- How many more "I got take advantage of by my realtor" posts do we need on the front page of this subreddit before we're allowed to talk about the elephant in the room, how easy it is to get a real estate license?
- Cash buyer lowball offers
- Is it acceptable for sellers to counter 5% above offer price when an offer is made above asking price and with no competing offers?
- Under Contract, Can I Make a Repair?
- After closing...
- What's the lowest reasonable price you can offer on a $650,000 house that's been on market 90 days
- Sanity Check: Seller won't put concessions in writing (PA)
- Please tell me your title company issues and how you handled it
- Need advice
- Could my spouses income that is direct deposited into my account be considered "income" since they will be not be applying for the loan?
- My journey begins.... First time home buyer
- Who just bought in 2020 and is getting ready to sell in 2022?
- Mental Illness Housing
- Septic inspection failed - help!
- How many negative comments about real estate agents do we need to see on the front page until we identify that there are good agents that really try their best to work for their client?
- Pay off small debts before or after buying house?
- Denied loan for "Condo"... Dissolve the regime?
- Am I being too hopeful here?
- No Permit/Code Violation Responsibility
- First time home buyer researching bay area (CA) agents - what are red flags I should look for?
- Can an S corporation get financing for a home demo and rebuild project?
- Found out my home was a modular construction after closing
- MLS Price
- Why do people say it's harder to buy a condo than a freestanding house?
| Posted: 15 Dec 2020 07:39 AM PST Why aren't we allowed to talk about how a literal C student 8th grader is capable of passing the test for a real estate license? Why aren't we allowed to talk about the ease at which you can get this credential contributes to the fact that there are many scumbag realtors trying to close as fast as possible and only looking out for their own interests? Why can't the realtors in this subreddit admit the industry has a problem and is rife with bad eggs? If the "good" realtors simply said, "yeah, the field is saturated, the credential is too easy to get, and the field full of bad eggs, please do your homework to make sure you find a good realtor" I and many others in this sub would be okay with that sentiment. But we get the opposite, it's nothing but angry realtors covering their ears and sticking their heads in the sand, berating people, because they feel their livelihood is being threatened if we even talk about this subject. And at that point, when you're engaging in denialism and attacking others for even bringing this issue up, you are doing the same thing the bad realtors are doing, aggressively looking out for your own interests, at the expense of naive homeowners. How many more "I got take advantage of by my realtor" posts do we need on the front page of this subreddit before we're allowed to talk about this subject without getting downvoted by the realtor brigade? It's a biweekly thing at this point, some poor redditor, first time homeowner gets fleeced by his realtor, and then his/her only options are paying a lawyer a minimum $2,000 on top of the thousands he already lost to go after somebody who could by all means just skip town and not pay. It's really a shame. We NEED a PSA on what red flags to look for so people can start looking out for their bests interests as a homeowner and not get taken advantage of by these high school dropouts looking for a quick buck after their knife selling career at some MLM company didn't work out. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 15 Dec 2020 04:28 AM PST I'm selling my condo and have had it listed less than a week. One of the potential buyers has been asking questions nonstop and in their online feedback they said they are putting together a cash offer. In another section it says that the buyer and their agent think the price is too high. An identical unit 2 doors down on the same side of the building sold for my asking price 6 weeks ago. I think if anything its priced slightly below market value. The area is very competitive and this is one of the cheapest properties available in the neighborhood so I'm pretty firm on getting listing price. Based on the buyer's comments I'm expecting them to come back with a lowball offer and I'm bracing myself for how to react. With mortgage rates so low it seems pretty dumb to expect a discount for paying with cash, especially on a property that will certainly appraise for list price due to an identical unit 2 doors down with the same view selling for list price 6 weeks ago. Is there something I'm not thinking about here? edit by "bracing myself" I mean resisting the urge to tell the buyer to go fuck themselves. There are no similar sized/quality properties that have sold recently or are currently listed at a better price and I find it very annoying to be told that my property is over priced when there is nothing available at a better price. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 15 Dec 2020 06:10 AM PST I've been house searching for about a month and have made two offers so far. The first one had 8 offers and was bid by a lot and I missed the mark by a mile. The second I did my research and thought the property was listed at a market competitive price (house next door in the same community / hoa sold for that price 3 months ago). My offer was 1% above listing price, 25% down, 30 days close and no contingency. The seller didn't have any competing offers, so I believed I put forth a decent one. The agent called my lender and determined I could close in 15 days, so they decided to counter with 15 days and up the price by 6% while keeping the no contingencies clause. The sellers said they wanted to sell quickly since they have already purchase another house. The price was way higher than what I was willing to pay and also 15 days close during the holidays seems like a disaster waiting to happen, so I walked away from that. Has that happened to anyone or is this standard seller practice in a hot market? One of my colleagues mentioned he was in a situation where his offer was accepted but the sellers purposefully obstructed operations (not making keys available when the appraiser came, etc that delayed closing) so he ended up not being able to buy the property. [link] [comments] |
| Under Contract, Can I Make a Repair? Posted: 15 Dec 2020 10:15 AM PST So the FHA said a handrail/bannister needed to be installed for the steps down to the basement stairs. I'm talking a 4 foot bannister IF that. It's the seller's responsibility to fix, as is getting the city inspection done. Now the city inspection is scheduled for tomorrow, still no handrail, and the seller's agent has gone radio silent 🙄 I offered to do it myself today, my realtor is trying to get a hold of the seller's agent. But I thought I'd ask here while I wait, is this even possible? Am I allowed to make the repair or be in the house? Did I mention closing is supposed to be scheduled for Friday? 😠[link] [comments] |
| Posted: 15 Dec 2020 03:47 AM PST Do we receive something in the mail after closing from our lender, kind if like a welcome letter or packet, explaining how to make our mortgage payments? They told us at closing when the first one is due, but no info on where or how to pay it? [link] [comments] |
| What's the lowest reasonable price you can offer on a $650,000 house that's been on market 90 days Posted: 15 Dec 2020 11:38 AM PST Looks like it already had an offer a week after it was listed and was in pending, but the offer was re-tracted. So I don't know if something is wrong with it or what, but it looks like an amazing house and I am just starting to shop. Is it reasonable to offer 10% less or 20% less? Or is 20% less a huge lowball offer? House is in Vancouver, WA so not exactly an in demand city or anything, but it is fairly close to Portland, OR. [link] [comments] |
| Sanity Check: Seller won't put concessions in writing (PA) Posted: 15 Dec 2020 11:35 AM PST I feel like I'm losing my mind here. To keep it short, we went under contract on an 1880 farmhouse - contingent upon the sale and settlement of our current home. It was a pocket listing. We listed our home within 48 hours and quickly went under contract there as well. The market is Lehigh Valley PA. The market is hot but not near the insanity that others on here have suffered through. Multiple offers on attractive homes, yes, but you can still land sales under list and rarely with home sale contingencies. A septic inspection revealed that it was a cesspool with broken terracotta pipes and cracked baffles. There was no tank at all as seller listed on disclosure. Whole system needs to be replaced. After a long delay, we received verbal word from the seller's agent that they would replace entire system -- property was already perced for a standard in-ground system as part of a previous subdivision. We are accepting SEVERAL other problems with the problem, including radon, water treatment, and ungrounded 100 amp electric. Fast forward to today, four days later. We STILL don't have anything in writing, and today is the last day of due diligence before we have to commit to our current home sale. It's already past the five day response window (yesterday). We've already extended once. Our realtor assures us that all is fine -- and he has been a quality, competent professional to date -- but I'm feeling extremely exposed. If we proceed with just his word, what's stopping this from him using our current home sale as leverage, acting in bad faith, and leaving us with no home under contract and no current home to go to? Realtors and experienced buyers (this is just our second home) -- is generally accepted, or should the alarm bells be going off in my head? [link] [comments] |
| Please tell me your title company issues and how you handled it Posted: 15 Dec 2020 11:29 AM PST After having a bad experience with my realtor (that's another story), I was relieved to have closing day go smoothly. I am the seller. I got a property tax bill today and was confused so I called the Register of Deeds and was told they have not received the transfer paperwork from the title company yet. I emailed and called the title company and asked them to fix it. I did not think i would have an issue with the title company but here I am. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 15 Dec 2020 10:59 AM PST Bought a home through an FHA loan. Five floor joists have cracked and I have slumping in my house which will cost 7 thousand to fix. I've been in the home for one year. The seller had to have known but hid it. The inspector and appraiser both missed it. They city didn't catch it as it already had a CofO. Is there anything I can do? I've already talked to an attorney and I can't sue the inspector? At this point I just want to get it fixed and sell this money pit if a house before me and my family end up financially ruined. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 15 Dec 2020 10:44 AM PST Here is the situation. I have good credit. My spouse does not. However, we make the same amount and each pay (basically) an equal share of our bills. My spouse would be paying 50% of our mortgage. However, due to their credit they cannot be on the loan with me. I fear that based on my income alone we will not be approved for an amount that we could actually afford. Their paychecks are direct deposited into my account weekly and I pay all of our bills. Is there some way that their income could be considered my "income" or even possibly a gift? [link] [comments] |
