Thanks to this sub, we avoided a scam today Real Estate |
- Thanks to this sub, we avoided a scam today
- Want a laugh? House hunting in Bay Area is ridiculous
- PSA: Watch out for scams targeting others using your OLD property.
- Repeatedly Getting Outbid
- Removing Old Easements
- Have you taken out a mortgage in another country? How did it go?
- Leaseback in Texas (1st time homebuyer)
- Given Wrong Apartment?
- Buyer here. Is it weird to ask our realtor to ask the current owner what home insurance provider they use? Is this a thing?
- No buyers agent concerns
- Getting married after buying home as single individual.
- Termite damage found during inspection
- Water standing against house?
- Gas Company Keeps Sending Us Bills for the New Homeowner
- Options for acquiring wife's grandfather's house for less than fair market value
- Does this seem high for closing costs? Or is it a good deal?
- Are closing costs prices getting more expensive now with covid?
- Appraisal contingency experience
- VA loan for rental property
- Help on apartment application!
- Is getting title insurance worth it?
- Should I refi or sell?
- What steps do I take with buying a total gut job?
- Closing in one week and lender continues to ask for additional documentation almost every day despite saying we're already approved... should I be concerned?
| Thanks to this sub, we avoided a scam today Posted: 02 Sep 2020 11:34 AM PDT I read in a post a few days (maybe weeks ago) about a redditor who wired earnest money thinking everything was legit. Turned out the attorney's office (most likely from what I read) was infiltrated and that was how the scammers knew the details of the sale. Thanks to this post, I knew that the link my wife was sent (even though it was addressed to me) through text message was a scam. We passed this on to our realtor who knew all about it, but assured us she already has the receipt for the earnest money we gave the title company. My wife was about to click the link to see why she would need to submit it and do it again just in case. Figuring if something was duplicated she would get one of them back. I have learned a lot from this sub and I would like to pass that on. It may have been a few days ago, but I have tried searching for it. My search skills on here suck apparently. EDIT Thanks to /u/byebybuy here is the thread I am referring to. [link] [comments]  |
| Want a laugh? House hunting in Bay Area is ridiculous Posted: 02 Sep 2020 02:57 PM PDT We're still looking in the Bay Area and prices are just going up, up, up during COVID. After loosing out on two houses we liked, we decided to try something new. In an effort to combat the bidding war, which is the standard practice here, we started looking at houses that have been sitting on the market for a while. Thinking, yeh, they may have something wrong with it but we will price it in and give the seller a fair market value for the house. We found a house on the market for 60 days (average here is 14 days) and the photos were horrible, there was zero staging, carpet in all the rooms, bad/unpermitted renovation, pests, bad foundation. The list price was over the fair market value/comps, even without the deferred maintenance. So we think, let's put in a fair offer (that is up YOY for her area and above her neighbor's renovated house which sold last month). It was truly a very fair offer. Y'all, she countered +$400k over list ($450k over offer) with the ability to cancel during escrow if she couldn't find a house she liked and the requirement to live $100/day after COE until she wanted to move! I am baffled. I thought the house wasn't selling because it was a lemon (still think it might be) but the truth is that the seller is delusional. Just thought I would give you guys a laugh and try to alleviate this overwhelming disappointment that is house hunting in the bay area. [link] [comments]  |
| PSA: Watch out for scams targeting others using your OLD property. Posted: 02 Sep 2020 11:00 AM PDT I'm in the midst of selling my old house. I moved out of it in June, spent the month of July working on it to prep for sale, and listed it in the beginning of August. I'm currently under contract and waiting to close later this month. First Scam: A scammer pulled the listing photos and description and listed it on Craigslist for rent at an unbelievable price. When people ask about it they give a story about relocating out of state and tell the would-be renter to wire a security deposit to reserve the property. Since it seems like such a good deal some people will throw caution to the wind and send them the money. I only found out about this when I was at the house this morning to have a plumber do a dye test (required in my municipality) and someone interested in renting the place showed up to look at it. Wish I'd known about this sooner, but this one is pretty easy to stay on top of. Just search your address on Craigslist, then flag and report it if it comes up. Possibly consider sticking a note on the door saying the house is not for rent and if someone is offering it for rent, it's a scam. I did all of the above and hopefully that's that. What's also creepy about this one is the scammer apparently told the guy that the key is in the mailbox (it wasn't) and that the house is unlocked (it wasn't) and he could feel free to walk right in and check it out. Fortunately I've taken to checking on the place after anyone has visited for any reason and have found the back door left unlocked several times. If I hadn't kept checking on it I might have ended up with a squatter. Second Scam: Before I left I checked the mailbox (I do this every time I'm there checking on the place). It's always been empty, as it should be. It'd been about a week since I checked it. Lo and behold, today it was stuffed full of other people's unemployment