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skipdogg posted:If anyone's wondering about their first time homebuyers credit, I mailed my taxes off Jan 30th right after I closed and it's scheduled for direct deposit on March 12th. Much faster than I anticipated. Did you just do it with your normal tax filings for 2009? I've heard that's a lot faster, but for us it was going to involve doing all our taxes longhand so we filed our 2009 and then after we closed last month we amended them. I'll post back when we get our $8k, but I'm not holding my breath.
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Mar 11, 2010 01:05
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A bit light hearted, but take a look at this listing, specifically picture #8. Why would a realtor include something like that? 
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Mar 11, 2010 05:32
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Maybe the chicken comes with the house. Free eggs, plus you get to choose what kind of new flooring you want 
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Mar 11, 2010 05:36
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BeastOfExmoor posted:Did you just do it with your normal tax filings for 2009? I've heard that's a lot faster, but for us it was going to involve doing all our taxes longhand so we filed our 2009 and then after we closed last month we amended them. I'll post back when we get our $8k, but I'm not holding my breath. Correct. I figured that by filing all at once with our normal 2009 taxes it would get looked at faster than going with an amended return. We were only getting 132 dollars back this year anyway so I waited until I got our HUD1 and sent them off then. My personal theory is the amended tax dept is probably smaller and more overloaded courtesy of the tax credit so it'll take a lot longer to process.
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Mar 11, 2010 19:41
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BorderPatrol posted:A bit light hearted, but take a look at this listing, specifically picture #8. Why would a realtor include something like that? Man, I saw my fare share of horrible realtor photos when I was house hunting (including some with a date stamped on them from 5 years previous to the house being listed), but those take the cake. Is it possible that it's a bank owned property where an appraiser got sent out and took pictures of damage as part of his appraisal and some overworked realtor just threw up what they had? skipdogg posted:Correct. I figured that by filing all at once with our normal 2009 taxes it would get looked at faster than going with an amended return. We were only getting 132 dollars back this year anyway so I waited until I got our HUD1 and sent them off then. My personal theory is the amended tax dept is probably smaller and more overloaded courtesy of the tax credit so it'll take a lot longer to process. Yea, quite certain your theory was correct. Hopefully it's not still a 4 month process still for amendments, but I guess I get to find out.
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Mar 11, 2010 21:47
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E/N rant time. So the sellers of the home we're under contract with are "appalled" at the estimate we got for some minor repairs after the home inspection. There are a few water leaks, 1 section of pipe that needs replaced, 1 shut off valve that needs installed on a gas line, a circuit breaker replaced, 220v outlet installed, and some minor chimney repairs. Total Estimate $850 with a possible $350 for a chimney liner since the contractor won't know the condition until he is up on the roof. gently caress those people, water leaks and crumbling chimneys are safety and structural issues that need fixed. We told them what we feel needs done, they weren't interested in getting it taken care of, so we got an estimate for repairs, and they're balking at the price. Our contingency for inspection is up today, and if they don't make up their mind, I don't know. I don't want to walk away from this house, but these people make me want to stab something.
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Mar 19, 2010 17:53
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"Appalled" my rear end, expert work is expensive. That sounds pretty reasonable to me. You should be "appalled" that they didn't taken care of this basic stuff while they owned it, and offer them $100 off.
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Mar 19, 2010 18:01
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jassi007 posted:E/N rant time. You could let the sellers make up your mind for you. Tell them that they fix it or you're walking.
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Mar 19, 2010 18:22
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Their offer is $850 at closing or the home warranty. From what I read 1. home warranties cost less than $850 typically, and 2. don't cover any pre-existing issue. 3. they generally don't cover a lot, have deductables, etc. I think I'm better off taking the $850.
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Mar 19, 2010 19:25
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I had sellers throw in a $650 warranty. I used it to upgrade my dishwasher when it died, but I still didn't "profit" and it would have been really easy to just forget about the warranty completely.
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Mar 19, 2010 19:34
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My home warranty sucks and wouldn't be any use for a real problem. I think that's typical. On the other hand, $850 in the pocket is nothing to sneeze at.
