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The Rev posted:So I'm not sure if this is the right place for it, let me know if I've missed the correct thread and I can take the post elsewhere: Home Refinancing talk If you plan to stay indefinitely then I think it is very likely that a refi right now will save you money, but either way you should get a few loan estimates to be sure
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Aug 6, 2021 04:29
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gvibes posted:Is there a house building thread? Put down a deposit with an architect.  Give us the deets. I wonder when it will have a Redfin listing, probably not until it gets on the MLS, if it ever does.
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Aug 6, 2021 04:50
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"No cost" or "$1200 all in" means rolling closing costs into the loan, right? So if you end up moving in a few years you do lose money on the deal
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Aug 6, 2021 04:59
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Uterine Lineup posted:My wife and I just closed on a house and she changed jobs during the process. She accepted the job on a Friday and our counter offer that we didn’t expect to be accepted was accepted on Monday. So probably their system has a code for paystub but not for the offer letter you are using instead of a paystub. I work for a multi-billion dollar corporation and they run everything on cobol on the back end and just make fancy GUIs on the front end for the bankers and underwriters and customers. Bhutto under the hood it software architecture that hasn’t meaningfully changed since the late 70s and every time they try to add features to those GUIs they creat some kind of mess with the back end and gently caress everything up.
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Aug 6, 2021 05:52
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Epitope posted:"No cost" or "$1200 all in" means rolling closing costs into the loan, right? So if you end up moving in a few years you do lose money on the deal It could also mean negative points, but since interest rates are so low, the negative points still come out to incredibly low rates.
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Aug 6, 2021 08:26
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Epitope posted:"No cost" or "$1200 all in" means rolling closing costs into the loan, right? So if you end up moving in a few years you do lose money on the deal Yes, I'm not paying anything out of pocket and it's being rolled into my loan. The break even point to get back to where I was before the refi is 14 months, not years, so it's really a no brainer. But anyone looking to do this should do the math and see what it will cost them and how long it takes to break even. My $1200 does not include points.
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Aug 6, 2021 12:33
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gvibes posted:Is there a house building thread? Put down a deposit with an architect. That would be here. Do you know the build/finance process and have a whole lot of cash on hand?
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Aug 6, 2021 16:10
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gvibes posted:Is there a house building thread? Put down a deposit with an architect. Goondolances. This thread works, not sure if there's a better one in DIY or not. My parents did custom and semi custom home building when I was younger. I'm assuming this is going to be like a 500K+ build in a LCOL area, or 1M+ other places since you're getting an architect involved. Random advice: The house is only going to be as good as the contractors that build it, and the general contractor watching over them. Lots of companies have A, B, and C teams. You don't want the C team. Not sure what your financial situation is, but finishes is where you can really break your budget. Set a realistic budget and try to stick to it. It might be worth ballparking some things you like at the flooring, kitchen cabinet/countertop, and lighting stores, because those 3 places are where major major budget issues usually pop up. You may budget 50/sq ft for countertops or 6/sq ft or flooring, and you go to the store and fall in love with the 90/sq ft countertop or the 10/sq flooring and pop goes the budget. Light fixtures that aren't sold at home depot also cost a fair bit more than you probably think they do. Very common budget overrun category. Heavily focus on energy efficiency. Insulate the gently caress out of the house, make sure it's super tight. Spend the money on a good HVAC and fresh air system. It'll pay dividends in savings and comfort over the years. I'm a big fan of noise reduction in the home as well. Solid core doors, interior insulation around bathrooms and bedrooms. It's not expensive to do during the build process. Most of my knowledge is over 20 years old at this point, so take anything I saw with a grain of salt, but houses are pretty much still built the same way. Find a really good local General Contractor to manage the build. You are paying for their knowledge, and more importantly their relationships and connections with tradesmen in the area. Relationships are very important in the construction world, and you want a GC that is friendly with the best sub contractors in the area. A good GC is worth it, you're architect probably has a couple they like working with. Use those relationships to your advantage. Be prepared to wait a long time, with how busy things are today, and the fact you're just starting, I wouldn't expect to be moving in for 24 months or so for a true custom build.
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Aug 6, 2021 17:12
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Any suggestions on solid doors? Now that both of us are working + have a baby, builder grade hollow doors in my compact condo is.... Not fun
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Aug 6, 2021 17:23
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Motronic posted:That would be here. skipdogg posted:Goondolances. This thread works, not sure if there's a better one in DIY or not. skipdogg posted:Random advice: Couple random questions: - my architect has done a lot of expensive builds in the area--is there any reason not to defer to some extent to his judgment re GCs? Or are there shady kickback arrangements there? - I am sure my architect will explain better, but what do interior designers actually do and how are they paid? Just hourly? I am just paying the architect hourly.
