WE DID IT! Closed in 25 days in LA Real Estate |
- WE DID IT! Closed in 25 days in LA
- US jobless claims now tops 30 million over the last 6 weeks - Worst in US History - Does this affect Housing Prices?
- Refi to get rid of PMI, appraisal came in below 80% LTV. Can I challenge? Negotiate?
- First time homebuyer questions
- Is it just me, or are most homes built in the past 20-30 years low-quality?
- People who were active in 2008, did a lot people argue against the market dropping?
- Can I ask my landlord to rip out a non-functioning heater and brick up the old chimney chute it’s in front of? [Victoria, Australia]
- My goal is to lower my DTI for a new application, how should I file taxes?
- Is a condo a good or bad investment for a first time home buyer?
- Apartment noise complaints
- Anyone else getting home loan rate reduction offers from their lender?
- [MN] Should we still sign buyer agent contract???
- [OR] Looking to buy a home that's not on the market yet - what are the steps?
- St. Hedwig TX home questions.
- How Not to Lead a Realtor On
- New Build advice needed
- Seller offering credit for appliance/etc?
- Small Hail Storm: Who can I trust to look at the roof and be honest?
- Do rent prices generally go up with inflation?
- Do I need a real estate license just to be a buyers agent? Thoughts on representing myself when buying?
- Vermiculite insulation?
- Is it common to share half of buyer’s closing cost when you are selling your house? A $300k house
- *UPDATE* Low Appraisal
- Offer Accepted & Rate Locked in! Now some questions - Northern Virginia
| WE DID IT! Closed in 25 days in LA Posted: 29 Apr 2020 06:57 PM PDT Just wanted to share my story over the last month of viewing and closing on a property in LA through the pandemic. We started this journey about 3 years ago viewing neighborhoods, checking out open houses, and just kicking tires - not serious about it but slowly saving our money for when the opportunity was there. We knew we'd probably be in south LA (Leimert Park, View Park) or far east (Highland Park, Eagle Rock) due to really enjoying the areas and what the neighborhoods offer. They are also a little cheaper compared to the rest of LA because South Central is the hood slowly being gentrified, and the east side is really far for anyone who needs to commute to the west. We viewed our first house on April 2nd in Leimert Park and loved it. It was exactly what we needed, and the price was right - $677k. I was so certain on this place, I told my wife we should put an offer in right away. She wanted to see a few more. We pushed our agent to show us 8 houses the next day so we could confidently make a decision. And guess what? First house was right. Beginner's luck I guess. We put in an offer at asking and I think the pandemic situation was already started to panic sellers and buyers, so it got accepted right away + a $6k credit for appliances. We were stunned. Everyone warned us that we'd get our hearts broken over and over again in this real estate market since it's the hottest in the country and you always hear stories of people buying in cash etc. So thankful we were able to avoid it. We put in another offer on a much more expensive place, just to see what would happen - and we were immediately outbid. No biggie. I didn't want it, but did it for my wife to see the reality of real estate out here. We started with Movement Mortgage as our lender which was a total shitshow. They weren't a great option for me, having a 699 credit rating and carrying credit card debt. Their origination fees were out of this world and customer service was kind of crappy. I recently changed my name in marriage and their underwriters gave me a lot of trouble for it. It almost looked like it wouldn't go through and we'd need to wait. I also couldn't justify the extra $12k in origination fees. Total bs. We couldn't risk this falling through, so we tried another lender at the same time, Better Mortgage. They were absolutely amazing. No issues with the name change, and a better rate with low origination fees. We got a 3.875% rate, a $2,500 kickback from AMEX and free appraisal. Thanks to Reddit for that tip! Viewing homes during COVID was weird, but we were luckily able to avoid the busy open houses so that's a plus. Dealing with Escrow and signing all the title stuff in-person was a funny experience, sitting at the furthest end of a corporate board room table with someone who hadn't seen a customer in 4 weeks. Oh, the best part - the appraisal came in at $700K so #instantequity is very exciting. I can't believe I have the keys and the place is ours! WOOHOO! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2020 06:17 AM PDT The total brings the rolling six-week figure to 30.3 million. See Chart - this DWARFS the Great Recession of 2008/2009 - https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/30/us-weekly-jobless-claims.html [link] [comments]  |
