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Woof Blitzer posted:What are some things to look for during a showing? Check all the light switches and see what they do. Look at weird dirt formations around the foundation that are probably the result of the rainy season drainage you can't see right now because it's August and it hasn't rained in months. Run all the water sources at one time (including clothes and dishwasher) and then see how long it takes to back up the main drain exiting the house. These are all things I wished I would have done when looking at my house for the first time rather than be all starry eyed about the wood countertops we would ultimate tear out two years later.
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Aug 7, 2017 01:36
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HEY NONG MAN posted:Check all the light switches and see what they do. Look at weird dirt formations around the foundation that are probably the result of the rainy season drainage you can't see right now because it's August and it hasn't rained in months. Run all the water sources at one time (including clothes and dishwasher) and then see how long it takes to back up the main drain exiting the house. It doesn't have utilities turned on so... yeah
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Aug 7, 2017 02:31
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Well that's a huge fuckin red flag then.
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Aug 7, 2017 04:07
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Possibly, but not always. A house that has sat empty for a month or more, and especially if it's bank-owned, probably has the utilities turned off. You'll have them turned on for your inspection. During your first initial assessment of a property, look for how rooms are laid out, doorways, closets. Imagine arranging your furniture, see if there's a layout that makes sense. Have someone stand in the kitchen and talk in a normal voice and see how that sounds in the bedrooms. Jiggle things to see if they're nicely put together or loose. Look for slopes in the floors. Look for cracks at the corners of rooms, doorways, etc. Look out the windows and evaluate the views, privacy, etc. See if windows open properly and stay open properly. Jiggle them a little, see if the glass is gonna wobble in the wind or if it's secure and well sealed. Inspect the foundation and the slope around it. Look for how the roof drains, where the gutters go. Look at landscaping and especially trees: trees up against the house are a big red flag. Big trees overhanging the house could be a problem. See if any trees interfere with power or phone lines. Check out the neighborhood on foot as well as by car. Look at the parking situation. It's a good idea to see what it looks like during rush hour, during a weekday evening, and on a weekend. Red flags are bars on all the first-story windows, chainlink fence instead of low picket fences or no fences at all, check cashing places, seedy looking corner/convenience stores attended at all hours of the day and night by loiterers. Don't be afraid to ask the showing agent questions, but assume that their answers are at least 50% bullshit.
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Aug 7, 2017 04:18
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Check all of the hot and cold water. Check AC flow. Bring a compass and figure out what kind of sun you're going to get, or better yet, visit again at different times of day. You don't want to visit on a breezy overcast day only to realize later you're getting beaten down by a wall of windows that are directly West facing. Check the basement and see if it feels damp, smells like anything funky, or if they're running a dehumidifier. Check the walls in the basement around the floor area and see if you see any water or dirt marks. Bring a ball and see if rolls anywhere. Some hosed up floors out there. It can be harder to tell than you think Check the ceilings and the upper corners of the walls for warpage or any signs of that there has been moisture. Meet with the neighbors. Talk to them and ask them about the neighborhood. Definitely come back later 1) at rush hour, 2) in the middle of the night on a weekday, and 3) in the middle of the night on a weekend. Most of all don't be dazzled by things you can change. Nice paint and sparkly appliances catch the eye, but ultimately they're a drop in the bucket. Even knowing that, I still have to pull myself back from being overly impressed by superficial features. My personal theory is to look for nice little details though, the kind of things that demonstrate someone gave a poo poo when they built/updated/lived in the place. Just small things that show a little thought went into it. When I look at a house with strange details that I can't quite fathom, and I find myself asking what they were thinking, it just makes me suspect that there are other fun little details hidden somewhere that are covering up major issues.
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Aug 7, 2017 14:09
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We bought a house zero down (literally zero) with an 80/20 last year at which point we still had $40,000 of CC debt and zero ($0) free cash. Like I had to empty my savings account for earnest money.Leperflesh posted:The best financial advice someone could give me at that time or now would be "get a much higher paying job, or else move away." but fortunately the house is less than 60% of our gross yearly take-home so now we've paid off the second mortgage and all our CC debt and have six months expenses saved. Just make more money, you guys, then buying a home becomes easy mode.
