Real Estate: Picking apart Biden's plan for housing. |
- Picking apart Biden's plan for housing.
- Opinion on buying dad's house in Northern NJ
- PSA on Choosing a Lender
- What percentage of homes are sold that do not show up on sites like Redfin or Zillow? Is this common or rare in your experience?
- Rocket Mortgage Questions
- Home staging tips for children living in the home during the listing phase?
- Hoping for some guidance on finding a home.
- Applying for Mortgage and HELOC simultaneously
- Pulling out equity vs PMI?
- Husband was furloughed due to Covid, now we can't get a loan (Wisconsin)
- NJ - Evaluating tenants based on their ability to sign the NEXT lease? (COVID-related)
- Best way to file LLC?
- Sell to a builder or just go with a residential sale?
- Best Legal Structure for Co-Ownership?
- Working with Multiple Lenders while under Contract? Denver, Colorado
- Seattle Real Estate - WTF
- Interested in buying land with unimproved structures on it.
- I want to purchase a home in a rural area in Southern California. Is it really a bad time right now?
- PSA How to get the lowest conventional mortgage rate
- Why Miami Beach RE is so cheap?
- Macro RE trend
- First time building question
- Im considering purchasing a trailer to live in and save money, but it is on leased land. i have a few questions.
| Picking apart Biden's plan for housing. Posted: 21 Jan 2021 06:58 AM PST Campaign promises aside, the article below is the best I've seen that outlines realistic steps he is likely to do to help more people buy homes. I'm wondering how feasible some of this is, and the pros and cons. Just putting it out for discussion and curious to hear others' thoughts. The highlights: $15,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit Urging big banks to get back into FHA lending Encouraging new construction of both single- and multifamily housing Strengthening the Community Reinvestment Act (helps low income areas) A $15,000 first time tax credit isn't exactly handing out free money, it's money back when you file your taxes, and will be UP TO that amount. You will still need to have a down payment of your own and be able to qualify outside the tax credit (I think...). But you could raid your savings/emergency fund for this and then pay yourself back after filing taxes. So this will probably help some people. But it seems to me the downside of this is it adds more demand to the market and means more buyers are competing for the same smaller (compared to normal years) pile of inventory. I don't think anyone with zero down payment saved should be thinking this is $15K they can use to buy a house. And due to increased demand, expect this to drive prices up. Urging big banks to get back into FHA lending. I didn't think FHA is the last resort for so many people anymore, as you can do conventional financing with very little down and no (aka lender-paid) PMI. But lending isn't my area of expertise so I could be wrong. It just seems to me that the lines between FHA and conventional have blurred in the past 10 years. Property requirements are nearly the same anymore. If the PMI programs have been more profitable than they predicted (of course, during a boom market everything in real estate is more profitable so duh....) then they should reduce the premiums. But I don't think existing FHA loans are likely to see any of these reductions. Might encourage more people to do refis, and maybe an FHA streamline or refi-ing INTO an FHA would be an option. Competition among lenders is usually good for consumers, great. These first two, are probably the easiest to actually pull off, from a political as well as realistic perspective. Encouraging new construction. This one, I'm more skeptical about. WHERE exactly? High-density multi-family is hella expensive in the areas where there is demand for it, and, land is already built-out in these areas. Getting rid of outdated zoning is something they mention but zoning is local and Biden's administration can't just swoop in and change it. No one is going to support that in my state, I can tell you that right now. And the environmental concerns mentioned in the article can't just be swept under the run. This one is a pipe dream IMO. The last one is concerning, IMO. They want to expand the role of non-banks in mortgage lending? Charlie Keating would like a word. I think investing in low income areas is good, I have a friend who does redevelopment in low income areas based on a non-profit model, but it's slow and bogged down in bureaucracy. Making that easier would be good, but that's not what I see them suggesting, nor is that likely to happen here if history is any indication. I think this is unlikely to result in anything as well. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/19/biden-looks-to-give-a-big-boost-to-homebuyers-and-builders.html [link] [comments] |
