Real Estate: Sold one of our rental homes privately and yesterday we paid off TWO mortgages. It wasnt easy but FINALLY, decades of RE investing is paying off. |
- Sold one of our rental homes privately and yesterday we paid off TWO mortgages. It wasnt easy but FINALLY, decades of RE investing is paying off.
- My painter just asked me to pay him in cash. The job is nearly 10 grand, should I be sketched out by this?
- Buyers agent wants 5% commission
- Tenant wants a "reason" why I am not allowing a large breed puppy in a 500sqft apartment.
- Cash Deals: How Do You Pay Cash When You Don’t Have It?
- This one slimmy realtor :)
- Time of Essence Letter - New York
- seller wants 90 + days closing
- Winter is coming... less homes for sale??
- Appraisal 3 days before close
- Should my real estate agent be more forward with me in telling me what my offer should look like when buying?
- Parcel Viewers
- Question about Pre Approval letter (Rocket Mortgage)
- Using equity to purchase property.
- Rent or sell a house that is paid off?
- Is it too late for me to shop around if I've already submitted my "Intent to Proceed" with a lender?
- Landlord lied about construction noises in my new apartment in Griffintown, Montreal
- Sudden Increase In New Listings Today.. After No New PPP / Stimulus Plan Passed??
- [VA] FHA OTC or Construction to Permanent mortgages. Anyone know of any banks/lenders that offer it?
- Selling House: Possible to cancel contract if we don't find a house?
- How long does it typically take auction.com listings to go from TBD when listed to have an auction date?
- How much does it cost to build a house like this in San Jose?
- Can you rent your first home in Minnesota?
| Posted: 02 Oct 2020 07:56 AM PDT We paid off our first house in the late 90s when we were a younger married couple (with 3 kids) by living very frugally and NOT moving up when almost everyone we knew was selling their 'starter home' and moving into a bigger house. I only made about 20k when we bought that house and my wife was a stay home mom so we had NO extra money - every extra penny went into paying down the mtg asap and an unexpected $100 bill would kill my budget for several months. Ug. NOT fun. But by using the house equity and our high credit score and with increased incomes as my wife started working (about 60k combined) and still spending cautiously, we ended up buying a bigger house and keeping the paid off one as a rental. After a few years we were able to use that equity to add a second rental house. Then my wife divorced me, which made keeping all three houses VERY challenging. Had to pay out her half by taking a loan and ended up living in one of the garages for several months so I could rent out all 3 houses and not miss a single payment. Was only making 55k at the time which dropped to about 30k when my job ended and with child support, I was literally living on macaroni and cheese. The houses held their own but only netted about 1k each a year. Ouch. Life was good again when I met my new wife. She's an amazing woman and it felt like karma was paying me back. Just as we married she landed a great job, allowing us to keep her house and then eventually buy another rental and move into a better primary residence and turn hers into a rental too. Fortunately she has similar financial goals, and we still maintain a lifestyle below our means, buying carefully and saving what we can. As of yesterday, 1 rental is sold, 2 are paid off, with 1 rental and our primary residence to go and we put a over a year's income into our savings. That took over 30 years of equity building and saving. If all goes according to plan, the last two should be paid off in the next 4 years, setting us up for a solid retirement income either from renting or selling them all and investing elsewhere. Cant say it was easy. I didnt even mention the one property we bought for 80k and then lost completely to a natural disaster. At least it was a nice write off but a crap investment. Mostly, Ive had to deal with tenants for many years, about 80% of whom were great people, 15% of them were somewhat troublesome, and 5% were absolutely vile, shitty people who made life miserable for me, the neighbors and anyone they dealt with. One of them is actually serving time and I wouldn't doubt that a couple more will do time when their actions catch up with them. I even tried hiring several different property managers and none of them worked out. I found they either didn't know enough to be effective or their fees ate up my profit margin and my maintenance expenses more than doubled as they used pricey licensed contractors and fixed even tiny little tenant complaints, some of which weren't necessary - great for tenants and the contractors, really bad for my bottom line. I was going in the hole every month. Selling the rental house privately, from 500 miles away was a challenge. I had a friend open it up for showings and then drove down to meet potential buyers once I knew they were serious. Had four people put in serious offers before the last one finally came through with the money - the good part being that each offer was 5-7k higher than the last. It was tricky but Id do it again - I saved 16,500 in realtor fees and only spent 1k in advertising and fuel - fb ads are highly effective! Ironically, the buyer found my house from my home made "For sale by owner" lawn sign so I could've saved even more if Id known that would actually work. We're pretty pumped about having 2 properties that are debt free, given the uncertainty of the economy, and we're going to have a little mortgage burning ceremony to celebrate. The rentals are providing very good cash flow now