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Bought a model house for a new development. Did the home inspection today, turning on the water in master bath/shower caused water to leak through the roof on the main floor laundry room. 
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Feb 6, 2017 04:40
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lol internet. posted:Bought a model house for a new development. Did the home inspection today, turning on the water in master bath/shower caused water to leak through the roof on the main floor laundry room. Did I read this right that you already bought the house, and are only now doing an inspection? 
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Feb 6, 2017 11:30
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Someone bought an actual model home? Holy poo poo I thought I'd seen everything in this thread, buckle up boys.
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Feb 6, 2017 14:44
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lol internet. posted:Bought a model house for a new development. Did the home inspection today, turning on the water in master bath/shower caused water to leak through the roof on the main floor laundry room.  You actually did this.
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Feb 6, 2017 16:08
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Wait, what's wrong with buying the model? Aside from tacky finishes and an overly busy interior look because the builder wanted to show off absolutely every optional nook and tray ceiling, it seems like a fine way to get a house with every "option" they offered at the cost of a base house. My neighbors down the street bought a model, and they're pretty happy with it.
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Feb 6, 2017 16:25
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Twerk from Home posted:Wait, what's wrong with buying the model? Aside from tacky finishes and an overly busy interior look because the builder wanted to show off absolutely every optional nook and tray ceiling, it seems like a fine way to get a house with every "option" they offered at the cost of a base house. My neighbors down the street bought a model, and they're pretty happy with it. I think what is concerning is the fact he did an inspection AFTER he bought the house?
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Feb 6, 2017 16:36
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Twerk from Home posted:Wait, what's wrong with buying the model? Aside from tacky finishes and an overly busy interior look because the builder wanted to show off absolutely every optional nook and tray ceiling, it seems like a fine way to get a house with every "option" they offered at the cost of a base house. My neighbors down the street bought a model, and they're pretty happy with it. The models are usually slapped together as quickly and as cheaply as possible and not lived in for long stretches of time. Homes that sit empty fall apart.
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Feb 6, 2017 16:37
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Hasn't Arrested Development taught us anything
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Feb 6, 2017 18:24
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Rated PG-34 posted:Hasn't Arrested Development taught us anything I think he just needs a better Business Model.
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Feb 6, 2017 18:45
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This is the post I've always wanted to read.
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Feb 6, 2017 19:37
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Twerk from Home posted:Wait, what's wrong with buying the model? Aside from tacky finishes and an overly busy interior look because the builder wanted to show off absolutely every optional nook and tray ceiling, it seems like a fine way to get a house with every "option" they offered at the cost of a base house. My neighbors down the street bought a model, and they're pretty happy with it. In car terms, Its kinda like buying an off lease, out of warranty luxury car off of craigslist without taking it to a mechanic beforehand.
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Feb 6, 2017 20:31
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So what's involved in getting a pre-approval for a mortgage? Do they just run your credit and you a letter with a number on it? Do they look at how much of a down payment you have or just assume you'll have a certain %?
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Feb 6, 2017 22:30
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FISHMANPET posted:So what's involved in getting a pre-approval for a mortgage? Do they just run your credit and you a letter with a number on it? Do they look at how much of a down payment you have or just assume you'll have a certain %? Yes and ask you about your income, yes.
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Feb 6, 2017 22:33
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when they get around to repealing dodd frank, i presume they'll just check your pulse
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Feb 6, 2017 23:15
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Rated PG-34 posted:when they get around to repealing dodd frank, i presume they'll just check your pulse Which will just alert them to how well they need to cover their tracks when they re-sell your postmortem mortgage.
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Feb 6, 2017 23:29
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Rated PG-34 posted:when they get around to repealing dodd frank, i presume they'll just check your pulse I bought two homes near the bottom in the last few years. I wonder how quickly subprime shenanigans will fill up the bubble this time. Would be nice to sell somewhere on the upswing, rent for a while, then buy a place cash after the next crash.
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Feb 7, 2017 00:56
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If anyone is looking to buy in the Nova/DC/Maryland area, let me know if you are looking for a baller, old school, inspector who gets into the house unlike the new generation who just eyeball things. He literally saved me a couple tens of thousands of dollars finding an old termite nest throughout my basement which the sellers inspector didn't find because he only tapped the bottom of the beams while mine knew that termites leave the bottom thick for support while the sides are left paper thin which he stabbing a hammer claw into. Just pm me. Worth every penny.
