Real Estate: Seattle to provide eviction protection for 6 months after coronavirus moratorium expires |
- Seattle to provide eviction protection for 6 months after coronavirus moratorium expires
- Home-Flipping Giant Opendoor Says It’s Time to Resume Buying
- Builder preferred lender being pushy
- Mortgage escrow is demanding 2x property taxes. Not willing to over pay $700 a month for no reason. Options?
- Is EVERYTHING on Zillow/RedFin/Trulia?
- Oregon - Hilarious photoshopped grass, anyone else seen things like this?
- In Escrow - Terrified of Losing Job
- How much does square footage impact Redfin/Zestimate and your offer?
- Buying new construction with possible roofing issues (NC)
- Washington State: Broker Reciprocity Exam - Materials?
- Choosing Between Two Lots - Elevation or View and Privacy
- What car should an agent drive?
- Buyer's Agent Rebate
- I think my realtor is overpricing my house
- Affordable Housing and Property Value
- Better.com
- Buying home with cash
- Home Inspecting advice?
- Starting out in mortgage lending business, what do you guys look for?
- Advice on Escrow assistant job interview
- First time buyers, seller inspection found mold
- Interim Uses/Income for A Small Empty Lot
- Refinancing question - interest in preparing for whatever may come.
| Seattle to provide eviction protection for 6 months after coronavirus moratorium expires Posted: 05 May 2020 08:59 AM PDT The city council even rejected a proposal to exempt landlords with four or fewer housing units. Potentially difficult times ahead for those investing within Seattle city limits. [link] [comments] |
| Home-Flipping Giant Opendoor Says It’s Time to Resume Buying Posted: 05 May 2020 08:22 AM PDT Opendoor, which halted purchases in March and laid off more than a third of its staff as the coronavirus kept U.S. homebuyers indoors, will resume operations in Phoenix this week, with plans to reopen in more than 20 additional markets in the months ahead. [link] [comments] |
| Builder preferred lender being pushy Posted: 05 May 2020 07:38 AM PDT We recently put an offer on a new build and the builder requires that you get pre-approval through their preferred lender within 10 days of the offer being accepted. We got pre-approved ahead of time with the lender, and now that our offer has been accepted, they are being very pushy about submitting documents so the loan can go into underwriting immediately. Keep in mind, the expected completion date of our home is not until October. Is this guy just being overly pushy? Why would you send a loan to underwriting in May when they haven't even moved a piece of dirt on our lot? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 05 May 2020 08:02 AM PDT Bought a property in Dec 19. Mortgage company recently raised my escrow payment claiming an increase in taxes. Property was previously assessed for $480k under previous owners. New supplemental assessment puts the value at $660k, the purchase price. Taxes were $5670 under previous owner New taxes are $7660, the sum of the prior annual tax bill and the assessment bill. Now the kicker, escrow is demanding $16,500 for annual taxes. I have spent 12 hours on the phone with 10 representatives over the past month trying to fix this. I have sent multiple emails and messages and get no replies. Nothing is working. Escrow is refusing to provide me source documentation on how they formulate that I owe 2x the property tax the country requires. I am at my wits end. They refuse to review the situation just saying I need to call the County, yet the county has me owing half what they do. Idk how to navigate this legally. I am not willing to pay an extra $700 a month for no reason. If send them the proper amount, will they report me to collections as they incorrectly assume my escrow in underpaid? Should I get a lawyer involved? Not sure where to go when they refuse to review proper documentation and just keep claiming I need to talk to the County about escrows incorrect calculations. [link] [comments] |
| Is EVERYTHING on Zillow/RedFin/Trulia? Posted: 05 May 2020 10:33 AM PDT I'm curious how folks go about finding and inquiring about off-market properties. My partner and I are looking in the Bay Area and would like to determine if there are more properties available that might not be on the more common listing sites. Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Oregon - Hilarious photoshopped grass, anyone else seen things like this? Posted: 04 May 2020 06:40 PM PDT I imagine this is legal, what do you think on ethics? I saw this home today and let's just say I had a laugh. The yard is also not the only odd thing going on with this property. [link] [comments] |
