Real Estate: The worst part of home buying is the money lost when the deal falls through |
- The worst part of home buying is the money lost when the deal falls through
- Neighbors don't want us to build our house due to their privacy
- When to Sell at a Loss?
- Closed at 2.306% APR
- Neighbor is trying to take my land
- Closing Costs
- First Time Buyers-Are we being unreasonable?
- What do I need to know about having a well?
- Buyers want to take possession three days early.
- How do you feel about drop ceilings?
- offer accepted!!!!
- Brain is hurting trying to make the numbers work - finding house for family member to rent
- Incorrect owner name on title
- What are your refinance application to closing times looking like?
- Seller Agent Issue/Question
- If your Buyers Lender is not talking to your Agent be prepared to have a bad time.
- First time homebuyer, do realtors cover a large area or are they regional?
- Repository Sale - PA
- Wanting to invest in real estate, but it calculates to be approximately same as buying growth stocks? How do you turn over homes and gain more and more wealth?
- Refinance individual rentals or package as a portfolio loan?
- decrease in value due to road expansion
- Seeking Advice: First-Time Buyer almost completed a purchase
- Converting My Home to Two Condos [WI]
- Considering buying an old gas/service station. How terrible an idea is this?
- Buying without an agent
| The worst part of home buying is the money lost when the deal falls through Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:34 AM PDT My partner and I recently tried to purchase a home, and now we're out $1500 after inspection and title search. Turns out the house had a failing leach field and undrinkable well water. The title search had already been completed, so we're on the hook for that, and of course the inspections (which are more expensive when you have well and septic as opposed to city sewer/water). Edit to clarify: I don't regret getting the inspection. I'd never buy a house without one, but I do hate the lost money. [link] [comments] |
| Neighbors don't want us to build our house due to their privacy Posted: 07 Oct 2020 12:58 PM PDT ****ORIGINAL PROBLEM**** My wife and I entered feasibility to purchase a 5 acre lot to build our dream house on. The problem is that there is a wetland area running through the middle, leaving the largest buildable area to be against a property line, rather than in the middle of the property. When we were doing perc tests for the septic to see if we'd be able to build or not, the neighbors, who have lived there for 40 years, came out absolutely hysterical and saying how this is a "nightmare come true" that we would be building a house there. The lady grew up there. They've even encroached on the property a bit. She said it was her childhood place and the trees mean a lot to her. And that living there is a sanctuary for her and her parents (they are very old, almost 90). And that privacy is absolutely important to them and that we would be taking that away. She described us being there as a lifechanging horrible moment. They also don't want a fence built because it would ruin what they have now. They would no longer have a view into the trees. Due to the terrain, their house is only 30 feet from the fence and our house would be about 60 feet from the fence. How much should I factor these people into our decision? We were really excited about this piece of land and to raise our kids on it, but not if we have crazy neighbors who will hate us for it. Do people get over it? I don't want to have bad blood between us and the neighbors. I would hate living under those circumstances. But I also don't want to let them influence our decision at the same time. We could build on another lot but it would cost us between $150k-200k more, which is significant to us. We were planning on clearing the trees on that side of the property for our house and yard but obviously leaving the trees in the wetland area. We live in the PNW so there are big 100ft evergreen and maple trees on the property. But if we did that, this lady would absolutely freak out. She described herself as a tree nut and shivered every time me and her dad mentioned cutting anything down. Very stressed out. Could use some external input. Thanks. *****UPDATE #1***** I think we found a solution. The property is divided into 3 sections:
Before we were planning on building an ADU in on the west side (section 1) of the lot, and the primary house on part 3 (east side). Now, we're going to switch that. So we'll be living on the far side of the property from these people. And that ADU will not just be an ADU, it will also be a barn. We intend to get some farm animals in the future (we have some now and love it), so the bigger area around the barn would be better anyway. And it will be nice to be closer to the street (otherwise long walk to the mailbox, long walk for kids, etc). They'll still have to put up with the heartbreak of watching trees being cut down and a fence being put up. At least we won't have to deal with them every time we step outside our house. And we'll definitely spare some of the great maples and evergreen trees for sure. In the end, it will be pretty amazing! I appreciate all of you sharing your opinions. I was toiling away in my own thoughts trying to figure out what is reasonable. I'm torn because we're really excited about this property, but really disappointed by the neighbors