|
Rick Rickshaw posted:I'm only 20, but I have a great job and very little expenses (I still live at home), so obviously I'm in a pretty good position at the moment, but I work for a small company, and while I feel my job is pretty secure, it's still a little scary to get wrapped into a mortage at this stage of my life. However, I've got money in the bank right now, and I'd love to do something with it. If you want to get into trying to actually make money via real estate, you should look at buying REOs, foreclosures, etc. for the best deals (and be wary of the property's condition). In some states, it can be extremely difficult to do this (some states force buyers to put up 100% of the purchase price) while it's much easier in others. If you want to take a bit more backseat approach, you should be buying shares of REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) that are usually associated with residential and commercial properties. However, these trusts have basically tanked because basically anything touching real estate has dive-bombed in the past 2 years. If you want to buy a house and rent it out, you'll have to do some hard math. My only advice I can give if you want to buy some real estate to make money on is to never, ever sway from the hard-fast rules (eg. min 10% cap rate) and to avoid mixing the business aspect of the home with your personal reasons for buying a property. If you can't easily make the mortgage payment with the expected rental income, I wouldn't buy it if you plan on renting it. This is why I recommend only buying foreclosures and bargain-bin priced homes - homes are priced way too high for you to rent them out and merely break even in almost every coastal city in the US.
|
#
?
Jun 16, 2009 22:01
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 10:27 |
|
|
Wife and I just bought our house at the end of May, and might have actually timed the bottom of the interest rate market by sheer luck (30 years @ 4.65%). Lots of work to do on the place though, looking forward to years of spending weekends cleaning gutters, mowing lawns, sweeping the deck, etc. Now that the house has been purchased and whatnot, I am looking into the $8000 credit. Has anyone in here had experience filing the tax amendment for their 2008 taxes? I'm wondering how long it takes to get the check.
|
|
#
?
Jun 16, 2009 22:51
|
|
|
Well, for starters you can't e-file an amendment, so it will probably be at least a month or more.
|
|
#
?
Jun 16, 2009 23:48
|
|
|
Tad SG posted:Now that the house has been purchased and whatnot, I am looking into the $8000 credit. Has anyone in here had experience filing the tax amendment for their 2008 taxes? I'm wondering how long it takes to get the check.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2009 00:59
|
|
|
Zeta Taskforce posted:Those numbers sound steep, but granted I don’t know what is customary in Australia. I’ll figure out your debt ratio and express everything as monthly. The utilities are addional to the rent, and they will all be split 3 ways as well. Ill be paying interest only for the first 5 years, then seeing where im at after then. If im with a chick and she moves in then ill have increased incoming and ill switch to principle, same if i have a higher wage by then. The other possiblity is that i go halves in it with my parents, then later i buy them out if i want to stay there or they buy me out if they wanted to move there, or we sell it. I anticipate living there though beyond 5 years time. The thing im wondering is should i be looking to pay principle and Interest now, to not waste the 5 years of interest.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2009 03:09
|
|
|
I still am stunned that the government didn't find a way to make the $8000 available for use as a down payment. Apparently this is starting to happen in Missouri, but that's about it. I can't believe that banks also don't have some type of system setup for this. I mean I wouldn't even mind paying a fair amount of interest for a two month $8000 loan that I would pay back the moment I received the credit. The only alternative seems to be to borrow the money from my dad, but then I believe he'd have to sign an affidavit saying he was giving me the money (not loaning it), which he's a little hesitant to do, being a lawyer and all.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2009 13:56
|
|
|
Strict 9 posted:I still am stunned that the government didn't find a way to make the $8000 available for use as a down payment. Apparently this is starting to happen in Missouri, but that's about it. I can't believe that banks also don't have some type of system setup for this. I mean I wouldn't even mind paying a fair amount of interest for a two month $8000 loan that I would pay back the moment I received the credit. Well, part of the reason it can't be used for down payment is because you haven't actually purchased the house yet, so you can't claim it on tax forms. Until the second you get the keys you don't actually own the house and thus are not eligible for the credit. Some banks are doing private loans for it, but even that is scary because alot can go wrong before closing, at which point you could get stuck with a loan for a house you didn't get to buy. In my case I borrowed it from my dad. We get around the "gift" problem because I'm getting married 2 weeks before closing and the 8k is a gift for the wedding, not the house. VVVVV Edit: That too. Part of the down payment is to show that you are at least capable of managing money enough to not have large debt and actually save money. FidgetyRat fucked around with this message at 16:05 on Jun 17, 2009 |
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2009 13:58
|
|
|
Why should they let the $8000 tax credit be used as a down payment? Isn't that eerily similar to a no money down loan?
