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I don’t think it’s a red flag. Everybody asks for closing costs. Glad you found a better offer though.
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Aug 30, 2018 14:12
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I had the owner put in 16.5k towards closing and I don't have money issues. I had leverage because the house was a mother/daughter and they arent as desirable around here. Edit: one could argue I paid that 16.5k by having a higher mortgage but that's not the case. Seller wanted 600k, we offered 520. They came back with 565 and we agreed on 565 with the concession. Sepist fucked around with this message at 15:23 on Aug 30, 2018 |
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Aug 30, 2018 15:06
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Took me a couple reads to realize you weren’t talking about the sellers or buyers in that post.
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Aug 30, 2018 15:49
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I got the itemized closing costs from my lender and they're $2600 higher than the original estimate she gave me. Is this typical?
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Aug 30, 2018 17:57
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Dango Bango posted:I got the itemized closing costs from my lender and they're $2600 higher than the original estimate she gave me. Is this typical? You would have to go line by line and see where the extra money is coming from. Or ask them.
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Aug 30, 2018 18:03
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Yeah that could be a lot of things. My estimated closing costs vs actual closing costs vs actual cash to close varied a lot. Though in my case they kept getting lower on each, mostly due to the taxes being cheaper than estimated and later due to our states taxes being paid in the rears.
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Aug 30, 2018 18:08
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I need advice from people with experience and who aren't involved. I'm potentially a first time homebuyer, here are my stats: -Renting month to month -We have 25k saved for a house. * Annual income is about 90k -We live in a seller's market (Denver Metro) -Credit scores are excellent, we're both ~720-740. -We have a car payment of 300, no other debt. Our landlord is selling our townhouse and gave us first rights on buying before listing. He is definitely in a rush. We like the place enough to where we'd stay for at least 5 years but not so much in love with it that this is a do or die buying situation. We have a pre-approval for the potential listing it at 230,000. Our "issue" is that we feel like the listing price is a little too high for un-refurbished townhouse. Our "zillow" comps for the same price have upgraded flooring, countertops and appliances where our carpet is damaged/very old, standard rental appliances and that awesome fiberboard/laminate covered countertop that I would replace immediately. Also, further interior work will be needed, the inspector will note damage and cracking in doorways at the least. I believe I need to know if a) I should even bother to negotiate and b) if I do offer below, what is the best way to do so--or is it better to get money off of closing costs? I'm dumb and inexperienced, please treat me as such.
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Aug 30, 2018 20:02
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Why buy something above what you think it is worth, if the seller is in a rush and you really aren't? In this case you are being offered first right at it, which you certainly don't have to take. Personally, I wouldn't bother offering an amount I didn't think the property was worth, just because it would mean I might have to move if a new landlord came around.
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Aug 30, 2018 20:07
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I have a close friend going through that same exact scenario. Basically, the only way it makes sense for you as a buyer is if you're getting a significant discount on the market price of the home (i.e. 4-6%). It's still going to save him money because he doesn't need to prepare the house for sale and he can save significantly on realtor costs. Basically, if he has a buyer and a price he doesn't need to pay 6% to realtors - he can hire a real estate lawyer for a flat fee. You're going to need that discount because you're not getting a house that's freshly painted and prepped for sale, plus you're going to hire your own real estate lawyer to represent you. You'll still need to pay typical lender fees, including appraisal, and you'll still want to get an inspection so you can negotiate the cost of repairs or have him fix things. In my friend's case they haven't moved forward in the last two years because he and the property owner don't agree on the market price of the home. It's tough to know what something is worth until you try to sell it.
