Manhattan apartment sales tumble 46%, leaving 10,000 unsold units Real Estate |
- Manhattan apartment sales tumble 46%, leaving 10,000 unsold units
- Sold one of our rental homes privately and yesterday we paid off TWO mortgages. It wasnt easy but FINALLY, decades of RE investing is paying off.
- Getting priced out of a neighborhood in a matter of months... painful
- In general, how successful are aerobic septic systems for lots that have failed a perc test?
- Recommendations for video surveillance for rentals
- Where are you guys getting info!
- Options for seller that wants to cancel newly signed contract?
- California Renter - Property Being Sold
- Advice for a newbie wanting to rent properties (:
- Buyers agent wants 5% commission
- Looking for a multi in southern ME.. what to do when prices are high?
- Finally someone accepted our offer!
- How do you estimate total rebuild value when deciding on an appropriate homeowner's insurance policy?
- Was hoping to have a happy ending to a VA loan offer. Sadly, that is not the case.
- Anyone ever have issues with final walkthrough?
- Ballpark cost to install shipping container homes?
- Buying while other buyers are on hold pending election results might not be a crazy idea.
- How to look for sub-rural homes?
- Will my name be on the eviction notice? (MT)
- How much have you offered over asking price?
- Inspector broke something?
- The owner now wants to take washer & Dryer
- Is putting a copy of a personal offer letter in the seller's mailbox creepy?
- Appraisal Question: if FHA appraisal"sticks" with home for 4 months... Does new buyer still need to purchase one?
| Manhattan apartment sales tumble 46%, leaving 10,000 unsold units Posted: 02 Oct 2020 06:14 PM PDT |
| Posted: 02 Oct 2020 07:56 AM PDT We paid off our first house in the late 90s when we were a younger married couple (with 3 kids) by living very frugally and NOT moving up when almost everyone we knew was selling their 'starter home' and moving into a bigger house. I only made about 20k when we bought that house and my wife was a stay home mom so we had NO extra money - every extra penny went into paying down the mtg asap and an unexpected $100 bill would kill my budget for several months. Ug. NOT fun. But by using the house equity and our high credit score and with increased incomes as my wife started working (about 60k combined) and still spending cautiously, we ended up buying a bigger house and keeping the paid off one as a rental. After a few years we were able to use that equity to add a second rental house. Then my wife divorced me, which made keeping all three houses VERY challenging. Had to pay out her half by taking a loan and ended up living in one of the garages for several months so I could rent out all 3 houses and not miss a single payment. Was only making 55k at the time which dropped to about 30k when my job ended and with child support, I was literally living on macaroni and cheese. The houses held their own but only netted about 1k each a year. Ouch. Life was good again when I met my new wife. She's an amazing woman and it felt like karma was paying me back. Just as we married she landed a great job, allowing us to keep her house and then eventually buy another rental and move into a better primary residence and turn hers into a rental too. Fortunately she has similar financial goals, and we still maintain a lifestyle below our means, buying carefully and saving what we can. As of yesterday, 1 rental is sold, 2 are paid off, with 1 rental and our primary residence to go and we put a over a year's income into our savings. That took over 30 years of equity building and saving. If all goes according to plan, the last two should be paid off in the next 4 years, setting us up for a solid retirement income either from renting or selling them all and investing elsewhere. Cant say it was easy. I didnt even mention the one property we bought for 80k and then lost completely to a natural disaster. At least it was a nice write off but a crap investment. Mostly, Ive had to deal with tenants for many years, about 80% of whom were great people, 15% of them were somewhat troublesome, and 5% were absolutely vile, shitty people who made life miserable for me, the neighbors and anyone they dealt with. One of them is actually serving time and I wouldn't doubt that a couple more will do time when their actions catch up with them. I even tried hiring several different property managers and none of them worked out. I found they either didn't know enough to be effective or their fees ate up my profit margin and my maintenance expenses more than doubled as they used pricey licensed contractors and fixed even tiny little tenant complaints, some of which weren't necessary - great for tenants and the contractors, really bad for my bottom line. I was going in the hole every month. Selling the rental house privately, from 500 miles away was a challenge. I had a friend open it up for showings and then drove down to meet potential buyers once I knew they were serious. Had four people put in serious offers before the last one finally came through with the money - the good part being that each offer was 5-7k higher than the last. It was tricky but Id do it again - I saved 16,500 in realtor fees and only spent 1k in advertising and fuel - fb ads are highly effective! Ironically, the buyer found my house from my home made "For sale by owner" lawn