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    Real Estate: Buying near a highway

    January 12, 2021

    Real Estate: Buying near a highway

    Buying near a highway

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 05:26 AM PST

    I'm under contract for a house that I fell in love with. It backs up to a moderately busy highway (50,000 cars per day). The noise doesn't bother me and I'd get used to it. However I started reading about the documented health effects of being near a major road and now I'm worried.

    The highway is about 200 feet from the house. The backyard slopes up about 10 feet, has Pine trees at the top of the hill and slopes back down to the roadway. Because of the way the lot is designed you can't see the road so the hill acts as a natural barrier.

    Given this should I be concerned about the potential health effects of living here. I have two kids, 7 and 11.

    Thanks.

    submitted by /u/jdd08
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    Neighbor's Tree Trunk Passes Over Property Line, But We Want To Keep It!

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 08:23 AM PST

    Hi all, if this is not the correct sub please guide me so I can get the right answers.

    There is a cherry tree (in healthy condition) that grows from my neighbors property over to mine - we are located in Connecticut. The base of the trunk, where it grows from the ground, is on my neighbors property and the trunk slopes over onto our property. Our neighbor has cut down just about every tree on the property so I am assuming he will do the same with this one but we would like to keep it for privacy.

    Does he have the right to take the whole tree down? I'm happy to elaborate more if needed and appreciate any insight my fellow Redditors may have.

    Cheers!

    ​

    EDIT: Please upvote so I can get some exposure on this - Thank you!

    submitted by /u/TiOlive
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    How important is an attorney in a (normal) home purchase situation?

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 08:14 AM PST

    As the title suggest, we know a great agent is important for negotiating, walking you through the process and answering questions. But in a normal situation, no strange seller asking to stay at your property after closing or rent overdue tenants type thing... how important is the attorney? Is his/her role merely to act as a notarizer?

    submitted by /u/openlyEncrypted
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    Could an Appraiser Re-classify a bedroom as a non-bedroom if not up to code?

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 09:14 AM PST

    Hi r/realestate - I'm planning to have my townhome appraised and am a little worried I might be exposing myself to some risk.

    My townhome is a 3/2 but one of the bedrooms is on the smaller side and doesn't have a proper 'egress' window. The existing window is split into two parts: the larger section does not open (its just a glass pane) and the part that does open is narrower than the 20" requirement to be considered an 'egress' window.

    Note that no one sleeps in that bedroom, so I don't think there's any real safety issues/risks - its more or less a storage room.

    ​

    I'm not sure how the property was classified as a 3/2 before, given the 3rd bedroom does not appear to be to code, but it is indeed currently considered a 3/2. Will having an appraiser visit potentially change the number of bedrooms, and therefore the valuation of the unit?

    If so, I believe I'll need to put in a new window that meets the 20" requirement...

    submitted by /u/TallnFrosty
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    Sell rental home now?

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 02:18 AM PST

    TL/DR: My tenants lease ends in April. Should I sell then? Home appraised 296 I owe 196. I am in process of buying a different home so I won't move back. Rent covers homes expenses and i have thought of keeping it for future income stream.

    I currently own 1 home that due to work, I rented out since i wasn't able to live in it full time. Its been rented out to a family for 4 years, no issues with them.

    I use a property manager and they charge 10% (which I hear is typical) They charge $1,479 and take $147 leaving me with about $1332. My mortgage is $1150 so it covers it.

    I recently bought a new build in a different area, so I am not planning on moving back to it. Their lease is up in April.

    Currently home appraised at $296 I owe $196.

    Should I sell, and maybe invest that money into the new home? Or should I keep it, and continue paying towards it to potentially have a second source of income from rent down the line?

    submitted by /u/Jtx0741
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    Water/rain issues with new house, obvious yet not disclosed in disclosure

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 06:50 AM PST

    First-time home buyer here, we missed one issue because it only occurs when it rains (water infiltration in well)and we should have noticed the second issue (ground water coming up through hole in slab)but neither our agent or inspector warned us about it and we thought it must be normal. Oh, to know then what I know now.

