and we refused because we were carrying $10k worth of remodeling on a credit card at the time and were just trying to get out. So after closing when he saw there were no closet doors he flipped his poo poo and then tried to accuse me of not fixing a leak in the bathroom sink just because a bucket was under it, and one or two other petty technicalities that I can't remember. This was after basically a full remodel including a new roof. I learned my lesson too. Never remodel just to move out. Do it when you move in and enjoy that poo poo.
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Aug 26, 2015 00:22
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QuarkJets posted:He probably meant that they were turned off, not removed. It would be extremely unusual if power and water were removed Pryor on Fire posted:There's like four property tax increases on the ballot every two years where I live and they ALWAYS ALL PASS NO MATTER WHAT. Even for the transportation projects a hundred miles away that will never benefit anyone in this county voting for them. After a few decades of this it gets tiresome.
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Aug 26, 2015 01:26
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Pryor on Fire posted:There's like four property tax increases on the ballot every two years where I live and they ALWAYS ALL PASS NO MATTER WHAT. Even for the transportation projects a hundred miles away that will never benefit anyone in this county voting for them. After a few decades of this it gets tiresome. That was a big motivator in my decision to move out to a rural podunk suburb. Sure, my neighbor has a 40 ft mural on his barn of a crying bald eagle superimposed over the twin towers/American flag. Sure, the village fires up the tornado sirens every night to signal curfew. Sure, there's 8 pizza places in town and absolutely nothing else to eat because the Chinese place was too ethnic and went under. Sure the former mayor got booted for running a good old boys club. But I'll be damned if my property tax ever goes up past 1.5% because every school levy ever gets voted down. Dear god I hope I don't raise my kids here 
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Aug 26, 2015 03:17
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OSU_Matthew posted:
The schools that serve that house I mentioned earlier with the 5+% tax rate are rated 2-3 out of 10.
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Aug 26, 2015 03:22
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Here's a good Do Never Buy story. I currently rent a condo from another man. I am his first tenant since purchasing this condo last year. Some back story: When I originally was looking to rent this place, I called and checked with the various cable companies and ATT, Charter, and TWC all said they served this address. On top of that, it's within a city which is known for having FIOS. So I called up TWC and had them transfer my service, setup an installation date and everything. Well a week after signing the lease they came back and said that lol no we don't actually service that address, try X provider. I called every cable provider in town and not a single one provides anything beyond basic cable to this entire condo complex. Verizon only offered 1.5Mbps DSL. That or Dial Up were my only land line options so I went with the DSL instead of cancelling my lease and losing a lot of money. Fast forward through a year of suffering and I'm set to move out at the end of this month. I gave my notice to my landlord months ago telling him very explicitly that the internet is garbage and that's why i'm moving. My landlord decides he is going to move into this place and rent out the house he's staying in now. So he starts shopping around for internet, and is finding exactly what I told him to be true, nobody offers anything here except Verizon. Except its even worse now. Verizon is apparently shutting down their DSL service as people cancel. So after I cancel my contract, he won't be able to get ANY land line "high speed" internet here. He wants me to do a transfer of ownership thing with my existing Verizon DSL account, but if I do that then I have to cancel my FIOS installation at my new place, and setup another one. I'll lose my installation window, and because the installation workers were on strike until very recently, it could take me weeks to get another installation scheduled. Needless to say, gently caress that. So now my landlord has realized he is stuck with a condo he bought a year ago as an investment and it only has dial up, satellite, or 4G as internet options. He owns one of 96 condos in the entire city that doesn't have FIOS or cable internet. Good luck renting or selling that to someone without flat out lying to them. Do Never Buy
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Aug 26, 2015 03:52
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Just finished a home inspection. In short, the place needs $10k worth of work pretty much up front, probably a good $30-40k over the next five years, but is currently $70k under market value, and it's in a good but undernoticed neighborhood four miles outside of downtown Chicago that could possibly catch the attention of realtors in a few years. We're not buying it as an investment but that's always attractive. This is definitely tempting....
