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So, just went to a first-time housebuyers seminar at work (we're not looking right now, but wanted to learn!) and...we pretty much knew everything already. The agent (mostly talked about buyer's agents of course) was pretty good, some new stuff, some things we already knew, good to have an agent up front, agents split the 5% etc etc. The attorney gave a bunch of good info (title insurance awesome, MERS not necessarily going to poison every lien and deed ever, at least in MA). The lender was complete and utter bullshit, saying that loans at 5% are fine, you just need SPMI, 10% lets you do a double mortgage to avoid PMI totally, and...you could put 20% down. I guess. It was just complete bollacks and I'm wondering whether all lenders are like that (not at all looking out for the buyer's overall best interest re: buying at all, how much to put down, how expensive a house to get). Are there any that *aren't* like that?
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Feb 24, 2012 02:47
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Ration posted:Well, the bank was surprising understanding. They offered the amount that we need for the home that we had chosen at a 4.4 on my income and credit. I don't qualify for PMI so, we get to put 20% down. I'll go into more detail when I'm not on my phone. (PMI is a bad deal anyway, so put down 20% even if you do qualify!)
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Mar 6, 2012 03:26
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(bad divorce lawyer meaning either she should have gotten the house or had zero liability for the house, not the worst of both worlds)
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Mar 12, 2012 20:48
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Leperflesh posted:Getting one's name off a house (usually? possibly always) requires a refinance. If the house was underwater, that might have been literally impossible. I don't believe a divorce judge has the power to just declare it by decree. Consider my point retracted. Is this, then, the default and only way to split up a house that hasn't been paid off if it's underwater? It seems like it would be very common if so.
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Mar 12, 2012 22:40
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skipdogg posted:Are you referring to a life/disability policy that pays off your mortgage if you die or become disabled? I expect they mean mortgage insurance, as in, if there's anything fishy that turns up about the mortgage (previous owner didn't file proper paperwork, there's an undisclosed lein, etc) you are insured against damages. From what I've heard, it's actually one of the few things that is actually worth it, since who the hell knows what dirty banks have touched that mortgage.
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May 10, 2012 14:46
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roadhead posted:Thats "Title Insurance" I believe. Hmmmm. I think you're right. Sorry!
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May 10, 2012 16:00
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sanchez posted:Aren't they exactly the same thing, e.g buying something with the intention of making a return? Did you read the previous posts? The difference is in whether you are expecting the value to go up (and it could go down, hence you are speculating that it will go up) or whether it inherently has a return.
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Dec 8, 2012 14:06
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A more reasonable way to phrase your objection, I'd say. I somewhat agree; dividend paying stocks and bonds can end up being less than worthwhile. However, a house just cannot be considered an investment unless you have a pretty good idea that the housing market is going to make the house worth more. Which is unlikely. edit: unless your plan is to buy houses to rent them, in which case they are totally investments because they provide a return, of course.
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Dec 8, 2012 17:30
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shrike82 posted:LOL, please don't give advice on investing. I can't tell if you're being disingenuous or ignorant, but you really shouldn't be portraying equity investing as risk-free. There's a joke in the stock picks thread that it's "safe as houses". ...wasn't that talking about Zynga?
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Dec 8, 2012 20:04
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Situation and questions: We have about 4300 per month coming in takehome, and quite a bit (over 100k) in savings built up. We've been looking in the 300-450k range for houses and are now a bit worried about the idea of a 400k+ house, so I'd like to get a bit of advice or other opinions. Rough numbers looked like if we were going to try to do a 15 year mortgage, with 100k down, the mortgage + taxes + insurance would be in the 2700 range which seems...way too high. Way way too high. Are the numbers I'm using correct, and this is definitely too much house? I will note that a lot of the fact that takehome is there is that I'm socking away a lot into 401k, IRA, etc.
