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An interesting article anyone who is considering buying a home should read. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/business/economy/23glut.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss quote:EL MIRAGE, Ariz. — The nation’s biggest banks and mortgage lenders have steadily amassed real estate empires, acquiring a glut of foreclosed homes that threatens to deepen the housing slump and create a further drag on the economic recovery. I'm not saying don't buy. If you do buy a house, you probably will probably owe more than it's worth for a long time. One guy I work with just wrote a check for $9,000 to sell his house after owning it for 3 years. It's a tough market, and the 'oversupply' of houses may continue to push prices down.
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May 23, 2011 12:31
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Anti-Hero posted:How many of you guys pay your mortgages throughout the month rather than one big check at the beginning? I was thinking of enrolling in that just to avoid potential cash flow issues. This is a sign that you are living paycheck to paycheck and
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May 25, 2011 01:30
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Bastard Tetris posted:What do you guys keep your "crap my house broke" emergency funds in anyways? I've been using an MMA and want to kick myself in the dick every time I get 6 bucks in interest every month from my lovely bank that is just buying T-bills at 0% with it anyways. MMA. I don't want to kick myself more when the market crashes, I lose my job, and half my emergency fund is gone.
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May 27, 2011 11:49
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Folks need to be real careful with ARMs. There are many people who bought a house with no intention to live in it past 5 years. The value of their properties dropped to the point where they owe more than it's worth, and cannot refinance. When rates go up, housing prices will go down even more and they will be stuck.
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Jun 10, 2011 01:48
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Saw this on the NYT in an editorial. I really don't see how housing prices are going to recover anytime soon. quote:38 percent of homeowners with second mortgages are underwater. They borrowed against the value of their homes, and they now owe more than their houses are worth. The total number of underwater homeowners in America, with first and second mortgages, is a stunning 22.7 percent. In Nevada alone, 63 percent of all mortgaged properties are worth less than the owners paid; in Arizona 50 percent, Florida 46 percent, Michigan 36 percent and California 31 percent.
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Jun 12, 2011 12:58
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So you did the inspection before you bought the house, the inspector told you about the bad wiring, and you bought the house anyway?
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Jun 28, 2011 12:56
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TraderStav posted:The SEV/taxable value is typically 1/2 the actual value. So you double it to get their idea of the market value of your home. Not where I live.
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Jul 19, 2011 00:09
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TraderStav posted:I may have been mentally replacing assessment with appraised... I assumed that was a report from his Appraiser. My friend from college, who is an excellent Realter, says that Tax Assessment plays an important psychological factor for a buyer in a down market: Agents and Buyers tend to shun houses listed for more than their Tax Assessment.
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Jul 28, 2011 21:37
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TraderStav posted:That's interesting, when I was shopping, the only thing I cared about that number for was my tax obligation. I operate under the assumption that they know gently caress-all in relation to true market value. Think of it as an easy way to filter out Listings that are overpriced in a down market. When looking at a block of listings in a given price range, it's easy to toss out the one where the asking price is 180k and the tax assessment is 120k.
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Jul 28, 2011 21:47
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IratelyBlank posted:How much, generally, do repairs and upgrades add to the value of a home? Repairs being things like new ACs, new plumbing, walls, flooring, landscaping, fencing, etc. I bought my quad for around $190,000 and had a $40,000 loan on top of that in order to make repairs, but all told I probably spent closer to $70,000 on repairs including cash out of my pocket. I don't think there is a fixed ratio. You can completely repair a shack on the ocean in Maine and it's not going to do anything to the value of your shack. It was worth a million before, and it's still worth a million because of it's location.
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Jul 29, 2011 13:51
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Flood Insurance is only provide by the Government via The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
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Aug 29, 2011 18:55
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Shipon posted:Yes, they were lying. You can't get around it: He can't get a bank loan because he can't afford it. I would stick with the "I can't cosign because I won't be able to buy my own house"
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Sep 23, 2011 22:53
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Molybdenum posted:We found a nice, well maintained house built in 1910. Asking price was 160, we offered 125 and they accepted. Had our inspections done and because of the presence of knob and tube wiring, State Farm won't insure the house. We're looking at insuring it through the current insurer of the house but we're worried they may have been grandfathered in (owned by the same family since the 1950s). we already asked the sellers to replace the KnT in the basement and attic, but replacing all of it might be a stretch, since the lathe/plaster would probably need repairs/replacement as well. If it still has knob and tube, then by definition it's not well maintained. You are looking at a money pit.