| In Escrow - Terrified of Losing Job Posted: 05 May 2020 08:20 AM PDT We're in escrow on the cheapest home that we could ever be absolutely stoked on! Well well under our budget & baby 1 week away! My company recently 'drained' everyone's vacation & soon I'll have a 'negative vacation balance,' which won't affect my pay luckily. However, I'm paranoid that if I get laid off (no one has yet, large company) I'll lose my $13k earnest deposit, 1k in appraisal, & 450 home inspection. Should I ever get called in to be laid off, what can I do to beg/negotiate for a few more weeks to make it through escrow? We can afford the mortgage on my wife's pay (stable), but would definitely fall out of escrow. [link] [comments] |
| How much does square footage impact Redfin/Zestimate and your offer? Posted: 05 May 2020 10:32 AM PDT We're first time homebuyers interested in a historic rowhome, and there's just no way it's the listed square footage at 1770 square feet (even looking at the tax evaluation history, it's listed 75 square feet less). The home next to it is listed at around 1500 square feet, and it is mostly identical (although the other house is an end unit, so the layout seems to be a bit better). The basement isn't finished or anything, so it doesn't seem accurate to include it in the total size. How much, roughly, a difference would an extra 250-ish square footage make? For example, I noticed there's a difference of around 5k between Zillow and Redfin due to one listed as 1.5 baths vs 2. Do you point out the square footage when you're submitting an offer that you feel more accurately represents the comps? Wait until after the inspection/appraisal to re-negotiate? Thanks in advance. [link] [comments] |
| Buying new construction with possible roofing issues (NC) Posted: 05 May 2020 10:29 AM PDT We are purchasing a new construction home that's about 30 minutes from the coast and in a high wind area. At the start of our journey, we reached out to a realtor that works with the development company and had lots of questions. The first question was about having to put down a $1,000 deposit to remove the house from the market while we work on allocating a mortgage. We were assured that if there were any issues with the build, we could get that back. Another big question we had for him was about hiring an inspector, which he recommended against. Apparently the company likes to hire an independent inspector to come out and evaluate the property and that he didn't think we should spend money on someone who would "try to justify the money we were paying him." Well, we hired one anyways because I don't trust people looking out for their own bottom line. We hired an ASHI inspector who was also a builder and was willing to inspect the house during the whole pandemic. So we got the report back on Saturday, looked over it and there were some minor repairs that needed to be done, but they still had some work they were doing. No big deal. The roof though had a couple of issues, one of which is allowed in NC. The one that was allowed was that the company fabricated a drip edge by bending the extra metal covering the fascia at a 90 degree angle to meet the underside of the shingles. Nothing we can do about that one. The problem that is not industry standard was the shingle overlay. The was a significant area of shingles along the backside of the house where they weren't overhanging and were instead flush with the edge. We spoke with the inspector and asked him about potential issues we may face. He said that we may not have any issues with the roof, but there's the potential with us being in a high wind area, that there's a potential for wind driven rain and potential water damage. He said that the builder wouldn't have to rip off the entire roof, just rip up the section that's bad and redo it. Then we called the realtor to talk specifically about the roof once we finished our Q&A on the inspection report. We were told that because they had the County Inspector come out and that they have received their Certificate of Occupancy, the company might not be willing to make those repairs. He also brought up the point that inspectors will try to justify their cost and find little things to point out and stated that the guy we hired wasn't a builder and didn't understand some of the things he pointed out in his report (he is a builder and that's one of the reasons we hired him). Our closing was scheduled for this Friday and we were going to make the drive down either tonight or tomorrow, but the bank is still working on the mortgage so we're not sure when it'll be ready. We won't find out until tomorrow whether they will be willing to work on redoing the section of roof that needs addressing. I guess my question is, if they refuse to address the roof can we walk away and recover the deposit? And if we walk away, can we take the mortgage with us or do we have to start the process for a mortgage all over again with a new house? We managed to lock in a good rate at 3.125% and I'm not entirely sure where things are at right now. The roof though is my hard limit since it seems like it could become an issue in the right situation and there might be a risk of having a claim denied due to improper installation. Same for the manufacturer warranty of the shingles, it could be denied based on their haphazard installation. tldr: Building company didn't install shingles correctly, might not be willing to fix the issue. Need to understand recourse if they don't want to work with us. [link] [comments] |
