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Motronic posted:In my opinion the most important thing for starter homes is to make sure there are no expensive things that need doing, as the people buying it probably do'nt have the additional cash, can't handle coming up with it quickly and might have homeowner insurance issues if it's 25+ years old. So I'd say definitely on the roof. How far do you think I should trust the realtors that did the Market Assessment for the relocation company? I realize that's a very loaded question, but the consensus they seemed to have was "If you sell it as-is, you'll maybe get mid-$X, if you do some work you'll get $X+20k to $X+25k, and it'll turn away a lot fewer people." I figure if $10k or less work on the house gets me double that back, it's probably worth it. I'll just have to make sure not to spend TOO much on the stuff that isn't going to return as heavily. (Attractors vs. cleaning up detractors, I guess)
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Mar 27, 2021 01:08
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Motronic posted:Of course it is. This is what a CLUE report is for. Well poo poo  The winter sorta beat the poo poo outta the roof, so since I was considering replacing it anyway I had insurance come out and see what they'd cover. It wasn't much, but it wasn't nothing either. Hope I didn't gently caress myself.
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Mar 27, 2021 01:12
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Zarin posted:How far do you think I should trust the realtors that did the Market Assessment for the relocation company? I realize that's a very loaded question, but the consensus they seemed to have was "If you sell it as-is, you'll maybe get mid-$X, if you do some work you'll get $X+20k to $X+25k, and it'll turn away a lot fewer people." That sounds completely implausible to me. Almost like a realtor who is going to sell your house has an incentive to sell a house as fast as possible regardless of price because it makes little difference to their commission and having the homeowner spend their own money to do things that serve to sell the home quicker at any cost is in their interest but not necessarily that of their client.
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Mar 27, 2021 01:22
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Eh, I dunno, the whole "if it's just a $50 fix then why haven't you fixed it already" thing from car buying has crossed my mind more than a few times as a buyer.
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Mar 27, 2021 01:40
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Throatwarbler posted:Eh, I dunno, the whole "if it's just a $50 fix then why haven't you fixed it already" thing from car buying has crossed my mind more than a few times as a buyer. That's much different than "if I fix it for $50 my house is worth $100 more", which is what it being currently discussed. In all likelihood if you fix it for $50 you house is worth $45 more and easier to sell because someone like you won't have that question. But in a hot market your concern is irrelevant to the seller because another readily available buyer will not care. Motronic fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Mar 27, 2021 |
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Mar 27, 2021 01:47
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Motronic posted:That sounds completely implausible to me. Almost like a realtor who is going to sell your house has an incentive to sell a house as fast as possible regardless of price because it makes little difference to their commission and having the homeowner spend their own money to do things that serve to sell the home quicker at any cost is in their interest but not necessarily that of their client. I appreciate the information! However, I suppose in a way I am in a hurry to sell, too . . . once I pull the trigger on the movers, I have 60 days of temporary housing and storage of all my stuff at the destination location, so it's probably in my best interest to move the house as fast as possible so I can try and be into a new house before that 60-day timer closes. Otherwise, I'll have to figure out what I would do temporarily in-between. Probably just keep paying for the temporary place I guess, but that's probably expensive as gently caress.
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Mar 27, 2021 01:50
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Then by all means, based on your market, spend what you need to insure your house can be successfully marketed based on your timeline and comfort with the risk that it can't be. There are no exact answers to any of this, but there are trends and very very obvious common conflicts of interest that you should be aware of.
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Mar 27, 2021 01:56
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Motronic posted:Then by all means, based on your market, spend what you need to insure your house can be successfully marketed based on your timeline and comfort with the risk that it can't be. There are no exact answers to any of this, but there are trends and very very obvious common conflicts of interest that you should be aware of. No, I appreciate your input! I was unaware that that would really be a conflict of interest . . . I'm probably a bit too naivé about some of this stuff sometimes. Especially because my house isn't super expensive, so they're probably not as motivated to put as much energy into it as they might be something that cost 3x as much.
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Mar 27, 2021 02:03
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I wasn't taking that as not appreciating the input for what it's worth, I'm just agreeing that your extenuating circumstances that you've revealed make this maybe worthwhile. Real estate agents that are working on the selling side are incentivized to sell a house as fast as possible at any price. This is the conflict of interest. Nothing you are going to do can turn a $200,000 house into a $300,000 house. It's of more value to them to be selling $1,000,000 homes but only the successful ones get that business so it's typically not a possibility for someone you'd be listing with. Which means as far as your house goes, it's just one of many in the price range they can get to sell and getting you an extra $10,000 on the sale means less than $300 (and very often closer to $100 once their agency gets their fees) to them at closing so it sure as poo poo isn't worth holding up a deal or doing any significant amount of work.
