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My wattage meter allowed me to discover that I had three dozen toaster ovens plugged in and running at all times in my kitchen, now I'm saving a bundle in reduced electricity costs from not running all of those ovens and my cooling costs have probably gone down too!
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May 24, 2017 22:55
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H110Hawk posted:Lender paid PMI. You still pay for the PMI, just as (often) deductible mortgage interest which you must re-fi to get rid of the premium on your rate. Aha, that makes sense. Well, it also looks like they only offer those to people with good credit and make you take a class or something, which is probably a good thing. Deductible on your taxes also helps.
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May 24, 2017 23:44
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Goons! I'm looking at condos later this week, and one of them is a garden unit. As opposed to other locales (Chicago, New York), garden levels are not common in my cold northern city. From the photos, it's been remodeled very recently (and very well) and is easily twice the size of anything else I can find near downtown at my price range. These facts, and its time on market, suggest to me that there must be some reason to be skeptical of garden units. Brief googling suggests that natural light, privacy, security, and flooding are the main concerns with these. What are some things I need to watch out for when I actually visit the place? The remodel makes me doubt my ability to spot water damage, but can anyone speak to pros/cons and what could be mitigating factors? Paracaidas fucked around with this message at 05:19 on May 25, 2017 |
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May 25, 2017 05:17
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Paracaidas posted:Goons! I'm looking at condos later this week, and one of them is a garden unit. As opposed to other locales (Chicago, New York), garden levels are not common in my cold northern city. I also recommend putting the listing agent on the spot a little and asking why it's going for so cheap.
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May 25, 2017 05:47
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It is cheap so they get a lot of offers from people shopping at the low end of their price range. What do garden unit condos actually sell for in your area?
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May 25, 2017 07:40
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lampey posted:It is cheap so they get a lot of offers from people shopping at the low end of their price range. What do garden unit condos actually sell for in your area? It is cheap because it is a basement. It has all the problems and benefits of a basement. Is the building up on a hill? Remember poop flows downhill. That is my advice.
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May 25, 2017 09:08
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It's actually a converted mansion (bougie af), rather than a traditional condo building. 2,000+ sqft 2 bed 2 full bath for $235k. The areas of the city that I've been looking at are predominantly new build, so I've not come across any other garden units in my search. For context, a 2/2 with about half the sqft will run around $200k (with high HOA) in midcentury towers in the same area. A 2-level condo in the carriage house on the same property with about 1,500 sqft and fewer updates sold at $280k earlier this year. The apartment building down the block gets $1k/mo for 525 sqft 1/1 units. I expect my realtor will have a better understanding of the pros/cons and some of it will be more obvious once I see it, but was hoping to get some goon wisdom as well.
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May 25, 2017 14:08
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Paracaidas posted:It's actually a converted mansion (bougie af), rather than a traditional condo building. 2,000+ sqft 2 bed 2 full bath for $235k. Make sure you get copies of the HOA rules, budget, and bank balances. This probably isn't something that happens while you're walking through, but "low HOA" is not necessarily a selling point. If you see "low HOA" coupled with "no money in the bank" that means you're going to be billed directly, in full, due immediately if anything big happens. The condo we rented I found out had maybe a $100 HOA fee, so $800/month in revenue. When the sewer ejection pump stopped working because they weren't paying a maintenance contract on it they were all bitching about the HOA spiking up due to a $15,000 bill they didn't have any money to pay.
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May 25, 2017 16:58
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Anyone have experience with EIFS/Dryvit? It's installed over brick, and the install was done last year. I'm not concerned because the layer of brick should mean that any issues with the Dryvit are just cosmetic. From what I've read, it should help with thermal efficiency.
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May 26, 2017 01:36
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paternity suitor posted:Anyone have experience with EIFS/Dryvit? I live in a 20 year old subdivision that was about half EIFS. I think all but one or two have had their entire exterior replaced. And the ones that haven't have clear water infiltration issues. I know the installations aren't as dumb these days. That said, if there is an actual brick wall with an actual moisture barrier, it should be OK. Still seems weird to me to install over brick.
