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Your post seriously looks like it could have been written by me 4 months ago. Take out the cats part, and then make me a recent college grad who already interned for the company in the same city a year ago. (Phoenix area) My wife and I rented a bedroom from a guy we work with. We planned on staying for about a month, leave everything in storage, to find a house, and then move in as soon as it closed. After hiring (and subsequently firing) World's Worst Realtor (tm), we realized that this is going to take longer than usual. We took over the lease on some schoolteacher's affordable apartment we found on craigslist, and will settle in there so we can eliminate the homelessness time crunch and find the right house for us at the right price. We were at one point even under contract for $151k on a house that would have appraised for $120k.  Talk to people at work. Use your new network. Where do they live? How are the schools? What's the market like? Is there a going to be a change in your household monthly expenses in this new city? (higher food prices, longer commute, etc) Do they mostly live in one or two areas? Do they regret their house way out in the 'burbs during their 60 minute commute? In a megacorp like that, someone around there was in a similar situation and bought a house within the last six months. You're making the largest purchase of your life to date, and it's hard enough without all the other stuff you'll have going on. The last thing you need is forcing yourself into a sense of urgency.
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Jun 20, 2012 04:21
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I'd vote drill. A bit less practical and more expensive, but more gifty, is a barbecue. Because that's what backyards are for. 
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Dec 17, 2012 20:40
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Vilkata posted:So my question is: How much influence do comp sales from when the market wasn't going as strong have in the appraisal process? I would hate for our appraisal to come back low and mess up anything with our mortgage. I'm not sure if it makes any difference at all, but when I did a home insurance quote with Liberty Mutual, the coverage amount they determined based off square footing, age of roof, pool, etc came back at right around our purchase price. I tried to buy a home in Chandler last year, and I was represented by The World's Worst Realtor (TM) I put in an offer at 1k below asking price on a Homepath property (that the agent's buddy was selling, wouldn't you know?), total of $161k. The offer was accepted, and during the inspection period, my realtor finally decided to run comps on the neighborhood. He found the exact same house sold three doors down three weeks previous for $130k. Fortunately, I was able to run away screaming from the deal without being out any money. I told him that he was terrible, and that there was no way the home would appraise for that much. The home was ~25 years old, hadn't had the asphalt shingle roof replaced yet (any day now), and had a few other problems/broken things/vandalism to boot. The home appraised for exactly what the next offer was ($161k, but from a non-Homepath lender so they initially gave priority to me), and some chump bought it weeks later for that price.  Do never buy.
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Mar 26, 2013 18:11
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I have a dusty old 401(k) from a college job that I completely forgot about. It's $8k or so, and I'd like to turn it into a first time home buyer down payment. I'm thinking the best treatment would be to roll it over into a new IRA and then take a distribution from it when I close on a house. Am I missing anything?
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Apr 4, 2013 18:37
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Dear Thread, Can someone help me read this? My wife has been doing the loan shopping, and I don't have a ton of details just yet. This is the sort-of-GFE letter on a hypothetical $180k-ish house that we'd buy in the near future. We came in with the idea of getting an FHA loan at 3% down. We both have fantastic credit, and qualified for some stupidly high loan amount like $280k. The guy told her something about doing a conventional loan with 3% down, and still paying PMI. The thing that concerns me is the 'convertible fixed' part in the description. I know enough to know that convertible mortgages have a possibility of being "totally screw you over adjustable rate" beasts. Also, does $4k in closing costs (excluding down payment) sound about right? Sincerely, Mystified by Mortgages, AZ
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Apr 10, 2013 19:54
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emocrat posted:Where do you see convertible? "131-Conv. Fixed 97%" looks to me like it describes a Conventional Fixed rate loan. I could be wrong though. You're right and I'm a bonehead. How am I getting a conventional mortgage with only 3% down?  I think the rate he quoted was closer to 3.5%, but this is a worst case scenario or something.
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Apr 10, 2013 21:02
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FISHMANPET posted:Like, how can you be so bad at your job? That's been my experience with 95% of the "professionals" involved in the process of buying a home. The Wells Fargo branch manager I spoke with didn't know that you could take a distribution from an IRA for a "first-time home purchase" without a tax penalty.