| Opinion on buying dad's house in Northern NJ Posted: 21 Jan 2021 05:35 AM PST Hi all, my partner and I are in the thick of house hunting. Long story short, my dad has offered a couple of times to sell his house to us, which also happens to be the house I grew up in. I moved out about ~4 years ago. When he first introduced the idea, I hated it, but now that we've been on the hunt, I realize how amazing the house really is, and how well he maintained it throughout the ~20+ years of ownership. He always fixed an issue immediately, and made a lot of valuable changes to the home throughout the years (new water heater, new roof, siding, painted house, plumbing, added central AC, etc.) It's in the area we keep looking in as well, Bergen county, as I work in NYC and need to be close to public transportation. We haven't discussed in detail logistics yet (obviously we would both still have real estate lawyers to execute the transaction), and he has stated that he would sell it to us for less than market value as well. My dad's also retired. I have mixed feelings about purchasing my childhood home, but I know that once his belongings are removed and we make some renovations to the kitchen/yard etc. it will feel like a new home, and will make new memories in it. Does anyone have any input, or have experienced a similar situation before? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2021 12:15 PM PST Realtor here. Noticed a few posts complaining about Lenders ghosting you, or not keeping you properly updated, or delaying closing, etc. Lemme share something I learned in year 2 of this business. PICK A LENDER WITH A LOCAL OFFICE! Someone with an office close by to where you live. This way there is always the threat of coming by their office in person. It's easy to ignore calls & emails, it's a lot harder to ignore someone getting in your face or chatting up your boss. That's it. Now if an online lender can offer you say a full percentage point cheaper than the local guys, then it might be worth the risk since that can be $50-$150 difference per month. But if the prices are comparable, then it really pays to go with a local lender. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2021 11:35 PM PST |
| Posted: 21 Jan 2021 07:03 AM PST Greetings!! First time here, but I have some questions. Here goes.... Our current lender is Rocket Mortgage. We're looking to sell our current home and either build or buy. Regardless of what happens down the line we need to sell our current home first as the equity in it will be the bulk of our down payment / money for land to build on. Personally we've had a good experience with Rocket since we used them to refy a few years ago. Am I 1 in a million in this regard? What is so bad about them? Thanks for your time! EDIT: Thanks for the comments, I'll be lurking and searching the sub for Rocket. It seems my experience is different because it wasn't a purchase. [link] [comments] |
| Home staging tips for children living in the home during the listing phase? Posted: 21 Jan 2021 10:32 AM PST Hello all, We have two small boys in a SFH and we are trying to list it. I am sure everyone with children has dealt with the struggles, but we are 4 weeks away from listing and we are trying to get it ready. Are there any strategies you used? I am considering hiring a handy man to come up and touch up the place with patching/painting. Any help or brainstorms would be appreicated! [link] [comments] |
| Hoping for some guidance on finding a home. Posted: 21 Jan 2021 10:28 AM PST I'm lucky enough to have a stock windfall from my last job, but I'm furloughed in my current position due to COVID. I had been planning on buying a house when my stock hit high enough to allow that, which happened back in November, however the housing market here in San Diego became so hot that houses are going for sometimes as much as 20% over asking. I think I'm losing about $12k in purchasing power a month and keep getting outbid. Now all the houses that are coming on the market are (somewhat soulless) flips that seems to have been bought for 30% BELOW market just a month or two ago. I am very happy to have a beat up old house that I can fix up myself but I don't understand how these people are finding these houses, they never seem to actually go on the market. Any tips on how to find these fixer uppers? Thanks so much for any time you're willing to spend to reply. Cheers. P.S. Not sure if any of this matters but I've got roughly $600k to spend and I'm hoping to be in any of the neighborhood around Balboa park (Normal Height, North Park, University Heights, Bankers Hill, Golden Hill, the east parts of City Heights, or in a miracle South Park). [link] [comments] |