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Aug 6, 2021 17:51
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No clue on interior design. If it wasn't for my wife there wouldn't even be things on the wall in my house. I'm personally not aware of any shady kickbacks or special setups between GC's and architects being common, outside of maybe a bottle of JW Blue or something for a big referral. It was very common for my mom to buy a very expensive bottle of liquor or wine as a thank you to someone who referred her some business. I can't say for sure it doesn't happen though. Circling back to the relationship thing though, relationships are very important in construction, the whole industry revolves around them, and the architect has probably worked with a couple GC's he highly recommends, and knows does good work. I would trust them. Architects want to see their vision executed properly, and if they have a good working relationship with a GC or two, I'd go with them. Do your due diligence of course and interview them. They should happily give you personal referrals to prior projects and offer to put you in touch with the homeowners. You're going to be working closely with this person as well, so getting along with them and making sure you're both on the same page is important. I can't even count how many times a good relationship with a contractor or supplier solved a problem for my parents when they were building houses.
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Aug 6, 2021 18:09
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skipdogg posted:Goondolances. This thread works, not sure if there's a better one in DIY or not. I'd love to get this thread's thoughts on: Say a house is 100k, but requires 50k of work that will take a year to do. A year from now, is that house worth: 1. More than 150k, because that year timeframe counts 2. Less than 150k, because no one will like exactly what you did 3. 150k, because tHe TrUtH iS iN tHe MiDdle I'm asking because we've seen two houses so far that would have required some work. One would have required a complete kitchen/basement gut. Another would have required a complete reworking of the first floor (kitchen, living room, getting rid of a bedroom, etc). I'm trying to figure out if remodeling ever makes sense in this situation from a financial standpoint, or if we should stick to the plan, which is to wait until we find something that doesn't need much work.
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Aug 6, 2021 18:29
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Remodeling, especially in our current timeframe, makes absolutely zero financial sense. It's something you do because it's what you want out of the home, not to save money. There was a time when you could get a discount on a house that needed that kind of work, because most people want move-in ready and/or not to live in a construction zone. This is not that housing market.
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Aug 6, 2021 18:37
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There are zero renovations that break even, let alone increase property value. From what I've read, the best renovations add 80-90% of their cost to the home value. Most are way less than that, with the worst around 50% or so. Maybe some cheap renovations will do better than break even, like insulating an uninsulated attic, but I'm assuming we're talking about renovations and not basic upgrades. Best case scenario, you "break even" by getting to enjoy those renovations for several years before you sell them for 50% of what you paid. edit: so flippers are basically proof of this. They DIY renovations because they know that they can't recoup 100% of the costs, and even then they cut corners on top of that. The only other way they make money is by scoring distressed properties for cheap or taking advantage of inflated markets. edit again: So to be sure, if you find a place in a location you like and can afford to renovate it and live there for 10 years, then go hog wild. Just don't expect to turn a profit on it. Again, your "profit" comes from enjoying and using the renovations and getting exactly what you want. Just make sure the place isn't a money pit first DaveSauce fucked around with this message at 18:55 on Aug 6, 2021 |
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Aug 6, 2021 18:49
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DaveSauce posted:There are zero renovations that break even, let alone increase property value. Yeah, the word "renovation" needs to be more defined here I think. If something it broken/deficient you will typically break even or maybe even do a bit better (by making the place move-in ready) by repairing it. In a normal market. This is not a normal market. Renovations that are things that don't need to be done but are nice to have are mostly what you're talking about.
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Aug 6, 2021 19:02
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Motronic posted:Yeah, the word "renovation" needs to be more defined here I think. If something it broken/deficient you will typically break even or maybe even do a bit better (by making the place move-in ready) by repairing it. In a normal market. This is not a normal market. See, this is what I'm curious about. A kitchen from the 80s/90s in some neighborhoods would be seen as broken/deficient. Maybe a kitchen renovation in that situation, even now, isn't crazy? Or maybe it still is?
