Home Buying Thread - Page 3

Tuco · 11-12-2008, 05:31 PM

Btw: I've pretty much put aside buying a house at least for two months. With the threat of GM going bankrupt (I'm a supplier that depends on them) there's no way I'm buying a house now.

hauwk · 11-12-2008, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eomer

^hey jackass, no one said you don't still need to have a lawyer doing the legal/titles shit. I sold my first condo on my own without a real estate agent, and the buyer did not have one either. It was fucking easy. Outside of a couple hundred bucks for the legal fees and a dozen weekends spent having open houses, I saved myself 5-10k. By some estimates upwards of 30% of home sales in Edmonton are through various commission free services that don't have real estate agents involved.

Eomer... Condo's and houses are two completely different animals... your CONDO was built by a contractor/company that had X amounts of rules they had to follow to even be able to lease/sell/rent it to a buyer.. Houses are completely different. If you think it's cheaper to sell a house via a fucking lawyer then more power to you... good luck with that. Your standard lawyer knows as much about home law as I do about underwater basketweaving ( dick).. So when you want to join the rest of the population and get a real house.. have a fun time with that. When I get my plumbing fixed, you can bet your ass I dont call a carpenter..

hauwk · 11-12-2008, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Home inspectors aren't required to know building codes nor do they typically sign off for the building being up to code.

For the house that I auctioned for, I was mostly interested in the land.

wha?? what state do you live in?

Hey if your buying for the land and you can afford the 100k to build a dwelling on it, then more power to you.. but if your buying a house to live in and you want to eventually sell it some day.. you need to read a couple more books or actually TALK to some home inspectors that have been doing it for 20 years or so.

hauwk · 11-12-2008, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bouhhan

I have one piece of advice: pay for a professional to inspect any property you are seriously interested in.

i've been looking for a home in the new york city area for the last 3.5 years and haven't pulled the trigger yet.

the closest i came was on a 750k townhouse that looked like a steal for the price. we did our first inspection (i've paid for seven of these now and they run @ $150 each here, and last @ 2 hrs) and the guy recommended a structural engineer to look at a tiny crack in the wall. we almost didn't do the second inspection because it was pricey ($650 if i recall) but decided to do it because we were set on buying the house and wanted to negotiate with it based on whatever he found.

the structural engineer told us that this hairline crack was moving the wrong direction, and that basically the home would need to be torn down and rebuilt within the next 10 years due to a faulty (no pun intended) foundation.

needless to say, we didn't buy the house.

it was a lesson in 'you get what you pay for'.

good luck!

HEY LOOK.. REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE..... not some bullshit you or he or she read in a book..

gg's

Eomer · 11-12-2008, 05:41 PM

Quote:

your CONDO was built by a contractor/company that had X amounts of rules they had to follow to even be able to lease/sell/rent it to a buyer..

I build condos for a living, as a mechanical contractor. And let me tell you, there's far more things that can turn around and bite you in the ass with a condo building than a typical house. Far more. I wouldn't buy a unit in probably 90% of the buildings in this city.

Quote:

If you think it's cheaper to sell a house via a fucking lawyer then more power to you... good luck with that. Your standard lawyer knows as much about home law as I do about underwater basketweaving ( dick)..

Maybe it works differently in the States, I don't know, but my understanding is that real estate agents don't do the legal shit anyway. They have a notary or lawyer do it for them. By going with a company like Comfree (Comfree Private Sales, For Sale By Owner, Private Sale, Homes for sale, Real Estate, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Brandon, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Perth, Sydney, Australia - ComFree), you cut out the real estate agent and then have your own lawyer do the legal work, which again amounts to about $500-750. Compared to a set commission of anywhere from 3-7% of the value of your home.

Quote:

So when you want to join the rest of the population and get a real house.. have a fun time with that.

My condo is worth about 600k and fucking rules (just ask people here), so you can lick my asshole.