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Aug 26, 2015 04:22
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minivanmegafun posted:Just finished a home inspection. In short, the place needs $10k worth of work pretty much up front, probably a good $30-40k over the next five years, but is currently $70k under market value, and it's in a good but undernoticed neighborhood four miles outside of downtown Chicago that could possibly catch the attention of realtors in a few years. We're not buying it as an investment but that's always attractive. West Garfield park?
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Aug 26, 2015 04:25
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Jealous Cow posted:The schools that serve that house I mentioned earlier with the 5+% tax rate are rated 2-3 out of 10. Move to California. Property tax capped at 1% and is never reassessed unless you do major structural changes! Then they just sell a bunch of 30 year school bonds and tax on special assessments to double your yearly taxes anyways because that poo poo is not sustainable.
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Aug 26, 2015 07:19
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mastershakeman posted:West Garfield park? I too want to know about this "undernoticed" neighborhood. If it's anywhere near transit and without terrible schools that is.
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Aug 26, 2015 08:47
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FCKGW posted:Move to California. Property tax capped at 1% and is never reassessed unless you do major structural changes! If you move to Maui the first $200k of property value is tax-free if you live there for most of the year, and you pay 0.275% on the rest.
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Aug 26, 2015 09:10
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FCKGW posted:Move to California. Property tax capped at 1% and is never reassessed unless you do major structural changes! I'm actually in San Francisco every few weeks for work and have considered moving, but gently caress this housing market up its bleached rear end in a top hat.
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Aug 26, 2015 13:14
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mastershakeman posted:West Garfield park? Bridgeport. The schools are still terrible but it does have transit. And baseball!
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Aug 26, 2015 13:23
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I just sent a wire transfer for closing costs. 4 years of saving  in an instant.
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Aug 26, 2015 16:12
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What should you do when you're confronted with a home that may have some expensive issues that will influence how you offer? My wife and I just saw an amazing house yesterday right outside of Morrison, CO, in the mountains, right behind Red Rocks. Most of the homes in that area are $3MM+ McMansions with a view, but there are a few old towns nestled along the road with older homes at better prices. We found one, listed for $260k and on the market for 67 days, that has quite possibly some of the best canyon views I've seen at any home, let alone for this price. Literal 360 degree panoramic canyon views of about five different foothills peaks, visible from the deck. The property even backs up directly to Red Rocks Park, so it's protected from further development. Of course, there's a downside to beautiful property that's easily commutable into one of the hottest cities in the US. The home is a "raised ranch" from 1947 and, while the main part looks reasonable (if dated), the bedrooms had some hack job poo poo done to them. One set of windows in two bedrooms look like someone just cut out the wall and dropped in 18"x18" sheets of non-architectural glass in, and then put some putty along the seams. This will need to go nearly immediately, but I'm hoping we could score something reasonable at our local Re:Store. The other part is the deck. Half of the house is surrounded by a *massive* old wooden deck. It's pretty much the best part of the house, but then again, it's old and there are certain parts that look a little janky. The only thing that doesn't have me running in terror is the fact that the house receives a lot of southern sun exposure and we're in a very arid climate, so rot isn't quite as prevalent here as it is other places. Lastly, the seller has disclosed that an entirely new septic system will need to be installed, and they have provided an estimate of $16k for the work. This seems a bit high (I was thinking $12-14k), but the geography is probably harder to deal with up there. My wife is in abject love with the place - she doesn't care about modern amenities and granite countertops, she just wants to live in the canyon. I do too, but I don't want to buy a pig in a poke. I'm very tempted to make some lowball like $220k to leave us plenty of cash to deal with the septic and windows, but I also don't want to find out that the deck is about to fall off a literal cliff after I've made an offer that assumes it won't. Am I being an idiot about this? Assuming yes, what would you lovely goons do?
