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My lease expires at my apartment this coming October. I'm ready to leave renting behind and start owning. I live very close to work and there's a really nice condo available that's within walking distance of my current apartment. The price is very reasonable, and I could easily make a 20% down payment and cover any closing costs. There's also a house available for the same price ($85,000 if you must know) within half a mile of my current apartment as well, but this place so far doesn't look as attractive as the condo, but I could still see myself living there. So distance is not a concern- both would be very close to where I work. If I were to go for the condo, my ultimate plan would be to live there for 5-10 years, move into a house, and then either rent out the condo or sell it. If I went for the house, I could see myself staying there indefinitely- easily 15-20 years or more. But just from looking at the ads online, I could already tell I would probably enjoy the condo more than the house. I haven't actually looked at either of the places. Is it completely bonkers for me to even consider a condo when I could get a house for the same price? Is it a crazy notion for me to think possibly renting out my condo would be a good idea? Is getting a condo even a good idea at all? I'm an absolute rookie at the home buying game.
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Jun 29, 2014 03:10
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Whoa. Didn't realize how anti-condo this thread was! But thanks for the advice everyone. For the record, the place I'm considering is actually a townhome, but I'm sure most of what's been said still applies. (HOAs can be God-awful, if you have bad neighbors you're completely hosed, etc.) Mostly what's motivating me is price. It's hard to find a house I like that's affordable, and this townhome I'm thinking about is in a great location and looks like a luxurious place. All the houses I've found that are in my price range are on the higher end of price, and they just don't look as nice- I would be paying more to settle. Plus my parents live nearby, and I'm already taking an increasingly larger role in taking care of their house as they get older. The thought of taking care of two houses, mowing and cleaning up two yards is rather draining. I'm not saying a house is out of the question. In fact, I would ultimately rather live in a house than a townhome/condo. It's just that I don't really seem to mind community living as maybe most of the people here, and the houses I've found so far don't really seem appealing. However, I haven't actually looked at any of these places yet, so I can't jump to any conclusions. I will definitely keep in mind all that's been said though. Looks like by far the most important factor in owning a condo is the HOA- I'll be sure to ask for all the details well before I even consider buying. I may even reconsider buying altogether. I'm 30 and not married, so maybe it's a good idea to stay with renting until I get a better idea of where I'll be in the next 5-10 years. I'm mostly just trying to get some insight on my ideas from more experienced people. Also, what about that idea I had of renting out the place eventually- totally hairbrained? Does anyone have any success doing this?
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Jul 3, 2014 03:20
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Alright, I'm (hopefully) ready to ditch renting and jump into the wide world of home ownership. I think I'm doing things a little backward and looking at a couple places before talking to the bank or a lender or agent of any kind. Went on zillow, found a couple places in my price range and desired location, drove by them and called the numbers on the lawn signs. I've got an appointment to check out both places later this week. However, I also have an appointment with my main bank's loan officer in a few days, and my local credit union next week. Is it totally the wrong idea to go house hunting and then talk to possible lenders? I could postpone my house appointments until I talk to the loan officers if that would be a better move. As long as I stay within my price range (<150k) I can make the full 20% down payment. I'm a single guy with no kids. Also, out of curiosity, one of the houses I saw on zillow had a "money back guarantee!" I've never heard of that being offered for a house before. What exactly does that mean?
