Real Estate: Why Greatschools ratings are broken |
- Why Greatschools ratings are broken
- How do you pay/thank a real estate agent for their time if you decide you're not going to buy a house after all but you'd like to use them again?
- Advice from Realtors please
- Can a lender deny my loan because of lower YTD average on my paystubs?
- Is it too late?
- Buying a house that has lost value over the past ~20 years?
- Potential New Home Owner advice - Texas
- Can someone tell me the process of building your own home? If you've done it, do you have any regrets?
- This is for any Investors who like 6+ mulitfamilies + Commercial Investments
- {HELP} Has anyone ever sued for specific performance when a buyer backed out?
- Question about the Texas Real Estate License Act and the Exam
- Saving my father’s house
- Disclosure Statements rules for WA?
- Buying small land parcel without professional
- Rehab and cash offers only
- Is buying a house located on a main road/busy street a bad idea?
- Help with FHA home loan
- Losing down payment assistance because seller can't vacate tenant by closing date.
- (USA) Need advice between 10/1 ARM vs fixed 30year
- 203k or land contract (MI)
- What’s the catch with the 1 acre RV/atv/“recreational” plots of land for $4-5,000?
- Real estate moves
- Expectations for selling two houses and buying one - poor buyer’s agent service
- should i talk to real estate agent when considering a move?
| Why Greatschools ratings are broken Posted: 13 Mar 2021 11:26 PM PST Greatschools ratings are broken and here's why. While good-intentioned it actually punishes diverse schools. If a school is extremely diverse (I would argue a good thing) but if any student subgroups score lower or higher than others, greatschools gives it a LOWER overall score even if the school has good average test scores by students. If a school has very few minorities the 'equity' weight is discarded entirely from the rating. So an all-white school with average test scores might be rated 9 or 10 while a good-testing school might be rated 6 because it has a lot of diversity but the test scores have variation by economic/racial group. Now if you think this is stupid and ridiculous I would agree. Greatschools inadvertently promotes homogeneous-town home prices (white supremacy) and weirdly punishes schools which have a lot of diversity !!!! They made a wrong, bad, (stupid) assumption that different test scores by race means the school did something bad/nefarious, when it may not have anything at all to do with the school treating students differently.... [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 13 Mar 2021 06:11 PM PST So my fiance and I had been working with a real estate agent so far he's shown us 7 or 8 houses... but when it got down to making an offer my fiance got cold feet on some expenses and we decided not to buy after all. I really hate that the agent doesn't get paid unless a house closes, I'd like to use him again as he was very fast and responsive. Is there a way to thank him for the work? Gift card? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 14 Mar 2021 08:07 AM PDT My wife and I have decided to sell our place and move... We talked about it for awhile and decided to do it. My wife contacted a random local realtor without my knowledge and told him about our wanting to sell, he came out and met with her one day to look at our house and tell us what he thought we could list our home for. Other than a couple quick phone calls is all the communication we have had with him. He hasn't met with us again. We haven't signed anything with him. I was ok at the time with him, but no real relationship had developed in my opinion. Fast forward 2 weeks, my sister reminds me about a family friend who is a realtor that I hadn't thought about. Instantly I know I want to use this person instead to sell our home. I trust him completely and I would like to give him my business. My wife is hesitant because she feels terrible about "backing out" on the original realtor...... But, I feel like this is part of the business, you might meet with 5 different realtors to see which one feels right to you about selling your home. And until you sign something or really spend some extensive time with that realtor, you aren't obligated to continue/list with them. What do you think? Am I analyzing this situation wrong? [link] [comments] |
