• Breaking News

    Monday, May 7, 2018

    A lot of homeowners in my area (GA) have sold their properties to a spouse or child for $1, however, nobody has moved for 10+ years. Are there any financial advantages of this? Real Estate

    A lot of homeowners in my area (GA) have sold their properties to a spouse or child for $1, however, nobody has moved for 10+ years. Are there any financial advantages of this? Real Estate


    A lot of homeowners in my area (GA) have sold their properties to a spouse or child for $1, however, nobody has moved for 10+ years. Are there any financial advantages of this?

    Posted: 06 May 2018 03:21 PM PDT

    I've noticed that many of my neighbors have sold their houses to a relative for $1 but there has been no change in who is living in the house. What are the advantages to doing this? Is this some sort of tax scheme that I should know about? I don't know enough about real estate to determine when something is fraudulent but it seems like everyone in the area knows something that I don't. Any feedback would be appreciated! Thank you!

    submitted by /u/Shartimus_Prime
    [link] [comments]

    Can i get a copy of the building plans for someones house?

    Posted: 07 May 2018 01:27 AM PDT

    I'm looking to build a new single family house in the style of a house nearby my location. I was wondering if its usually possible to go to the local government and ask to have a copy of someone elses house plans. please help.

    submitted by /u/absoul1985
    [link] [comments]

    Nervous After Home Inspection

    Posted: 06 May 2018 06:44 PM PDT

    So I recently put in an offer on a house. It's a flip. Looked to be exactly what I wanted. I'm a single guy, limited budget, so I didn't need or want anything big.

    This is a nice little cottage, ocean view, 1200sq feet. It was done up pretty nice. New flooring, new kitchen cabinets, granite counter tops.

    Original sale price was 230, dropped to 209, they took my offer of 202.

    They were in a big rush to get me to sign the purchase and sale.

    In fact they wanted me to the same day as the inspection.

    Well, my attorney made sure that didn't happen.

    There were some major issues. He sent them a letter addressing all of it.

    Tomorrow I'm suppose to hear back what they offer to do.

    I know nobody here is interested in reading the whole report, but here's the 6 page summary that gives the gist of things.

    One added concern not in the summary but on the report is the roof. The inspector didn't go on the roof, he just viewed it from the street. A lot of curling with the shingles, he recommended getting a roofing company to look at it, which I have scheduled. I knew ahead of time the roof wasn't new, 14 years old. But I was hoping I would get at least another five years or so out of it.

    I'm just nervous here and thinking about walking regardless of what they offer to do. Besides the big issues there was just a lot of shoddy work we saw during the inspection. One example, the baseboards weren't cut out where the new diffusers were put in...they literally just put them flush with the baseboards so there a big gap up top on them (I think the house previously had grate floor ones). The closet door handle in the master bedroom is also "fake". They literally just a door handle through a hole in the door. There's no spindle/latch bolt. So those are just examples of the kind of work done.
    Oh and then my favorite....the basement faucet wasn't working. So instead of replacing the faucet on the utility sink, they put in a valve above it. So in order for me to run a hooked up washing machine, the faucet would be on full blast the entire time....

    This really seems like a "walk" to me, unless they take off....I'm not even sure maybe 15k or more? Not sure if that's too little or too much, just my own estimate. That's really what I was looking for advice on here.

    Massachusetts

    https://imgur.com/a/VOY2Kpo

    submitted by /u/adocdt
    [link] [comments]

    Can I add my freelance income when applying for mortgage with my husband?

    Posted: 06 May 2018 10:46 AM PDT

    Hi all,

    My husband and I are thinking about maybe buying a house somewhere in the North Jersey area. Nothing expensive or fancy, just a 2 bedroom condo that runs for less than 350k. My husband's annual income is only about 45k/year and I make around the same, making about 90k/year for the both of us. The only problem is that I work as a freelance. I'm employed at one company as a full time freelancer and have worked for a little over half a year here and will continue to work for at least another year. I have worked full-time as an exempt employee over the last two years and this is my first time working as a freelancer.

    When looking at mortgage calculators to see what we can afford, it asks for household income. Our annual household income is technically 90k but I hear that you can't use your freelance income when applying for mortgages. Is this true?

