|
Diva Cupcake posted:Mortgage News Daily has their survey rates for 30y-Fixed at 6.13% today. Up from 5.50% last week. Mortgages get repackaged into securities called "mortgage backed securities" (may recall the term from the subprime mortgage crisis, not a factor here, but same thing) Well on Friday they had MBSs to sell and nobody bought any. MBS is a ~1.5 Trillion (with a T) annual market. Imagine if the stock market opened Friday and everyone on the entire planet was like, "nope, doesn't make economic sense to buy stock today" Anyways that happened to mortgages Friday. Presumably because the interest rate on most of those mortgages was half the rate of inflation. So how do you sell MBS? Well you'll need to increase the APR on the mortgages until they approach the rate of inflation for your preferred time horizon. So on Monday rates jumped half a percent Going to be very interesting to see how much rates go up through the end of summer, and how many people fall out of the market as people who's entire mental model of home ownership revolves around a 4% mortgage and now a prime rate is hovering closer to 7 If you're sitting in an ARM mortgage and somehow haven't refinanced, uh, I would start that discussion with your partner soon
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2022 23:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 13:51 |
|
|
Look, no matter what, everyone will be perfectly fine because salaries and wages will keep up with inflation and rising cost of livi- ah. Ooh. Mm.
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2022 23:28
|
|
|
QuarkJets posted:Looking forward to losing all of my equity as prices come down to meet what people can afford with the new interest rates. I bought years ago at 3.875% and bought again last year at 2.75%. Checking a mortgage calculator, there's no way I could have afforded the house that I bought, at the price I bought it at, for 6.1% interest. My budget would have been reduced by roughly 30%. For my own sanity, I try (emphasis on try) not to check the price of things after I've bought. With any luck at all, you won't care about the value of your house for at least three years, maybe more. As much as you can, don't check Zillow, treat it as Schroedinger's house.
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2022 23:36
|
|
|
My home inspection stuff is complete; home, sewer, and termite all look good. Title company also sent me a bunch of stuff today. It's interesting how I had zero choice over this company and now I'm supposed to buy insurance from them. Is that an ongoing thing? House has solar panels and I was a little worried about some kind of lien on the title over the panels, but title stuff just seems like normal gov't forms. Think now I just wait for close.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 00:18
|
|
|
 😬
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 00:53
|
|
|
phosdex posted:My home inspection stuff is complete; home, sewer, and termite all look good. Title company also sent me a bunch of stuff today. It's interesting how I had zero choice over this company and now I'm supposed to buy insurance from them. Is that an ongoing thing? It's a one time thing and it's not insurance for you, it's insurance your lender requires you to buy for them. There are owners policies that are called different things depending on what state you're in. You can buy them from the same place or a different place. The utility of them is contentious in this thread, but I personally feel that if you don't have a cookie cutter obvious property that has been surveyed as part of the transaction or the chain of title looks even the tiniest bet complicated that it's worth paying for. It's a one time thing.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 01:46
|
|
|
Choo choo, interest rates be damned!  Median days on market is 10.50 now instead of 9.00, y-o-y for same period. 26.7 days to close (-1.5 from last year). Fewer homes listed and fewer homes sold (but they nearly match on percentages to account for y-o-y). The only thing I see that's actually different in the data is 63.8% two-week off-market, vs 75% last year.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 03:28
|
|
|
Bay area real estate is unusually special in that it's about the most liquid, illiquid, inflation resistant asset you can own, AND with the bonus of the longer you hold it, the cheaper it is to own regardless of age (due to insane boomer brain tax laws)
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 03:47
|
|
|
I feel bad for the poor saps who will be left holding the bag in the Bay Area.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 03:55
|
|
|
Arsenic Lupin posted:For my own sanity, I try (emphasis on try) not to check the price of things after I've bought. With any luck at all, you won't care about the value of your house for at least three years, maybe more. As much as you can, don't check Zillow, treat it as Schroedinger's house. Redfin agents literally leave notices on my door with their price estimate in big red font
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 03:58
|
|
|
Pollyanna posted:I feel bad for the poor saps who will be left holding the bag in the Bay Area. The fun thing is that the longer you hold the bag out here, the less it hurts you. I'm mostly not kidding.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 04:04
|
|
|
Yeah Also, if you think the bag holding time horizon is more than ~18 years away (periods of intense inflation shrinks this number) you should come out ahead No comment on the water situation out there, though
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 04:10
|
|
|
No, I feel confident in saying someone is going to get hosed over while someone else gets off scott free. That’s kinda how a lot of finance-adjacent things go these days.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 04:13
|
|
|
You’re not using Redfin Mortgage are you? I know the phraseology is 100% standard but their notes sound just about the same as with me.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 04:45
|
|
|
I think we have one more shot at a house that matches up with our wants before we just take a break. Our rent isn't going up and our landlord hasn't said anything about us having to move out, so the only hurry we have is that a 2bd, 2ba feels small with a toddler & a newborn. Depending on how tomorrow goes, our offer might option out anyways.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 21:37
|
|
|