checks. I suspect the scammer (or a second scammer) realized the house was vacant and started submitting fraudulent changes of address to have checks redirected there, with the intent of grabbing them from the mailbox and stealing the money. This one is much more serious as it involves mail fraud, unemployment fraud, and theft of money that people desperately need. First I called the postal service's fraud hotline and reported it. I also told the neighbor what was going on and told her to feel free to call the cops if she sees anyone looking in the mailbox. Then I went to the police department (conveniently they're in the same building where I had to deliver the dye test results) and filed a report. I did this so they'd have something to refer to if I or the neighbor call them to report suspicious persons snooping through the mailbox. After that I went to the post office to return the unemployment checks and request the mail carrier deliver NO mail whatsoever to the address. And that's how I spent my morning. A quick visit from the plumber to sign a form turned into a multi-hour mess. TL;DR If you're selling a house you've already moved out of, keep an eye on it! Both to make sure the property is in order, and also because scammers can and will use it as a tool to rip people off! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Sep 2020 08:32 PM PDT My wife and I live in the Midwest and the city we live in is a major seller's market right now unfortunately. This is our first time buying a house. We have put in multiple offers way over asking price and we keep getting told they accepted a different offer, it is so disheartening and quite frankly, we just feel defeated. We saw a house today before it was even on the market and we were told it was only getting shown to 1 other family, which gave us major hope because most of the other houses we see get a ton of offers the first day they go on the market. This house was our absolute dream house and it was near the top of our maximum that we were comfortable with and we still bid significantly over because we really didn't want to lose it. We found out a few hours later they accepted the other offer without even giving us a chance to compete. I just dont know how much more of this we can take, what else can we do? We have been bidding over asking price, no contingencies, no restrictions on closing dates, some houses we didnt even ask for any closing costs, and we have even written a letter to the sellers. Im really tempted to give up and hoping somebody can talk me off the ledge. Unfortunately, the whole "you'll be happy you didn't get those houses when you find the right one" doesn't make me feel better at all because no matter what we find, it doesn't seem like we even have a chance. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Sep 2020 06:20 PM PDT I'm in escrow for a kinda remote, rural 40 acre property with a house. There are several old logging roads crisscrossing the property, which we think is great for hiking and mobility around the mostly steep hills on the property. The area is a Timber Production Zone, and we just found out that there are about 9 old (1890's - 1960's) easements on the logging roads. Title company says it's possible that some or all of old the logging companies that held the easements don't even exist any longer. Are there ways to get rid of these old easements? Especially if no one is using them? I've heard of you put a locked gate on a road like this, after 5 or 6 years, you can request to remove the easement with the county. Ever heard anything like this? [link] [comments]  |
| Have you taken out a mortgage in another country? How did it go? Posted: 02 Sep 2020 05:58 PM PDT So I think the American real estate is grossly overvalued, but I think there are deals overseas like in South America. I have high income and 0 debt, would it be possible to obtain a mortgage from an American lender or a local lender for a multifamily home overseas in Colombia for example? [link] [comments]  |
| Leaseback in Texas (1st time homebuyer) Posted: 03 Sep 2020 02:25 AM PDT I submitted a full price offer on a house that has only been on the market for 3 days. Seller's agent told my agent that they would accept the offer if we would agree to a three week leaseback after the indicated closing date. Being a first time home buyer, I did some research and learned that leasebacks are generally to be avoided as they are fraught with all sorts of possible pitfalls, even though most usually go smoothly. I do not want to be a landlord but entertained the idea because I like the house and want to get it under contract and start the home inspection, new survey, HOA compliance review, etc. My agent suggested a $4k deposit (1% house value) and $100/day rent. My PITI will be about $3k/month so this sounded reasonable to me (and also what my research suggested was fair). I am currently month to month at my rental (no lease) and am able to move out with prorated last month's rent. So having to continue to pay rent to stay in my current place after I become a homeowner actually costs me over $1200 in rent for those three weeks. Money wise, I was willing to accept breaking even on the leaseback and the loss on my rent just to get a signed contract. The sellers came back with a leaseback agreement of $500 deposit, $25/day rental, and $100/day hold over if they stay past the three weeks. This seems absurd to me. I feel I would be doing the sellers a favor just by agreeing to a leaseback. That way they don't have to move twice (once into a storage unit and once into their new house) and maybe they'll be reasonable if/when the inspection report comes in and I need to ask for repairs. But why would I ever agree to the terms presented? And shouldn't the hold over be $200-300/day to incentive them NOT to