| Can a lender deny my loan because of lower YTD average on my paystubs? Posted: 14 Mar 2021 07:15 AM PDT Hello everyone! I am a little over 2 weeks away from closing on a new construction home that I've been watching being built since September of 2020, so I will be devastated if financing falls through. A couple of days earlier, my mortgage loan officer emailed the sales representative from the builder asking if we can move the closing date a day early because the latest paystub that I provided them showed one day of unpaid time off (I was sick for a couple days and didn't have enough sick time to cover both days), because this situation lowers the year-to-date average, and that the lender is hesitating a little bit. Apparently, if we move the close date a day early, then they won't have to use that paystub that I provided them. Yesterday, the builder replied that they aren't able to move the close date. The loan officer has not responded since then. I am now super worried that the lender might deny my loan at the last minute. Is this a good enough reason for them to deny my loan? FWIW, I also sent them a newer paystub that I just got on Friday showing that I worked all my hours for the latest pay period and didn't have any time off. Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 14 Mar 2021 10:50 AM PDT 46 year old female here. Is it too late in life to getting a license and build a career in RE? Just recently moved to a whole new state for husband's job and although i'm a very sociable person, I don't know anyone and don't have any friends yet. I'm sure it helps if you're known in the community. Any thoughts? [link] [comments] |
| Buying a house that has lost value over the past ~20 years? Posted: 14 Mar 2021 06:29 AM PDT Hi everyone, Looking to purchase a home for my mom to live in. She has found a home that she loves, within my budget, but I'm concerned as the list price is $100K less than what the owners paid for in 2004 (according to Zillow). Is this an immediate red flag? What would you suggest for us to consider before moving forward (beyond an inspection which we will definitely do!)? It's in a rural area of PA and we're looking for this to be a long term investment, however I'm of course looking for a place that will appreciate in the next ~15 years. I'd be surprised for the house which is ~2,000 sq feet to go much lower than this current list price of $260k given the area it's in but am concerned that it has lost nearly 30% of its value. Thanks so much for any help! First time home buyer so really appreciate any input. :) [link] [comments] |
| Potential New Home Owner advice - Texas Posted: 14 Mar 2021 09:49 AM PDT My wife and I are looking to build in a new community that has a ton of different builders. We are somewhat confused about the process however. We have no idea what our budget should be when looking at building. What should our steps be to get the ball rolling? Do we need a construction loan or do we need to find a mortgage broker? Do we need to find a lender? A real estate agent? We are super lost on the initial steps of this. Any input would be greatly appreciated. List of builders:
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| Posted: 14 Mar 2021 09:11 AM PDT With the market being so hot right now and people are having to offer $20,000+ above asking price (and still having their offers outbid), I am leaning more towards just buying land and building a house of my own. But first I want to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into. Buying land in my area is no problem all-- there are plenty of land for sale. Now building a house from scratch on the other hand... for those who have experience or have done so yourself, can you tell me more about the whole process of building your own home and what's involved? My other questions:
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| This is for any Investors who like 6+ mulitfamilies + Commercial Investments Posted: 14 Mar 2021 10:55 AM PDT Hello Real Estate Community. On my one day off today, I decided I would do some self marketing for me and the team I work with. I am currently positioned out of Rhode Island, and service Connecticut and Massachusetts. I am 23, and graduated college this past spring. My teams name is Elite Commercial Realty, and we chase 6+ multi familiy units and all types of commercial. I am hoping somebody who likes this type of investment will read this and be interested in following along for the journey. This past week I got my first listing. 5 retail store fronts all next to each other. $575,000, with 2 vacancies. Bonus, located off a main road, with a stop light that thousands of people stop at daily. This was after 3 months in residential and a flip to commercial. It took me 3 weeks to secure this listing. I will make cold calls from 8 am to 8pm. My work mentality is like no other MORE important, You do not need to be in my area to invest. If you have the funds and just want to expand your portfolio, let us help you. there is a lot of interesting real estate out in this area. I will work endlessly to find you the right investment. Thank you for reading investors! [link] [comments] |
