My experience as a first time home buyer in San Francisco Real Estate |
- My experience as a first time home buyer in San Francisco
- First time home buyer in sellers market questions (NY)
- Chicago Suburbs Real Estate Bubble?
- Under contract on a home, discovered there is no cable or internet available.
- Buying new build home with VA loan - Agent and Fees Question
- Buying a foreclosure via auction [Ohio]
- Guidance on sale of rental properties
- 1BR Condo in Houston, high HOA?
- Loan Options
- Selling a house to a family member?
- Entering into an oral lease with someone not in the state/never met in person
- Selling land owned outright. Found an interested buyer through a mutual friend. Do I need to go through an agent to complete the sale?
- Need a good book on the financials of RE investing...
- At what point should I shop around for a mortgage?
- X-Post from r/legaladvice - Bought a house and was told it was termite free. This clearly wasn't the case.
- Question about counteroffer to buyer
- What is the average amount of time on the market for a 2M+ home in Queens NY?
- How to find out about Condo rules???
- Should I buy this piece of land? (Short detail inside)
- MLS database access for academic purposes
- FIRST TIME HOME BUYER STRUGGLES- Advice Welcome!
- New or existing? How/what/when did you decide? Plus some FTHB questions.
- Looking at a plot of land near a river
- Worried about refinance appraisal
| My experience as a first time home buyer in San Francisco Posted: 03 Jun 2018 01:58 PM PDT I learned a ton from reading this sub in the time leading up to buying my first home, so I wanted to write this up as an anecdote to encourage folks who are daunted by buying a house in a really hot market. It's long, but the TL;DR is 1) make spreadsheets, 2) find the right agent, 3) our house buying experience was really great and we snagged a wonderful home for under our budget on our first offer. My bf and I moved to SF 5 years ago. We both work in tech, so we make decent income, but it still took us 5 years of scrimping to get the down payment. When we first moved to SF, buying a house seemed like such an impossibility, but we made a spreadsheet projecting our finances into the future and realized that if we saved aggressively, we'd be able to afford something in 4-5 years. We set up a house fund and put a set amount into it every month, without fail. When we got raises from our jobs, we put the extra money into the house fund and continued living as if we hadn't gotten a raise. Finally, we had about 10% down for a $1.5 million place. We wanted a single-family home because we're musicians and didn't want to disturb our neighbors with our loud, awful music (we play in a metal band). Single-family homes in SF in decent locations are really rare, and we thought it was a long shot, but we still cautiously proceeded. About three weeks ago we started the process. The first agent we talked to was from Zillow, and he sucked. He was an experienced agent, but he didn't listen to us and just gave us lectures about how our expectations were too high. What he never bothered to learn from us is that we were specifically looking for an old house that needed work, which turned out to be achievable in our price range. I found the agent we eventually went with at an open house for a really beat up, beautiful victorian home that was way over our budget but I still went for funsies. The agent was really kind and professional and when she asked me if I had an agent yet I gladly said no (screw you Zillow guy) and forked over my information. From that point on, she took us under her wing and glided us through the process. She really took the time to get to know us and understand our desires. She helped us with lenders and walked us through the whole process. Just a couple days later, we had pre-approval for a $1.5M house, from a really great lender who's also been a dream to work with. A few days after that, my bf and I were on Zillow, and we saw an old house in a great location originally listed for $1.5M but recently re-listed at $1.25M. It had some gaudy upgrades from the 70s, but most of the Edwardian era details were still there actually. The photos were not very flattering, but it was apparent that it had good bones. It had been listed for 30 days already and our agent was skeptical when we asked to go see it. She said usually houses like that either disappear suddenly, or there's something wrong with it. We were persistent though so she got in touch with the listing agent and we arranged to see it. The next day we were there, and we discovered what was "wrong" with it. There were people still living in it! It was messy, not staged, storage areas were full of decades of junk. The showing was really awkward. There was a guy there who didn't know we were coming. There was a dog running around. At first we thought it was tenant occupied, which gave us pause. But we later learned that the house would be sold