| Washington State: Broker Reciprocity Exam - Materials? Posted: 05 May 2020 10:09 AM PDT I am moving from California to Washington. I can skip the national portion of the RE exam, but need to take a broker reciprocity exam for Washington. I contacted Washington RE department, however, it was a bit unhelpful. I did a search online and most of the information provided on what the exam encompasses is for the full exam. Does anyone know exactly what would be included on the Broker Reciprocity Exam? Appears that there will be 30 questions on this. I'm wondering if it would be based on this? [link] [comments] |
| Choosing Between Two Lots - Elevation or View and Privacy Posted: 05 May 2020 10:00 AM PDT Hi! I'm looking for opinions from homeowners and RE professionals. We are choosing between two lots to construct a home - one has significantly higher elevation than the other, maybe meaning a possible finished or walkout basement would be dry, so more living space. Possibly some distant partial water views but hard to say. The other is down a hill and definitely has water and meadow views but also probably much wetter. Unlikely that finishing basement would make a lot of sense. Other than that, they are pretty much the same. What would you pick for quality of life? Resale value? [link] [comments] |
| What car should an agent drive? Posted: 05 May 2020 09:49 AM PDT Im finishing up my pre licensing education to be a real estate agent and I'm also looking to buy a car so I was wondering how often do agents drive clients around and how concerned should I be about choosing a car that would be good for that or if I should be concerned at all? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 05 May 2020 09:43 AM PDT Wondering why no one discusses this. We asked the four realtors we liked what kind of rebate they offer and ended up with two offering 10% and one offering 25% of their 3%. This equates to nearly $5k back on our home purchase... Just by asking the question. IRS deems it legal and is tax free income. [link] [comments] |
| I think my realtor is overpricing my house Posted: 05 May 2020 09:20 AM PDT Decided to list my house and look for something a bit closer to work. Approached my agent and they came back with a price that I feel is too high. I'm skeptical of the price they want to list at and was wondering how common is it to get a second opinion? And how would I go about doing so? Did they just a throw a high number at me to motivate me to sell? House is in SoCal. Thanks. [link] [comments] |
| Affordable Housing and Property Value Posted: 05 May 2020 09:18 AM PDT Good morning, I currently live in California, and am fortunate to own my home outright (gift from my grandma after she passed). Two affordable housing complexes, one medium density and one high density, are opening within a two mile radius, with one being less than a block away. Currently both are slated to open spring of 2021 and my question is should I look into moving? Will my property value decrease significantly? I've read and heard both sides of the argument, and I don't want this to turn into a political debate about affordable housing, I know regardless of where you go there's good and bad eggs. But overall as someone who was planning on moving in the next 3-5 years, should I push my schedule up? Thank you [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 05 May 2020 09:04 AM PDT I'm looking to refinance and was wondering if anyone has any experience with Better.com? Is it worth looking into or any really bad experiences? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 05 May 2020 05:18 AM PDT I may be able manage buy home with 100% cash. I have kept money for emergency cash. My research shows saving some money by using cash at the time of buying. This will be my primary residence and not for rent at least for 3 years. Can experts comment on pros/cons using buying with 100% cash? Also, I am unable to find any calculator for breakeven point when you use 100% cash. Most of the calculators needs inputs such as interest rate. down payment, ...etc... If any of you have suggestions for any good calculators to calculate rent vs buy with cash, please share. Thanks [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 05 May 2020 08:07 AM PDT Hello! My spouse is considering becoming a home inspector (NYS). Can anyone advise on the field atmosphere currently? I also would love to buy him a gift that would be a useful tool. I was considering a tablet, but wasn't sure if there's something more critical I haven't thought of? [link] [comments] |
