|
untzthatshit posted:I'm tagging along with the inspector in a couple hours, any particular questions I should be asking? Ask how things compare to other homes, if it's something they'd be okay with or do at their house, if things are up to current code, if they were buying it what concerns or changes would they note. Ask their opinion of the contractors that did the furnace/water/electrical. Ask about the insulation in the attic. Definitely want them on the roof to check it out. Literally anything you see and have questions about, bring up. That said, preface it that you want to learn and are new so it doesn't come across as backseat driving. I was patient with our inspector as he started explaining things, but he noticed that I already seemed to understand the fundamentals (one grandfather was a civil engineer, the other was a shift leader at Niagara Mohawk Power, my Dad is pretty good at DIY and focused on doing things the right way), and after checking with me started going into more details and technical things rather than a broad overview.
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2021 19:45
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 19:04 |
|
|
The Saucer Hovers posted:after delaying the initial closing by almost a week because "they lost some documents", lender is now asking for IRS documents that will take 5-10 business days minimum (when the IRS is functioning). theyve never asked for these before now. I'm so sorry. My biggest fear when I was buying my place was that I had to give notice like a week before the scheduled closing date. I was so worried some dumb bullshit would happen and I would be end up homeless. It almost did happen but my lender figured it out in time, thank god.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2021 20:28
|
|
|
Our offer expired at noon, but Apparently there are two offers, and they called our bank to make sure we were upstanding citizens! That means unfortunately we’re still in the running.
Residency Evil fucked around with this message at 21:04 on Sep 10, 2021 |
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2021 20:59
|
|
|
Alright, just got back from inspection. I did read most of the responses either before or while I was there. I asked a couple questions up front but mostly let them do their thing. At the end they sat down and went over the whole thing with me, which was nice. I asked about going up on the roof, but they said they used drones to get up there and take pics which they showed me and the quality of the photos is as if you were right up there on the roof. They noted one plumbing vent that was sort of inverted where the base meets the roof so possibly could collect water and wear away at the vent. Hvac and water heater were older than I thought, 2009 and 2013 respectively, but both in good working order. (other than that the drain pipe for the water heater leads no where). Everything else seemed really minor, the biggest thing is that there is a very large wooden deck out back and one support post is completely rotted and several boards are in not great shape too. They said it was still probably worth repairing rather than tearing down but we were also considering the option of putting up a vinyl deck on the car ride back. Anyways, I told him at the offset I was waiting for the bad news since we were getting this house for 20k under asking and he went "oh well we will find out why!". Then at the end was like "yeah, I dunno they must just overpriced this house or something. I've looked at ten or twelve houses this week and this is one of the better ones". So my mind is at ease for now, I suppose it's time to move on to appraisal and underwriting!
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2021 21:25
|
|
|
untzthatshit posted:I asked about going up on the roof, but they said they used drones to get up there and take pics which they showed me and the quality of the photos is as if you were right up there on the roof. This is becoming more and more a thing, and it's bullshit. I get it, it's a lot easier and safer, but nothing replaces walking a roof. Pictures can't tell you what the decking feels like.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2021 21:48
|
|
|
untzthatshit posted:Alright, just got back from inspection. I did read most of the responses either before or while I was there. Did they use an electrical tester on each accessible outlet? That's inspector 101 so just want to see if the guy did that. And I'm guessing the service panel looked fine.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2021 21:58
|
|
|
Yeah they tested each outlet. Found one where the top plug had a "open neutral line" or something (I am obv not an electrician). And they said the panel was fine, only thing was that some copper wiring and white wiring that is, according to today's updated code, supposed to be under the screws separately, were wired together. My only observation on the panel was that all the wiring looked "neat" My biggest concern was the crawlspace cause I had not seen in there and figured if there were any big issues hiding, that'd where they'd be. But it turns out it's bone dry in there. And not only is there a dehumidifier but the previous owner even has a little moisture alerter thing that will scare the poo poo out of me by pinging loudly beneath my floor if it ever gets too wet down there.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2021 22:53
|
|
|
gwrtheyrn posted:The only thing you might want to find out is how you will access your money in large quantities should you need it. I learned very recently that my no-longer-local credit union account won't let me initiate external transfers for more than $5k/day using their online banking, which doesn't translate well when you need to make a down payment on a house. Theoretically you can go to a shared branch and get a giant cashiers check, but I was also told that that's not necessarily reliable...which leaves the options of wiring money to your own, local account or writing a check to yourself if you are using the local account for a cashier's check. I ended up writing myself a check. My CU is based in Mass and I bought a house in WA. I took out a >100k cashiers check via a shared branch CU with no eyebrows raised. The only thing I had to do was call my real CU to authorize me to cut the closing check because it was past the standard limit. Was a 5-10 minute phone call where they verified my identity before allowing it. The big thing for me was that an in-state Bank/CU cashiers check only required a 24 hour hold while out of state cashiers checks had a 7 day hold. The local CU prints it with their CU on the header so they qualified for the 24 hour hold.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2021 23:36