overstay the 3 weeks? I have no reason to suspect the sellers would be bad tenants as their house is in great condition or that they would intentionally overstay the lease. But more than $500 in ACCIDENTAL damage could occur when they move out. Also, the $25/day rent is a quarter of my carrying costs. Not to mention I have to continue paying for my rental so I have a place to live even though I would own a house at that point. I have heard of some situations where a buyer might agree to a leaseback for 2-3 days for $1/day just as a courtesy to the seller who has made the transaction smooth and pleasant. But it seems like a $25/day leaseback demand at the very start of the process is indicative of lots of friction ahead. I asked why we couldn't just extend escrow and change the closing date on the contract to 1 day past their 3 week leaseback end date but haven't gotten an answer. The only thing I can think of is that they need the money from the sale of their current house to close or move to their new home. There's got to be something going on that's contingent on the sale of their current house. If that's the case, then fine but at least pay me fair market rent or make me whole on my PITI. Advice I've seen in this subreddit is that you should never make someone else's problems your own. My gut feeling at this point is to say hard no any leaseback. Either we push the closing date, or they can reject the offer. To be honest, the whole thing now makes me feel very uncomfortable about proceeding and I even though I like the house, I am considering retracting the offer completely and just putting this house in the rearview mirror.. Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Sep 2020 07:16 AM PDT So I live in Alberta, Canada. Me and my partner just moved into a new apartment yesterday and it wasn't what we were expecting. When we visited the building we were shown a staged unit and, when listing our unit options, the property manager said the unit we were getting would be the exact same as the one we viewed. Cut to now, the unit has a way smaller walk-in closet (we were expecting 6x8 and got 2.5x4), the bathrooms are both missing the built-in shelves, and the rooms are sized differently than they should have been (the square footage is completely wrong). What can we do about this? The guy who we met with is on vacation so it's just another girl covering for him, she doesn't know much about the property. I want to get this sorted in the next 48 hours so we don't face penalty if we leave, as this is definitely not what we were told we were getting. I want to either ask to be moved to the unit we were promised, or get a rent decrease, or something. Both me and my partner are very upset and stressed about this. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Sep 2020 03:56 AM PDT Don't know if this is a thing or something weird. First time homebuyer here. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:07 PM PDT We listed our house today and have multiple offers! When we signed with our agent he said he didn't do dual agency (this was somethingwe wanted to avoid). The best offer is a buyer that does not have an agent - they called my agent directly for a showing and my agent wrote the purchase agreement. This feels like dual agency to me but he insists its not because he informed the buyer that he is representing the seller only. Is this typical and if so are there issues with this setup? Thank you!! [link] [comments]  |
| Getting married after buying home as single individual. Posted: 02 Sep 2020 10:23 PM PDT So me and my fiance are gearing up to begin the process of buying our first home, I'm a 4 year electrician with practically zero debt and great credit. She on the other hand is about to be wrapping up 4.5 years of college and hadn't been able to work very much in many of the recent years. We have plans on marrying before the end of the year, with no exact date in mind, I've gathered that it would behoove me to apply for a mortgage alone due to my significantly higher chances of qualifying, and that adding her onto the initial application would bring our chances down. My question is, if we are to get married just months after me buying us our home, what's the due process look like following this to facilitate the merging of our ownership of the property? [link] [comments]  |
| Termite damage found during inspection Posted: 02 Sep 2020 05:11 PM PDT First time homebuyer. After making 6 offers over the course of the past 4 months, we finally had our offer accepted. So exciting, as this house made it feel like it made all the sense in the world why the others didn't work out-we love it. The inspection was today, and the inspector found various signs of exterior termite damage. The house is a mix of wood paneling and brick, built in the mid-70s and inhabited by the original owners until now. The damage seen was not just at the base of the house on the ground, there was also damage ~10 feet up from the ground. Of course there is no way to know the structural damage without taking off the paneling-which we cannot do before closing of course. Some good news, there was no indication of termite damage in the attic or throughout the rest of the house internally. I'll also add as a side note that the roof and all other systems are new or new-ish, so we aren't anticipating any other significant repairs right away. Has anyone here dealt with this, and how would this make you feel about proceeding? It feels so overwhelming with the unknowns of damage and cost-but I guess that's homeownership? Would love your thoughts, and potentially super rough estimates for repair if necessary. I recognize this could be a huge ballpark but any experience with this is helpful. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Sep 2020 07:51 PM PDT Had an inspection done today, and there have been a few recent storms. Was surprised to see 2-3 inches of water standing against the back of the house (brick house, house on slab). Is it likely that water could get into the wall standing against brick like that and start rotting some of the frame? The inspector said there are no signs of water inside the house. The opposite side of the wall has the kitchen cabinets, so can't really see the lower portions of the wall behind the cabinets. I know a drain could be installed to help in the future, but am more concerned about what has already occured, since this has likely been happening with each storm. [link] [comments]  |
