Real Estate: Experience Buying 40 Acre Plot In WI In This Market... |
- Experience Buying 40 Acre Plot In WI In This Market...
- First time homebuyer - condo, house, continue renting??
- Another day another dump property for top dollar
- WFH is here to stay.... you can thank us later agents...
- Buying an in-progress flip
- [Buyer] (Quebec) How can I compensate our broker, who we wish to part ways with, for the time he has already invested in us?
- [PA] Why is everyone so controlling/concerned with things they don't own?
- Appraisal came in much lower
- It happened, we closed!!
- Property investment advise needed!
- Should we say something about seller's amendment?
- Is it normal for a buyer of a vacant lot to want to cut down trees before closing?
- Texas real estate law question-
- Putting house in a trust
- How much should you shop around for a realtor? Should you go with someone popular?
- With the market being hot, do I have to spruce up my home to sell it?
- New Construction Questions!
- Buying a house that’s currently a rental. (In OH)
- Buying a house that is currently renting out a garage
- Buying a House From Family
- Buying a house without a basement
- Storm Drain at back of lot. Problem?
- Setting up a new condo association.
- Refinance Closing
| Experience Buying 40 Acre Plot In WI In This Market... Posted: 08 Mar 2021 07:04 AM PST Just wanted to share my experience buying a 40 acre plot in rural Wisconsin. Land is Crazy: First of all, land is such a different beast. You may lose out on a piece of land and it never becomes available again in your life time and it can't be replicated like a house. The people who buy land are the people who don't want to ever sell land. This is the main reason for why subdivision plots are just getting smaller and smaller with time. It is also so hard to tell your realtor what you want because there are so many oddities you run into. (It could be a swamp, it could be a thicket, it could be a barren mono-crop wasteland in the middle of 400 acres of farm land) Hell, we were shown land that was down range of a literal gun range or land that was in the middle of a town (no wildlife). Market: But this market is insane, the 40 acres of woods, wetlands, and huge rock bluffs were posted on zillow and within 24hrs we were doing a showing. We walked the property and there were other people walking the property at the same time as us... Typically land takes a long time to sell, months to years. This land was in our price range, $120k, so we offered $125k the next day. By Monday they accepted and we closed on it shortly after it appraised out. Everything is a fucking HOA Nowadays: My god, we want to build a respectable, 200sqft off grid cabin in the forest and the process already seems like we entered into an HOA. The regulations... require 700sqft minimum, an outhouse, 75ft away from any property line. Keep in mind most of the areas in this town when we drive past it have properties with 50 odd shacks, sheds, concrete piles, and dilapidated structures built. We also go past junk yards which the town says they outlaw as well. If you are saying well we should have done the research beforehand, you really dont get to choose where you buy land at all because it is only what becomes available (we have been looking for a few years) plus so often we had properties pop up, you start to do the research which takes hours per parcel and then it gets sold by the time you figure it all out. Building Permit: Now I don't know if we try and just tell them we are building a glorified shed with a wood stove in it or if we try to go the honest route of labeling it a dwelling (they consider it a dwelling even if you only sleep there one night a year). Hopefully they really dont actually care about what we build and they just want to know what we are building and for them to receive every dollar from us which is fine long as we can build what we want but it is just insane how every county seems to allow dogshit but their regulations are written like the tightest HOA ever. Anyone else have experience or recommendations on off grid cabins and tight HOA like regulations? [link] [comments] |
| First time homebuyer - condo, house, continue renting?? Posted: 08 Mar 2021 09:12 AM PST Hi! I'm driving myself crazy going back and forth trying to decide what to do. My fiance and I currently rent a 1 bedroom apartment and are looking to move/upgrade to at least a 2 bedroom. We make about 100K combined, and live in Northern NJ, which is insane right now. In an ideal world, we'd buy a cheaper condo as a stepping stone, stay there for a couple years, and then buy a house. But most condos in this area can go for as much as some houses in our range (max 400k, which is prob even pushing it), and with HOAs, monthly fees could be more than a house. Since I've been working from home from a year in our tiny apt, I really want to move as we've outgrown our space. We've also had issues with pests in this building, so don't want to deal with that again. We've checked out a few places and put an offer on one but we were rejected (not surprised). I just don't even know if it's worth it to keep looking at this point. I really don't want to stay in our current apartment, but based on what I'm seeing, it seems unrealistic that we'll find something in time before our lease is up (July). Anyone have any advice on what we should do? [link] [comments] |