    Neither issue was disclosed and yet both are large enough to be impossible to ignore. They said there were no issues with the water, but it turns brown after every rain. They said they had issues with flooding that were corrected by adding an additional sump pump, but the basement still floods during every rain.

    Our agent says it's difficult to prove they knew about these issues, and I can understand that. But for them to truly not know, they wouldn't have used any water in the house. They wouldn't flush their toilets. They wouldn't run any water in the kitchen. They wouldn't use their basement, ever, because the water needs to be removed or it just sits there.

    I'm frustrated and venting a little bit, but what would you folks recommend? In my mind, the ideal solution is for them to pay for repairs, because we wouldn't have closed if we knew even one of these issues existed. But I am still a first-time home buyer and there's a lot I don't know, so I thought I would ask for some insight.

    Thanks

    submitted by /u/slamdotswf
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    Scheduling tours when selling with Redfin

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 09:02 AM PST

    Hey! thinking of selling a house using Redfin and was wondering how the visits go if the house isn't vacant (my parents live there) ... do I have to select times beforehand? or will they send me visit requests?

    ohh and if any of u have been through it, lmk what u thought of their scheduling system

    submitted by /u/isabelxb19
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    Credit score falling due to long housing search and repeated hard inquiries into my credit history

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 08:41 AM PST

    The wife and I have been searching for a house in southern California for almost the last two years. In this time our credit has dropped a few points from 800 to 770 due to the repeated inquiries from the loan officer updating the pre-approval letters as we compete for houses in a highly competitive market.

    Are we doing something wrong here? Can this be avoided? Is this going to hurt me in the future if and when we enter escrow as it relates to getting the best interest rate?

    We are extending offers fairly routinely which causes us to keep dinging our credit scores.

    submitted by /u/kevlarcoozie
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    VA loan vs conventional (cash down payment)

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 09:24 AM PST

    Wasn't sure how to word the title or how to ask.

    Essentially I'm looking to purchase a home using a VA loan, but I've also got enough money set aside to put a minimum of 20% down on my max budget of 300k for a house. Is putting down 20% on a VA loan make it more appeasing to sellers? Or should I head the conventional route. This still leaves me with money on the side for repairs and renovations pending the inspection, which my understanding is the VA inspections tend to be more thorough.

    submitted by /u/Waffleboned
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    Does a mortgage lower your credit score?

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 09:05 AM PST

    Got a mortgage and a notification that my credit score dropped. The mortgage blew up my debt ratio, dropped me several hundred points. Is that normal?

    submitted by /u/Rajajones
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    What would you do?

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 08:36 AM PST

    So, I know this has probably been asked about 1,000 times, but what would you do as a new agent in this situation? As opposed to being too general in my question, I wanted to provide the list of brokerages I am considering to join. Any and ALL advice, insight, and your guidance based upon your expertise in the industry would be extremely appreciated. I have my personal thoughts, but these are not ranked in any particular order. I am located in Salt Lake City. Booming seller's market, low quantity for buyers with quickly increasing average sell price.

    * I do plan on keeping my full-time position for now (very flexible schedule).

    1. Keller Williams
    • Commission: 70/30, 100% after cap
    • Cap: $18,000 ($15K company + $3K franchise fee)

    • Fees:

      • $28 Monthly Consortium + eEdge (tech)
      • $200 E/O (one-time charge in April)
      • $25 annual renewal fee
      • Transaction Coordinator: $300/buyer + $350/seller

    • Notes:

      • Formal training program for new agents + continuing agents
      • Highest producing local agency, per their statistics
      • National philanthropy, events throughout the year, but seem to be focused on agents
      • Recognized brand name, well respected in the community
      • Know a current agent their that has nothing but good things to say; Very successful her first year