OK, I think I have a somewhat different scenario and would like to get some feedback. We are in SE Wisconsin for reference. Background info: we are currently renting and our lease is up in ~1 year (we previously signed a 2-year lease for stability). We are renting a home, and the owners are expected to return at the end of the lease, meaning we have to move in the next year no matter what and we had planned to purchase a home to move into since we have the finances and want a place of our own to start customizing and working on. We also have a 5 and 3 year old and want to get them settled in a good area before they get too much older. I work from home and my wife is set to get tenure at a good university in a few years in the area, so moving is unlikely. So we started looking and trying to get an idea on things, knowing/hearing how now is a bad time to buy. One of my wife's coworkers that she knows quite well was complaining about his realtor and how when their contract is up at the end of the month they are looking for someone else. Long story short, my wife asked some questions and we are very interested in their place now. We've been to see it and it fits all of our wants (large enough for us plus an office and guest room, big kitchen and giant lot with lots of trees and a large vegetable garden. A young couple had previously planned to make an offer, but things fell through after the inspection. Basically they wanted a place that was much newer and didn't want to have to worry about Maintenace and repairs. We are getting the inspection paperwork that was provided to look over. I should also add that she knows him well and generally trusts him (but I know how sometimes money can be an issue with some people you think you know well). I also own a bunch of tools, like to fix and work on things, and have done some basic things in a house (replaced an entire toilet plus many parts of other toilets over the years), done minor rewiring and running of cables through walls, plus I've built all sorts of things with wood. Not an expert, but not scared to take on things either (but definitely willing to call in professionals when needed). We are preapproved for more than we need (in general and for this place), but I have a few questions and would like some feedback. Mostly checking my logic and making sure I'm not overlooking something. 1. The owner moved in ~30 years ago, but has kept things up pretty well. Per the inspection, the roof of the house is pretty worn and likely needs replaced. Additionally the furnace is out and some windows need to be resealed. A/C is fine (but original unit) and separate garage roof is good (better tree coverage I guess) should be fine at least 5 years based on my (and inspector's estimation). The owner is open to taking care of all the repairs themself and we can roll the amount into the selling price or we can buy as-is at a lower price and take care of it ourselves. Quotes put repairs maybe around $20K or so for roof, furnace, and all the windows (we plan to get our own estimates too). I'm leaning towards just having those rolled into the mortgage, since most of my liquid assets are going to be tied up in down payments and such. I also don't really want to deal with the hassle of getting quotes and scheduling the work to be done. Sound reasonable? I know the a/c is old, but it checks out fine and that seems like the sort of thing that we just need to prepare for in the next bit of time. 2. OK this one is weird: water is coming from a well and was built to code back when the house was put in (30s). Apparently now the rules have changed and if it doesn't go all the way down to bedrock it needs to have a 6in pipe - it currently has a 5in pipe. Obviously it has worked fine, looks good and doesn't have to be replaced or require repairs according to the inspector. And it isn't like anybody knows about this and is requiring it to be retrofit. But I guess in the future it could be a major repair if something were to go bad? I probably need some more details on this, but I guess I'm wondering a) how likely is that scenario and b) what sort of cost might that be? 3. Since they've had trouble with their realtor and the contract is up, they were saying we could just leave realtors out of it and split the savings between us if we were ok with that. I'm open to it, but this is my first time buying (even with a realtor) and I want to make sure I'm protected. What sort of things should I consider and what are the pros/cons to this idea? Hopefully, that's enough details. I'm typing from memory, but I can always get more info later if it is needed. Thanks in advance!
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 22:09
|
|
|
My one comment is that I'd way, way rather do repairs myself than trust people who are going to have zero interest in the property after they're done. The seller's motivation is to get the house good enough to sell, your motivation is to get it good enough that it will be livable in a few years time. There are just a lot of corners that can be cut that, even if they don't impact the livability, can just make something kind of shittier. And then you have a roof you're not totally happy with and which you don't want to replace because it will cost a ton of money. My advice would be to just negotiate a price you both think is reasonable for the house in its current shape, taking into account any needed repairs, and then do the repairs yourself. If you're going to be so un-liquid after buying it that you can't swing the repairs you need to either change up your financing (lower down payment etc) or reconsider if you can really afford the place. As for the timing, in your shoes I'd try to close earlier and get the repairs done while still renting for a few months.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 22:18
|
|
|
Also you can eschew a realtor, but if you do you definitely 100% need a lawyer. (We tend to advise a lot of people to get an attorney anyway, to review the contracts provided by the realtors, but without realtors you can't do without the attorney.) The lawyer's fees will be much lower than you'd pay to a realtor. You will have less help navigating the process and should not expect the attorney to be able to help with that. But half the job of the buyer's agent is to help you find the house you want to buy, and if you already did that, you shouldn't have to pay for it. Given that fact, I suppose it's possible you could find a realtor willing to work for a cut rate on the basis that the house is already identified and shown and all they have to do is negotiate price and guide you through the offer/escrow/close process?