|
|
|
Hawkeye posted:My CU is based in Mass and I bought a house in WA. I took out a >100k cashiers check via a shared branch CU with no eyebrows raised. The only thing I had to do was call my real CU to authorize me to cut the closing check because it was past the standard limit. Was a 5-10 minute phone call where they verified my identity before allowing it. I didn't even bother going to try getting a cashiers check. I was moving money to a local credit union in the first place, though for some reason they aren't listed as having being shared branches, only ATMS, despite printing it on all the deposit slips I've gotten. I had well over a week for funds to clear, and the local account only put a 1 day hold on the check anyways. Also, someone at the branch mentioned that people have run into issue trying to get a cashiers check at Sound Credit Union, the nearest shared branch listed, and I just couldn't be assed to deal with that when I could just write myself a check. I also probably could have linked the accounts the other way around, and it might have worked that way too.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 00:41
|
|
|
we managed to convince tHe LeNdEr that there was no way on earth we could receive timely turnaround with the IRS. their solution was for us to (re)send a couple years past returns to the IRS "so at least we can prove you sent them, even if we cant prove they got them." i dont, uh... yeah heres hoping that little ritual works
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 01:22
|
|
|
They can download a transcript from the IRS website directly. Why are they mailing something in?
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 01:42
|
|
|
H110Hawk posted:They can download a transcript from the IRS website directly. Why are they mailing something in? quote:House-buying thread - Why is everyone involved in this process so deeply stupid?
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 01:48
|
|
|
untzthatshit posted:And they said the panel was fine, only thing was that some copper wiring and white wiring that is, according to today's updated code, supposed to be under the screws separately, were wired together. My only observation on the panel was that all the wiring looked "neat" White wires are neutrals and neutrals were never allowed to be shared. Old code said "follow manufacturer markings" and manufacturer markings said "don't do this." The code update made it explicit. It's a hazard, and you should fix it post-close. That said, it's pretty minor in cost. https://www.se.com/us/en/download/document/0100DB0705/
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 02:20
|
|
|
H110Hawk posted:They can download a transcript from the IRS website directly. Why are they mailing something in? Sounds like maybe they hadn’t filed them until recently and they haven’t been processed yet.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 02:26
|
|
|
Owned.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 02:29
|
|
|
therobit posted:Sounds like maybe they hadn’t filed them until recently and they haven’t been processed yet. they were filed on time. theyre in the system.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 02:37
|
|
|
its true that they havent managed to process one of them over the last 14 months, but my partner has an income stream that shocks and confuses these types. couldnt count how many times shes had to explain contractor for foreign employer + exchange rate poo poo to infinite minions.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 02:46
|
|
|
Well didn’t get the house. It was between our offer and another, except theirs waived every single contingency.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 03:02
|
|
|
The Saucer Hovers posted:its true that they havent managed to process one of them over the last 14 months, but my partner has an income stream that shocks and confuses these types. couldnt count how many times shes had to explain contractor for foreign employer + exchange rate poo poo to infinite minions. Well that sucks. IME underwriters might handle one deal a year that has meaningful foreign income. Maybe one every 3 years. It’s not a common scenario. I only knew how to deal with it when I was an underwriter because I had to file taxes with foreign income when we lived abroad.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 03:33
|
|
|
The Saucer Hovers posted:we managed to convince tHe LeNdEr that there was no way on earth we could receive timely turnaround with the IRS. their solution was for us to (re)send a couple years past returns to the IRS "so at least we can prove you sent them, even if we cant prove they got them." You can download your IRS transcripts in like 5 minutes, maybe 15 if you've never done it before. That will confirm your filing history
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 04:32
|
|
|
Residency Evil posted:Well didn’t get the house. It was between our offer and another, except theirs waived every single contingency. Now you can buy new skis to go with the boots.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 05:52
|
|
|
Please tell me about buying land/building a house on said land. I have no questions in particular I just want to read experiences.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 06:26
|
|
|
Duck and Cover posted:Please tell me about buying land/building a house on said land. I have no questions in particular I just want to read experiences. Not firsthand experience, but my sister is building a house on rural land. One of the first jobs was digging a well: they thought it would be 250 feet and it ended up at 600 feet. Start as you mean to continue, I guess 
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 10:14
|
|
|
Duck and Cover posted:Please tell me about buying land/building a house on said land. I have no questions in particular I just want to read experiences. If you don't have power, water/well, septic/sewer you're $75,000 away from even thinking about building a house. Possibly more. If you don't have at least 1/3 of the cost of building a house in cash after you've already bought the land your build is going to take over a year easily. Motronic posted:The very first thing you need to understand is that you need lots of cash to do this. Not credit, cash. Otherwise it will take forever and here's why: .....and today you have to add to this the current supply chain mess where it can take a very long time to get everything you need. Motronic fucked around with this message at 14:53 on Sep 11, 2021 |
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 14:43
|
|
|
spwrozek posted:Now you can buy new skis to go with the boots. Every month we don’t buy a house is one where we’re saving money!