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Mar 27, 2021 02:13
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Inner Light posted:For those goons that are wary about filing claims, if you can painfully afford to replace a deck + fence after it was damaged, would you skip filing a claim in that case? Yeah. Carrying 5 figure deductible for a reason. It's for catastrophes only, and those are limited lifespan items. Claim anything less than a major disaster and they'll get it back in premiums.
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Mar 27, 2021 02:34
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KS posted:Yeah. Carrying 5 figure deductible for a reason. It's for catastrophes only, and those are limited lifespan items. Claim anything less than a major disaster and they'll get it back in premiums. Same, except my deductible is like....$4k I think? I did the math and a $10k+ deductible didn't make sense at least with the policies I was considering. There just wasn't a sufficient discount. I have and will still treat claim as if it was a 5 figure deductible.
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Mar 27, 2021 02:38
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Inner Light posted:I know nothing but I think the answer to this is "yes, absolutely". I can't imagine why one of the quotes you received didn't take into account previous claims on the property. Yes, home insurance should be for catastrophic problems or ones you just can't afford to pay for. Claims stay on your 'record' for so many years (I. Have heard 5), and you're either dealing with horrific premium increases or risk being outright uninsurable by a lot of companies after a couple or more. Edit: beaten by adove posters, but doubly more important if your in a risk zone (fire, hurricane, whatever). PageMaster fucked around with this message at 02:57 on Mar 27, 2021 |
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Mar 27, 2021 02:43
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Dross posted:Literally less than five new-to-market houses in a two county area fitting my criteria this week. What is going on? The whole country is going to be wide open here come may 1st 1. Why have a bunch of unvaccinated heathens wander through your house now, when it's a solved problem come may 1 2. You can finally go on that family vacation you've been dreaming of, why get bogged down in selling your house while you're on your first vacation in whenever long The next 90 days are going to be very interesting
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Mar 27, 2021 03:47
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Vasudus posted:It's me, the guy that's doing a +40k over asking, waiving (almost) all contingencies blind bid. In just three weeks I've become everything I hate. The only thing I can't waive is the VA appraisal, which is fine because that's the only thing I'm genuinely concerned about even though I have no logical reason to given the market. Ahahahahaha gently caress me I got it. Goddamnit. Now I have to fill out so much paperwork. Was one of three blind bids, other people bid higher. But I'm a vet, and the seller is a vet. And I had a really sappy buyer's letter. Probably going to close end of April, and my lease here is up 8 May. Couldn't be better timing. edit: house was technically on the market for approximately 6 hours. Vasudus fucked around with this message at 04:42 on Mar 27, 2021 |
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Mar 27, 2021 04:36
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Vasudus posted:Ahahahahaha gently caress me I got it. Congrats! Usual buyer's remorse aside, this was a miserable year for househunting and it was actually a relief to at least be done with it. Pray for a good VA appraisal (or have the money to back out up). In a normal market I would stand firm by the appraisal and negotiate but with how bad it's been we gave in and offered to paythe difference. My brother managed to get a Seattle house at asking no waived contingencies, with a military to military letter, but I never managed to luck into finding any vets willing to throw us a bone. PageMaster fucked around with this message at 05:32 on Mar 27, 2021 |
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Mar 27, 2021 05:29
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So is this whole housing situation going to be forever in the US? I'm trying to decide between trying to get in at the meager 600k I can afford (would never have room to have a kid lol) vs just doing the expat thing
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Mar 27, 2021 08:42
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SchnorkIes posted:lol) vs just doing the expat thing Probably just do the expat thing and reap the tax benefits
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Mar 27, 2021 09:19
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Motronic posted:Whether you should be doing any of what you're doing as well as the answer to your question are heavily dependent on your local real estate market, and to some extent what "tier" of properties you home is in.
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Mar 27, 2021 12:43
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SchnorkIes posted:So is this whole housing situation going to be forever in the US? I'm trying to decide between trying to get in at the meager 600k I can afford (would never have room to have a kid lol) vs just doing the expat thing Not forever, but it could easily take a few years for things to settle in the most overheated markets. Are you looking in Des Moines or San Francisco?
