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Dik Hz posted:Edgelord take, but OK. Be aware of the conflicts, but it doesn't mean that every real estate agent is scum. they're not even saying that every real estate agent is scum, just that their interests do not always align with yours it's not edgelord to say that you need to verify what your real estate agent tells you, it's common sense and you're extremely naive if you just accept everything that a salesman tells you on faith
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Aug 22, 2019 08:44
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Megasabin posted:As a buyer who has already combed through multiple websites and made my own location lists, what additional services can a realtor offer me? Do they have access to a unique database of locations that are not listed on mainstream websites? The MLS system the realtor uses is typically more complete, accurate, and updates faster than the public, online real estate websites. Redfin is the only one that even approaches the actual MLS in how long it takes a property to appear/update. The biggest value a good realtor offers is their experience with the process, and their ability to guide you through the search/negotiations/inspections/closing process. The fact that you know what you are looking for means that you are ready to start engaging with some potential realtors. I would get some recommendations in your area and meet with at least 3 of them. Ask them all your questions (include the 'what services do you offer me' one), and pick one that has the most reasonable answers and seems like someone you want to work with.
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Aug 22, 2019 14:10
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Our realtor did a few exploratory visits with us and got a grasp on what we liked in a house, which is why we saw the property we ended up getting the first day it was available. We went under contract with a competitive offer 3 days before the house hit zillow.
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Aug 22, 2019 17:05
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Now that I think of it, will sellers even give lockbox codes to non-agents?
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Aug 22, 2019 17:23
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We literally met our realtor at the first house we saw, which was an open house. We bought the house. I'm pretty sure it's one of the luckiest things that's happened to her.
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Aug 22, 2019 18:27
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:Now that I think of it, will sellers even give lockbox codes to non-agents? No. Looking at MLS-listed houses without your own agent basically means that the seller's agent will have to let you in and they'll act as a dual agent and try to keep the full 6%. There's probably a little bit more negotiating room here because they may be willing to accept less, but they don't have to. 3%+3% is in the contract the seller signed with their agent.
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Aug 22, 2019 19:48
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There was warranty chat like 3 weeks ago. We bought a house and the warranty has already paid for itself like twice over (we didnt pay it, the sellers did).
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Aug 22, 2019 20:02
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QuarkJets posted:they're not even saying that every real estate agent is scum, just that their interests do not always align with yours If you follow the thread instead of quoting out of context, you'll see that I've said that you can trust your real estate agent if you've done the due diligence in vetting her. Good real estate agents play the long game. Which means selling your house for you 10 years later.
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Aug 23, 2019 03:20
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Dik Hz posted:Nah man. They're making strong statements. As in, "Your real estate will....." rather than "Most real estate agents will....." They're making strong statements about things that are so commonplace in real estate that they're considered benign, and can be summed up as "don't trust your real estate agent". You're saying the same things re: trust you just have such poor reading comprehension that you don't understand that QuarkJets fucked around with this message at 04:10 on Aug 23, 2019 |
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Aug 23, 2019 03:36
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Trust but verify. There's 6+ figures of not-their money on the line.
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Aug 23, 2019 03:53
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Optimus_Rhyme posted:There was warranty chat like 3 weeks ago. We bought a house and the warranty has already paid for itself like twice over (we didnt pay it, the sellers did). Can you go into detail about what they covered, and the process of doing so? We appealed when they denied repairs to our AC unit, and just got the rejection letter. They also have been extremely lovely about a plumbing issue, and we have basically written off anything from them.
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Aug 23, 2019 04:45
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Last night I handed over a couple hundred bucks to reserve an apartment, that I would move into mid-September. Today I guess I am putting an offer on a house under asking, that the seller is aware of, and encouraged. Hail satan, let this one actually be accepted. 
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Aug 23, 2019 14:34
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Just for shits and giggles I wanted to see what interest rate Quicken was advertising today. They would not tell me until I used their little calculator. Plugged in my income, down payment, and monthly student loan payment, and here is what they tell me: That monthly payment is 71% of my take home pay. lmaooooo that is some 2007 poo poo right there (Rate is 4.125% btw)
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Aug 23, 2019 15:11
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Leaves you $1178 left over for candles.