| My journey begins.... First time home buyer Posted: 15 Dec 2020 10:21 AM PST I'm a noob to real estate! I'm 24 years old based in Chicago. I have a lot to learn when it comes to buying a home. One thing I am wondering as I check on my savings goals toward purchasing a home is, should I be buying an apartment, or wait to buy a duplex / multi family building so I'm able to rent out other parts of the building? Curious to learn about pros and cons, or kindly me refer me to resources to learn why which path would be better. Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Who just bought in 2020 and is getting ready to sell in 2022? Posted: 14 Dec 2020 08:28 PM PST How many people here just bought a home and are thinking they might sell in 2022 if the market stays hot? I read recently that 68% of millennials regret buying a house. I know a few first time buyers who are feeling some remorse about the house they bought or the location, who are considering a move back to their HCOL cities post COVID. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 14 Dec 2020 05:50 PM PST I have a brother is who is a schizophrenic. My parents and I have been trying to find my brother a place to live since he can be a danger to himself and others when his medication either doesn't work or he decides to quit taking it. He has been living with my parents and they can't take it anymore. Having my brother live with them is taking a toll on their marriage/finances/everything. He is currently in temporary housing provided by the state but it is only a matter of time before he gets kicked out. I have seen this cycle multiple times. He is a danger to others or himself. He gets committed to a behavioral health facility. He gets put in temporary housing. He gets kicked out of there for not following the rules. Then my parents are forced to either let him stay with them or he is homeless. My dad is at the point where he doesn't care what happens to him. My mom will basically do anything to PREVENT him from being homeless so he ends up back at my parent's house causing a toxic living situation. I live in the Phoenix area and this housing boom has really put them in a tough spot with my brother because they can't really afford anything for him. They started looking into getting him a manufactured home but they are all in 55+ communities and my brother isn't that old. Where can I buy something for under $100k not in a 55+ community? Where is "affordable" housing? [link] [comments] |
| Septic inspection failed - help! Posted: 15 Dec 2020 08:52 AM PST I'm purchasing my first detached home (previously bought a condo) and am doing so without a relator. I wasn't concerned because the house is a two years old, and I am doing all required inspections. What I didn't know up front was that the site had previously had a home on it so the septic and well were 40 years old. This was disclosed by the owner when we made an offer, so it wasn't shady or anything just ughh. We did an inspection and found the field completely failed. Essentially the inspector said the tank is fine but there is no leach field. He said it could cost between $3K-$10K depending on the soil, etc to install a new one and it had to be addressed asap. Would you go back to the seller to tell them they have to fix it, ask for a reduction in price, a holdback for me to complete it? Thoughts? If it is $10K that would be a tough one for me to swallow. I have $20K in emergency funds but wasn't planning on using them right off the bat on what I thought was a new house. I am NOT good at negotiating and really wish I had a realtor. I guess the one positive will be at least once it is dealt with I will know it should be good for the forseeable future :s Other info: House passed inspection with no issues at all - inspector actually marveled at what a nice, well constructed house it was. Perfect. Actually knew the person who did the work to bring the well to grade, install new pump, did flow test, etc, two years ago so he just gave me the paperwork on it and I feel comfortable given all that info. Also did a water quality test and need to install a UV system but quote was $800 so don't care about that. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 15 Dec 2020 08:25 AM PST This is the internet and all I see is negativity here as always. It's almost as bad as Yelp comments for restaurants. What are your positive real estate agent moments and experiences that others can look for when they are interviewing agents? [link] [comments] |