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Mar 27, 2021 15:19
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SlapActionJackson posted:Not forever, but it could easily take a few years for things to settle in the most overheated markets. Are you looking in Des Moines or San Francisco? Raleigh, which is pretty overheated
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Mar 27, 2021 15:26
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SchnorkIes posted:Raleigh, which is pretty overheated There's a huge shakeup in housing and associated things like building materials and construction labor. This is the time to sell, not to buy. It will take years but inventory levels should somewhat normalize. Unless I was willing and able to pay a premium I would definitely not be buying pretty much anywhere right now. I sit back and reflect on how drat lucky I got buying 2.5 years ago when things were relatively normal and being in a spot I have no intention or desire to leave. I feel for those of you trying to buy right now.
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Mar 27, 2021 15:28
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Motronic posted:There's a huge shakeup in housing and associated things like building materials and construction labor. This is the time to sell, not to buy. It will take years but inventory levels should somewhat normalize. I just worry that I'll get priced out of anywhere with a job market in the US permanently. I don't really need this per se but it's nice to have the fallback. Much like stocks, housing prices are subsidized to only go up, but wages never go up really.
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Mar 27, 2021 15:31
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Yep. I'm being relocated for work and unless I change jobs, we will only be at our next location for 2-4 years. We are strongly considering just renting a house.
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Mar 27, 2021 15:31
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I just don't want to end up in the situation where I'm living in a cardboard box because of housing prices are doing this, rents will surely follow
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Mar 27, 2021 15:39
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Well this is surely making me feel like garbage closing on a place when I could’ve easily rented for a couple more years. I’ll try not to think about whether this was the right decision I guess I waffled on the decision forever and this is where I landed.
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Mar 27, 2021 15:42
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Inner Light posted:Well this is surely making me feel like garbage closing on a place when I could’ve easily rented for a couple more years. I’ll try not to think about whether this was the right decision I guess You might not could've rented for a couple more years, better to have something locked in than see 5k studios become normal where you are
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Mar 27, 2021 15:43
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Motronic posted:There's a huge shakeup in housing and associated things like building materials and construction labor. This is the time to sell, not to buy. It will take years but inventory levels should somewhat normalize. Are you advocating timing the housing market?
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Mar 27, 2021 15:44
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My current rent is 80% of what my mortgage/hoa/insurance will be. I'm 100% VA rated, using a VA loan, and living in Virginia. So between all of that I don't have to put anything down, I don't pay PMI, I don't pay most closing costs, and I don't pay property taxes. The hard part was coming up with enough liquid for the other poo poo. Like putting 20k earnest money down, or being willing to cough up another 50k for appraisal shortfalls if there are any. I live like a hermit with hardly any expenses before the pandemic. It's absolutely stupid that despite getting a lot of money and perks from my disability and having my high-end MIC job paying me a gross salary I was only able to barely get my foot in the door. Legit another 60-90 days and I'll be priced out of the market here. It's loving stupid, prices on the whole in this market are up almost 30% from last year alone.
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Mar 27, 2021 15:52
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Vasudus posted:It's absolutely stupid that despite getting a lot of money and perks from my disability and having my high-end MIC job paying me a gross salary I was only able to barely get my foot in the door. Legit another 60-90 days and I'll be priced out of the market here. It's loving stupid, prices on the whole in this market are up almost 30% from last year alone. Yeah I wouldn't be able to look for another 90 and I'm out by then. Living on a beach somewhere dodging taxes seems incredibly good
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Mar 27, 2021 15:55
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I lay awake most nights thinking about this, and when I sleep I have nightmares about rents creeping up until I'm homeless.
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Mar 27, 2021 15:59
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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > House-buying thread - I lay awake most nights thinking about this, and when I sleep I have nightmares
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Mar 27, 2021 16:06
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SchnorkIes posted:You might not could've rented for a couple more years, better to have something locked in than see 5k studios become normal where you are This was a big impetus for us to buy in this market. Rents are gonna go up just like house prices. And we're getting booted from our rental because the owner died and the kids want to sell. Our mortgage + PMI + insurance are exactly the same as our rent is, although our new place is much smaller. But the new place, albeit a townhouse, doesn't need any work and no one can kick us out or raise our rent or whatever. Might as well build equity while we can.
