Real Estate: I’m under contract! |
- I’m under contract!
- What do you wish you knew before buying a home?
- What is with listings with photos so incredibly low quality? Am I being blocked from seeing photos for some reason?
- Our agent is making us cover .5% of the agent fee
- What can I do to get my security deposit back if I haven’t signed a lease yet?
- Long distance move logistics
- Can a seller who hasn't found a place to move to crush my dreams?
- Two appraisal, vastly different price
- Sq.ft. of house we are entering escrow is incorrect(smaller). What may happen now? Anyone else experience this?
- Options for financing adding a second floor?
- Frustrated first time home buyer in this market
- Should I sue my home inspector?
- Giving my earnest money check this weekend and I’m so nervous!
- Unique Mortgage Situation
- Married but taking out mortgage under my name only- downsides?
- Is profit from sale of primary residence taxable income? - not asking about cap gains
- Is arbitration agreement required?
- What to do with a house?
- How big of a deal is a cash offer when appraisal shouldn't be an issue for a conventional mortgage with plenty down?
- Is this is a good refinance rate?
- Update on repair list
- Real Estate Malpractice
- How to go about looking for a loan?
- My first week(ish) as a realtor
- Will Seattle real estate inventory increase this spring?
| Posted: 03 Feb 2021 01:23 AM PST First home purchase. This was my second offer. And it was accepted after a lot of back and forth. My accepted offer was 20% over asking. Everything waived (we did an inspection and sewer scope before putting in the offer). 3.5 weeks for closing (home is vacant). Seattle area. Market is nuts. So excited! [link] [comments] |
| What do you wish you knew before buying a home? Posted: 02 Feb 2021 02:10 PM PST Is there anything you think would've been beneficial to know prior to buying a home? Anything you would have done differently looking back? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2021 07:15 AM PST This is an honest question from a first-time buyer. I've noticed that all listings have photos, however so many of them consist entirely of photos so incredibly low quality I can't tell what room I'm looking at. It's like the pictures were taken with a 1998 GameBoy color Camera. I'd assumed maybe the photos got grainy on the listing website, but this issue is present in well over a quarter of homes/condos I look at. Is this intentional by the lister? [link] [comments] |
| Our agent is making us cover .5% of the agent fee Posted: 03 Feb 2021 07:28 AM PST Hi all - we just had our offer accepted on a home and have a detail that we're working through. From the beginning, we noticed that the buyer's agent commission was listed at 2% - knowing that was nonstandard, we asked our agent about it and she said, "It's very uncommon, let me call the listing agent about this and figure it out." Just before signing the offer, I brought it up again, and she said "I'll work it out with her (listing agent)". We signed the offer, and she emailed the listing agent and said that we agreed to pay the .5% to get to her to 2.5%. She forwarded that email to me so I responded that we weren't clear on that expectation and asked if she had an update on her conversation with the listing agent. She responded that she saved us a lot of money during this process and so she is expecting us to cover the .5%. additional context: We hadn't signed the initial agreement that stipulated the 2.5% fee and she proceeded to work with us anyway. We met her on Sunday and closed by Monday at 5pm, so it was a quick turnaround time. We want to make sure she is paid fairly, but given our repeated attempts to address the issue and her assurances that she would work it out with the listing agent, and that we didn't agree via contract to pay it, we're not thrilled. We're erring on the side of paying it and just calling it a day, but wanted to get some second opinions. Also curious, if we try to push back, is there anything she could do to make our lives harder at this point / have the offer fall through? [link] [comments] |
| What can I do to get my security deposit back if I haven’t signed a lease yet? Posted: 03 Feb 2021 04:26 AM PST Hi All. Me and my boyfriend were looking for places. Found one that seemed awesome! It was a perfect price, and it was mostly everything we were looking for. However, we were only able to see the exterior of the house. The landlord had just moved to Cali, didn't have a property manager, but did have an attorney. He wanted assurance that we wouldn't just take the keys, I guess, and run. Landlord said that we could come to an agreement.... okay I assumed that just meant me and my boyfriend filling out a rental application, since that's all my landlord had mentioned up to that point. And then he said that he would like us to pay our security deposit.... okay, I wish you would have mentioned that before, but I understand. We went through this big thing, where we would send our deposit through Zelle, only to have that returned to us. After a few attempts, the money went through. By this point we had been emailed a copy of the lease to go over everything, make sure the numbers were right, and that everything was fine. Note that, at this point in the process, I had made a mental note that on the lease it said: "Before the commencement of this Agreement, Tenants shall pay Landlord $800.00 as a security deposit (That is already paid on the 31st January 2021). Landlord may use there from such amounts as are reasonably necessary to remedy Tenants' default in the payment of rent, repair damages to the premises exclusive of ordinary wear and tear, and to clean the premises if necessary. Landlord shall refund Tenants the balance