| Applying for Mortgage and HELOC simultaneously Posted: 21 Jan 2021 09:02 AM PST Just wondering if this does a double whammy on your credit. I plan to apply for a HELOC for financing a down payment on an investment property and applying for a mortgage for said investment property. I know there is a 14 day window where it doesnt hurt your credit when you apply for a mortgage with multiple lenders, but does this count for HELOCs too? ie: day 1 apply for mortgage... day 3 apply for HELOC... is this scenario part of that 14 day window? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Jan 2021 08:52 AM PST I have one property I've been renting out (I have not been living in) for years and am about to buy another house for my personal residence. Debating taking out equity in the rental to use for down payment on the new residence. HELOC/home equity rates seem to be higher than a conventional loan rate though, especially when subject is an investment property. If I don't pull out equity and do a smaller down payment I will have PMI and one big loan on the new residence at the low rate. If I pull equity with a HELOC and do 20% down payment, I will have no PMI but an additional loan at a higher rate than the main residence loan. Let's say the two loans will look something like 20% of home purchase @ 4.5% and 80% @ 2.5% Potential third option is cash out refi on the rental to try for a lower rate overall, but again rates are a bit higher on investment properties. Essentially the borrowed amount for the new residence will be the same no matter how it's structured so trying to work out the best way to keep the monthly payments lowest (I know overall cost of the different loans will vary over time). Am I missing any major points of contention with any of these scenarios? Once I have loan estimates back from lender I will be able to run the actual numbers [link] [comments] |
| Husband was furloughed due to Covid, now we can't get a loan (Wisconsin) Posted: 21 Jan 2021 08:51 AM PST Backstory: my husband was furloughed from his job of 15 years last March. He worked at a hotel in the DC area and we had just bought our first house. As the shutdown continued, so did his furlough and he started looking for a new job. Fast forward a few months, we sold our house and relocated to Green Bay, WI where he found a great job. We are currently renting and intended to buy a house this summer, but our landlady has decided to put our rental on the market and we need to move ASAP. So we applied for another mortgage through US Bank (we used them for our last mortgage which we paid off), and were told due to FHA loan rules we don't qualify because my husband was furloughed earlier in the year. His credit score is in the 780s, he has no missed payments on anything ever, his income more than qualifies, and we have the 3.5% down in the bank - the amount we applied for is $170k. US Bank said that the rules would apply if we try another bank, so I guess we're stuck. What can we do? We are running out of time and we do not want to rent again - we have a disabled son and need to buy in order to make ADA changes to the house. Any help or advice is appreciated, thanks very much! [link] [comments] |
| NJ - Evaluating tenants based on their ability to sign the NEXT lease? (COVID-related) Posted: 21 Jan 2021 08:48 AM PST Hey, guys. New to all of this, so bear with me (and thank you). Finally got the second unit in my two-family house ready to rent after a kitchen reno and fresh paint job—just in time for COVID to destroy what was a booming rental market. Literally listed it in March of 2020 expecting to get inquiries within minutes, and now here we are still looking for tenants. I've added amenities (brand new washer/dryer) and I've dropped the price quite a bit to try and make it more attractive in a competitive area, but still nothing, except for a few applicants that don't seem great on paper. Or rather, they seem fine for now. My question is this: Should I be evaluating tenants based on their ability to sign the next lease? I plan to try and get the rent back up to where it should be (assuming the market does as well) after COVID has passed, which would mean a $100 - $300 increase depending on how quickly the market bounces back. I'm just outside of NYC with super convenient commuting and the general draw of city living (bars, restaurants, shopping, etc.). Pre-pandemic, that's a major selling point. Now, nobody cares, and the market is flooded with options after the mass exodus from NYC and the surrounding areas. Is that a conversation I should have with prospective tenants? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 21 Jan 2021 08:39 AM PST Hi all--newbie here. Looking at some small multifamily opportunities. From what I've seen I'll definitely want to LLC them and create a strong operating agreement. It seems there are 3 paths for that: self-file, use an online service like LegalZoom, or use a lawyer. Any thoughts on the best path for this? [link] [comments] |