    2) Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate

    • Commission: First= 70/30, Next Two= 65/35, Next Three= 60/40, After that= 80/20, After cap= 99/1
    • Cap: $17,500

    • Fees (not a lot of detail provided):

      • $35 E/O (per transaction)

    • Notes:

      • Smaller brokerage but brand is recognizable
      • Social media assets + personal website provided. Other marketing costs are per item
      • Unsure of philanthropy and events
      • Mentorship possible, but no formal program

    3) Realty One Group (Team)

    • Commission: 50/50 (confirming if this is for every sale and what split would be after capping)
    • Cap: $7,500

    • Fees:

      • $50 Monthly Site Access
      • $45 E/O (per transaction)
      • $200 Compliance Fee (per transaction)
      • Transaction Fee varies dependent upon sales price (Ex. $200K-$400K is $400, $400K-$600K is $600)

    • Notes:

      • VERY, very high energy motivational speaker/trainer that does interactive roleplay training; Seems a bit excessive
      • High promises of listings; Met with new agents who had listings within first few weeks/months
      • In-house marketing/admin/transaction brokerage support for team
      • Getting MLM vibes just a tad; Marketing is top-notch
      • Mentorship program offered; Unsure of how extensive it is
      • 25 members on team; Not sure if they'd be okay with me being part-time

    4) Local Boutique Brokerage

    • Commission: 70/30, 80/20 after cap
    • Cap: $26,000

    • Fees:

      • $55 E/O (billed monthly)
      • $150 In-house marketing consultant (billed monthly, but charged based on proration of when you close a sale); All marketing items are billed separately (post cards, etc.)
      • $137 Referral Maker program (billed monthly)
      • $500 Buffini & Company Coaching program (completely optional; Billed monthly)
      • In-house Transaction Coordinator (Unsure of specific fee, most likely $100-$200 per transaction)

    • Notes:

      • 6 agent team, Founder is also an agent
      • Have let me sit in on multiple meetings; Very client focused and host multiple philanthropy, lender/contractor/agent, and client events throughout the year
      • Also have an office located in luxury resort town in the mountains
      • 97% referral rate; Very well respected in the community
      • Felt like I "clicked" with the team; Close mentorship by more experienced agents
      • Worried about lack of formal training program and generating leads; Do have technology (I think its also through Buffini)
      • Confirmed it was okay to be part-time

    Whew, thanks for sticking with me through all that. Truly, I really do appreciate any and all thoughts you have and welcome questions. I want to be really thoughtful about this. I know it is difficult to give a definite opinion but always turn to more experienced professionals for advice. Thank you!

    submitted by /u/blakerz25
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    How to even buy a house

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 08:35 AM PST

    I don't know what I am looking for by posting this hear. Just wanted to vent I guess. Sorry for this wall of text. We (me and my partner) are looking to buy our first home in Washington State, and have rented out whole lives so we don't properly understand the costs of home maintenance and ownership but we do understand that it is a continuous effort/expense. We found a home on Redfin that we really liked. The seller provided preliminary (not very detailed) pre-inspection report (dated 26 december) and a sellers disclosure (dated 3 Janurary- These dates are very important). The report showed the roof would need replacement, and there is some water in crawlspace, and the home needs a paint. Our agents has explained everything to us when we started looking for a home that how this is a hot/sellers market, and we would need to waive all contingencies to have a chance of buying. What this meant to us was that we at least have Form 17 Seller Disclosure Statement which takes care of most of the things we care about (repairs, leaks, etc) so based our decisions heavily on that, and what our agent was saying.

    In this case the seller has answered

    • Has the basement flooded or leaked - Don't Know
    • Have there been any flooding, standing water, or drainage problems on the property that affect the property or access to the property? - No

    Now we knew from the pre-inspection report that there is water in crawlspace, but after looking at the answers to above questions, and taking to out agent we thought (our biggest mistake) that the water is just too little, and not of importance.