And by the way, you don't need a real estate agent to have a home inspection done either. Again, what exactly does a real estate agent "protect" you from?

chaos · 11-12-2008, 05:48 PM

The guy who did my inspection was great. He spent a good 3 hours showing me everything he found and explaining to me what it meant in terms of real dollars, which I appreciated. And he was set up for me by my realtor, who couldn't have been more helpful, as I mentioned before. The inspector did go over some code issues, for instance on my rear deck the header wasn't notched in and that doesn't meet current code, however it did when the house was built and it was a relatively simple fix. He did miss a slow leak in the basement toilet which caused me a little grief with a mold issue, but hell I missed it for the first 2 weeks of living here so I don't exactly blame him for that. I consider it money well spent.

BUT, some background on me, I work in computers (networking) and am not really a "handy" person, at least not until I bought the house. So for me, I needed an inspector because I wouldn't be able to recognize some issues that may seem trivial to some of you guys, like Eomer and his business experience or Tuco and his bumper-woodworking skills. If you aren't a person who would need an inspector, well you probably are well aware of that.

hauwk · 11-12-2008, 06:07 PM

Quote:

The guy who did my inspection was great. He spent a good 3 hours showing me everything he found and explaining to me what it meant in terms of real dollars, which I appreciated. And he was set up for me by my realtor, who couldn't have been more helpful, as I mentioned before. The inspector did go over some code issues, for instance on my rear deck the header wasn't notched in and that doesn't meet current code, however it did when the house was built and it was a relatively simple fix. He did miss a slow leak in the basement toilet which caused me a little grief with a mold issue, but hell I missed it for the first 2 weeks of living here so I don't exactly blame him for that. I consider it money well spent.

this.

Tuco · 11-12-2008, 07:13 PM

Quote:

wha?? what state do you live in?

I live in Detroit... Michigan.

<----

Which states do home inspections sign off on whether a house is up to code?

And what do real estate agents protect the buyer against?

Also, even if you don't have a REA looking for houses for you and selecting them, if a house is listed by a REA (90% of houses are, and pretty much 100% of foreclosures are (unless the bank itself wants to show you the house, heh)), then you 'get' a real estate agent when they show you the house. Unless you find something which is FSBOwner, which I'm not interested in.

Really, hauwk, you need to relax a bit. No one is trying to threaten you here and I don't think you know enough to be so agitated.

Kugbok_Fennin · 11-13-2008, 03:25 PM

Honestly, I think most people just like to have their hands held through the process. therefore we have REA's. Also i think for some people, its easier to hire on agent vs. spend the time doing it themselves. Some people do not have the time either. I can certainly see where if you are relocating how an REA might be useful. However, with the internets most of the process can be done online now.

namon · 11-26-2008, 08:20 AM

REA's can be an asset, just like a good banker is. The problem is, this huge housing bubble put a lot of unqualified and/or unscrupulous people in the industry. We sold our house using an agent, and it was a very reputable local company that was basically family owned, and the main thing we paid for was good marketing skills and GREAT connections, all because we wanted to sell fast. However, just like shopping for a bank, you need to be careful on who you select to do that stuff, because I've seen the underbelly of both of these industries and it's not pretty.

I would also say to avoid auctions all together, just because around here significant portion of the real estate goes up for auction. More than often than not, the auctioneer has "inside plants" there running up the bids. When Tuco was recounting the story, I would have had a slight suspicion that guy was there for a reason to make sure that house did not go for less than 90 grand. Even if there isn't a plant, usually just like the small stuff being sold, people get stupid. It starts out low, but people get caught up in the action and just wave that flag to stay being the winner, and before you know it a 120k house just sold for 150k.

Heylel Teomim · 02-17-2009, 11:34 AM

Rise from your grave, oh thread...

So yeah, now it's me in the market for a house. Prices and interest rates are low as hell in Atlanta, and the new stimulus package created an $8000 tax credit for first time buyers. Unlike last year's measure, it doesn't have to be paid back. I'd planned to wait a year or two, but with the government literally giving away free money to home buyers, I'd be crazy not to push my timetable forward.