    Would it be extremely hard to get an approval for a home mortgage loan if we want to do conventional loan with 5% down for 300k condo? We have 0 debt and also have around 50k in savings (not sure if that matters at all). Any advice?

    submitted by /u/ohyes1107
    [link] [comments]

    Rental property Deposit?

    Posted: 06 May 2018 06:26 PM PDT

    About to rent my first rental property house. What's a good estimate of how much the deposit should be? I'm renting it for $850 a month I'm in Texas

    submitted by /u/Coronado2018
    [link] [comments]

    When to start evictions? (NJ USA)

    Posted: 06 May 2018 12:43 PM PDT

    For the last 3 months my tenant has been late paying rent every month, with payments typically coming in around the 8th. I've been waiving her late fees (50 / month) to be nice, which I regret in retrospect. It is now the 6th and she not only hasn't paid me the 5/1 payment but she is ignoring my texts and emails. When should I send the notice to quit (i.e. the first step in eviction)? Her lease is until 10/31. I want to keep things civil and keep her paying until that time. I also don't want to wait too long because I know evictions take forever in NJ. I believe there is a chance that she will pay, as she has been late the last few months, but I'm getting worried about her not replying to my contact. Any advice?

    submitted by /u/ILoveBrunchSpots
    [link] [comments]

    Need help with NYC lease.

    Posted: 06 May 2018 06:58 PM PDT

    My situation is a little bit complicated and need urgent advice. I live in a small apt in NYC and I've been living there for about 8 years. Problem is the lease wasn't under my name. The lease owner was a disabled friend of the family that was living with his daughter ever since he suffered a stroke, so we moved in and took all responsibilities of the rent and bills. We've never fallen behind on rent and never have had problems with any neighbors.

    Fast forward today, the lease is up and the owner doesn't want to renew and told us we can transfer it to our name, so I spoke with the super to do just that. Last week the landlord came to see the situation and spoke with us. He said he's willing to give us the lease but is asking for 4 months rent under the new rent amount. I found it too much but given our situation and the fact he has no obligation to give it to us I caved in and told him the money will be ready in a week or two.

    Well, the super told us that the landlord is passing by to get the money tomorrow, but insisted we pay cash, and not money order, and afterwards that we would receive our lease in a couple of days. That's when I snapped and told him it all just seems fishy. I don't understand why he would only accept cash and why we would have to receive the lease afterwards. I want receipts of the money I'm handing to him, and I want to know what I'm getting into before giving away so much.

    So my real question is, how much say do I have in all this given my situation, and is what the landlord and super doing legal at all?

    submitted by /u/mstrkmn842
    [link] [comments]

    19-year-old seeking guidance.

    Posted: 07 May 2018 12:47 AM PDT

    Hello all, very interested in real estate investing to build wealth.

    I would appreciate some insight on where to get started (books, advice, numbers) as I would like to get started as soon as possible.

    Thanks in advance :)

    submitted by /u/terrancedavius
    [link] [comments]

    Lenders that don't follow "Fannie/Freddie" guidelines?

    Posted: 06 May 2018 06:22 PM PDT

    I've run into a rule by Fannie/Freddie that's preventing me from qualifying for a standard loan. I'm looking to purchase the other condominium in my 2-unit building, and Fannie/Freddie have a rule against one party owning 100% of the HOA. So no major lenders will touch it. To be clear, for any other property I am financially super well qualified. It's purely the HOA rule.

    I've had suggestions to go the private lending route (rates too high, terms too short) or to find a local credit union or other lender that uses their own pool of money and doesn't resell the loans.

    Does anyone know any lenders that might be a fit? *edit: location is San Francisco (and the large loan amounts that go with it)

    submitted by /u/yekim
    [link] [comments]

    FHA Financing Approved on REO - Steady Deal?

    Posted: 06 May 2018 11:07 AM PDT

    I'll keep this short and sweet. We recently had our offer accepted on a Freddie Mac Homesteps REO using FHA financing. We would never be able to afford a home with this square footage in this neighborhood otherwise, so we're hoping this doesn't fall apart. The bank has already done several repairs, including a new roof, new A/C - Heating, bathroom and kitchen plumbing fix, & subfloor replacement in the guest bathroom. We offered 8k above asking but the home is still roughly 40k below the neighborhood median value. We're hoping the repairs we will do in the first year along with the rising home prices will put us in a refinancing situation to lose the mortgage insurance.