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Dec 10, 2011 00:20
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Applied for a 15 year refinance at 3.125% 10 days ago, then I went on vacation. I come back, and everything is approved and the appraisal is done. Only sad part is that I see some 15 year rates at 3%, but I'm only borrowing 110k so it's probably not worth it to look around more.
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Jul 21, 2012 23:10
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gtkor posted:honestly the difference between 3.125 and 3 percent when you factor in shopping and closing costs over 15 years is probably not going to be enough to really worry about. Yes, you are right. In the end, my scheduled payment will be $1250 a month, taxes and insurance included. If anyone who tells you New Hampshire doesn't have taxes, $470 of my 1250 is Property taxes alone. Still, the monthly payments are less then my son pays for rent on a townhouse.
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Jul 22, 2012 13:31
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uwaeve posted:The house we have a signed offer to purchase for needs a roof within a year or two and the basement is radioactive. Radon sucks.
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Jul 23, 2012 03:52
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Lord Of Texas posted:
What are the two interest rates that you are comparing?
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Aug 7, 2012 23:38
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Lord Of Texas posted:3.75% for 30 years, 3.15% for 15 years. Haven't been quoted an official rate yet, but searching bankrate.com those seemed like good estimates. Our credit was pulled 3-4 months ago when we got our pre-approval, and it was excellent (I believe mine was 760 and hers was 810). Half a percentage point is probably worth it to do the 15, but that's only a decision you can make based on your personal circumstances.
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Aug 8, 2012 01:32
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sheri posted:What? Seriously? We use 300-400 kwh a month. How can you use that much? I'm getting on grow light for 
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Aug 13, 2012 22:48
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I closed on my 3.125 15 year refinance yesterday. The total interest over the life of the loan is only 28,000~. I'm almost thinking that it's not worth paying more than the minimum at these low rates. 766 is the payment for 15 years. If I pay 1068 I pay pay if off in 10, but I only save 10,000 in interest. It's almost a case where paying if off early isn't as huge as it could be. daslog fucked around with this message at 11:56 on Aug 15, 2012 |
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Aug 15, 2012 11:52
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greasyhands posted:At 3.125%, assuming 2% inflation and the mortgage interest write-off coming off the 35% bracket, you are effectively paying 0% interest. There is no financial reason to pay extra on a mortgage in the 3% range. Just wanting a paid off house is understandable though and an ok thing to do if that's what you want. I pay $200 extra towards my 3.3% 15yr just because. I don't get the write off because it's such a small amount of interest that the standard deduction wins.
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Aug 15, 2012 23:23
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My opinion is that you should go for the 15 year mortgage.
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Sep 13, 2012 01:07
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Konrad posted:Thank you for the input. If you need to convince your wife, it's as simple as saying "The difference between the two payments is 190 bucks a month. If that small an amount breaks us then we would have been screwed regardless."
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Sep 13, 2012 02:33
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Why would you want to pay your mortgage via western union?
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Sep 17, 2012 01:10
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Spamtron7000 posted:Sometimes I pay a fee to make an online payment with USBank. Probably what that is (?) My guess was going to be that you had the mortgage company setup an automatic withdrawal from your checking account and they are charging you a convenience fee for the service.
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Sep 17, 2012 01:36
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KGBAgent185 posted:So my wife and I are stuck in our condo and want to find a way to move on. We're underwater and are looking for advice on how best to proceed. We bought this place back in 2007, just before the crash by like 3 months. I took at a look at the Ocwen website, and they just seem to be another Mortgage servicer, so I don't think that really matters. Is your question really "Should I walk away from my mortgage?"
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Sep 18, 2012 01:36
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Cage posted:Im 27 and just got a job with NY state at a college earning $27,000 a year. I have 3k in my checking account, 0 debt and each month Im only paying for car insurance and my cell phone. Im looking at houses between 50k-60k but this is of course after a few years of saving up money. My question is how much money should I have saved up before I start seriously looking? Im not looking to buy one in the next few months, I figured 1.5-2 years of saving minimum. Im also sure about wanting to stay in the same city. $27,000 a year. You don't make enough to be able to maintain a house. What do you think you are going to do when something goes wrong and you need $7,000 for a repair? That's over 25% of your annual income.
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Jan 12, 2013 14:22
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Cage posted:Well, yeah. A roof is also something that doesn't just suddenly go bad though. So lets say it didn't, and he's got 5 years to a new roof. He still can't save the money up.