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Aug 23, 2019 17:24
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QuarkJets posted:They're making strong statements about things that are so commonplace in real estate that they're considered benign, and can be summed up as "don't trust your real estate agent". You're saying the same things re: trust you just have such poor reading comprehension that you don't understand that Dik Hz fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Aug 24, 2019 |
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Aug 24, 2019 04:07
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knox_harrington posted:I found a chalet I'd like to buy in the val d'anniviers, it's newly built and basically has everything I want. Off to speak with my bank tomorrow, because Switzerland is a bit backwards I have to go in person and speak with my account manager in the suspiciously swanky offices in Lausanne. Christ. 6 weeks later and we've just (nearly) got approval for the mortgage. The only thing left is the bank manager wants to physically visit the house?? What an odd country. And we haven't even started the buying process yet. Still, can't wait to get my hands on it. Its in a lovely valley. 
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Aug 24, 2019 08:17
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Dik Hz posted:I can read just fine. Why are you so aggro about this? I understand what you're saying, but you clearly don't understand what I'm saying. So I'm really wondering why you think I have poor reading comprehension. What I wrote is no more aggro than telling someone that they're not paying attention or telling someone the totally benign post that they've written is "edgelord" You're both ultimately saying that you can only really trust a real estate agent to act in favor of their own bottom line, you're just more naive in your beliefs (what you call "the long game" is not what's most commonly played)
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Aug 24, 2019 09:31
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knox_harrington posted:Christ. 6 weeks later and we've just (nearly) got approval for the mortgage. The only thing left is the bank manager wants to physically visit the house?? What an odd country. Dam! And drat!
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Aug 24, 2019 10:02
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QuarkJets posted:What I wrote is no more aggro than telling someone that they're not paying attention or telling someone the totally benign post that they've written is "edgelord"
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Aug 24, 2019 13:13
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Has anyone ever used agent matching services like homelight to find an agent? Credit Karma funneled me into their service and it seemed slick(although I'm not an idiot, I know everyone in the chain is getting paid for that funneling.)
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Aug 24, 2019 23:45
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Dik Hz posted:I understand what you're saying You clearly don't, but that's fine
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Aug 25, 2019 00:21
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My offer was accepted aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
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Aug 25, 2019 01:03
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Sirotan posted:My offer was accepted aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Speaking as someone who's (hopefully) a year away from buying a place in Ypsi, your journey has been pretty informative. I hope it has a happy ending!
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Aug 25, 2019 01:54
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I got a few friends in the area to recommend some realtors. The issue is they are all pretty weak recommendations in that they know the realtor, the recommender thinks they seem like a nice person, but have no clue about them professionally. I googled each realtor's name to try to find reviews, but basically turned up nothing. I could find reviews for the bigger agency each one worked for, but nothing about the individual person. The other option is I found out that one of the guys at my local board game meet up is a realtor and sells in the area. He's always seemed like a genuinely good guy at the meet ups. When he heard I was thinking of buying, he gave me his card, but didn't pressure at all or say anything more about the issue. Out of all these people I'm probably inclined to go with him, just because I've consistently witnessed his behavior as a generally good person over the course of months. I know this might have no impact on how he is at his job, but it's the best I've got to go on right now. Is there anything else I should be doing to research these realtors more in depth or do I basically just pick one and see how it goes? Megasabin fucked around with this message at 15:31 on Aug 25, 2019 |
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Aug 25, 2019 15:21
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Don't be afraid to select a realtor based on your ability to fire them. If you're too close to your game meet realtor buddy, simply tell him (or not) that your needed a person with personal distance in case it didn't work out. Beyond that, interview Realtors as you would new professionals who you're contracting with. Ask your friends for realtor referrals they've actually used & their experiences.
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Aug 25, 2019 16:22
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meanolmrcloud posted:Can you go into detail about what they covered, and the process of doing so? Basically two plumbing issues and busted dishwasher. They tried to deny one when their plumber claimed this was pre existing (after asking me when the warranty started and coincidentally the issue appeared to have started the week before that, then giving his card), but our inspection report looked at that exact problem and they covered it.
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Aug 25, 2019 16:57
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Heners_UK posted:Don't be afraid to select a realtor based on your ability to fire them. If you're too close to your game meet realtor buddy, simply tell him (or not) that your needed a person with personal distance in case it didn't work out. Beyond that, interview Realtors as you would new professionals who you're contracting with. Ask your friends for realtor referrals they've actually used & their experiences. This. Don't mix business and pleasure unless you really know what you're doing and just using them for MLS access and tours. Ask him for a referral to someone you won't have to throttle. He will likely get a little juice on the referral but if it goes south you don't make it awkward.