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Mar 19, 2010 23:05
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jassi007 posted:E/N rant time. Somewhat unrelated, but judging by your use of the word "appalled", I'm guessing that language made it back to you through their broker? I was amazed at how unprofessional the seller's broker was in our transaction, and apparently that's a fairly common thing. One of the main jobs of a broker should be to act as the mature, professional diplomat in an otherwise very emotional transaction. I mean, obviously knowing that the sellers used the word appalled pissed you off - and rightfully so. But that should have never made it back to you.
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Mar 20, 2010 01:06
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Probably... but I imagine seller's agent viewed it as a negotiating tactic (make the buyer feel bad about demanding outrageous costs so they'll back down on those demands). Of course it can backfire (buyer decides hyperbole is just a bit too much and walks away), but that's likely a calculated risk (is the buyer really going to walk away after investing this much time (and possibly money in inspections)? But feigned outrage by one party in a financial negotiation is as old as financial negotiations (thousands of years, I'm sure) for a reason... it's probably effective more often than not.
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Mar 20, 2010 01:13
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Strict 9 posted:Somewhat unrelated, but judging by your use of the word "appalled", I'm guessing that language made it back to you through their broker? Our agent relayed that to me. This is a case where the sellers agent is the sellers brother, but yeah, he relayed that to my agent and it got back to me. I don't feel the least bit bad about the whole "taking their money." Sellers agent waives his commission for his sister. Sells sisters house. He becomes her buyers agent for her new, more expensive house. He takes commission when she buys her new house. They save thousands on the sale, he makes thousands and puts his sister in a new house. They did agree to pay $850 if I opted to not take the home warranty. From this forum and other sources I hear that it is mostly not useful, and certainly not as useful as $850 cash to fix things up.
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Mar 20, 2010 04:46
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Just to bolster that, I had to make an unexpected $2k repair right after I moved in, and it wasn't anywhere close to being covered by the warranty. SO
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Mar 20, 2010 04:49
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slap me silly posted:Just to bolster that, I had to make an unexpected $2k repair right after I moved in, and it wasn't anywhere close to being covered by the warranty. SO I'm expecting this. In fact, #1 thing on my mind is furnace. it is ancient. The inspector looked it over really well, and it seems in good condition, but it is probably 40+ years old. Its horribly inefficient gas furnace, so even if we go down the route that something happened, and the warranty fixed it, we'd be fixing a really old furnace. The smart play is buy a new one, which is high on my list.
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Mar 20, 2010 04:53
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I may be overreacting here but I need to know. I've been in the process of closing on a condo, and despite being promised the HOA documents last week I didn't get them until today. The loan is probably going to fund tomorrow, or the following day. What makes me sketchy is that the first page of the HOA file says the amount due for March is $1600. I can't reconcile this # on my HUD-1 statement, and don't want to get stuck with the back dues (this is a Freddie Mac foreclosure). No one has mentioned back dues at all so I assumed there weren't any but seeing this and not knowing has me confused. Can HOAs go after new buyers for back dues if it's not written into the sales contract that the buyer will pay them?
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Mar 23, 2010 03:41
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Any opinions on the Canadian market? I'm in Toronto. I'm hoping things cool down in the second half of the year. Interest rates are expected to rise 0.5% to 1.0% between now and the fall. Will this drive enough people out of the market to make things easier for new entrants? Most analysts are agreeing that things are overpriced now, and I'm still seeing tonnes of bidding wars. Anyone expecting prices to fall over the second half of the year? Biggest problem I have right now is that my father won't give me a dime until the market improves. He doesn't seem to care about the interest rate, for whatever reason. I can afford up to $450k right now. I'm looking at less than $425k to buffer against increased interest rates when I renew in five years. And I'm expecting a decent raise as early as a month from now with union-backed job security.
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Mar 24, 2010 03:00
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Nurbs posted:Can HOAs go after new buyers for back dues if it's not written into the sales contract that the buyer will pay them? When you purchase a foreclosure that's part of an HOA, the bank may or may not be paying for the HOA dues while it's on the market. The HOA may or may not pursue the bank for the backdated dues and associated fines (unlikely - their lawyers are bigger than theirs, impossible to win) and because HOAs need that money to survive probably, they'll probably come after the new owner for what they had lost while the place was on the market. Some banks are nice enough to pay the HOA fees while it's on the market, but the reason they pay is probably because the HOA can put a lien upon the condo and keep the property from transferring over by law, killing a sale with basically a legal nuke.
