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Sundae posted:What, you don't have your washer / dryer connections on the third floor in a laundry closet right outside the obvious choice for a children's bedroom? Did you buy my cousin's townhouse in Chicago? Their condo had it right outside of the bathroom, but it was a single bedroom place, not big enough for it to be anywhere else.
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Jan 30, 2024 19:34
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another nice thing about having the laundry in the garage is using it as a mudroom, you come in, strip off your muddy clothes, put them straight in the wash, and then go through the house in your undies to get to the shower
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Jan 30, 2024 19:43
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Mudrooms throughly own.
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Jan 30, 2024 20:06
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Did you ever resolve the Scooby Doo and the mystery of the
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Jan 30, 2024 20:10
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Hadlock posted:Did you ever resolve the Scooby Doo and the mystery of the I talked to them again and brought along a recording of what it sounds like in my daughter's room when they're doing it. They promised they'd try to cut back (but did point out that one of them is on a reverse schedule so that's sort of when he does the household work), and they've reduced the craziness of it. I hear loud washer spin cycles earlier, like 7-8pm now, which makes me think they've gone and shifted what they're doing when. I can deal with that, and judging by improved sleep / possibly age, my daughter can too. But yeah, no overnight laundry for me. Even with our relatively quiet newer units, those things aren't quiet. You joke re: haunted ghost, but when she was 2, my daughter called it the "Boom Boom Monster" in the closet. quote:Mudrooms throughly own. Quoting for absolute truth.
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Jan 31, 2024 06:09
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Pretty close to selling my place with Redfin if anyone has any input on using them I was pretty much ready to sign with a local broker but come signing time I requested his originally stated “minimum commission” of 5% total and he’s counter offering me to get 2.8% seller commish. Its petty but i found this annoying so yeah, kinda just want to go with the low commission realtor now. I feel like taking a guaranteed 1.3% of sale price to the bank by using Redfin is well worth it, compared with a totally speculative/non quantifiable value add of a higher commission broker. My house is nicely finished inside. I think it’ll do most of the selling itself. Getting it onto MLS is going to do the vast majority of the work hobbez fucked around with this message at 16:34 on Jan 31, 2024 |
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Jan 31, 2024 15:32
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I’m browsing in a few neighborhoods with lots of older construction, which often means knob and tube wiring is flagged in the inspection. So far I’ve only had one selling agent say they are specifically looking for an investor buyer because the home is basically uninsurable with knob and tube. I’m in California and the home insurance climate here is pretty chaotic. This has me wondering about the other houses I saw that weren’t so up front about knob and tube. People are financing these homes, so they must be getting insurance somehow. Looking around the internet, it seems like outcomes range from “I had to rewire the entire house” to “the insurance agent didn’t ask so it was fine.” Not exactly confidence inspiring when trying to put in an offer.
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Jan 31, 2024 17:30
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Yeah go with redfin. Realtors are a parasite get the lowest rate you can find. 1.8% seems like an awful lot to do 2 open houses and list the property on MLS but I guess that's the deal
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Jan 31, 2024 17:41
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Not the same, I know, but I'm currently buying via redfin and the experience has been totally smooth and easy.
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Jan 31, 2024 17:58
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Mush Mushi posted:I’m browsing in a few neighborhoods with lots of older construction, which often means knob and tube wiring is flagged in the inspection. So far I’ve only had one selling agent say they are specifically looking for an investor buyer because the home is basically uninsurable with knob and tube. There is a big difference whether the knob and tube is abandoned and not energized, vs. still actually powered in the walls. It can be very difficult for an inspector to verify the former pre-sale, though, since it may require tearing open a wall somewhere to physically test the old wires. That said, old knob and tube is very common in California's pre-1940s buildings and most insurers can give you an answer on it. I don't think you'd find a house with abandoned knob and tube to be uninsurable. I think if you buy a house that has energized knob and tube you should assume you'll be buying it with the power turned off, and not turning it on until your electrician contractor has performed many thousands of dollars of work. Potentially tens of thousands depending on the size and construction and how invasive a rewire will be. Note that aluminum wiring or stab-lok panel are also significant issues, so it's not just knob and tube that is a problem for wiring.
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Jan 31, 2024 18:11
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Mandatory federal electric breaker panel recall blah blah fire hazard blah blah google it
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Jan 31, 2024 18:17
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Yeah, unenergized knob and tube is not a problem, I don't think you'll have any insurance issues with that, and it's not really a safety issue other than you have some miscellaneous crap in your walls. A home that is 100% knob and tube will definitely be a problem. You might see places that are mostly up to date with maybe 1 or 2 rooms knob and tube. I'd imagine most insurance companies will work with you, especially if the house has managed to not catch fire for many decades, but you almost certainly will want A Plan since it's not good and will make selling it eventually a headache. The seller might also not know, and I don't think insurance will like, make you prove it's not knob and tube or anything.