So, in the interest of keeping my ignorant ass from the poor house, I'm gonna try to do what Tuco did and post the process here as I go through it. Any insight from veteran home owners or REAs would be greatly appreciated.

Step the First:

I spoke with a lender yesterday and received a prequalification for my price range (150-160k). He said I could afford more. I told him that's nice but I'd prefer to keep to the range stated, as I don't want my bills to increase. So, got my range set.

The lender was very helpful, and broke down exactly what my payment would be, assuming a certain property tax rate. In general, I should be looking at a monthly payment right in line with my current apartment rent. I'll be going with an FHA loan, so the insurance isn't much at all.

Question: Would I benefit from talking to another lender and seeing if I can get better terms? What I was provided seemed pretty damn competitive already, certainly better than what some of my friends have gotten in the last year.

Step the Second:

I've started looking around at home listings. Started online before talking with an agent, and registered at ZipRealty since it had a nice search engine. One of their agents called me yesterday evening and asked me to highlight some properties I was interested in to get started. Found a few so far, mostly a touch further from the interstate than I would prefer, but it's looking good. Found one very promising home in foreclosure for 125k that's a strong possibility, going to take a look this weekend at the property in person.

So that's where I'm at so far. The big thing I need to learn now is what I'm looking at specifically when I visit a property. How much can I snoop around, what questions do I ask, and most importantly what documentation can I expect the home owner to provide regarding repairs, defects etc.

Dunno if anyone'll see this or not, but if so, any help would be appreciated.

MrGraham · 02-17-2009, 12:09 PM

How long is the 8000 credit available?

Heylel Teomim · 02-17-2009, 12:29 PM

December 1, 2009. To qualify you cannot have owned property in the last 3 years, so it's mostly a first time buyer thing.

It comes as a credit on your taxes, so next April you would get a refundable credit of 8k. So if you owed 1000 in taxes, you'd get 7k back, etc.

GrobbeeTrull2.0 · 02-17-2009, 12:43 PM

Time to find an $8,000 abode.

Heylel Teomim · 02-17-2009, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrobbeeTrull2.0

Time to find an $8,000 abode.

Well, 8k or 10% of the purchase price, whatever is lower. So you'd need to spend at least 80,000 to get the full rebate. Of course, that's not hard...

11-13-2008, 03:25 PM	#39 (permalink)
Kugbok_Fennin Winning hearts and minds Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Orange County, CA "Margaritaville" Posts: 1,264	Honestly, I think most people just like to have their hands held through the process. therefore we have REA's. Also i think for some people, its easier to hire on agent vs. spend the time doing it themselves. Some people do not have the time either. I can certainly see where if you are relocating how an REA might be useful. However, with the internets most of the process can be done online now. __________________ Senator Sanders: "Will you tell the American people to whom you lent $2.2 trillion of their dollars?" Fed Chairman Bernanke: "No"

02-17-2009, 12:43 PM	#44 (permalink)
GrobbeeTrull2.0 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Dayton, Ohio Posts: 4,174	Time to find an $8,000 abode. __________________ "When the last tree has died; and the last river been poisoned; and the last fish been caught, we will realise that we cannot eat money." - Cree proverb

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11-12-2008, 05:31 PM	#31 (permalink)
Tuco Forum Janitor Join Date: May 2002 Location: Detroit Posts: 10,723 +75 Internets	Btw: I've pretty much put aside buying a house at least for two months. With the threat of GM going bankrupt (I'm a supplier that depends on them) there's no way I'm buying a house now.

11-12-2008, 05:48 PM	#36 (permalink)
chaos Registered User Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: NoVa Posts: 7,162 +29 Internets	The guy who did my inspection was great. He spent a good 3 hours showing me everything he found and explaining to me what it meant in terms of real dollars, which I appreciated. And he was set up for me by my realtor, who couldn't have been more helpful, as I mentioned before. The inspector did go over some code issues, for instance on my rear deck the header wasn't notched in and that doesn't meet current code, however it did when the house was built and it was a relatively simple fix. He did miss a slow leak in the basement toilet which caused me a little grief with a mold issue, but hell I missed it for the first 2 weeks of living here so I don't exactly blame him for that. I consider it money well spent. BUT, some background on me, I work in computers (networking) and am not really a "handy" person, at least not until I bought the house. So for me, I needed an inspector because I wouldn't be able to recognize some issues that may seem trivial to some of you guys, like Eomer and his business experience or Tuco and his bumper-woodworking skills. If you aren't a person who would need an inspector, well you probably are well aware of that.

