House-buying thread - Why is everyone involved in this process so deeply stupid?

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > House-buying thread - Why is everyone involved in this process so deeply stupid?

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in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

I just put in an above list offer on a below market value house yesterday; after three days on the market the winning offer was higher than mine and not contingent on an inspection. I do regret not putting in a (slightly) higher offer, but I can't imagine buying without an inspection.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2013 20:04

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# ¿ May 22, 2024 11:51

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

Got a pre-approval letter from local lender (w/ billions in assets)... in Comic Sans.

# ¿ Apr 13, 2013 21:04

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

ntd posted:

What is the room with the second door on the porch that looks to go into little room disconnected from the rest of the house for?

Just a guess, but furnace, water heater, electrical panel?

# ¿ Jun 7, 2013 15:51

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

Wozbo posted:

Or is there a better place to ask?

(Speaking very generally, rates are v. low historically, and you would expect to see them increase as the economy continues to improve and QE is wound down. However, people have been saying rates have been 'historically low' for a decade. No one knows.)

# ¿ Jun 7, 2013 17:30

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

McFunkerson posted:

Edit: this is in Nevada if it makes a difference, and there is a clause in the contract saying if the buyer backs out she loses her deposit ($7500) and if the seller backs out the deposit is to be returned to the seller.

The rarely seen "heads I win, tails you lose" clause.

(Go talk to a lawyer.)

# ¿ Jun 27, 2013 17:26

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

moana posted:

Go to Sears and get one of the display models, is the best advice I've heard on that. They'll be dinged up and half-off but otherwise brand new, and the warranties are good.

http://www.searsoutlet.com/ has inventories

# ¿ Mar 10, 2014 00:15

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

PuTTY riot posted:

The question is, how do they keep this thing from not just popping out of the ground like everyone says will happen if I drain my pool?

Living in Arizona.

# ¿ Mar 29, 2014 16:31

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

a shameful boehner posted:

My LO has told me that the payment I'm currently making for my apartment will only increase by a few hundred a month to cover a mortgage and insurance on a house, so to me it's a no brainer that it's time to move up.

Keep in mind that your monthly mortgage+insurance payment is a lower bound for monthly costs, whereas rent is effectively an upper bound; additional maintenance and upkeep can add up quickly.

Your LO only gets paid if you buy a house and may get paid more if you buy more; never listen to them or your Realtor about what you can afford. (I'm sure that any Realtors and LO officers in the audience are honest and make sure that their clients get the best option for their financial situation, but potential buyers should be aware that unscrupulous agents exist.)

# ¿ Apr 19, 2014 01:56

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

esquilax posted:

Prices are much more reasonable in Chicago at least. Including mortgage, taxes, and assessments the condo I'm buying will be around $1,800/mo (of which $400 will go towards equity to start). A similar apartment in the same area would run around $1,600-$2,000/mo, and would probably increase every year.

Not to mention tax advantages

What's your monthly HOA/maintenance fee?

also,

PCjr sidecar posted:

Keep in mind that your monthly mortgage+insurance payment is a lower bound for monthly costs, whereas rent is effectively an upper bound; additional maintenance and upkeep can add up quickly.

in a well actually fucked around with this message at 23:49 on Jul 1, 2014

# ¿ Jul 1, 2014 23:47

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

esquilax posted:

$200 or so, included in the $1,800. Why?

It wasn't clear if that was included in the $1800 (it's often not.)

# ¿ Jul 2, 2014 00:34

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

Jastiger posted:

My wife and I were looking at a house and considering putting in an offer. Its listed at $130K and our max budget is about $140K. The house looks like it sold for $125K back in 2012 and homes in the area are listed at around $125K for comparable houses, but don't need the replacements that this one does. The house is in pretty good shape, is only about 25 years old. The fence in the back yard needs replaced, and is currently being held in with tie-downs and rocks in the post holes. We need/want to replace all of the carpet in the home and the AC unit is the original from 1990. The seller is apparently going through a divorce and wants to off-load the property, though she does currently have tenants in there right now.

Should I go in at about $125K? I really want to offer something like $117K since we're going to be swallowing a lot of costs immediately that NEED to be taken care of, like the fence and possibly the AC unit. With the $117K and splitting the closing costs a total offer of $121k Looks to be what we're seeing.

Am I asking too much?

How long has it been on the market and what is the local market like?

# ¿ Jul 31, 2014 04:58

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

Citizen Tayne posted:

Me drinking or it drinking?

I closed on Friday. Gonna get some electricians in to add a few outlets. Can't wait to move in.

You work in IT, you're clearly technically-minded. Why pay some schmuck? Grab a spool of romex and get to work.