of the security deposit after such deductions within twenty-one (21) days after the expiration of this Agreement. If deductions have been made, Landlord shall provide Tenants with an itemized account of each deduction including the reasons for and the dollar amount of each deduction. Interest payments on security deposits accrue as follows: N/A Local law does not require Landlord to pay interest on security deposits." So, this would mean that we are entitled to get our money back, correct? Or are we not, since we have not signed the lease yet? Are we entitled to our security deposit since both the landlord and his attorney had signed the lease, and had assured us many times, that the "lease has already been signed by my attorney you have nothing to worry about, the house is already secured for you"? The lease also mentioned nothing about paying first month's rent before signing the lease, only the security deposit. In addition to all of that, I saw that the lease had mentioned this: "Tenants agree to (i) properly use, operate and safeguard the premises and all furniture and furnishings, appliances and fixtures within the premises (ii) maintain the premises in clean and sanitary condition, and upon termination of the tenancy, to surrender the premises to Landlord in the same condition as when Tenants first took occupancy, except for ordinary wear and tear (iii) notify Landlord in writing upon discovery of any damages, defects or dangerous conditions in and about the premises; and (iv) reimburse Landlord for the cost of any repairs to the premises of damages caused by misuse or negligence of Tenants or their guests or invitees. Tenants acknowledge that they have examined the entire interior and exterior of the premises, including plumbing, heating and electrical appliances, smoke detector(s), fixtures, carpets, drapes and paint, and have found them to being good, safe and clean condition and repair, with the following exceptions: (Specify "none" if there are no exceptions)" How I interpreted this, was that we needed to inspect the premises before signing the lease, of which we had only seen the exterior. Keep in mind, me and my boyfriend had still not seen the inside, because the landlord had the keys in California. The whole reason that we had backed out of this agreement before signing the lease, was because the landlord wanted us to pay both the security deposit and first month's rent before he would actually send us the keys and hardcopies of the lease for us to sign. Both me and my boyfriend thought it was unacceptable to have to pay everything upfront, without ever having seen anything on the inside. When we brought this up, he became pretty upset and was rude. He told us that after he got off work, he would have the money sent back to us. We've since gone to sleep, woken up, and have been on our way to work. So, my question is, are we entitled to have our security deposit sent back since the lease says we are if we want to terminate the agreement, and we are within 21 days of everything? Keep in mind that, me and my boyfriend never signed the lease, only the rental application, and that the landlord and his attorney both signed the lease. I also want to add in here, that we have EVERYTHING, in writing. We dealt with everything via text messaging or email, and only talked in the phone a few times, those times asking for the landlord to call us back so we can talk. I have the original lease, all of the edited and updated leases, and the final one that we had come to an agreement on. I have the rental agreement, which doesn't state anything about the security deposit (it was literally just a paper where we filled in our names, employers, emergency contacts, and references). I have his texts, not specifying that we would need to pay everything 100% upfront, only stating that we would need to do so after we had signed the lease and sent the security deposit. My boyfriend has texts from him as well, him getting the very rude and abrasive end of this guy's anger. Now, I'm not trying to paint the landlord as a bad guy here, either. He was extremely disorganised for a guy who had an attorney with him (I did search his attorney up, he has an active Barr status and is a valid attorney), and me and my boyfriend should have taken our money and ran with it, but we gave him the huge benefit of the doubt, that maybe we just needed to find the right way to send the money. However, what is unacceptable, is the fact that we were not allowed to see the inside, and yet still expected to pay not only the security deposit, but first month's rent on top of that. The landlord would continue to tell us that not paying first month's would be the naive thing to do, but I called BS on that, and so now we're here. Anyway, sorry about this guys, I know it's a long read, and part of this was a bit rant-ish, but I just want to make sure that I can do everything in my power to get this money back. Thanks :) Edit: I live in Maryland. The landlord lives in California. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2021 08:59 AM PST My husband and I are looking to move from Florida to the Chicago suburbs in the next 6 months or so. He works a completely remote job, and I do not currently work because I am caring for our 3 year old (childcare in our area is outrageous). Realistically, HOW do you buy a home across the country? Should we just be planning regular trips to the area to house hunt, or should we trust our agent with video tours? Should we move to an apartment in the area so we can house hunt regularly for the next few months and see everything in person? We've never bought long distance before, and we are at a loss when it comes to logistics. [link] [comments] |