| Sell to a builder or just go with a residential sale? Posted: 21 Jan 2021 08:22 AM PST We live in Minneapolis, Minnesota and there are new rules allowing for more multi dwelling homes. Our home is near a bus line and and it's on nearly a double lot - it's 85' wide - a double lot would be 90'. Built in the 1950s with updates. It's a great single family home, super accessible, across the street from a creek... might list for 615k... But I feel like it could be awesome opportunity for a builder to create a multi dwelling place(s)... or just double the size of this place. My point - this seems more valuable to a builder than a single family - how do I tap into that market to get those gains? Do I need a realtor? Maybe just an attorney? I feel like builders are shrewd and that is not my scene, I guess that's one of the many reasons people use realtors... [link] [comments] |
| Best Legal Structure for Co-Ownership? Posted: 21 Jan 2021 08:09 AM PST Hi, My wife and I are planning on co-buying a home in NM (I'm in CO) with my in-laws and I need some advice on whether to set up an LLC or a different legal structure to own the home. It will be our 2nd home and their 3rd. We plan on using it as a vacation home and short term rental property. We are talking about a 40/60 ownership/cost split where we are the minority owner but we manage the short term rental business. We plan on 20% down and financing the rest via a 30 year fixed mortgage. We currently have a mortgage for our primary residence, but I don't believe getting a loan will be an issue for us or my in-laws. My father-in-law's financial advisor said we should set up a LLC to purchase/own the home, but based on my preliminary research, it seems like we'll have a hard time getting a mortgage if we do that. What are your thoughts on how to set this up for success, both for the purchase, and for longer term ownership? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Working with Multiple Lenders while under Contract? Denver, Colorado Posted: 21 Jan 2021 07:39 AM PST First time home buyer here... I went under contract on a home a few days ago, and have been scrambling to get ahead with regards to getting two different companies quoting mortgage rates for me. I understand that this is common practice to an extent, but I am worried that I have taken it too far. With both companies I have supplied all sorts of documentation, including bank statements, pay slips and the like, in and my documents are being processed for underwriting in both companies currently. I have also paid an appraisal/application fee to one of these companies, but have not yet signed an Intent to Proceed with either. My agent with the company that did not charge me an appraisal or application fee inquired yesterday about how my appraisal would be paid for, so I mentioned that I had paid an appraisal fee to another company. The Agent seemed surprised and off put that I was still working with another company at this point in the process. It was my intention to take both companies though underwriting so that I could make an informed and educated decision as to what the best financial decision would be for me. Am I wrong to have taken these two companies this far? At multiple points along the way, I did mention to both companies that I was working with others as possible options. How far into the process is too far to take multiple companies without committing to one or the other? How should I best reconcile this situation? Is it ok to have them both finish the application process before making a decision? Was my agent unreasonable to pressure me to make a decision? or am I being rude by stringing his company along just to have a second option when it comes time to make a decision? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2021 09:41 PM PST First time home buyers here. My partner and I decided to buy after being told by our landlord that he'd be listing our current place in March whether we're here or not. We're not thrilled with the idea of strangers viewing our house in the middle of a pandemic so the pressure is on to find a place quickly. We've made two offers thus far and our outlook is bleak. We can afford up to about 950k with 20% down. We have a great lender and buying agent and are casting a pretty wide net for what area to live in. We just lost a bid today for a house listed at 798k in a very desirable neighborhood. It was a 2br/1ba of about 1200 finished sq ft. We put in a bid at asking with escalation up to 951k, waived all contingencies, made earnest money available to seller upon mutual acceptance of the offer, and had a closing window of two weeks (our lender is seriously great). We thought we were really strong contenders, but we found out the house went for well over a million in cash. The house wasn't that far under listed, maybe by 5% or so based on the CMA. Are we just unlucky or is this just Seattle real estate? This was a huge blow to our buying confidence and we're worried we won't be able to close on a place before our land lord starts viewings. [link] [comments] |