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Aug 7, 2017 15:49
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I bit more info I suppose: 2br 1ba 1100sqft shotgun for $40k. Similar area homes are priced around $120-150k. Looking to spend around $100k renovating, found a good inspector but still looking for a general contractor. I work for the city so I checked the address and didn't find any liens or major crime. My biggest worry is lead/asbestos abatement or foundation problems since the house is from 1903.
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Aug 7, 2017 15:54
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:but fortunately the house is less than 60% of our gross yearly take-home so now we've paid off the second mortgage I don't understand if you mean gross income or net income or take-home income. Also, "buy a house that costs less money than your annual salary" is great advice.
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Aug 7, 2017 15:57
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Twerk from Home posted:I don't understand if you mean gross income or net income or take-home income. Also, "buy a house that costs less money than your annual salary" is great advice. Move to the Midwest / deep South, got it!
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Aug 7, 2017 16:04
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Twerk from Home posted:I don't understand if you mean gross income or net income or take-home income. Also, "buy a house that costs less money than your annual salary" is great advice. It's almost exactly 100% of our take home 80% of our net income and 60% of our gross. Drunk Tomato posted:Move to the Midwest / deep South, got it! Or just make more money?
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Aug 7, 2017 16:56
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:Or just make more money? Why not just find a home you like, kill the current owner, eat their heart and obtain all their power? That's the simple way to do it.
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Aug 7, 2017 17:13
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Drunk Tomato posted:Move to the Midwest / deep South, got it! House-buying thread - Have You Considered Rural Arkansas? Edit: I meant this as a consideration for a new thread title Weaponized Autism fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Aug 7, 2017 |
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Aug 7, 2017 17:39
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Tailored Sauce posted:House-buying thread - Have You Considered Rural Arkansas? Honest answer? I have considered Iowa.
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Aug 7, 2017 17:47
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Brb I have to go ask my manager to double my salary
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Aug 7, 2017 18:17
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paternity suitor posted:Brb I have to go ask my manager to double my salary Just take their job and give yourself a raise. See the eating heart steal power post above.
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Aug 7, 2017 18:34
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LogisticEarth posted:Why not just find a home you like, kill the current owner, eat their heart and obtain all their power? That's the simple way to do it. this violates my sovereignty you must first create joinder via a negotiation in the Thunderdome
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Aug 8, 2017 00:28
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What are the pros and cons for a home warranty service? Has anyone ever had a decent experience? I just got my inspection report back and here are some of the major things that he found: - The heating and cooling system was installed in ~1994, so I should expect repair/replacement in the near future (also there are portions of the AC refrigerant line that are exposed inside the unit so I should probably get that repaired) - There are some ceiling moisture stains and active leaking noted with an atrium-style window and evidence of ceiling repair in another room. - The atrium windows probably need replacement too as there's condensation between the panes. - The dryer isn't working, so I should expect to replace that. - In one of the bathrooms there may be some plumbing required (the hot/cold water pipes are reversed) and whirlpool function in a bathtub is not working. Otherwise the condo is in decent shape. homeownership... do never buy?!
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Aug 8, 2017 17:39
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monsterbunny posted:What are the pros and cons for a home warranty service? In my opinion, you get the lower tier of contractors because those are the companies that are willing to work for the low warranty pay rates. And they will fix things in the cheapest way possible, so I would end up getting frustrated because I like to fix things in a good long-term way. If stuff like that really doesn't bother you I guess it could work out. I would consider it again if I was a landlord and I didn't really care about the quality of the work I guess, but for my own place I would prefer to have the freedom to fix things how I want to, without being constrained by the warranty company rules.
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Aug 8, 2017 18:07
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So a friend led me to this thread since I have been thinking about finally moving out of my parents' house. I have a full time job and everything, I've just spent the last so many years working to pay off the stupid student loans and car loans too. Thankfully as of earlier this year, I've gotten rid of both of them so I'm thinking maybe by the end of the year, I should try to move out. The problem is, as I look at apartments, my parents say well why not buy a house or a condo? Meanwhile a friend of mine thinks I should rent an apartment before considering owning my own place. So after reading through the opening post I guess my question is just kind of...where do I even start? Especially with the sort of cyclical nature of parents saying one thing, friend saying another back and forth. I live around the Dayton Ohio area so if anyone has any tips on I guess...where I can even begin, I'd super appreciate it. Sorry if this is such a vague post.