reactions and wanting to impose their desire on our decision and opportunity. ****UPDATE #2**** One thing I should have mentioned is that I'm concerned about the older couple being almost 90.... not the daughter. After speaking with them, it is apparent this would cause a lot of negativity/frustration/stress/anger in the last years of their lives. So, maybe we can compromise and hold off on developing that part of the land for a few years or something. I don't know. But I think this might be more of a sensitive situation than your typical dispute like this due to their age. ****SOLUTION FOUND**** Fortunately, we've come to a solution! And the best part is that it is in our best interest and coincidentally, their best interest. And I might not have come across this solution had they not gone haywire (and without all of your suggestions!). We have decided to build only the house on the other (smaller) part of the land for now, and to leave the rest of the property next to where they live alone. We've really wanted to reduce our overall responsibility in the short term while our children are still young, and trying to develop both sides would probably increase our responsibilities more than we need at this stage in our lives. Also, developing and building on both sides would be tight for us financially. So it makes sense for us to just build the house for now, on the smaller part. And when we're ready a year or two after that, we'll develop the land up top with a barn. I also run a startup, so I'm very busy at the moment. This land is great for us because it will allow us to expand into it in the future. There's no reason to try and build out every part of our dream setup at once. Thanks everyone! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:27 AM PDT We (husband and I) purchased a condo in a VHCOL a bit over a year ago. It has not worked out well, mainly it is much too noisy of an environment. It is neighbor noise, not street noise. We also have a neighbor who is a major issue - long story short we had to get a CHRO and put in Ring cameras/get an alarm system. The HOA is also a pain and issues a lot of "special assessment," which are just fines - and the ones we have received really have no basis to the point the reasons for the fines are really just fabricated nonsense. Now that we are both working from home (neither did before), we feel cramped in the space too. My job has gone fully virtual forever, and my husband's company has said the earliest they will return to the office is 2022, if ever - they did not renew their lease for office space and currently have no office either. It appears we may have either overpaid for our condo and/or bought at the height of the market, but we really want out. It is a stressful living environment - it is difficult to sleep. Working at home is also painful due to the environment, and my husband and I both work demanding jobs with long (70-80+ hours a week) hours. We have an offer from an iBuyer and with fees/commissions/closing costs, all in, we'd take about a 10% loss. Our real estate agent thinks we need to price even lower than the iBuyer offer to sell on the open market, or try again next spring/summer. I guess condos in the city are not selling well in the current environment, which is not very surprising. We're strongly considering taking the loss and just moving on with our lives. We're planning to move to a different/more desirable/lower cost of living city we've both wanted to live in for a while and now can due to job flexibility. Taking the loss means we'll need to rent for a short while before buying a single family home in that city, but our rent on a nicer place than our condo would be less than half of our current housing costs, and would even be less than the combination of our HOA Dues/Taxes/Insurance/Interest. Plus renting would let us really investigate areas/neighborhoods before purchasing a house, which in this city would still be well over 1M (still HCOL just not VHCOL), so it is a big purchase. I am really frugal and really into early retirement. We've also had no family help meaning we saved for that original down payment by working demanding jobs and being frugal. So losing money is very very very painful, but is this a case where you just take the loss and move on? What else would you consider? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2020 07:23 PM PDT We just closed on our 1st SFH at an unbelievable 2.25% interest rate, or 2.306% APR. Never thought I would catch a rate this good! Edit: 30 year conventional loan. 0.745 points with no other fees. 20% down. 760+ credit. [link] [comments] |
| Neighbor is trying to take my land Posted: 07 Oct 2020 06:50 PM PDT There is no fence between my neighbor and my backyard. I dug around to find the property markers after they started planting in what I thought was my part of the yard and found them 8 ft on the other side of the planting. I showed them the markers and the plat map that shows the property line is a straight line and offered to help them move their plants. In response they sent me a cease and desist letter from a lawyer saying I needed a survey. Its a straight line between two markers. Why should I have to pay for this to get their crap out of my yard? What should I do? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:43 AM PDT I am particularly having trouble with the escrow fees. Can some one please clarify why i would have to pay 13 months of property taxes?