    Would a bank put this kind of money/repair into a home & accept an FHA offer knowing the deal would fall apart anyway? There is peeling paint on the side of the home and dry rot on the siding near the bottom. Our agent spoke with the listing agent who told him "I can't guarantee anything but in 10 years I haven't seen a deal unravel over a little peeling paint or some dry rot". She also confirmed that since we are over asking price, the bank may have the wiggle room to fix the FHA appraisal demands.

    My question is, does this seem like a relatively steady deal? We have an inspection to reveal the issues this Tuesday barring no foundation issues - should we move forward to appraisal or is this a lost cause we should have avoided in the first place?

    EDIT: I should have also mentioned we are first time home buyers so we're not well versed in the intricacies of lending. We're located in Oregon.

    submitted by /u/Tajiti
    [link] [comments]

    (CA) Stay in the rental we like, or buy a starter? How much house can we afford?

    Posted: 06 May 2018 09:55 PM PDT

    Thanks in advance for reading.

    My husband and I are in our mid-30s with 2.5 kids. I currently bring home $65k, and he stays home with the kids. We have excellent credit. We rent for $1300/mo. It's a 2br duplex, which is far too small for our needs, but a good price for our area and we really like the neighborhood, so we've been happy to work within the limitations of the space for the last few years.

    We have a few things to consider, and, since we've never bought a home, we're completely naive about a lot of this.

    1) The houses we like in this area are in the $500k range. Online estimator-majigs tells us we can afford about $300k. Would making a larger down payment make a difference, or is $500k just outlandish at our current income? I have no idea how that works, but we do potentially have enough for a decent down payment if we cash out some of our investments.

    2) With this place being too small and $1300/mo, there are mobile homes in the area that are larger, which Zillow has listed for about $65k-$100k, but the area is not an area we'd like to live. Would that be a wise way to save money faster?

    3) Should we just suck it up and buy something in our price range that we don't particularly like, and plan to move up to a more desirable house when our income increases? I only know how equity works based on assumption.

    Other factors that keep us wishy-washy:

    • We stand to inherit a house in the future. Could be a year, could be 15 years. If we're already in a house we love we won't move in, but otherwise we will because, even though we don't love the house itself, it's in a very desirable part of the state.
    • Our income is likely to either increase or decrease in the next few months, due to me changing jobs and him working on a project that may or may not pay out.
    submitted by /u/fruitjerky
    [link] [comments]

    Detroit question

    Posted: 06 May 2018 01:10 PM PDT

    Hi all, I'm not sure if this is the best place to post, but I'm from Denver and thinking of moving to Detroit. There's so many cheap, amazing seeming places that seem too good to be true (which of course means they likely are) I'm really just looking for some advice on the area or a good agent. Any help is greatly appreciated!

    submitted by /u/ash_ofthe_lee
    [link] [comments]

    2018 tax laws new standard deduction and mortgage interest question

    Posted: 06 May 2018 06:49 AM PDT

    Prospective first time homeowner here... I've read a lot about the new tax laws impact on the higher end and caps on the mortgage interest deduction, but I want to make sure I understand the lower end as well. My understanding is that since the personal/standard deduction is going from 6 to 12k for single filers, many people that used to have interest payments above 6k automatically we're itemizing to get the benefits of the mortgage interest deduction. With the new standard of 12k, many fewer will benefit from itemizing and will essentially get no benefit from deducting mortgage interest. Am I misunderstanding anything?

    submitted by /u/timetwosave
    [link] [comments]

    Finish a basement or buy a new home?

    Posted: 06 May 2018 08:11 PM PDT

    I have a complicated situation. My wife has allergies and can literally only live in new homes where pets and other things have not lived. We install an all home air filter and do some other things.

    Two years ago our home and mold from water and we had to move for her health. We bought a new spec home, 3200 square feet for 450K. Basement is not finished and my plan was to do it. It would be my man cave for a variety of stuff. This year we looked at finishing it and discovered it would cost 45 - 55K to finish. That would also push our total investment to the very high end for the neighborhood. The house has appreciated since we bought it and would sell for 480K or so now.