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May 26, 2017 04:55
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Evil Robot posted:I also recommend putting the listing agent on the spot a little and asking why it's going for so cheap. Always this. It's how you find out that the newly renovated house you liked but can't shake a weird nagging feeling about turned out to have a "small meth lab" in the basement 
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May 26, 2017 05:29
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gvibes posted:I have stucco, and I worry enough about that. It's a full renovation, house was torn down to the studs. Original construction was 1920's. I've seen pictures of the home prior to the EIFS being installed, and the brick looked (as well as you can see) to be in good condition, so I'm also not sure why they would use it on top of the brick either. It could have just been that they figured it was cheaper than doing a cosmetic fix up of the brick.
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May 26, 2017 12:41
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paternity suitor posted:Anyone have experience with EIFS/Dryvit? Hello fellow homeowner with EIFS over brick install. It definitely seems to act as an extra layer of insulation which I am thankful for during the summer, it keeps our downstairs pretty comfortably cool for long periods of time. That said I hate the stuff and it makes me super paranoid given that it's basically a paradise for termites to live in if it's not draining properly.
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May 26, 2017 13:10
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Anybody ever have to get their basement floor torn up to get to a pipe under the foundation? I've got a pipe that has corroded all the way through in at least one place (they couldn't get the camera past the first spot but I'm worried there could be more further down) and I'm wondering what to expect for estimates, or if it worth doing the concrete demolition myself and just bringing in a plumber once I break it up.
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May 27, 2017 18:50
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couldcareless posted:Hello fellow homeowner with EIFS over brick install. It definitely seems to act as an extra layer of insulation which I am thankful for during the summer, it keeps our downstairs pretty comfortably cool for long periods of time. That said I hate the stuff and it makes me super paranoid given that it's basically a paradise for termites to live in if it's not draining properly. I've read so much about EIFS in the last week, I've actually come around to it in theory. It legit seems like they've got the drainage stuff figured out. Lots of commercial buildings use it. That said if my house turns into a moldy termite hotel I will not be pleased.
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May 27, 2017 23:48
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Hey home buying thread, I'm doing things to get my house ready to put on the market. As you all know, the market in a lot of places is insane right now. My neighborhood is no different. Offers well over asking and no contingencies thrown in on a lot of houses which is retarded on 80+ year old houses, but whatever. I've been trying to get a little work done before I get the house put up but am having issues due to the time of year. It wouldn't hurt to paint it and it also needs a little stucco work on the back. I was just going to say gently caress it and list it with the work that needs to be done because in this market it shouldn't matter. My realtor said that I should get the stuff done to make the house a little more appealing since it is on a busier street which is going to turn off some buyers as well as the thing where we're getting into early summer when there are less buyers. I just got a quote from a painter that was "Don't paint this house, just list it. Maybe touch up a couple of areas but that's it, knock $5k off after the inspection." I like that guy and it's what I was thinking about doing anyway. Should I just go back to my realtor and tell him that's what I want to do? I'm going to sell for more than I bought 2.5 years ago in all likelihood so taking a little hit on the price that was just going to come out of my pocket anyway doesn't really bother me. Or is my realtor right in that we need to make it as appealing as possible due to the time of year and location of the house?
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May 30, 2017 16:34
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fknlo posted:Hey home buying thread, I'm doing things to get my house ready to put on the market. As you all know, the market in a lot of places is insane right now. My neighborhood is no different. Offers well over asking and no contingencies thrown in on a lot of houses which is retarded on 80+ year old houses, but whatever. It seems like you are aware that in most cases, you will spend more on home improvement preparing for a sale than you will get back in higher price. Your realtor isn't paying for the work, so of course he just wants the house to sell for as much as possible. He'd be happy if you gold-encrusted the toilets and added three extra bedrooms and bathrooms. That being said, I think first impressions and surface appearance are important in getting lots of offers on your house. The more offers you get, the better leverage you have. Even in a hot market! So if your house isn't a natural looker, it might be worth it to spend a small amount of money to fix up paint, do some simple landscaping, and maybe hire a good cleaning crew.