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Aug 26, 2015 16:27
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Radbot posted:Am I being an idiot about this? Assuming yes, what would you lovely goons do? Anything is possible. Have a contractor do a walkthrough with you and write up an estimate. The deck might need to be looked at by a structural engineer. I feel strongly that people willing to look past the surface of things and put in some work themselves get a much better deal on houses. So many buyers don't even want to paint before moving in. Is 67 days on the market long for that area? The main thing is not to get emotionally attached to the house. You are more likely to make some bad decisions if you do.
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Aug 26, 2015 17:06
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Inspection contingencies are there for a reason.
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Aug 26, 2015 18:06
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I don't want to make an offer on a house at all, writing earnest checks and all that, if it's not structurally sound. No one else ever encountered that situation?
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Aug 26, 2015 18:40
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Radbot posted:I don't want to make an offer on a house at all, writing earnest checks and all that, if it's not structurally sound. No one else ever encountered that situation? Why not? You get the money back if it fails your inspection.
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Aug 26, 2015 18:43
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Get a contractor to walk through with you when you go view it again. My friend, a licensed contractor, does this frequently. Before making an offer, inspection, etc. A lot of people want a rough estimate of remodel costs before they put a penny down or get too attached.
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Aug 26, 2015 18:44
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Radbot posted:I don't want to make an offer on a house at all, writing earnest checks and all that, if it's not structurally sound. No one else ever encountered that situation? That's what the inspection contingency is for. Put down the earnest money, get your inspector in, if it's a wreck back out and get your money back. You'll be out the cash temporarily, but if the inspection comes back acceptable you don't have to worry about another bid coming in as well. If the seller's really desperate you might be able to get your inspector out *before* putting a bid in, but that would be really unusual.
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Aug 26, 2015 18:44
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SiGmA_X posted:Get a contractor to walk through with you when you go view it again. My friend, a licensed contractor, does this frequently. Before making an offer, inspection, etc. A lot of people want a rough estimate of remodel costs before they put a penny down or get too attached. Any idea on how I could find someone like that? Maybe just call up a good home inspector and tell him the deal?
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Aug 26, 2015 18:51
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Radbot posted:Any idea on how I could find someone like that? Maybe just call up a good home inspector and tell him the deal? Do you know anyone who had a good remodel done? I know a few contractors through my folks, their friends, one of my friends, his dad, and their friends.. I'd say look on AngiesList or Yelp, or ask your friends and coworkers. Someone has had to have a good remodel done!
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Aug 26, 2015 18:56
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QuarkJets posted:The whole thing is way shittier to go through, and you're basically rolling the dice hoping to get a good deal and not a money pit (joke's on you though, all houses are money pits) My money pit comment was turned into the thread title 
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Aug 26, 2015 19:03
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Radbot posted:Does anyone here have experience buying in the Colorado foothills (Evergreen, Conifer, Indian Hills, etc.)? My parents bought a house fairly recently in Conifer. Why?
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Aug 26, 2015 19:13
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Conifer/Evergreen are fine as long as you are white and heterosexual, if not you'll have a pretty rough time up there.
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Aug 26, 2015 19:18
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Radbot posted:
That being said, windows aren't too hard to replace yourself. I just did a bunch of mine, and sounds like you can just get away with carefully removing the old pane plus trim, and after caulking/flashing, shim and tack a new construction window right in the opening. Add some trim, and you're done, easy as can be. Depending on the window size, I'd budget maybe 250$ a window for a decent vinyl double hung, plus adhesive backed flashing, galvanized nails, vinyl exterior trim, etc. Minus the septic, sounds like you could probably tackle a lot of the dated stuff yourself if you feel handy and motivated. I'd try to get a rough of idea of what needs done, then offer a price you think fair minus the work, and see if they accept or counter. An inspection might find some extra stuff, which would allow an opening to renegotiate if it's anything big. Or an inspection could miss the termites, lovely electrical problems, and roof issues and you're stuck when you slowly realize the extent of the problems several months later. Catatron Prime fucked around with this message at 19:45 on Aug 26, 2015 |
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Aug 26, 2015 19:43
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Pryor on Fire posted:Conifer/Evergreen are fine as long as you are white and heterosexual, if not you'll have a pretty rough time up there. Yeah, that goes for pretty much any mountain community in Colorado that isn't a big ski resort town (now that I think about it, the white thing still goes for those towns, too). OSU_Matthew posted:If the window wasn't flashed correctly, make sure you poke out underneath the sill and around the trim as much as possible, because it could be a whole lot worse than it looks if there's water damage/rotting wood. I went to replace some trim on one of mine, and found termites underneath the putty the PO covered them with, which the inspector missed. Thanks for the great advice. I just wonder how low ball I should go - $240k? $220k? (minus work needed of course)
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Aug 26, 2015 21:22
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How bad is a huge plate glass window? Should I be thinking of replacing it immediately?