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 22:31
|
|
|
Cyrano4747 posted:My one comment is that I'd way, way rather do repairs myself than trust people who are going to have zero interest in the property after they're done. The seller's motivation is to get the house good enough to sell, your motivation is to get it good enough that it will be livable in a few years time. There are just a lot of corners that can be cut that, even if they don't impact the livability, can just make something kind of shittier. And then you have a roof you're not totally happy with and which you don't want to replace because it will cost a ton of money. The other possibility is to buy at "repaired" price or thereabout and have the owners put money into escrow for the repairs the the new owner can have them done themselves after closing. This is pretty typical here for things like septic. Looks like leperfish has the "you need a real estate attorney, not a real estate agent" covered so I'll do this one: Douche4Sale posted:2. OK this one is weird: water is coming from a well and was built to code back when the house was put in (30s). Apparently now the rules have changed and if it doesn't go all the way down to bedrock it needs to have a 6in pipe - it currently has a 5in pipe. Obviously it has worked fine, looks good and doesn't have to be replaced or require repairs according to the inspector. And it isn't like anybody knows about this and is requiring it to be retrofit. But I guess in the future it could be a major repair if something were to go bad? I probably need some more details on this, but I guess I'm wondering a) how likely is that scenario and b) what sort of cost might that be? You'll be fine. Nobody is going to make you change an already existing residential well. 5" pipe limits your choices of pumps and that's about it. They will be making 5" pumps for a long time still because of houses like this. "How much it costs" if you're talking about drilling a new well starts at several thousand dollars to close the old well properly (slurry fill) and several thousand dollars to drill a new one. This can easily reach 5 figures and depends entirely on your specific hyperlocal geology and how deep they will have to drill. You absolutely have at least one well drilling company that is local, maybe even the one who drilled that well in the 30s, that could absolutely give you a good idea on what this would cost and also set you mind at ease in regards to it likely not being necessary.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 22:55
|
|
|
Is widening an existing well just not an option?
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 23:04
|
|
|
Leperflesh posted:Is widening an existing well just not an option? Nope. Not at all. Drilling doesn't work that way. There's already a casing there that is going to cost more to remove than to slurry fill.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 23:18
|
|
|
Welp.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2022 23:41
|
|
|
Wells in California cost about $40/ft to drill. Most were drilled to 100-200' but if you're in an area with a rapidly falling water table thanks to local agriculture being allowed to pump an unlimited amount of water daily, you'll want to drill to 400' which is going to set you back $16,000 assuming the county will even let you drill. In a lot of counties they won't let you drill unless you have at least 3-5 acres now which makes a lot of 1-2 acre vacant lots totally worthless and unbuildable In a total 180, in north Carolina I think they recommend you apply for a permit after the fact, but it's not strictly required in all counties. Also the water table is not horrible so you're looking at like $4-8000 to drill I would just pray your well never fails
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 01:50
|
|
|
Hadlock posted:In a total 180, in north Carolina I think they recommend you apply for a permit after the fact, but it's not strictly required in all counties. Also the water table is not horrible so you're looking at like $4-8000 to drill and in NC pray that your well isn't near a Duke Energy coal ash pit since they all violate the clean water act but the lawsuits have somehow been tied up for a decade 
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 04:07
|
|
|
Thanks all. I think I spaced out while typing number three, because yes we definitely were still going to have an attorney do the paperwork. I had planned to type that, but whelp. Glad to see that focusing on just passing them rather than a realtor isn't outlandish. I hadn't considered the escrow idea. That's not a bad idea. As far as having the funds for it, we definitely could handle it without putting it into the mortgage. I guess I was just thinking it would be easier to roll it in as part of the price and then not have to worry about it (the scheduling and saving/budgeting specifically for that) so we could focus on rebuilding our savings after the down payment, closing, and moving costs. I probably need to run through some of the different payment scenarios with a mortgage calculator and some of the repair quotes.