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Mar 27, 2021 18:18
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We've been renting the same house for 5 years. Owner died 4 years ago and her son has been cashing our rent checks. The mortgage on the house, were he to sell it today, would be about $1k over our rent which hasn't been raised since we moved in. Financially it's such a slam dunk to keep renting but the prospect of the owner deciding to raise rent significantly or even worse kick us out weighs heavily on my partners mind. We've been month to month since our first year-long lease expired so we have at minimum 60 days before we legally be asked to leave. Sure I could ask for a new year long lease but I've been enjoying the below market rent so much I don't want to poke the bear. It keeps us looking but every time we run the numbers on a potential offer, it never makes sense to trade a $2400/mo rent ceiling for a $3,500/mo mortgage floor for a house that's functionally identical to our rental.
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Mar 27, 2021 19:32
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spf3million posted:It keeps us looking but every time we run the numbers on a potential offer, it never makes sense to trade a $2400/mo rent ceiling for a $3,500/mo mortgage floor for a house that's functionally identical to our rental. It makes sense once you become wholly unable to afford market rent, if you are attached to the area. Edit: because houses are integral to our subsidized patchwork of a national retirement plan, the prices can really never go down without triggering a seismic upheaval politically and economically, and so prices can only ever go up poll plane variant fucked around with this message at 19:38 on Mar 27, 2021 |
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Mar 27, 2021 19:35
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Some pretty dramatic posts in here about how renting leads to homelessness. If I were new to BFC and had just started reading this thread I might feel as though I was making a poor financial decision by continuing to rent. Fortunately I've read this thread for a while and know that buying a house is generally about making a lifestyle decision. We technically could own in the area we rent but it makes me queasy having my mortgage as the floor of what I could pay in any given month to house my family. For right now, I love having my rent as the ceiling of what I can pay in any given month to house my family. That will likely change in a few years, when the lifestyle needs will easily outweigh the financial risk of home ownership. Maggie Fletcher posted:But the new place, albeit a townhouse, doesn't need any work
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Mar 27, 2021 19:47
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Your rent is the ceiling month to month, but the next time the lease comes back up it could skyrocket with no recourse. The market for SFH is highly subsidized and too big to fail, suggesting it will never go down. If rents lag mortgages and both only ever increase, you'll eventually hit the point where you're priced out by your rent, and unable to purchase.
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Mar 27, 2021 19:50
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laxbro posted:Some pretty dramatic posts in here about how renting leads to homelessness. Haha, I guess that's fair. I should say "for now," and also add the caveat that we will actually be doing some work in the place. But for now, the water runs hot and clear, there are no spiders (so far), and all the outlets work. Your situation does work for you, and I get it. We were content to rent for a while longer while we built up our down payment, and skipping the "starter home" phase, but it wasn't to be. As it was, we wouldn't have had the down payment at all if I hadn't just gotten my bonus. We only put down like 12% and I got the bonus two weeks before we made the offer. Without that, we'd still be moving, but to another rental, where we'd probably have to move again in another year or so for *~reasons~* We're stoked to finally stay put for awhile. If you're happy where you are and saving money, keep at it. It'll be interesting in 3-5 years when we can actually afford a SFH, we're hoping to keep the townhouse as a rental and perhaps for my mom to spend her later years, and we may have to refinance (if we haven't already by then) because our loan is structured as an owner-occupied home.
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Mar 27, 2021 20:21
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Made an offer on a condo of 7.5k over asking with a 5k over appraisal. Seller came back and said if I could guarantee to close at list price they’d accept immediately, but an identical unit in the same community sold for 15 less than this is listed for a month ago, so I feel like I’m their best offer and they’re squeezing me. I’m firm on the appraisal + 5 and if I lose it I lose it. (I’m looking at condos now specifically because competing with 46 offers on every house and losing with offers of appraisal + 20% got demoralizing) Dross fucked around with this message at 20:39 on Mar 27, 2021 |
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Mar 27, 2021 20:36
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What's the deal with appraisal anyway? Like why is going over appraisal a big thing now? Shouldn't this be priced in to the appraisal?
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Mar 27, 2021 21:24
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SchnorkIes posted:Your rent is the ceiling month to month, but the next time the lease comes back up it could skyrocket with no recourse. The market for SFH is highly subsidized and too big to fail, suggesting it will never go down. If rents lag mortgages and both only ever increase, you'll eventually hit the point where you're priced out by your rent, and unable to purchase. There is no correct winning strategy. There are strengths and weaknesses to whatever mode you choose. You will encounter struggles, and you can say "drat if only I'd bought" or you can look forward and make choices you feel good about and enjoy the ride
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Mar 27, 2021 21:27
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