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Aug 30, 2018 20:22
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Horbo, the Suicidal Senator posted:Our landlord is selling our townhouse and gave us first rights on buying before listing. He is definitely in a rush. We like the place enough to where we'd stay for at least 5 years but not so much in love with it that this is a do or die buying situation. We have a pre-approval for the potential listing it at 230,000. Our "issue" is that we feel like the listing price is a little too high for un-refurbished townhouse. Our "zillow" comps for the same price have upgraded flooring, countertops and appliances where our carpet is damaged/very old, standard rental appliances and that awesome fiberboard/laminate covered countertop that I would replace immediately. Also, further interior work will be needed, the inspector will note damage and cracking in doorways at the least. Then those aren't accurate comps as it were. They give you a baseline, but new floors (-$x,000) new counters (-$x,000) etc. Find stuff that hasn't been renovated to use as comps. Now you also won't really get to deduct the total cost of those renovations either. Let's say he wants to sell it at $230,000. Right off the bat you should be getting some upside due to not needing a realtor (let's say 4% and we'll call the lawyers a wash: $220,800. The flipper special of prepping the home to even look close to those comps is going to $15,000, let's take off $12,800: $208k. As I recall Zillow has a "renovation estimator" you can do in the their comps thing. Play with it. Do you have time left on your lease? It doesn't magically dissolve just because he wants to sell it. He still has to give you quiet enjoyment - including during the 30 day notice period for month to month. This means he is out at a minimum one more mortgage payment (you can figure this out, assume 20% down and look at what it was worth when he bought it) and an HOA fee as he cannot begin renovations until you leave. Floors, counters, and appliances are 2 weeks of work no matter how you cut it, unless he's good friends with a construction crew. I would subtract that mortgage+hoa from the cost, ignore your rent payment. Convenience, and you agreeing to bear risk on things found in the inspection report you are still going to get, but much more thorough because you can tell the inspector to move things. Don't waive the contingency in the offer, just when the report comes back accept them all if they're nickel and dime things, get credit back for big stuff (roof, foundation, structure.) If I were to guess? $200k isn't wrong. You know who will know? A real estate attorney. Pay for the first hour if you really want to get going on this. H110Hawk fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Aug 30, 2018 |
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Aug 30, 2018 20:43
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Our realtor is out of town this weekend, and a house popped up that we want to see. The listing agent works for the same company, so to not bother my realtor while she’s with her family, I called the company to see if the listing agent could give us a tour. My realtor then called me and said she would hash something out with the listing agent to make sure we wouldn’t miss it, but it feels like I did something wrong, the secretary sounded like nobody had ever made this request before. What are you supposed to do when your realtor is out of town but you want to see a house ASAP because they’re all pending sale a day after they’re listed?
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Aug 30, 2018 21:07
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When our realtor went out of town for a week she said that if we saw something we wanted to look at we should call her office and one of her colleagues would take care of it. It seemed like it wasn't a problem at all. Being a commissions based business though, I wouldn't be surprised if there is a lot of rivalry/vultures/ownership issues where they miss out on a chunk of income in a situation like that.
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Aug 30, 2018 21:19
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Koivunen posted:Our realtor is out of town this weekend, and a house popped up that we want to see. The listing agent works for the same company, so to not bother my realtor while she’s with her family, I called the company to see if the listing agent could give us a tour. My realtor then called me and said she would hash something out with the listing agent to make sure we wouldn’t miss it, but it feels like I did something wrong, the secretary sounded like nobody had ever made this request before. Your realtor sucks.
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Aug 30, 2018 21:20
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Koivunen posted:What are you supposed to do when your realtor is out of town but you want to see a house ASAP because they’re all pending sale a day after they’re listed? Your realtor dropped the ball. Normally they prearrange a replacement for when they are busy/gone that you can call.
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Aug 30, 2018 21:22
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H110Hawk posted:If I were to guess? $200k isn't wrong. You know who will know? A real estate attorney. Pay for the first hour if you really want to get going on this. Great idea. Thank you!
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Aug 30, 2018 21:41
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Real estate attorneys being a source of truth for The Right Price is new to me.
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Aug 30, 2018 21:44
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Subjunctive posted:Real estate attorneys being a source of truth for The Right Price is new to me. In theory they should know who to ask. Which might be a private appraiser.
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Aug 30, 2018 22:07
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Horbo, the Suicidal Senator posted:I need advice from people with experience and who aren't involved. I'm potentially a first time homebuyer, here are my stats: Anyway, being fairly familiar with that exact market, 230 could be very reasonable. Most updated townhomes in quasi-desirable parts of town have been listing at 275-300++ this season. Many of the more desirable ones were selling for up to 10% over asking. That all depends on a bunch of other factors which weren’t enumerated earlier though, such as relative location, size, HoA, amenities, actual condition, etc. It sounds like you’ve done some research already though presumably factoring that in. On the other hand, the market will definitely be a little quieter going into fall and winter, so while you’ll have fewer options to chose from, the odds of someone outbidding you by 30k are also significantly lower if you can afford to wait and look around a bit more. It sounds like while you’re pretty set as far as income relative to what you’re looking for, you’re fairly tight on liquid cash. In light of that, I would lean towards having closing costs covered rather than reducing the sale price. If there aren’t (m)any other offers, you might be able to get away with both of the above. I did, but the whole process from offer to closing was pretty contentious and high stress. That may not be worth it to you. Regardless of anything else, I would still have an agent take you to see comparable properties in your price range in person so you have a good idea of your other options and the relative value of the place you’re in currently. Finally, whatever you intend to do, get an agent or lawyer to represent you. Hauki fucked around with this message at 23:00 on Aug 30, 2018 |
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Aug 30, 2018 22:57
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H110Hawk posted:You would have to go line by line and see where the extra money is coming from. Or ask them. wilderthanmild posted:Yeah that could be a lot of things. My estimated closing costs vs actual closing costs vs actual cash to close varied a lot. Though in my case they kept getting lower on each, mostly due to the taxes being cheaper than estimated and later due to our states taxes being paid in the rears. Apparently some of the credits and already-incurred expenses (appraisal, etc.) weren't included. The lender reworked them to be sure and it was at the estimate.