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May 30, 2017 16:43
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fknlo posted:Hey home buying thread, I'm doing things to get my house ready to put on the market. As you all know, the market in a lot of places is insane right now. My neighborhood is no different. Offers well over asking and no contingencies thrown in on a lot of houses which is retarded on 80+ year old houses, but whatever. My non-expert take is that your Realtor is just trying to make his job easier and maybe boost the overall sale price of the house (and thus their commission). You on the other hand have to worry about return on investment for any improvements. If you're confident that the house will sell and your contractors are telling you it's not worth it, then just go ahead and list.
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May 30, 2017 16:46
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I'd say that if there's anything really bad, touch it up. If not, put it up on market for what you'd really want, but also allow room for negotiation. If market is really that hot, odds are someone will make an offer. They might offer something less than what you listed for but above what you'd ultimately have put in/discounted for the paint, etc. Give the other party the opportunity to give up money first before you make that decision for them. Maybe they already decided they want to paint it pink and so don't care if the paint is new or old, for example.
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May 30, 2017 17:00
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Drunk Tomato posted:That being said, I think first impressions and surface appearance are important in getting lots of offers on your house. The more offers you get, the better leverage you have. Even in a hot market! So if your house isn't a natural looker, it might be worth it to spend a small amount of money to fix up paint, do some simple landscaping, and maybe hire a good cleaning crew. I think the house is going to look more or less fine to anyone looking at it. The stuff it needs isn't going to be immediately obvious to the majority of buyers but will obviously come up during an inspection. The house has decent curb appeal and the only real negatives for someone looking in this area are being on a busier street and having a non-traditional floor plan. However, it will be priced with those in mind and you're going to get a ton of square footage for the price.  Still looks like that for the most part. Nothing really glaring is visible from the front or the ground on the back without looking close.
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May 30, 2017 17:01
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fknlo posted:Hey home buying thread, I'm doing things to get my house ready to put on the market. As you all know, the market in a lot of places is insane right now. My neighborhood is no different. Offers well over asking and no contingencies thrown in on a lot of houses which is retarded on 80+ year old houses, but whatever. Never paint to sell unless the house is literally bare drywall, in which case just prime it with the cheapest contractor mostly-water primer they well. Let the buyer tell you to paint it and go from there. You might need a new realtor, the early summer is the hottest time in many markets because people are looking to move between school years. You can always back out of a sale if you don't like the offers.
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May 30, 2017 17:39
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H110Hawk posted:Never paint to sell unless the house is literally bare drywall, in which case just prime it with the cheapest contractor mostly-water primer they well. Let the buyer tell you to paint it and go from there. You might need a new realtor, the early summer is the hottest time in many markets because people are looking to move between school years. You can always back out of a sale if you don't like the offers. Sorry, it's the exterior of the house that needs the painting. The only thing I'm doing on the inside is patching a spot in the ceiling where water used to get in because the previous owners didn't clean the gutters well enough.
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May 30, 2017 18:02
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fknlo posted:Sorry, it's the exterior of the house that needs the painting. Which sounds like it's not bare drywall. This is under contract you's problem, not pre-sale you's problem. Have a bid in your pocket to paint it but don't bother ahead of time. If the market is as hot as you claim it to be it probably won't matter, and if it does you can bang out paint in a week assuming you don't go over 95°F (which at least all my paint cans say is the max temp for application.)
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May 30, 2017 21:01
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They're digging the hole for our foundation soon. It's now time for paranoid thoughts like "what if they find a dinosaur when they dig?!"
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May 30, 2017 21:27
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Problem! posted:They're digging the hole for our foundation soon. It's now time for paranoid thoughts like "what if they find a dinosaur when they dig?!" Actually they'll find a 100-year-old sewer line for a house that was never built and YOU have to pay to remove it. Just 10k!
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May 30, 2017 22:58
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They'll find a high-pressure aquifer inhabited by an endangered species of newt.
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May 30, 2017 23:05
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Hey, free dinosaur!
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May 30, 2017 23:40
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I just put an offer in a house due to transfer at work. The loan options sound like what was going on in 2006. I got 4.125% 1% down, granted 2% free, and pmi until 20%. I'm going with this and instantly paying to 20%. The no pmi was 4.625% 1% down, granted 2% free, and no pmi. Who in their right mind is buying these mortgages up? Doing 20% down gave up the 2% grant and was the same interest rate. Crazy first time home buyer loans.
