Real Estate: New Coronavirus megathread, place for linking good discussions. |
- New Coronavirus megathread, place for linking good discussions.
- Lender gave me an approval letter saying I was approved for 5% down, then called me an hour later and said they are only accepting 20% down because of the unemployment rate.
- Closed on selling my home today!
- Bought a terribly remodeled house from flipper. Can I sue?
- Nixing property manager to do it myself...looking for advice
- Are appraisers aware of the sales contract value when they do the appraisal?
- Wanted to check out a property, the agent asked for proof that I have funds.
- How much do the real estate appraisal courses cost?
- Do I have to pay a real-estate agent just for showing me an apartment complex? (Florida)
- New Construction House Question.
- Is Homeowners Insurance different than "Home Insurance"?
- Realtor really let me down.
- Simple Agreement of Sale for Lot Line Adjustment?
- NPR article makes it seem like mortgage lenders have no clue what's going on right now...
- S&P Case-Shiller Index Shows Annual Home Price Gains Increased To 4.2% In February
- Current market status, is it worth reactivating my license?
- Is lenders and owners title insurance necessary? It seems that the low cost lenders are cutting it out and saying you don't need it (OH)
- Lender wants an extension AGAIN. How long is too long until sellers get scared and back out??
- 170k cash on hand. What do I do?
- [TX] Is it legal for an industrial business to build within 50 yards of my bedroom in a rural area?
- Seeking for REO buyer agent recommendations
- Not too confidence to sign Buyer/Brokerage Agreement
- Buyers dilemma. Where to go from here?
- [NYC] Additional mortgage tax pass from sponsor.
- Inspection Contingencies May Not Be Met
| New Coronavirus megathread, place for linking good discussions. Posted: 27 Apr 2020 11:12 AM PDT Pretty much daily there is a new post about how CV is impacting the market, and there have been some really great discussions. I thought we could try linking the best of them here, so they are easy to find. Feel free to ad others as anyone sees fit. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Apr 2020 04:23 AM PDT Am entitled to my 5% or are they allowed to just change it like that. [link] [comments] |
| Closed on selling my home today! Posted: 27 Apr 2020 05:56 PM PDT Nerve wrecking and exhausting! Now onto my purchase in a month! [link] [comments] |
| Bought a terribly remodeled house from flipper. Can I sue? Posted: 27 Apr 2020 05:31 PM PDT So I bought a house in Indiana from a flipper in February this year who's not such a nice guy overall and has his own company and brokerage. I moved into the house in February and problems started appearing soon after. I'll start off with the biggest one. Water backup. As soon as we started using the water more we realized it was not going down and the toilets are leaking onto the new floors. So we called in the plumber that "re-did" the place. He said that he only did the plumbing up until the clean-out. So he calls in a rodder. Rodder tells me I have a huge problem and very expensive problem. He can't tell where my line goes to because he should be pulling things out and there's only some dirt and sand. We're a family of four so we use up a lot of water. Since then we take short showers and not soon after another one and try not to use anything else that uses water at the same time. How can we live like this! New Finished Basement Window wells. My house has new window wells that go underground to keep the water away from the new basement windows. Turns out whenever it rains, the water seeps into the basement. It took me a couple of days of rain to realize that they never installed them correctly. Below a properly done window well there should be a drain under the rocks/gravel. So I dug up the rocks/gravel and there's nothing but dirt. So whenever it rains the water comes up and into the basement. My new basement floors are probably ruined now and so is the new drywall where the window is. There's that much water coming in. Roof part 1. In the inspection my inspector said that part of the roof fascia board wasn't completely aligned and that I should get that fixed and that it's no biggie. About a month after moving in it falls off completely and now my inside roof is exposed from the side. There were birds nest and even a dead bird. Big problem. That's when my neighbor came by and chimed in and he said that before they "remodeled" the house the piece was missing already. So it seems that they just slapped it back on. Call in Roofer. He mentions that it's going to cost a lot more because I need to call in a mason because the fascia board needs to be installed onto both top and bottom and there's no brick to attach it to. Then that's when he took the time to mention that I have two layers of shingles..... Roof part 2. Seller says they re-did the roof in 2019 and disclosure says so too and that there's only one layer. So there are two and the bottom layer has moss peeking out. I found this out on a rainy day when I had my bathroom exhaust fan leaking into the bathroom ceiling from the roof. I guess all they did was cover up whatever was underneath. New Shower and other small things. Nothing was completely done. The shower in a second floor wasn't installed properly and I didn't notice until about a week after I noticed that the ceiling was leaking downstairs. Plumber came to fix it but now the brand new ceiling has to be redone. This was the same with the other fixtures as well. No caulk. No teflon tape. Everything that could