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Feb 7, 2017 01:12
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LogisticEarth posted:Did I read this right that you already bought the house, and are only now doing an inspection? Pryor on Fire posted:Someone bought an actual model home? Holy poo poo I thought I'd seen everything in this thread, buckle up boys. Delorence Fickle posted:
Sorry, communicated that wrong. Offer was put in and accepted, closing is end of month. lol internet. fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Feb 7, 2017 |
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Feb 7, 2017 04:01
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Hi thread, Aussie checking in. I skimmed about 20-30 pages but saw mostly US specific information so thought I'd check in to see if there's anyone who has recently purchased a house/townhouse/villa type property in the Sydney area. So far, we've been inspecting 2-3 bedroom properties on and off over the last 18 months for the purpose of researching different suburbs and nail down our buying criteria. We've now narrowed things down considerably, have our finance pre-approval in place and starting to short list the properties which qualify. We haven't begun any serious due diligence (e.g. engaging solicitors to review contracts, building inspections, registering to bid at auctions, etc) on any properties just yet though. Both of us have purchased property before so we know the basic drill - the main difference is that our previous purchases have always been apartments that were either brand new construction or off the plan. Thanks to the insanity that is the Sydney property market, most vendors are preferring to go to auction, even if they receive offers beforehand, because: a) there is so much demand on the buy side and prospective purchasers get way too emotional and tend to overbid at auction, and b) the standard cooling off period does not apply to properties purchased at auctions. I really dislike this situation, but it is what it is, so I wanted to get some different perspectives on two things: 1. Has anyone found there to be value in engaging a buyer's agent for some/all of the process? I think buyer's agents are still pretty new/uncommon in Australia? I didn't know we even had any until I picked up this book from the library. I was curious, so I called up the author's agency and spoke to one of their reps, and came away thinking it was a helpful/not helpful conversation. Essentially, property stock levels are at historical lows so they weren't getting the usual inside scoop on listings (i.e. as soon as houses are on the market, the listing is made public), so their first tier service (which basically includes doing the legwork for you and finding properties) isn't worth paying for at the moment, but of course, they have other levels of service. For anyone else in Sydney who might be intrigued, this was what they quoted for their second tier "Research, evaluate and negotiate" service which covers multiple properties until you close on one: quote:Once you let me know about a property you like I will review it online and let you know about any concerns I can see, plus call the selling agent at the earliest opportunity to find out what interest there currently is in the property, what the vendor's price expectations are, and how motivated the vendor is to sell so we know where we stand with the property. I've bolded the two points which are of the most interest to me. I'd like to think I've got a fair idea of what a property is worth after doing the legwork of checking out 50+ properties, but real estate isn't my area of expertise. Plus, while I'm an OK negotiator, I can see the danger in getting super attached and emotional about a house and overbidding at auction. And it's not exactly like I do a ton of these transactions anyway, so I'm sure there are all sorts of mind games being played that I may have a hard time dealing with effectively I can see the advantage of having an agent who isn't waiting on a fat commission from the vendor to advise/assist (presumably as somewhat of an independent expert). I've been subject to a lot of hearsay arguments against it (e.g. "the entire real estate industry is dodgy, they all have kickback arrangements in place so buyer's agents are no different"). It does seem like that they are subject to some regulation under the NSW Department of Fair Trading, like any other agent: http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/ftw/Property_agents_and_managers/Rules_of_conduct/Buyers_agent.page At any rate, I'm on the fence. 1.1% of the purchase price is a big chunk of cash to add to closing costs; however if they really can deliver good value (i.e. stop you from paying significantly over the market value for a property) on such a large transaction, I could see it being worth it. Then again, residential properties are hard to value anyway - it's always just worth whatever someone's willing to pay, and if there's some other sucker out there who's willing to bid $1,100,000 for wreck with a dead body in it then who am I to judge.  2. Thoughts on trade-offs between a house/terrace (Torrens title) vs. a townhouse/villa (on strata title)? A quick note that I am familiar with the standard trade-offs between these (e.g. owning the land and being able to do what you want with the property in terms of renovations/future development, subject to council approval for a Torrens title, ongoing maintenance obligations vs. common walls, the hassle/drama of dealing with strata issues, common property and complying with by-laws, obligation to contribute levies towards sinking/capital funds for maintenance of common property, etc) - particularly in the context of a house in the suburbs vs. an inner city apartment. HOWEVER, the lines get a little blurry once terraces/townhouses/villas enter the picture. There is a noticeable premium for a Torrens title property (say, around the ballpark of $300,000 AUD for a 2-3 bedroom property) over a strata title property, even if the internal and external living spaces and floor plan configuration are about equivalent (e.g. say, 2 levels, attached garage, yard/patio/deck, etc). After seeing a bunch of properties, the choices basically boil down to:
