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Saint Fu posted:I registered with Redfin to get the complete MLS data for my area but now I have to agree that I am considering Redfin as my real estate agent. They point out I can opt out at any time, is there anything else fishy going on here I should know about before agreeing to it? You aren't locked into using them for anything unless you use one of their agents to put in an offer. Before that, you are free to tour with them, attend classes, etc. They don't appear to share your info with anyone. I never even got a call until I had toured several houses and emailed the agent they had assigned to me with a question. I've greatly appreciated the zero-pressure and fairly hands-off experience I've had with them (I can't stand salespeople-types). I think had I gone with a Windemere agent I would've known about more houses pre-market, but I have no idea how that might've affected what I bought in the end.
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Aug 23, 2013 04:09
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CornHolio posted:There were several that we looked at. Only one really stood out. It was listed at $159k, I got him down to $153k with him paying $1200 towards closing costs as well as a $700 warranty on the appliances. $700 for a year-long appliance warranty sounds like a ripoff. The chances of multiple appliances dying in that time frame are low. $700 can buy a new fridge or oven (basic models). Fancy dishwashers are around $700; you could replace at least five microwaves. Unless I'm missing something, I'd just get that $700 applied to closing costs.
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Oct 9, 2013 01:46
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Pain of Mind posted:Would something like 5% over be at least reasonable enough for them to let you know that someone has made a higher offer, or do you just need to bid the max you can afford to pay and end up potentially paying 5% more than needed. Use an escalation clause in your offer (your agent should help you craft one). It should include the absolute max you are willing to pay and then the amount you're willing to beat any other lower, competing offer by (but the clause won't allow that to go above your max). Pre-inspections can help in these markets; if the seller has an offer for less than yours but the buyer has waived and inspection clause (due to already having one) the seller will likely take the lower offer because there's no telling what a higher offer might counter with post-inspection.
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Nov 25, 2013 19:00
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Zhentar posted:My realtor's advice was that escalation clauses are bullshit. I'm inclined to agree. Telling them "Well I'm willing to pay $550K but I only want to pay $500K" doesn't exactly put you in a strong bargaining position. Perhaps it varies by region, but when I bought a house in Seattle this summer, of the four houses I put offers on there were 4-10 competing offers and they all had escalation clauses. In all cases pre-inspections were done so there was zero bargaining past the initial offer.
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Nov 25, 2013 21:35
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mik posted:This might be difficult to answer, but in general how much of an advantage to the seller is it if the buyer pays in full cash, especially if it's a private sale? To the naive seller, a cash offer can be an amazing thing. In the past two years I've seen three people sell houses at as much as $150k undervalue because they jumped the moment someone made a "cash offer." Yes, the buyers were taking advantage of old folks who didn't know better.
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Jan 17, 2014 20:35
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Orange_Lazarus posted:Yeah apparently the HOA for this place has one master HOA and then an HOA underneath that one. I suppose it's because it's a big area so I'm going through a lot of legal speak hoa pdfs atm. Some things you'll want to find out: - Is there a master insurance policy? What does it cover? Who can file a claim against it and what for? What claims have been filed against it in the past? - What's the plan for repairing the exterior? Residing the exterior? Replacing the roof? (All of these will need to occur at some point and any decent HOA will have a timeline and figured out associated costs.) - What happens when a shared sewer line (or similar) needs to be dug up and repaired? Does the HOA have cash set aside for unplanned things like this? If not, how do they determine who pays (what if someone can't pay)? - If a neighbor does something which damages your unit, are they held liable? Does the HOA insurance cover you? Does the HOA check that your neighbor has proper insurance? - What, if any, rules does the HOA have? Does they levy fines? On what? Are they actually enforced? - How are dues calculated? How can they be raised? What's the history of any raises?
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Feb 8, 2014 20:39
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canyoneer posted:In my opinion, condos combine the worst parts about renting and owning. I would only ever consider it if I lived somewhere where land is crazy expensive, like in the city center of a big expensive city (Seattle, NYC, SF, LA, Chicago), on an island, or right on the beach. Buying a condo in Seattle is a money-losing proposition. You can typically rent an equivalent unit for less than or equal to HOA+mortgage. Some of the worst I've seen are people buying the newer condos with $1k monthly HOA dues and $5k monthly mortgage payments when they could've signed a multi-year lease for the same unit for $2800/mo.