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May 4, 2016 02:03
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So, house hunting can yield some good stories. I called the number on a lawn sign on a property I wanted to look at. Talked briefly to the receptionist and she told me an agent would get in touch with me. A couple hours later, an agent calls me. We talk briefly about the property, he mentions he has over 30 years experience in selling homes and that he knows the area very well. Seems impressed that I'm willing to pay the full 20% down payment. We agree to take a look at the house in a few days. After a bit of small talk, he says he has a client he's meeting with and says he'll call me back in a few hours. to confirm everything. Okay, so far so good. But a few hours go by and he doesn't call me back. In fact, I never hear back from him again. I figured he blew me off and forgot about it until literally 2 hours before we were supposed to look at the house, he calls me and asks if we can meet a half hour earlier. I've already got serious doubts about this, but the property is very close from where I live and I figure I can at least get some more experience looking at places, so I agree to meet. So, I drive to the place and knock on the door. I am greeted by two barking dogs in the window. What the hell? I thought this place was unoccupied? A few seconds later a red SUV pulls up and it's the agent. We greet and he seems confused- he thought the property was unoccupied as well. He calls his company and realizes his goof- he meant the property next door. Even though the for sale sign was on this property. This property has a pending sale. Did the company just want to save money on signs or something? So we walk to next door and the door is locked. My very knowledgeable agent with +30 years experience doesn't have the freaking key to the house. He says something about a dropbox usually being available with the key inside it, but not here apparently. At this point, I'm only sticking around for my own amusement at how badly this guy is handling this. We walk around the place and it's a real dump. It's a foreclosure. Just looking at the inside from the windows I can see filthy carpet, shoddy workmanship on the kitchen cabinets and the gate to the back yard was broken. The roof looks like it's ready to blow away with a strong wind. He tries to tell me that fixer uppers like these are a great investment for handyman types. He tells me yet again that he's very experienced and knows the area and real estate business very well. I thank him for his time, he hands me a card and tells me he'll call me. When (if) he calls me, I won't answer and I'm thinking I'll wait about 5 days to tell him he and I won't be doing any business. Oh, and sure enough, the occupant of the house I thought I was going to look at pulls into her driveway only minutes after we walk over to the next house. If we had kept the original appointment time, this woman would have had a shady agent and some total stranger knock on her door asking to walk around inside her house. Fun times. How do guys like this stay in business?
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May 7, 2016 23:51
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Well, I've made an offer on a house today. Somebody kick me. It's a very nice place, though. When I walked thru it the other day everything was in great condition. I literally could not find a single thing that I thought needed repair. Not even so much as a paint job for a bedroom. There was even that new carpet smell when I walked in. But it has its downsides. There is no garage, and the driveway is not paved. Going to be annoying in the winter time. So, anyway, a few questions I have- - I offered to pay full price for the place as long as the sellers cover closing costs up to $3000. Should I have asked for more? - I'm prepared to make the full 20% down payment, but that would leave me with precious little in my savings. I would still have enough for emergency car repairs or anything that would require immediate attention, but not enough to really breathe easy for the next 3-4 months. Would it be worth putting less down for a bigger safety pillow of savings? I really don't want to pay PMI fees, but I will grudgingly do so if it's in my best interest. - How much would it cost to have a roughly 50-75 ft. driveway paved in asphalt? Shoveling a dirt driveway sounds like a pain in the rear end and if it's cheap enough I would like to get that sucker paved before winter kicks in. (I live in Michigan- it will snow) Or is shoveling a dirt driveway not as tough as I think it is?
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May 27, 2016 02:05
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My offer was accepted. Pray for me... So I'm getting the house inspected in a few days. The house looked in pristine condition when I walked thru it, so I don't anticipate the inspection turning up anything serious. I literally saw nothing that looked in the slightest of disrepair, not so much as even a burned out light bulb. But, I realize looks can be deceiving. I went with my agent's recommendation company. I checked them out online and they look good. Any tips on what to ask the inspector and how to tell if he did a good job? Also, is the home inspection considered part of the closing costs? The seller agreed to cover up to $3000 in closing costs. And yes, I threw in an inspection contingency, so I'm not screwed if it turns out the foundation is made of cheese or the roof is ready to cave in with the next snowfall.
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May 28, 2016 21:26
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Well everyone, after getting the house inspected, crunching some numbers, and reading this thread thoroughly, I have decided to invoke my contingency right and withdrew my offer on the house I had inspected today. The purchase price was already stretching my budget to the absolute limit and putting 20% down would have left me with almost no savings. The repairs needed, while nothing major, would have basically insured that any leftover savings would have been gobbled up and force me to live paycheck to paycheck for at least 1-2 years. Something I really don't want. Yes, I dropped a few hundred $ on the inspection which is money down the drain. But from the very beginning of this deal, I never felt that deep down feeling of confidence from knowing I made a wise, future-minded choice I usually get after making a large financial decision. Now that I've decided to back out, I feel I've made the best choice I could have possibly made. (aside from passing on making an offer in the first place, obviously) So, in a way, that few hundred was the best money I ever spent. My agent was understandably disappointed. Of course he tried to tell me that I could get the sellers to pay for some of the repairs, that we could negotiate a lower price, the sellers could cover more in closing fees, blah blah. None of that matters. What matters is that I've realized that I went at this whole house buying thing too haphazardly, and I've since wised up. I feel a bit guilty about making my agent do a lot of work to facilitate the deal on my behalf, and I am grateful for his efforts. But, clients backing out of deals is part of his job, and he'll get my business one day. But not today. I've decided to wait about a year or possibly longer, build up my savings more and wait for a better opportunity. So my house buying story ends here for near future. And what a happy ending it is. Lessons I've learned: 1. Buying a house isn't quite as complicated as I thought it would be. It really can be as simple as finding a place you like, making an offer, signing a bunch of papers and getting the keys. This is NOT a good thing, however. I rushed into this too quickly, and paid a small, albeit avoidable, price. I could have paid a much larger one, both financially and in terms of life quality. 2. There's much more to consider about financially than just the price of the house. I would advise having at least 25% of the house price in cash available before buying- 20% for the down payment and the last 5% to cover closing fees, repairs, etc. Don't let the banks, agents or the real estate industry fool you about how easy it is to own a home- buying is a very expensive endeavor and you need to know exactly what you're getting into. 3. You can't put a price on peace of mind. 4. ALWAYS make sure you have a contingency to back out. God bless inspection contingencies. I'm going to sleep like Rip Van loving Winkle tonight. Thanks goes out to everyone contributing to this thread and making it such a fantastic resource for prospective home buyers. You guys kick rear end. Do never buy!