vacant and the people living there were heirs who had inherited the house. The house also didn't have a garage and the lot was small (no yard), but we don't own a car and have no dog or kids and we're not gardeners, so it didn't matter to us at all. It did have a large unfinished basement that would make a superb music studio. I don't understand why the listing agent chose to sell the house occupied. Maybe the sellers didn't have the funds to leave the house vacant while they were selling it? At any rate, it had everything we wanted, and so far, no other offers. Apparently, it's very common for SF houses to get listed way under asking as a marketing technique. The listing agent for this place made the "mistake" of listing it at market rate. Couple that with the fact that it shows really poorly, we knew it was a golden opportunity. They were taking offers the next day at 5pm so we scrambled and put something together. We decided to put an offer for $1.35M, and we'd bump that to $1.4M if it came to it. It's 5pm and we are in the process of docusigning our offer when we get a text from our agent saying "DON'T SIGN THE OFFER". Apparently the listing agent straight up told our agent that there were no other offers coming in (listing agent mistake #3). So at the last minute we dropped the offer to $1.3M. The last twist in this story is the owner wanted to meet us before accepting our offer. Apparently this is unorthodox, but we were up for it. We all piled in his living room, and it was uncomfortable at first, but we hit it off. The owner had grown up in the house and his family had owned it for over 50 years. His sister lived next door, his whole family lived in the neighborhood, and we could tell it pained him to let the house go. He wanted to make sure the house was going to good people who would cherish it and be good community members, not just real estate investors or flippers. I was really touched, and we were all crying by the end of it. Ultimately, he accepted our $1.3M offer and just like that, we had bought a house in SF! It was the first and only house we put an offer in on. I couldn't possibly be happier with how everything went. I've heard only nightmarish stories about buying real estate in SF/other hot markets, but this proved to me that it does not need to be like that if you know what you're looking for, can look beyond superficial things, like junk in the attic and 70s era upgrades, and are a good team with your partner and your agent. Anyways, if you've read this far, thanks and I hope you enjoyed our story and best of luck to all of you still in the home buying process. [link] [comments]  |
| First time home buyer in sellers market questions (NY) Posted: 03 Jun 2018 08:26 AM PDT I am a first time home buyer in NY (Long Island). The market is crazy right now. I have missed many houses from people making full price, sight unseen offers or over asking price offers. I finally made a full price offer and that got accepted. I had my home inspection and was present for it. Like I'm sure any house on the market there were some issues but nothing that would make me walk away. Now I am getting ready to go into contract. My questions are (since I am new to this) is that I always hear about getting price reductions from things found during the inspection, sellers fixing issues, doing a walk through of the house to make sure everything is fixed, having a punch list etc. Honestly I feel at this point I can not say anything as the sellers have such a big advantage. This house has back up offers and everything now. I wouldn't necessarily be upset but is it just set that I'm paying full price and must fix whatever is found on my own? Again this is my first home purchase so I don't know what is negotiable and how that works. Does my contract lay all of this out? Thank you. [link] [comments]  |
| Chicago Suburbs Real Estate Bubble? Posted: 03 Jun 2018 10:53 PM PDT Everyone keeps saying it's a bubble and others keep pushing its a sellers market. I'm a first time home buyer with a approved conventional loan and 20% down. I'm curious if this is just a bubble or if it's going to stay for a while? I need to buy something over the summer as we're getting married come this October. [link] [comments]  |