that we dont have to pay mortgages plus one less property for insurance/maintenance/property tax expense. But my happiest day will be the day I can sell all the houses and say goodbye to tenants forever. I will not miss the bad ones one bit - they've made me pretty cynical about renters in general - especially the one who burned down my house (he's the one serving time for other crimes). The good ones I will give a nice little going away present as a thank you for being decent, responsible people who paid rent on time and didnt trash my house. Does real estate investing/landlording work? Absolutely. Is it easy? Not on your life. Is it worth it? Yes. But only if you go in with your eyes wide open and realize its a job and it takes significant work and there are going to be some unpleasant parts along the way. It eventually pays off - after all expenses our house netted 11.0% per year over the last 20 years, compared to the S&P's 5.9%. So 50k in the S&P 500 would have made us 157k but 50k in our rental made us 400k instead. If that happens with the remaining four houses I'll be quite happy with that. And no matter what you do, living below your means is important if you're an average joe making so-so money and want to actually retire with a decent nest egg. We'll likely always be fairly conservative spenders but now at least we can travel more, and not sweat big bills. I was semi retired with only the rentals to take care of at 45 and we'll both be fully retired before I hit 62 and should be fine financially - thank God we live in Canada so we won't be bankrupted by medical expenses should that occur. That's my story, Hope its inspirational for those wondering why the hell you're doing the tough slog of landlording and slaving for the bank for decades on end. Some of it is luck but a lot of it is just keeping your nose to the grindstone and plugging along. TL;DR Real Estate investing/landlording isn't easy money but if you stick with it, it's worth it. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 01 Oct 2020 04:42 PM PDT I don't plan to pay him in anything but a check but does him asking for this raise any flags or is that normal for a contractor? [link] [comments] |
| Buyers agent wants 5% commission Posted: 02 Oct 2020 07:55 AM PDT I haven't put my house on the market yet, but a friend of a friend asked to see the property before I do. He loved the house. I told him that we would have more room for price negotiations if he didn't bring a realtor into it. Next day, he brings his realtor to look at the house a second time. Ok, that's fine. Whatever makes him feel more comfortable, right? But here's the thing. The realtor wants a 5% commission. It's my understanding that if we both had realtors, it would be 3% each. So I'm not sure why this realtor should get 5% for a house he didn't find, for a buyer I already knew and showed the house to. Can someone give me any insight on this? FYI, the house is only a couple of years old, all appliances are new, etc. there aren't any hidden costs here. [link] [comments] |
| Tenant wants a "reason" why I am not allowing a large breed puppy in a 500sqft apartment. Posted: 01 Oct 2020 06:25 PM PDT He has a 1 year lease and has been living in the 500sqft 1 bed apartment for 3 months with his cat (approved at move in). He recently reached out to ask to adopt a "large breed puppy." Our lease states that all pets must be individually approved in writing by landlord, so I politely said no and referred to that clause in the lease. He then responded with an extremely well thought out and well written email asking to understand why I would not allow a large breed puppy in a 500sqft apartment. Normally I'd just respond with a very polite "fuck off, this was the lease we both mutually agreed to" as saying anything more I've found usually results in the tenant trying to twist your words to their advantage. However, he has been a model tenant and I would like to give a reasonably compassionate explanation without saying too much like "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND A DOG WILL DESTROY THAT TINY APARTMENT. Any suggestions? -- On another hand, I would be okay letting him have the dog if he agrees to a rent increase that will match the cost to replace the flooring and baseboards after move out (my city's pet deposit limits are an absolute joke - $250 max, so that's not an option) but that would result in a 20% increase in rent, as the unit is already priced below market. If you were in the tenant's position, would you even want to hear that offer? [link] [comments] |
| Cash Deals: How Do You Pay Cash When You Don’t Have It? Posted: 02 Oct 2020 07:26 AM PDT I seem to remember in early summer there was a post here where buyers were complaining that cash buyers were snapping up properties and pushing out mortgage buyers. The questions was asked: is there a way to pay cash when I don't have it? I can't find the post but now I'm wondering the same thing. I'm looking at a property that is in great shape, but the owners are insisting on a cash deal or 1031. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 01 Oct 2020 06:26 PM PDT Very recent cautionary story. Would love to attach screen shots but app won't allow us. We're in contract for 2k sqft house in SoCal for $700k. Ofcourse the inspector found many deferred maintenance like roof leaks, vermin nest in the ceiling, ripped stuff from roofs, etc. No big deal, right? We plan to propose repairs concessions because owner just bought another $900k house and not in financial strain (said the seller agent). Well, first red flag was our new broker. She insisted that we shouldn't ask, its a hot market, seller will not accept, etc.. before even writing the inspection objection. She gave me hell. Literally yelled and over talked me for straight 30min phone call. Second red flags, she immediately ordered an appraisal. Alerted, I did a short county title search. Found over 5 property tax liens. Can't see the detail so I asked my nice broker again. She yelled at me for another 10 min. Provided random facts (liens will be paid no matter what during the closing), questioned my reading abilities, stated that she is a law expert and I should trust her. Well, I don't trust her. Paid the title company to do a complete search. This property owner have $75 million judgements along with over $500k owed back taxes. This property will not paid off even if we close it. Costed me $900 total but I'm glad I didn't listen to a law expert who branched out to be a small property broker. Edit: New broker later admittedly said she's aware of the lien issue and its all typos. Questioned her back, No corrections for years? What a nice homeowner. [link] [comments] |
| Time of Essence Letter - New York Posted: 02 Oct 2020 06:32 AM PDT Hello. Have any of you had experience with issuing ToE letters, specifically to the seller, due to them stalling the closing? What was your experience, how did the seller respond, etc Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| seller wants 90 + days closing Posted: 02 Oct 2020 06:04 AM PDT I have just been informed by my lawyer that sellers wants 90 days for closing plus additional 10 days post close vacancy. I really thought we could get in there before the end of the year because we have a lot of repairs to do and I really don't want to be going through this process for so long and doing repairs when its snowing. Plus now with post closing occupancy theres no guarantee when they will leave because of covid and no evictions. Yes they can pay us to occupy the space but what if they don't leave for months. Our lawyer says we have no assurance on anything. I guess because of covid now the minimum 60 days can be extended. Why put your house up for sale if you had no idea of a plan. What do you guys think? I am prepared to say no and if they walk they walk. [link] [comments] |
| Winter is coming... less homes for sale?? Posted: 02 Oct 2020 04:17 AM PDT I suspect we're going to see even lower inventory due to cyclic market. And longer build times in the winter. (wild speculation) And now with the new" situation", we could see stricter or extended lokdown measures, which would mean even lower inventory. I don't think the inventory problem is going to be solved anytime soon.... Thoughts?? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 02 Oct 2020 07:45 AM PDT As the title says, we're buying a house in OK. Closing date is oct 30th and we had our signed contract to the lender (local mortgage broker) on September 18. Application completed and all documents uploaded before making offer, loan disclosures signed and appraisal paid for within that next week. So they had 5 weeks between the appraisal being paid for and close, and that is the best they can do? What's going on here? I realize things are very busy but this doesn't seem right. How likely is this to affect our closing date? Anything I can do about it? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 01 Oct 2020 07:13 PM PDT We find a house that we like and we tell my agent that we have the budget to bid X on this house. We inform them that we don't want to extremely overpay but we want to win. We also ask which contingencies we should wave etc. Our agent always comes back with "you have to make the best offer you can and do what's best for you." They never come back with if I were you I would bid X and waive these contingencies. I feel like they should be more forward in instructing us what our offer should look like. Am I right in feeling this way or do buying agents normally act this way? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 02 Oct 2020 08:35 AM PDT Has anyone found a reliable free parcel viewer? i have came across helpful websites for certain states: "Massgis.maps.arcgis.com" for all of massachusetts & "Maps.vcgi.vermont.gov" for all of vermont. It allows you to click on a real estate parcel & shows either ownership name or the Llc. has anyone found anything similar for other states? (i live in PA) i understand reonomy & property shark do this for $ [link] [comments] |
| Question about Pre Approval letter (Rocket Mortgage) Posted: 02 Oct 2020 08:30 AM PDT My wife and I are looking to sell our current house and purchase another. I did an application with Rocket Mortgage and they gave me a pre qualification letter for 300k. It is my understanding that a pre qualification is not as good as a pre approval? I contacted the banker and he said I need to submit more paperwork which I did and now he says I need to have all cash to close on hand to get the full verified approval. Here's the catch though we have to sell our house first to get those funds. Has anyone heard of it working like this for a pre approval? Should I try my local credit union instead? [link] [comments] |
| Using equity to purchase property. Posted: 02 Oct 2020 02:29 AM PDT In this scenario I put down a $50,000 deposit on a property worth $500,000, rent it out and have tenants pay $500 per week ($26,000 per year). Is my equity now $76,000 after the first year? If this carries on for five years, is my equity now $180,000? Can I use this accrued equity to put down another three deposits of $50,000 on three new properties to rent out? Can this cycle continue? [link] [comments] |