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2009 16:02
|
|
|
Strict 9 posted:I still am stunned that the government didn't find a way to make the $8000 available for use as a down payment. Apparently this is starting to happen in Missouri, but that's about it. I can't believe that banks also don't have some type of system setup for this. I mean I wouldn't even mind paying a fair amount of interest for a two month $8000 loan that I would pay back the moment I received the credit. I don't know if that would be the best idea. If $8,000 would make or break your first home purchase you really need to reconsider purchasing. I just purchased a home and am already a few thousand deep in new tools, yard equipment, and other things. Its much more of a blessing after the fact rather than to help borderline cases get into homes and end up having to put a lawnmower, trimmer, edger, ladder, etc. etc. etc. onto a credit card and be worse off than they were before.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2009 18:23
|
|
|
Plus its never good to base the entire purchase over government money. God forbid something insane happens that causes them to cancel the recovery plans before you officially apply for the credit! Yikes! Extremely unlikely, but better to be safe then sorry. I'll be comfortable once the 8k is safely in my account. Yes I am over cautious.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2009 18:27
|
|
|
It's not that it won't make or break the house purchase. We have $60,000 saved for our downpayment. What is limiting our house purchase is not the monthly mortage/tax/insurance payments, but the 20% down payment. I just do not want to pay PMI. The $8000 would put us over 20% on several of the houses we're looking at, and that's why I want it so bad for the down payment.
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2009 15:00
|
|
|
Strict 9 posted:It's not that it won't make or break the house purchase. We have $60,000 saved for our downpayment. What is limiting our house purchase is not the monthly mortage/tax/insurance payments, but the 20% down payment. I just do not want to pay PMI. I don't know, to me it seems like you've saved a massive amount of money already. What's hurting you to just save up 8k more? How long has it taken you to save up the 60k?
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2009 15:04
|
|
|
Strict 9 posted:It's not that it won't make or break the house purchase. We have $60,000 saved for our downpayment. What is limiting our house purchase is not the monthly mortage/tax/insurance payments, but the 20% down payment. I just do not want to pay PMI. This is a non issue. If you don’t quite have the 20% and they want you to pay PMI, and the $8,000 tax credit is the only thing from you reaching 20%, just file the amendment after you close, and in a couple months when it comes in, just use it to pay down your loan. Then call and write your mortgage company reminding them that you now have more than 20% equity in the property now, and they should stop charging you PMI.
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2009 15:28
|
|
|
Strict 9 posted:It's not that it won't make or break the house purchase. We have $60,000 saved for our downpayment. What is limiting our house purchase is not the monthly mortage/tax/insurance payments, but the 20% down payment. I just do not want to pay PMI. Nearing $70,000 for 20% ? I'm glad I don't have to buy where you live, couldn't afford it!
