Are people flipping homes ruining the market? RANT Real Estate |
- Are people flipping homes ruining the market? RANT
- My apartment management is acting like a water company w/o any regulations that real utility companies have: they’re making a profit by overcharging for water but refusing to acknowledge there is an issue. I’ve tried to get assistance from the public utility service and local government to no avail
- If I get a renter with lease for my current house, would I be able to use that to obtain a second loan for another house?
- Moved into the property; found out the seller agent misrepresented information. What to do?
- First time homebuyer in need of some advice
- How much are fees for selling house? Extremely unhappy with location
- Real estate agent has stopped caring about me since he thinks the deal is final and is making me lose out on $2,000.
- Backing out during due diligence period due to neighbor being a chainsmoker?
- How do you know it's a bad flip?
- [NC] Thinking of selling my Condo for profit
- PSA: Sewer Lines
- Bad idea to purchase a house for $165 thousand more than it sold for (nov 1st) last year?
- Value of adding a pantry?
- Townhouse vs. SFH
- How long does it take to receive the clear to close?
- Real Estate Agents Steering Buyers to Specific Lenders--Why?
- First time selling, cash buyer questions
- Buying a house in the current market (AL/GA area)
- Alternative uses for non buildable lot (MA)
- Pre set commission rates?
- Is 6% really the average for builder upgrades on a new construction home?
- Advice on what to ask for after inspection
- Buying a home while in college
- Are nerves a part of the first time home buying experience or is this a sign I should back out?
| Are people flipping homes ruining the market? RANT Posted: 06 Nov 2020 08:40 AM PST It seems like everyone and their mother is flipping homes these days. Every time I look at a home on the market, it is an obvious flip. Bought it a few months ago and trying to sell it for like $100k more when it is completely preposterous. I am so annoyed because I feel like these people are ruining the housing market. All of these people think that they are Chip and Joanna gains from fixer-upper. Or they watch all the home renovation shows on HGTV and want to do the same thing. I just want to be able to buy a home for the first time and I can't because of these insane prices. These people are buying all of the lower priced homes that some of us COULD possibly buy as a first time home owner. BUT it looks like these people have inside connections to buy these homes within a day leaving regular people out of luck. What is your opinion, do you think these people are ruining the housing market? Are they part of the problem of inflated home prices? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Nov 2020 09:51 AM PST I live in Florida but this problem is rampant with apartments management companies across the state and apparently nation, as there are two class action lawsuits against other apartments in other states for this exact thing. I live in a large apartment building with over 300 units. It's managed by one of those very big property management companies but owned by a private company. Like many apartments in Florida, the apartment buys their water from the actual water company to the master meter. They then sell us the water to our individual submeters in our apartment. Our rent bill comes from the third party billing company the apartment chose to read our submeters electronically and has our water/sewer usage and charges for the two months before. So November 1 rent bill has water usage for September. It shows first and last of the month meter reading, gallons used, then charges based on those numbers. There is also a $5 processing fee.They are supposed to be using the same rates they pay the water company to buy the water, but these rates aren't on the bill. You also have to pay the water with the rent or you can be evicted. Since residents are not customers of the actual utility company, but the apartment, if water shuts off we have to call the apartment, and we cannot get utility gov assistance or payment plans as we would with a real utility company. The only reason I know all that i wrote above is through a lot of research. The apartment building refused to give any info and purposely and continuously calls the third party billing company (in another state) "the utility company" to mislead residents. My lease says water will be "submetered" for individual usage. Every single water bill I've gotten has inaccurate meter readings and overinflated gallons usage. The first several were just estimated. I take time stamped photos of the meter first and last of the month so I know for a fact. I have tried many times to get the office and property management company to explain the overcharges and refund me the difference and they refuse. I've tried asking them when the meters have actually been tested for accuracy. First, they tried invalidating it was an issue by saying my water usage is comparable to other apartments. Then they tried ignoring me. Then when I persisted, they tried running me around. Now, they are trying to intimidate me by asking if I want a "mutual lease ending" and saying they have investigated and they have determined there are no overcharges so the issue is resolved. But not once have they asked for my proof or submitted their own. I have tried to get assistance locally and through the state to no avail. The public utilities commission said they don't regulate the water company the apartment buys the water from and they don't regulate apartments acting like a pseudo utility company. I said who does? They said ask the city you're in and county. I've tried numerous offices in both and each have told me they don't regulate utilities in my city and