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Aug 31, 2018 03:36
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Koivunen posted:Our realtor is out of town this weekend, and a house popped up that we want to see. The listing agent works for the same company, so to not bother my realtor while she’s with her family, I called the company to see if the listing agent could give us a tour. My realtor then called me and said she would hash something out with the listing agent to make sure we wouldn’t miss it, but it feels like I did something wrong, the secretary sounded like nobody had ever made this request before. You can make an offer before viewing the home, just based on the listing. You can have another agent from the same broker show it, this is most common. Maybe the listing agent will show you the home, this is not typical. You can go to an open house if there is one.
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Aug 31, 2018 09:27
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Your realtor should have a team of realtors that cover each other for this crap. If they were worth anything they would have already introduced you before they went on vacation and given you a specific person to call. When times are booming though they don't try very hard.
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Aug 31, 2018 11:35
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Koivunen posted:My realtor then called me and said she would hash something out with the listing agent to make sure we wouldn’t miss it, but it feels like I did something wrong, the secretary sounded like nobody had ever made this request before. We had people imply we were doing something weird a few times while we were buying our house.. like when we called the title agency directly because no one was making any progress towards closing. You're paying them thousands of dollars to do this, so if they don't like you doing something slightly abnormal, gently caress them and find someone else.
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Aug 31, 2018 14:12
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When our realtor called me back it was fine, she had us see the house with a different agent and it took all of five minutes to arrange it. The secretary was the one who had the long dramatic pauses and “...okay?”s. The house and property was really nice but it was way closer to a really busy road than we had thought, and directly across the street from a high voltage power substation, which we apparently missed when we looked at the satellite view. Going to try to see a house that is about $30k above our budget, but the first sentence of the listing says they want to home to go to a family who will love and take care of it. Maybe that’s worth $30k off the asking price to them? Been on the market for three months.
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Aug 31, 2018 22:00
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Successfully closed on our first house yesterday! Time to start all my new projects! 
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Sep 1, 2018 14:45
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Viper915 posted:Successfully closed on our first house yesterday! Time to start all my new projects! And those projects are filing bankruptcy. Congrats!
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Sep 1, 2018 14:53
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Another buyer backed out. How weird would it be tp ask the seller if we can rent from them while we are selling out current house? Our offer is contingent on selling our current place.
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Sep 1, 2018 19:43
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Few sellers would want to do early occupancy or rent before selling. I would look at a bridge loan
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Sep 1, 2018 23:12
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gently caress, selling a house is a pain. Someone offered me more than asking so I took it before anyone else submitted their bid. Now the fucker wants half the kitchen remodeled before closing. I should have waited for more offers so I could just say no, and move on to the next person. You saw the kitchen before you put an offer in, no I'm not going to spend $5k on improvements. I've always bought houses as-is, I'm not used to the buyer being able to make demands after offering money.
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Sep 3, 2018 20:45
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Can't you just say no? I'm about to sell my house which needs a fair amount of work, and the joy of living in a tiny, single bathroom house is that getting work done is practically impossible, so I fully expect to take a price hit selling as is.
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Sep 3, 2018 20:54
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Fozzy The Bear posted:gently caress, selling a house is a pain. You need a spine or a realtor with a spine. It's not normal to do any type of remodeling work during a repair unless you've done un-permitted remodeling and additional work is required to bring it up to code. My theory is that the buyer is regretting their bid and they're either trying to negotiate it down after the fact or convince use the inspection contingency to get out of the purchase. It's rude, but hey a lot of people are willing to be rude for $5k. Andy Dufresne fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Sep 3, 2018 |
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Sep 3, 2018 21:11
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I'm going to say no to almost everything except a $1000 termite pest spray thing. I'm selling in the California Bay Area, and the house is for below $400,000, if they don't accept, then gently caress em, its a seller's market.