| Under contract on a home, discovered there is no cable or internet available. Posted: 03 Jun 2018 05:10 PM PDT Yes, I understand this it totally first world problems. Also, if this is not the place for this please let me know. But we just went under contract on a property that we love. We have gone back and forth for weeks as the home is in an estate and finally they accepted our offer! We have yet to have the appraisal and inspection, but were looking up utilities to get that all ready before we close. We discovered that there is no internet or cable service providers in this area. We drove to the property and spoke with the neighbors who were outside, they confirmed no cable/internet in the area and said the only option is satellite. The only thing available is Hughes Net satellite internet which I know is expensive and meant as a (very poor) last resort for rural areas. And they think that ONE company (Fairpoint) can reach but at their lowest speed of 7mbps. We are a young couple and do enjoy our technology, and I am a student. Is lack of usable internet a reason to bail? What really sucks is that the major internet provider in the area stops only 2 miles down from this house, and they are not willing to entertain extending service. This house is on a state road as well! The other concern is that our realtor said if we did want to back out she said she would have to check with her broker, we would most likely have to go through with inspection and lose that money I guess. Like I said this is definitely first world problems. We are pretty upset that it has come to this and I know our realtor must think we are ridiculous, but we are upset and torn! TL;DR: we are under contract, learned afterwards that only internet that is available is SUPER shitty. Can I get out? Edit: for more info we are in NH, our offer was accepted on 6/1. [link] [comments]  |
| Buying new build home with VA loan - Agent and Fees Question Posted: 03 Jun 2018 06:33 AM PDT I'm buying a new home with a VA loan, and putting an offer in. It is a new build home, the last on the lot before they start building more down the road. My first question is about the real estate agent representing both the buyer and the seller. The agent was not trying to mislead, and showed us plenty of other houses, but she happened to be the listing agent for this one, which we really liked, and was not trying to mislead us. When I asked her about representing both parties, she said it's fairly common since it's a small town (<30k), but she respects the fiduciary responsibility to both parties, and since it's a builder it's not as hard of a problem. Is there anything I should look out for when dealing with this situation, I trust the agent and don't want to switch, just looking for common problems seen and things to look out for when in this situation? My next question is regarding closing fees. If I am putting 5% down (VA loan), and the seller is covering some of my closing costs, where does that go into. For example, if I purchased a $300,000 home, I plan on putting $15,000 down (to lower my VA funding fee from 3% to 1.5%), but there are roughly 8,000 in closing costs (VA Funding fee, taxes, title), do I then have to pay an additional $8,000 on top of my down payment, minus whatever closing costs the seller covers, or can I wrap remaining fees into the mortgage. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Buying a foreclosure via auction [Ohio] Posted: 03 Jun 2018 07:37 PM PDT If I buy a foreclosed home in an auction, can I make the purchase contingent on the sale of my home? Do people typically buy foreclosed/auctioned homes to live in or are they typically bought as investment properties? [link] [comments]  |
| Guidance on sale of rental properties Posted: 03 Jun 2018 01:33 PM PDT I am hoping to get ideas or suggestions on my 2 rental properties. I am wanting to get out of the landlord side and sell both single family homes. One is worth around $130k while the other is about $65k. Both homes are owned free and clear. I don't really have need for the funds upfront so am thinking about offering the properties up with owner financing to possibly avoid the cost of selling thru an agent. I would try to find buyers with 20% down, possibly those with no credit or bad credit. I am 60 years old and am looking for monthly income from the buyers without the hassles of renting it out again. Any feedback from the experts here. [link] [comments]  |
| 1BR Condo in Houston, high HOA? Posted: 03 Jun 2018 06:42 PM PDT I really want to buy a 1 bedroom ($300-$400k) inside the loop in Houston, but some of these ridiculous HOA/maintenance fees are throwing me off...$600-800/mo?! Add in $8-9k/yr in taxes and you're on the hook to pay $1300/mo forever, after paying off the mortgage. Am I missing something, how do these condos make financial sense? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Jun 2018 06:23 PM PDT Have a 760 credit score, but missed a department store payment 4 months ago. Although my score only dropped 10 points my traditional, bank lender said they won't lend until I have 0 missed payments for 12 months. Make ~$40k a year and am qualified for $180k. Then with missed payment I'm now no longer able to with lender I was using. Any help or direction is appreciated. Will other lenders take me? Are LendingTree/SoFi options to purchase and refinance later? [link] [comments]  |