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Jun 1, 2016 17:24
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So I went and looked at a house over the weekend. I really liked how it was set up, it had a great fenced in back yard with a fire pit, the taxes will be low, and it was in a spectacular location close to work and in a good, quiet neighborhood. However, what gives me pause is the fact that it was built all the way back in 1930, nearly a hundred years ago. I'm worried about asbestos, lead paint, horrible electrical work, etc. Plus, looking at the roof I saw a few spots in which the shingles bulged outwards slightly and were not even and flush with the rest of the roof. Also, according to realtor.com, the property has been sold 5 times in the past 13 years. What gives? Is this place a hot potato waiting for the next sucker who gets more than he bargained for? After the down payment and closing costs I really wouldn't have too much cash to spare for major repairs. I like this house a lot, but I don't want to waste my time and money making an offer and having it inspected only to be told that the roof needs a total replacement in the next 3 months, or any other catastrophic problem I can't afford to fix and I would be willing the seller wouldn't want to fix either. Am I just being paranoid, or should I trust my gut and disappointingly pass on making an offer?
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Aug 12, 2016 01:11
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Does anyone have any experience buying a house on the cheap, living in it for while and making renovations, and then selling it for a better price? There are two houses literally right next to each other for sale in a great location that are very inexpensive. (80k and 60k) I could easily afford the 20% down payment and a 15 year mortgage on either one. Neither of these houses look in bad condition, they just need updates and renovations judging by looking at the photos and driving by them. I could afford to make expensive renovations like adding a garage, installing an air conditioner, paving the driveway, etc. Yeah, these places are quite small- 680 and 840 sq. ft.- but I'm a single guy with no kids so I don't really need a huge house right now. It is a bit troubling that they've both been on the market for a while in this hot seller's market, though. (45+ days) Is this a good plan? Or is it totally harebrained and I should leave this idea to a handyman/flipper?
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Sep 24, 2016 20:31
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QuarkJets posted:It's a decent enough plan if the updates/renovations make sense for that neighborhood. I have a coworker who basically does 5-year ARM mortgages, he and his partner find a cheap house, live in it, renovate it, and then sell it before the 5th year. If you're not interested in full-time flipping and don't mind possibly losing a lot of money then it can be an interesting experience The neighborhood has a very wide diversity of houses- there are 2500 sq. ft. mansions with outdoor pools, normal sized ranches and little shacks like these. Any renovations would actually bring these places closer to the average. Tricky Ed posted:
Yes, yes and (most likely) yes. Most of the renovations I'm thinking of doing would be outside of the house- adding a garage, paving the driveway, maybe making a little patio area near the fire pit, etc. I don't plan on making any huge renovations on the interior like adding a new bedroom or remodeling the kitchen. Any interior work would be repairs or minor things like painting a room or new carpet. At least that's the plan so far. What attracts me to this isn't really the idea of selling it later down the line. It's the great location and being able to very comfortably afford the house. I haven't actually toured either house yet, so maybe this is all a pipe dream that will evaporate upon viewing.