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Aug 25, 2019 17:34
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BlackIronHeart posted:Speaking as someone who's (hopefully) a year away from buying a place in Ypsi, your journey has been pretty informative. I hope it has a happy ending! I will certainly keep the thread updated. Obviously I have no idea what the market here will be like a year from now, but the first offer I put on a house was one year and two days ago, and in that time it never got any better, from a buyer's perspective. If your budget is over $200k, you may have an easier time. And for the record, my realtor was correct w/r/t how property taxes will work. Next year the taxable value will be "uncapped" and increase to the current SEV, at which point it will be capped again and I should expect a yearly increase of 5% or the CPI, whichever is lower. It's not going to just immediately jump to 50% of the price I'm buying it at.
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Aug 25, 2019 17:43
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Megasabin posted:Is there anything else I should be doing to research these realtors more in depth or do I basically just pick one and see how it goes?
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Aug 25, 2019 19:12
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Have a realtor now. Going to see houses starting tomorrow. I asked the mortgage person who gave me the pre-approval letter to put the information on a Loan HUD form, but he said that is only done near closing. He did send me a "Closing Costs Worksheet" which had itemized estimates of all costs and a total cost. Is this equivalent? If so I guess is it this sheet I should be using when comparing lenders since it's the actual total cost with all fees? Assuming similar rates, do different lenders varying significantly on the fees they attach? Using several closing costs calculators for NYC, the total cost listed on this worksheet was significantly higher than what I expected. Mostly due to a section labeled "NY State Transfer Tax", which I was under the impression was paid by the seller, not the buyer. I know I have to pay a mansion tax based on the house price, but that should only be 1% of the cost. From looking at calculators I think the only only other significant cost should be the Mortgage Recording tax, the Insurance Premium, Lender's Title Insurance, and the attorney fee. Does that sound correct? I'm going to send him an email with pictures of the various closing cost calculator totals included and ask him why the one on his sheet is much higher. Also going to specifically ask about the transfer tax thing.
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Aug 28, 2019 18:40
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Megasabin posted:I asked the mortgage person who gave me the pre-approval letter to put the information on a Loan HUD form, but he said that is only done near closing. He did send me a "Closing Costs Worksheet" which had itemized estimates of all costs and a total cost. Is this equivalent? If so I guess is it this sheet I should be using when comparing lenders since it's the actual total cost with all fees? Assuming similar rates, do different lenders varying significantly on the fees they attach? They likely want you to be "under contract" to get the HUD form, but if they refuse to show you one walk. Ask them for a sample that isn't locked based on a random address you're going to tour. The key here is 'not locked' - it doesn't cost them anything to show you this. Once under contract they must show you the Loan Estimate and it should be locked once you agree on it. Megasabin posted:Using several closing costs calculators for NYC, the total cost listed on this worksheet was significantly higher than what I expected. Mostly due to a section labeled "NY State Transfer Tax", which I was under the impression was paid by the seller, not the buyer. I know I have to pay a mansion tax based on the house price, but that should only be 1% of the cost. From looking at calculators I think the only only other significant cost should be the Mortgage Recording tax, the Insurance Premium, Lender's Title Insurance, and the attorney fee. Does that sound correct? You also need Owners title insurance - whatever it's called in New York. Do not buy without it. 99+% of people don't use it, but when you do you're already in a wild ride and now they're paying for it. There is a reason lenders pretty universally require it, and they can afford to write off some random loan if it came to it. The costs thing is why it's important to have several competing lenders involved. It immediately weeds out the bullshit fees and incorrect assumptions. You can also ask your realtor about it, they should know. I wouldn't put too much faith into the closing cost calculators, they are almost all going to be lead generators for mortgages and realtors. The goal is to get your foot in the door.