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Aug 6, 2021 19:06
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Motronic posted:Yeah, the word "renovation" needs to be more defined here I think. If something it broken/deficient you will typically break even or maybe even do a bit better (by making the place move-in ready) by repairing it. In a normal market. This is not a normal market. IMO it's hard to tell without seeing pictures... I know the thread's frequent fliers are generally smarter than this, but there are plenty of people who think a 10 year old kitchen needs to be gutted simply because it's not current. You should see my in-law's place... no idea how they're going to sell it. Mid 70s house with original shag carpet, wallpaper, and bathrooms. Worst offender is the stove is somehow original... no idea how the gently caress it still works. They did the siding a few years ago, and re-built the porch and deck (both small), but that's about it. Maybe a few interior walls were repainted...
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Aug 6, 2021 19:13
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Residency Evil posted:I'd love to get this thread's thoughts on:
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Aug 6, 2021 19:16
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DaveSauce posted:IMO it's hard to tell without seeing pictures... I know the thread's frequent fliers are generally smarter than this, but there are plenty of people who think a 10 year old kitchen needs to be gutted simply because it's not current. Absolutely. And in a normal market renovations are a tool for selling your home faster, not making more money on it. But again, this is not a normal market. Nobody needs to do poo poo other than put up a "for sale" sign to get top dollar.
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Aug 6, 2021 19:19
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Residency Evil posted:See, this is what I'm curious about. A kitchen from the 80s/90s in some neighborhoods would be seen as broken/deficient. Maybe a kitchen renovation in that situation, even now, isn't crazy? Or maybe it still is? It's still crazy because you're not going to add <kitchen reno cost> to the value of the home, especially in this market. The kitchen might not be up to date, but it's probably still functional. Now you may decide that you really want to reno the kitchen and spending <kitchen reno cost> on the home will make you enjoy the home more and be happier living there. I suggest you wait until you find something turnkey, or that needs minimal updating that you both like. Kitchens especially can be very expensive. Very few future buyers are going to care about the 40K in custom hardwood cabinetry you put in, or the 50K worth of top of the line german appliances you bought. No one's going to tell the difference between level 1 and level 7 granite. You'll definitely never get the money you spent on the kitchen back out of the house. It's not as bad as a pool, but it's not going to make much of a difference.
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Aug 6, 2021 19:29
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Level 7...granite?  Thanks guys, that makes sense. We'll keep on looking for something turnkey. Although I may need to renovate a garage.
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Aug 6, 2021 19:32
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Motronic posted:Absolutely. And in a normal market renovations are a tool for selling your home faster, not making more money on it. Sounds like we're on the same page. Maybe it wasn't clear, but my point was that buying a cheap, outdated house and renovating it is fine if you're going to live in it for a while, AND as long as you don't expect any sort of positive ROI when you ultimately sell. Not sure if RE's master plan was to live in a place for a year or two and hope to flip for profit, or if he's just trying to justify not buying turnkey.
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Aug 6, 2021 19:35
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DaveSauce posted:Sounds like we're on the same page. We definitely are. I was just expanding on what you said. Sorry if that wasn't' clear.
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Aug 6, 2021 19:39
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DaveSauce posted:Sounds like we're on the same page. Maybe it wasn't clear, but my point was that buying a cheap, outdated house and renovating it is fine if you're going to live in it for a while, AND as long as you don't expect any sort of positive ROI when you ultimately sell. Nah, my plan for buying a house is to get buried in it, or at least live in it until I can retire in Santa Barbara, but uh, life changes sometimes. But you guys have been very helpful. I'm just curious because we'd like to be in some specific neighborhoods, so obviously housing stock becomes more of a limiting issue. Still, sounds like the best thing to do is wait until we find something turnkey, which we can.
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Aug 6, 2021 19:50
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Residency Evil posted:Level 7...granite? Yeah, the entry level stuff can be 40 bucks a sq ft or less, the higher grade stuff can hit 100/sq. Depends on how fancy you want to be. I don't want to push you one way or another, just help you make an informed decision. You and your wife (I assume) work very hard to earn what you do, and I don't know if you want to deal with a kitchen renovation in the free time you do have. If I was in your shoes though, I would hands down always buy the house for 1.7 thats turnkey than buy the 1.4 that needs renovations. You might not have a choice though if location is going to be the most important factor of where you buy. As long as you know what you're getting into. Location trumps everything though, maybe you can live with an outdated kitchen for a few years. I dunno. That's a convo for you and your wife.
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Aug 6, 2021 19:55
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The place I am buying is going to need a new water heater that I plan to do in a couple months but it also has a furnace system that may need replaced in the next year or so also. My REA suggested I get a home warranty for the first year so that if the furnace does actually die it will be covered. Is this a good idea or are home warranties basically useless and impossible to get payouts from?