sign so I could've saved even more if Id known that would actually work. We're pretty pumped about having 2 properties that are debt free, given the uncertainty of the economy, and we're going to have a little mortgage burning ceremony to celebrate. The rentals are providing very good cash flow now that we dont have to pay mortgages plus one less property for insurance/maintenance/property tax expense. But my happiest day will be the day I can sell all the houses and say goodbye to tenants forever. I will not miss the bad ones one bit - they've made me pretty cynical about renters in general - especially the one who burned down my house (he's the one serving time for other crimes). The good ones I will give a nice little going away present as a thank you for being decent, responsible people who paid rent on time and didnt trash my house. Does real estate investing/landlording work? Absolutely. Is it easy? Not on your life. Is it worth it? Yes. But only if you go in with your eyes wide open and realize its a job and it takes significant work and there are going to be some unpleasant parts along the way. It eventually pays off - after all expenses our house netted 11.0% per year over the last 20 years, compared to the S&P's 5.9%. So 50k in the S&P 500 would have made us 157k but 50k in our rental made us 400k instead. If that happens with the remaining four houses I'll be quite happy with that. And no matter what you do, living below your means is important if you're an average joe making so-so money and want to actually retire with a decent nest egg. We'll likely always be fairly conservative spenders but now at least we can travel more, and not sweat big bills. I was semi retired with only the rentals to take care of at 45 and we'll both be fully retired before I hit 62 and should be fine financially - thank God we live in Canada so we won't be bankrupted by medical expenses should that occur. That's my story, Hope its inspirational for those wondering why the hell you're doing the tough slog of landlording and slaving for the bank for decades on end. Some of it is luck but a lot of it is just keeping your nose to the grindstone and plugging along. TL;DR Real Estate investing/landlording isn't easy money but if you stick with it, it's worth it. [link] [comments]  |
| Getting priced out of a neighborhood in a matter of months... painful Posted: 02 Oct 2020 10:24 PM PDT The past 3 houses I've put offers on have gone 100k, 150k, 200k over asking.. List price was in line with the comps.. I've been priced out of the neighborhood in LA in a matter of months and it's soo disappointing. Seriously feeling depressed about it, if I had only decided to buy a few months earlier. It's like a perfect storm of COVID, WFH low interest, low inventory has wiped out my goal house/neighborhood :( Really sucks. [link] [comments]  |
| In general, how successful are aerobic septic systems for lots that have failed a perc test? Posted: 03 Oct 2020 12:32 AM PDT Ignoring the increased price of an aerobic / alternative septic system, how well do these systems generally work for a lot that failed a perc test? I realize it will vary depending on the specifics of the lot, but am interested to hear people's success (or failure) experience with them. If you're willing to pay enough (say, up to $100k), can an aerobic system or alternative septic system generally be designed to work for the majority of lots that failed a standard perc test? Or are they more of an alternative solution that is effective for certain types of lots that failed perc tests but not the majority? Thanks for any insights! [link] [comments]  |
| Recommendations for video surveillance for rentals Posted: 02 Oct 2020 07:33 PM PDT I have a rental that has been targeted by riffraff and roudy neighbors. I need to get a video system there, but I have a rental company, who i want to manage that, but I also want access. I have ring products in use elsewhere, but I need constant power as I know the tenants won't want to keep re-charging. Any success with companies or products? [link] [comments]  |
| Where are you guys getting info! Posted: 02 Oct 2020 10:52 PM PDT I need a system to see of someone getting info on the market so I can adopt something for myself [link] [comments]  |
| Options for seller that wants to cancel newly signed contract? Posted: 02 Oct 2020 06:40 PM PDT Hey folks. Hoping for some advice on behalf of my mother. In Kentucky. Long story short, my mother built her dream house with the love of her lifetime about a decade ago. Two years ago, he died unexpectedly. She decided about a year ago that she wanted to sell. Last month, it did. She got an offer, accepted, signed the contract, and immediately decided she wanted to keep the house. I've told her that it's very unlikely that she can cancel this contract. I've tried to remind her of all the various reasons she initially wanted to sell, but it's a no go. Does she have any options here? I've done some research online and haven't found many options that she would have. Thank you all. [link] [comments]  |
| California Renter - Property Being Sold Posted: 02 Oct 2020 08:37 PM PDT I live in a complex with 12 Units (Rent Controlled) in Los Angeles. The property is currently in escrow and being sold. My lease is up in February but they want me out by January. I was planning to go month to month after my lease ended. What are my rights? Also, they offered me some money to leave but contingent on Prop 21 not passing. I'm trying to figure out why that's the case but don't understand why. [link] [comments]  |