(technically there's another option of buying an old strata property for even less, but twice the headaches for any future renovation work, so I've discounted that entirely) Right now, I'm leaning towards a strata title, because a $300,000 premium for the Torrens title seems very steep, particularly if we've no plans to do any renovation or further development in the next 10-20 years. I get that some people are very big on the "but if you buy Torrens, then you actually own the land!!!" aspect, but I've got a lot of reservations about tying up so much equity/capital in a single asset. From a cash flow perspective, I used to think that Torrens would have a clear advantage, but I've recently come around to the view that in either case, you'd have maintenance outflows anyway. While you wouldn't have quarterly levies for a Torrens title, you'd still need to put aside funds to save up for the inevitable $20,000 when the roof/basement springs a leak or whatever emergency happens every 5 years - in addition to the premium on the purchase price. Also considering that in a strata, you only contribute your proportion of the maintenance obligation for common property - while you might have to put away some additional funds for the portions which aren't common property, most of the big ticket items (e.g. roof, balconies) would be related to the outside of the property anyway, which generally would be classed as common property. Have I missed anything in my analysis?
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Feb 7, 2017 07:31
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I'm ditching the high rent in my city because I can't justify it and I don't have to commute to work much at all anymore. I'm thinking hard that I'm going to buy a small fixer upper in the cut this year before literally everything goes to the flippers. They've been popping up rarely, and while I will definitely get one with "good bones" seen by a trusted inspector, I'll be updating it entirely while I live there. I have a pre approval for what I think is a responsible amount, and my intended max budget (including insurance and tax) will be about 40% my current rent in the city, leaving me something extra to split up between repairs and debt. I also think this would be a personally rewarding hobby. I've been renting for 12 years and I'm stale to the fact that nothing I rent will ever feel like mine, no matter how much I decorate it. I want to be able to take something and make it mine. Anyway, I don't think I'm dumb. Am I dumb?
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Feb 7, 2017 07:38
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You have to check out the financial health of the commonly owned property and to make sure that the rules do not conflict with your lifestyle. You mentioned that you are not planning on renovating but there are potentially many other rules. Rules about pets and parking are common.
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Feb 7, 2017 07:58
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Rolo posted:I'm ditching the high rent in my city because I can't justify it and I don't have to commute to work much at all anymore. I'm thinking hard that I'm going to buy a small fixer upper in the cut this year before literally everything goes to the flippers. They've been popping up rarely, and while I will definitely get one with "good bones" seen by a trusted inspector, I'll be updating it entirely while I live there. You're not dumb. But just know that you will probably not make money doing this; many amateur fixer-upper people wind up sinking a lot more than they ever get back. This is upsetting for those who expected to make some fat return on investment. You also run the risk of a Groverhouse (where everything is done wrong and badly) Also sometimes the ones who were in it for "fun" wind up getting pretty sick of home improvement after awhile and spend even more money than the people who thought they'd make a quick buck If you're okay with those risks then go ahead e: Oh also obviously there are degrees of fixer-upper; my preferred kind is a house that needs cosmetic things, like paint and yard work. That's not what most people think of when they think "fixer-upper" but ugly houses do tend to sell for less QuarkJets fucked around with this message at 09:49 on Feb 7, 2017 |
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Feb 7, 2017 09:47
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QuarkJets posted:You're not dumb. But just know that you will probably not make money doing this; many amateur fixer-upper people wind up sinking a lot more than they ever get back. This is upsetting for those who expected to make some fat return on investment. You also run the risk of a Groverhouse (where everything is done wrong and badly) I told my agent I'm expecting to scrape, patch, paint, tear up floors, cabinets and bathroom fixtures while replacing old appliances. I do want to learn to roof, but I'm not telling her that. Absolutely not telling her that. My town is going through an explosion where people are buying 100k properties, slapping lipstick on it and selling them for 200k because the bank culture is growing so fast here, so I can see someone thinking they could do this on their own and be rich! That's not what I'm trying to do. I just want to eventually not pay for rent/mortgages while having a place I like to live in.