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Aug 6, 2021 20:08
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DaveSauce posted:IMO it's hard to tell without seeing pictures... I know the thread's frequent fliers are generally smarter than this, but there are plenty of people who think a 10 year old kitchen needs to be gutted simply because it's not current. Old school electric stoves will work basically forever as long as you can replace heating elements and thermostats, etc. I would love a place in original 70s style as long as it was in good condition, had no bad smells, and the finishes weren’t peeling off. Hard to find those these days though and given the current market there isn’t much of a discount vs a place with newer fixtures that may offer a functional improvement.
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Aug 6, 2021 20:09
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I'd try to get the seller to include it, if not I'm of the opinion you're better off putting the 600 bucks the warranty is going to cost in a savings account. The home warranty companies are notoriously difficult to deal with. I think there are some posters here have come out ahead from their warranty though.
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Aug 6, 2021 20:10
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CongoJack posted:Is this a good idea or are home warranties basically useless and impossible to get payouts from? Maybe and kinda. Here's the deal: you'll likely be stuck with the cheapest furnace available which will get installed by a handyman with no clue what they are doing. If you really can't afford to replace the furnace in the first year, this is a better alternative than freezing.
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Aug 6, 2021 20:11
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skipdogg posted:Yeah, the entry level stuff can be 40 bucks a sq ft or less, the higher grade stuff can hit 100/sq. Depends on how fancy you want to be. My realtor harped on lot size, layout, and location as the three things you aren’t going to be able to change. Layout can be changed I guess but it is so expensive you might as well sell it and buy a different house because you’ll come out ahead that way.
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Aug 6, 2021 20:13
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How dumb is it to waive an inspection contingency on a home if that's the only way you can get your offers taken?
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Aug 6, 2021 20:40
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Motronic posted:Maybe and kinda. I have a gas fireplace in the living room and it's not a big place so I at least have options if it dies. I can afford to replace it but it would leave me with a lower amount of cash than I would like. I'm going to have it serviced shortly after I move in and decide what to do at that point. Thanks guys!
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Aug 6, 2021 20:45
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stellers bae posted:How dumb is it to waive an inspection contingency on a home if that's the only way you can get your offers taken? Pretty dumb if you haven't been able to get it inspected before putting your offer. Extra dumb if you don't have the money to repair a worst-case scenario like a combo foundation issue plus years of unnoticed water intrusion from roofing or siding problems. I mean, on top of that it's just a dumb time to buy.
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Aug 6, 2021 20:45
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CongoJack posted:I have a gas fireplace in the living room and it's not a big place so I at least have options if it dies. I can afford to replace it but it would leave me with a lower amount of cash than I would like. I'm going to have it serviced shortly after I move in and decide what to do at that point. Thanks guys! I just bought a place with 15 year old units and am having a local HVAC outfit look over the furnace/AC in a week. Strikes me as maybe/probably a waste of $200, but it should be peace of mind. Maybe yours will keep going for another 10 years 
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Aug 6, 2021 20:54
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stellers bae posted:How dumb is it to waive an inspection contingency on a home if that's the only way you can get your offers taken? Thought you already were under contract? Personally waiving inspection does not align with my personal risk tolerance. I don't have the resources to fix a worst case scenario. There's a lot of high earners up there in the PNW that do.
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Aug 6, 2021 20:55
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Digging my buddy's mood today
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Aug 6, 2021 21:15
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Inner Light posted:I just bought a place with 15 year old units and am having a local HVAC outfit look over the furnace/AC in a week. Strikes me as maybe/probably a waste of $200, but it should be peace of mind. Maybe yours will keep going for another 10 years Yea that's my hope as well but I am prepared for it to be on its last legs.
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Aug 6, 2021 21:29
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My furnace in the house we just bought is from the grunge era so we basically assume its going to die any day now and have already budgeted for it.
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Aug 6, 2021 21:40
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stellers bae posted:How dumb is it to waive an inspection contingency on a home if that's the only way you can get your offers taken? Seems like a huge red flag to me.
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Aug 6, 2021 22:58
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skipdogg posted:If I was in your shoes though, I would hands down always buy the house for 1.7 thats turnkey than buy the 1.4 that needs renovations. You might not have a choice though if location is going to be the most important factor of where you buy. As long as you know what you're getting into. Thanks for the advice everyone. FYI: You're now "my old friend whose parents were builders" in case my wife asks.
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Aug 6, 2021 23:13
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