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Mar 24, 2010 21:18
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necrobobsledder posted:There is a distinct possibility this will happen. At best, if nobody pays the backdated fees, the HOA fees will go up next year probably to make up for that loss. You should clarify this with the HOA before proceeding to closing day and clarify now. I'd rather lose my earnest money than get stuck with an HOA that is run by assholes. Shopping for a condo means you should probably pay more attention to the HOA than the condo itself unfortunately. I double checked the contract and it said seller was responsible. Closed today!
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Mar 25, 2010 03:30
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jassi007 posted:I'm expecting this. In fact, #1 thing on my mind is furnace. it is ancient. The inspector looked it over really well, and it seems in good condition, but it is probably 40+ years old. Its horribly inefficient gas furnace, so even if we go down the route that something happened, and the warranty fixed it, we'd be fixing a really old furnace. The smart play is buy a new one, which is high on my list. Tons of furnace manufacturer rebates right now as well as a federal tax credit (and a state tax credit here in WI), so if after all of this you buy this place put the furnace on your "to do before the end of the 2010 tax year" list.
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Mar 27, 2010 00:51
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BeastOfExmoor posted:Did you just do it with your normal tax filings for 2009? I've heard that's a lot faster, but for us it was going to involve doing all our taxes longhand so we filed our 2009 and then after we closed last month we amended them. I'll post back when we get our $8k, but I'm not holding my breath. Got my FTHB credit (filed with 2009 taxes) in 30 days so I definitely think the process is smoother without the amendment.
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Mar 27, 2010 01:50
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Any California first-time home buyers should wait til May. California is so flush with cash that they're offing first-time credits of 10k now.quote:The deal reached Monday provides $200 million in new tax credits for homebuyers, to be split evenly among those buying a home for the first time and anyone buying a newly constructed home. Anyone qualified who makes a purchase between this May and August 2011 will receive a credit for 5 percent of the home's purchase price, up to $10,000 over three years. California real-estate bubble stays inflated a few more months.
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Mar 27, 2010 04:41
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If Ca buyers wait till may, they'll miss the Federal tax credit. Which is all at once, not a three-year payout, and might be more money as well, depending on the value of the home.
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Mar 27, 2010 06:19
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IndyPunkOne posted:Got my FTHB credit (filed with 2009 taxes) in 30 days so I definitely think the process is smoother without the amendment. When I amended in August it was funny to joke around that I should have waited for 2009 taxes. It's not so funny any more 
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Mar 27, 2010 17:48
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Buying a house has been one of the most stressful endeavors I've ever undertaken! I was set to close March 26th. On the 25th, I was told my loan couldn't fund because the seller (US Bank) hadn't signed and returned a HUD document and could not be contacted to do so. I chose to wait until that following Monday to fund instead of paying unneeded interest over the weekend. Monday, yesterday, rolled around and to everyone's surprise, the document was still missing, loan still couldn't fund. Mid-day, the listing agent relayed the message that the bank was ready to close but was waiting for the approval of the private mortgage insurance company of the foreclosed buyer. WHY THE gently caress THEY WAITED UNTIL NOW TO GET APPROVAL...I do not know. All I know now is that we are 5 days past close, I've had to pay $270 out of pocket to extend my loan rate lock, pay $100 in cancelled appointments, pay extra rent and pull out my hair over this. The worst part now is that there is just simply no close date, we have no idea what the hold up is or when it will go through. 
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Mar 30, 2010 18:09
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How impatient should I be about getting on my former landlord to give me back what is left of my security deposit after repairs? The Realtor sent out the Email with the pictures and any leftover work on March 3rd, and it's March 30th. Is he being slow, or am I being impatient? The most recent conversation was: March 25th: Hi Michaelos, I owe you $850 (security deposit - $750). I will wire the money into your account in the next few days. Please send me the address attached to your account, Thank you March 26th: Hi Landlord. I haven't updated the address on that account yet, so it is still (address). Thanks, Michaelos. March 26th: Thanks Michaelos.