| Rent or sell a house that is paid off? Posted: 02 Oct 2020 08:16 AM PDT Not sure if im in the right place. Dad passed away. The house is in my name. I live about 10 houses down from him. Nice neighborhood. I was wondering would it be best to sell the house or rent it out? Im pretty handy and can do remodeling which I know ill have to do. [link] [comments] |
| Is it too late for me to shop around if I've already submitted my "Intent to Proceed" with a lender? Posted: 02 Oct 2020 07:29 AM PDT First time homebuyer and didn't do the best job understanding the mortgage process from the start. When comparing quotes from various lenders, I'm now realizing I wasn't looking at all the info correctly. I'm under contract and submitted my "Intent to Proceed" with my lender of choice. But not re-examining the quotes, I'm wondering if there's better rates I could have qualified for. Is it too late to still shop around? I'm afraid that at this point applying with other lenders will raise flags and ding my credit. Or perhaps it's not even allowed now that I've signed my "intent to proceed" with the original lender. FWIW, I'm locked at 2.875% with no points or origination fee and $1k lender credit, but my credit is 800+, no debt, and planning 20-25% down, so I wonder if I could've done better. [link] [comments] |
| Landlord lied about construction noises in my new apartment in Griffintown, Montreal Posted: 02 Oct 2020 07:03 AM PDT Hi Reddit, I'm planning on studying full-time in my apartment for the 12 months and need peace to think and be productive. The last couple of days the noises, i.e. trucks reversing/banging from excavation(sound like repetitive explosions) have started from 7AM with breaks every hour or so. I like the new apartment but the noise is unbearable. I already negotiated a lowered rent by $100 since she demanded I pay a full-year in rent due to my less-than-average credit score, Which she made me sign off on as a "voluntary gesture". I bought noise cancelling headphones, but the banging still gets through. Morning meditation is not working out. And I keep thinking about the noise through the day. The development site is about 3 blocks away and in direct line of sight from apartment. Looks like they're only just starting. Any Advice? Noise dampening solutions? Lease break or further reduction in rent? Legal options? In Toronto the city built a fast train and put up noise-cancelling glass panels to protect residential neighbourhoods from the noise, is it crazy to think this could be an option if I get enough people to Email the city? Any Advise would be appreciated. Sorry about the long post lol Here is what is sounds like: https://www.reddit.com/r/montreal/comments/j3ukv0/landlord_lied_about_noise_from_construction_in/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 [link] [comments] |
| Sudden Increase In New Listings Today.. After No New PPP / Stimulus Plan Passed?? Posted: 01 Oct 2020 09:38 PM PDT I noticed a handful of price drops too.. is this an anomaly in the white hot market with painfully low new supply every week, or are houses finally going back on market after homeowners are seeing how much people are paying? Curious to hear what you guys are seeing in your own markets! [link] [comments] |
| [VA] FHA OTC or Construction to Permanent mortgages. Anyone know of any banks/lenders that offer it? Posted: 02 Oct 2020 05:05 AM PDT I'm interested in applying for the FHA Contruction to Permanently mortgage, also known as the FHA One time close loan. Does anyone know of any lenders still offering this and is licensed in virginia?? It seems to be a mystical unicorn at this point. Can't find it anywhere and the one I did find doesn't operate in VA. I have an email out to Union Home Mortgage asking them. I saw on here another redditor used them for an OTC but not sure it was in this state. Thanks in advance for any help! [link] [comments] |
| Selling House: Possible to cancel contract if we don't find a house? Posted: 02 Oct 2020 04:53 AM PDT Sorry for the weird wording. But we are looking at a house now that is being handled by a relocation company, however for us to even enter into contract with them our house must be fore sale. Anyways, if it falls through we can take ours off the market no problem, but I had a question: Is there some way to say our house is for sale and say someone makes an offer. Can we basically say "Yes to the offer BUT it's canceled if we don't find a house for ourselves to buy in X amount of days?" Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 02 Oct 2020 04:14 AM PDT First time home buyer here, I've been looking at a property listed by auction . com, It has been posted for 35 days with little info regarding the time frame of the sale. How long does this typically take? Just trying to plan ahead as much as possible. Foreclosed property may still be occupied there is still information missing. Any guidance would be appreciated. [link] [comments] |
| How much does it cost to build a house like this in San Jose? Posted: 02 Oct 2020 01:50 AM PDT This is my dream house: Floorplan here total area = 1,810 sqft 1st floorplan 966 sqft 2nd floorplan 844 sqft My current house is built in the 50s. Silicon Valley is a expensive place, I definitely cannot afford to build right now, but just want to get an estimate how much $$$ to save in order to build my dream house [link] [comments] |
| Can you rent your first home in Minnesota? Posted: 02 Oct 2020 01:23 AM PDT Was talking with a friend about my plan to buy a house and rent out rooms, but I was told that you can only rent out your first home if you use a LLC. I'm a beginner to this thing so any advice is welcomed thank you! [link] [comments] |
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