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2009 15:53
|
|
|
MrMidnight posted:I don't know, to me it seems like you've saved a massive amount of money already. What's hurting you to just save up 8k more? How long has it taken you to save up the 60k? It's a good question. There's a few things: 1) In order for our lease to go month-to-month, our rent will increase 25%. That's a huge incentive to get out of there ASAP 2) It's taken about 4 years to save the $60k, but I haven't been able to save as much the past 6 months due to the economy (20% of my salary is my bonus, almost all of which goes to savings, and which I haven't gotten much of recently). 3) I'd rather have a free $8k than save $8k of my own money! Zeta Taskforce posted:This is a non issue. If you don’t quite have the 20% and they want you to pay PMI, and the $8,000 tax credit is the only thing from you reaching 20%, just file the amendment after you close, and in a couple months when it comes in, just use it to pay down your loan. Then call and write your mortgage company reminding them that you now have more than 20% equity in the property now, and they should stop charging you PMI. I thought I read earlier in this thread that depending on the bank, you might need to own the house for longer than two years, or need 25% equity to get rid of the PMI? If not though, that's not a bad option. I suppose I should go ahead and ask my bank about this. roadhead posted:Nearing $70,000 for 20% ? I'm glad I don't have to buy where you live, couldn't afford it! Yeah, painful isn't it? That's North Boston for you (though actually you can look all the way as far as southern New Hampshire and still have the same costs). Houses around here average about $220/sq ft. And that's after a 45% drop in house prices over the past two years.
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2009 16:15
|
|
|
Zeta Taskforce posted:This is a non issue. If you don’t quite have the 20% and they want you to pay PMI, and the $8,000 tax credit is the only thing from you reaching 20%, just file the amendment after you close, and in a couple months when it comes in, just use it to pay down your loan. Then call and write your mortgage company reminding them that you now have more than 20% equity in the property now, and they should stop charging you PMI. True, but don't you have to pay for another appraisal in order for the lender to drop the PMI? Also, if he gets a conventional loan he has to wait 2 years. Five years if its an FHA.
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2009 17:27
|
|
|
Why Bond market? Why?  I can't wait to lock on Saturday.. I don't know if anyone else is feeling it, but the market is about to explode. If the littlest comment from some random analysts can cause an entire day worth of mass-buys and sells, I can't imagine what will happen with some real news, such as the Fed raising interest rates which will likely happen by the end of the year. Yikes.
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2009 18:05
|
|
|
Strict 9 posted:I thought I read earlier in this thread that depending on the bank, you might need to own the house for longer than two years, or need 25% equity to get rid of the PMI? If not though, that's not a bad option. I suppose I should go ahead and ask my bank about this. The 25% equity & 2 years requirements were for when you wanted to drop PMI based on property appreciation (re-appraisal). Allowing this at all is up to the lender. On the other hand, they are required by law to drop PMI at your request when you get to 20% equity from the original value when you closed the loan, provided the property has not declined in value and you don't have any other liens on the property. Edit: These rules do not apply to FHA loans. They have a different set of rules. SlapActionJackson fucked around with this message at 09:07 on Jun 21, 2009 |
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 13:29
|
|
|
FidgetyRat posted:Why Bond market? Why? I assume this was a rhetorical question, but in case others out there don't know why: The US Congress has quite boldly asserted that it has an infinite supply of money. The Bond Market, whose constituent members - unlike our esteemed legislators - can do math and are familiar with basic economics, gets the pleasure of re-introducing those numbnuts to reality.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 13:36
|
|
|
SlapActionJackson posted:I assume this was a rhetorical question, but in case others out there don't know why: Yeah.. But why couldn't it hold out until the end of today when I can lock!  Oh well, I suppose having a maximum cap of 5.5% is pretty good, especially considering the mortgage rate poo poo-fest I feel building up. Guess I can't complain much. I just wish the 4.5% that was around when we started building was still hanging around.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 13:40
|
|
|