    So I started considering if buying a new home with a finished basement would be a better move. I found one that is 2400 square feet - 3300 with the basement finished. The new one is also a walkout, my current home is a full. New home would be 475K but the overall quality is better and a two miles away.

    We are both 54, so we think about retirement and buying another home. That said, the basement is something I've wanted and it doesn't seem like a good investment in my current home.

    Curious on opinions. Feel like I'm not thinking straight.

    We live in Maple Grove, Minnesota.

    Thanks

    submitted by /u/qmz007
    [link] [comments]

    Finished course work, now to take online test and then the state test in Georgia. Advice??

    Posted: 06 May 2018 07:43 PM PDT

    M36, leaving the F and B industry to begin a career in Real Estate. Hoping a few kind souls could lend some advice or share stories that may help me in this transition.

    submitted by /u/chefbengates
    [link] [comments]

    Complete Novice, seeking advice on buying rental property as Active Military. (SC)

    Posted: 06 May 2018 07:26 PM PDT

    In about 6 months I'll be looking for a new place to live, and am considering buying that place and then renting it out when I move and having a rental property look after it while I'm away (will be impossible to look after it myself while deployed).

    What factors go into the feasibility of this? So far looking at mortgage prices and what those homes rent for, it looks like the mortgage price + management fees are about half of what I can expect it to rent for, which should more than cover unforeseen events like repairs.

    What kind of capital should I be expected to go into this with?

    The places I'm looking at are very near a base, and the area is growing pretty strong so I'm hoping it's a pretty safe investment but I am new to all this.

    Hoping I can use cash-flow as the main return, not the property getting more expensive, then using that cash flow for other things.

    Thanks for any feedback/advice!

    submitted by /u/acaellum
    [link] [comments]

    VA refi appraisal with downstairs "roommate"?

    Posted: 06 May 2018 07:00 PM PDT

    I'm looking to refi to improve the house and property. The loan is VA, but the last time I refinanced, with appraisal, there was nobody in my basement but me.

    I now have a renter in the basement, off-book. I know this isn't kosher, but I'm interested in knowing whether their furniture etc. down there is likely to throw up red-flags with the VA appraiser.

    I'm not claiming this rent as income on the loan, only my employment income, but if there's a chance that visible evidence of a renter gets them digging into my finances, and this spins out of control or goes pear shaped, it's better for me to do nothing and simply not refinance at all.

    Someone please level with me? I could state that they are living with me rent-free, out of the kindness of my heart, but will that fly? Will the appraiser be a problem, or are they just going to estimate property value and go home?

    submitted by /u/throwawaywithstyle4
    [link] [comments]

    Minor new construction nightmare, quick question

    Posted: 06 May 2018 06:52 PM PDT

    US / NC

    Slab construction, a few weeks before close the builder realized there's a major plumbing issue, so they had to tear up the flooring and foundation above about ten or twelve linear feet, down to the dirt level. (Several large trenches in a couple of rooms.)

    They've described how they're going to fill it in, fix the vapor barrier, repair plank flooring. We will not be closing unless we and our independent inspector are satisfied, and I'll be showing the inspector the pics I have of the house in its currently (partially demo'd) state.

    The question: if we close on this house, and later try to sell it, is this something we'll need to "disclose", like when a car has been in a wreck? Has the house intrinsically lost value because they had to rip up the foundation?

    Thanks, new to this.

    submitted by /u/BetYeager
    [link] [comments]

    Can I purchase a home through FHA in NJ if i already own a house in FL which was bought using FHA

    Posted: 06 May 2018 05:37 PM PDT

    As the title states. I bought a home 5 years ago in Florida using FHA. I now live in NJ (again) and am looking to buy a home here.

    submitted by /u/sslater88
    [link] [comments]

    Can we get a mortgage as newly self employed?

    Posted: 06 May 2018 05:14 PM PDT

    Hi all. Please advise on whether we could get a mortgage considering the details below. If so, should we talk to a broker or shop around ourselves?