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Jan 31, 2024 18:19
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I had no problem buying, insuring, or selling a house with energized knob-and-tube. That was in SF, though, not one of the counties that the insurers are essentially abandoning.
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Jan 31, 2024 18:28
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Gwaihir posted:Not the same, I know, but I'm currently buying via redfin and the experience has been totally smooth and easy. I get the feeling the latter depends mostly on the quality of the individual realtor and condo HOA, so I'm not sure I shouldn't just go with redfin unless I get a recommendation for someone specific.
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Jan 31, 2024 18:32
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Paper Tiger posted:Speaking of deeply stupid people, see if you can figure out from the listing why this house has been on the market for two months despite being freshly remodeled and competitively priced in a hot real estate market north of Seattle: https://www.redfin.com/WA/Edmonds/7434-210th-St-SW-98026/home/2742746. I'd never trust a flipper to do a garage conversion anyway, so many ways to muck that up if not done correctly. Step 1 would be to see if they even pulled a permit. I helped a house flipper with a change of use recently and it was her first time with the permit office. "We usually just do whatever and don't bother" were her literal words.
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Jan 31, 2024 18:48
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You should talk to a local insurance agent about what the options are for hypothetical knob and tube wiring. They will know best. Knob and tube itself is pretty safe if it hasn't been messed with. The trouble begins when people have improperly spliced new branches onto knob and tube wiring, replaced fixtures without knowing how to properly tie into it or spot bad insulation, installed a larger fuse or breaker, or installed fiberglass/cellulose insulation on top of the wire which prevents it from cooling properly.
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Jan 31, 2024 21:24
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I now own two houses. poo poo. Three weeks to go before I can traipse across the country and start prepping the old one to be sold!
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Jan 31, 2024 21:40
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Welcome to Pennsylvania! Enjoy the only state in the US with even higher gas taxes than California's and incredibly bad roads to show for it 
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Jan 31, 2024 22:59
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Oh, the road quality doesn't matter, because there's so many cars and such frequent intersections that you're rarely doing better than 15MPH anyway. 
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Jan 31, 2024 23:02
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Buying a house with some active knob and tube in a decently sized California city pre-Covid resulted in really annoying insurance song and dance that was only resolved via the help of an amazing local insurance broker. With the recent freeze of the homeowner's insurance market out here I would also highly recommend finding someone local who can tell you how much of a problem it will be in your market.
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Jan 31, 2024 23:07
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Oh, the road quality doesn't matter, because there's so many cars and such frequent intersections that you're rarely doing better than 15MPH anyway. That's still fast enough to wreck a tire, rim, or suspension! From experience, sadly.
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Jan 31, 2024 23:25
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:I now own two houses. poo poo. Have you considered that lots of things are better when you have two of them? Such as ice cream scoops, hands, or urethras
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Feb 1, 2024 03:15
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QuarkJets posted:Have you considered that lots of things are better when you have two of them? Such as ice cream scoops, hands, or urethras No, actually this is not a net plus.
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Feb 3, 2024 00:12
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Need: 48k expense coming up for a required home project/required assessment. Current situation: 30 yr mortgage @ 2.75%, owed balance is 120k. Property worth around 250k or more, so equity is around 130k give or take a few. I don't have 48k cash to just pay the expense. I could sell about 20k in stocks to help pay it. Options - a) cash out refinance get 48k? b) heloc 48k? c) liquidate 20k stocks, get a loan for remaining 28k needed? d) something else? Hoping this is the right thread for this question. I'm reading about each of these options, never had a situation like this so pretty newbish. Posting just to see if others have run into similar scenario what option you went with.
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Feb 3, 2024 03:06
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You might also ask the BFC Newbies thread. I wouldn't take option C in any case, since you'd have to pay taxes on the income from selling the stocks. Low interest rate debt is generally preferable, so long as you can handle the payments.
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Feb 3, 2024 03:24
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You'd pay taxes just on what the stocks appreciated, not the whole amount. Refi'ing a 2.75% mortgage is going to cost a lot over the life of the loan but that depends on when you think you can refi again. I'd imagine the lowest risk is going to be cashing out the stock and doing a loan/Heloc for the rest. You'll need to keep some left over to cover taxes. This also depends on your ability to pay back this loan and how quickly you can pay it down. So there's lots of variables here.
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Feb 3, 2024 03:34
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B looks like the least bad option How far out can you push this? Money is going to be substantially cheaper in 9, 18 months than it is right now. Even 3 months would be a big improvement
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Feb 3, 2024 05:23
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Hadlock posted:B looks like the least bad option (I would not recommend making a serious bet on when exactly the Fed will change interest rates. They're probably going to drop them sometime in the next year, but you never know...)