| Can a seller who hasn't found a place to move to crush my dreams? Posted: 03 Feb 2021 08:38 AM PST In August 2020, we fell in love with a house we saw and we quickly put in an offer. Another buyer got in first, and the sellers signed a contract with them. The house has been "pending" for quite some time, and my realtor has stayed in touch with their realtor. Apparently the sellers haven't found a house they wanted to move into, so they kept pushing back closing date with the buyer. Fast forward to now, the buyers decided they didn't want to wait anymore, found another place to live and no more contract. We're next in line - WOOHOO!!! They've accepted our offer now, and we set a closing date a little further out in April to give them more time to find a home. I'm perfectly okay with waiting for the perfect house (to some extent) and they clearly still want to sell... but I'm hoping it doesn't take them another 6 months to find a spot to move to!! What typically happens here? IF they don't find a home, I'm assuming we can keep pushing out the closing date? Is this a common problem? Are we entirely at their mercy? [link] [comments] |
| Two appraisal, vastly different price Posted: 03 Feb 2021 10:24 AM PST We were working to close on a property currently owned by family. Mortgage company required an appraisal, and they sent someone out. Appraisal came back well under what we expected. Asked to be reassessed, and same appraiser raised 100k (33%), but still well under what we expected. Since it's a private transaction, we were just going to find the difference and deal with it later. Everything goes through and we have a closing date, but because of the big difference, appraisal failed and a new one was ordered. This one comes back at nearly 3x the original appraisal amount. Much more in line with what we expected. Now the mortgage company says we have to re do everything because we are purchasing at such a steep discount. A month ago I was funding 10% of the purchase price on top of the down payment just to close, now I may have too much equity in the sale? My question is, how are the appraised values so vastly different. We went from way below to way over. For context, just say 250->350->750. It's just crazy! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2021 09:57 AM PST I have an interesting situation and wanted some thoughts going forward. SoCal location, built in 2002. House we were accepted on seemed smaller than sqft on records. Luckily its a rectagular house with garage attached so its an easy measurement. The house is 268sqft smaller than all records and matches a few neighboring homes. Original owners were unaware before today. I only noticed looking at satelite images and looking at homes with same model to see what others in the neighborhood did. Last night it consumed me so we went over to measure inside and outside dimensions. Records show a living room and family room, but theres no living room. We like the house so we are going for a price decrease and to still buy the house. [link] [comments] |
| Options for financing adding a second floor? Posted: 02 Feb 2021 12:35 PM PST My wife and I would like to add a second floor to our home. We've been told that $150K is probably a decent budget to work with. Our house is probably work $100k more than what we owe. I think that if we added a second floor our home would be worth at least $100k MORE than what we would spend. I've looked into refinancing and lines of credit, but it seems that the most we could get from that would be $60K but probably more like $45K. I've also looked into construction loans but it looks like they are only offered for new constructions. Finally, I looked at a company (renofi.com) that appears to offer what we're looking for, but I'm not sure if they are the way to go. Does anyone have any experience with this that could offer advice? Edit: thanks for the responses everyone. Definitely going to look into all the suggested options before I spend any money. [link] [comments] |
| Frustrated first time home buyer in this market Posted: 03 Feb 2021 09:20 AM PST Hello everyone - like everyone else, the market in my area is beyond crazy. We tried a few offers on preowned homes and the bidding wars were so stressful, plus the headache of renovating everything, we decided to go with new build homes. We had a reservation with a builder. The builder wanted us to go in contract a week ago. We ended up canceling the reservation since some new lots with a different builder opened up in a location that we liked more. They turned out to be 60k higher than the lots they had released a month ago. So we couldn't afford the new ones. Now we went back to our original builder. The lot we had reserved was still available, they had no interested parties in that yet. Today the builder tells us the price has been increased since our reservation and is 25k more than what we had reserved for. Given the market situation, they have full right to play with the price the way they like but 25k in less than 10 days seem ridiculous. We feel cheated and being taken advantage of. Their reason for price increase is the increase in the cost of the lumber. What should we do? We do really like the layout. Should we give up and just go back to the pre owned homes search? Anything we can do that might help with the builder reducing the price considering nobody else showed interest in that lot while it was on market for the 10 days? TLDR- had a new build reservation, cancelled it 10 days ago. Went back today and now the price is 25k more. [link] [comments] |