SlapActionJackson posted:The 25% equity & 2 years requirements were for when you wanted to drop PMI based on property appreciation (re-appraisal). Allowing this at all is up to the lender. On the other hand, they are required by law to drop PMI at your request when you get to 20% equity from the original value when you closed the loan, provided the property has not declined in value and you don't have any other liens on the property. Thanks for the explanation, but I'm still a bit confused. Why would anyone want to wait longer than 20% on the original value, if they always have that option? In any case though, this is really good news, as it sounds like if we're $8k short of 20%, then we just pay it for the two months it takes for the government to send our tax credit, and then we'll be done with it.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 15:08
|
|
|
Strict 9 posted:Thanks for the explanation, but I'm still a bit confused. Why would anyone want to wait longer than 20% on the original value, if they always have that option? In the past people just didn't realize they had the 20% or that they had to manually call to have it removed. It wasn't too long ago that they passed a bill requiring PMI companies to automatically terminate at 20% original equity after 12 months of the homeowner not calling I believe. Yes people are stupid.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 15:14
|
|
|
I ran accross this article today and thought it might be worth posting. http://www.usnews.com/blogs/the-home-front/2009/06/12/will-the-8000-first-time-home-buyer-tax-credit-expand-to-15000.html quote:In an effort to jump-start the ailing housing market, Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Republican from Georgia (and a former real estate professional) has introduced legislation that would beef up the tax credit for first-time home buyers. Under the terms of his bill, which was introduced Wednesday, the size of the credit would expand to a maximum of $15,000 from the previous cap of $8,000, and it could be taken by anyone who buys a primary residence, instead of only by first-time home buyers. The bill would also remove the income limits that had prevented individuals making more than $75,000 a year from claiming the credit, which would be available for a year after the date of the bill's enactment. I highly doubt it will pass as the spike in mortgage rates seems to be falling again now. The only thing I worry about now is the effectivity dates. I would hate to have this pass next year and see my race to close before December 1st end up hurting me.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 15:29
|
|
|
ManDingo posted:I ran accross this article today and thought it might be worth posting. Man, this is just insane. Keep artifically inflating the housing prices, why the hell not. But on a lighter note, I will be looking to buy a condo in miami in the 150-200K range if this bill passes. Retirement planning, almost 20 years early 
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 15:35
|
|
|
ManDingo posted:I ran accross this article today and thought it might be worth posting. This will never pass for 2 reasons. 1) I don't think we can afford to double the current credit. Especially with MORE people claiming it at this now overly high price. 2) The original credit was targeting first time buyers in order to try to fill the houses that were being left uninhabited. (Since they are first time, they have no house to sell). Opening the credit and doubling it may cause people to simply move, or upgrade their house causing no change at all in the number of unoccupied homes. Basically opening the door to "investment" purchases which will NOT help the economy recover.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 15:58
|
|
|
I'm very tempted to buy my 3rd house right now ;but I know its unreasonable to be certain of the predicament of our future economy. With warnings about our inflating dollar is it a question of when not if the housing market starts seeing better days again. Right now I have a contract for a 3,000 squarefoot house (biggest i've ever owned)(construction costs alone are more than what I can nab it for) and there's even another one also foreclosing for 280k roughly the same size! My realtor told me I shouldn't hold my breath on flipping the house, but with all my money getting lost in the stockmarket and the bank agreeing to grant me my 3rd mortgage I feel good about this buy. I don't know how many years of interest i'll be paying until falling over in debt but I'll never be able to live with myself if this house values anywhere near the 400,000 dollar price it was sold before the subprime mortgage crisis could have been mine at half that price.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 16:50
|
|
|