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Mar 30, 2010 18:21
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Sounds like he's more or less on the ball, so I'd give it a couple of weeks for him to get around to it and everything to go through. At that point, just fire off a quick email if you haven't gotten it yet.
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Mar 30, 2010 18:40
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Michaelos posted:How impatient should I be about getting on my former landlord to give me back what is left of my security deposit after repairs? The Realtor sent out the Email with the pictures and any leftover work on March 3rd, and it's March 30th. Is he being slow, or am I being impatient? In most states it is 30 days. Did you give him written notice of your new address when you moved out? If it goes over the 30 day limit (this depends on the state), but in PA you can sue for double the security deposit if it is not returned by then. Screw "a couple weeks." I'd email him today asking what's up. It is the landlord's responsibility to return the security deposit in a timely manner, not lollygag around for weeks. You better believe if you were late on your rent he'd be calling you the next day to see what was up.
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Mar 30, 2010 20:20
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Realjones posted:In most states it is 30 days. Did you give him written notice of your new address when you moved out? If it goes over the 30 day limit (this depends on the state), but in PA you can sue for double the security deposit if it is not returned by then.
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Mar 30, 2010 20:23
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I hate landlords as much as anybody, but jesus. Some landlords you have to beat with a stick to get your deposit back inside of 6 months. This guy on the other hand is responsive to email and sounds perfectly reasonable. The 30 day period, which may or may not actually apply here, isn't even over for 4 days yet, and he's still in his promised "next few days" window as well. In my state, it's the tenant's responsibility to pay rent when due, but landlords have to accept it up to 5 days late with no penalty charges. It does cut both ways.
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Mar 30, 2010 20:45
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Thanks for mentioning the legal time of return info. I looked it up for Maryland, and Maryland Law apparently has a 45 day period. Since the Realtor did the Inspection on March 3rd, I believe he'd legally have until April 17th. So I'll probably politely ask for a status update Tomorrow. (After all, if He tried to send me money online, and it vanished, we'd BOTH want to know about it ASAP, so I don't want to just forget about it.)
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Mar 31, 2010 15:01
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I'm sure he'll get it to you with plenty of time to spare. I'm not saying to be huge dick and be like "you've got 10 days left bub" it's just that have to remind them about doing it. Especially for landlords with lots of properties, they have so much stuff on their plate with current tenants that mailing a check to a past tenant sometimes gets put on the back burner.
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Apr 1, 2010 04:20
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I'm in the process of buying my first house, and I've got an accepted bid. I'm doing the loan process and contract signing of it and the interest rate the loan officer of the company I'm working with seems a bit high (Tampa, FL) 5.35%. Based on the "WebMD"-esque research I did on a few websites, I keep seeing rates between 5%-5.25%. Is there something I'm missing? I did notice this article today in the news - Here But I don't know if there is any impact. I asked the loan officer about this discrepancy and he said this was the best he found. He did say that we could hold off on locking in the rate in the event it comes down in the next week or so. Any goon suggestions on if I should go ahead and try to lock in now at 5.35%, wait, or other advice? Loan amount is $110,000 if that is important as well, 13% down payment.
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Apr 1, 2010 19:22
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Looks like you can get 5.25% at 0 points, more or less, yeah. What is he charging you for 5.35%? All else equal, the difference between 5.25% and 5.35% is $7/mo: http://www.mtgprofessor.com/Calculators/Calculator11a.html
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Apr 1, 2010 19:57
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My mother talks about selling her house. At the moment it would sell for double what she paid for it 20 years ago, and if the roof were fixed and the basement finished it would be worth somewhere in the $800k (CAD) range. In an ideal world, she'd like to keep a condo up here, have one in Florida (where she has family), and one in Northern England (where has more family). She talks about it but doesn't do much, so I don't know if it's because it's impossible and I don't understand, or if it's because she doesn't have the time. In my limited understanding, things seem to add up: I've seen condos for under $200 000 CAD in all three places, which would seem to leave some cushion to spare. Selling the house seems like a good idea: She's set to retire in a few years and worries whether she can afford to do so. Hers is a 5 bedroom house and she is one person. If she sold the house, lived in a condo and collected rent from another property (or two), she may be able to retire more comfortably (I assume with no knowledge of anything related to property ownership/buying). So, first, are there massive tax problems with owning properties in different countries? If so, I have EU citizenship: Would it make a difference if a property in Europe were in my name? Is it somehow not kosher to personally own 3 properties in different countries and rent the uninhabited ones out? Am I missing some glaring thing that makes the whole idea laughable? Feel free to burst my bubble: I have no idea whether this is feasible and no idea where to start finding out.