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Jan 13, 2013 23:50
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Boston suburbs. We can probably find lower cost and smaller house in a worse town for, oh, 325-350. Lower than that and we're in towns with bad schools and too far from everything we want to be close to. We are good savers, income is likely to rise, but yes, kids are desired. Foreclosures would require a lot of work, right? And time. And dealing with banks. I feel like 400k is not twice the house we can afford, we literally have over 100k saved up solely for the down payment, which doesn't include quite a bit for repairs and such, plus of course the usual 6-9 months expenses. edit: Don't take this as "I will not listen to advice and comments", just adding more information and our views. silvergoose fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Jan 14, 2013 |
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Jan 14, 2013 17:53
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moana posted:Not necessarily. There are many bank-owned houses that are as straightforward to deal with as a normal sale. It's usually the short sales and houses in the middle of a foreclosure that take forever to get through. Seriously, though, it sounds like you might need to shoot for $400k+ to get the house you want. If that's the case, you should definitely go for a 30-year mortgage. It won't be much higher interest and you'll have a TON more flexibility if you ever hit a real emergency or get fired or what have you. Yeah, we're definitely looking at 30 now, pretty much for those reasons. We can always pay it off earlier, just give the peace of mind of not *having* to. Rates are so low right now that it probably won't make the interest that much higher long-term. Good to know about the foreclosures though!
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Jan 14, 2013 18:16
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When looking at a house, if there's enough work needing doing such that we want to get a couple contractors to come look at it to give us a general time/money estimate, is that generally free? How tetchy do people get when asked to do such things for free? Does this change if we've put down an offer?
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Jan 29, 2013 17:17
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Dik Hz posted:Call around and ask. My gut reaction is that most are going to charge for it because you're really asking for professional advice and not bids for a job. So, in order to determine if a house is even remotely possible to be right, we'd potentially have to spend a bit of money? I mean, sure, inspections cost money and such as well, but this is kind of early "can we even make this work for us" stuff. Like, finish basement, for example.
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Jan 30, 2013 14:16
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Dik Hz posted:Look at it this way: You're incentivizing the contractor to lie to you if he only gets paid if you buy the house. Fair enough! Good to know.
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Jan 31, 2013 01:19
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Whee, put down an offer! For inspections, we have the option of radon and lead and neither. The house was built in 1975, so it's before the 1978 lead paint cutoff point. Worth getting the extra few hundred for the lead paint inspection instead of the regular one? Worth it at all for the radon?
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Feb 28, 2013 03:21
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On attorneys: one for the seller, one for the buyer, and one for the bank/mortgage broker. Optionally the latter two can be the same person, say for example the lawyer for the mortgage broker. Is it a good idea to do so? Is it a bad idea to do so? Obviously costs more to pay for two lawyers.
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Mar 2, 2013 02:10
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Yes. After closing. Mortgage underwriters hate to see large purchases between approval and closing, it'll delay things and is the worst idea.
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Apr 7, 2013 01:22
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Yes. That makes perfect sense, do that.
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Apr 24, 2013 00:58
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We closed! Fewer signatures than I was led to believe (my hand didn't cramp a bit!) but waiting on the lender to get off their asses was fun. Lawyer humor is hilarious, when they're just jawing at eachother waiting for poo poo to happen. edit: oh yeah, it was only 5 weeks after the initial close date, so much waiting. silvergoose fucked around with this message at 03:12 on May 11, 2013 |
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May 11, 2013 02:52
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Apparently those lovely plastic towel rods can be replaced by equally lovely (but new!) plastic towel rods, with a simple application of a saw. In related news, my wife is willing to put towels on towel rods, and my hand muscles are slightly cramped.
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May 20, 2013 02:17
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Have you seen the show Property Wars, speaking of investors in Phoenix?
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May 24, 2013 22:56
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Am I the only one that noticed "40% at a maximum, more if I wanted to wipe out my emergency funds, i.e. 40% would not wipe them out, more than 40% would.
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Jun 7, 2013 16:47
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Bit of a tricky situation. House came with an inground pool, contractor who originally put it in filled it for a contract of x, we added some work (removing some random other stuff) for y, and he "helpfully added 1400 bucks of loam" without asking. Now, backyard's looking nice, but on the other hand we really did not anticipate or want to pay 1400 bucks for loam. It's a decently sized yard; is 1400 a good price? He listed it as "5 truckloads worth of loam" and says "he didn't charge for labor or anything, just for the loam". I can probably just tell him "I don't want it, come get it at your expense if you want it back" but on the other hand, he might be vindictive, do that, and leave the yard a complete mess just out of spite or something. My options appear to be: pay 1400, tell him to take it back, tell him I'd be willing to pay some but really don't think I can pay the full amount due to new house work sucking up all mah money, etc. Anything else? Anyone know if that's a decent price for loam for a big-ish yard? Oh and if this isn't actually the right thread, anyone know which thread is? 