| Interested in buying land with unimproved structures on it. Posted: 21 Jan 2021 07:24 AM PST First time buyer and I've found a piece of property that I'd like to purchase but weighing my risks vs rewards . Located in Louisiana , it's 1.09 Acres listed for 75k with two houses that haven't been lived in . I contacted the agent to see if I could get any more info on what condition the houses are in but they just let me know that they don't have any more pics or info since they have no value and would need extensive repairs. I'm pretty set on this property and wondering if it's worth renovating one of the houses for a main dwelling or ultimately placing a manufactured home on it until a house can be built. (Listing posted in Comments) [link] [comments] |
| I want to purchase a home in a rural area in Southern California. Is it really a bad time right now? Posted: 20 Jan 2021 05:27 PM PST I have waited to be at my current job for over 2 years to be finally be approved for the FHA first time buyer loan and now I'm being told it's a bad time to purchase a house with this loan. Is this true? Are there any exceptions? [link] [comments] |
| PSA How to get the lowest conventional mortgage rate Posted: 20 Jan 2021 03:57 PM PST There seem to be a lot of posts in this sub about how to get the best rate from a lender. The reality is you cannot, lenders do not offer their best rate retail to individual customers. The way to get the best terms and lowest rate is to go to a mortgage broker. A broker will shop your loan to a range of vendors, has the business relationship to get the best wholesale rates, and can get you the best rate and terms as well as the lowest fees. There are good and bad mortgage brokers, so shop for the broker that is transparent with their fees and makes their money on volume rather than higher fees per loan. For reference, a month ago I closed on a 15 year loan at 1.75% with no points, no escrow, and $750 in total fees. At closing, the closing agent said that was the lowest rate they had seen and were a little surprised it was that low. Some lenders and brokers here have said it is "impossible" to get that rate, but I did. They likely don't want borrowers to know they can get rates that low, since lenders and brokers may make money both on an interest rate spread as well as the application fee. Shop for a broker that does not charge for the spread and will give you the wholesale rate they get. In my case, the $750 fee is their total direct compensation, though lenders may offer them some cash incentives based on business volume. TLDR: Find a good mortgage broker who charges only a low application fee to get the best rates on a mortgage. [link] [comments] |
| Why Miami Beach RE is so cheap? Posted: 20 Jan 2021 07:18 PM PST I'm not talking about the condos facing the ocean. But you can get a one bedroom Condo 5mknutes walking from the beach around 200k or less, and on the 250k even a 2bd. Talking about prime areas like south beach. It's even cheaper than downtown Miami where there is nothing. Any reason? Thank you. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2021 04:23 PM PST I'm wondering how things will trend in the next 10 or so years. In the past couple decades we saw a migration out of the midwest and to southern and western states. Will this continue at about the same rate? Or will that slow down? Will a growth in population due to births and immigration result in population increase in all states? Will the states and cities that have been losing population (think Michigan/Detroit, Cleveland, Toledo, Pittsburgh, etc) bottom out and start to see a resurgance as more people move back to start families (be near the grandparents) or as the cost to move becomes too high, etc? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2021 10:47 PM PST So being the idiot that I am, I didn't think that it was recommended or needed to get a real estate agent to help build my house. Now that I've put a lot deposit down the builder is saying it's too late to get a real estate agent involved. Or I have to pay out of my own pocket. So I have a few questions I hope you guys can help with.
Thank you! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2021 10:28 PM PST I see a trailer and lot for sale, in WNY taxes would be $66 a month and i can buy it all with money i have saved. However, i see it says it is on leased land, and the lease amount is $421. Is that $421 a month, or per year? It seems too good to be true that it would be yearly. If its monthly im probably not interested, but if its yearly, i will have more questions. [link] [comments] |
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