    The sellers pre-inspection report said

    • Standing water was observed in the crawl space under the vapor barrier. This prevented a full view of the crawl space.

    We went ahead with the offer, and won. We got our own inspector to do an inspection so that we could start the roof replacement, and the paint job before moving in. When our inspector did the inspection of the crawlspace there was considerable amount of water, and told us that it would need a comprehensive fix depending on what the contractors find. At this point this had clearly gone past our budget, and we had to loose portion of our earnest money to get out of the contract. Now our frustration is that, the sellers clearly knew about the water in the crawlspace (their pre-inspection was clearly done before they filled out FORM 17) and they still answered

    • Has the basement flooded or leaked - Don't Know
    • Have there been any flooding, standing water, or drainage problems on the property that affect the property or access to the property? - No

    Our agent continuously took their side, and has said that they made a mistake, and this is a grey area so our case is weak.

    Is this how it is???. Is the FORM 17 filled with loop holes ready to be exploited??. How do we even move forward from this. Cannot do inspections, cannot trust FORM 17

    submitted by /u/usernamenotchosen
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    Lenders

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 08:06 AM PST

    Does anyone know how to find Hard/Private money lenders in the United Kingdom?

    submitted by /u/Fire_gamer5
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    Concerns about "investment" properties

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 07:58 AM PST

    Probably a 101 question, but this is me dipping my toe in the water.

    My partner and I are looking for a house to buy together. He has the capital for a down payment, and I have the income and credit score to secure the mortgage. (Since we aren't interested in marriage, we're in discussion with a real estate attorney about how to distribute liability and/or appreciation in the long term, but thats a separate issue).

    My question is maybe more conceptual and/or personal tolerance for risk.

    We can afford something up to $350k, which is quite high for our region. I dont want to max out our budget, but I have been interested in move-in ready options in the $250k range. He is more interested in a "fixer-upper" in the $100k range. He has experience in construction and design, and feels pretty confident that he can manage a remodel (not necessarily through elbow grease alone, but knows contractors, how to manage a budget, etc). A few things:

    • I feel like I just dont have the tolerance for the uncertainty and risk involved in a remodel. Its hard to really accurately pin down costs and unexpected issues can come up.
    • I think he has a kind of mental aversion to the idea of paying $250k for a property. Home prices in our region have probably doubled in the last 5-10 years, so he looks at a property and is just kind of like ... pshhh, this would have only cost $80k in 2010. There's no indication that we're going to see a steep drop in prices, I'm very confident that anything we buy will retain value, but I think theres just this sense of "woulda/coulda." Like, yes, wouldn't it have been great to buy a home 10 years ago that doubled in value, but I don't think we're going to find that opportunity today (at least not in any neighborhood we'd actually want to live in).
    • My argument is that paying $250k v. $100k (plus construction costs) for a home is not like paying $250 v. $100 for like a jacket or a nice meal. We're not throwing that $250k into a hole, we're just converting it to a different asset.

    I don't know, I'm not looking for talking points to win this argument (I'm not not looking for that either :) ), but are there any other points or considerations I'm not accounting for? Am I missing anything? Anything else we should have in mind as first time home buyers in guiding this decision?

    submitted by /u/JMinsk
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    How to tel cheap from affordable?

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 07:53 AM PST

    Hey, I'm 18, and I want to get a place of my own. I'm looking at this one place in NYC

    https://www.homes.com/property/22-w-26th-st-3d-new-york-ny-10010/id-400035840037/

    and you'll notice the price is insanely small, but it looks nice, so I'm considering the virtual tour just to see (I would go myself, but I live in Louisiana right now so :P

    Is it possible the place is alright and just low cost, or is it pretty much guaranteed to have big problems?

    submitted by /u/Swings_Subliminals
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    Remodel?

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 07:40 AM PST

    My husband purchased an older home from his grandma 6 years ago when we started dating. He got it way under market value which put us in a good place to pull out a home equity loan and remodel the home.