| {HELP} Has anyone ever sued for specific performance when a buyer backed out? Posted: 14 Mar 2021 10:46 AM PDT The contract was signed at the end of Jan, for a lot. It is an all-cash deal. There are no contingencies or problems. The buyer wanted an extremely long due diligence period (over March 5th) and a delayed closing (April 16th). They've made unreasonable demands throughout but this a new level.) This week they announced they were going to want to cut down 7 large trees before closing. They'll pay for it. I don't like the idea for a lot of reasons. Their reason is totally irrational. I got approval from the HOA in 3 days to do this, to prove it could be done. If they submit the same paperwork in their names, they'll get it approved in 2 days. It's a small subdivision & an ARB request is free. There are no tree rules through the HOA or the county. (This is rural SC and they don't care about stuff like this.) My realtor is pressuring me to go along with this. I can't figure out if they would be out of the deal because of my not wanting to do this. He said the wife of the buying couple is about to have a meltdown over this. I guess she always gets her way. He's insisting I talk to my closing lawyer tomorrow to figure out an addendum that would make it work. Unfortunately, I think the buyers are so pushy and ignorant they expect they won't have to pay more in escrow (which is currently less than 1% of the sales price) nor move up the closing). I would want a large $ and an earlier closing date for this kind of concession. They seem to think they get to make all the rules, so I'm sure this will make them unhappy and they probably won't agree. I know there are lawsuits for specific performance, but do they actually work? Are they enforced? I feel like this is one of those things that exist but is almost never used. And it would take years and cost me a lot in lawyers fees. Has anyone had any experience with this kind of lawsuit? [link] [comments] |
| Question about the Texas Real Estate License Act and the Exam Posted: 14 Mar 2021 10:41 AM PDT I am studying to get my realtor license and currently I am looking over TRELA. It seems like a lot and is very overwhelming. For people who have passed the exam in Texas, how crucial is TRELA for the test? Should I just skim over it or really buckle down and try to know the ins/outs of it? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 14 Mar 2021 12:47 AM PST I (21 y/o) am considering trying to find a way to save my father's home, potentially through a favorable purchase or taking over his mortgage in another way. A little background, I'm in my third year of college but due to some issues I had mostly because of covid, I may not be able to continue for the time being. I'm in roughly ~$60,000 of student loan debt, and I currently have a minimal part time income. I've intended to get my real estate license for some time now (I know a degree isn't necessary, but I was 18 and didn't know what I wanted so I made a dumb decision), and if I don't continue with school I'll be getting my license and hopefully working full time as a realtor as well as my current part-time work. All of this is to say do you all think it's worth it to try and save the house? It's essentially in disrepair as my father's left it abandoned for years, but it's my childhood home and he only owes about $10k on it and is about to lose it to foreclosure. I feel like even if the house ends up being a total lost the almost acre of land it sits on would be worth it. Any advice?? [link] [comments] |
| Disclosure Statements rules for WA? Posted: 14 Mar 2021 10:27 AM PDT First time home buyer from WA. After reading through the disclosure statement I found that one of the asterisked items, the one on wood burning appliances, was yes for a wood burning fireplace and it didn't have any explanation or documentation where it says near the bottom of form 17. I asked my buying agent about it and whether or not I had the option to rescind. He said I was wrong and that the second part of the question that asked if the stove pads were US environmental protection agency certified was the explanation. That was on the third day of having the option to rescind since I only signed the first part on the buyers acknowledgement. Was I right to assume that I could rescind? [link] [comments] |
| Buying small land parcel without professional Posted: 14 Mar 2021 10:27 AM PDT I bought a house a few years ago in Virginia. It was part of a new development. My house and the parcel of land it sits on are great. Big for the area and I got a good deal. However there are two small parcels of land on either side of my property that are too small to have buildings put on them or for anyone besides me, to really do anything with. Talking to the developer a few years back, they tried to buy the property from the owners but never received a response. That's fine with me, but unfortunately the small parcels of land are extremely overgrown and unsightly. One parcel has a few rather large dead trees that worry me somewhat. My financial situation now allows me some ability to buy these small parcels so that I can remove dangerous trees and improve the aesthetics of my lot. However I'm not looking to spend tons of money to get these small parcels of land which are not really worth that much on their own (<$5,000). My question is should I still hire a professional to avoid any tricky legal traps that I may not be aware of? I was thinking definitely title insurance just in case but since the land is unimproved and I don't plan to build on it, I don't know if I need any type of insurance for it. Like if I were to have someone come and clear the land for me, would I open myself up to risk because I have no insurance that covers that plot of land? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 14 Mar 2021 10:22 AM PDT I saw an open house this weekend where they are only accepting offers with rehab loans or cash. It's a log home with water damage on a few exterior logs due to a poorly installed gutter. Their offer review date is this coming Wednesday and I've not even identified a broker yet. I'm finding a lot of info about how rehab loans work (and I'm assuming they're referring to a 203k, but could this also mean a Homestyle loan?), but not a lot about what goes into a preapproval or offer. Would I need to already have a plan in terms of the repairs needed? I assume this wouldn't qualify for a streamline version since this seems like a structural issue? I believe it's also priced below market and I imagine that it'll attract cash offers. It's an estate sale with remote sellers so I imagine they will just take whatever is easiest. Is there any point in even trying to rush a financed offer before Wednesday or should I just let it go? I'd hate to do all that work and then find out there were 10 cash offers and I never had a shot. Alternatively, there's a possibility I could actually gather this much cash through a cash-out refi on my current house, combined with some stock sales and a big hit to savings. Is this still considered a cash offer if I'd be reliant on the refi? I wouldn't be able to show that the money is already in my bank account or anything like that. [link] [comments] |
| Is buying a house located on a main road/busy street a bad idea? Posted: 13 Mar 2021 02:30 PM PST I'm looking to buy my first home. So far I found one that checks every box, but the only downside is it is facing a main road/busy street. As someone with 3 dogs and planning on having kids within the next year or two, I can't help but hesitate. Anyone else here have any experience with living on/near a main road? Should it be a deal breaker? What about sell-ability for when I want to sell the house in the future? If it weren't because of this one factor holding me back, I would've already sent in an offer because the house is perfect otherwise. Would love any feedback. Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 14 Mar 2021 09:59 AM PDT Hi, As I am getting closer and closer to buying a home, opne thing is really biting my behind. I have a gross monthly income of $4,200 and I am looking to get finance for no more than $150,000. If I were to get a mortgage in the amount of $150,000 my front end and back end ratios would be 29.35% and 44.81%, respectively. My Fico 2, 4, and 5 scores are 688, 656, and 649, respectively. I'm looking to put down about 10% of the home value. Under these circumstances, should I expect any difficulty getting approved for a FHA mortgage? Edit: I live in Pennsylvania, USA [link] [comments] |
| Losing down payment assistance because seller can't vacate tenant by closing date. Posted: 14 Mar 2021 09:56 AM PDT I'm scheduled to close on a house in St. Paul, MN at the end of the month. I'd already agreed to one 34 day extension on our closing date to buy the seller more time to vacate their tenant, and now they're asking for another extension to 4/30, after my 4/11 deadline to use $15,000 in down payment assistance, which is also dependent on the following language: "Deferral Period is defined as the five (5) year period commencing from the date of loan closing, or loan disbursement, whichever is later. Borrower(s) must occupy the property as their principal residence during the Deferral Period and the property cannot be rented, conveyed, sold, transferred or foreclosed upon." My DP loan officer says my only option is to cancel the purchase agreement and sign a new one, which would buy be me another 60 days to close and which I could do once, assuming the seller agreed to it. I've fulfilled all requirements and promptly complied with everything asked of me throughout this whole process, is there really nothing else I can do to keep my DP loan and complete the sale on this house? If this does fall through due to the seller's failure to vacate their tenant, would I have any grounds for legal action? [link] [comments] |