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Aug 27, 2015 00:20
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Radbot posted:Yeah, that goes for pretty much any mountain community in Colorado that isn't a big ski resort town (now that I think about it, the white thing still goes for those towns, too). Do you have a link to the place on Zillow? Because I love the Red Rock park and I wanna see if it's as awesome in my head as you make it sound. As for what you should offer, that all depends on how much you want it. If you have a good realtor, I'd ask them, they'd have a better feel for the area. Lots of realtors are the scum of the earth, but some are good people and will do what they're supposed to do. Look at comparable home price sales in the area, minus what you think should be covered for stuff being fixed, factor in how long it's been on the market, how much stress you're going to feel if the seller turns down your offer/accepts someone else's... Home buying is really stressful nomatter how you cut it, and there's no right and wrong answer. Sounds like it's a fantastic location, and that's one of the most important parts of buying a home. Good news for you though, is the fed was originally planning on hiking interest rates next month, but with the recent China turmoil seeping into stock markets around the world, it looks like they'll probably be doing it in December. So, even if this one falls through, you've still got a few months with incredibly low mortgage interest rates available. Catatron Prime fucked around with this message at 02:07 on Aug 27, 2015 |
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Aug 27, 2015 02:04
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Radbot posted:Yeah, that goes for pretty much any mountain community in Colorado that isn't a big ski resort town (now that I think about it, the white thing still goes for those towns, too). If it's been on the market for 67 days and It Needs Work including an expensive invisible septic tank repair there's a very good chance people (probably including cash flippers) have already attempted your clever plan of lowballing. It's really impossible to know what to offer without any information on the house itself and the comps, but I'd take everything it's going to cost you to do the repairs plus a healthy premium that reflects your time, hassle, and the cost of owning an unlivable property for some weeks or months. It might work, and it might not, so just offer what you're willing to pay and don't get emotionally involved with it if the sellers aren't willing to make it worth your while.
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Aug 27, 2015 02:10
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OSU_Matthew posted:Good news for you though, is the fed was originally planning on hiking interest rates next month, but with the recent China turmoil seeping into stock markets around the world, it looks like they'll probably be doing it in December. So, even if this one falls through, you've still got a few months with incredibly low mortgage interest rates available. The better news is that nobody has any clue what the fed is going to do and when they're going to do it (they've been "about to raise interest rates" for like....2 years now?) and tiny increases in the FFR will probably result in correspondingly small increases in mortgage rates. So even if you wait around for the perfect house that makes sense for you you're likely to pay at worst a little bit more than all-time-low mortgage rates. A hasty purchase at a good interest rate is much worse than a great purchase at a theoretically slightly higher interest rate.
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Aug 27, 2015 02:18
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The HOA says that payment is due on the 1st of the month, but if you try to setup autopay through their website then it says that payment will be posted on the 5th of the month. So by signing up for autopay am I automatically setting myself up to be paying my HOA 5 days late every month? 
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Aug 27, 2015 05:53
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moana posted:How bad is a huge plate glass window? Should I be thinking of replacing it immediately? You're in NorCal, right? If it's not leaking it's not likely to be worth replacing just for efficiency. Maybe an IR/UV coating if it lets too much sunlight in. Be very wary if there's an irascible little kid running around with his own theme music, though. Guaranteed he'll hit a baseball through it by season two.
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Aug 27, 2015 08:15
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