| Another day another dump property for top dollar Posted: 07 Mar 2021 05:18 PM PST It's getting quite old. We went to a showing for a house we were very optimistic on even though no pictures were provided. The last comp of this was sold for 40k less so this one we were hoping would at least be on par. Nope. Not even close. House was trashed. Hoarders. Weird modifications. Would take Atleast 20-30k just to get it habitable. And our realtor said even if we came in 15k over ask it probably wouldn't cut it. I'm done. Throwing in the towel. Need to go have a beer. [link] [comments] |
| WFH is here to stay.... you can thank us later agents... Posted: 07 Mar 2021 11:09 PM PST If my parents would have told me I could work all day in my pajamas, make a six figure salary, play video games during breaks and lunch hour, own a house and travel freely.....I would have tried a lot harder...anyhow, WFH is having a huge impact on the Housing Market, vacant and lower apartment rates and vacant commercial real estate. I lived in one of the largest metropolitan cities in the US for 5 years, paid 3300 for renting a 1 bed/1 bath apartment, and bought a home on 3 acres, 4bed/3 bath, custom home, now my mortgage is 2500 and my company is paying my moving expenses.... WFH is here to stay for many of us.... [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Mar 2021 06:43 AM PST I've been shopping for a new home for a few years. It's taken a long time because I have some very specific requirements for the floorplan. I finally found a house with the layout of my dreams, and the location is great. The hiccup is that it's a flip-in-progress. It's currently gutted. It has a new roof (there clearly had been interior water damage), rough plumbing looks nearly done, wiring is in progress, kitchen cabinets have been ordered but not installed, there are holes everywhere in the drywall, insulation missing in places, old carpet tacks sticking up from the subfloor, light switches hanging by wires where a wall has yet to be built... I actually can't figure out why they would even show it in the condition it's in, other than to maybe guage interest in their price point. Their Zillow listing is all renderings, and says they expect to be done in three months. I personally have gutted and remodeled three houses, so I really wish I had found this place in its original state! The flipper told me (verbally) his plan for finishes and they are not my style at all (of COURSE he wants to fill the place with gray lvp!) He says he's open to negotiating finishes. He says he'll send his planned budget/spec sheet for me to go off of, but I have not yet received that. I suggested that I'd be open to buying the house (cash) in an unfinished state. Something like, finishing up to the point of rough plumbing and electrical done, drywalled finished, white plastic $1.99 light fixtures, no vanities, no paint, no flooring, exterior weatherproofed but not painted... He's open to considering such an offer. Do you have any suggestions for how to protect myself in making this offer? The bros flipping this place are a software developer and a stock broker. They are hiring out for all the trades, but I know how things can get overlooked without a professional gc. I was thinking I should hire an inspector to see the house Now, while it's gutted, to make a list of must-do's. What else? TIA!! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Mar 2021 08:05 AM PST We've been shopping homes for the past month in the $1m to $1.3m range in Montreal. Our lawyer put us in contact with a broker who was initially very involved in our search but has been gradually losing interest in us (apparently). We were much more efficient at booking visits before we started working with him. And lately he has been unresponsive. We want to "fire" him today but feel bad about the uncompensated time he's invested in us (maybe 10 visits total, one rejected offer, and who knows how much time sending us listings and comparables). Should we offer him a gift? Cash? Thanks for your suggestions. [link] [comments] |
| [PA] Why is everyone so controlling/concerned with things they don't own? Posted: 08 Mar 2021 07:44 AM PST Western PA, moving out of an HOA because we've had enough of getting permission to change a light bulb. Wife and I are looking to purchase land to build on. Any land that is PRIME (relatively flat, public water/sewage, good school dist), that is NOT in an HOA we have come across the developer/land owner having covenance for building a home. Are people experiencing this in other places/states? i don't understand this mentality. if people want to dictate what other people do, why not live in an HOA community? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Mar 2021 09:44 AM PST The appraisal for the home I am looking to purchase came in about 10% lower than the price I offered. Me coming up with the difference in cash is not an option at this point. Currently, my lender and my agent are going to try to go through an appraisal rebuttal process but my agent also encouraged me to begin working with another lender for a possible second appraisal. I'm wondering what the point in working with the second lender is? The second appraisal might come up higher than the first but I'm doubtful it will come in much higher. I know it's in my agents best interest to get this deal closed, but my two questions are:
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| Posted: 07 Mar 2021 04:54 PM PST After a roller coaster of emotions thru this process we did it, we closed on our forever home. We love it! Now the hard part of moving.... [link] [comments] |