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Apr 15, 2013 17:08
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My realtor today in showing houses told me that she will never discuss business, dollars, or any sort of numbers inside a house she is showing. Why? Because one of her partners has been the victim of the listing agent setting up an audio recording device in the entryway, to get the inside track on potential buyers' strategy. I hate this process so much. 
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Apr 29, 2013 22:47
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I should say, it made more sense in this particular house we were inside. The previous owners literally had video cameras installed in almost every room and were a little bit 
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Apr 30, 2013 16:48
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Under contract on a house as of today, and the owner doesn't occupy the house. The owner fancied himself a few years ago as a savvy real-estate investor, and bought a house (mortgaged) to rent it out and become rich. The rich thing hasn't worked out, and he discovered he hates being a landlord (like almost everyone else who tries) So he has tenants living there, and they are sort of douche-y. They made it difficult for realtors to show the house to buyers by being unavailable, and are requiring incredibly long notice from the landlord before he can boot them so I can close and move in. They started with 60 days, and have now negotiated to 30 days. We have it written in the contract that the seller is responsible to have the house completely clean and free of the tenants' trash before close of escrow and possession (we're not doing pre- or post-possession, because we aren't insane). Our close date is set for June 11th, and I'm concerned that we're going to have trouble getting the inspection and appraisal done in a timely manner with The Douche Family living there. Will they still be able to do their thing properly and access the right areas with a whole family's worth of junk in the house? They are planning on moving out only a matter of days before we're supposed to close. I'm also concerned that they will leave the house in a condition unacceptable to me (dirty or with abandoned clutter left behind.) This would require battling the owner to get it done on incredibly short notice, pushing out the close/move-in date, or cleaning it myself (gross) Has anyone had any experience with that? Are my fears justified? canyoneer fucked around with this message at 22:41 on May 9, 2013 |
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May 9, 2013 22:38
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Is there a good resource out there to understand homeowners insurance, what the different kinds cover, and what to expect to pay? I'm closing in about a month, and need to have my insurance stuff all in place. Also, is it generally cheaper to have your locks re-keyed by a locksmith or just buy new locks upon taking possession?
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May 15, 2013 23:46
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Mandals posted:So, I'm trying to lock in a rate, but the bond market keeps going up. I can get a rate at 4.1% now, but I was closer to 3.75% a few weeks ago. Should I just pull the trigger? It effectively breaks out to around $80 more a month with the difference. There are a gajillion people across the globe who get paid to try to predict how markets will move. They have almost never been unanimous and correct simultaneously. It's really anyone's guess whether this is a brief bump or the beginning of a years long trend. That said, I locked my rate last week 
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May 23, 2013 22:02
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BossRighteous posted:We just got under contract on a home for 163k. The inventories were flying so fast we just put in a 161 offer on the first one that felt right, they countered to 163 and we bit. Where in the PHX area did you buy? I couldn't find anything in Chandler this year at $160k that wasn't either under 1300 sq ft, built in 1970, or both. When I was looking last summer, there were tons of great options in that price range  . Everything went up 15%, I swear.
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May 24, 2013 22:37
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Your house is pretty and I am happy for you. I probably also would have submitted an offer on that house.  I ended up buying in Gilbert, and had to compromise on an HOA. It's a cheap one though, not like these ridiculous $80+/mo places around here. I refuse to believe that any HOA is worth $100+/mo unless they are giving daily foot rubs or something
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May 25, 2013 00:11
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BossRighteous posted:Meh, we ended up breaking down and upping our mortgage term. My sister bought a house a couple years ago, and almost took an $80k mortgage on a 15 year term. I begged and pleaded with her to take a 30 year mortgage instead, because you can always pay extra on a 30 year mortgage's payment, but you can never pay less than a 15 year's payment. The interest rate difference was something like 0.5%, but she had stars in her eyes looking at the interest paid over the life of the loan. Fortunately, she went with 30 year, and in the meantime lost the higher paying job of their two income household, started going back to school, and had a baby. They'd probably be struggling hard to make that payment and probably go into credit card debt. Carrying a few thousand dollars of credit card at 18% for a few years would quickly wipe out the 0.5% interest rate savings.