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Feb 7, 2017 16:58
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Any recommendations on people to get homeowner's insurance from?
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Feb 7, 2017 17:14
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That's something I was going to post about, too. I was going to start with State Farm because they do my car and current renter's.
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Feb 7, 2017 17:31
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I've found it varies a lot by area. And a lot of times the bundle discount doesn't really help or equalized. I currently use Amica, but I've also used Allstate and one other one that escapes me right now.
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Feb 7, 2017 17:39
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tehinternet posted:Any recommendations on people to get homeowner's insurance from?
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Feb 7, 2017 17:41
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tehinternet posted:Any recommendations on people to get homeowner's insurance from? If you can get in with USAA, get a quote from them. Their insurance has been great for us, both price-wise and service-wise.
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Feb 7, 2017 17:53
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Kinfolk Jones posted:If you can get in with USAA, get a quote from them. Their insurance has been great for us, both price-wise and service-wise. My wife and I both were in the service, and their insurance rates have never even been close to competitive for us. I have no idea why.
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Feb 7, 2017 17:56
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Cool. Great advice. Ended up bundling with Progressive and saving almost a hundred a month. Thanks!
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Feb 7, 2017 18:19
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another vote for Amica. My primary home, rental property, 3 cars, umbrella, and life are all with them. If you are exceptionally qualified their rates are fantastic.
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Feb 7, 2017 18:21
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tehinternet posted:Any recommendations on people to get homeowner's insurance from? Some states list numbers for all of the companies that offer homeowner's insurance for various house sizes and some standardized level of coverage, so you can see at a glance how much each provider costs. See if your state is one of these states by googling around Otherwise, I think that all you can do is get a bunch of quotes and compare; it's worth getting a quote from whoever gives you car insurance, in case bundling winds up saving you money (but it might not) We use Allstate as they were a combination of friendly, affordable, and responsive to our requests. USAA returned exactly one of our calls (assholes) and Progressive seemed great but was a little more than we were willing to spend
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Feb 7, 2017 21:02
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I'm looking at the finances of buying a house and trying to decide what my budget is. I'm 31. My gross annual income is 75000. Going by the 2-3x income rule, that puts me at between 150--225k. However, my financial situation is a little better than that, so I'm not sure if that's still appropriate. I have no car payment (2011 VW). I have no student loans. 401k: 85k (+17k/yr) Roth IRA: 35k (+5.5k/yr) Checking: 20k Taxable account: 17k I'm just wondering if something more in the 275-325 range is somewhat reasonable.
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Feb 13, 2017 05:12
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totalnewbie posted:I'm looking at the finances of buying a house and trying to decide what my budget is. What do you currently spend on housing + utilities? You list max annual IRA and near-max 401K contributions. How important is it to you to continue saving for retirement at this rate? Which, if any, of the assets listed do you plan on tapping for a downpayment?
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Feb 13, 2017 05:28
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pig slut lisa posted:What do you currently spend on housing + utilities? My current rent+utilities is 1100/mo. I know buying a house in the 300k range would put me up to 1800/mo give or take, which is a lot. I started saving for retirement a little late (25-26) but I feel like I've more-or-less caught up at this point. If I continue at this pace, I think I'll have more than enough to retire comfortably or early, so I think scaling back is reasonable for buying a house. I am thinking about my options for what to tap for the downpayment. The taxable account is going into the down payment for sure (and maybe a bit of the checking account too, but not very much, probably). The Roth IRA and 401k are also fair game as far as my current level of "I wonder what I can afford" goes. I realize that it's all on a sliding scale of "what do I value more" and "how much do I really want this nice house" and all of that. I'm basically looking for a sanity check to see if 300k-ish is just crazy or if it's something reasonable that has obvious drawbacks but isn't actually going to make me Stanley Johnson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0HX4a5P8eE (I love this commercial so much.)
