|
LogisticEarth posted:It's stuck down under Creative Convention: Thanks!
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2016 23:21
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 29, 2024 15:21 |
|
|
I'm hoping someone here can provide a little advice and/or perspective. My wife and I just recently decided to start looking for a house. I went today looking at open houses while my wife was at work. One of the houses I saw was pretty much perfect. The realtor showing the house was helpful. She was not the seller's agent, but she worked for the same real estate agency. So my question/concern is that if my wife and I really want the house, should we contract with the realtor showing the house as a buyer's agent? Would that give us a leg up on getting the house, negotiations, etc. at all? Admittedly, we have been communicating with another realtor for a week, but we don't have a contract together. My lingering concern is that she introduced us to her mortgage lender who we are also kind of communicating with. Again, we have nothing solid with anyone, and business is business. I'm just thinking it could be kinda weird if we use one realtor's lender, but go with a different buying agent. We have a pre-approval already through out personal bank, but our experience with the loan officer there wasn't the greatest. In regards to our pre- approval, it's for a thirty-year fixed. The pre-approved amount is a bit lower than what they were looking for for the house I saw today. Also, we would prefer a mortgage that would take advantage of any federal or state programs we could qualify for. Is the pre-approval pretty flexible when it comes to changing loan amounts, or lending programs? Or should we just try another lender altogether?
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2016 22:13
|
|
|
crack mayor posted:I'm hoping someone here can provide a little advice and/or perspective. My wife and I just recently decided to start looking for a house. I went today looking at open houses while my wife was at work. One of the houses I saw was pretty much perfect. The realtor showing the house was helpful. She was not the seller's agent, but she worked for the same real estate agency. So my question/concern is that if my wife and I really want the house, should we contract with the realtor showing the house as a buyer's agent? Would that give us a leg up on getting the house, negotiations, etc. at all? It wouldn't really give you a leg up, but it would create a conflict of interest. Don't use a buying agent who's part of the same agency as the selling agent, there's nothing advantageous in doing this and it's potentially disadvantageous. It would probably work out fine but it's a pointless risk. quote:Admittedly, we have been communicating with another realtor for a week, but we don't have a contract together. My lingering concern is that she introduced us to her mortgage lender who we are also kind of communicating with. Again, we have nothing solid with anyone, and business is business. I'm just thinking it could be kinda weird if we use one realtor's lender, but go with a different buying agent. We have a pre-approval already through out personal bank, but our experience with the loan officer there wasn't the greatest. The pre-approved amount is for your loan (unless your pre-approval letter says otherwise), but probably you're putting 10-20% down. If that's still not enough, then the house is outside of your price range, full stop. Usually the pre-approval is a bit more than what you can realistically afford, unless you've got some other large source of income that you didn't mention to the bank. What kind of federal or state programs are you looking at? The pre-approval that you got is probably for a conventional loan, if you're doing an FHA or something then you need to talk to your lender about it. You're not obligated to use your realtor's lender, and you should shop around anyway once you're actually trying to secure financing. Go with whoever gives you the best rate, definitely do not feel obligated to use the lender that your realtor recommended even if they're giving you pre-approval letters. Having a lender on hand who can provide pre-approval letters is useful when you're making an offer, and this pre-approval amount should match whatever your offer states; if your offer says that you need to borrow $80k on a $100k offer, then the pre-approval letter that you send to the seller should be for this amount rather than whatever your maximum is (the pre-approval that your lender has given you is your maximum). You should not use a buying agent who has some stake in the home that you're offering on. That includes just being in the same agency. If you're not under a contract with this agent, then find another agent to make the offer.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2016 23:09
|
|
|
Thanks for the quick response. I hadn't even considered the conflict of interest aspect. That kinda settles it for me, even though, like you're saying, it probably wouldn't be a problem.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2016 23:31
|
|
|
You could discuss using them as an agent on that one property if they agree to a reduced buyer's agent fee of like 0.5%-1% instead of 2.5-3% standard. They get an extra 0.5% overall and the seller sees your offer as 2% more valuable than it actually is. That would be the upside, but the downsides are the possible conflict of interest. Whether it's a good idea in my opinion depends on how assertive and knowledgeable you are about the buying process - if this is your first home it might not be a good idea.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2016 01:20
|
|
|
Put in an offer on a home today, but the listing agent called my loan officer and harrassing the LO about how much we qualify for, why aren't we asking for seller's concessions, why is there only one person on the offer, raising hell about deadlines, etc. It's a great home, but it really sours me to the whole deal. Oh and the listing agent will end up being our neighbor if we go ahead. How common is it for the listing agent to call up lenders and harass them about all of this stuff. Sperg Victorious fucked around with this message at 01:35 on Jun 27, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2016 01:32
|
|
|
Sperg Victorious posted:Put in an offer on a home today, but the listing agent called my loan officer and harrassing the LO about how much we qualify for, why aren't we asking for seller's concessions, why is there only one person on the offer, raising hell about deadlines, etc. It's a great home, but it really sours me to the whole deal. Oh and the listing agent will end up being our neighbor if we go ahead. Uh, I had to sign a paper just for my lender to share information with my own agent. That sounds extremely shady and possibly illegal??