| Gas Company Keeps Sending Us Bills for the New Homeowner Posted: 03 Sep 2020 01:07 AM PDT We sold our house over a year ago. We contacted all of the utilities and everything should have been fine. All of our bills were paid at the time of sale. But the gas company keeps sending us bills in our names instead of sending them to the new owner. We keep reminding them we don't own the property anymore and they apologizing and saying they'll fix it, but then it continues to happen. It's ridiculous. The bills are coming to a PO Box we want to close but haven't been able to for over a year, because we don't want to miss one of these incorrect bills and then have them try to send us to collections. What can be done? [link] [comments]  |
| Options for acquiring wife's grandfather's house for less than fair market value Posted: 02 Sep 2020 03:14 PM PDT Hi folks, Reading about this as able, but calling on your collective wisdom for additional options and to correct misconceptions. My wife's grandfather is in the early stages of unloading his house after he's moved to assisted living. We're the only ones interested, and no expected family drama on the horizon to worry about, but the house is about 150k above anything we'd expect to buy. Grandpa doesn't need the money, and early conversations have suggested it might be possible to get the house for less than fair market value. He owns the house outright, rough value of 400k, we can swing 250 or 275k. Initial research shows at least two routes:
Feel free to call me stupid and link to a place that outlines our options in painstaking detail. I love painstaking detail. Edit: for what it's worth, we never planned on buying this house given its value, but no one else wants it, both me and my wife have liked it for fifteen years, and the rest of the family would like to see it stay around if we can make it work. [link] [comments]  |
| Does this seem high for closing costs? Or is it a good deal? Posted: 02 Sep 2020 06:54 PM PDT I am currently on a 30 year note at 3.625%, borrowed 140k in 2013, and have paid an extra $300 per month towards principal. We are, according to our mortgage company, about 13 years paid off on our 30 year, after 7 years of payments total. I am looking at refinancing due to the low rates. Here is the Proposal The loan agent said " In your case, you will be saving over $35,000 in interest over the life of the note. Here's a thought: Take your two month mortgage vacation and escrow refund check (close to $4,000 value) and invest it with your financial advisor!" So am i paying close to 8 grand in closing costs, but getting 4 grand back right away? His 2.375% is better than US Banks 2.75% but I think US banks closing costs was around 4 grand. [link] [comments]  |
| Are closing costs prices getting more expensive now with covid? Posted: 02 Sep 2020 06:09 PM PDT First time home buyer and poster here so sorry if this sounds out of the ordinary, looking for some opinions. My situation is 170,000$ purchase price with 3% down. Estimated reserves/prepaid = 2677$ Estimated closing costs= 4836$ I live and will be living in central MN (small town) All of the google searches I have made are making me feel like my closing costs are too high. Any opinions? Or need more info? [link] [comments]  |
| Appraisal contingency experience Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:23 AM PDT I'm in the process of buying a condo and scheduled to close in October. The listing price for the condo was originally very overpriced. The sellers came down to an amount that I was more comfortable with, even know I still feel like I might be slightly overpaying (the listing price was 550, they came down to 475, but I felt like it should have been closer to 450). I was fine with that because I really liked the place, but in the last few days every comparable unit in the building dropped significantly in price. Units that were 400-475 dropped to 350-400 and units around 500-550 dropped to 450-480. Literally all of them. The place hasn't been appraised yet, but I'm worried that it will come back much lower. I have an appraisal contingency in my contract, but I am hoping the sellers come down so I don't have to walk away. I'm just not willing to give away 75k+. For any realtors or people who have been in my situation, could you share your experience about how it turned out? Did you have to walk away, or did the seller come down? I know you can't compare a unique situation, but I am curious because I have never been through the buying process before. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Sep 2020 10:54 PM PDT What is the general rule of thumb for occupancy expectations when using the va loan? I've read 12 months as primary residence is usually expected, but that it can depend on the lender. Does anyone have experience with using a va loan to buy a house and then renting it out later? For context: I'm using my VA loan to buy a home about two hours away from where I work because we're all working from home. I plan to live in the home for the next year and pay a PITI payment that's less than what I pay in rent now. After that work from home will probably be over for most companies so I'll likely have to move back to a condo that's closer to the office, but I'd want to hang on to the house if I can. [link] [comments]  |