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Feb 19, 2014 00:55
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necrobobsledder posted:If you're going to get a condo, I'd go with a high rise with tons of concrete between floors and hopefully between each unit. Still won't save you from insanity. In 2011-2013 I rented a lovely condo in downtown Seattle. Built in 2007, 5% rental cap, gorgeous modern architecture (walls of glass, high ceilings, mix of brick/concrete/steel, LEED certified), thirteen stories, three levels of underground parking, party walls between all units, concierge who learned everyone's names, etc. As renter it was a great deal. But the owners had no end of getting screwed over: - The recession meant everyone who bought in 2007 couldn't sell their condos without taking a loss, but the rental cap meant they couldn't rent out their units either. - In 2012, someone on the 8th floor had a bathtub overflow all night. The flooding resulted in twenty units across five floors needing close to $10 million in repairs. HOA dues doubled for everyone because of this (and they started at a minimum of $250/mo prior). - During the repairs, the board was told the building wasn't built to code for some fire safety stuff. The HOA sued the builder who counter-sued the HOA and for the next year, no one could sell their unit because no bank would provide a loan on a property under litigation. - Shortly after, someone's flower pot fell off a deck, smashing some glass below. The glass was replaced by the building's insurance policy which raised HOA dues for the whole building. - Three months after that was wrapped up, the building envelope was inspected. The builder said it was fine, the insurance company's consultant said it was fine, but the HOA's consultant said it wasn't. The HOA paid several million dollars to fix it (was it actually faulty? I have no clue) then sued the builder for the cost. The builder again counter sued and for the six months of litigation that followed, no one could sell their unit again. I wanted to believe that was an exceptional case, but after shopping for a condo downtown for a year I gave up and settled for a house. It has its own mix of problems, but a guaranteed financial disaster is not one of them!
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Mar 2, 2014 18:22
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mik posted:Are there any decent, no-nonsense, appliance review websites? Consumer Reports?
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Mar 9, 2014 19:49
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I really doubt that all the work on that house was done by the flipper. Some of what he's fixing is flat out easier to do the right way (using four different plumbing materials within a foot???), and others are "difficult" to begin with (the spaghetti plumbing under the slab... I suspect that might be original, unless a previous owner dug up a large chunk of the slab to try and fix drainage issues and created that mess). Various eras of differing wiring issues too (or someone had multiple personality disorder?). More likely, the house was already butchered by previous owners and the flipper put some lipstick on it. Selling history of the house should've tipped everyone off to the shadiness going on. Also the two inspectors I used when I bought nine months ago tested all coax connections. Maybe that's not typical? Same with the HVAC issues.
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Jul 10, 2014 21:26
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So the water line between my house (purchased last year) and the meter broke under the driveway. $12,000 to cut open the driveway (it's an easement and quite long), lay new pipe, and patch the driveway back up. Do never buy?
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Sep 7, 2014 00:57
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Dilbert As gently caress posted:My plan is 20% for the down payment and 10% on top of that for the first year. No. No it's not.
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Sep 27, 2014 06:03
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Depending on the state and the renters... years.
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Sep 28, 2014 21:27
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Mahoning posted:Just an FYI, the home websites don't pull from the MLS. That's not allowed since those websites aren't members of the MLS. The brokers sign up with a service that distributes that brokerage's listings to all the websites like Zillow, Trulia, etc. Redfin pulls from MLS, unlike Zillow, etc. https://www.redfin.com/definition/Multiple-Listing-Service
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Oct 21, 2014 05:35
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QuarkJets posted:Since there were several trees in the back yard, I actually asked about a video pipe inspection, but he said that I probably shouldn't bother since the house was less than 20 years old, hooked up to county sewer at the time of construction, and the trees are on the opposite side of the house from where the sewer line would come in. I probably won't bother with it, since he was so certain that it was unnecessary I hope he had access to side sewer maps to verify that. ~$300 for a scope could save you from dropping $10k (or more) for replacement.
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Oct 29, 2014 04:42
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Jastiger posted:Its just different tastes I guess. I don't think I could live in a house more than 40 years old. Its just silly to me that people like living in places mega old with small roomers, fire hazards, hazardous materials, inefficient out dated infrastructure, etc. Why take on the risk? Some of those 100 yr old homes will be standing longer than homes built in the last few decades. My late-1970s home was set to rot away in another 10-15 years due to the continually deferred maintenance of the previous owner.
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Nov 2, 2014 21:32
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QuarkJets posted:What happens if a seller has lied on a seller's disclosure form? That's why you hired an inspector.  Sellers often lie on disclosure forms. It often doesn't matter.
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Nov 5, 2014 17:43
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