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2016 01:47
|
|
|
GameCube posted:Uh, I had to sign a paper just for my lender to share information with my own agent. That sounds extremely shady and possibly illegal?? Probably is. Thankfully my lender has been around a while and didn't tell her anything other than its not her business. But it sounds like things got a little heated.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2016 02:12
|
|
|
QuarkJets posted:It wouldn't really give you a leg up, but it would create a conflict of interest. Don't use a buying agent who's part of the same agency as the selling agent, there's nothing advantageous in doing this and it's potentially disadvantageous. It would probably work out fine but it's a pointless risk. The agent gets a much larger commision and will potentially give preference to your offer over other offers without the dual agent commission. The agent really works for the seller to get them the best price and close as quickly as possible. Sperg Victorious posted:How common is it for the listing agent to call up lenders and harass them about all of this stuff. My lender called up the listing agent after making and offer and reassured then that they could close in 25 days with a VA loan.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2016 02:45
|
|
|
Sperg Victorious posted:How common is it for the listing agent to call up lenders and harass them about all of this stuff. I'd run, that listing agent is going to be a headache. If not during the real estate transaction, then later as a neighbor.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2016 15:23
|
|
|
lampey posted:My lender called up the listing agent after making and offer and reassured then that they could close in 25 days with a VA loan. At least that seems reasonable. The closing date wasn't even a big concern for her. In fact the agent wanted the closing date pushed back. Dwight Eisenhower posted:I'd run, that listing agent is going to be a headache. If not during the real estate transaction, then later as a neighbor. It's already turning into a headache. My agent is irritated, the lender is irritated. The listing agent wanted all contingencies really short and the closing date pushed back. I didn't care about the closing date, but making the contingencies short is just going to make the whole thing stressful.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2016 17:35
|
|
|
Don't agree to any of that poo poo, especially at this time of year when inspectors are all booked up.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2016 18:00
|
|
|
GameCube posted:Don't agree to any of that poo poo, especially at this time of year when inspectors are all booked up. Only agreed to the inspection part. They just accepted our offer, but already have an inspector who can do it. So yeah, under contract, wooo. Ugh.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2016 18:18
|
|
|
I feel bad for the seller, I'd be tempted to send them a letter.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2016 18:41
|
|
|
Jesus Christ what have I done. Our offer was accepted and we're moving forward with inspections and final loan application. I looked up a few inspectors and chose the one dude with a crap load of good ratings and competitive pricing. In fact, the only low ratings I was reading were from sellers/selling agents complaining that he was too thorough and torpedoed their sales. I'm thinking this is a good thing. I want a thorough, worst case scenario read of the house. If problems turn up, then I can at least make an educated decision as to what is feasible to fix and what is feasible negotiate now. LogisticEarth fucked around with this message at 02:24 on Jun 29, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2016 01:07
|
|
|
Andy Dufresne posted:I feel bad for the seller, I'd be tempted to send them a letter. Yeah I'd be sending a certified letter directly to the sellers, listing the extremely unprofessional behavior by their agent as the specific reason why I'm rescinding my offer and backing out. Nobody should have to put up with that crap and it's likely they don't even know their agent's behavior is putting their sale at risk. LogisticEarth posted:Jesus Christ what have I done. Our offer was accepted and we're moving forward with inspections and final loan application. Hahaha I love the idea of a seller rating the buyer's inspector badly for finding too much poo poo wrong with their house, that's amazing.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2016 02:04
|
|
|
Leperflesh posted:Yeah I'd be sending a certified letter directly to the sellers, listing the extremely unprofessional behavior by their agent as the specific reason why I'm rescinding my offer and backing out. Nobody should have to put up with that crap and it's likely they don't even know their agent's behavior is putting their sale at risk. It's tempting, but we want the house... so have to put up with the behavior. Honestly having the listing agent as a neighbor is more annoying. We're doing the inspection tomorrow. Hopefully things go smoothly. Although part of me really wants something to hold their feet to the fire. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2016 02:20
|
|
|
Leperflesh posted:
Yep, our inspector's rating was dinged for the exact same thing. Definitely picked a good one.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2016 02:57
|
|
|
I love to see the look on a lovely realtor's face when you say the words "Actually, I already have an inspector."