| Property investment advise needed! Posted: 08 Mar 2021 06:51 AM PST My situation is: I own a 200-240,000 apartment that is very far away. I have 50,000 left to pay on the mortgage for my 280,000 house that I'm currently living in. I would like to sell my flat because it is very far away from where I live so its a pain to check up on it and clean it when tenants move out. I have worked out that i will should need to pay about 35,000 capital gains tax on the apartment if i sell it, but I'm ok with this as long as i can make the money back fairly soon. My question is: I would like to sell the flat that i own at the moment pay off the mortgage for my house that I'm living in and invest the money left over in multiple other properties nearer to me but because I'm in the 40% tax bracket I'm not sure if i will be able to pay the new mortgage on the rental property that i want to buy with the rental income that I will get from the new house because 40% of the rental income will go to tax straight away, right? Is it possible to legally not pay tax on rental income if it is going straight into a mortgage? Do real estate investment businesses have to pay income tax on rental income if it is going into a mortgage and not going to employees? Because then its not personal income, right? If so, is it possible for me to make a real estate investment business with only me working for it to avoid tax? I dont know much about property investment so i would really appreciate any advice you can give me or any explanations, thanks [link] [comments] |
| Should we say something about seller's amendment? Posted: 08 Mar 2021 09:02 AM PST The sellers want to pay less on the tax escrow than is what's written in their contract. However, we never signed the amendment saying we agree since their attorney never sent us or our attorney anything (we agreed by email). If we get to the closing table and don't get the full amount of escrow, will this cause problems with the lender? If we don't say anything, we're hoping the seller just coughs up the extra $400 so they can be done with this business. We're ok with closing being pushed back if that's what it comes down to, but are we being dumb by not saying anything about this amendment? Could there be some larger risk I'm not seeing? [link] [comments] |
| Is it normal for a buyer of a vacant lot to want to cut down trees before closing? Posted: 07 Mar 2021 09:00 PM PST There's a lot to this saga but I have a contract with a buyer on a vacant lot I own. They've been pushy and obnoxious throughout the process. Example of one of many things: they wanted a copy of a receipt showing I'd paid the January HOA dues. This was stupid and obnoxious because even if I hadn't it, it would just be taking out of the proceeds at closing. They countered with a delayed closing and I agreed but wasn't thrilled about it. Now we're 6 weeks from the end date for closing and I got an email from my realtor's assistant saying they're planning to have trees on the property cut down within 2 weeks of closing. I responded okay, but what does that have to do with me? I'd already gotten an ARB approval for cutting down 7 trees at their request. I'd thought they just wanted to know if it would be approved bc those things are usually specific to the person who's the current owner and name is on the ARB form. I mentioned in my reply that they'd have to reapply after the closing in their own name but it should be a rubber stamp process. I got a reply from the realtor that they wanted to do it before closing. I replied basically 'hella no, who does that?' And comments about how they'd pushed the closing back and because they're paying cash, they're trying to milk every dime of interest off the money while basically having the rights of ownership at the same time. I've scoured the internet for a list of what's normal for buyers to expect to be able to do on a vacant lot they don't own yet but found nothing specific. I have a real estate license that's inactive but I've sold real estate in the past. I imagine the broker that I worked for having a stroke if a buyer wanted to do that. It seems like a bad idea in a number of ways. The realtor's trying to act like this is a normal request. Is there any source that talks about what's reasonable for a land buyer to demand before closing? I'd never in a million years demand this from the seller. The assistant's email wasn't even written as a request but as a Fait accompli which made it worse. Does this seem as skeevy & inappropriate as it sounds to me? [link] [comments] |
| Texas real estate law question- Posted: 08 Mar 2021 08:23 AM PST Looking at buying a house. The house in question has a driveway that runs through an adjacent property that has no house or structures, is also in a flood plain. The driveway looks to be original with the house (2004) and is a gravel driveway that would have had to have multiple improvements and repairs over the years due to the erosion issue, conducted presumably by the owner of the house not the property the driveway runs through. The house property does have a strip of land that grants road access. The rub- that strip is 80 percent or more directly through a creek with no way to utilize it as a drive way. The concern is that right now the owners use the driveway that runs through the adjacent property, but if the owners of that property decide to build a fence across it one day... we would be screwed. Not sure what I'm asking- but any advice would be appreciated- Have a goodone [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Mar 2021 05:32 AM PST Hi! We should finally be closing our first home this week. My boyfriend and I have been together for seven years but neither of us care to get married. We have been advised to put the house in a trust. Are there any downsides to this? When I told the lawyer I am currently receiving SSDI (I'm legally blind), he seemed apprehensive. Love to hear experience from other happily unmarried first time home buyers. Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| How much should you shop around for a realtor? Should you go with someone popular? Posted: 08 Mar 2021 05:01 AM PST Just wondering. My mom is looking to sell soon. Our house needs quite a bit of small finishes and work done to make it really look good, but it's still being valued at over $750k (3+1 bed, 1+1 bath townhouse). I just wonder a real estate agent really makes or breaks the selling price and if some have better "deals" in terms of prepping, repairs, and staging of the house. The first realtor we called says staging and repairs are all upfront? Is this correct for all of them? I've never dealt with it, but thought that you could potentially pay out of the money you receive from the house. I told my mom to call a bunch and kind of shop around, but I'm not sure how big of a deal it actually is. And then there are very popular ones that constantly pop up and I wonder if it's just best to go with one of those. We don't know anyone personally or have any family/friends that have recently bought and/or sold. And my mom is older and hasn't dealt with this since '03, so I just want to make sure everything goes as well as it can. Any other tips also welcomed. Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| With the market being hot, do I have to spruce up my home to sell it? Posted: 08 Mar 2021 07:01 AM PST I'm in a very nice neighborhood and the homes here sell in a day. Our house needs inside paint, and some sod. Would not doing that stuff really matter when offers are pouring in? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Mar 2021 06:08 AM PST I recently bought a new construction home and I have some questions about the costs, specifically the design center. I haven't been to the design center yet or have seen their prices, other than what the builder originally had spec'd out for the house. From what I've been able to read/watch on the internet it seems that the products/materials in the design center are overpriced. With the best approach being to pay for the items you do not wish to do yourself, ex. countertops, and cheap out on the stuff that you can easily do yourself, ex. paint. Is this a pretty accurate statement? if not what was your approach and what things would you do differently if you could go back? The other question I have is in regards to the price of the design center options. Is there a general rule of thumb on how to estimate what you'll end up spending? I've asked my builder contact and they told me most people spend about 10 - 15% of the base price of the house. That just seems like an awful lot of money to me. I can see how someone could rack up a huge total by just getting the best of everything available, but I'm taking a reasonable approach to things. Does anyone know if what the builder suggested is accurate? TLDR: I just bought a new construction home and just starting the process. Any tips or recommendations? Is there a general rule of thumb to estimate the cost of the design center options? (Builder said avg. is 10-15% of house base price) [link] [comments] |
| Buying a house that’s currently a rental. (In OH) Posted: 08 Mar 2021 05:43 AM PST Wife and I are looking for homes for ourselves as first time home buyers. There's a house that just came up in our price range, with one caveat. The house is being rented month-to-month right now. She's asking me about it, and I'm telling her that it's probably not worth our time. In my mind, we could go through with the sale and the tenant could refuse to move, leaving us stuck with the mortgage AND having to pay a lawyer to formally evict them, which could take months. All the while they could be in this house doing lord knows what until we finally get it cleared. She doesn't see how that makes any sense, and is questioning my thoughts. Any advice confirming or denying my suspicions? We are NOT in any way in the market to be landlords at this time either. [link] [comments] |
| Buying a house that is currently renting out a garage Posted: 08 Mar 2021 09:15 AM PST My wife and I have been hunting down a house in the Chicago suburbs for a few weeks with not much luck until last Friday. With a budget of 700K and a couple of conflicting wants such as a suburb with a city-like vibe (ie Evanston) but at the same time a yard large enough to build a pool, the search was tough. And of course, when we found something that was close to what we wanted, the bidding war craziness turned prices that seemed like a stretch to what I thought was just dumb. But then we found a property that, with a little flexibility on our part, checked enough boxes. It had one unusual aspect, which I'll get to later, but two things made it very attractive to us: it was $135K under our budget and there was no competition. In a market where we saw first hand how houses were getting offers within minutes, this one had been sitting on the market for +100 days. We toured it with our agent and asked him to spot the catch for us. After walking through the house he said that it