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Apr 1, 2010 23:15
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This may not be the perfect thread but.. I have a question. I bought a home in feb of 2008 and as far as I know I do not qualify for the credit. Any of the first time home buyer credits. Is this correct? If so it blows because I bought a house right in the midst of the poo poo and nobody wants to give me free money for it. I really just wanted to complain. 
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Apr 2, 2010 06:45
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Buying our first home has turned into a nightmare and I'm about ready to rent the rest of my life. We qualified for $420,000 and found a great house at $369,000. It's a home from 1959, completely redone inside and out. Except for some drawbacks: no driveway, deck, a not very appealing garage and the landscaping has to be upgraded as well. I offered $345,000 and they countered at $365,000. We go back and forth, back and forth and settle on $359,000. A realestate agent (who wants our business) contacts us to tell us that they purchased the house 6 months ago for $260,000 and put $25,000 worth of renos into it and we are being taken. We contact the sellers about this and they confirm the purchase price but state they had put 60 - 70K worth of renovations into it. So back to the table we go, we offer $355,000 and they come back at $357,000 which we agree to but they have to pay for the inspection ($500). Home inspection reveals some interesting things: insulation, electrical, concrete, etc. work that has to be done totally $3000 - $5000 in repairs and the garage is completely unusable...unsafe even and needs to be demoed right away which would be about $5000 So again, back to the table we go, we asked them to remove the garage at their own expense, they came back to us and said they would pay for the demo but we had to pay for the hauling and disposal of the materials (aka: the expensive part). We went back and said no..do it all or we walk. So, we have a very good chance of losing this house. It's been hard because my husband is extremely head strong and it's a power struggle for him. We live in Edmonton Alberta where the average single home is $369,500 and my husband feels for all of that we should be able to get everything we want. I tend to agree, but I'm more realistic. Comps in that area are selling for $390,000 - $400,000.
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Apr 5, 2010 16:28
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Even if they put $60,000 into a $260,000 house that doesn't justify a $100,000 price hike. That is the same mentality everyone who bought a fixer-upper to flip over the course of the last used and its completely unsustainable. People are starting to realize paying someone an extra $40,000 so they call the contractor instead of calling him yourself isn't a great idea. With basic code violations like electrical and insulation issues it looks like they had a poo poo contractor too. Or they really did put $25,000 into it, did the work themselves, and value their labor at $35-45K (plus another $40K on top, of course). How do the comps compare directly to that house? Driveway? Deck? Fully renovated? It sounds like that house has a few things that would make it less desirable than the comps could be and you are indeed getting taken.
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Apr 5, 2010 16:47
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The best advice I can give anyone looking to buy a home, remember it's a BUSINESS TRANSACTION. People get way too emotionally involved in these things. The house isn't a smart business decision, you should walk from it. Ophelia's Ashes posted:It's been hard because my husband is extremely head strong and it's a power struggle for him. We live in Edmonton Alberta where the average single home is $369,500 and my husband feels for all of that we should be able to get everything we want. I tend to agree, but I'm more realistic. Comps in that area are selling for $390,000 - $400,000. When looking, remember the big picture. Say he hates some little stuff, like light fixtures, carpet, or a color of a room. All thats easily changed in a few hours or a weekend. Major stuff like room layout, kitchen cabinets, etc is the big stuff. You're not going to find 'your house' as everyone has different tastes, but look at the house as a canvas. Can you make it 'your house'? For example, I hated the lights in my house, but for less than 400 bucks and 6 hours of my time I've replaced them all with light fixtures that I love.
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Apr 5, 2010 17:25
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