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Aug 28, 2019 18:52
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The sales contract was finally signed by the sellers last night, and today I have: -Scheduled a general inspection and sewer line inspection -Locked in a 30yr mortgage at 3.75% -Contacted a lawyer who is covered by my employer's legal plan who will do the needful for free  Also I thought better.com was supposed to be good, but they just sent me an estimate at 4.625%. More like worse.com amirite
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Aug 28, 2019 20:22
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H110Hawk posted:They likely want you to be "under contract" to get the HUD form, but if they refuse to show you one walk. Ask them for a sample that isn't locked based on a random address you're going to tour. The key here is 'not locked' - it doesn't cost them anything to show you this. Once under contract they must show you the Loan Estimate and it should be locked once you agree on it. Thanks for the good advice. Some follow up questions: What is the difference between the Loan HUD form and this Closing Worksheet he sent me? If they are both itemized lists of the costs is there any reason I should insist on the Loan HUD form instead? If it isn't locked, does that simply mean they pick an amount of money the mortgage would theoretically be for and base it off that? For example, on the closing cost worksheet he used an amount we had discussed as the upper range for what I would borrow. Would the correct thing to ask for basically be: "Hey, can I please get an unlocked sample HUD form based on the mortgage amount we discussed?"
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Aug 28, 2019 20:27
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Sirotan posted:Also I thought better.com was supposed to be good, but they just sent me an estimate at 4.625%. More like worse.com amirite What's this about? I punched my info on the site and it says "we haven't reached Massachusetts yet", so I'm guessing it's more San Fran Tech Bro Scumbags?
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Aug 28, 2019 20:58
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Anytime I looked at better.com when I was searching for mortgages they always had worse rates than everywhere else, idk what the deal is with them.
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Aug 28, 2019 21:07
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Sirotan posted:Also I thought better.com was supposed to be good, but they just sent me an estimate at 4.625%. More like worse.com amirite Send them your loan estimate, get their $1000 assuming that isn't a scam. For us they had the best refi rates several years ago, maybe that was a "get the word out" rate. Megasabin posted:What is the difference between the Loan HUD form and this Closing Worksheet he sent me? If they are both itemized lists of the costs is there any reason I should insist on the Loan HUD form instead? One is a HUD form they're legally required to give you ("Loan Estimate") as part of your application, the other is who knows what. They don't have to give it to you before you formally apply for the loan, but there is no reason they cannot other than laziness. Shoot them an email being nice and understanding about how it's more work but you really just need to see it. (Better.com actually generates these on demand for you via a web form, this isn't rocket science here.) Send them a zillow link, the address typed out, a sample purchase price ($1,000,000) and down payment amount ($200,000.) Fill in your real numbers obviously. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-loan-estimate-en-1995/ "Hey Jerkoff, Sorry to be a pain but I would really feel more comfortable seeing this on a 'Loan Estimate' form all those little brochures talk about. I believe it's a HUD form? I don't need to lock a rate just yet, but let's pretend I'm buying this house I'm going to tour at <address> for $1,000,000 with $200,000 down, with Owners *and* Lenders title insurance. I promise this is the only one until I'm under contract. Thanks! Hopeless Idiot"
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Aug 28, 2019 21:18
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H110Hawk posted:Send them your loan estimate, get their $1000 assuming that isn't a scam. For us they had the best refi rates several years ago, maybe that was a "get the word out" rate. Yeah gonna do that. A free $1k would be sweet but based on their guarantee language, they base it on total closing costs. Edit: ha, better.com just sent me an updated quote at 3.75% without me having bothered to respond again or send the estimate that my local broker generated Sirotan fucked around with this message at 02:43 on Aug 29, 2019 |
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Aug 28, 2019 23:58
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Rates just took a huge poo poo again; I know someone refinancing from 4.25 to 3.25 30-year, holy smokes
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Aug 29, 2019 05:04
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Mortgage for the chalet is formally approved  BUT I have to physically go in to the bank to discuss the details. Another week drifts by.I want to make an offer a bit under the asking price but the price is already reduced and it's hard to determine what the norm is here. The earliest we can get it valued is in a couple of weeks. The difference in the pace things happen between here and the UK is amazing. It must be hell if you're here from the USA.
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Aug 29, 2019 14:24
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Sirotan posted:Also I thought better.com was supposed to be good, but they just sent me an estimate at 4.625%. More like worse.com amirite I worry about better.com since I was the one who literally taught them about the mortgage secondary market years ago. All their traders are young with trumped up titles and think they're hot poo poo but none of them have ever really seen blood in the streets. I worry about them operationally when we do hit the next recession.
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Aug 30, 2019 02:53
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