| Refi to get rid of PMI, appraisal came in below 80% LTV. Can I challenge? Negotiate? Posted: 30 Apr 2020 06:46 AM PDT Refinancing and was hoping to get rid of PMI because the market has risen since we bought. Just got the appraisal and it's about 78% loan to value, but the comparables they used are all foreclosures (that look like foreclosures) that sold to investors. The only reason I can think of as these for comps is that our house is single story + basement, as are these. But I see a house 3 blocks away, same sq footage and # of rooms, no basement but finished attic, and it sold for nearly $60K above our estimate. Would that not be a comp? Question is, can we try to push back on the appraisal at this point or should we ask our bank to waive PMI since we're so close to the 80% mark? [link] [comments]  |
| First time homebuyer questions Posted: 30 Apr 2020 05:34 AM PDT Hi all, We're USA expats living abroad. We're going to repatriate and we're trying to figure out a few things:
Thank you and stay safe! Thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Is it just me, or are most homes built in the past 20-30 years low-quality? Posted: 29 Apr 2020 09:40 AM PDT I've been aggressively looking for a home in my city and have been in probably 40 homes so far this year. The only ones I've considered buying were early 1900s-1950s. Every newer home I've been in just felt like trash. Creaking floors everywhere, poorly built, drywall cracking, ceiling not level, uneven molding, etc. Is this a thing? Are homes built well anymore or am I just getting a lot of budget home walkthroughs? [link] [comments]  |
| People who were active in 2008, did a lot people argue against the market dropping? Posted: 30 Apr 2020 06:47 AM PDT I'm curious since the opinion on this corona-recession seems pretty divided. When the market began collapsing in 2008, do you recall if a lot of people argued against the real estate market dropping or was the overall consensus that the market was on it's way down? Not looking for arguments for/against a market decline, just the perspective of people who were active then. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2020 02:32 AM PDT Hi all, I live in a little old house that has gone from residential to commercial to residential over it's lifetime. It's clear that the renovations to this house have been rushed and kinda shoddily done, which I don't mind so much as they don't make too much of an impact on my day to day life. For instance, many of the walls have no paint on them, the shower plumbing is just chock full of silicone making it almost impossible to change washers in the taps, etc. The only problem I actually have is where the chimney used to be. Rather than brick it up like is normally done, whoever did the renovations (not blaming my landlord as I don't know if he did it or bought the house with it) filled the opening with stone rubble and put a heater in front of the space, secured in place into the hardwood floors. The heater looks like it would have been top of the line in the 80s, but no longer works and looks very tacky. With the normal movement of the house over time, a large gap (about 2-3 centimetres) has appeared in between the mantle and the heater. Mice trying to escape from the cold have made a home behind there & I can't get behind it to get rid of them all. While I've put down traps, they're sneaky little shits! (I can't put bait down because I have a dog [landlord approved]). The flue also isn't completely shut up, so cold air gets in all the time. We have winters of 9°C high days, so it's always freezing in this house!! My question is: can I ask my landlord to pull out the non working heater and brick up the chimney flue to solve these problems? [link] [comments]  |
| My goal is to lower my DTI for a new application, how should I file taxes? Posted: 30 Apr 2020 06:12 AM PDT My lender said I just barely didn't meet their DTI requirements on a refinance because I had a few properties that showed a loss on the previous year's tax return. I don't mind paying more taxes this year if it helps me qualify on a good rate, so what's the best way to do that? All my properties have positive cash flow and only have a loss after deductions like utilities, depreciation, etc. He said he couldn't give me any tax advice but mentioned my accountant did a great job, and this was the norm for most investors. Initially my plan was to leave out depreciation, but based on initial research it seems depreciation is not counted by lenders against income, so maybe I have to omit other deductions. Any advice? [link] [comments]  |
| Is a condo a good or bad investment for a first time home buyer? Posted: 30 Apr 2020 06:10 AM PDT On the surface it seems like a condo is basically just an apartment with an HOA, so I don't see the point. What are the biggest pros and cons? I'd especially love to hear the experiences of anyone here who has bought a condo themselves! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2020 05:52 AM PDT So me (26f) and my fiance (28m) just moved into an apartment. He moved in in January 2020 and I followed in March of the same year. We have a 2 y/o female Siberian husky. It's just the 3 of us. My fiance works from home right now due to COVID-19, and I work a 9-3/9-5 schedule. We aren't super loud or anything. We are still trying to adjust to apartment life, we have never lived in one before. Sometimes I have to remind my fiance about the tv/music volume. Nobody has ever said a word to us. Sometimes our husky can get excited and run, and we try our best to calm her down. She's still adjusting to apartment life too. We thought things were pretty good here (Annapolis,MD). It's nice, quiet. Yesterday, my fiance got a call from the apartment office. Noise complaint was made against us. Because of the dog playing making noise, according to my fiance. I don't know the exact wording used. Okay I'll give you that. The night before the dog did have one of her let me run real fast episodes and my fiance chased her like an idiot. My fiance then proceeds to tell me the apartment manager said this wasn't the first complaint they had gotten about us. Obviously he was as dumbfounded as I was. We were never notified of any other complaints. He asks well what was it/why wasn't I notified? He was told "I don't want to get into that right now". He is super paranoid we are going to get evicted if the neighbor downstairs (we were told it was below us) are complaining. Mind you in our lease it says we can't make loud and obnoxious noise. But it doesn't specify "quiet hours" like I've heard of many complexes doing. So my question is really I guess, do I have the right to know what the complaints brought against us are? I find it odd she wouldn't tell him. He is at the point where he feels it doesn't matter and he wants to get the hell out of here ASAP, but I wanna know because how can I fix something if I don't know what else was brought against me? I know nobody can be evicted right now because courts are closed. But how many complaints would it take to be evicted ? How would something like this hold up in court if they aren't even telling me what else was said? I hate feeling like I'm walking on eggshells in my own living environment. I don't want to disturb anyone, but I want to live my life within reason and let my dog have fun within reason. [link] [comments]  |
| Anyone else getting home loan rate reduction offers from their lender? Posted: 30 Apr 2020 05:49 AM PDT Out of nowhere today my lender offered to lower my VA loan rate from 3.25 fixed to 2.75 fixed. 15-year or 30-year same rate. Anyone else getting reduction offers? Also, it would cost about $3k in fees but my monthly would go down around $280. I would be paying the savings directly to principal every month anyway. Should I take it? [link] [comments]  |
| [MN] Should we still sign buyer agent contract??? Posted: 30 Apr 2020 05:26 AM PDT Meet with a buyer agent broker who we liked and he said usual thing about him getting paid commission when house is sold, but got buyer contract today and it says he gets $675 when we close plus the sellers % commission. This is in Minneapolis, MN. We haven't signed the contract yet is this normal, should we negotiate, or maybe look somewhere else? [link] [comments]  |
| [OR] Looking to buy a home that's not on the market yet - what are the steps? Posted: 30 Apr 2020 01:37 AM PDT Hi everyone, I'm not sure if I should post this on r/legaladvice instead, but I hope you can help. I'm interested in a house that was left to the [adult] children of the recently deceased owner. They are interested in selling it, but apparently there's some legal bureaucratic process that prevents them from doing it for a few months. I would love to buy it from them before it goes on the market and they seem amenable to that idea (if the price is right). What is the best way to do this? Do we just wait until they are legally allowed to sell it? Is it worth drawing up a preliminary contract that will be conditional on inspection and my ability to get a mortgage? What would be the incentive for them to sign such a contract - would I give them some money upfront? Thank you for your help. If this question has been asked before and you have a helpful link, that would be great, too! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Apr 2020 11:03 PM PDT Howdy! I am looking at a manufactured home on about 4 acres outside of San Antonio, it has been on the market for over a hundred days. I am just wondering on an affordability stand point how it will all break down and what an acceptable offer would be. It is listed at $250k and I am thinking of offering $199k. My credit is great and I have been preapproved for much more than the asking price. I will have about $20k total cash on hand for down payment. I currently make $4200 a month and have just a truck payment/insurance that isn't housing related. Any help would be appreciated. If I'm in the wrong place, I apologize and feel free to delete the post. Any help or insight would be helpful. The agent I have spoken with doesn't seem too knowledgeable or I am not asking the right questions. Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Apr 2020 01:17 PM PDT We're thinking of buying in about 3 years. I definitely don't want to sign any buyers contract at this time. This is a vacation home area and it seems every other person is a real estate agent. What's the best way of going about understanding the market better? Go a few open houses? Walk into a real estate office? I'm more than happy to pay someone for their insights, etc.? What is appropriate? A gift card to a nice restaurant? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Apr 2020 06:33 PM PDT I've spoken to my realtor but wanted addition opinions. We close this Friday on a new build after nearly a month of weather delays (our rate lock also expires Friday). We were able to finally have the house inspected yesterday which revealed a torn garage door, one outlet not working, the window in the master bedroom is scratched and some other minor cosmetic issues. I don't think there is anyway for all repairs to be completed by Friday at noon so how should we go about making sure to get made whole with these repairs? [link] [comments]  |