# ¿ Mar 4, 2015 01:17

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

Konstantin posted:

Then as a seller you should fire your real estate agent for listing at too low a price. If I was a seller in a hot market I'd list way over market value hoping some sucker pays, if they don't I'd either pick from the below list offers that do come in or lower the price later. Never understood why agents go for the strategy of listing for under market value, it seems like you're walking away from a ton of profit.

Probably the same reason eBay sellers start auctions at $1.

# ¿ Mar 24, 2015 03:54

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

Ciaphas posted:

Time for the old rent vs buy question! My lease on my current apartment is coming up December 2015, so I've got a ton of time to work this one out. Gonna post this while I read the OP and related posts, so maybe some of this will be answered along the way. Sorry if it is.

Right now I'm paying $999 rent, ~$50 water/sewer, ~$50 pet fees (one cat), ~$100 "technology" (our apartment has a deal with the local cable company), and ~$15 on renter's insurance monthly. Grand total $1214/mo on living, for a 1k sqft 2bed/2bath apartment with attached garage. Not bad, I figured (and still do, more or less).

For funsies, I decided to poke around on Zillow for local condo prices (it'd have to be a SPECTACULAR deal for me to be interested in a house, because gently caress outdoor maintenance--roof leaks, plumbing, etc. Not so much lawn care, I live in Vegas so I'd probably want rock anyway). An example of one I like, at similar size and spec to my apartment, costs almost exactly $100k right now. Since I'd be getting an FHA loan and a small (probably 5%) down payment, and get the closing costs rolled into the loan, I'm gonna assume that to be the total of my loan as well, 4% fixed for 30 years*. According to the more or less randomly picked mortgagecalculator.com, that'd mean a monthly payment of mortgage, PMI, and property tax of $581.58.

Average homeowner's insurance around here is about $60/mo, and my HOA at this particular condo complex (which includes water and sewer near as I can tell) is $175/mo. Assuming I haven't missed anything, that gives me a grand monthly total of 816.58, something like a $400/mo savings before I even consider things like equity and interest deductions. Even if I put away, say, $200/mo of that into a "HOW much is fixing the toilet gonna cost me again? " fund, I'd still be $200 ahead.

Now, my actual question is, basically: from a financial perspective, what have I missed? I say financial because, as far as lifestyle goes, I don't have a lot of prohibitions on home ownership. I have no wife or kids, just the one pet; the apartment and condo are roughly in the same neighborhood and have similar crime rates etc.; and (tempting fate here...) my job is so stable I could (and very well might) ride it all the way to retirement some four decades from now. And I seriously loving abhor moving, so I certainly wouldn't get ants in my pants anytime soon.

*(edit) I've run more accurate/more worst-case loan amount and mortgage terms than this, mind; these numbers were just simple for typing out.

You don't have cable/internet in your house estimate that is covered by your rental $100 technology fee.

# ¿ Apr 2, 2015 00:09

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

climboutonalimb posted:

Great questions...
My impetus for this thinking is I've been in this apartment for 5 years and ready for a change. Moving to another rental now it's pretty much impossible though; something equivalent to what I have now will be 3.5-4k/mo.

700k would be a stretch. 600k would be much easier. I'm making ~125k/yr right now but I have a stock options for a down payment. I work at a big tech company with safe career. Single with g/f, neither of us want kids.

I'd prefer to be closer to downtown than out in the avenues even though that'd be cheaper. Been looking around at various options more centrally located and the cheap places are significantly under priced to get into bidding wars.

I just transferred my work location to inside the city and lessened my commute by 1.5hrs each way; moving beyond oakland is a non-starter.

Fake edit: Yeah this is a bad idea. Ignore.

From another goon elsewhere on SA, looking in frisco (lol): " the wife and I were literally pre-approved up to $1m for a place and we couldn't find anything in the city you'd actually want to live in. 600ft 1bd/1bas list $790k were getting bids over $900k. no parking."

# ¿ Jul 29, 2015 04:04

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

krysmopompas posted:

It's a really heavy burden for people to decide when a good time to pay is, so we're moving to direct debit for precisely this reason.

I'm glad I don't live in a community where people who can't figure out how to handle a check arriving before the first of the month have direct access to my checking account.

# ¿ Aug 28, 2015 16:26

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

lampey posted:

It sucks that you are being negatively affected by the HOA rules. If you don't want to paint right away you can probably just go to a meeting and ask to delay it to the spring or whenever you have planned. The problem is that there are some people who cause problems for their neighbors and the best way to deal with it is uniform enforcement of the mutually agreed upon rules. As long as the HOA is consistent with its enforcement it prevents a lot of unrelated problems because people know the HOA will act when it is necessary.