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Sep 25, 2016 04:45
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I've been moving on buying a townhouse over the past week. I had the place inspected and everything went well with no major defects. Well, except for one thing. The master bathroom's toilet had a "do not flush" note taped to the top of the lid. The inspector wouldn't flush it because of that. All the other pipes and plumbing worked properly, including the half bathroom's toilet on the ground floor. The inspectors said this was most likely a "local blockage." This note was even on the toilet in the pics when the advertisement went up about a month ago, so there's a good chance it's been unusable for months now. My agent tells me the current owner is moving into an apartment next month. I'm under a pretty strong impression he just wants to sell this place and leave without much effort and as quickly as possible. I'm willing to buy the place "as is" if he makes a concession on the asking price. Agreed on price so far is $83000, I would like him to drop it to an even $80000. Now, here's my question- would I be better off asking him to fix this problem before moving in, or stay with my original plan and request a price drop? How much would the plumber's bill be for removing a local blockage? This could be as simple as sending a snake down the pipe and breaking up the blockage, or it could be as serious as requiring a whole new plumbing structure and toilet replacement. I have no idea. I don't think it's the latter, since all the other pipes are working properly.
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Nov 13, 2016 15:05
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So the appraisal from the bank came back to me the other day. Should I be suspicious since the appraisal came back as exactly what I offered for the property? The property was listed as $90k originally, dropped to $87.5k and I offered $83k and the seller accepted my first offer. Gives me the impression that the appraiser went there, took a quick look and said "yeah, that's about right." I'll be honest in that I don't care that much about it since it has lots of room for improvement, plus I just really like the property regardless of how much it's worth. Place is a townhome, if that's important. Closing is estimated to be on the 23rd of this month. I hope this doesn't get bogged down with the holidays coming up.
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Dec 8, 2016 02:00
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Just found out that the seller will be out of town for the holidays when closing was scheduled to take place. So, we moved the closing date up to the 20th this month. I had to call my insurance agent and have him void my policy and create a new one that takes effect three days earlier. This works out in my favor, since I'd like to close as soon as possible. But it still bothers me a little since the seller knew the closing date was scheduled on the 23rd and he made plans to skip town before confirming the new closing date. All in all, everything's been going smoothly, so it's not a big deal.
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Dec 13, 2016 22:42
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My agent and I did our final walkthrough before closing. Everything was alright with the property, but I'm still kind of nervous seeing as the guy who lives there has a hell of a lot of packing left to do and he's slated to be out by the 22nd. Maybe he's just a huge procrastinator and he'll haul rear end out of there, but I fear this will become a problem with the holiday coming up. Especially since I have to be out of my apartment by the 31st. I really don't like depending on this guy. Closing is tomorrow. Good freaking Lord, I'm coughing up a lot of money for this. Then I can join the rest of you guys in this thread in complaining about being broke all the time! What fun. But seriously, I love this new place and I'm looking forward to start making it my own. I can't wait to move in. Wish me luck everyone.
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Dec 20, 2016 02:50
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Finally closed the deal last week. Everything went smoothly on my end, but there was some hold up from the bank. Turns out the seller's agent had to fax something over to the bank. Only problem was, the bank never mentioned anything about this bit of information being needed, so it was just fortuitous the seller's agent had this information on hand. It got taken care of, but me and the other people involved in closing had to stay about an hour longer than necessary because of this. I'm in my new place now. It looks like a total war zone in here with boxes and furniture in disarray. Plus, the guy who lived here before me was a total slob with zero pride of ownership. I spent 2 hours alone cleaning the inside of the refrigerator. The door handle was broken, so the guy literally just taped it together. Also, in the bathroom, the toilet looked like it hadn't been cleaned in at least a year, and the guy so kindly left behind his filthy toilet brush. But drat, it's freakin' mine! Just knowing that these walls, this carpet, and the basement below me are all mine gives me great pride. And so far my only real complaint is that this place is dirty. I haven't found anything that needs major or immediate repairs. Keeping my fingers crossed.
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Dec 30, 2016 03:13
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Oh yeah, you better believe I'm giving the carpet a good cleaning when I have a chance. I would like to replace it entirely, but my budget just won't allow that for a while. And these walls will eventually be repainted as well- the guy did a really lovely job painting the place and I'm finding paint marks on the door frames, cupboards and baseboards. He's a good reminder that even though owning is usually a better financial move in the long run than renting, there's also lifestyle to consider as well. If you're the kind of person that just doesn't want to take care of your living environment, go with renting. Don't get me wrong- even though cleaning up someone else's filth is no fun, I got this place at a fantastic price in a wonderful area and it's in great condition structurally. The guy who lived here was apparently very eager to get out, and this worked to my advantage. A little extra (ok, more than a little) hard work up front is a fair trade in my book.
