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Yeah, or, "hmm three bedroom house, why are the blinds closed in this bedroom?" Google maps: looks over the city sanitation department next door always a fun game of "spot the reason why this has been on the market more than a week" 
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Mar 5, 2024 22:46
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After I showed up for a scheduled viewing of a house with my realtor and found that it was next door to a hoarder house, with multiple cars and appliances in various state of disrepair strewn around the yard, and just piles and piles of garbage shoved right up to the property line, I made sure to either check Google Street View first or did a drive by myself before I bothered to schedule the realtor again. That house was pretty cute too but aw hell naw.
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Mar 5, 2024 22:55
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In addition to getting a general inspection, you should lick each of the doorknobs in the house
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Mar 6, 2024 00:21
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QuarkJets posted:In addition to getting a general inspection, you should lick each of the doorknobs in the house Oh this would be a great thread title I'd it wasn't already perfect.
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Mar 6, 2024 00:41
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QuarkJets posted:In addition to getting a general inspection, you should lick each of the doorknobs in the house Also a good reason to get your home viewings in early before others come.
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Mar 6, 2024 00:50
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How would you compare potential Realtors if you were selling your home? Ive got two recommendations from friends not sure how to whittle it down.
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Mar 6, 2024 02:45
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Jenkl posted:How would you compare potential Realtors if you were selling your home? This is a crazy idea, but have you tried talking to them? They are interviewing for a job, let them sell you on why they are the right choice.
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Mar 6, 2024 06:02
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That is indeed a crazy idea. A duel to the death is far more elegant and also rids the world of one realtor.
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Mar 6, 2024 06:07
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Jenkl posted:How would you compare potential Realtors if you were selling your home? I'd start with redfin, and then see if either of them can beat the 2.5% commission
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Mar 6, 2024 06:11
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Jenkl posted:How would you compare potential Realtors if you were selling your home? Combat.
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Mar 6, 2024 08:00
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Realtor sent me a place that had prior water damage. Townhouse had roof leak 2 years ago but comes with 20 pages of insurance adjuster receipts of all the work done. Seems pretty comprehensive. What kinda things do I need to know here? I would try to get a very careful inspection done. Could my insurance be higher than it normally would be or anything?
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Mar 6, 2024 15:20
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phosdex posted:Could my insurance be higher than it normally would be or anything? Not could, WILL. It's on the CLUE report for that property and, as far as I understand, all insurers will use that as a way to jack rates.
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Mar 6, 2024 15:34
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Motronic posted:Not could, WILL. It's on the CLUE report for that property and, as far as I understand, all insurers will use that as a way to jack rates. That's kinda what I was thinking, my realtor just giving me the dumb vague responses though. Also I would assume HOA rates or something would have been adjusted to pay for all this poo poo.
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Mar 6, 2024 15:43
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phosdex posted:That's kinda what I was thinking, my realtor just giving me the dumb vague responses though. Also I would assume HOA rates or something would have been adjusted to pay for all this poo poo. An item like this is a case where the mask slips most of the way off and the fact the realtor is not actually representing your interests becomes visible. "oh I dunno probably nothing to worry about, so you ready to buy?"
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Mar 6, 2024 15:47
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Motronic posted:Not could, WILL. It's on the CLUE report for that property and, as far as I understand, all insurers will use that as a way to jack rates. Not necessarily, my buddy had this exact thing happen and his insurance didn't go up at all. You can call local insurance companies and get quotes on an address, that's going to be way more accurate than internet guesses. phosdex: Do you know how bad the leak was? This could range anywhere from "It's a positive since a bunch of stuff was fixed on the insurance bill" to "there's still damage that was ignored". Really think from the top down. Roof, insulation, ceiling, walls, floors, subfloor, basement, etc. A leak, even a bad one, is definitely fixable and the documentation is really good here, but it should be a thing you definitely want to shine a spotlight on. Take a look at the documentation and pay attention to what's not listed.
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Mar 6, 2024 15:48
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Anza Borrego posted:This is a crazy idea, but have you tried talking to them? They are interviewing for a job, let them sell you on why they are the right choice. I bet you'd buy windows from Andersen. I generally prefer to try and learn about something before letting professional salespeople work their magic. I find it helpful in not getting hosed over. YMMV. I don't know what I don't know, other than lower commissions, I'm not familiar with what realtors offer as potential services and what I might ask one for to get a better deal. Maybe I didn't word my post well, but I'm trying to know what to ask each of them while I interview, so to speak.
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Mar 6, 2024 15:59
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Eric the Mauve posted:An item like this is a case where the mask slips most of the way off and the fact the realtor is not actually representing your interests becomes visible. "oh I dunno probably nothing to worry about, so you ready to buy?" I understand there are situations where they aren't allowed to say one way or another, but basically "anything could happen to your insurance rates" is not helpful. Right now, I only know that it was a roof leak and my agent got me the disclosure statements and that came with the insurance receipts.