Kneel Before Zog posted:I'm very tempted to buy my 3rd house right now ;but I know its unreasonable to be certain of the predicament of our future economy. With warnings about our inflating dollar is it a question of when not if the housing market starts seeing better days again. Right now I have a contract for a 3,000 squarefoot house (biggest i've ever owned)(construction costs alone are more than what I can nab it for) and there's even another one also foreclosing for 280k roughly the same size! My realtor told me I shouldn't hold my breath on flipping the house, but with all my money getting lost in the stockmarket and the bank agreeing to grant me my 3rd mortgage I feel good about this buy. I don't know how many years of interest i'll be paying until falling over in debt but I'll never be able to live with myself if this house values anywhere near the 400,000 dollar price it was sold before the subprime mortgage crisis could have been mine at half that price. Well if you are going to do it (even though I think you're crazy) I'd act fast. There's a good chance Mortgage rates are going to skyrocket soon due to the fears of inflation and Fed. interest rate raises. But again, thats all speculation.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 17:18
|
|
|
Kneel Before Zog posted:I'm very tempted to buy my 3rd house right now ;but I know its unreasonable to be certain of the predicament of our future economy. With warnings about our inflating dollar is it a question of when not if the housing market starts seeing better days again. Right now I have a contract for a 3,000 squarefoot house (biggest i've ever owned)(construction costs alone are more than what I can nab it for) and there's even another one also foreclosing for 280k roughly the same size! My realtor told me I shouldn't hold my breath on flipping the house, but with all my money getting lost in the stockmarket and the bank agreeing to grant me my 3rd mortgage I feel good about this buy. I don't know how many years of interest i'll be paying until falling over in debt but I'll never be able to live with myself if this house values anywhere near the 400,000 dollar price it was sold before the subprime mortgage crisis could have been mine at half that price. I doubt you will get a lot of support for that here. It seems like you are going to be overextended and if I read into it, you are doing this partly out of fear that you will lose the money in the stock market. I agree that a lot of real estate is undervalued, and a sharp guy who can ride it out could eventually make a killing. Ride it out means deep pockets and the ability to pay the mortgage, taxes, maintenance, and needed improvements, even if you can’t sell it right away, even if you can’t rent it right away. You need to be honest if you are that sharp guy who can ride it out.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 17:35
|
|
|
Well after applying to a few more lenders, I finally found one that actually RETURNS PHONE CALLS. Anyway, got the pre-approval out of the way, now we're on to actual house picking out stuff. And it took less than 24 hours from initial contact to "approved" - where we'd been working with others for WEEKS.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 19:02
|
|
|
Zeta Taskforce posted:I agree that a lot of real estate is undervalued, and a sharp guy who can ride it out could eventually make a killing.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 19:05
|
|
|
roadhead posted:Well after applying to a few more lenders, I finally found one that actually RETURNS PHONE CALLS. With rates shooting as high as they have, new applications have dwindled and refinances have almost halted. The bankers are not quite so busy as they were in weeks past, its possible now they are not purposely avoiding new applicants due to volume.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 19:21
|
|
|
Closed this morning! Only hitch was an incorrect middle initial, took about 20 minutes to fix! I'm so glad to be done with it. Bring on the actual moving!
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 20:50
|
|
|
limegrnxj posted:Closed this morning! Only hitch was an incorrect middle initial, took about 20 minutes to fix! I'm so glad to be done with it. Bring on the actual moving! And yeah, Kneel Before Zog, you're not going to get anybody in here telling you that real estate is a great investment, go for it. It's a pretty silly idea in the first place and although it's possible to find good deals, it's just as likely that prices will keep going down. If you're overextending yourself to do this, just don't.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2009 22:35
|
|
|
FidgetyRat posted:In the past people just didn't realize they had the 20% or that they had to manually call to have it removed. It wasn't too long ago that they passed a bill requiring PMI companies to automatically terminate at 20% original equity after 12 months of the homeowner not calling I believe. They must automatically drop PMI on their own at 22% equity, and they must drop it at your request at 20% equity. If you got a fixed rate loan, they are required to disclose to you at closing the date on which your loan is scheduled to reach 20% equity so you know when to ask.
|
|
#
?