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Aug 9, 2017 07:40
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Good Listener posted:So a friend led me to this thread since I have been thinking about finally moving out of my parents' house. I have a full time job and everything, I've just spent the last so many years working to pay off the stupid student loans and car loans too. Thankfully as of earlier this year, I've gotten rid of both of them so I'm thinking maybe by the end of the year, I should try to move out. The problem is, as I look at apartments, my parents say well why not buy a house or a condo? Meanwhile a friend of mine thinks I should rent an apartment before considering owning my own place. Most people start out with economics. Is it cheaper to own vs rent where you are, do you have a down payment, are you comfortable with doing maintenance and incurring occasional maintenance expenses ranging from hundreds to thousands, are you fine with potentially not being able to sell or selling at a loss if you want to move?
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Aug 9, 2017 12:42
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baquerd posted:Most people start out with economics. Is it cheaper to own vs rent where you are, do you have a down payment, are you comfortable with doing maintenance and incurring occasional maintenance expenses ranging from hundreds to thousands, are you fine with potentially not being able to sell or selling at a loss if you want to move? The biggest down payment I'd be able to make at the moment would be about 2k since earlier in the year my parents were way too nice and spotted me some cash to the point I just said "gently caress it" and dumped that and a good chunk of my savings into finishing off my loans for good. Since then I've been slowly rebuilding that but it's taking a lil bit. Doing some research, apartments in town seem to not be that great/might be cheaper elsewhere on the budget I kind of have come up with. I make roughly 1200ish a month after taxes and currently my only major bills are like.. $78 for car insurance, $50 for internet and I'll say like $30ish in subscription based services. By my estimates going over $400 in rent would not be a pretty picture but I'm not super sure though. Like I said, it's all estimates and I'm new at this heh.
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Aug 9, 2017 14:29
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Do you live somewhere that $400 rent is in the realm of possibilities? Also, you probably want to come up with an actual budget. There's more to living on your own, even when renting, than what you are likely spending now (like potentially utilities, certainly food, renters insurance, etc). I don't see how you're in position to be even thinking about buying a house. I'm not even sure you're in a position to be thinking about SAVING to buy a house with those numbers.
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Aug 9, 2017 14:33
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Good Listener posted:The biggest down payment I'd be able to make at the moment would be about 2k since earlier in the year my parents were way too nice and spotted me some cash to the point I just said "gently caress it" and dumped that and a good chunk of my savings into finishing off my loans for good. Since then I've been slowly rebuilding that but it's taking a lil bit. Do you eat? Does your car use gas? Do you wear clothes? You Need A Budget that includes all of your expenses, not just internet and insurance. You absolutely should not be buying right now. Rent, maybe, if you can find a decent place within Your Budget and getting an idea about utility costs and saving more money for your eventual down payment. But before that you really need to do research on the actual costs of owning a house beyond just purchase price and what your friends and family are telling you you should be doing.
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Aug 9, 2017 14:47
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My initial reaction is that you should probably try living on your own for a while before you buy a house. Have you actually lived on your own for a significant amount of time? Preferably outside of dorms. If not, then you would probably benefit from renting for a while because it will allow you to experiment with different locations and housing and work out what you actually like and want to live in. If you say that $2k is all you have for a down payment, that isn't enough to be buying a house. Some people love the 20% rule, but even throwing that out you need to be in a situation where your down payment isn't the total of your savings so that you can cover things like inspections, closing, moving, and any sudden expenses of home ownership. Your expenses are so low right now that you probably don't worry much about spending. Honestly I would recommend at this point that you backburner the idea of buying, or even moving out, and start by heading over to the newbie finance thread and getting yourself a budget. One thing you can do is start budgeting your rent based on what you might pay before you actually move out, so that you can see what that actually feels like as a spending pattern. While you are working out your budget you can be packing that money away for funding security deposits, moving expenses, etc. so that you are in a better position to actually start renting.
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Aug 9, 2017 14:52
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If you have $2,000 with which to buy a house, you will not be pleased with the house you can buy.
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Aug 9, 2017 14:52
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Regardless of house cost and down payment, can you even get closing costs for under $2k?