| Starting out in mortgage lending business, what do you guys look for? Posted: 05 May 2020 07:19 AM PDT Like the title saids, I'm starting out in the mortgage lending business. I wanted to make a post because while people seem to only mention interest rates, I feel like just spamming people with how low an interest rate I can get them is a bit obnoxious. If you have a favorite lender you like working with, what specifically do you like about them? Or perhaps is there something you wish they would do? Would love everyones thoughts so I can get off on the right foot and start actually helping investors. Thanks :) [link] [comments] |
| Advice on Escrow assistant job interview Posted: 05 May 2020 07:00 AM PDT Good morning , I have a job interview tomorrow as an escrow assistant for a small company in my town. Do you guys have any advice? I graduated college 2 years ago and am now a social service director. I hate every second of it and wanted to branch out to real estate! Do you guys have any tips, advice or input in starting as an escrow assistant? I am really excited to branch out! Thank you. [link] [comments] |
| First time buyers, seller inspection found mold Posted: 05 May 2020 06:35 AM PDT One of the disclosures for the house we're purchasing revealed mold/efflorescence on the floor joists in the crawl space as well as in the attic. I'm no mold expert but it didn't look bad at all, but my agent said the sellers were getting it completely taken care of. They had their own inspections done, but we decided it was absolutely necessary to hire our own inspector to get in there as well. Our inspector goes in tomorrow and hopefully they will have fixed the mold problem before he looks at it to verify the work was done well. Is there anything else we should do? Google says that we should receive some sort of warranty from the mold company that the mold won't return for X years, how do I make sure we receive that (what do I ask for?) Should we have renegotiated the purchase price to include the cost of encapsulating the crawl space? The house is in the midwest, so while it isn't full blast humidity like Florida, it can absolutely get pretty humid during the summers. [link] [comments] |
| Interim Uses/Income for A Small Empty Lot Posted: 05 May 2020 05:54 AM PDT I have a large 10,000 sq ft lot with a home that we renovated and are now renting out. We decided to split the lot in half with a fence before the first half of the property was rented out. Problem is, we don't have enough money right now to build a multiplex, and are left with an empty lot with a small 8 x 8 storage room in the back of the lot. I was wondering what our options are short of building a multi-family in the future? Edit: Apologies for leaving information out. It doesn't have any utilities on the land, and is zoned R1. We can work on re-zoning it, but I was wondering what would be the best use for bare land (just dirt) and a small storage room. [link] [comments] |
| Refinancing question - interest in preparing for whatever may come. Posted: 04 May 2020 11:42 PM PDT Okay, so thank you for any responses (if I get any). I have a home worth ~$450K at today's estimates. I bought in 2009 for $320K and 10% down. Refinanced one year later to get rid of PMI/points. 4.25% IR My house is pretty small (1245 sq ft). We have two young kids now, and we're planning to sell within the next 12 months - hoping to upsize modestly. Now, with uncertainty around every corner and a massively overpriced and low inventory market here in the north east,I'm growing a bit concerned with future risk and would like to be in the strongest position possible. My wife and I are employed and have relatively solid jobs. It's not impossible that something could happen to our industries, but for now we are in a good spot. Our income has reached a point where we are able to save a good amount monthly (finally out of the horrendous daycare scramble). We have enough to cover our mortgage payments for one year. Only debt is mortgage and two very modest car loans. Credit score is very good. Sorry for the long roll out... My question is, should I refinance to a new 30 year term, which will save us about $500/month (rough calc based on quick searches)? My intention there would be to save more. I don't necessarily want to take money out. Simply reduce payments. Since we are still planning to sell at some point, would it be a wise play? You may say, just keep the house, but it's a 2 bed 1 bath with not much room for expansion (though maybe that would be the best strategy??). Hopefully this doesn't come across as stupid. I just want to do right by my family for the long term. [link] [comments] |
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