11-26-2008, 08:20 AM	#40 (permalink)
namon Registered User Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 167 -1 Internets	REA's can be an asset, just like a good banker is. The problem is, this huge housing bubble put a lot of unqualified and/or unscrupulous people in the industry. We sold our house using an agent, and it was a very reputable local company that was basically family owned, and the main thing we paid for was good marketing skills and GREAT connections, all because we wanted to sell fast. However, just like shopping for a bank, you need to be careful on who you select to do that stuff, because I've seen the underbelly of both of these industries and it's not pretty. I would also say to avoid auctions all together, just because around here significant portion of the real estate goes up for auction. More than often than not, the auctioneer has "inside plants" there running up the bids. When Tuco was recounting the story, I would have had a slight suspicion that guy was there for a reason to make sure that house did not go for less than 90 grand. Even if there isn't a plant, usually just like the small stuff being sold, people get stupid. It starts out low, but people get caught up in the action and just wave that flag to stay being the winner, and before you know it a 120k house just sold for 150k.

02-17-2009, 11:34 AM	#41 (permalink)
Heylel Teomim The Educated Fool Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 2,989 +19 Internets	Rise from your grave, oh thread... So yeah, now it's me in the market for a house. Prices and interest rates are low as hell in Atlanta, and the new stimulus package created an $8000 tax credit for first time buyers. Unlike last year's measure, it doesn't have to be paid back. I'd planned to wait a year or two, but with the government literally giving away free money to home buyers, I'd be crazy not to push my timetable forward. So, in the interest of keeping my ignorant ass from the poor house, I'm gonna try to do what Tuco did and post the process here as I go through it. Any insight from veteran home owners or REAs would be greatly appreciated. Step the First: I spoke with a lender yesterday and received a prequalification for my price range (150-160k). He said I could afford more. I told him that's nice but I'd prefer to keep to the range stated, as I don't want my bills to increase. So, got my range set. The lender was very helpful, and broke down exactly what my payment would be, assuming a certain property tax rate. In general, I should be looking at a monthly payment right in line with my current apartment rent. I'll be going with an FHA loan, so the insurance isn't much at all. Question: Would I benefit from talking to another lender and seeing if I can get better terms? What I was provided seemed pretty damn competitive already, certainly better than what some of my friends have gotten in the last year. Step the Second: I've started looking around at home listings. Started online before talking with an agent, and registered at ZipRealty since it had a nice search engine. One of their agents called me yesterday evening and asked me to highlight some properties I was interested in to get started. Found a few so far, mostly a touch further from the interstate than I would prefer, but it's looking good. Found one very promising home in foreclosure for 125k that's a strong possibility, going to take a look this weekend at the property in person. So that's where I'm at so far. The big thing I need to learn now is what I'm looking at specifically when I visit a property. How much can I snoop around, what questions do I ask, and most importantly what documentation can I expect the home owner to provide regarding repairs, defects etc. Dunno if anyone'll see this or not, but if so, any help would be appreciated.

02-17-2009, 12:09 PM	#42 (permalink)
MrGraham The Next Orange Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,324 +11 Internets	How long is the 8000 credit available?

02-17-2009, 12:29 PM	#43 (permalink)
Heylel Teomim The Educated Fool Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 2,989 +19 Internets	December 1, 2009. To qualify you cannot have owned property in the last 3 years, so it's mostly a first time buyer thing. It comes as a credit on your taxes, so next April you would get a refundable credit of 8k. So if you owed 1000 in taxes, you'd get 7k back, etc.