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Aug 9, 2017 14:54
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GL, you live in an extremely cheap part of the country. I'm seeing decent starter houses starting at around $50k in your area. Even at that price, that still means that you want to have saved $10k down payment and another $5k minimum for related costs and repair contingencies. Your total costs on a house like that are likely going to be mostly maintenance, oddly enough. Your PITI is actually going to be in your price range. So, because you are in the middle of flyover country, you have some possibility of buying making some sense. But you absolutely need a budget and understand how your spending habits will change as you transition to being on your own, so if nothing else, take a year to rent and save up more before pulling the trigger on something that can wipe out your life savings to date in the blink of an eye.
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Aug 9, 2017 15:21
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Good Listener posted:The biggest down payment I'd be able to make at the moment would be about 2k since earlier in the year my parents were way too nice and spotted me some cash to the point I just said "gently caress it" and dumped that and a good chunk of my savings into finishing off my loans for good. Since then I've been slowly rebuilding that but it's taking a lil bit. Words, You can afford a $60,000 house if it is in decent condition. Normally this seems impossible but there are places where you can buy homes for less that are in safe condition. If your take home is $1,200 a month you may live in one of these places. My first house had 3 rooms and a hallway kitchen. It was pretty sweet and cost $12k. This is 1980s money though. All I had to spend money on was hairspray.
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Aug 9, 2017 15:28
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WarMECH posted:Regardless of house cost and down payment, can you even get closing costs for under $2k? You probably can, I just sold a house to a guy doing an FHA loan that rolled all of his PMI and closing costs into the loan and put 3.5% down, he brought less than $6k grand total to closing. He's also immediately upside down on the house by a decent amount, but that's a different thing entirely. At least he's a homeowner, ha.
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Aug 9, 2017 15:43
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Good Listener posted:So a friend led me to this thread since I have been thinking about finally moving out of my parents' house..... Don't buy. First, like everyone else is telling you, start a real budget. I've seen people get weird about budgets because it can be uncomfortable to see what your spending habits really are but do it. Second, don't fall for the Big Lie around buying, which is that renting is throwing money away. That comes up time and time again in this thread and others. Yes, if you get a mortgage, you generally build up equity. And all things being equal, if you sell the house later for the same or more than you paid, you'll get a lot of that equity back. Certainly happens and if planned well can result in years of building value. However it's not like the payment you make to your bank each month is equivalent to rent that you'll just get back one day. I am always astonished by how many people actually believe this. For many years of a loan, particularly the common 30y fixed, most of the payment is to interest, which of course you don't get back, and property taxes, insurance, soft maintenance costs etc. There are also costs to sell the house which you don't get back. And of course depending on the house, area, market, etc. there's always the possibility you'll be in the red in equity terms, particularly if you are in a position where you have to sell, like you get a job in another state, etc. If you buy a house right on the edge - minimum possible down, etc. - you don't really own anything. It's very possible, particularly in the first few years, that you will actually be in the hole far more than you would renting, financially. All that extra money you put in just goes to the banks/agents. The Big Lie on housing, which drove the last housing bubble and almost brought this country to the brink, works like this: You buy a house, and put as little of your own money as possible in to it. 10 years ago this was even easier, you could get interest-only loans and other incredibly dumb things with a bunch of bank fees attached. Then, over a period of time - a short period - your house magically goes up in value, like a hot stock. Say you buy a $300k house, do nothing but make interest payments on it, and a few years later it is worth $500k. Holy poo poo! It's like you won the lottery! You sell, get 200k, and do it all over. And the person who bought your house for $500k? They are doing the same thing and hoping it goes to $700k. And so on. This actually happened. And at the start, it worked for people. Which caused more people to jump in, and a bubble to form, abetted by banks who got paid every step of the way - and then the bubble burst. Then lots of people got hosed, like a giant game of musical chairs. Unless you ran one of the banks. Then you quietly retired. Don't buy into that (pun intended). Rent at first. Get used to living on your own. Get used to different areas you might want to live in. Who knows how your life will change as you get older? Keep flexible, get a budget going, and don't let the gnawing feeling that by not buying you are leaving money on the table bother you.