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Feb 13, 2017 05:38
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Tapping an IRA for a down payment is usually a bad idea; that money is simply gone and you don't get to top off the account later except via normal yearly contributions Tapping a 401k is a less bad but not great idea; here you can basically just take a loan from your account, and paying off that loan doesn't effect how much you can contribute to the 401k each year. The only real downsides are A) that borrowed money no longer generates value until it is paid back and B) you have to pay a penalty if you default on the loan to yourself, say if you're fired and need to suddenly repay the full amount but simply can't. The money is still yours but now the loan turns into an early withdrawal, which is expensive What you can afford is a function of your down payment and your income. Have you done a thorough accounting of what a $300k house actually costs in your area (include utilitties, insurance, and repairs!) at 20% down on a 30-year note? Do that first e: Also calculations based on gross income are bunk and designed to get people feeling optimistic about what they can afford. Treat house expenses like you would any other expenses in a monthly/yearly budget QuarkJets fucked around with this message at 06:31 on Feb 13, 2017 |
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Feb 13, 2017 06:29
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So, I could save a lot more towards the house if I cut back on my 401k. But then, it's not earning anything. I suppose then it's weighing expected returns vs. chance of losing my job * 10%. I don't quite understand what you mean by what a 300k house costs in my area, because it costs 300k. 20% downpayment means I'm left with 240k to pay off on a 30 year loan, which comes out to about 1200/mo for just the loan, + 525/mo property tax + utilities + repairs is probably closer to 2000. So that's fine and all, probably a bit higher than what I can/want to pay, but that's all just math and in the details. If you're referring to something else by "in my area" then I'm not sure I understand. I'm trying to think about this purely from a financial standpoint (which, of course, house buying is not purely financial, but this is the part I'm asking about). So I guess if I'm looking at that then 300k is a bit too much of a stretch (do-able but sacrificing too much of my retirement savings, IMO).
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Feb 13, 2017 06:52
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totalnewbie posted:So, I could save a lot more towards the house if I cut back on my 401k. But then, it's not earning anything. I suppose then it's weighing expected returns vs. chance of losing my job * 10%. I mean what does it cost per month after your mortgage payment, property taxes, utilities, maintenance, HOA fees, insurance, etc. Most mortgage calculators usually just give you the cost of the mortgage payment, others will let you include the cost of property taxes, but you usually don't get things like insurance and HOA in there (which can be considerable or it could be nothing, it depends on where you buy). If you buy in a flood zone on the coast of Florida your insurance is going to cost way more than an equivalently-priced house in the relatively weather-less central Arizona. If you want to look at this purely from a financial standpoint, the best financial choice is likely to just keep renting. But if you're set on buying a house, because of emotion or because you're certain that the housing market is back baby and there's no way it'll pop again, then the best financial choices at that point become A) don't withdraw a penny from your retirement accounts, B) figure out how much you can afford to spend each month on housing *after* all other spending and savings, including retirement savings and emergency savings, and C) save 20% + closing + some emergency funds to cover a minimum of 3 months of typical expenses + at least 1 major repair. The more set you are on buying the more it makes sense to dip into those retirement accounts, but financially it's probably not a great choice.
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Feb 13, 2017 07:11
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QuarkJets posted:you usually don't get things like insurance and HOA in there (which can be considerable or it could be nothing, it depends on where you buy). If you buy in a flood zone on the coast of Florida your insurance is going to cost way more than an equivalently-priced house in the relatively weather-less central Arizona. Okay, I see what you mean about the where. Don't live in a very high-risk area for that kind of stuff, which is good. But that's just gravy. I'm not really set on buying a house. What I really want to do is find some place to live by myself but also not have it be some lovely apartment, so I thought buying a house would be an option (though obviously one with many, many caveats). And yep, I fully recognize that obviously if I'm going to stretch for a big house, I'm making a big sacrifice in terms of retirement. Was just trying to sound out how much of a sacrifice it will end up being and I'm more and more feeling it's not really a sacrifice I want to make (or that magnitude). Thanks!
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Feb 13, 2017 07:24
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TotalNewbie, where do you see your life going in the next decade? A single (apparently?) 31 year old may make lots of changes in their life. Career, location, relationship, kids, etc. all can result in wanting to sell the house, which could make it less financially advantageous to own rather than rent. Is living alone important to you? I wouldn't want to depend on a renter to afford the place, but having someone pay, say $800 of your mortgage a month would be a big bonus. totalnewbie posted:I started saving for retirement a little late (25-26) Probably add twenty years to that and it's more of an accurate cross section of the USA, but it's a good sign that you think that.
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Feb 13, 2017 07:47
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