| Advice for a newbie wanting to rent properties (: Posted: 03 Oct 2020 02:28 AM PDT I want to get into real estate but I'm unsure where to start. What should I research or do first? [link] [comments]  |
| Buyers agent wants 5% commission Posted: 02 Oct 2020 07:55 AM PDT I haven't put my house on the market yet, but a friend of a friend asked to see the property before I do. He loved the house. I told him that we would have more room for price negotiations if he didn't bring a realtor into it. Next day, he brings his realtor to look at the house a second time. Ok, that's fine. Whatever makes him feel more comfortable, right? But here's the thing. The realtor wants a 5% commission. It's my understanding that if we both had realtors, it would be 3% each. So I'm not sure why this realtor should get 5% for a house he didn't find, for a buyer I already knew and showed the house to. Can someone give me any insight on this? FYI, the house is only a couple of years old, all appliances are new, etc. there aren't any hidden costs here. [link] [comments]  |
| Looking for a multi in southern ME.. what to do when prices are high? Posted: 03 Oct 2020 01:29 AM PDT The prices are high. I'm in an area outside of Boston, where demand is rising because its "rural". I'm looking at Westbrook, but wanted to hear your thoughts first before spending more time.. [link] [comments]  |
| Finally someone accepted our offer! Posted: 02 Oct 2020 07:02 PM PDT Been house hunting for the past month in Colorado and after 30+ virtual showings and 8 offers on different homes someone finally accepted us! Started to get a little stressed out due to our timeline and we were consistently offering $20,000 over asking but we were always outbid in some way. Put an offer in this morning on a home and our realtor suggested writing a "love letter" (this was our first time doing so) and it seemed to work. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Oct 2020 06:52 PM PDT Does the realtor's competitive market analysis play a role? Do the public tax records (specifically the assessment) play a role? Is it part of the home inspection? Is it part of the appraisal? Does the homeowner's insurance agent perform a valuation? We're having a very difficult time finding an affordable homeowner's insurance policy and are wondering if our rebuild value is too high. Thanks in advance! [link] [comments]  |
| Was hoping to have a happy ending to a VA loan offer. Sadly, that is not the case. Posted: 02 Oct 2020 05:13 PM PDT Got an offer on our rental property. Was an underwater mortgage and we had to move out of state. So, after 7 years of renting unintentionally, we are finally ready to sell. Took that long to get it to the break even point. List and get an offer about a week later but it's VA. I have heard nothing but bad things. But it's our only offer, and it's full price, so we take it and cross our fingers. Inspection happens within days, goes great, nothing major, buyer asks for a home warranty and a minor repair. Appraisal happens quickly too and miracle of miracles, it passes with zero repairs needed. And home is 27 years old. So I anticipated something but nope all is well! I'm thinking wtf this is going swimmingly! Why do people hate VA loans?! Everything was going perfectly and we anticipated closing early. Then 5 days before closing the underwriter suddenly realize they didn't have the official form for buyers years of service. Uh oh. Realtor assured us it's a technicality and that buyer definitely qualifies. Wait 2 weeks for paperwork and surprise! Buyer does not in fact qualify. She was reserves and only had 3 years. Back to the drawing board. Was anticipating posting here and sharing our nothing burger of a story to help someone else feel at ease with accepting a VA offer. Unfortunately that was not meant to be. Listed it this afternoon and have 2 showings tomorrow. Fingers crossed for an easy sale this go round. [link] [comments]  |
| Anyone ever have issues with final walkthrough? Posted: 02 Oct 2020 08:29 PM PDT I know it's just supposed to be the last chance for buyers to verify that the property is in the same condition as the one they made an offer on and that any repairs were completed. I, however, have incredibly nitpicky buyers who are on some other planet ... weeks after the inspection contingency was removed, they seem to be under the impression they are still in a position to bring inspectors out and nitpick every little thing. If they bitch that something isn't to their satisfaction (which should not happen since I already sent them receipts for all the repairs along with a detailed summary of everything we did) I am prepared to say close escrow or I will cancel the contract and go after your EMD to recover damages for the 40 days I have had my house off the market and thousands of dollars I spent on repairs to make you happy. I am sure things will go as planned. I just want to be prepared though since these buyers are crazy, so I am interested in hearing any unusual experiences during the final days of escrow and how it was resolved. I feel like I am on the 1-yard line now and just want to wrap this thing up already. Thanks for any insight! [link] [comments]  |