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Jul 17, 2013 21:07
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baquerd posted:Where is the loam at? It's killing any grass underneath it... Spread out, the machines filling the pool kinda tore up some grass (and of course there was none at the pool). edit: as well, the original contract stated "will grade with bobcat" and that "loam was extra" which I took to mean he'd smooth down the torn up sections and the pool section would remain with just fill, i.e. sandy/rocky etc.
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Jul 17, 2013 21:33
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Seriously (repeating EAC), getting rid of the pool is a very, very valid option. Expensive, but hey, just add it to the house cost in your mind basically. To the down payment, really.
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Oct 9, 2013 21:48
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Uhh. So that's exactly what happens if you have a bad agent. A better idea than keeping information as to what you're looking for from your agent is to get a better agent. Get referrals, find people who had good experiences, ask coworkers, etc.
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Nov 7, 2013 17:48
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Yeah, income tax thread or a professional would be a better bet than asking in this thread. Still sounds unlikely though
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Dec 5, 2013 17:49
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Get another opinion? Ask the DIY small questions thread, maybe? (this is if you don't get any responses here, of course)
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Dec 14, 2013 00:17
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Elephanthead posted:Sounds like a good chance for a large insurance claim and or smoke inhalation death. Also fire your realtor. I'm hoping it's the seller's realtor saying that? I hope?
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Jan 27, 2014 22:29
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Julio Cesar Fatass posted:I wish. Then yeah, "want that piece of poo poo gone" should probably refer also to the realtor. Ugh.
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Jan 28, 2014 13:42
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Chin Strap posted:Not sure the right thread for this. I bought a house two weeks ago in a different city than my current one, but am still technically living in my apartment until May. What is legally considered "residence" for tax purposes? The two addresses have different income taxes so I'd like to know if I can switch even if I haven't moved in yet. Probably the wrong thread. Go for http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3394641 . (I would be shocked if you weren't required to put your current residence, though)
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Mar 5, 2014 15:35
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FCKGW posted:I'm actually legit pumped I get to weed, edge and mow my lawn this weekend. I was rained out last weekend but I took the opportunity to put some weed and feed down. I feel like you all have a hole in your heart that can be filled with a lawn. My lawn is currently buried under 5 inches of snow and ice. Maybe someday the weather will turn. Do never buy in the frozen wasteland that is New England?
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Mar 7, 2014 19:35
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Sephiroth_IRA posted:Um which closing attorney should I go with, the one the realtor suggests or the one the lender suggests? We went with lender, and didn't regret it at all. They know the lender's requirements, how things might need to be massaged at the late minute, and the lenders may make you pay for a lawyer for their title stuff anyway so it saves some money. Again, that was our experience.
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Mar 14, 2014 16:12
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lord1234 posted:You make a good point. The problem is that we have a cat lady. She has like 5 cats. We are specifically limited to 2 pets. They are all outdoor. They are going to piss off my dogs who will probably chew at my fence to get to them. On top of that the condo docs specifically state "Garage doors are to be kept closed at all times except when a vehicle is entering or leaving." She leaves her garage door propped open which makes it look like its broken. This will lower our value(people not maintaining their properties)... Uh, deal with the cats. Your dogs would go for them whether they're 2 or 5. The garage doors, yeah, it might be worth just knocking and asking; maybe it is broken and she's getting it fixed at some point! Maybe it's so her cats can get in and out until she can get a cat door! Or really, maybe you're exactly why people hate HOAs and one propped open garage door is not going to depress home values in any appreciable way.
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Apr 25, 2014 22:00
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couldcareless posted:This just makes me recall that X Files episodes about the monster that went through a neighborhood killing people who violated HOA rules. Wait this existed? Maybe that's where that Fiasco scenario came from...
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Apr 25, 2014 23:15
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On the other hand, equity and wealth in real estate is...kinda not a thing, for single family homeowners. Buy a house if you want to own a house, don't buy one because it's a good financial investment.
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May 11, 2014 14:21
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OneWhoKnows posted:Alternatively, what is the rental market in that area like? Don't even. Then you'd have to fix it up, maintain it, *and* act as a landlord.
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May 12, 2014 16:13
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canyoneer posted:I get it. You get it. That doesn't mean it couldn't turn into a big public relations outcry "Yes, and they're providing jobs, so they deserve it."
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May 15, 2014 20:49
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Man, "fire your realtor" just is always the best answer.  Not actually saying that, but if there's major work to be done, why wouldn't you want a reinspection?
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May 20, 2014 14:57
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