| Help on apartment application! Posted: 02 Sep 2020 04:04 PM PDT Really need help filling out apartment application! I had a question about filling out this apartment application. Everyone I ask keeps telling me different things so I just don't know what to do. Okay so I lived with a partner for awhile. He rented the apartment and after a few months I moved in with him. He filled out all the papers and everything was in his name. When I moved in I think I had to fill out a paper just saying I was going to be living with him and that was it. All the bills were in his name, even though I helped pay, it was all in his name. Unfortunately we broke up and I have to find a new apartment for myself. On the application it is asking for all recent addresses, which i did have my mailing address changed to the apartment so I feel like I need to write it down. But should I fill anything else out about renting history since nothing was in my name. There's a paper that is for the past landlord to fill out about if rent was on time and such but I never paid the rent, because it wasn't in my name. Should I just leave it blank? I'm so confused on what to do. [link] [comments]  |
| Is getting title insurance worth it? Posted: 02 Sep 2020 03:54 PM PDT It seems this is like getting undercoating on a used car. I understand what it is and it could be important, but really the possibilities seem very small that someone from 50 years ago is going to pop out of the woodwork making a claim to the house. We would be the 4th owner over last 80 years. Also, if I do fall for this scam (and I am looking for your opinions) should I get the basic insurance or the enhanced version? $1450 difference between the two for me. The title attorney we are working with sounds like a used car salesman in his communications with us so this process is just very slimy. I keep thinking he is like, "we'll they can spend this much on a house, what is another $4k. Oh and you need the turbo plan too." Thanks in advance. Lawyers please don't reply, I already know your answer. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:38 PM PDT Current mortgage balance is 69k at 4.25%. Our monthly payment is $600 (includes taxes and escrow). We pay $750 a month to knock more off the principal. House was just appraised at 100k. Houses are selling fast in my area. Credit score is 795. Income is 80K. Is it worth it to refi? Or should I be looking to sell and get out of our first starter home? If we stay we keep our comfy mortgage payment. But we need our kitchen remolded soon and some other upgrades. If we sell then our mortgage definitely goes up but we would have a better home. We just replaced our roof and gutters due to hail damage. We can comfortably pay $750 a month and possibly up to $1000 on a mortgage. But then the buyers market is tight in my area. I keep going back and forth with this and then end up doing nothing. The pros and cons seem so even unless there is another way to look at it. [link] [comments]  |
| What steps do I take with buying a total gut job? Posted: 02 Sep 2020 05:50 PM PDT I'm new to both real estate and Reddit. Please forgive any faux pas. My husband and I want to buy his uncle's house two doors down from his parents in order to be closer to them. Some facts: 1)The house has been empty since the uncle went to a nursing home 4 years ago and was in tough shape even before that. 2) The nursing home is being paid by Medicare. 3) My father-in-law has power of attorney 4) We assume it would probably have to be brought down to the studs to update wiring, plumbing, etc. and that this would be cheaper than bulldozing it and building a new house. If we sell our condo to access our equity, we believe we could purchase the property in cash and then do a construction to mortgage loan. We would live with family members during the renovations. I'm unsure of who to talk to first to see if all this is even feasible. A real estate lawyer? Architect? A general contractor? A loan officer? Someone else I haven't thought of? In what order should I be talking to these people? This is an emotional transaction more than a financial one, so it's okay if the total of the property purchase plus rehab is more than the resale value, as long as we can afford the end mortgage. Any help, advice or opinion is welcomed. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:14 PM PDT I'm supposed to close on my first home next Friday, and I'm getting a little concerned about the fact that we haven't been cleared to close yet. Our purchase and sale agreement required us to submit verification of loan approval to the seller two weeks ago, and our lender (US Bank) gave us a letter confirming this. However, the loan officer is continuing to ask me on a near-daily basis to provide additional documentation (on top of the ~15 documents that he requested at the start of our application). At this point it's been over a month of back-and-forth, and I must have sent him about 30 additional documents. Yesterday, for example, he asked me to send him a statement showing my current 401k balance (why is he only asking for that now?). Today he asked me to send him an updated bank statement to confirm that a $1,000 check had indeed been deposited into my account last week. To put it into perspective, our down payment is around $250k, so I'm confused about why something so small like that would be necessary. Is this a bad sign? When I asked him last week if everything was all squared away he said "your loan is approved, we are just working on the conditions to get your loan closed." What does that mean? [link] [comments]  |
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