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 14:51
|
|
|
gwrtheyrn posted:I didn't even bother going to try getting a cashiers check. I was moving money to a local credit union in the first place, though for some reason they aren't listed as having being shared branches, only ATMS, despite printing it on all the deposit slips I've gotten. I had well over a week for funds to clear, and the local account only put a 1 day hold on the check anyways. Also, someone at the branch mentioned that people have run into issue trying to get a cashiers check at Sound Credit Union, the nearest shared branch listed, and I just couldn't be assed to deal with that when I could just write myself a check. If I was at all worried about getting the cashiers check I would have done the same as you I’d imagine. I also seriously considered flying back to MA to do a wire (wasn’t looking forward to that). Not that it helps now, but WSECU was the one I used locally, with no issues.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 15:50
|
|
|
Hawkeye posted:If I was at all worried about getting the cashiers check I would have done the same as you I’d imagine. I also seriously considered flying back to MA to do a wire (wasn’t looking forward to that). I wouldn't ever fly with that much money. You're one search away from it being taken by the federal government permanently under civil forfeiture. It's too dangerous.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 16:09
|
|
|
H110Hawk posted:I wouldn't ever fly with that much money. You're one search away from it being taken by the federal government permanently under civil forfeiture. It's too dangerous. I think he means showing up to the local credit union in person, not flying like a cocaine dealer.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 16:12
|
|
|
KS posted:White wires are neutrals and neutrals were never allowed to be shared. Old code said "follow manufacturer markings" and manufacturer markings said "don't do this." The code update made it explicit. Good to know, inspector advised fixing it as well but also mentioned it not being a huge cost. I'll probably just get an electrician to come in and handle the handful of little electrical issues all at once Another one was the kitchen outlets not having the GFCI protectors and the one outlet with an open neutral.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 16:32
|
|
|
H110Hawk posted:I wouldn't ever fly with that much money. You're one search away from it being taken by the federal government permanently under civil forfeiture. It's too dangerous. They wouldn't be flying with anything I thought about doing the same thing, OP, after learning that credit unions cap the amount that you can wire transfer out of a shared banking branch. So we wound up creating and immediately cashing a cashier's check for our earnest deposit (which we needed immediately) and that same day I wrote a personal check to myself to cover closing costs later that month.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 17:18
|
|
|
Reading is hard. I missed the wire part.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 17:31
|
|
|
Pilfered Pallbearers posted:I think he means showing up to the local credit union in person, not flying like a cocaine dealer. This
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 17:39
|
|
|
Motronic posted:If you don't have power, water/well, septic/sewer you're $75,000 away from even thinking about building a house. Possibly more. I'm in no rush just looking at zillow at this stage discovering that listers don't understand it's 2021 and some people (me it's me) want to know exactly what kind of internet they can get. No not all broadband is the same but hey thanks for that poetic description of the land and drone shots that make it look like there's a view that may or may not exist. I did discover https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov which is nice and actually gives me an idea of where the fiber is.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 18:14
|
|
|
Duck and Cover posted:I'm in no rush just looking at zillow at this stage discovering that listers don't understand it's 2021 and some people (me it's me) want to know exactly what kind of internet they can get. No not all broadband is the same but hey thanks for that poetic description of the land and drone shots that make it look like there's a view that may or may not exist. I did discover https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov which is nice and actually gives me an idea of where the fiber is. So here's the thing: in most parts of this country if there is not already some kind of house on it there's a very good reason. If you've never built a house before you're in for quite a ride. Doubly so because you've never done it on raw land. The reason nobody's saying anything about broadband coverage is because it's just the same a getting electric power: $20-50k to extend a primary from the nearest pole(s) and drop a transformer. You might want to describe the general area and kind of places you're looking for. Because not only do you have these costs, a lot of raw land doesn't' even have access from public roads and relies on an informal or maybe even formal easement that going to make actually cutting in a driveway a big problem.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 18:27
|
|
|