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May 31, 2017 00:33
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Subjunctive posted:Hey, free dinosaur! Except we don't close on the house till construction is finished so it'd technically belong to the builder. Kidding aside this neighborhood is on the site of an old demolished steel plant so they may find some poo poo. Hopefully nothing that'd halt construction.
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May 31, 2017 00:53
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Christobevii3 posted:I just put an offer in a house due to transfer at work. The loan options sound like what was going on in 2006. I got 4.125% 1% down, granted 2% free, and pmi until 20%. I'm going with this and instantly paying to 20%. The no pmi was 4.625% 1% down, granted 2% free, and no pmi. What on earth? 2% of your mortgage amount... free? Who is putting that money in? And you can see on your loan doc that the PMI is gone at 80% LTV?
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May 31, 2017 00:54
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The lender...like I said it sounded ridiculous to me too. Sounds like some Freddie backed program for first time home buyers. PMI goes at 78% LTV Basically same as quicken has: https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/quicken-loans-offers-1-down-payment-option
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May 31, 2017 01:24
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Christobevii3 posted:The lender...like I said it sounded ridiculous to me too. Sounds like some Freddie backed program for first time home buyers. PMI goes at 78% LTV What a time to be alive. Are you taxed on the 2% upside as income?
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May 31, 2017 01:31
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The quicken 1% down thing is the Freddie backed program. Any lender offering you 1% down with the 2% grant is offering the Freddie program.
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May 31, 2017 01:33
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H110Hawk posted:What on earth? 2% of your mortgage amount... free? You do have to have fairly low income to take advantage of it.
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May 31, 2017 01:37
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Uhh yeah In order to qualify for this program, you must earn less than the area median for your county. For the sake of convenient math, let’s say the income limit in your area is $100,000; you’d need to earn less than $100,000 annually to take advantage of this loan option. For my county which is Volusia county, which includes Daytona Beach so you guys have an idea where that is, the median income is $41,171. Now I'm not some baller making six figures but I easily make quite a bit more than that, not even including my wife's income. I wouldn't be considered a first time home buyer and I guess this is who a program like this is mainly for.
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May 31, 2017 12:24
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I'm in OKC area with the county median income at $65k a year. I make over that gross before deductions by a bit and wife under that some but combined no way would we be under that. So either they loosened the rules on the income requirements or took it away with a new product.
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May 31, 2017 12:44
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Well I make this many dollars and would never be able to take advantage of that program for poors!
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May 31, 2017 14:19
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mattfl posted:Uhh yeah Ok, that makes way more sense. Thanks! Sounds like a good program for getting people ahead without locking them into what is now a super expensive FHA program.
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May 31, 2017 15:29
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Christobevii3 posted:I just put an offer in a house due to transfer at work. The loan options sound like what was going on in 2006. I got 4.125% 1% down, granted 2% free, and pmi until 20%. I'm going with this and instantly paying to 20%. The no pmi was 4.625% 1% down, granted 2% free, and no pmi. Make sure paying up to 20% will actually remove PMI. Sometimes it stays on until the "scheduled" date for when you would pay off 20% regardless of current equity.
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May 31, 2017 15:47
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Looking into what financing options are open to me on a home with an unfilled pool. It needs about $10k worth of work. Apparently it's a health hazard and can't be financed conventionally. The home has been on the market for about a year, and I asked why the seller didn't just fix/fill it himself, and was told he was cash poor. The listing agent (I don't have a realtor yet) mentioned an "escrow hold back" but I called Chase and they said that was a niche type of loan that they don't do. I then spoke with a lender recommended by the agent, and the guy told me you can have the pool covered and basically just get a friendly appraiser in (lol) or else do an escrow holdback. But the caveat was that the most they'd do on an escrow holdback was $5k, and so I'd have to slip the other $5k (or whatever the exact amount ended up being) to the contractor on the side (lol). Neither of these options are all that appealing to me on a very large purchase! The option I don't really want to do, but am exploring...is to buy it with cash, and then do an 80% cash out. That'd be done with perhaps a temporary loan (<2 months) from relatives. I'm not sure if there are tax implications there? I think I have to pay interest over a certain amount? Anyone encountered anything like this? Is cash/cash out the only viable option?
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May 31, 2017 18:36
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