Jun 20, 2009 00:39
|
|
|
ManDingo posted:I ran accross this article today and thought it might be worth posting. That's exactly what the credit originally was in the first version of the stimulus bill before being reduced in the stimulus bill that finally passed. If it didn't pass the first time I don't see it happening again. Even if they do pass it people will just jack up the price of their houses $7K higher than the $8K they already have. The problem is that the economy is still in the shitter and home prices are still too high compared to historical values. Throwing money at it won't fix the problem in areas where the average home is still "worth" $300K when the median income is $50K.
|
|
#
?
Jun 20, 2009 02:54
|
|
|
SlapActionJackson posted:The 25% equity & 2 years requirements were for when you wanted to drop PMI based on property appreciation (re-appraisal). Allowing this at all is up to the lender. On the other hand, they are required by law to drop PMI at your request when you get to 20% equity from the original value when you closed the loan, provided the property has not declined in value and you don't have any other liens on the property. My lender, on our convential loan does not have a 2 year requirement as best I know. I can cancel PMI whenever I want once I hit 20%, and it automatically cancels itself when I would hit 22% equity anyway. One of the reasons we didn't go FHA is because of the 5-year minimum for PMI, although it is much less.
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 13:48
|
|
|
dreesemonkey posted:One of the reasons we didn't go FHA is because of the 5-year minimum for PMI, although it is much less. FHA actually doesn't even carry PMI.. It carries a government-backed MIP which is an insured premium, not insurance itself. Since FHA is fully funded by the government, the bank doesn't actually have to insure anything, but that government backing comes with a fee! Basically at the time of closing you are charged 1.5% of the loan amount (which can be rolled into the loan itself) as well as a .5%-.55% yearly renewal fee. After 5-years you can cancel the yearly renewal when you reach 78% value, but the 1.5% you paid up front is already lost (or you are paying interest on it for 30 years if you rolled it in). FHA also allows you to roll closing costs into the loan.. while this all helps someone without at least 5% down to get a home, rolling in all these fees increases payments which is just silly. In other news, got my lock yesterday at 5.5%. I actually slept last night knowing that the most I will pay is 5.5 and it can possibly go down from here if we are lucky. Whew!
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 14:28
|
|
|
FidgetyRat posted:In other news, got my lock yesterday at 5.5%. I actually slept last night knowing that the most I will pay is 5.5 and it can possibly go down from here if we are lucky. Whew! So you locked at 5.5%, but if rates go lower you can lock again or something at the lower rate?
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 14:44
|
|
|
MrMidnight posted:So you locked at 5.5%, but if rates go lower you can lock again or something at the lower rate? Yep, my mortgage has the option of a float-down lock if rates go lower.. Generally they use this at closing, but if things are too good to pass up we can lock one more time.
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 15:22
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 10:27 |
|
|
Small update on the home buying process. We got the home inspection done last week and it was pretty clean for the most part with the following exceptions: 1. Gutters were super clogged, most likely leading to some minor moisture in the basement. Cleaning the gutters and getting the water to run another 3-4' away from the foundation should solve this. 2. Attic ventilation is non-existent. They put extra insulation in the attic, but they covered up the soffet so no air is getting into the attic. Also there is nowhere for the air to go, apparently. The bathroom vent is also just venting to the attic, though that should be easy enough to fix. 3. On the water test it came back positive for coliform bacteria, but this was expected. The house had been vacant for a few months and when the water isn't used it's no uncommon for it to build up. The seller's are going to 'shock' the well and have it re-tested, most likely it will come through clear. The "big" bacteria we were worried about (the e coli poop stuff) was absent, so yay. 4. The "main" problem right now is our RADON test. We came out to 13.1 whatevers, where PA says anything over 4 is worth fixing. The seller has offered to split the cost of the mitigation system, so for another $500 out of our pocket I think it's well worth the piece of mind. There seems to be a lot of debate in general about RADON in general, but we thought since we'll end up using the basement as living space down the road it's best to take care of it while we're at it and not have to think about it again. That's about it. So far everything seems to be on schedule and all that so I'm quite pleased. About 24 days until closing, woop woop!
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 18:45
|
|