So, do you prefer imperial or metric for your lawn-measuring ruler?

# ¿ Oct 27, 2015 21:19

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

QuarkJets posted:

When we moved in we bricked up all of the doors and windows except for the front door.

Are you sure you are not the guy in Detroit?

# ¿ Aug 1, 2016 19:28

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

thebushcommander posted:

Man, even just thinking about buying a new house is giving me a headache. My wife and I are looking to purchase a new home in the next 6 months or so so we've begun process of seeing what we want, can get etc. We make pretty decent money and I am thinking a house in the 280K range would be perfect, but she wants this house for 370K. I basically just gave up right there, even though I know we could afford monthly expenses on the 370k house why the hell would I want to?

Congrats on your new $370K house.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2017 22:37

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

Mikey Purp posted:

Our inspection came back saying everything was in good shape with the exception of the roof, which is at end of life. We kicked it back to the seller and asked her to replace it, and she's trying to put in an insurance claim for it. If that doesn't work, she's offering to give us a credit for half of the estimated replacement cost.

At first blush this seemed fine with me, but after thinking it through some more I feel like it's not unreasonable for us to ask her to just pay it all. We offered over asking on the house and while some repairs were expected (it's over 100 years old), this seems like something she would have to disclose if it went back to market anyway (right?), and it shouldn't be our problem.

Am I being unreasonable here? Also, the roof right now is structurally sound, so if we take the credit and then don't end up replacing the roof right away and then later on it begins to leak or whatever, would our home owner's insurance pay for the replacement at that point?

How hot is your local market, what fraction of the sale cost is the new roof, and how badly do you want the house?

# ¿ Mar 31, 2017 00:42

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

Mikey Purp posted:

I should clarify that the 1% calculation for the roof was our share after the seller paid for half, so it's more like 2% in reality. In any case, typing everything out put it into perspective for us. Unexpected expenses are never great, but as far as these things go I guess a roof isn't bad, especially if it's a replacement for wear and still structurally sound. So back to my second question, there's nothing wrong with us taking a credit for the roof but choosing not to actually do the replacement immediately, right? Or is that something that the lender/insurance agency would probably not allow to happen?

See the thread title. I wouldn't be surprised if insurance would require you to get that done.

# ¿ Mar 31, 2017 15:07

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

Spermy Smurf posted:

Should have started shooting. Castle doctrine or whatever it is.

It's a terrible dilemma, because you don't want to shoot them until you close and get their money but then it's no longer your castle.

I guess only shoot them if it is a sellers market.

# ¿ May 13, 2017 02:57

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

poo poo POST MALONE posted:

What's the aim of that fence. Why would you build a fence like that on purpose?

Small, unmotivated dogs.

# ¿ Oct 14, 2018 23:59

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

SMDH that you don�t have an ice guy.

# ¿ Apr 30, 2019 03:24

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

you can say that even if you haven�t bought a house

# ¿ Dec 6, 2019 15:10

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

I got several hundred bucks worth of r-22 and a new furnace blower out of my home warranty.

# ¿ Dec 14, 2019 03:24

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

No one knows. Way too many unknowns. Ceteris paribus you might not expect to see a big price collapse after a 2009-style crash because there�s a ton of cash in funds doing investor-owned housing now, but who knows what their model is now; this is much different.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2020 02:20

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

daslog posted:

So I'm buying a 3600 Square foot house built in 1945 with a 4 car garage and a full, legal in-law apartment. Everything has been updated, but the insurance companies have put the rebuild value on the house of $800,000 dollars, at $1500 a year. I'm only paying 500 a year for my insurance now on my very boring split level. Is this normal to have such a high premium on a large house? The rebuild cost is twice what I'm paying!

Also, it's a sellers market here in NH. Our agent (who is excellent, 15 years in the area, let me know if you need one in NH) is handling Covid-19 by doing an open house with 20 minutes assigned blocks of time. We set aside Friday Afternoon and Saturday for this "semi open house" and 12 agents booked appointments on the first day it was listed. There are lots of buyers and no new inventory with potential sellers being afraid of of the Virus. We listed it at $299,000 (10,000 above other comps around here) and expect offers above asking price.

They don�t build them like they used to (this is normal, rebuild is frequently significantly higher than purchase.)

# ¿ Apr 14, 2020 02:50

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

Zero VGS posted:

That so? I'm getting a more than century old, brick place and the rebuild is half the purchase.

Allow me to qualify: normal for non-slumlords not buying tenements.

(Fourplex skews, also if you�re comparing purchase price including the lot in a dense non-depressed northeast metro, etc.)

# ¿ Apr 14, 2020 04:10

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

I�ve heard the �pool dad� hobbyist forums are probably your best bet but I don�t know where they are.