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Mar 6, 2024 15:59
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Jenkl posted:I bet you'd buy windows from Andersen. But, you did do the work? You narrowed it down to 2, now the things that matter most is commission rate and how you jive with them (which is important, don't partner with someone you don't trust). So call em up, talk to them, and make your decision!
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Mar 6, 2024 16:14
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phosdex posted:Realtor sent me a place that had prior water damage. Townhouse had roof leak 2 years ago but comes with 20 pages of insurance adjuster receipts of all the work done. Seems pretty comprehensive. What kinda things do I need to know here? I would try to get a very careful inspection done. Could my insurance be higher than it normally would be or anything? That's going to depend on what's in those receipts. What was replaced vs repaired? An ancient roof that has been patched is probably going to have higher premiums than a completely replaced roof.
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Mar 6, 2024 16:27
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Lockback posted:But, you did do the work? You narrowed it down to 2, now the things that matter most is commission rate and how you jive with them (which is important, don't partner with someone you don't trust). So call em up, talk to them, and make your decision! Bolded the answer to my actual question. I knew commission and vibe checks, but wondered what other important facets there might be to this. Sounds like you're saying they just aren't that important compared to the big two. Cool. Thanks!
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Mar 6, 2024 16:39
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Roof liar rent back house has some newly uncovered issues, namely stucco siding buried below grade in areas with inadequate drainage. There’s some visible deterioration on that side of the house in the crawl space. I’m not sure if it’s even worth paying for test holes to find more damage at this point. This is the second time I’ve had a general contractor physically come out to provide quotes on a house that I (likely) won’t buy. Should I be worried about running out of goodwill with this guy or is this just how things go?
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Mar 6, 2024 18:01
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why are you still considering this house
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Mar 6, 2024 19:58
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Seriously. It's been nothing but a series of red flags posted about in this thred, any one of which would have had me walking.
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Mar 6, 2024 20:03
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Because I live in a market that has been in housing crisis since before it was cool and it’s not uncommon for houses like this to sell without inspection and for over asking even with today’s interest rates. I am regularly competing against 10+ offers and this is literally the only current listing in my target neighborhood. I need to be a little stupid to buy here and not lose my mind. This one is probably too stupid, but I am seeing where negotiations go as long as I can back out.
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Mar 6, 2024 20:24
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lol, you're worried about losing goodwill with him?  Yes, the market is stupid and someone is going to buy that lemon as-is, without inspection. That someone should not be you.
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Mar 6, 2024 20:39
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Do not buy that house.
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Mar 6, 2024 20:41
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Mush Mushi posted:Because I live in a market that has been in housing crisis since before it was cool and it’s not uncommon for houses like this to sell without inspection and for over asking even with today’s interest rates. I am regularly competing against 10+ offers and this is literally the only current listing in my target neighborhood. In 2009, with the housing market crashed and flooded with foreclosed homes at or below $250k in the SF bay area, suddenly my wife and I were able to just about afford a house. We started looking in April or May of that year, visiting properties on our own first to do drivebys or look over fences and such, and then visiting winners with a realtor about every other weekend. But we were shopping at the bottom of the market, for houses that the owners had been forced out of rather than fixed up to sell, and so we were seeing a shitload of houses-with-problems. The strategy we adopted was perserverance. We had a good realtor who genuinely didn't seem to mind that A) we were probably his poorest clients, since he was based in Piedmont, a wealthy enclave, and B) we were using a huge amount of his time. Genuinely really nice guy, and he died a few years later of some untreatable cancer thing in his like early 40s, RIP Doug Fuller. We ruled out every house with foundation defects (which was a ton of them), every house in obviously dangerous neighborhoods since my wife walks to and from public transit alone after dark (one easy rubric: bars on the windows of every building in a neighborhood), and countless houses that just had too many other problems. We saw houses that reeked of cigarette smoke or dog, houses with illegal additions falling off of them, houses with obvious severe interior water damage, houses with exposed faulty wiring and knob and tube, it goes on and on. Anyway eventually we found a couple of houses worth bidding on. In December. We must have reviewed hundreds of listings, driven past at least 100 houses, and our realtor showed us like 40+, before we made our first bid. If you are in a market where you're shopping at the bottom, for houses with defects, and competing with other shoppers as well, you have two choices IMO: 1. buy a lovely house that you'll regret and will financially ruin you 2. be extremely patient Patience paid off for us as december 2009 was a lower point, it was raining a lot and cold, and the house we finally bought has a good foundation, the roof still had 10 years left (actually we're at 14+ now and it still isn't leaking), windows are all double-glazed, wiring is older but not faulty. We needed to re-do the hardwood floors (did them ourselves), the kitchen and bathrooms are severely dated, the patio roof leaks, the garage needs to be insulated and finished so we can use it as our workshop, we've done a lot of DIY landscaping, etc. It's not perfect at all. But we were the only bidder and got the house at list price because we were not hurrying to buy ASAP and it was clear the market was not going to suddenly clear itself out of foreclosed houses in the next few months.