Saved up for good down payment but the realization of how much cash to close has me questioning everything. 6k closing costs plus the $12,129 escrow im having a hard time understanding. [link] [comments] |
| First Time Buyers-Are we being unreasonable? Posted: 08 Oct 2020 09:46 AM PDT My fiancé and I are in the midst of closing on a (CA) townhome. We are first time buyers and are having the biggest "learn by living" experience through this process. The location is perfect and fits our lifestyle and price range. We wanted to show our interest into the townhome, despite the amount of cosmetic upgrading that would need to be done, so we went very slightly above asking price (it was built in the 80's and has all original fixtures, appliances, and bonus bathroom carpeting.) After getting the inspection report back, there appeared to be a lot more damage to the property than we had initially thought. When we finally got a contractor's estimate (after requesting an extension met with some resistance from the selling agent) the repair estimate came out to about $13k (the accepted bid was at $450k.) This did not include a termite inspection that the selling agent had trouble accessing from the HOA. Our agent suggested we ask for about half in repairs, considering it's such a hot market in LA county. The agent rationalized the repairs and mold under the bathroom carpeting as cosmetic and stated "..the seller's offer of $3,000 seems to be very generous in our desire to make things easier for a veteran who served our country." (My fiancé is a veteran) We felt strange about it, and the comment seemed underhanded, but proceeded. The seller came back with a $3k credit, which seemed ridiculous, but we agreed to accept it contingent upon the termite inspection. The termite inspection was finally presented to us yesterday and came out to about $1k worth of damage. The selling agent then proceed to say that this would be part of the $3k credit toward the home. Our agent says we should take it because this is likely the best we are going to get. But we are trying to have him push to at least ask for the termite repairs to be credited or taken care of, or we may back out. Is this unreasonable? We feel as though our agent may be totally over it, and want to wrap this up. But we also feel that he's not comfortable asking for a little more. Disclaimer: this is my first Reddit post! Please let me know if I could include any more details. [link] [comments] |
| What do I need to know about having a well? Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:49 AM PDT Looking at a primary residence where the mls states it has well water and public sewer. Please r/RealEstate, tell me your horror stories about having a well. Also difficulties hooking into public water, which would be a high priority for me. Does being hooked to public sewer already make adding water easier? [link] [comments] |
| Buyers want to take possession three days early. Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:28 AM PDT Our buyer's lender was delayed getting the CD out and now tomorrow's closing has been pushed to Tuesday. They have nowhere to go and nowhere to store their stuff (in the middle of the month?!). They requested that they be able to move in on Saturday and transfer utilities to their name to show willingness to close the deal. Thanks to this sub, I can confidently say NO THANK YOU to that noise. I do feel bad for them and they have been beyond decent but... NO. Do you guys think it would be a bad idea to at least let them park their uhaul in the driveway to help them out a little bit, or should we just make them wait till closing regardless? (The dude is already getting mail there which annoys me so... I could really go either way on this). I want to be kind but I also don't want to open ourselves up to a nightmare. Thoughts? [link] [comments] |
| How do you feel about drop ceilings? Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:16 AM PDT First time home buyer and I'm going to look at a house. The entire first floor is wood paneling, and dropped ceilings, the long rectangular commercial type. Is this or should this be a hard no? I mean it's hideous, but is it bad? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2020 06:32 PM PDT just woke up from a nap to the best news: our offer got accepted! we knew the market was crazy so we were putting down offers around 50k above asking but kept getting blown out of the water. after 7 offers someone finally gave us a chance!!!! they were asking 900 and we put in an offer at 950k and seller asked us to match the highest offer (953k) and BAM! first starter home acquired :) wish me luck on the rest of the closing process! we are now moving onto looking for investment properties! [link] [comments] |