| Seller offering credit for appliance/etc? Posted: 29 Apr 2020 07:51 PM PDT Hello, I'm in the process of buying a home and the seller is offering a 4,000 credit for appliances/cabinets or countertops. What does this mean exactly? Our buying agent isn't sure. [link] [comments]  |
| Small Hail Storm: Who can I trust to look at the roof and be honest? Posted: 29 Apr 2020 07:30 PM PDT Small hail storm came in a few nights ago and lasted for about 10-15min. No shingles fell off, and the roof is 8 or so years old. I plan on selling the home next year. It's in Houston, Texas. We've had five roofing companies visit in the last two days, but I don't trust them. Who can I trust to look at the roof and be honest? Can I inspect it myself? [link] [comments]  |
| Do rent prices generally go up with inflation? Posted: 29 Apr 2020 07:05 PM PDT I realize we may experience moderate to high inflation in the coming decade or so. Assuming that does happen, how does something like this play out in the rental industry in a big city like Atlanta? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Apr 2020 07:56 PM PDT I live in Georgia and everything I see about real estate agent licensing refers to a sales license. I only want to represent buyers, is there a buyers license or do we all need a sales license? Also any thoughts on representing myself? If I have a license and then decide at some point that I want to buy a home, I can surely represent myself. I assume this is common in the field and want to make sure there isn't something I am missing. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2020 01:49 AM PDT We were looking at a house recently, the previous sale fell thru and one of the problems found during inspection was vermiculite insulation in the "non-exposed areas of the attic". The problem is the attic was finished and made into two bedrooms with crawl spaces etc and also HVAC was added up there in the last few years. Is the whole house likely to be contaminated with asbestos now? Good think we were wearing our n95 masks while going thru for the showing. Can vermiculite ever be truly remediated or will it always be a problem if we bought it. We would want to renovate some in the attic pretty soon after buying as it's outdated looking. And possible add a complete second floor to the house down the line. And also worried it would be behind the drywall and ceiling of first floor as well. The home owners will give 10k towards remediation. What questions would you ask home owners or would you just walk away? [link] [comments]  |
| Is it common to share half of buyer’s closing cost when you are selling your house? A $300k house Posted: 29 Apr 2020 06:03 PM PDT |
| Posted: 29 Apr 2020 08:18 AM PDT UPDATE Low Appraisal So I posted about our situation 2 days ago here So the sellers have come back and said they don't want to lower the price and want us to bridge the $10k gap between appraisal and list price. They also asked if we were willing to allow them to re-list their house until Sunday to see if they get a higher offer. I am extremely offended by this. We asked for literally nothing in the inspection, moved closing dates for them, just have been all around cooperative. We even offered them an additional $5k to make up for the appraisal, and they want us to allow them to re-list and move closing back?! I am seriously floored. I love this house but these sellers have really rubbed me the wrong way. We offered them an additional $8k and are waiting to hear back. In the mean time we're going to look at another house today. [link] [comments]  |
| Offer Accepted & Rate Locked in! Now some questions - Northern Virginia Posted: 29 Apr 2020 02:05 PM PDT Just wanted to say the housing market is definitely still going, and I'm one of those people. We just locked our rate at 3.0 for 30 years no points, no PMI! We had to do a larger down payment to get it under a Jumbo loan. We're actually in the are we wanted to Falls Church, so we're really happy. I don't think we would have gotten this house 2 months ago before COVID. Now we have a couple questions and were hoping someone could provide some advice; 1 - Survey - Is it worth it? We're quoted 400 for a regular survey and 535 for survey + stakes in the ground? Does that provide any 'real' benefit besides us knowing where the exact plot is? If I do find an issue of neighbor encroachment or something later, how does that impact and go with the Title Insurance? 2 - Title Insurance - We're offered a "Homeowner's Title Insurance" add-on to handle to handle things above and beyond the Lenders Title Insurance. The quote I got is around 1,200 is it worth that much as an add-on? My understanding of title insurance is it's very rarely used/claimed. Has anyone had any experience with it? 3 - Inspection - I have my "right to ask" inspection tomorrow in the rain :) Any advice for the inspection? I'm sure there are more questions I have but those are the three most important. [link] [comments]  |
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