leak was leaking. We had to finish everything ourselves. New Wood floors. During inspection and viewing I had worn dress shoes and didn't notice the sound of squeaky floors too much. Now living here and walking without shoes and the floors are extremely squeaky too the point that it makes you realize that they just installed them directly over some really old floor boards. This isn't really such a big deal but it makes me realize what a sloppy job they did with pretty much everything they touched. So I told my realtor about the sewage line and water backup and he pretty much said that I have bad luck and that I don't have a case unless I can prove that the seller knew of the problems. Make an insurance claim he suggested. The listing said welcome home to this fully remodeled home. Never could Imagine that there would be so many problems and so soon. I'm currently low on money after moving and closing cost and now I have this long list of repairs and things to do that I can't afford to do. At the rate things are going, I'm going to lose the place in the next few months by not being able to afford the repairs or just watch my newly remodeled home just deteriorate and become unlivable. Would I be able to sue the seller for any of this? I gave up with my realtor and I actually tried calling the seller's realtor(who doesn't respond). [link] [comments] |
| Nixing property manager to do it myself...looking for advice Posted: 28 Apr 2020 09:10 AM PDT Hi all, I used a property management company for the past 12 months while deployed for my condo unit and they managed the property just fine--and it made sense financially because I was making BAH from the military on top of salary to cover housing expenses. However, now that I'm returned and not making that extra income, I am cash flow negative on the property by about $80/m before accounting for the prop mgmt fee with is another $120. To be able to make a profit, I need to nix my property manager. I just want to know what I am in store for as I find tenants and manage the property myself? I have two months to figure this out before my current tenant moves out. I haven't told my property manager yet. Thank [link] [comments] |
| Are appraisers aware of the sales contract value when they do the appraisal? Posted: 28 Apr 2020 10:32 AM PDT Do the appraisers know how much the buyer has agreed to pay for the house? For example in the unlikely case that an appraisers calculations determined a property was worth significantly more than the price being paid would they be influenced to lower their appraisal? I know the goal of the appraisal is to protect the lender so are they doing the lender a favor by not going significantly higher than the sale price or are they completely unbiased? [link] [comments] |
| Wanted to check out a property, the agent asked for proof that I have funds. Posted: 28 Apr 2020 10:02 AM PDT I wanted to go check it out they're asking that I show proof of funds such as a screenshot of my bank account. Is this normal/ safe? Ive a few million in there so im kind of sketched out there going to kidnap me or something? Or am I just being paranoid. Update: they said a bank verification letter for listed amount is okay too [link] [comments] |
| How much do the real estate appraisal courses cost? Posted: 28 Apr 2020 09:45 AM PDT I can't find any information about this on google, about how much does the required course work cost for becoming a real estate appraiser? Is it as much as a college? I know this is probably subjective to where the courses are taken but I'm just looking for a ball park answer. Also, can you be a trainee and be taking courses at the same time? [link] [comments] |
| Do I have to pay a real-estate agent just for showing me an apartment complex? (Florida) Posted: 28 Apr 2020 08:08 AM PDT Not sure if I'm on the right sub, but my girlfriend and I were looking for a few places online (Zillow and Apartments.com) and we got in touch with a real-estate agent after selecting a place. She said that she can help us look at some of the apartments, and we agreed and set up an appointment (the agreement was both verbal and written via text / email). Long-story short, in the end she was unprofessional and only showed us 1 place. She also desperately tried to get us to sign a lease for the place, despite the fact that it was not what we were looking for, and more or less told us that our current situation is hopeless (which is both untrue and extremely unprofessional of her) unless we sign for this one place because she's "friends" with the owner and we have been already been "approved" via text despite the fact that we had just arrived at the location no longer than 10 minutes. We do not want to use her services anymore, but I'm curious, can she demand payment just for showing us this one place? She never asked for payment, and at no point (email, text, or otherwise) was there any indication that payment / a fee must be made just for her assistance. The only time she ever mentioned being paid was if and when we signed the lease contract (which we did not despite her attempts). And even if she demands payment, we did not sign anything nor did she make it aware to us that payment must be made regardless for her services, and if I understand Florida laws, unless she specifically states that a broker fee is required, we do not have to pay for any of her services unless we found a place, signed the lease, and agreed on a payment plan. I just want to confirm whether this is true or not. [link] [comments] |