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Jun 3, 2013 18:04
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14 days is the magic number for FICO.
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Jun 4, 2013 21:29
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Just signed all the title company stuff, with an effective closing date on Monday. Now I swing by the title company sometime today to drop off an enormous check and get the keys on Monday afternoon.  Going from renting (paying rent up front) to a mortgage (paying in arrears) means I have one month rent free  (from a cashflow perspective) Time to blow it all on renting a moving truck and painting over the dirt-colored walls!When we put in the offer, the seller's realtor said that they couldn't go much lower than what we offered, because it would trigger a short sale situation. They also wouldn't budge on any repairs or closing costs usually paid by the buyer. In signing all the documents it showed a breakdown of what is going to the seller. After paying off the loan ($165k), his part of the closing costs (~$4k) and the realtors ($11k), the guy walked away with just $4,000 on an $184k sale  He bought that house in 2005 for $240k, lives out of state, and has been renting it out the whole time.Do never flip.
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Jun 7, 2013 17:01
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GD_American posted:Er...no? It's so they can pay a law firm to put liens on homes because the homeowner painted their door Orange Sienna (Orange Sienna is clearly a trim color in the covenants and the door should actually be on the approved color list like Burnt Ocher.) That's just the rub of it. Some HOAs don't maintain any common areas and are just there to enforce the appearance rules and send nasty letters when you're out of compliance. Then there are others who charge reasonable amounts to maintain neighborhood pools, common greenspaces, or other facilities. The worst of both worlds is paying a "cool neighborhood amenities" pricetag to empower the Lawn and Trash Can Police department. edit: I think this post says more about my feelings towards HOAs than it says about how HOAs spend money.
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Jun 11, 2013 00:14
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Someone mentioned flashlights, which is a good idea. However, if you buy a decent headlamp, you'll end up using that every single time. I find that the headlamps which are dual mode enormous long distance megabulb/short distance LEDs are best. It's nice to have two hands free, and not play the "position the flashlight awkwardly" game. Bonus points because you look silly while using it. One other thing to think of when moving (which isn't specific to moving into a house) is to pack a suitcase or special box with the things you'll need immediately. Toilet paper, shower curtain, handsoap, bath towels, a few trash bags, sheets. It's pretty horrible when you're ready to call it a night after an exhausting day of moving, packing and unpacking to spend another 20 minutes digging through your boxes to find the supplies you need to take a dump, take a shower, and go to bed.
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Jun 12, 2013 17:31
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Konstantin posted:If at all possible, it would be much easier to move there permanently, put your stuff in storage, and find a short term housing solution while you search for a place. You really do need to either be there constantly or have an absolute hero of a realtor who has experience with cross-country moves and is willing to put in some serious legwork above and beyond what they usually do. Unless you have some serious connections in your new city, finding such a realtor would be next to impossible from 400 miles away. Craigslist temporary/sublet section is pretty good for that. I got into an apartment that way with a 3 month lease, and was able to extend the lease as the house-hunt slowed. This is also the same way I'm getting out of my current lease, by transferring it to a dude who needs an apartment for a 12 week internship.
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Jun 13, 2013 05:19
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If you're totally dying to "not make a mortgage payment for a year", open another checking account with your bank/credit union and put the $12k in there and arrange automatic payments for your mortgage. If you're the kind of customer who has an extra $12k kicking around, I'd expect everything about this to be free of fees. Unless you're applying it towards your principal, there aren't a lot of very compelling reasons to pre-pay. The only one I can think of is if you're going to go live in a mud hut somewhere with the Peace Corps for a year and want to ensure your mortgage stuff is taken care of.