| Brain is hurting trying to make the numbers work - finding house for family member to rent Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:58 AM PDT So, in this very particular case, I'm not worried about renting to this family member. There are plenty of family members I would not rent to, but this one I would without reservation. On to the numbers. Average property tax is about $3,000, the rent they can afford is a hard max at $1300/month. What then would you figure is the top dollar purchase price plus major necessary improvements to make it move in ready we'd be able to budget to make it work? The market is crazy here right now, but still lower than other parts of the country. I've seen so many rent calculators my head is spinning, but I do know standard single family house rent in our town is $1200-$1400, but those houses were purchased before the crazy high market prices. If it's not mutually beneficial, we won't pull the trigger. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:43 AM PDT Trying to figure out how to resolve this. There is an empty lot next to our house which my mother purchased for $100 (we're in Detroit). I just looked online at the cities Parcel Viewer and it shows my mothers name for the owner but her last name is misspelled and the owner address is also incorrect, ex. address listed: 1234 Abc St. Should be: 1432 Abc St. We would love to merge the empty lot with the lot our home sits on but I assume these errors would be an issue. How should I got about getting these errors corrected? Location: Detroit, MI [link] [comments] |
| What are your refinance application to closing times looking like? Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:42 AM PDT Hey y'all, Currently refinancing my primary residence. It was previously owned by myself and my grandmother, who passed away in May. However the mortgage was only in her name, and as a result, a refinance was necessary. This is my first mortgage. Thankfully, rates are low, I have low-debt ratio, and make decent money, but, as of yesterday, it has been 2 months from the date of application and I don't have a close date. The only thing I know of that caused some delay was that Quicken Loans (the original mortgage servicer) wouldn't provide the VOM to new company and I had to request it, which added about a week. We are a full 2 weeks past our original closing date with no new closing date set and limited communication coming from refinance company. I'm fine with waiting, but literally every month I pay, about $400 is going into an escrow account that will be "stuck" as my name isn't on the mortgage (we are not filing probate, which is the only way to release the funds, because the estate is insolvent). Is anyone else dealing with something similar? How long did it take you from application to close?? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Oct 2020 06:54 AM PDT We recently purchased a house and our closing date is in a few weeks. Upon firming up the offer we asked our agent to inquire of the incumbent homeowners wanted to sell off any furniture. The seller agent confirmed there was a piece of furniture (couch) that the homeowners are looking to get rid of, in which we replied great how much do they want for it? After 2 weeks of us asking the agent and them replying "haven't heard back yet" we come up to our first visit before closing and run into the homeowners as they are stepping out and we decided to ask about the couch and they told us they had already sold it because they haven't heard from us since the offer firmed up. They felt really bad about it too as they didn't want to sell it privately but had to because it was too big for the place they were moving into. We were understandably upset with our agent and the seller agent as this was likely not homeowners fault. Our agent asked the seller agent why they never responded/told his clients we were interested and his response was "sorry I was busy this is my fault, but it's not really my job to sell after the deal firms up" After a call with my agent he advised me that the seller agent doesn't care/has no intentions to make this right as he feels it's not his responsibility. Our agent advised us that we can complain to a regulatory body on his actions that may result in some action. Is this the best recourse? It's not even about the couch at this point it's mostly about principal, we have emails back and fourth with this seller saying he hasn't heard anything which was false, the homeowners wanted to get rid of it since day 1, and we were willing to buy it too! Just seems like the seller doesn't care once the offer firmed up which I don't agree with, had this taken place a week after closing it would be a different situation. [link] [comments] |
| If your Buyers Lender is not talking to your Agent be prepared to have a bad time. Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:00 AM PDT |