    We are a married couple, 24M and 22F. My wife is a full-time student and is not working now. I have been employed until December 2017 earning $45k a year after tax. I quit because I wanted to run my LLC full time. Since January 2018 my business made $48,728 in revenue and $29,824 in net profit. We don't have any kind of debt, wife's parents pay for her college, and we currently rent. Because she doesn't have income, I plan on getting the mortgage alone. My credit score is 775. I never had another loan.

    In this situation, do you think I have a chance of getting approved? Should we wait for another year to pass? Thanks!

    submitted by /u/9buyer03
    [link] [comments]

    Sell my house or rent it out? Advice needed!

    Posted: 06 May 2018 03:42 PM PDT

    My wife and I currently live in a home we purchased in October 2016 for $355 (with 20% down). It is a 2BR, 1 bath, 1200sq ft close to Boston, MA. We put almost 50k into this house when we moved in (which now seems to be a mistake in hindsight). It is a great location for commuters. However, it is on a cut through street that is extremely busy (something we did not investigate before buying.) We really want to get out ASAP - especially since we recently had a baby and we are outgrowing this space.

    We are discussing a few different options here and we aren't sure which path to go down.

    Path 1: Sell the house, using a realtor. Realtor said to list house for $379 in hopes that this will increase through bidding war, etc. Paying realtor fees here, we would essentially be losing money. But, we would have the immediate cash to put down on something we might find in the near future.

    Path 2: FSBO... with a 5 month old baby. And then go rent a place until we find the house we want.

    Path 3: Rent our house out while renting out another place until finding the house we want. Mortgage $1650/mo - potential rent $2100. (In this scenario, we wouldn't have immediate cash to put down on something we could possibly find in the near future but we would have this as an investment property down the road).

    Looking to make the smartest move we can. Advice????

    submitted by /u/HurtinCurtins
    [link] [comments]

    Looking to get an FHA loan on a home later this year, but I'm about to become self employed.

    Posted: 06 May 2018 02:56 PM PDT

    Central FL

    Like the title says...My boyfriend and I are planning to start the search for our first home in November.

    I'm a massage therapist and unfortunately I took a job at a spa that does not treat employees well. If I continue to work here I will be on a fast track to permanent career ending injuries.

    I was trying to hold out quitting until we got our home, but it's getting worse and I'm not sure how much longer I can do this.

    I'd like to switch to working for myself where I will be making the same if not more (most likely more) money.

    How will the effect our chances of getting an fha loan? If it does effect it badly, is there anyway to make up for it in other ways?

    Thank you!

    submitted by /u/_lemontree
    [link] [comments]

    For sale by owner

    Posted: 06 May 2018 08:53 AM PDT

    I live in CT and I want to sell my condo. Is it possible or recommended that I sell my place without an agent? According to their contract, they get 5% of the sale price. According to that percentage, I would be giving up the small profit that I would have made on it.

    submitted by /u/glass_sp0rk
    [link] [comments]

    22-year-old wondering where to begin

    Posted: 06 May 2018 02:46 PM PDT

    Some background, I am a 22-year-old college student graduating in June with no debt (thank god) and about $4,000 in savings currently. I'll have a starting salary of $38k a year and have already planned and organized to save very aggressively. I'm beginning to build up my credit and have always been disciplined about spending/saving. I currently live in a very competitive market that I wouldn't think would be realistic for someone of my means to invest into in the next 2-3 years, but just looking through online sites I have found many good deals on duplex's/triplex's around the state. The only catch is that these are in areas that are 1.5-3 hours away from where I live and moving there would likely stagnate my career growth or give me a nightmare commute. My main question is for a first-time investor would buying a multi-unit property under $200,000 and remotely managing it myself or through a property manager be realistic for me within the next 3-5 years? If this is realistic where should I begin to make this attainable for me in the near future?

    What kind of financing could I get without living in the property?

    Will using a property manager cut into profits enough to make it a bad investment?

    Is finding good tenants in rough areas incredibly hard?

    Right now I am just speculating on my future and obviously still have to save and learn a lot more to make my first move but does this seem like an overly optimistic plan or would I likely have to live in the property to make it profitable?

    Any and all advice is appreciated.

    Edit: Living in Denver, CO currently

    submitted by /u/mhoffy44
    [link] [comments]

    No comments:

    Post a Comment