| Selling a house to a family member? Posted: 03 Jun 2018 05:42 PM PDT Hi Reddit! So, my parents are in their early 70s. They have agreed to sell their small home in Massachusetts worth around 250,000 to my sister and her fiancé. A couple issues... My sister and her fiancé have been engaged for 10 years, have 3 kids and are unlikely to get married anytime soon. He has a good job and credit but my sister doesn't work and has no credit. My parents owe 150,000 on the house and are planning on using the 100,000 they would get from the sale to build an addition onto the home as an in-law apartment for themselves with separate utilities. Everyone involved is happy with the plans to build and we are planning on talking to a local trust attorney and bank about the best way to sell the house or transfer ownership. My main concern is protecting my parents and sisters interests in this transaction. Even though my sister doesn't have credit/money, I want her to be as much a owner as her fiancé. She is making a huge sacrifice by offering to be there to take care of my parents in their later years. So I'm not looking to benefit at all from the sale of the home now or in the future. Should my sister and fiancé just buy the house from my parents, then set up an irrevocable trust so my parents can live there without fear of losing their stake in the home? Or maybe add my sister and fiancé to the deed and have them refinance to build the addition? I'd love to hear some advice, suggestions, experience? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Entering into an oral lease with someone not in the state/never met in person Posted: 03 Jun 2018 04:58 PM PDT I found a pretty nice apartment on craigslist a few weeks ago. Interviewed over the phone with the owner, who lives about 4 hours away in a different state. He set me up with one of the current residents for a tour and everything seemed okay. The house is nice, but I only got to meet one tenant. The real problem is that he wants to do an oral lease. While I got in contact with the other renters and they said he's a nice landlord, I can't help but feel uneasy. I have never met this guy, and while I've been to the house and met a tenant who seemed great the idea of sending a security deposit and first months rent to a voice over the phone seems like something an idiot would do. He doesn't seem to want a lease for tax reasons (I'm assuming). I would probably be fine with this if I were doing it in person, as month to month favors me right now. If I send this through paypal and am indeed scammed, could I chargeback the money and show them my communication to prove I was scammed? Should I just avoid this? The apartment is very reasonably priced and I like it so I'm leaning towards going for it and trying to get my money back if its a scam. At the end of the day I won't be homeless if I lose this money, but I would like to not to. The reward on the gamble is a great apartment in a blooming neighborhood. would be happy to answer questions if it helps clarify the situation. thanks for any help in advance. edit: this is in dc. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Jun 2018 04:43 PM PDT |
| Need a good book on the financials of RE investing... Posted: 03 Jun 2018 09:58 AM PDT Hi all! I've been on a few RE investing groups, mostly on FB, and am looking for a good book on the crunching the financials in purchasing. Some people have recommended a few podcasts, which appear really, really basic. I understand the RE game is a numbers game, and you live or die by the financials. Thus, I want something that spells out the financials to the nth degree. Any suggestions? [link] [comments]  |
| At what point should I shop around for a mortgage? Posted: 03 Jun 2018 03:54 PM PDT I've been working with an agent from a popular listing site for a while now looking for homes in Maryland. She sent me some contacts/links for some good people to get a pre-approval from, which were reviewed on the site. The guy I selected had many good reviews, although I don't see any yelp review for him. There was another guy I looked up after with a different company who was also shown on this listing site who had less reviews and maybe a half-star rating less than the one I selected for the pre-approval, but he has a Yelp review and it's pretty good, as were the reviews for the company he represents. There were, however, Yelp reviews for the company the first guy I selected represented, and many were not good. The overall ratings I saw were 2 stars to 4+, mostly on the lower end which makes me nervous. Now... I put a few offers in for a few places along the search, and I needed to get pre-approved twice and each time he was great to work with, and now I'm under contract with a house and I want to make sure I get the best deal, and not get screwed by a terrible company. My questions are, I suppose:
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| Posted: 03 Jun 2018 06:27 AM PDT About 6 months ago my wife and I bought a house in Florida. Because of the nature of the home loan, it was required to have a clear WDO (Wood Destroying Organism) report. The first report I received said they saw a few pieces of evidence indicating the possible existence of termites (wings in the attic). It also said the house was treated in 2015 for Subterranean Termites. When I submitted this paperwork it raised a few questions with the loan, so my realtor, the seller's realtor, and the escrow agency (a law firm in the area) discussed the issue. They made a few calls and eventually got back to me telling me that it had all been cleared up and that we were good to go. We continued with closing and started enjoying our new abode. Fast forward 3-4 months and I notice some concerning signs. I see frass (termite droppings) in a few locations, so I call a company to come give a full chemical treatment of the house as well as a subterranean treatment ($2300), and I was hoping that was that. Well the pain continues as they are now swarming and flying around my house. A few pieces of door and window trim throughout the house are cracked open and are hollow inside due to damage. I have also seen other areas of damage. The house is old, so I know there is going to be termite damage given the area, but when I had the company come out to spot treat again the technicians said it is clear that they have been there for a while given that there are a multitude of colony locations. Just to be clear, these are drywood termites. I am about to have another company come tent the house ($1500) to for sure kill every little monster in here. It is clear to me that this is not a problem that just appeared out of nowhere, and I find it hard to believe that the previous owners hadn't seen signs of this. I also am starting to wonder what happened with the paperwork that allowed me to continue with the buying process and declared the house as WDO free. Do I have any options here for legal recourse? I'm at my wits end and afraid that this will take a toll on my wallet that I am not equipped to handle. Thank you for any help you can give me in advance. - A concerned owner [link] [comments]  |
| Question about counteroffer to buyer Posted: 03 Jun 2018 09:04 AM PDT Situation: I'm in the SF Bay Area. I have a home that was on the market a few months ago, but decided to remove as there was a short sale for a nearby unit that is now in contingency. We were waiting to put it back on the market due to this. In the meantime, someone who's renting in the same complex noticed that we removed listing, and provided an offer in the hopes that we wouldn't put it back on the market again, thereby avoiding a potential bidding situation, which is common in the area I live in. Their reason is that they already live here, know the area, etc. Makes perfect sense. Since I thought it was a big deal to not list and get a potential higher price, and providing them a huge advantage, we counter-offered and asked for 7k more, and thought this was very reasonable. They declined and walked. This is my first time selling a home, and I'm in sales, so I'm very curious as to why someone would walk without negotiating what is ultimately a measly sum of money given our price range. Any opinions would be appreciated. They also didn't have a pre-approval letter when they sent the original offer. [link] [comments]  |
| What is the average amount of time on the market for a 2M+ home in Queens NY? Posted: 03 Jun 2018 02:20 PM PDT |
| How to find out about Condo rules??? Posted: 03 Jun 2018 01:45 PM PDT Second post today - sorry... I own a few places already (rentals) and I'm looking to add with some softening in the markets north of me. A few condos are for sale, but I'm REALLY inexperienced looking through HOA stuff. Like inexperienced enough that I might not be able to google what I want to know which is : can I rent these things out? Who do I ask for this? What do I search online? etc... [link] [comments]  |
| Should I buy this piece of land? (Short detail inside) Posted: 03 Jun 2018 10:56 AM PDT So there's a beautiful lot for sale in a neighborhood that my wife and I both love. We have the money to buy it, but I don't think banks give loans for new constructions? Or is that something that comes through the contractor? In any case, we won't have the 20% for another two years, so would it be a bad idea to buy the land now? It's on a slope, for one, so there might be dirt work required. It appears to have easements, but doesn't state which. And the neighborhood has covenants, but they don't mention anything about building within a certain period of time. Thank you for your time. [link] [comments]  |
| MLS database access for academic purposes Posted: 03 Jun 2018 09:50 AM PDT Im wondering if anyone knows if there's resource for getting database access if your not in the market for a home and not realtor. Im not interested in pictures. Just information on the homes (location, sale price, beds, baths, lot size etc.) Historical info, but preferably including fairly recent information. Ive checked resources from Zillow, Redfin and Trulia but havent found exactly what I'm after. What they provide is basically just they're own analysis. **edit: I'm in Austin TX, LocationBot [link] [comments]  |