# ¿ Apr 26, 2020 21:11

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

ntan1 posted:

my house had the following problems when I bought it:

attic had rat feces over
ducting was broken
asbestos tile on the floor
drywall was broken in parts near the kitchen
the kitchen dish faucet was leaking
a huge insane amount of trash left in the back
there were two different toilets in the backyard
the entire backyard was overgrown
there was a giant 'made by previous owner' wooden wagon thing in the front of the house
the gutters were broken

Parents were both Charles Manson (long story)

# ¿ May 16, 2020 03:38

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

FB and other baytech employers announcing permanent full-remote eligibility for all employees; the thought is that all the devs will flee to Tulsa.

# ¿ May 29, 2020 19:40

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

All photography is a lie; I don�t mind fisheye or stitched photos in real estate that much as it can hard to get a good feel for the space w standard field of view. I actually suspect I got a better deal on my current house because the listing realtor�s potatocam made the kitchen look about a quarter of the size it is and the great light from the giant windows overexposed into a giant white sheet.

# ¿ Jun 8, 2020 16:45

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

I got a furnace blower motor and two expensive old Freon recharges out of the one the sellers included, so good experiences can happen.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2020 01:02

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

Zero VGS posted:

I don't *even* have $5000 in clothes, furniture, etc. I even don't own a fridge, I just drink room temperature Soylents. I work remote full-time in thrift shop pajamas. How do you think I was able to afford 3 million in houses lol

Fraud and inherited wealth, like most other aspiring real estate tycoons, as documented by your posts in this thread.

# ¿ Jul 15, 2020 22:01

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

Zero VGS posted:

Inherited wealth? How loving dare you, I grew up poor and had barely enough for a down payment in 2008 when I got into real estate. No, it was 50% good hard work and bootstraps and luck, and 50% fraud to take the edge off.

edit: also, if I said it once I've said it a million times, being a gay with no kids who doesn't smoke or drink and bikes to work and has no standards of fashion or diet and plays F2P videogames when not busy with his own home improvement sweat equity, saves an ungodly amount of money. My non-housing expenses are around $200/month. Goons love to poo poo on me but the truth is none of you could HANDLE a lifestyle like mine. You'd blow your brains out from depression in the scenarios I thrive in. I've been in full prepper apocalypse mode for over a decade and now it's my time to shine, baby!

Bruh, if you can pick up an additional six figures of cash from a family member after a pre purchase assessment blows up there�s no other way to describe it than generational wealth.

It is super common for �self made� real estate bros to ascribe their success to an ascetic choices instead of the checks that got them there.

# ¿ Jul 16, 2020 22:19

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

vs Dinosaurs posted:

Roasted. Now let�s hear about the fraud.

The post history button is right there.

# ¿ Jul 16, 2020 23:52

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

Andy Dufresne posted:

Also a corollary: buying tools just powerful enough for the current job but not top of the line always results in regret. I have an underpowered shop vac that I want to throw in a dumpster because it sucks at cleaning my car. My old underpowered drill died when I put an auger on it and used it to dig holes in my yard.

On the other hand, don�t go too far in the other direction. I feature checklisted myself up to an unwieldy oversized shopvac from amazon, and most of the features included (the built in water pump) is worthless and it�s a pain to work with.

Great at clearing stuck drains with an adapter, though.

# ¿ Jul 18, 2020 20:38

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

therobit posted:

If OP didn't respond between the 2 emails it's probably dude responding to the wrong person. It might be related to dude being unfamiliar with whichever type of name OP has or could just be a "same surname " situation. My parents loan details including income, etc were sent to my dad's brother's ex-wife once because she had the same last name and first initial as my mom. Those sort of things happen, though usually through incompetence

But as far as visa status goes it's not necessarily racism if it has to do with the loan. Lenders won't lend if you aren't legal to work and don't have another income source, even of you are working without a work visa.

Dude.

No need to benefit of the doubt the drone when op literally said �racism or incompetence.�

No one is saying the visa status qualification in general is potentially racist so not sure why you keep trying to explain it. The problem is either assuming someone with a �foreign� name is on a visa or being unable to tell a name apart is usually �racism or incompetence�, and they aren�t mutually exclusive.

in a well actually fucked around with this message at 15:13 on Aug 8, 2020

# ¿ Aug 8, 2020 15:10

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# ¿ May 22, 2024 11:51

in a well actually: Jan 26, 2011; dude, you gotta end it on the rhyme

Big Furnace always trying to rip out 45 year old furnaces before their time!!! :argh:

# ¿ Sep 16, 2020 20:32

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > House-buying thread - Why is everyone involved in this process so deeply stupid?

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