| First time homebuyer, do realtors cover a large area or are they regional? Posted: 08 Oct 2020 09:43 AM PDT We are about to start looking for our first home and we are interested in any home within about 30 miles of my husbands job. Will we need to work with multiple realtors? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Oct 2020 09:40 AM PDT I was looking at buying a property at a repository sale (sale by county for back taxes). Through my due diligence I found that the prior owner is three years deceased but does have a living daughter. If I were to purchase the property, which due to the nature of the sale would be free and clear, would the daughter be able to challenge legal claim to the home? I'm excited about the prospect but also concerned that if there was a will leaving all possessions to the daughter that she could come back at any time and try to reclaim possession. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Oct 2020 09:21 AM PDT I'm debating whether I should invest in stocks or buy real estate. I just want to know, which would be a better buy in my area if I assume the following. I have calculated that my ROI for renting out a house with 50k down payment would be about ~20% per year. Assuming this happens for 10 years my gains would be about 200%. If I count equity in the home, I gain about 300% in 10 years. Which is about S&P average for 10 years. However, if I had bought growth tech stocks instead such as AAPL, assuming it grows as much as it did the last 10 year, hasn't it had a return of about 800%? My question is, real estate seems more risky? I know it's going to be hard to bet on a stock, but still, if we assume that type of growth, stocks are simply way easier no? At the very least if I just invest in S&P500, I'd have the same growth as owning a rental. There must be a flaw in my logic right? I guess what I'm asking is, how exactly do I keep turning over homes and gaining wealth? I seem to be missing that part of the equation. Edit: I live in California, and am willing to buy in any area of it. [link] [comments] |
| Refinance individual rentals or package as a portfolio loan? Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:58 AM PDT Hi r/realestate. I bought a bunch of single family properties from 2008-2014 that I turned into rentals. I've paid off most of them and I'd like to refinance them. Does anyone recommend individual refinancing vs a portfolio refi? I've heard 1st bank in Colorado has good portfolio refi rates, but that's just hearsay from one guy. Any national lenders I should be looking at? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| decrease in value due to road expansion Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:51 AM PDT I am currently looking at a home to purchase in which the corner off the property line is close to what is a busy two lane street. This two lane street is undergoing a 2 phase process in which it will be expanded to a 4 lane road. This expansion does effect the property line and reduces the amount of land etc. The seller has said he knows nothing about it, etc. But I was easily able to find information regarding the expansion and a photo of the house and how the property line will be effected. if this road expansion was to not occur the house is fairly priced for the area, but with the incoming road expansion my concern is that it will be more difficult to sell in the future and with house close to the road would be with property adjustment, the home will take a hit in value. per the little bit of research done, it looks like that could be anywhere from 10-15% decrease. does that sound like an accurate percentage to anticipate for such an event? [link] [comments] |
| Seeking Advice: First-Time Buyer almost completed a purchase Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:44 AM PDT Hi Reddit - I'm looking for some advice (Scotland, United Kingdom) Me and my partner are first-time buyers who have had an offer accepted on a flat. Getting to that point was a long process as I'm sure you know, and we were very excited to have done so. We had previously seen that flat up for sale before COVID hit (in March) and have subsequently found out that they had a sale which fell through as a result of the initial pandemic response and restrictions. When we visited the flat in September, the sellers mentioned that they were moving to a new-build property (they wouldn't say a date at the time I assume on advice of lawyers) as their next home. We received our Agreement in Principal on 25 September and all documents required were sent to the bank by 30 September. However, the sellers' home report expired the day before our AIP was granted, and this took a week and a half to refresh (it successfully refreshed on Tuesday 6 October). Here's the snag. We were told at the weekend that the sellers' new-build company have a strict deadline by which they require the missives to be signed/completed. This is 16 October. We asked our lawyers to ask their lawyers to request an extension, given the sellers have an accepted offer, we have an AIP and the mortgage should be through in under 6 weeks. We are unsure what was said, but we have been informed that the building company are 'not budging' on the date. Mortgage underwriters are working from home and their services (I'm told) are taking longer than usual.