    Fast forward 6 years, we had the roof replaced, ac/heat units, water heater (twice), all windows and remodeled a few low cost rooms (bedrooms/office/living room). Now my husband got a job that is an hour away and the drive is making him consider relocating near work. We just had a baby in 2020 as well so we have literally no time to work on remodeling anymore as he's working 7 days a week and 3rd shift so it's impossible.

    We now are moving to the high dollar upgrades that we need to do (kitchen, bathrooms, deck and leaking basement) and I worry that we'll spill $30-$50k into remodeling via a contractor and not come out as ahead as we'd like when we sell. My husband wants to remodel the remainder of the house via a contractor then sell at top dollar and use the profits for a down payment on a new home. I feel like the amount of money we're going to spend to upgrade is basically going to leave us without anything at the end of the day.

    Thoughts?

    submitted by /u/Flintfluffer21
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    Purchasing property to build

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 07:14 AM PST

    Hello all. I've owned homes in the past, but this would be my first time build. The property I'm looking at (6 acres in midwest) has an existing home (visited in person), but it's in such bad shape, it's required to tear down. (Cost #2). It is in a rural area however, the property has existing drive, septic, water (city) with many mature trees.

    It is bank owned at moment, so I'm seeking advice on this property as it may be the one for me. Never built a home so what should I "know" before purchasing this?

    Questions:

    Septic check (obvious)?

    Asbestos for old tear down?

    Liens?

    ​

    Thank you in advance.

    submitted by /u/methos3000bc
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    Is there anything bad about living next to a hydro station?

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 06:28 AM PST

    The condo unit I want to buy is literally across the street from a hydro station. I couldn't find any complaints about the hydro station from the condo residents online, so just wondering: should I be concerned (noise, health issues...) living next to it?

    submitted by /u/lavaboom01
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    life of real estate agent like?

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 02:37 AM PST

    Question About "Additional Charges" Line on Mortgage Summary

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 05:38 AM PST

    [US][Landlord] How to get neighbors in a low income rental neighborhood to respect your property without antagonizing them?

    Posted: 11 Jan 2021 08:29 PM PST

    Interested in building a real estate portfolio...

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 04:11 AM PST

    I am interested in building a real estate portfolio to generate passive monthly cash flow. I hear that investing in a rental property (and slowly expanding into multiple units) can generate great returns. Does anyone have experience / knowledge in doing this, and if so, how did you start, how much capital?

    submitted by /u/mr_cab
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    How will taking out a line of equity (aka a second mortgage) help us go under contract?

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 04:06 AM PST

    My realtor mentioned this yesterday as one of our options.. I asked him to explain how that would help, and I still couldn't understand it. Our equity (85k) is for our fees, closing costs, downpayment, and hopefully a little will be left over for savings. Our realtor is telling us that no one is going to sign a deal with us without our house being sold first. Then he mentions this option, and I don't understand how having the cash pulled out vs needing to sell the home would help us get a deal.. our house still needs be sold first either way, right? Will this line of equity affect the amount we're approved to borrow for the next house? I'm meeting with a mortgage broker later on today for an official pre-approval and I can ask him this stuff too.. I just thought maybe someone had some insight here! Thanks

    submitted by /u/KeepMovingForward11
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    Where to start

    Posted: 12 Jan 2021 03:15 AM PST

    Hello everyone so my dream is to have a duplex and have me live on one side while my mother lives on the other. I love her and want to take care of her but she can really drive me up the wall so i feel that this a good option for us.

    Regardless i only have some basic understanding of how the whole buying a home process goes and would like some opinions of whats the best way to achieve this goal. Or be given some advice on where to start my search outside of zillow and trulia.

    As of right now my train of thought is this:

    • buy a foreclosed home/property and tare down whatever home is already there and build the duplex i have in mind on top of it.

    Also as a side note how would i research if an area is safe other than going on google maps and seeing what town the house/property is in?

    submitted by /u/sibs-sibster
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