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Sep 3, 2018 21:11
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Andy Dufresne posted:You need a spine or a realtor with a spine. It's not normal to do any type of remodeling work during a repair unless you've done un-permitted remodeling and additional work is required to bring it up to code. Yeah, its a 60+ year old house that has had work done on it over the years without permits. Pretty common where I live though. e: They even wanted things that I put on the disclosure fixed. NO that's the whole reason why I disclosed it! Fozzy The Bear fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Sep 3, 2018 |
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Sep 3, 2018 21:12
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Fozzy The Bear posted:Yeah, its a 60+ year old house that has had work done on it over the years without permits. Pretty common where I live though. What type of loan is it? They may literally be unable to buy the house as-is.
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Sep 3, 2018 21:14
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Andy Dufresne posted:What type of loan is it? They may literally be unable to buy the house as-is. Oh, its a FHA loan :-( Well I don't mind putting it back on the market if I have to.
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Sep 3, 2018 21:16
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Anyone ever encounter a home with knob and tube wiring? I'm interested in a house where that's the only outstanding issue and would cost about 10k to rectify. Thoughts?
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Sep 4, 2018 00:01
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ask for 10k off the price
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Sep 4, 2018 00:15
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Turkey Farts posted:Anyone ever encounter a home with knob and tube wiring? I'm interested in a house where that's the only outstanding issue and would cost about 10k to rectify. Thoughts? The house I'm in now and the house I'm buying has it. Only a little, but enough so that finding insurance was a pain. The place hasn't burned down yet, so I'm assuming it isn't a major issue.
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Sep 4, 2018 00:27
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Turkey Farts posted:Anyone ever encounter a home with knob and tube wiring? I'm interested in a house where that's the only outstanding issue and would cost about 10k to rectify. Thoughts? Definitely ask for 10k off, and fix it as soon as you can. Knob and tube by itself isn’t necessarily bad, but as it ages things can go wrong. For example the rubber insulators could crack and flake and cause an arc, and that could burn your house down. There are lots of houses that still use knob and tube that haven’t burned down, but you can’t be sure all your wiring is fine unless you inspect all it throughout the entire house. If you’re going to do that, might as well replace all the wiring with new stuff. Why gamble with the safety of you, your stuff, and your new house? If knob and tube was literally the only downfall, I’d put in an offer without hesitation (minus 10k).
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Sep 4, 2018 01:58
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We were unfortunate enough to discover some knob and tube that hadn't been properly removed.  After the initial panic, it's not the end of the world. If it has been left in place and not spliced into or covered in insulation, it's ok. But you want to get it taken care of as soon as you can, and definitely ask for the reduction. If they have any idea what they are doing that ask should not be a surprise, because its a huge headache for insurance at the least. Keep in mind that if it's pervasive it means cracking open everything to pull it all out and replace it, so it can be quite a job. A good electrician can work in zones or rooms so at least you're whole place isn't a disaster all at once.You should probably get someone out to quote the work, too.
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Sep 4, 2018 04:46
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Turkey Farts posted:Anyone ever encounter a home with knob and tube wiring? I'm interested in a house where that's the only outstanding issue and would cost about 10k to rectify. Thoughts? The house we bought is full of active knob and tube (in addition to newer circuits added via exterior conduits). It was NOT in the disclosure (previous owner didn't know anything about this house), so it was a mildly unpleasant surprise during inspection (but then again not terribly surprising - house was built in 1910 and is largely unadulterated, which is why we were attracted to it). At the very least, there's a modern breaker box and the inspector and electrician said that the knob and tube circuits were in good condition and, most importantly, had not been hosed with or modified, which is what makes it dangerous. Since we'd already put in an offer on the house, we used the knob and tube discovery as a bargaining chip to make the seller eat a bigger share of the closing costs. Our agent (who was great) nudged the electrician to inflate the rewiring estimate for bargaining purposes. Ended up working out. We had no problem getting insurance for the house - we went with a regional insurer that's used to insuring houses in an area where 70% of the housing stock is prewar and riddled with knob and tube. As we remodel, we will be upgrading wiring as we go through the rooms. Need to figure out how to keep the old style brass/Bakelite/mother of pearl push-button light switches though.
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Sep 4, 2018 04:46
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