| New Construction House Question. Posted: 28 Apr 2020 08:05 AM PDT Im not sure if this is the correct place to pose this question... but! I have a friend who lives with a close family member, they're currently about 75% completed on the construction of their new house. they had been approved for the loan, and have done the majority of the work constructing the house on their own, without contractors. They recently told my friend that they were no longer approved for the house because the brother in law doesn't make enough money. My question is how likely is this to happen? They were already approved, and have almost completed construction and now suddenly the bank isn't willing to loan them the money anymore? the money is already spent, the house is nearly complete, I just don't understand it. in my personal opinion, I think they are lying to my friend because they want her to move out. I've never heard of a situation like this before, and I don't understand how someone could be approved for the loan and build the house, and then suddenly be un-approved and at risk of losing the house they built. again, I'm sorry if this isn't the correct subreddit to post this, and if it isn't maybe someone could tell me where to go? [link] [comments] |
| Is Homeowners Insurance different than "Home Insurance"? Posted: 28 Apr 2020 07:40 AM PDT Sorry for the question. I'm sure its dumb. But I'm a first time home buyer and to my knowledge, Homeowner's Insurance is required. This covers "dwelling" and other personal property. But do I need to buy separate "Home Insurance" as well? Such as some insurance that covers roof damage or any weather damage? Or does Homeowners Insurance cover all of that? Thanks ahead of time! Just curious if there was any such thing as a separate "home insurance". [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Apr 2020 10:49 AM PDT My family found a house before this whole Covid thing went crazy. Took awhile to find a buyer for our place but we finally got there. We started looking because rates were so low. When we did find a place it took a few days to lock in an interest rate and in that short time, it increased so much that our estimated mortgage payments went up by several hundred dollars per month. Whatever, we missed the window. I get it, but we're locked in now and really want this house. Fast forward to today. We go to the title company and sign final paperwork. Not a minute after signing we talk to the financial guy at our realtor's office: "Oh, sorry but our initial estimate was off by $6,000. So not only is your loan not going to cover it, but we'll actually need way more money just to close on the house. Remember that earnest money? Yeah, that's gone. So I guess our estimate was more like $8,000 off." I'm so disappointed right now. I can scrape this money together but that's it. We'll be moving into a brand new house with no money and no prospect for work in the near future. I know I'll be fine whatever happens but one of the possibilities of this "oops" is very much the total collapse of our finances and savings. [link] [comments] |
| Simple Agreement of Sale for Lot Line Adjustment? Posted: 28 Apr 2020 10:49 AM PDT Neighbor & I Are doing a cash lot line adjustment deal. We're at the finish line and the title ins co said they can handle everything but I need to source an agreement of sale for the deal. They mentioned there's a simple form that's something like 2 pages long but I can't find it online anywhere. Anyone have a resource? Deal is for undeveloped acreage, no plans to develop I'm just increasing my lot size. [link] [comments] |
| NPR article makes it seem like mortgage lenders have no clue what's going on right now... Posted: 27 Apr 2020 11:51 AM PDT |
| S&P Case-Shiller Index Shows Annual Home Price Gains Increased To 4.2% In February Posted: 28 Apr 2020 10:24 AM PDT |
| Current market status, is it worth reactivating my license? Posted: 28 Apr 2020 10:09 AM PDT Hello all! I got my license about a year ago and joined a brokerage in September 2019. The brokerage I joined requires all agents to be part of the local and national associations and a few other things. This put my upfront dues at about $1,000. No problem, I had set aside some money since I have heard it's a large investment to get your business going. What I didn't realize is that September to December is the slowest season for real estate. Maybe people don't want to deal with the hassle of buying or selling around the holidays. I suppose I should of realized this before joining, but was so excited to get the ball rolling! I had a couple of clients, a few buyers and one seller, interested in some properties but never followed up with me, or decided they wanted to wait until summer. Again, I was fine with this as I am still learning and have another part time job I can fall back on for income. Come January I get an email saying I have annual dues that need to be paid. The invoice is $1,200. I am shocked because I just paid this in September. My broker explains the annual dues are for the 2020 year and they do not prorate for 2019. I cannot pay this as them as holidays have just passed and I didn't account for it in my finances. My broker offers to put my license on "non active" with the company until I can pay the dues. I agree and decide to just pick up hours at the restaurant and save until I can rejoin in March. Hello Covid-19. My part time job at the restaurant is no more. I have no income and so much spare time I'm going crazy. An old coworker of mine contacts me saying him and his fiancée are serious about purchasing as house and want to use me! Yay! I call my broker and ask if it's worth reactivating and paying the dues. She explains the market is still great in our area (central coast, CA) and that serious buyers are out there. I have my stimulus check that I put into savings. So Reddit, do you think it is worth jumping back into? I'd hate to not take on this client because of my hiatus, and I feel maybe by investing in my license I'll see a return if we close on a house for him. Any input with current market or helpful advice for a newish agent? Thank you! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Apr 2020 09:47 AM PDT I'm mortgage loan shopping right now and running into a strange situation. The guy I got pre-approved through includes both lenders and owner title insurance which adds about $1500 to the closing costs. Other lenders, the ones that advertise low closing costs, do not include it and when I asked, they said it isn't necessary, especially lender's. The last guy I spoke to said I don't need to worry about lender's insurance at all, and that I could purchase owner's insurance separately if I wanted to. So who's right? [link] [comments] |
| Lender wants an extension AGAIN. How long is too long until sellers get scared and back out?? Posted: 28 Apr 2020 09:44 AM PDT We went under contract for our first home in Northern NJ back in the 2nd week of March. (We are the buyers) Our original closing date was April 17th. Going through repair requests negotiations was stressful enough, but the sellers stuck with us and we came to an agreement. Meanwhile, the banks were dragging their feet and slow at responding to everything. We already had to ask for an extension with a new closing date for May 11th because of the lender being slow. With the bank getting very picky and tightening everything, they now require that we have 3 months reserves after closing costs. Oh and they also want us to pay off our 8k car loan to lower our DTI.... Luckily we have this, but part of it is coming from my wife's retirement account which she withdrew from back in March. It was supposed to drop into the bank account a week ago but hasn't yet. Now the retirement account people are saying they won't know why it hasn't dropped yet until May 5th. So the lender wants to extend AGAIN. Our offer was accepted in early March. How long is a long escrow period? If the lender keeps asking for an extension, how likely is it that the sellers will just back out of the deal and move on. Especially during the pandemic. I still think we're ok since probably not many people waiting around the corner to buy the house and have a short closing period during all this. But I wanted to get some other thoughts on it from people that have been through it before. In the midst of all this, we're expecting our first child in the next few weeks. Due date is June 3rd but looks like she's coming early. We were trying to move in before baby arrives, but that may not happen now. At this point I just want to get to closing, then worry about how to move during all this pandemic later... Most likely I'll just do almost all of it myself while my wife nurses baby. I may have to hire people for the big furniture. Thoughts?? [link] [comments] |
| 170k cash on hand. What do I do? Posted: 27 Apr 2020 11:09 PM PDT Hey all, My wife and I have 170k, live in Long Island NY and are looking to buy a house in western Nassau or eastern Suffolk counties. We currently pay 1000$ rent in a friends apartment with no commitment. In looking for a house we are having a extremely difficult time finding houses other than shitty overpriced flips and large houses that need tons of work. My loan officer suggested we look into putting a lower down payment on the house in order to have more cash available for renovations while paying PMI. After renovating, I am to then get my home appraised to remove the PMI. Credit score is 790 so PMI is low according to the loan officer. Is this sound advice? Is it risky due to the Coronavirus that my home value may tank in 6-12 months thus making me pay for PMI longer? NY sucks TYIA [link] [comments] |
| [TX] Is it legal for an industrial business to build within 50 yards of my bedroom in a rural area? Posted: 28 Apr 2020 09:42 AM PDT My family has owned a home on about 250 acres since the late 1980's, but it was built in the early 1970's. It is about 1 mile outside of town. Recently, my grandparents passed away and my father inherited the property. My wife and I are currently living here with our two very young children. In the last 10-15 years, the 100 acre parcel next to our property was developed. The house was built on the opposite end of their property. So that's great. However, the owner started a livestock genetics operation, that has perpetually grown since that time. Unfortunately, the last ten years, my grandparents' health was in major decline and they were not conscious of the operation that was being built up. Since we moved in two years ago, they've continued to expand. We've noticed they've been building a new metal building per year probably. They've expanded pens and holding areas for cattle for about 50 acres down our shared fence line. We hear cows being inseminated constantly. It's a very annoying and painful cry. We smell manure and corn feed a lot of times. They have large trucks with cattle trailers and semis coming and going constantly. Sometimes they even have some sort of air compressor system get serviced at night... say 1am with hydraulics and machine noises. To top it off, they love popping off guns and do so after dark about once a week. The whole experience is crushing. These people obviously didn't want to build their cow fertility clinic next to their own