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Jun 17, 2013 17:59
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NJ Deac posted:What I don't get is why are bond prices tanking at the same time as stock prices? My understanding is that usually when the stock market tanks, most of the money flows into bonds, raising prices and lowering interest rates. Where is the money going? The economist's favorite answer is: it depends. As far as bonds go, rates are different than yields. (Note that credit card companies like to advertise APR(rate), and banks like to advertise APY(yield) on savings accounts) I'm going to speak in oversimplified generalities here, so let's not sperg about the details. Let's say 6 months ago you could buy a bond at the market rate for a certain level of risk at 3%. Now, let's say for an identical level of risk, a comparable bond is issued with 4% interest rate today. When interest rates rise, prices on existing bonds are decreased. Why? Because someone can buy a new bond and get a 4% yield. No rational investor would buy someone's older 3% bond on the secondary market, unless the price is reduced to such a level where they'd get the same yield as a bond at the current, higher interest rate. So when interest rates overall rise, yields on newly issued bonds increase, which require the prices on the secondary market of older bonds at lower rates to decrease to match the yields. So, The Market (a collection of millions of dumb, panicky animals) sees that interest rates and bond yields are rising. Some of them will think "Gee, I wasn't willing to accept a piddly 2% return on bonds 6 months ago because I thought I could do better in stocks. Now that bond yields are higher, I'd like to reduce my risk exposure, and I'd rather sell off some stock [putting downward pressure on prices], and buy some bonds for a lower risk, predictable return." But, yeah, the bottom line is trying to "time" the market or predict the future is a fool's errand. The one safe thing to say is that interest rates literally couldn't get any lower for some periods in the last few years. So you'll expect some uptick.
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Jun 25, 2013 01:00
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BossRighteous posted:lovely additions - "I quickly realized that it's a lot less space than I grew up with." This is common, so a lot of the Phoenix homes we looked at had additions to increase square footage. Out of 8 '50-'60s homes we walked through with additions not one was done to my standards (Poor AC, poor foundation, etc) That's the Arizona way. We don't have basements to turn into finished basements, so we build horrible additions instead. Also, because it wasn't mentioned earlier: asbestos. If the home is of a certain age, asbestos err'whurr. Even in spots you wouldn't think, like certain kinds of flooring or the popcorn ceiling. They're still safe to live in if you leave it alone, but be aware that it can limit your options if you want to change things inside the house (unless you're OK with mesothelioma). In the example of flooring, you can usually just floor over the top of it without danger. With popcorn ceilings that contain asbestos (not all of them do), you need to pay a professional big bucks to remove it safely. You may run into the same thing if you're just dying to knock down the wall between the living room and dining room. But your home inspector will probably tell you all that stuff anyway. You should also know that older homes are sometimes much less thermal/energy efficient than newer homes. Building techniques and materials have come a long way in the last 50 years. If you live in an area where you are often heating or cooling the home, that's something to consider. Anecdotally, I lived in a house as a guest one summer in the Phoenix area that was 50 years old, a hodgepodge of additions with 2 AC units and one swamp cooler. The owner would pay $600 every month during the summer on electricity to cool the house. I knew a guy who lived in the same neighborhood, in a house with identical square footage that was 15 years old and he paid less than 1/3rd of that. I don't know how much each different factor contributed to that.
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Jun 25, 2013 20:26
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The joke is that realtors always say "it's a great to buy right now!", but from an interest rate perspective, it really is as good as it gets.
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Jun 26, 2013 00:41
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MrMidnight posted:So my girlfriend is closing on a house today and I'm helping her with a bunch of the remodeling projects she has in mind (kitchen, bathroom countertop upgrades chief among them). http://www.remodeling.hw.net/2013/costvsvalue/national.aspx This site shows a ballpark. The big takeaway from that site and those figures should be that you shouldn't expect your renovations to pay you back 100% when it's time to sell. It's nice when they do, but you should realize that more often than not, that won't be the case. That said, do renovations on your home because that's how you want your house to be while you live there. Don't try to predict what a future buyer would want and be willing to pay for.
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Jun 27, 2013 18:51
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FCKGW posted:There plenty of places where there is no such thing as a $100k house. And many more areas where all the $100k houses are on mainstreet of Murdertown, USA.