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 05:24
|
|
|
Inept posted:and in NC pray that your well isn't near a Duke Energy coal ash pit since they all violate the clean water act but the lawsuits have somehow been tied up for a decade
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 11:09
|
|
|
Wells are fun. I lost pressure my first summer here and had someone out to investigate. They said it's likely a broken pipe somewhere down there. My coworker guessed my well would be 100ft, but pipes just kept coming out totaling 600ft. It's a slow filler, so it's that deep for the reservoir, the water level was like 10ft down from the top.
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 12:25
|
|
|
Inept posted:and in NC pray that your well isn't near a Duke Energy coal ash pit since they all violate the clean water act but the lawsuits have somehow been tied up for a decade If you are in NH enjoy your well water being poisoned by PFAS and being told you need to be hooked up to town water but it is ok the company who poisoned the water will pay for that in return for you not suing them.
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 13:11
|
|
|
BigPaddy posted:If you are in NH enjoy your well water being poisoned by PFAS and being told you need to be hooked up to town water but it is ok the company who poisoned the water will pay for that in return for you not suing them. I'd take that deal in a heartbeat.
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 17:59
|
|
|
daslog posted:I'd take that deal in a heartbeat. Joke's on you. They poisoned the town water too! 
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 18:21
|
|
|
daslog posted:I'd take that deal in a heartbeat. That wording really means "you've been getting poisoned for some time" fwiw
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 19:00
|
|
|
Lol definitely don’t look too close at town water in NH either!!! All sources of water here are hosed beyond repair. The only real out is getting some sort of all home filtration in a PFAS free area and that way you at least may not have MTBE and Arsenic. At least my dad was kind enough to nonchalantly say we were drinking arsenic and radon water our whole lives when the state did some testing about 5 years ago. Maybe he didn’t care because he was 70
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 19:27
|
|
|
My inlaws moved to central WI from southern NH and were amazed at how much better the infrastructure was in WI. It's gotta be majorly poo poo for the Lake Winnebago region blows your mind.
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 19:45
|
|
|
I have been wildly unimpressed with east coast infrastructure since I got here
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 19:55
|
|
|
QuarkJets posted:That wording really means "you've been getting poisoned for some time" fwiw Yep, I lived in Merrimack in the 80s!
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 19:59
|
|
|
The town water where I used to live in NH came from a system owned by a city it boarders. The city had bought the private water system decades ago because it was getting to expensive. They started offering to hook up the surrounding towns to get them off well water. This was before Saint Gobain was found to be leaking PFAS into the Merrimack River. Decades later the system needed a ton of investment because the prices had been low for so long and nothing was fixed properly. Failed to get anything passed in the city to raise rates so to get the money to fix everything they jack up the rates for all the surrounding towns they had been adding for years and Saint Gobain had been paying to hook up due to PFAS for years. People pushed back saying that they would just go back to their wells. Of course that doesn’t work as the old one would have been filled when they were hooked up to town water and the State had told local municipalities to not give permits for wells in contaminated areas. There was no legal recourse since the water system was a private company that just so happened to be owned by a city so could set the rates to what they wanted. So they did.
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 20:07
|
|
|
NH party in here. Moved from Saint Gobain town over one and we've got firefighting foam contamination showing up in wells now. I'm in the queue for state testing.
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 21:22
|
|
|
Maybe I’ll advise my family to bring bottled water during our Hampton Beach vacation.
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 22:06
|
|
|
BigPaddy posted:The town water where I used to live in NH came from a system owned by a city it boarders. The city had bought the private water system decades ago because it was getting to expensive. They started offering to hook up the surrounding towns to get them off well water. This was before Saint Gobain was found to be leaking PFAS into the Merrimack River. Decades later the system needed a ton of investment because the prices had been low for so long and nothing was fixed properly. Failed to get anything passed in the city to raise rates so to get the money to fix everything they jack up the rates for all the surrounding towns they had been adding for years and Saint Gobain had been paying to hook up due to PFAS for years. People pushed back saying that they would just go back to their wells. Of course that doesn’t work as the old one would have been filled when they were hooked up to town water and the State had told local municipalities to not give permits for wells in contaminated areas. There was no legal recourse since the water system was a private company that just so happened to be owned by a city so could set the rates to what they wanted. So they did. And so money was then raised to fix, update, and maintain infrastructure that they rely on for clean drinking water?
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2022 23:01
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 13:51 |
|
|
We have an osmosis system in our house because what could possibly be more toxic than the adhesive invented to stick the least sticky thing (Teflon) to smooth polished metal, then dump that in the river that drains 1/7th of the state Presumably no apartments in the city are retrofitted with osmosis water systems (you can't filter this poo poo out) so if you're too poor to buy a house and permanently install a $1200 system you and your children just ingest cancer particles via drinking water all day long
|
|
#
?
Jun 16, 2022 01:28
|
|