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2016 03:43
|
|
|
Just dropping in with an anti-recommendation for getting a mortgage with Chase. They had the best rates, but now we were supposed to close on Tuesday, told us we'd close early, then say loljk, delayed the close till Friday, sent out our Closing Disclosure, and then said loljk and are now giving us "50/50 odds" that we'll close Friday. Our seller has told us that he will decline a second closing extension, meaning we are at risk of losing the house. Throughout the hell that has been the past four weeks, Chase has also managed to lie to use about mailing documents to us, forget about both our earnest money and one of our bank accounts, leading to them telling us a week before close that they thought we were actually too poor to get this mortgage they'd said we were "easily" approved for, suggest we do something illegal twice, lose paperwork we sent them (digitally), misinterpret the law around the waiting periods on disclosures, spring on us a week before we close that they think we should wire $20k extra over the cost of the down payment "just in case"... Do never buy.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2016 22:04
|
|
|
legendof posted:Just dropping in with an anti-recommendation for getting a mortgage with Chase. They had the best rates, but now we were supposed to close on Tuesday, told us we'd close early, then say loljk, delayed the close till Friday, sent out our Closing Disclosure, and then said loljk and are now giving us "50/50 odds" that we'll close Friday. Our seller has told us that he will decline a second closing extension, meaning we are at risk of losing the house. I also had a bad experience with Chase, but the lending agent was bad enough that it didn't go any further than that even though they also gave me the best overall bid when I was looking. I went to a mortgage broker type person who has 5 people on staff that I could go sit down with. No documentation issues, everything went super smooth and as advertised, and they even dropped off a six pack at the house afterwards. I only paid a couple hundred more for them over the cheapest option which for me seems well worth it in retrospect.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2016 01:05
|
|
|
You mean chase the bank with one of the lowest customer service ratings gives bad customer service?
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2016 02:49
|
|
|
Still set to close on July 19th, had our home inspection on Monday. No major issues(built in 2005, one owner older couple who took great care of the house), a few shingles on the roof have popped up in the valley of the roof. Our home inspection said the easy fix is to just tar them back down, no big deal and nothing to be worried about. I told our redfin agent about it and she emailed the sellers agent about it. Redfin agent emailed back yesterday saying the seller gave the roofing company 2k to completely redo all the valleys in the roof with updated materials! I guess when the roof was put on they used metal in the valleys and the new norm is to use rubber, so they tore up all the metal and replaced it with rubber and brand new shingles. Our redfin agent said this never happens where the seller has gone above and beyond for repair work. So I guess yay for having sellers that are nice?
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2016 13:35
|
|
|
While it sounds like everything's coming up Milhouse there for you, never take anything your realtor tells you at face value such as "they've gone above and beyond" (although it sounds like they have). They're not there to help you, they're there to get you to buy a house. Not saying they're wrong, just saying you need to be super jaded about realtors.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2016 13:50
|
|
|
Nail Rat posted:While it sounds like everything's coming up Milhouse there for you, never take anything your realtor tells you at face value such as "they've gone above and beyond" (although it sounds like they have). They're not there to help you, they're there to get you to buy a house. Oh I hear ya, this is my 3rd house I've bought, so not my first rodeo with realtors. Using Redfin seems like a completely different experience from using a regular realtor though. Have nothing but great things to say about them and the bigger Redfin becomes and gets rid of traditional realtors the better things will be!
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2016 13:56
|
|
|
Post-sale (well, post-agreement, we're still pre-close) my agent has been helping me with things like getting electrician quotes for an EV charger and so forth, since I'm out of the area until the close. A unicorn, perhaps.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2016 14:04
|
|
|
Got my appraisal report today. 1 dollar above the price  .