| Should I sue my home inspector? Posted: 03 Feb 2021 09:10 AM PST I closed on my home on 11/30/2020. It's my first house and I bought it myself and live alone. I'm a disabled veteran and most of my income comes from disability. Not looking for pity points, just trying to paint the picture that I don't have the means or ability to take on big projects. My house contains Polybutylene (Quest) pipes. I currently have a leak and have had contacted 3 plumbers to get bids. All of them have described my home as a, "ticking time bomb needing immediate action." One plumber says I need to repipe my entire house, another says I don't. I'm not really sure who is right just yet but all plumbers agree that my house needs relatively extensive work to replace the Poly (relative in terms of how much money I don't have). My home inspection was 30 pages long and broken into two main sections. The first section was for "Action Needed" items, and the second was a "Summary." My inspector did mention the presence of Polybutylene, but only in the summary section and in a list of other materials within the home. There was no explanation that Poly is bad. He did not extrapolate at all. In the "Action" section, he mentioned things as small as trimming the hedges, so you'd think Poly pipes should have been mentioned as an action item, especially because they are un-insurable. Had I known the issue with this product I absolutely would have requested a seller repair or credit upon closing, or just not purchased the house at all. I'm not actually considering suing him. But I do feel incredibly dissatisfied with the inspection. I paid him $500 to understand what I was getting into, and a major issue was not explained. Looking for recommendations on how to move forward. Should I request the price of inspection to be refunded? Should I just take this as a lesson learned? Are buyers really expected to understand different plumbing materials without explanation? Should I email him and let him know that this isn't ok? I'm very non-confrontational but I'm now going to spend every dime I have (and ones I don't) getting this plumbing fixed. TLDR: inspector didn't explain the issue with Polybutylene pipes, now facing extensive replacement costs. Did the inspector mess up by not saying anything about this issue, or did I? *It should be mentioned that the inspector was chosen by my real estate agent, not me. [link] [comments] |
| Giving my earnest money check this weekend and I’m so nervous! Posted: 03 Feb 2021 08:59 AM PST We're planning on signing our purchase agreement and give our earnest money check in a few days on a a new construction - so excited but so nervous. I have this fear that something during the underwriting will come up and screw us over (even though the loan officers I've talked to say things look good) and we'll be out thousands. It's probably an unrealistic fear, but all these emotions are definitely keeping me up at night! How do those of you who have been through this manage all these conflicting thoughts? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2021 08:59 AM PST I have been looking for a house to purchase as I no longer need to rent close to work. My parents have been looking for a new home as well. We came across a listing for two houses (separate deeded properties) that are marketed as a family compound. One of the houses is about 100k out of my price range and the other is below my parents price range. We really like the properties but don't want to do anything that wouldn't make financial sense. I also would prefer to be on my our mortgage and not sign together but that's not a deal breaker as I would consider it for this property. I was wondering if anyone here had info on financing something like this? Special mortgages designed for multiple properties or something similar. I'm just looking for info on "family compound" real estate and not personal financial advise. We are both financially secure and I am aware that over leveraging yourself on a mortgage is not a good idea. I appreciate any input. [link] [comments] |
| Married but taking out mortgage under my name only- downsides? Posted: 03 Feb 2021 08:58 AM PST My husband and I are applying for a mortgage, but because he is a small business owner (<2 years) his income doesn't qualify. Based on pre-approvals, the amount that I qualify for based on my financial situation falls within the price range of homes we're looking at (this is Baltimore, so houses are much cheaper), but are there any legal/financial consequences for me down the road? The banks that we talked to said there won't be any problems, but I'm a bit hesitant to take on a whole mortgage solely under my name. Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Is profit from sale of primary residence taxable income? - not asking about cap gains Posted: 03 Feb 2021 08:55 AM PST seems like a simple question but my google searches get caught up in cap gains questions. I plan to sell my home this spring. We bought another house, this has been our primary residence for five years. the profit after payoff and expense will be around $40K I know it's exempt from cap gains but I don't know how it fits in my income. Can't imagine the government letting me keep $40,ooo in tax free cash. [link] [comments] |