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Jul 1, 2013 03:25
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Having just moved in, I've noticed my junk mail volume has probably quadrupled. My favorite are the ones that want you to get some kind of insurance, or a paper copy of your deed or whatever. They make it look like the VERY OFFICIAL STUFF YOUR BANK SENDS and try to hide that it's from a company you have no business relationship with. And I'm shooing away alarm and pest control salesmen daily. I feel like the belle of the ball 
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Jul 3, 2013 06:27
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Omne posted:Just as an aside to this: if you have a pre-existing business relationship with a company, they can still send you stuff even if you opt out. They can also call you with marketing offers. I'm not sure what the amount of time is between ending the relationship (i.e. closing your checking account at Chase) before Chase has to stop sending you mailers for credit cards. Yep. However, I've never had a problem getting banks and utilities that I'm a customer of to stop sending me stuff while I'm a customer. I once had a company that wanted to charge me $2/each or something for statements in the mail, but would gladly send a dozen solicitations for crap during that same period free of charge BossRighteous posted:Yesterday was signing day, and final inspection day. With 2 hours left before the signing, Chase banks all over Phoenix lost their ability to network and create cashier's checks. After 40 minutes we were all set to withdraw $10k in cash and get a cashier's check from Wells Fargo. Right in the clutch the check final comes through. Crisis averted. I'm sure you're relieved you didn't have to carry $10k of cash on your person while you drove between banks
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Jul 3, 2013 22:07
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BossRighteous posted:We paid for movers and of all the house-related purchases in the process, it's the one I feel best about. My day rental of a 19' Uhaul was $200. I should have known to hire movers instead, especially when I blew out my knee hauling a mattress from a 3rd floor apartment in the early hours of the move. A $100 premium to not have to lift a box and just stand at the door and point would have been absolutely worth it. Now paying for the premium "guys come in and pack up all your stuff" treatment is a different story. Part of the compensation for the contractors who do that for military moves is being paid by the pound. This means they pack everything. I know plenty of people who have unpacked boxes in their new overseas home to discover that a kitchen bag of garbage and a 5 lb bag of (now rotten) potatoes have made a 3 week trip across the ocean on a cargo ship 
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Jul 10, 2013 17:35
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wixard posted:While we're talking about moving prices, I got quoted $1650 to move my 1BR apartment 450 miles (PA to NC) to the house I'm purchasing, all I have to do is pack. My realtor thinks that's a pretty great price, and the quote I got from UHaul for just a truck for $1000 seems to agree. You guys are freaking me out with all these $300 local moves, should I keep looking for a better price on a move as far as mine? Anybody have recommendations for long distance movers for (relatively) small amounts of stuff? Check Budget and Penske. In my experience, I've only ever seen Uhaul cheapest for in-town moves.
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Jul 11, 2013 17:34
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Some types of loan require certain core systems (heating, plumbing, etc.) to be in fair working condition before close of escrow. But if they've got cash buyers lined up around the block, they won't care about any of that crap. So, yeah, pretty much the same response of "ask your realtor," and if anything sounds weird, say something.
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Jul 19, 2013 19:35
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drat Bananas posted:My realtor just changed our closing date without asking us. I mean, I guess it still "technically" is the same calendar date that we signed in the contract (we agreed on Tuesday evening), but I just read an email that my realtor sent to the title company basically saying "The seller has informed us that they need the funds early on Tuesday to close on their own purchase, so would it be okay if the buyers sign Monday evening and then fund on Tuesday morning?" - that was an email sent to the title company, with me simply CCed (and my husband, the other buyer, not CCed at all). The next email is from the title company saying "Yup, sure, got you scheduled for Monday evening now" - shouldn't the buyers be asked if that works for them first?? I could have had plans to be out of town tonight, or my husband could have not been able to get off work. Luckily it works for us, but I'm kind of miffed. Tell them to suck it. My seller was located in another state, and had everything signed and sent over. We signed the closing papers on a Friday (for a Monday closing), and only made it effective on Monday. I held onto the closing check until early Monday morning (regular close day), which upon delivery made it effective. So, yeah, your intuition that your realtor team sucks is probably accurate.