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Dec 30, 2016 05:30
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So lenders are still willing to make large, risky loans to people that would have a difficult time affording payments. Isn't that one of the big reasons for the housing crash of the mid 00's? One lender I talked to qualified me for a loan nearly 6x my yearly net income with as little as 3% down payment. I did some quick math and calculated such a loan would mean a monthly payment of almost 70% of my monthly income not counting PMI fees. Granted, I had excellent credit, stable employment and a huge sum of savings in the bank at the time, so I was an ideal low-risk candidate for a large loan. But not committing to risky financial obligations like borrowing such a loan is exactly why I was a great candidate in the first place. I think a good general rule is not to borrow the maximum amount you're qualified for. I ended up borrowing about 1.6x my yearly income and I have no trouble making payments. You can't put a price on peace of mind.
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Apr 22, 2017 19:00
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There's been a house on sale in my area for over a year now. I remember this property because I looked at it when I was still house hunting. It's disappeared and reappeared on realtor and zillow at least 3 times that I know of since going up on the market, so unless the seller took it off on their own 3 times for less than 2 weeks each time for some unknown reason, that means 3 buyers have made offers and for whatever reason the sale didn't go through, probably because this property has serious defects or issues. It's under 150k, and houses like that are like pure freaking gold in my area. And yet the price has not budged one cent since going up 381 days ago (according to zillow). What's with these sellers? I know it's their right to charge whatever they want, but sometimes I wonder just how people can be so stubborn. The house isn't occupied or foreclosed either, so the seller is losing money on this everyday it remains on the market. Ah well, I'm just so glad I found a place I like and was able to afford. This market is a buyer's nightmare.
Vinny the Shark fucked around with this message at 23:29 on Sep 19, 2017 |
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Sep 19, 2017 17:55
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Not since I looked at it around this time last year, no. Unless something catastrophic happened, like a fire or meteor strike, I don't think anything's really changed. The pics are still the same on the sites.
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Sep 19, 2017 18:34
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thekeeshman posted:Well we closed, and then an hour later the title company calls and says that the bank didn't sign our certified check for the down payment and closing costs so they can't cash it. There's always some new bullshit. I closed last December 20th, 5 days before Christmas. Everything went smoothly on my end, but there was some hold up from the bank. We called them, but it turns out the mortgage specialist handling the closing had left her desk. We called back twice, and she was still gone. She had left early for the holidays. Of course, nobody else there knows what's going on and they had to call her. Took nearly a half hour for her to get back to them and it turned out the bank needed some document from the seller's agent faxed over before closing could be completed. Only problem was the bank never at any point before or during the process mentioned they would need this form. My agent, the seller's agent, the title company employee and I all had to stay over an hour longer than we needed to because of the bank's neglect and lack of communication. We were not happy about this at all. I had already terminated my lease with my apartment and had until Dec. 31st to vacate and surrender my keys. The deal closed, but I could have potentially had to rent a storage locker for a month, haul all my furniture and belongings into this locker, live with my parents for a couple weeks and then haul all my stuff back out of the locker and into my new house after the bank reopened and the lady came back for the new year. Yeah, if there's even the slightest snag in closing it can gently caress everything up. I think that's part of the reason why I'm paying so much extra against my mortgage every month- gently caress the bank, they're getting as little as they can in interest from me. Vinny the Shark fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Sep 30, 2017 |
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Sep 30, 2017 18:01
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I was under the impression that appraisers, unless something is egregiously wrong, generally do whatever will move the sale along. The property I bought last year was originally listed at $90k, dropped 87.5 and I offered 83 for it and my offer was accepted. A few weeks later, I get a packet of information from the appraisal company and they determine it's worth $83000, exactly what I offered. I was a bit suspicious about it- I know the appraiser just drove up to the property and said "yeah, it's all good." But I didn't really care- I love this place. Also, this should be obvious and go without saying, but I've actually personally known people who thought this- an appraisal is NOT an appropriate substitute for an inspection. Not on your life! I kid you not- I knew a guy who wanted to save money on a home inspection and justified it by saying "the appraisal came back fine, so I don't need an inspection." Granted, he was moving into a top floor unit in a newly constructed condominium complex so the risk of serious defects was minimal, but still...