| Ballpark cost to install shipping container homes? Posted: 02 Oct 2020 07:11 PM PDT Hi, folks. I serve on a board for an organization that finds housing and employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We wish to establish a "subdivision" of affordable housing for them. We have a grant to purchase land but not the housing just yet. Are shipping container homes less expensive to build than tiny houses? Does anyone here work with shipping container homes? The people we serve just want reliable, safe homes and don't need frills like 2nd floors, decks, etc. Would anyone here know even just ballpark costs to ship and install a livable, no-frills shipping container home for these folks? Thanks in advance. [link] [comments]  |
| Buying while other buyers are on hold pending election results might not be a crazy idea. Posted: 02 Oct 2020 10:44 AM PDT There's currently a slowdown in home buyer preapproval requests and folks putting offers in, at least out here in the very progressive leaning area where I live and lend. I'm pretty sure it's b/c everyone is waiting for election results. That could mean, for folks buying in the next month, a little less competition, a little more negotiating power, sellers don't have as many other offers to shop you against, etc. For the one hot house that everyone wants ("omg omg!" - if you're saying that, so is everyone else), this will probably not have any impact. I do seem to recall some buyers getting pretty good deals, relative to the months before and after, in October of 2016. Note that if you try and write an offer contingent upon election results, the Realtors and seller are going to think you're a crazy person, so maybe don't do that. :P If your inspection contingency just happens to end a day or two after the election, by contrast, that's not really on anyone's radar, I doubt anyone will notice that happy coincidence, but realistically you mostly will not be able to do that for another couple weeks. [link] [comments]  |
| How to look for sub-rural homes? Posted: 02 Oct 2020 06:08 PM PDT Sorry if this is an odd question, but my Google Fu has failed me so I thought I'd ask those with experience! We are looking to move out of a subdivision (in an ATL suburb) into more of a rural setting. However, my initial research isn't turning up much, so I wondered if I'm not looking the right way. I have tried to find houses through the consumer sites like Zillow and Trulia, but 95% of what is available are houses with HOAs on 1/3 acre lots. The amount of houses for sale on even an acre is very small, and ideally I'd like 5 if I could get it. Should I expect the scarcity, or am I missing something? We are looking to stay within 20 miles of our current home, which is near Lake Lanier. We'd head north. Sometimes it feels like half the state is a suburb of Atlanta. [link] [comments]  |
| Will my name be on the eviction notice? (MT) Posted: 02 Oct 2020 01:00 PM PDT I'm evicting an extended family member from property he is squatting on, he doesn't know exactly who bought the property and I am sending an eviction notice out through my lawyer and I forgot to ask him last we spoke, will he get my name on the notice? Thank you for the response. [link] [comments]  |
| How much have you offered over asking price? Posted: 02 Oct 2020 01:09 PM PDT To those who live in a hot market: how much have you offered over asking price? Was it a loan (if so, what type?) or cash? Did you win the house? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Oct 2020 08:37 PM PDT We had both the appraiser and the inspector come to our house the last week. Now, all of a sudden, the valve on our water heater, just fell off. And started leaking water into the garage. We have not touched the valve in 5 years. It should not come off. Do we make a complaint? The inspector also forgot to switch back on breakers and ended up defrosting our freezer, etc. so I'm not sure about his skill level but there was no problem with our water heater until strangers came into our house this week. What do I do? (Do appraisers touch the water heater?) Or who knows maybe it's just a freak thing. [link] [comments]  |
| The owner now wants to take washer & Dryer Posted: 02 Oct 2020 08:37 PM PDT So here is one for you guys/gals we put an offer in for a house at 260 sell price had 4 other offers (FHA) at this price so we (Conventional) jumped to 265 appraisals came back at 261 now we wanted to renegotiate the price to 261 but they want 263 with no washer and dryer. Do we accept or decline isn't the appraisal including the washer and dryer as this was included in the contract for the appraisal or am I missing something I have told them I will do 261 with the washer and dryer or pull my offer your recommendations? [link] [comments]  |
| Is putting a copy of a personal offer letter in the seller's mailbox creepy? Posted: 02 Oct 2020 08:20 PM PDT Is it too aggressive? Does it hurt to give them a "personal" copy? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Oct 2020 08:17 PM PDT Long story short.... My last offer fell through based on a really shitty FHA Appraisal. We put the house back on the market. If we get another FHA offer and accept... Will the lender use that appraisal existing or can they request a new new one? [link] [comments]  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from HomeOwners & Investors. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
No comments:
Post a Comment