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Mar 6, 2024 20:44
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Eric the Mauve posted:lol, you're worried about losing goodwill with him? I meant goodwill with my contractor who I keep dragging out to give doomed repair quotes. I’ve done it with two different houses now, but am getting a feel for how much things will cost in general, so maybe it won’t be as necessary next time.
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Mar 6, 2024 20:46
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Are you paying the contractor to do the quotes? It'd be reasonable to pay him a couple hundred each time, if he's doing detailed quotes for you.
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Mar 6, 2024 20:48
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Mush Mushi posted:Because I live in a market that has been in housing crisis since before it was cool and it’s not uncommon for houses like this to sell without inspection and for over asking even with today’s interest rates. I am regularly competing against 10+ offers and this is literally the only current listing in my target neighborhood. And if you buy a poo poo property with massive defects that are expensive to fix you’ll loose far more than you would if you continue on as a renter. And I say this as the guy who harps on how buying can actually be a great financial decision. Don’t let yourself get FOMO’d into buying a garbage property for too much. Yeah someone else will and the world is full of suckers who manage to lose money on their “sure thing” hot market home because of it.
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Mar 6, 2024 20:51
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Cyrano4747 posted:And if you buy a poo poo property with massive defects that are expensive to fix you’ll loose far more than you would if you continue on as a renter. Also remember that everybody on here will make eternal fun of you whenever you post issues after buying this house Having said that, I also empathize because the area I wish to purchase a house in is exactly the same condition with each house being offered cash offers 10% above closing costs within hours of being sold and it is incredibly difficult not to just say "i'm buying it" and dealing with the issues, but seeing all the voices on here helps me also not suddenly make unwise choices. Leperflesh posted:In 2009, with the housing market crashed and flooded with foreclosed homes at or below $250k in the SF bay area, suddenly my wife and I were able to just about afford a house. We started looking in April or May of that year, visiting properties on our own first to do drivebys or look over fences and such, and then visiting winners with a realtor about every other weekend. But we were shopping at the bottom of the market, for houses that the owners had been forced out of rather than fixed up to sell, and so we were seeing a shitload of houses-with-problems. I appreciate this because this is the kind of level-headed advice I never got from my family. In fact it was just the opposite, where all I was told was "buy the biggest house you can afford, the values will just go up, up, up" without any caveats. When we were considering houses in 2019 my dad kept sending me listings for giant 4,000 sqft houses in a historic district of our city (aka built in the late 1800s) which was insane.
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Mar 6, 2024 20:56
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Leperflesh posted:Bay Area stuff. Thank you! We actually rent near piedmont but need to be much more selective about where we buy, so this hits home in many ways. Leperflesh posted:Are you paying the contractor to do the quotes? It'd be reasonable to pay him a couple hundred each time, if he's doing detailed quotes for you. We are not, but I like this idea. I really don’t mind getting poo poo on in this thread. There are so many bullshitters out in the field and it’s good to receive a dose of reality every once in a while.
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Mar 6, 2024 21:06
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adnam posted:Also remember that everybody on here will make eternal fun of you whenever you post issues after buying this house Which is why they won't post about the issues, which will result in them stepping on a bunch more expensive landmines
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Mar 6, 2024 21:12
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Eric the Mauve posted:Which is why they won't post about the issues, which will result in them stepping on a bunch more expensive landmines I don’t post anywhere but I would gladly give back to this thread.
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Mar 6, 2024 21:17
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This thread is too altruistic, have any of you good-advice-giving SICKOS stopped to consider how you're depriving the forums? Countless groverhaus threads lost in a swirl of alternate universes that we'll never get to see I'm kidding obviously, I'm glad this thread is a positive resource
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Mar 6, 2024 21:42
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QuarkJets posted:This thread is too altruistic, have any of you good-advice-giving SICKOS stopped to consider how you're depriving the forums? Countless groverhaus threads lost in a swirl of alternate universes that we'll never get to see are you kidding me? every house is a potential groverhaus. it's just a matter of time, it's literally disintegrating around me as we speak! (entropy) but in reality yeah everything is a timebomb right, replace roof, walls, stucco, foundation, appliances over x time. nothing lasts forever edit: omg i didn't know groverhaus was a real thing, holy crap.
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Mar 7, 2024 00:26
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adnam posted:edit: omg i didn't know groverhaus was a real thing, holy crap. we have such sights to show you
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Mar 7, 2024 00:31
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Paper Tiger posted:
AND i have archives access! yesss this is amazing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJU-Q9gw_sg adnam fucked around with this message at 00:50 on Mar 7, 2024 |
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Mar 7, 2024 00:45
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Nybble posted:why are you still considering this house KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Do not buy that house. Wanted to highlight these two again in case you either didn't see them, or your brain is actively hiding sound advice from you
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Mar 7, 2024 00:50
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adnam posted:AND i have archives access! yesss That shot about halfway through of him looking wistfully on at the giant mud pit he's paid an enormous sum to have someone dig, slowly filling with low water- table water, ankle deep himself, has always stuck with me, and probably the only reason I haven't attempted to do unpermitted work on my house yet. A true cautionary tale
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Mar 7, 2024 00:55
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