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2016 16:33
|
|
|
Ckwiesr posted:Got my appraisal report today. 1 dollar above the price That's funny. Ours came back 6k over our sale price and 4k under their original asking price. The guy was there, literally no more than 10 minutes and I paid $500 for it. Nice racket if you can get in it I guess.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2016 16:46
|
|
|
mattfl posted:That's funny. Mine appraised for the exact sale price and the guy didn't even go in the house  , it said so on the report.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2016 17:17
|
|
|
mattfl posted:That's funny. Yeah, that's crazy. This was VA though and I've heard some horror stories, but I'm happy with how it turned out. Closing isn't until August since the sellers are building and we agreed to wait until then, and since I'm in a very cheap month to month situation right now it's no skin off my back.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2016 18:09
|
|
|
Is hazard insurance "mandatory" or is it some bullshit that lenders force on you? What lenders do not force you to pay hazard insurance?? I feel retarded
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2016 01:52
|
|
|
Scenario: Your house burns down. You don't have the six-figure sum needed to rebuild it. The bank's security is gone. The bank is hosed. So yeah, hazard insurance is generally required by the lender.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2016 02:09
|
|
|
My sister-in-law just closed on the house she bought on an impulse. I am eager to share stories with you shortly.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2016 02:15
|
|
|
My Rhythmic Crotch posted:Is hazard insurance "mandatory" or is it some bullshit that lenders force on you? What lenders do not force you to pay hazard insurance?? I feel retarded What do you think happens if your house burns down, gets hit by a tornado, or sucked into the earth by a massive fissure? You still owe the bank for the mortgage, only now you're homeless. Can you rebuild it on your own dime? If this is a serious question I'm not sure you should be in the market to buy a house.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2016 04:16
|
|
|
Also, I'm in month 16 of home ownership, and since every house in my neighborhood has had their roof replaced since we had golf ball sized hail in April I opened a claim to have them check it out. They were supposed to come by Wednesday morning but I haven't heard anything yet  @My Rhythmic Crotch serious answer, I'm only going to be paying my $1000 deductible for a new $10k roof because of hazard insurance.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2016 04:18
|
|
|
In my preferred version of reality, home insurance covers all those kind of events. I guess I'm more frustrated that home insurance is more about covering liabilities than protecting the bank's investment and making sure the people who live there actually have a habitable place to call home.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2016 04:36
|
|
|
Wait, did you think hazard was something different? They are one in the same, just different ways of referring to it. You only need the one policy unless you want to go above and beyond to get specific coverage for flooding, or an umbrella policy.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2016 04:39
|
|
|
Hazard/Homeowner's/Property insurance: a policy to cover your losses due to non-acts-of-god, like it burning down. Also generally covers your personal property, (including the contents of your car, usually not covered by automotive insurance) if it's stolen. And, your liability if someone is injured on your property but not due to your criminal negligence; for example, the mailman trips on your walkway and breaks his skull open and then sues you for having a crack in your walkway. You need a policy that has a deductable low enough that you could pay it even if your house is totally destroyed; and the coverage needs to be high enough to cover the cost of demolishing and rebuilding your house (which is often substantially less than the price you paid for the house) plus your living expenses for however long it takes to get that done. Only a multi-millionaire (who is basically self-insuring out of pocket) or a total idiot doesn't have a property insurance policy. Riders: add on flood insurance, earthquake insurance, additional liability coverage, etc. Sometimes sold as a separate policy: my earthquake insurance is a separate policy. Title insurance: a mostly bullshit line-item expense when you buy a home, to insure the lender (and ostensibly yourself) against some undiscovered irregularity in the title that results in a loss. Example: it turns out someone else has a legal claim on the house which was not clear from looking at the recorded deed for the property, and they show up right in the middle of the transaction and show proof that actually they inherited it or their property line actually includes half the property being sold or some crap like that. You pay this anyway because it's like $400 and the bank will have a hissy fit if you try to not do it. If you're buying cash, you can probably skip it but there's like a one in a hundred thousand chance you could lose your entire investment if you don't have it. Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 04:52 on Jul 1, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2016 04:50
|
|
|
Andy Dufresne posted:You still owe the bank for the mortgage, only now you're homeless. About a third of the country lives in a non-recourse state, where the bank can't come after your other assets if you default.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2016 05:38
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 29, 2024 15:21 |
|
|
b0lt posted:About a third of the country lives in a non-recourse state, where the bank can't come after your other assets if you default. So what? Defaulting on the mortgage in this scenario doesn't make you less homeless, and it creates plenty of additional problems regardless of what state you live in.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2016 11:14
|
|