I'm incredibly frustrated as we were not told about the deadline until the weekend (after we'd already put so much work into this). I'm frustrated at their lawyers because they let the home report expire (knowing it was going to) which delayed the mortgage process further and therefore I do not trust that they have made the best case to the new-build company to try and get a short-term extension. I am told our lawyers are not allowed to get in touch with the builders to make our own case, something to do with 3rd party. I'm also frustrated with the sellers because they rejected our first offer (over the HR value) which added a further 2 days onto the whole transaction. I of course understand that they had a value they wanted, but knowing the incredibly short timeline I feel it was short-sighted to delay any further. If they had accepted the first offer, it would also have been within the original Home Report time zone so it ultimately cost everyone a week and a half. I know they will also be upset at the prospect of losing their next home but I can't help but feel that either them or their lawyers (or both) screwed up here somehow. Help me reddit. EDIT 1: Also if this is the wrong sub, please direct me in the direction of the correct one! [link] [comments] |
| Converting My Home to Two Condos [WI] Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:39 AM PDT I live in a paid-for bungalow in a really hot real estate market. I recently retired early. At one point, I was thinking about converting my home into an up/down duplex. At my age, though, I didn't think it was prudent to take on a big loan, and I doubt that I could get one now anyway. Plus, I wasn't sure I wanted to deal with renters. My latest thought has been to solicit someone to build an upstairs condo instead. So, I would convert my property to a Twindominium. I would get a bit of initial income from a transaction like this, as well as have any major costs, such as a roof, exterior painting, taxes, etc. split between our two person HOA. In the process of doing this, I'd like to add a bit of an addition as well to add a master bedroom and improve on the existing bathroom. I should think this would be appealing to a buyer, as they would be able to customize the unit to their taste and budget; condos in this area are selling for $400,000+; they would have the option of "owning" the front area of the yard and thereby have it fenced in for a dog. I don't know how to go about finding the right person to do this, and I worry that unlike a tenant, if it doesn't work out for some reason, this person would be a co-owner. Obviously, I would have an HOA contract, a lawyer and other professionals involved, and I am already zoned for two-family, although I haven't investigated yet whether than translates to a Twindominium. If anyone has ever done this, I would love to hear from you? Otherwise, thoughts? ... from anyone? [link] [comments] |
| Considering buying an old gas/service station. How terrible an idea is this? Posted: 07 Oct 2020 07:07 PM PDT The owners of the dilapidated auto garage behind my house are retiring, and offered it to me for a pretty low price, less than the value of the land itself. It adjoins my property and would more than double my total land area. I want it and can easily handle the purchase price. I even have a potential renter who wants to run it as an auto shop. The problem is that it's been a gas & service station for 80+ years. Soil contamination, asbestos, and so on are pretty much guaranteed. I THINK that the underground fuel tanks have been removed, but that's not verified. Obviously I don't want to buy a huge liability. Is there a way to handle this halfway responsibly and cost-effectively? Of course I'll talk with a lawyer, water quality folks, and so on before I commit to anything. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:03 AM PDT How do I negotiate to get 3% shaved off home price in NC since I'm not using a real estate agent? Looking at buying a house, realtor has it listed at 349,900. We aren't using a buyers agent, so saves the seller 3%. Thinking about offering 325k (335k actual offer but at 97% to account for 3% commission for buying agent) with 7,500 in seller paid closing costs. The house was built in 2006 and has original roof, appliances, HVAC etc. I'm an accountant with clients that deal heavily in real estate so I am very familiar with purchase process. I believe sometimes real estate agents are essential! But in my case we are trying without. I sold a house a couple years ago without an agent (buyer didn't have an agent either) and it went great for us! Forgot to put this: I know typical seller contracts state 6% commission paid by seller, 3 to buyers agent and 3 to seller. I'm trying to get the 3% essentially since I won't be hiring an agent, and the seller should be able to negotiate the selling agent to only take 3 %. Same amount of money to seller after close assuming another offer would have had buying agent. Win win Edit: To all the HATERS on here. Selling agent just responded and seller accepted terms, selling agent renegotiated their contract with seller and brought their commission down to 3%. I think just about 90% of responses on here were telling me that this wouldnt be possible, well guess 90% of you were wrong. Maybe my case is the exception, maybe its not. [link] [comments] |
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