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Feb 3, 2024 05:26
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Thanks for the feedback. I only have 2 posts in BFC per month so this will be it for February. The construction will begin in summer 2024 and first payment will be due soon, probably May 1st, so unfortunately I can't wait for better (potential) rates. I'd like to keep my existing first mortgage 2.75% intact and get a separate loan (HELOC I guess) and the best rate I can find, then pay that sucker down as quickly as possible, because I know it's not going to be anywhere near a nice <3% like my mortgage. I do have 26k cash saved but didn't want to touch that or the 20k in stocks, but could use some of either of that to pay a chunk of this and get the heloc for the rest, then pay it down quick. Thanks for letting me talk this out, I have a better idea now. I still hate it. drat south FL condos. Should've kept the house. Last option is use 26k cash and 20k stocks and pretty much pay the whole thing outright without a loan, but then have zero emergency fund, zero cash savings, which frightens me. zaurg fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Feb 3, 2024 |
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Feb 3, 2024 05:36
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oh lol it's a special assessment on a condo because you know, drastically underfunded HOA needs millions to deal with the accelerating entropy that is homes in south florida yeah don't buy a south florida condo, folks good luck zaurg
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Feb 3, 2024 05:57
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Well, a special assessment kinda falls under the emergency heading of why you need that much cash. I would use the cash, and get a heloc for the rest I guess. I'd cover it all with cash+stock if you had more stock, but the stock kinda becomes your emergency fund for a bit.
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Feb 3, 2024 06:07
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:You might also ask the BFC Newbies thread. Oh, this is no BFC newbie.
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Feb 3, 2024 06:22
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Yeah please don't build an uninsurable house in Florida Signed, someone with an almost (but not, yet) uninsurable house in California The Florida housing insurance market is basically bankrupt at this point right? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong
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Feb 3, 2024 07:22
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I received a call yesterday from my Florida homeowners insurance asking me about an open claim. I called them back today and they answered and said they would issue me the remaining $ on the claim and continue working on getting me more $ (lol not likely, but hey it was a good friendly statement on the phone) - the coverage will be complete poo poo like most insurance, but they are responsive and not bankrupt yet I guess. My insurance comment above is about an HO6 plan in south FL. I'm a newbie! I won't buy a south FL condo next time, I'll get a time machine and keep my old single family home that has appreciated from 400k to 650k in the past 3 years and keep that. Definitely the better move. Just posting this for folks in similar situation. Maybe keeping the home is the better idea, long-term?
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Feb 3, 2024 07:40
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Yeah not gonna poo poo on this one. Special assessments can really suck. My mother's place got hit with an assessment about a decade ago to redo the underground parking garage, above which all the condos were built, after inspectors called out structural issues from deferred maintenance. It ended up phenomenally expensive to rebuild and worked out to like $30K per unit, which is a tough pill to swallow even if you have the money. In my opinion, a surprise special assessment is exactly what a cash emergency fund is for. Though to ask, is your HOA open to either payment plans or a dues-adjustment for X years in lieu of some of the up-front cash? It's not as good as just paying and getting it over with (and can make it much harder to sell the place since your buyer has unusually high dues compared to comparable units as a result), but if it turns into a choice between that and a property lien, it might be the lesser evil. But yeah, otherwise I'd be throwing the cash + stock or HELOC (if you can get one on a south florida condo of questionable future value?) to fill in the difference. Sundae fucked around with this message at 10:58 on Feb 3, 2024 |
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Feb 3, 2024 10:55
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Sundae posted:But yeah, otherwise I'd be throwing the cash + stock or HELOC (if you can get one on a south florida condo of questionable future value?) to fill in the difference. To re-iterate, would you take out a Heloc to buy the stock? If not, then you probably should cash it out to reduce the amount of the Heloc. If a heloc is not possible I'd probably look at a credit union loan next before considering refinancing.
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Feb 3, 2024 15:24
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Lockback posted:To re-iterate, would you take out a Heloc to buy the stock? If not, then you probably should cash it out to reduce the amount of the Heloc. This depends a lot on the rate of the heloc vs what your expected returns on the stock are. If you're getting the HELOC at 5% even some relatively boring stuff like market index funds can be outperforming it. That said, not taking the debt is 100% the most conservative, safest route and right now a quick glance online says HELOCs are around 7%, which makes the scales tip a lot more in favor of not taking the debt.
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Feb 3, 2024 15:31
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If you're getting a Heloc at 5% right now then, yes, things would look different. 7% evens seems low, I would expect the rate is going to be closer to 9%.
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Feb 3, 2024 15:33
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zaurg posted:I only have 2 posts in BFC per month so this will be it for February. I think other people have the actual special assessment /HELOC / etc. discussion covered, but FYI, I have unilaterally upped your BFC limit from 2 posts/month to 4 posts/month, as this was rational, on-topic, and interesting discussion.
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Feb 3, 2024 15:45
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So how is that not grounds to eliminate the HOA. Like they didn't plan properly or save for unexpected but predictable expenses like deferred maintenance. So gently caress em, dissolve the current board and remake it if it's still necessary
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Feb 3, 2024 15:51
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