| FIRST TIME HOME BUYER STRUGGLES- Advice Welcome! Posted: 03 Jun 2018 09:38 AM PDT My boyfriend and I have been trying to buy a house in the Philadelphia suburbs. We are limited to a very specific location because we need to stay in his daughter's school district. Even though lots of houses keep coming on the market, they houses at our lower price point have been selling for well above asking in a matter of days. It is very quickly becoming draining putting in offers and then waiting (sometimes 72 hrs) for sellers to get back to us. Any advice on how best to get a home in a quick selling market? [link] [comments]  |
| New or existing? How/what/when did you decide? Plus some FTHB questions. Posted: 03 Jun 2018 08:49 AM PDT Local housing market = low inventory. Homes are being built, but not fast enough to meet demand. Not really a great time to buy with the current 'insane' prices, but not sure when/if that will change since it's a growing area. The rental market is no better. Main options to buy are the town I work in (~200(180 if lucky)-250k for existing, 200-250k for new) and a smaller neighboring town (~20-30k less on low end--schools aren't great but no kids, slightly lower property taxes, and possibly slightly larger lots). Prices are for 3bd/2b w/garage non-manufactured homes on city-sized lots. Initial thought was to prioritize existing homes at the bottom of the price range in town that had a good layout and likely do some upgrades (hard flooring, for example), but I'm starting to wonder if I should seriously consider new builds and/or the neighboring town? A new house for ~230k sounds a whole lot better than a 5-50+ year old house at, well, ~230k...or even 200-220k...as could see putting that extra 'savings' into the house in short order, whether desired (flooring or other cosmetic upgrades) or not (HVAC, roof, new sewer line, etc.). Not sure where the price cut-off should be, although thinking I'd want to definitely be sub 200k for existing at most? Then there's neighboring town, which runs a bit cheaper for both new and existing, but there are fewer options. Sigh. Anyone been in a market where prices are similar for new/existing? What did you do? What were the deciding factors? What would you do if you had to do it again? I suspect when it comes down to it, it'll possibly depend on the housing market this fall/early next year, which is when I was going to start looking. But, generally, when would be the best time to look between Oct 2018 and summer 2019? No house to sell or rental lease to time, so can be pretty flexible time-wise, but I know that's more the 'off' season. Or just buy/start looking when I can? But then it comes back to 'Buy...but buy what?' Is starting with an agent still my best bet, even if I may end up leaning toward a new build? Some random FTHB-type questions I can think of right now: tl;dr; Local housing market isn't great for buyers (low inventory/inflated prices/growing area). New homes are being built, but with lack of supply new and existing homes are similarly priced. Existing vs. new? In town or cheaper but less desirable neighboring town? Is fall of this year or early next year the better time? Any other pros/cons to help decide/consider that a FTHB might not think of? [link] [comments]  |
| Looking at a plot of land near a river Posted: 03 Jun 2018 08:43 AM PDT 2 ac 100 ft of river frontage. Pulls back from the water a decent amount. I'm curious what kinds of issues you would run into living right on a river. Property appears to be cheap. Is it flooding? [link] [comments]  |
| Worried about refinance appraisal Posted: 03 Jun 2018 08:41 AM PDT Location: Phoenix, AZ metro Hi all, Just looking for some advice/input. About 6 months ago we were looking into a refinance. We needed our house to appraise at $205k for what we were trying to accomplish. I knew that some houses in our neighborhood (there are only 3 floor plans in our neighborhood - one is smaller but same number of bedrooms, one is larger and is a 4 bedroom (ours is 3) sold for $205k or more so I wasn't very worried. Appraisal came back at $189k which obviously sucked and I lost $500. I have been in contact with another loan officer because we are trying again. He pulled comps and thinks we should be fine this go around. But I am still hesitant because I don't want to lose another $500 for nothing. It's also frustrating because the homes sold in my neighborhood the last 3 months are kind of all over the place. One of the 4 bedrooms sold a month ago for $230k, but a few days ago a 4 bedroom closed at $196k! A home with the same floor plan as mine with slightly better upgrades sold for $207k, and another (same floor plan as mine again) for $195k (no upgrades at all). So I guess my question is, should I wait a bit longer to let the prices level out? [link] [comments]  |
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