| (USA) Need advice between 10/1 ARM vs fixed 30year Posted: 14 Mar 2021 09:27 AM PDT First time home buyer here. Looking for advice on below. I am not sure how long I plan to stay in the house. Maybe ~12years. Below are loan terms 10/1 - 2.25%, .191 points 30years - 2.875%, .22 points What would you guys do here? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 14 Mar 2021 09:10 AM PDT TLDR: Have an opportunity to purchase a house with land (highly desired) that needs a lot of work. Considering a 203k or a land contract as obtaining a mortgage may be difficult. What is my first step? Hoping you all can help me navigate this process. I stumbled upon an opportunity to purchase a home with acreage. My wife and I are really excited about it as we've wanted to get our family out of the city for quite a while now. There are a couple of issues I'm not really sure of, nor confident on where to start and the best course of action. First of all, not worried about selling our current home and have about $30-$40k in equity. 1st - Condition of the property: Needs work to say the least. The owner's health is ailing and the property has been let go for the last couple of years. The roof was replaced due to a leak a few years back but the dry wall damage as a result of was never addressed. At least one room will need to be 75% re-drywalled. Carpet in the living area and bedrooms (4) will need to be replaced due to mice feces and urine. Cedar siding has a few holes from birds and will need to be fixed. A portion of the deck is rotting and will need to be removed and eventually rebuilt. Additional garage on the side of the property will need a new roof. Yard work, lots and lots and lots of yard work... Aside from all of that, the house just needs a good updating. As far as I can tell, the foundation, electrical, utilities are all in good working order; although a formal inspection has not yet been completed. 2nd - Finances and how to buy it. Looking at Zillow, the house's estimate is north of $350k which is well out of our price range. My gut tells me to offer $220k in it's current condition, or maybe even a bit less which I'm comfortable with . My credit is in the low 6s and with 2 cars in my name, my DTI is quite high. I could sell one of them to lower the ratio if I needed but am running into an issue with only a year at a new job. I think it'd be difficult to get a mortgage right now. However, I've been reading about FHA 203k loans and feel this could be a good option but need to reach out to a qualified lender to get a better idea if I qualify and what the process is. So, I'm considering offering a land contract for the property. This is where I'm hoping you all can help. I think that this would be the easiest way to obtain the property and could leave a little more in my pocket for reno. My biggest concern with this is investing in something that I don't fully own. - Where do I begin? Should I order an appraisal and inspection of the property and get an idea of the true value? - Type up an offer and see where it goes? - What is your experience with a 203k and/or land contract? Any advice or recommendations are appreciated. Thanks for reading. [link] [comments] |
| What’s the catch with the 1 acre RV/atv/“recreational” plots of land for $4-5,000? Posted: 14 Mar 2021 08:58 AM PDT I see ads in facebook marketplace for RV/atv/"recreational" 1 acre plots of land for like $4-5,000. I live in centra FL. So usually an acre around the county I live in is like $15,000+. Why is the land so cheap, what's the catch? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 14 Mar 2021 07:54 AM PDT A bit about us - 41 and 36. In the last year spent more than what we planned on a house for various reasons but it is what it is- no regrets since it ticked off a few items that were more on our retirement phase list - greenery, water proximity and life is short. Looking for advice on financial moves for a sooner than later retirement plan. Would like to use real estate as part of diversification Primary home - $725K mortgage - value at $980K - 30 yr mortgage at 3%. Is in jumbo territory until $600K. 29.X years left Rental (previous primary)- $240K mortgage - value at $520K - 15 year mortgage at 2.5%. 2K rent and PITI is 2K. 14.X years left I could choose to pay $50K each year using regular principal/interest payments and additional one-time payments on one of these mortgages. This would cut the rental to 5 years pay off and 15 years for the primary pay off The goal is to be in a retirement position by 55. If I wanted to look at opportunity to own a bit more real estate, thinking it is better to pay off the rental over the next 5 years, build up some down payment money in parallel and review the landscape. The downside is the higher interest situation on the primary and delaying its payment. Is there a better way to play this? Any advice? [link] [comments] |
| Expectations for selling two houses and buying one - poor buyer’s agent service Posted: 14 Mar 2021 07:30 AM PDT We have sold one house in Northern VA with a brokerage and are buying a house and also selling a house in the Phoenix market. We get a commission rebate if we buy after selling with this brokerage. I have literally spent hours and hours looking on their app for houses that meet our needs, such a s 3 car garage and no pool. The app doesn't allow me to search this way. Other buyers I know have access to the MLS. What is this guy doing to earn his buyer's commission if I'm doing all the work? I communicated my needs up front. Are my expectations unreasonable in this world of Internet marketing? [link] [comments] |
| should i talk to real estate agent when considering a move? Posted: 14 Mar 2021 07:25 AM PDT Hi All, [link] [comments] |
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