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Oct 18, 2017 03:49
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thebushcommander posted:I don't know if I should hire and inspector now or wait until our 3 month follow up. I feel like we should live there for a couple months to see if any issues pop up, then have inspector come and check everything and add those to the list. Then do the same thing at the 12 month one for any new issues that might arise. I read this somewhere and it seemed like a better idea than a pre-close inspection because it gives the house more time to settle and roll through a couple seasons to see if anything changes. Thoughts? Closing on dis place the day after the townhouse closes. Going to be a busy couple weeks before Chri'mas I've told this story before, but I'll tell it again because it's relevant here- I closed last year on the 20th of December, and I ran into a serious delay in closing because the lady handling my closing left early for the holidays while I was signing the closing papers. They had to call her repeatedly until she picked up and it turned out there was a missing form needed from the seller's agent that had to be faxed before closing could be completed. However, the bank never mentioned anything about needing this form at any point before or during closing, and it was the first anyone had heard about it. The deal closed, but we all had to stay over an hour longer than necessary because the bank's closing agent decided to get her holiday started early without telling anyone how to handle the closing in her absence. I could have potentially had to wait until after the new year before closing, and that would have really left me on my rear end since I had canceled my lease with my apartment and had to be out by Dec. 31st. Hopefully, none of what I had to deal with happens to you, but it's always a risk doing a big business deal so close to the holidays. Good luck and I hope your bank is less neglectful with its' communication than mine was.
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Nov 27, 2017 01:44
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rscott posted:Tell me about buying a house using a gift from family members as a large portion of your down payment! I don't really have much in the way of financial advice regarding borrowing from your 401k, but my general feeling is that you should take that CD money and pay off your credit card debt first, which will in turn improve your credit score. Build up your savings for a little while, since buying a house is always more expensive than you think it is. Remember, you'll also end up paying about $3-$5k in closing fees as well. I bought a condo for $83k in December 2016, which is only slightly below your desired price range, and my closing fees were a little over $3k. One thing I'll tell you about trying to find a house in that price range- good freaking luck. It varies from area to area, but in general here in the US it's a red hot seller's market. Affordable housing that's in good condition is like gold. I'm not joking when I say that some places in that price range I looked at were on sale for less than 48 hours before accepting an offer. I don't know what it's like in your area, but where I live (southeast Michigan) houses in that range were either in horrendous condition or they were snatched up quickly on the rare chance they were in good condition. I settled on my condo because I just couldn't find that rare combo of an affordable house in good condition. I'm not saying you can't find a place like that, but I am saying that you'll probably need a lot of patience and a bigger down payment than you're currently planning on making.
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May 2, 2018 03:19
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Even though I was offered the option to transfer the money, I used cashier's checks for my closing. I took the money from two of my savings accounts at two different banks the morning of closing and went straight to the title company's office to get the paperwork started. I know the chances of it happening were very slim, but with over $25k of my money on the line, I didn't want some bad connection, a mistyped number or a typo of some kind screwing everything up. I still had to drive about 30 minutes with two checks worth over $25k in my car. I must have checked on them to make sure they didn't disintegrate into thin air at least 4 times on the way there, haha.