| Pay off small debts before or after buying house? Posted: 15 Dec 2020 08:22 AM PST Hello All, my wife and I are looking to buy our first house this Spring/Summer. Between us, we make $140k and we are looking for a home under $200k (we live in Upstate NY). I've been using Zillow's Affordability Calculator lately to get a good idea of how much home we can afford with our current bills. Assuming a down payment of $15k, I.R. of 2.9%, Property Taxes of 3% (again, Upstate NY), and Monthly Debt Payments of $2398 for our cars, Student Loans, and a Personal Loan that I have, we can comfortably afford a ~$190-200k house with a DTI ratio of 32. This wouldn't be a problem at all for us as it would allow us to build up a savings of $35k (minus $15k for downpayment) before we plan to look/buy in June. However, my question is, does it make more sense to pay off her car ($3k - 2.5% IR) and my personal loan ($7k - 10% IR) BEFORE we plan to buy the house? Does this materially affect the interest rate we would get on our mortgage? Knowing full well that we are well below the 36% recommended DTI, is there anything else to consider if we wait to pay it off after we buy the house? Paying them down first would decrease our savings down to about $25k with a downpayment of $10-12k in a competitive housing market. The reason why we don't have more saved is that we have been paying down student loans and our wedding last year. The student loans wouldn't be able to be paid off before we buy this year and we are definitely buying this Spring/Summer so staying in our apartment for another year to tackle student loans is out of the question (long story). TL;DR Do we pay off $10k in smaller loans at the risk of having smaller savings/downpayment for our home or just wait to pay it off so we have more saved/downpayment? And Why? [link] [comments] |
| Denied loan for "Condo"... Dissolve the regime? Posted: 15 Dec 2020 08:05 AM PST Hi all, TLDR below I am helping a buyer purchase 1 of 2 units in a duplex style beach home. Part of a very small Horizontal property regime of about 5 homes. Shared docks and boat ramp with the only "dues" being 180$ a year for the boat ramp liability insurance. The regime was made in 1986 by the developer to preserve his investment, per the deed. Honestly it is useless. They originally collected dues to fund dredging the basin but that never worked out so they stopped. Appraisal happens and both sides suddenly find out it is zoned a condo. Not sure why, I provided the regime info and tax records from day 1. TLDR Loan is being denied for both buyers since this tiny condo regime does not have a master flood insurance policy or a budget (Fannie Mae guidelines). Has anyone experienced this or went through the process of dissolving a regime? If the owners knew how it affects resale I think they would agree to it. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 15 Dec 2020 07:50 AM PST Hi everyone! I've been eyeing the house market in my area (West MI) for a little while now and I finally found a house that I really liked and toured last week Friday. I immediately fell in love with it. I loved the layout, but what really got me was the yard around the house, it was very unique to the area. I immediately put an offer for asking price on the house for 10% down conventional loan. The seller had tours going on Saturday too and I got a call midday on Saturday from my realtor that there were 2 other offers on it by that time. One of the other offers had an escalation clause to raise it by 1k. My realtor asked if I wanted to raise my offer and I said yes. He suggested raising it by 10k since he asked the buyers agent if we raised it by that if we would be in pretty good shape, I'm assuming the buyer's agent said yes. Fast forward to a few hours and I get a call that the seller didn't pick my offer. There's a small glimmer of hope in me that the first offer will fall through and I'll be next in line for it. Does this happen often or should I just forget about it and save myself the disappointment? This would be my first house too. I did not write a letter to the seller, though I wish I had. [link] [comments] |
| No Permit/Code Violation Responsibility Posted: 15 Dec 2020 07:41 AM PST Hey, 6 months ago I purchased a house in Saint Petersburg (FL). The house was a flip. About a month ago I received a code violation letter from the city. It stated that there was no permit pulled for the new windows and doors, or the new exterior stucco on the house. I went to the permitted office to apply for 'after the fact' permits which cost around $250 with the city inspector coming out to sign off. When the inspector arrived, he immediately looked at the house and said, "I can't do anything here, you're going to have to hire an engineer." Apparently the engineer is the only person qualified to verify that the stucco was installed correctly. I have an engineer coming out tomorrow to hopefully resolve this. My question is this; The engineer's work is going to cost around $2k, is this something I should try to make the seller compensate me for? They did the work without pulling permits. Or do I have to suck it up and accept that I inherited these violations? [link] [comments] |