| Is arbitration agreement required? Posted: 03 Feb 2021 08:55 AM PST Realtor wants us to sign an arbitration agreement as part of offer paperwork. Is this standard or required? (MN) [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2021 08:53 AM PST I'm in PA. My mother passed away 2 years ago. The estate is mostly settled, aside from the house. We had enough liquid cash to pay the estate taxes on the value of the house because we wanted our sibling to continue living there. We are now at a point where we have to get the name on the deed changed from our parents names (my father passed away in 2012). We don't know the best way to do this to protect each of us financially. Is a Trust or an LLC a better option? Are there other options? There are 3 of us, 2 of us own our own homes and don't have much interest in having our names on another piece of property if we can help it. We all agree on that the sibling living there should also not have it only in their name. We are looking for options that will keep it so that the three of us maintain an equal share, but liability isn't resting on the other homes we own somehow. Honestly, there is not a lot of future plan for it. I don't want my sibling to be homeless, and would love for them to stay there forever. Other sibling would like to cut and run but is willing to do whatever as long as it does not put financial strain on anyone. Sibling that is there now is willing to move, but is happy enough to stay there for now (basically, there was a house, so they moved in). I am personally attached to the house and would love to find a way to keep it around. The place needs some (a lot of. Built in 1912, 5 bedroom ONE bathroom!) updating, but is in a location in our city that if we hold on to it for a few years we could probably make a nice profit selling it or renting it out. We are not the most handy bunch, and the pandemic has really put a damper on even just planning what the next steps are, let alone getting work done on it. I don't like to consider it bleeding money, since it is being lived in...but it is kind of bleeding money. We are at a stand-still, but just need a push in the right direction. We all get along and are willing to do whatever we need to do to protect each other financially and keep a roof over all of our heads. What are some responsible options here? (Ideally, in my mind, while keeping it around :)) [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2021 07:59 AM PST Is offering cash a big enough deal to be worth the higher interest rate of taking out a home equity on the current house, which is not getting sold. Are people getting under contract with lower offers for cash rather than a higher offer with a mortgage? If the mortgage offer would be higher, the home equity isn't worth the extra interest. Just spinning through a suggestion I was made today. Or it's just a matter of no one is getting under contract without cash offers on lower end homes? [link] [comments] |
| Is this is a good refinance rate? Posted: 03 Feb 2021 07:54 AM PST I just applied to refinance my townhome (rated as a condo for the purpose of refinance) and I just wanted to check to see what rates other people were able to find. I'm currently at a fixed 3.625 conventional rate at 30 years when I bought my home in 2019. The best rate after shopping around for a refinance is 2.375 for 20 years. The lender fees are $0 and this is also for 0 points. And there are no lender credits. I would pay a couple hundred more compared to have I have now but obviously shave 10 years off the loan and save a ton of interest even if I sell and buy a new home say in 5-10 years. My townhome is valued at $550,000 and I have a balance of $400,000 so my LTV is under 75% as well when I was shopping for rate. Let me know what you guys think of if someone found a better rate and where since I can still shop around. I'm rate locked to what I found above but hoping I can find better possibly? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2021 07:52 AM PST Original post here https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/l9eun9/repair_list_after_home_inspection/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf So the seller refused the $25k, didn't even counter. Said she "discounted" the price with our accepted offer ($28k less than asking... knew nothing about needed repairs at the time). I say no, that's not discounted, that's the market value. Her seller agent told her she NEEDS to clear the CL-100 or we can't close. The primary things we listed were on the CL-100. Now we are in limbo.... Super fun. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Feb 2021 07:46 AM PST In need of the best real estate/malpractice attorney willing to work on a case for me in Massachusetts. I'm a single mom and cancer survivor who got screwed over on the sale of a home. The seller was supposed to fix issue with well prior to closing and didn't, but provided paperwork saying it had been done. Time sensitive. [link] [comments] |
| How to go about looking for a loan? Posted: 03 Feb 2021 07:44 AM PST First time buying a home, and unsure of how to shop around for a loan. Is this something the realtor will help me with? Or do I need to already have it figured out before contacting them? [link] [comments] |
| My first week(ish) as a realtor Posted: 02 Feb 2021 02:55 PM PST Hey guys, Just wanted to post some thoughts/tips I have learned after starting my career. I know close to nothing so I won't pretend to do so, I only want to work my ass off and earn each client through honesty and hard work. Here are some things I learned/found out/would recommend to new or aspiring agents. *NOTE: This is only my experience in my specific area, I cannot speak for the entire real estate business everywhere. Things you can do BEFORE you get your license:
There's a ton more you could do prior to taking classes to get your license, but I just wanted to point out a few that are not always stated in this sub. Some things I learned:
This is all just a brief overview of my first week, and I'm still brand new so I don't want to act like I know anything, I just know I'll keep pushing through and getting better each and every day. I look forward to working in this business as I see it as a way to help people find what they are looking for while working with good people around my area. [link] [comments] |
| Will Seattle real estate inventory increase this spring? Posted: 03 Feb 2021 07:32 AM PST
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