home, so they built it on the opposite end of the 100acre property from their house... which is right next to ours! Putting kids to sleep or down for a nap, we are constantly disturbed. Having to explain what the moaning cow sounds are. Or the scary machine noises, or getting woken up by a truck and trailer or semi. Outside of the house? Forget it. We can't sit outside and enjoy nature with all the unpredictable commotion next door. And when the manure or cattle feed smell is strong, it's unbearable. I know that my grandparents would have said something to these neighbors before it got out of hand, if they were at full capacity, and they weren't. And I truly feel these people took advantage of that. We used to feel like we were in the middle of no where and now, I step into my back yard and I'm looking at tacky aluminum buildings across our property line. This house has been here for almost 50 years. Is there any recourse here? I'm worried there is a lack of zoning in this rural area, but surely the magnitude of their operation and lack of consideration warrants some sort of viable legal action. [link] [comments] |
| Seeking for REO buyer agent recommendations Posted: 28 Apr 2020 09:24 AM PDT I'm looking to buy a REO property, however, I'm having trouble finding an agent in the Philadelphia County, PA and/or Camden County, NJ area. Any information would be appreciated. If you are an agent, DM me. [link] [comments] |
| Not too confidence to sign Buyer/Brokerage Agreement Posted: 28 Apr 2020 09:22 AM PDT I randomly ran into this Real Estate agent when I search for a rental house. She says that my monthly rent is almost equal or higher than month mortgage payment. She sounds really nice and asks me to write down my monthly budget. I think about the house but I don't have enough for down payment now. My job is looking solid. Should I sign the Agreement? I like her because she talks about my monthly budget first. I mean, if I don't buy a house now, in 9 months, I will look again and I will reach out to her again [link] [comments] |
| Buyers dilemma. Where to go from here? Posted: 28 Apr 2020 08:38 AM PDT We're in the process of buying a house. The property tax has the house around 2750 sq ft. The MLS has it at 3400 sq ft. It certainly feels bigger than 2700, but maybe closer to 3000, not 3400. I know the property tax amount is usually off. During our inspection yesterday, my spouse calculated the sq footage by measuring. He's getting a number a little under 2900. We could be off some, with not knowing how to accurately calculate stairs and such, but I don't think we're coming up 500 sq ft short. Our realtor says to wait until the appraisal to see what it says. We have a contingency for the house to appraise to the purchase price and inspection of course, but nothing more. We all know that houses will typically appraise for their purchase price, but if the appraisal says 2900 and the sq footage is 500 off, that's a lot of square footage we're "missing" from the MLS. I wouldn't care if it were 100-200, but 400-500 is a lot. We will be in this house for many years, but us knowing the sq footage is off will effect the money we put into the house and how we list it in the future if we sell. I don't think the sellers are trying to purposely fudge the numbers. Their realtor took the sq footage from the listing when they bought the house. They've priced it for the maintenance neglect (needs new roof, severe water damage to windows and exterior doors), but IMO not for the maintenance neglect AND 500 sq ft off. If it is close to 2900 sq ft, the price per sq ft would put us at the mid/top range for the neighborhood. IMO the appraisal period shouldn't be the part where we're coming up with "surprises." The inspection period is where you negotiate further and this should be brought up now instead of waiting. I also don't think we will get our earnest money back waiting for the appraisal since our contingency says "appraises for purchase price." Any agents or appraisers out there that run into issues like this? I'd like opinions outside of what we're getting from our realtor. I'd really appreciate more advice than to just walk. We've been looking and offering for over 6 months now. [link] [comments] |
| [NYC] Additional mortgage tax pass from sponsor. Posted: 28 Apr 2020 08:18 AM PDT Hi folks. About to close on a new construction condo in Brooklyn, just found out this last minute surprise. The drawbacks of a new construction are all the taxes and fees. I am aware of the 2.175% mortgage rerecording tax, but just found out we have pay an additional 8K to credit the sponsor for their mortgage tax. (assuming the cost for them to take out and build the place) Is it normal for sponsor to pass down that cost to the buyer ? Also a random 3500 in sponsor's fee. What a joke. [link] [comments] |
| Inspection Contingencies May Not Be Met Posted: 28 Apr 2020 08:01 AM PDT Closing on a house soon in DC and the inspection contingency might have some line items not met. The one we really care about is an old HVAC that we've asked the seller to get inspected and any recommended repairs done by a certified HVAC technician. It's old and I wouldn't be surprised if it even needs to be replaced if anything crops up. I understand that some money can be held in escrow but I'm unsure how the process works or if it isn't even inspected (and thus we don't even know what work might need to be done) if the escrow company will even know to hold onto an amount. Would we only really have the option to walk at that point? [link] [comments] |
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