| First time home buyer researching bay area (CA) agents - what are red flags I should look for? Posted: 15 Dec 2020 07:41 AM PST I have done some searching in here to answer this - but I did have a more specific question as well. I have been asking friends if they have recommendations - we just don't have a lot of contacts in the bay area that have bought/are looking to buy so I went ahead and spoke on the phone with an agent recommended by the relocation service (which is something that I am ready to not trust because it's one of those 'oh you get cash back with us!' things and I just worry that any business that has a steady funnel like this could have poor customer service). Anyways - the agent I spoke to has wonderful reviews everywhere I could find her on the internet - the parent company not so much. I was just wondering - the one thing she said when we spoke had me worried as to weather this is a true tactic or not - she said that majority of houses listed in the East Bay where we're looking will be listed lower than the value they expect it to sell at as a marketing tactic. On the one hand - I can definitely see how that would be true, on the other hand - I could definitely see this being used as a line to make us bid higher than asking price... Since I had read that there are plenty of great agents on here who did tons of work, advised clients on having to bid higher to actually win a bid, and then losing them and being frustrated - I was just wondering - is what she said a red flag (or does it ring true)? And what are any other things I should watch out for? TLDR: Agent recommended by relocation service (for my job) said the marketing strategy in the east bay (CA) will be to list houses lower than what they will sell for to inspire bidding - I'm guessing this is true but does this sound like BS to anyone/what red flags should we look for as first time home buyers? [link] [comments] |
| Can an S corporation get financing for a home demo and rebuild project? Posted: 15 Dec 2020 07:19 AM PST I am considering buying a significant majority share of my family's business, which is an S corporation. This business owns a property (land and house) that I already live at full-time. The house is falling into disrepair. If I were to buy this business, I would like to demolish the house and re-build it; I am expecting this to cost approximately $600,000. What are my options as far as financing go? Would I be able to get a mortgage or another type of long-term, low-interest rate loan for this process (considering that the house is owned by the business and not by an individual)? If so, I am trying to work out a rough idea of what the down payment would look like in this scenario. I would be willing to put down a significant amount up front and personally guarantee the loan, if necessary. The business earns approximately $110,000 gross annually, but also has to pay out $20,000 in property taxes per year. Happy to provide more information. Thank you and I really appreciate your thoughts on the matter. [link] [comments] |
| Found out my home was a modular construction after closing Posted: 14 Dec 2020 09:21 PM PST Hi all, My fiancée and I recently closed on our first home. After moving in and getting sorted I had a friend that works in construction come over for a look around. He discovered that our new home is a modular home, rather than stick built. This was not disclosed anywhere or mentioned. My question is, should I care? Does it hurt the value of the home? Its a nice house that we built in 2013, so its a newer modular home. I honestly didn't know anything about modular homes until my friend pointed it out and I started rapidly googling :). Thank you. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 15 Dec 2020 06:56 AM PST Just curious..I went on MLS and zillow/realtor.com and they're all showing the house I just purchased was sold for 15k more than I actually purchased it at. MLS told me the listing agent gives the price to them and they will reach out to them. But is that a thing? To put the purchase price higher than it actually is? Also, does that affect me in any way? [link] [comments] |
| Why do people say it's harder to buy a condo than a freestanding house? Posted: 15 Dec 2020 06:54 AM PST Here is my situation. I'm young and a first time home buyer. I make about $45k a year and I'm currently paying $1500 a month for rent. When I moved into my apartment several years ago I wasn't in the position credit wise to purchase a home. Now I am and I'm tired of paying so much every month for rent because I feel like I'm just throwing it away. Given my income and other expenses I've came up with what I think is a realistic budget of around $100k for a home. I know that is not a lot and where I live houses don't sell for that cheap even the worse neighborhoods unless it's like one of those fixer upper type things. Due to my budget I've realized that the only homes I would be able to afford are townhomes in questionable neighborhoods or condos in nice neighborhoods. Either one I'm open to but I'm leaning towards a condo. Whenever I mention this to someone they always tell me that it's harder to buy a condo than it is to buy a freestanding house. I've tried googling this and all I've been able to come up with is things regarding HOA's and how many condos are owned in the complex. My question is what exactly does this mean for me as a potential buyer? I know NOTHING about this so please explain it like you're talking to an idiot. I'm not sure what other information is helpful to know but in case any of this helps I have good credit, 100% on time payments, one auto loan with less than $20k owed, one personal loan with less than $1k owed, and several credit cards with very low balances. However, I don't have much for a down payment. I have several thousand in savings but unless absolutely necessary I'm trying to avoid touching that as it is my rainy day fund. But if that stands in the way of me buying a home I would consider using some of it even though it wouldn't be a lot. (Roughly $3k) [link] [comments] |
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