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Aug 9, 2017 16:36
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I appreciate all the input, I will probably head over to that thread you guys mentioned. I didn't mention things like gas and food because like you all said really, I guess I don't super know what those will end up costing me. I figured I would just write down the expenses I can put down as "this is what I KNOW I pay a month currently" to explain my situation some  . Gas I don't use as much as you'd think though since I actually work from home. Though I do realize it would definitely go up since I'd be needing it more to go out and get groceries etc. I currently have no plans of actually moving out yet because I know I need to build my savings back up after dunking such a huge chunk into getting out of debt, but the idea has been nagging at me lately so I am open to advice from all angles. I appreciate it!
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Aug 9, 2017 16:50
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Even if you could buy that $60k house, there are fixed costs to homeownership that are hard to meet on $1200/month. Presumably you'll want to furnish the house, so that's a couple grand even if you go with IKEA. Another grand for a washer/dryer if that's not included. Depending on your yard and the weather you may need a lawnmower, leaf blower, snowblower, etc. That's not to mention the costs you probably don't pay now living at home: utilities are a couple hundred a month, and groceries are around the same order of magnitude. The advantage of living by yourself for a bit is you get to experience most of the above costs, without having to worry about paying for any of the major repairs that come with owning a house. If living by yourself means you buy takeout for $20/day... well at least you don't have to buy a $5k new roof on top of it all.
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Aug 9, 2017 19:11
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People buying actual, functioning houses for less than my earnest money is so jarring. Makes me re-examine my choices, not that I'm unhappy with my situation.
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Aug 9, 2017 19:41
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Yea it's given me room for thought for sure. I think I will definitely try to just have an apartment for a while when I'm able to. That way i can gauge how much it actually costs to maintain..me for a month haha. Thanks again all!
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Aug 9, 2017 19:49
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I looked back a few pages and couldn't see any related questions. Advice on negotiating. Looking to buy a house now listed at 360k that is average in quality for its neighborhood. It was on the market for 400 last year, taken down, relisted this summer and marked down 5k more early July. Well updated/maintained. Only obvious fault is a slab of asphalt in the backyard for a half court basketball court (we would keep it while the kids are young and rip it out later estimated 2-3k). Since it's been on the market for such a long time I feel like there's room to come down. Is it rude to offer 340, and eventually settle at 350? Also is there much negotiable with banks on mortgages besides APR/interest rate and origination fee? Google articles say many things are negotiable but most seem to be third party services like inspection, title insurance, etc.
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Aug 9, 2017 19:55
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howdoesishotweb posted:I looked back a few pages and couldn't see any related questions. Advice on negotiating. Offer what you want to offer, there's no real standard for how negotiation works. Some sellers are willing to work, and some aren't. If you're in a hot market, chances are there will be other bids and the sellers will just ignore you. 340 is definitely not rude on a 360 house, but check out comps and make sure that's a good value. If your offer is reasonable, higher odds the seller's will try to work with you.
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Aug 9, 2017 20:30
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To put this in perspective, your opening bid is 94.5% of the asking price which is hardly unreasonable in any non-crazy market. If it's been on the market for a while then clearly the ask is out of whack with what people are willing to bid. There's of course no reason they can't counterbid too; I sort of lowballed my current home at 90% of the asking price, they countered by meeting me halfway between bid/ask, I accepted, and that was it. From a buyer's perspective, unless the market is on fire, bid below the very utmost of what you're willing to pay and work your way up to your ceiling. Unless you're offering half of what the seller is asking, it's assumed everything is a merely a good-faith negotiating position and you can reach an agreement with a few texts back and forth between realtors.
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Aug 10, 2017 00:14
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Yeah, the house we just bought was listed at $317k, down from $340. We lowballed it at $297k expecting them to counter and... they accepted. You never know.
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Aug 10, 2017 02:17
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Also worth mentioning that it's not a great idea to take your realtor's advice on what to bid unless it's a situation where you really want the house. They are almost always going to suggest bidding higher than the market bears to improve the odds of acceptance.
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Aug 10, 2017 02:58
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Indeed, I quickly recognized a phrase my realtor used: "I think an offer of $X will get it done." This is not the best price for you, it is the price your realtor thinks the other realtor will push their client to accept. In my case, my realtor's number turned out to be $25k higher than my initial offer and $7k higher than the final accepted price. So, yeah, that would've gotten it done, and he would've made more money doing less work. Hmm. Ultimately, no one should be offended by an offer that's 90-95% of list. That doesn't mean they'll accept, but it shouldn't hurt you to try.
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Aug 10, 2017 07:07
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