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Jan 12, 2013 18:36
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Am I the only guy who's first reaction was "you want to play the
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Jan 15, 2013 04:13
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Hella Nervous posted:Ouch. Bought our house over the summer, moved in late August (just in time for a big ole hurricane, excellent!). We knew there'd be some big fixes coming in, but I just got a proposal for replacing the vinyl siding (poorly installed, leaking under the windows and elsewhere) with Hardi siding, install insulation in the walls and attics, replace a rotting back door, and paint. $24,550 for all labor and materials, on a 1200 square foot house. Do never buy? That seems high to me.
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Mar 11, 2013 01:44
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I Love You! posted:Re: Repeated furniture buying questions: I always tell people (first time buyers) not to buy things until they have written two monthly mortgage checks.
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May 8, 2013 00:50
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Arkane posted:Must be fun sleeping on the floor/air mattress for 3 months? Most people own a bed before they buy a house. I supposed the homeless occasionally buy a condo, but it's pretty rare.
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May 8, 2013 12:14
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To be candid, I would question if you are ready financially to buy a house. Floating 6 grand in credit card debt gives the impression of financial mismanagement.
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May 30, 2013 16:51
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I have a brother in law who is a builder. Back during the peak, he decided to build a speculation house which he sunk about a million dollars building, and listed it for 1.7 million. It’s a really nice house, and he used lots of amazing new materials when he built in. The problem with the house is the location; it’s 5 miles from the large lake in New Hampshire on a3/4 acre lot that’s too close to the neighbors. The tax assessment is at 1.05 million. I know that tax assessment doesn’t reflect the market, but few appraisers are going to exceed the tax assessed value. He had it on the market for 2 years before and they had a handful of showings, but almost no activity beyond that. The house was even featured on a TV show. Still nothing. So here is what I’m wondering: How does a Real Estate agent tell their customer that their house isn’t going to sell at the price point they want to list it at? Is there some mentality among builders that is they keep adding stuff to it,, then it will sell eventually?
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Jul 1, 2013 17:40
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I use propane for heat, the dryer, hot water, and the stove. On Monday, the tank was empty. This made me mad because we are on auto delivery. So I call the propane company. "We show you should have 125 gallons based on your usage. We will send a truck out right away and fill your tank, pressure test your system, and light your pilot lights." So the guy comes, and he's really cool. Then he informs me "your system is not holding pressure. That's bad. I need to call in Service." Service comes out. "I've tested the regulators. It's a leak in your underground line. You own the line, not us" OK, fine. I start digging up 45 feet of buried line looking for connections while he drives back to his shop to get a temp tank for me." I did like a madman, leaving a 2 foot deep trench. Turns out I have multiple leaks. Service guy says "Wow that's a lot of digging. It's too many leaks to repair. You need a new plastic line. It's 4 bucks a foot, and we have to pull a permit to do it. And the fire department has to inspect it too.  My wife calls my cell. I give her the bad news. Her reply, "Why don't you just have them put in a new tank that is below ground and not ugly?"  So I call a contractor I know. $700 bucks to dig the hole, $200 to backfill it with sand. the TLDR version: My propane line broke, 400 dollars of propane went up in invisible smoke, and I'm paying $1500 to fix it. Home ownershop!
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Sep 18, 2014 01:28
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PDP-1 posted:Tomorrow is D-Day for putting in an offer on the place I've been checking out for the last month. The owner wants $225k but everything I've seen (comparable homes nearby, current tax assessment, advice from an uncle who has done appraisal work in the past) suggests that $190k is a more realistic price. Do you have a real estate agent? If you have a good one, hopefully they can place your lowball offer in such a way that it doesn't insult the seller. It's just business, but sellers can take it very personally when you tell them that their pride and joy isn't worth what they think it is.
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Oct 7, 2014 19:39
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QuarkJets posted:Yeah, there's definitely a bubble in my area It's never a sure thing.
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Oct 12, 2014 00:34
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Wow, this thread just turned into a useless debate about the politics of the real estate industry.
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Oct 16, 2014 13:26
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powderific posted:Our 1920 house has knob and tube and we got insurance through Geico. They didn't care about it at all. Amica wouldn't insure us since we don't plan on changing it, but they did say that if we switched it out in 30-60 days they could cover it (and I think they're a much better provider than Geico if you're going to change things anyway.) You are braver than I am. I wouldn't even consider living in a house with knob and tube.
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Oct 23, 2014 18:27
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I'm just jaded from owning a house built in 1963. Which is also known as the time before building codes were enforced.
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Oct 23, 2014 21:02
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