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Jul 20, 2019 22:58
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Sockser posted:I've been banking with PNC for over a decade, and decided to use them for my mortgage because why not? I have my mortgage through PNC Bank, so I can tell you first hand that there's a lot of truth to those reviews. Things were alright at the beginning. They told me I was eligible for a loan that was way higher than I ended up taking. I can't remember exactly how much, but it would have been a nightmare had I taken such a huge loan. So, after looking around and getting an offer accepted, I had a discussion with the woman handling the case. She informs me that since the loan will end up being so low, I'm not eligible for a 30 year mortgage and I have to take either a 15 or 10 year. I wasn't planning on a 30 year anyway, but I still thought it wasn't entirely forthcoming of them not to mention that this was a possibility before I made an offer. She also kept reminding me how low the amount was, saying things like "it's so low" and "we usually close higher amounts than this, so you're unusual." Thanks for reminding me how poor I am, lady. I got a good deal on interest- 3.125%. I did make a 30% down payment and took a 15 year loan, so that's what kept the interest rate so low. Your rate will probably be higher. They had me send them all the usual forms, so there wasn't anything out of the ordinary there. I had to send them my proof of employment twice for some reason. The real problem I had with them was the day of closing. I closed Dec 20th, 2016. From the beginning I was nervous about how close this was to the holidays. Everything went well up to the end. We called the bank but they wouldn't close. My agent called again and spent about 10 minutes on the phone and we found out that the lady handling the closing had left early for the holidays. There was no one who could finish the closing on her behalf, so they had to call her outside of work. It took her nearly a half hour to get back to us and it turns out there was some form the seller's agent needed to fax over before closing could be completed. However, at no point during any of the process did the bank ever mention that this form was needed. She explained that she thought she emailed that to us, but neither my agent or the seller's agent ever got this email. If we couldn't get a hold of her, the deal may not have closed until after the new year, and since I had already terminated my lease for my apartment I could have had to rent a storage locker and haul all my stuff into it and live with my parents for a couple weeks until she got back from vacation. Hell, the seller would have been within his rights to call off the whole deal- it's not his fault my bank can't get its' poo poo together. My agent, the seller's agent, the title company employee and I all had to stay over an hour longer than necessary just sitting around, all the while I was quietly panicking over this. The deal closed, but it was outrageously unprofessional for the bank to drop the ball like that and leave us to chase them down. I can't wait until my loan is paid off. When it is, I'm withdrawing everything from them and banking with my local credit union. I'm so glad I never set up a retirement account of some kind with them. gently caress big banks. So my advice to you is this- 1. If you can do so, don't close within days of a major holiday. Chances are way too good that a key player will be unavailable. 2. Don't go with PNC if you want a smooth process. Maybe their rates are good compared to other lenders, but they'll jerk you around during what's probably the most financially vulnerable time of your life.
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Nov 3, 2019 23:10
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Sockser posted:1. My closing is scheduled for black friday Aw man. If I were you, I would make drat sure that everyone is going to be ready and available that day. Be tenacious about this. If in the event someone can't be there due to vacations or whatever reason, make sure that someone else is available to fill in on their behalf. Sure, things could go awry in spite of you checking in on people, but it sure couldn't hurt. Yeah, I wouldn't drop PNC if I had already paid $600 at this point. Plus you'd probably lose the house switching lenders- I'm willing to bet the seller wouldn't be so patient about it. Good luck, and I hope everything goes a lot smoother for you than it did for me.
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Nov 4, 2019 00:46
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So I'm ridiculously far ahead on my loan and if all goes well and according to plan I'll have my mortgage fully paid off by early 2022. What are the general laws regarding prepayment penalties? Maybe I missed it because there's a lot of paperwork, but I looked over all my loan documents and I was unable to find anything about it. I checked the coupon booklet they gave me for mail payments (which went completely unused) my monthly statements and everything else I could think of and found nothing about it. A google search revealed that in general, prepayment penalties only apply if the loan is paid off within 3 to 5 years, which is highly unlikely to happen. I'm calling my bank on Monday to make sure, but I should be fine if I pay off my loan early since I couldn't find any provisions stating otherwise? My 15 year mortgage began in December 2016. I live in Michigan and my lender is PNC Bank, if it's relevant.
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Jul 18, 2020 22:35
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I haven't been making extra payments. I've been adding additional money towards the principal with each monthly payment. I think I should be fine.
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Jul 18, 2020 22:53
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H110Hawk posted:You fill out the field that says "extra principle" or "principle curtailment" or you write them larger checks blindly? It's dumb but matters. Every month I transfer funds from one of my accounts to my mortgage. The "Monthly Payment Due" option is selected by default. Underneath that there's a box that says "Additional Principal" that I enter the extra amount into. So both the monthly payment and the extra are applied every month. And no, the payment due dates aren't dated years into the future- my next payment is due Aug 1 2020.
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Jul 19, 2020 11:33
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I'm pretty close to finally paying off my mortgage completely and it will paid off entirely sometime early next year. While this obviously is a great thing, this also means that I lose whatever little protection I might have had from the bank. Would it be a good idea to have title insurance even after my loan is paid off? I know the odds of needing it are highly unlikely (and I'll confess I'm not entirely sure what it covers anyway) but I still have this irrational fear in the back of my mind that some joker will come out of nowhere and try to claim he has a deed to my condo that predates mine or some other highly unlikely scenario that would cause me to either lose my property or spend huge money defending it. Also, if anyone has any tips in general about what to do after the loan is paid off that would be great.
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Oct 9, 2021 22:51
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