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Jul 22, 2013 15:56
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Just pick a day already!
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I don't like to think of an owner-occupied property as an "investment", more of a "piggy bank that you can live inside." You spend some amount of money on shelter and housing each month, either renting or owning. When you own a house, some portion of what you spend each month goes into paying down principal or building equity, which feeds the piggy bank. When it comes time to sell the house and smash your piggy, you might find a pile of cash or you might find a bunch of I.O.U.s inside. Another way to think of it is building equity is like getting a rebate on your housing costs each month. But you don't know for sure how much that rebate is worth. And it's possible that it could be pennies. Then everyone disagrees about how much that "rebate" is worth, and swap anecdotes. I see owning is not as much a "wealth generating" vehicle, more of a "wealth preservation" instrument. And even then, it isn't without risk and doesn't always work.
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Aug 8, 2013 19:49
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Exactly. When the listing agent would chat with my buyer's agent, they would selectively disclose things to each other if they thought it would help us come to a deal. E.g. "the other realtor said that they can't go any lower than list price, or else it would trigger a short sale situation" (and that actually turned out to be true) or "the buyers are willing to move up the close date if you can guarantee that the tenants will be out and turn in their keys for 3-4 days beforehand" They did a whole lot of back and forth on contingencies and during the inspection/counteroffer process. A good agent and negotiator keeps some information in their pocket to keep an 'edge'. If this is a buyer's dream house on the street they grew up on and you know their financing would support an offer of $10k above asking, you shouldn't share that with the selling agent (probably shouldn't share it with the buyer's agent either for that matter) With an agent representing both parties, the agent has to be super extra careful in their disclosures and conversation between parties. But many agents are willing to take on the grief of dual agency because it will literally double their commission. Can't say I blame them.
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Aug 12, 2013 22:08
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I agree with the other poster's sentiment. This is a house you don't want and don't need, and the only reason you'd want to hang onto it (and put more money in) is to sell it to a developer in a few years. That's a lot of financial risk and family drama risk for a payday 4 years away.
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Aug 14, 2013 20:28
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Jealous Cow posted:Since the Fed is going to continue QE at the same rate as before what's change we'll see sub-4% rates again? The standard answer is if we knew for sure what rates would be tomorrow, an efficient market would match today's rate to it. I really don't think we'll see rates like that again.  http://mortgage-x.com/trends.htm
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Sep 19, 2013 17:25
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Hope you like mowing. I don't know if anyone will be able to comment on the pricing, because depending on where one lives $153k is on the scale between zero house or a lot of house. You should note that if those appliances are 30 years old, they'll likely pay for their own replacements in energy savings in 2-3 years. See what the inspection turns up. What I'd be concerned about if I were buying that house in my area (American Southwest) is polybutylene pipes and that roof, both of which
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Oct 9, 2013 00:34
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If I lived anywhere where snow fell I would never consider a pool. The expense and effort to maintain a pool isn't worth it in my opinion unless you can swim it in 7-9 months out of the year.
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Oct 9, 2013 23:04
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Comedy option: http://gardenpool.org/ Turn your pool into a greenhouse full of plants and fish/chicken turds.
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Oct 10, 2013 08:03
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100 HOGS AGREE posted:Comedy nothing, this legit rules, do this. It's only a comedy option in context of the owner. The guy is a survivalist/prepper type with all the weirdness that comes with the territory. I live about 20 minutes away, I wonder if he'd give me a tour and let me try on one of his gas masks  Ranma posted:I'm buying! Shopping mortgages right now, trying to lock in a rate. I have two good faith estimates, one that has my A section at -1150, and the other has it at $0. The B sections are completely different. In the B section, the first one has my 4. Title services and lender’s title insurance at 275, while the second one has it at 2335. The first one has my 5. Owner’s title insurance at 1550 and the second has that at 250. Those documents are somewhat hard to reconcile. The thread answered my questions really well when I put a scan up of mine with the personal info redacted.
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Oct 10, 2013 19:11
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