looked really good and that he thought the reason it had not sold yet was the unusual aspect I mentioned before: it has a second huge (1,200 sqft) garage that the seller is currently renting for $1,000/mo and the tenant is looking to stay. This was disclosed in the listing of the house so while unusual, it didn't seem fishy to me. We actually met the tenant and saw the garage when we toured the house. He seems like a cool guy and he is using the garage as storage of audio and video equipment, small photo studio and he has a repair table. He said that he hoped to get at least get a six months notice. We figured it would be great to let him stay while we renovate the house and the yard while cashing the rent so it seemed like a pro more than a con to us and we asked our agent to submit the offer. He even negotiated $20K under asking which, I'm not gonna lie, as great as that is, it left me wondering why the seller was willing to go under asking in this crazy market. So now that we're under contract (5 day attorney review period starts now) I wanted to get some advise on anything we should be on the look out for or ask the attorney to address to avoid any potential problems with the tenant. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Mar 2021 05:28 AM PST Hi all, I'm hoping to try to gather some advice/info from everyone here. I'm in a situation where I'm going to be buying my mother's house off of her. I won't go into too many of the details but essentially I'm already going to be putting money into the house to get it in better shape to list/sell, so the plan is for me just to buy it off of her for about what it'd sell for now (we'll adjust after appraisal-- I don't intend to screw her over) and then when the repairs/upgrades are done, if I want to sell then I can get my "improvement money" back out at that point. (This isn't really an investment for me at this point-- I plan to live in the house for a number of years.) I'm pretty comfortable on the financial side of this issue. I've got a rather extensive background in underwriting mortgages so I'm familiar with the rules for that side, insofar as non-arm's length transactions and financing goes. My bigger question is how you'd handle everything *outside* of just the financing. Would you approach a title company and work with them to get everything rolling? Would you hire a real estate lawyer to draw up the purchase agreement and supervise everything, even though it's just between the two of us? Have you ever done something along these lines and have advice or things to look out for? I'd appreciate any input that people have here. Thank you! [link] [comments] |
| Buying a house without a basement Posted: 08 Mar 2021 09:13 AM PST I know many areas outside of the Midwest and some other areas in the country it is normal to not have a basement. Where I am having a basement is definitely abnormal I'm buying my first home and considering making an offer on a property without a basement. The not having a basement which would mean having less room for storage and space in general is not a big concern of mine. I know a lot of people say Not having a basement can be less stress that way you won't have to deal with a leaky basement or foundational issues in the basement that can be expensive to repair. While I somewhat subscribe to this Theory I realize it's not completely that easy My question is when repairing a house that doesn't have a basement and is built on a concrete slab. What are the biggest risks involved that could be wrong in the property? Obviously the electric. Plumbing. And HVAC would be standard considerations like in any house. The house was built in 1955 on a concrete slab. Is it common for these types of house to have issues with foundation or not being level? Our houses without a basement generally structurally superior? From my understanding it seems like if there is not a basement and it's built on a concrete slab the house would hold up better and be less costly to repair in general TLDR - Do houses without a basement (built on slab) have a cheapest cost to maintain over the years and does the Foundation/stability of the house last longer since it's above ground and not as expenses to potential water issues and other issues underground [link] [comments] |
| Storm Drain at back of lot. Problem? Posted: 08 Mar 2021 09:10 AM PST I am looking to purchase a new construction home on an approximately 10000 sqft lot that has what appears to be a small storm drain at the back. Behind that drain, there is a small pond that is outside of the property line. Photo below: I'm not that experienced with this stuff. Is this going to be an issue? Can the builder fix something like this? [link] [comments] |
| Setting up a new condo association. Posted: 08 Mar 2021 09:00 AM PST Me and two other people are moving into a new condo and need to set up the accounts. Anything we should really be thinking about? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Mar 2021 08:47 AM PST Quick question, does anyone know how long it takes to close on a refinance cash-out. I'm currently 140 Days in the process with Santander and no answer. They performed two credit checks because the previous two expired and now they are asking to do a 3rd. Santander is stating that the Underwriting Manger has been backed up. Sounds like bullshit to me but I don't want another hard inquiry on my file since it's not my fault. Let me know your thoughts. [link] [comments] |
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