Duck and Cover posted:I'm in no rush just looking at zillow at this stage discovering that listers don't understand it's 2021 and some people (me it's me) want to know exactly what kind of internet they can get. No not all broadband is the same but hey thanks for that poetic description of the land and drone shots that make it look like there's a view that may or may not exist. I did discover https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov which is nice and actually gives me an idea of where the fiber is. That map is not nearly as accurate as it should be. It says my new house has gigabit available from both Cox and CenturyLink. Cox doesn't service it at all and the fastest CL will sell me is 140/20 bonded DSL. But I knew that before I put in the offer because I went to both of them directly and just asked them. CenturyLink's network here is so much less congested than Cox at my old house that it almost always outperforms the 300/30 I had there.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 18:53
|
|
|
Motronic posted:So here's the thing: in most parts of this country if there is not already some kind of house on it there's a very good reason. I deliberately kept it vague as I wanted stories not necessarily advice. What I personally am looking at is kind of just irrelevant but to satisfy curiosity it's areas around Burlington Vermont. Doesn't necessarily even have to be there though but it's where I've been idly looking. They generally do have power at the street, they may or may not have well/septic already. If you can tell me it has cable or worse a vague "high speed" you can tell me speeds. I'm not even asking for costs to bring it in, I'm asking for what is available. IOwnCalculus posted:That map is not nearly as accurate as it should be. It says my new house has gigabit available from both Cox and CenturyLink. This does not surprise me but I feel like it's better then nothing.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 19:46
|
|
|
Duck and Cover posted:it's areas around Burlington Vermont. lmao, good loving luck. If you're in actual Burlinton, you might get Burlington Telecom or whatever it is, otherwise in that area you get Comcast that may or may not still be somewhat built on the old Adelphia system. Outside of Chittenden county you may as well just get cans and a string. Here's a blog from a goon who built outside of Stowe or something. http://www.vtwoods.life/ If you're not already in the Burlington area, you're in for a shock. Think of all the advice Motronic is going to give you about permits, contractors, and costs, and just make it worse. Also, enjoy high taxes. If you're already in the Burlington area, I guess sunk cost fallacy? I grew up near there, and let me tell you, moving to southeast PA has been fantastic. There's job, services, costs are better balanced, there's housing that isn't as loving stupidly priced, there's property taxes that aren't as stupidly set.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 19:58
|
|
|
Duck and Cover posted:If you can tell me it has cable or worse a vague "high speed" you can tell me speeds. I'm not even asking for costs to bring it in, I'm asking for what is available. Those maps can not. In fact, most of the local suppliers may have trouble telling you that unless you can place an order. Things can be crazy enough that simply being on the wrong side of the street can cause to to not be able to get service or need to pay them $5,000 to install a pole for you. Or pay someone else less than that if they will run it to your own pole. This isn't a rural/raw land issue even. Those maps will say you have <x> high speed coverage in area with FIOS and it turns out you don't because you live in a condo/apartment building where they'd have to dig up the neighborhood to get it to you.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 20:02
|
|
|
Motronic posted:Those maps can not. In fact, most of the local suppliers may have trouble telling you that unless you can place an order. Yup, that happened to me with a condo I rented. I had a signed contract from the internet provider which was mysteriously cancelled with no reason after I had already signed the condo lease. Upon calling up they figured out that they didn't serve the area. After having the same thing happen with two other high-speed providers in the area, I discovered that actually no one offered high speed internet to this condo complex in an area where every other building on each side of the complex was able to get FIOS and high speed cable internet. So I got 3 Mbps DSL for a year and had to suffer until I could move out. When I was buying my house I checked with my nextdoor neighbors that there were true high speed options available and luckily it was correct. My realtor said a high speed internet contingency was unheard of.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 20:14
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 19:04 |
|
|
Alarbus posted:lmao, good loving luck. If you're in actual Burlinton, you might get Burlington Telecom or whatever it is, otherwise in that area you get Comcast that may or may not still be somewhat built on the old Adelphia system. Outside of Chittenden county you may as well just get cans and a string. That link is fantastic (I assume I haven't read it all), stories are what I want, not necessarily Vermont. As far as the rest, I live in New England. My parents have a vacation house on Stratton (skigod.us I don't think it's technically in Stratton but whatever)I myself no longer ski though. I don't think I'd be shocked by anything Burlington related. I mean its a factory for coats they should have some jobs right? If it's cold? They have coats. Duck and Cover fucked around with this message at 21:04 on Sep 11, 2021 |
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 20:56
|
|