county and don't know who do. One even told me no one regulates utilities at all because utilities regulate themselves. So I'm wasting my time talking to idiots who don't even know basic facts of their own government. I've tried contacting the water company the apartment buys water from and they said they have no regulations for apartments that buy their water and resell it. I've tried contacting the department of financial regulation and professional real estate licensing to report the property management company, but they said they only regulate structural issues in the buildings. I've tried contacting the consumer department but they said I can make a complaint and they will just send it to the apartment like the bbb with no force to make them do anything. Literally no one cares that this is going on and will help me and it's apparent why the apartment and property management company is so apathetic towards this, because they know they can get away with it! This issue is widespread in Florida with apartments as last year when I was looking for apartments, every single one within the three counties I looked used this "we will bill you for water through a third party company reading the submeter" scheme. My friend in another apartment is also being overcharged and her apartment refuses to do anything, so I have to think this is rampant across the state but no one in gov gives a shit to regulate it. If the utilities companies did this, they'd be fined. I'm sure they'd love to do it if they could the way the apartments are. There is a class action lawsuit going on in Texas over the same issue and another class action lawsuit in another state. I've tried contacting those firms to see if they can give me any helpful hints but they haven't responded yet. At this point, I want to know the avenue I can pursue through government to report it and have it actually looked at. Civilly, I will be suing the apartments and management company for treble charges of all estimated and overcharges in my county small claims court at the end of my lease, but that's not enough. I also want to initiate a class action lawsuit against them. I want to ask other residents if they are being overcharged and I want to write up a synopsis of what the apartment is doing asking them to take photos of their meter first and last of the month and contact me to start a tenant group, print it, and leave it in residents doors but my lease says no solicitation. Right now, my apartment is looking for any excuse to try to evict me for speaking up and all they have are retaliatory reasons which is illegal and I don't want to give them a legit reason. I don't know how to inform the residents and create a group without violating the no soliciting. So I ask legal advice to advise me of the best government agency locally, state, and/or federally to pursue this and also how to inform and gather residents to start a class action suit without violating my lease? Thank you Title: My apartment management is acting like a water company w/o any regulations that real utility companies have: they're making a profit by overcharging for water but refusing to acknowledge there is an issue. I've tried to get assistance from the public utility service and local government to no avail [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 07 Nov 2020 12:01 AM PST What are my options to rent out my current house which is financed, and use my VA loan to purchase a new house? What's the path to getting approved on a second property? [link] [comments]  |
| Moved into the property; found out the seller agent misrepresented information. What to do? Posted: 07 Nov 2020 02:39 AM PST Hi everyone. We are first-time homeowners and aren't sure what to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated. We purchased and moved into a house in October. This house has a complex garden in the front with large boulders and a built-in fountain and irrigation system and we recently learned from the same gardener the sellers used that the system was damaged several years ago when they installed a new fence and has not worked since. However, when we asked the seller agent about the state of the fountain during one of the open house, she told us that the sellers shut it off on purpose to keep their daughter safe and that it's still fully functional and can be turned on at any time. We did a home inspection but the inspector did not test the fountain system since it was outside his expertise. We're not sure what the extent of the damage is or how much it would cost to fix it. The sellers never left any manuals for operating the fountain so we haven't had any success in troubleshooting the issue ourselves. Since the damage is underground, we suspect it would be pretty costly to just determine the issue, let alone fix it. To make matters worse, our house's standby energy use is abnormally high and the GCFI socket in the garden is constantly shorted so I suspect these two might be linked. We've thought about writing to the sellers or their agent a letter explaining the situation and seeing what they can do but we're not sure how to approach this. Specifically,
Do we have a case at all? We don't have the agent's statement in writing as it was strictly verbal but our realtor was present and can back us up. [link] [comments]  |
| First time homebuyer in need of some advice Posted: 06 Nov 2020 07:51 PM PST I put in an offer on a house today, I put it in 35k under asking because it needs a lot of work immediately (new roof, new floor, appliances and it has to be painted immediately bc a smoker lived in it). After seeing it the real estate agent called mine to tell him they are willing to move on the price because they are trying to sell it as soon as possible. Its been on the market 30 + days and is split between 3 parties because of a will. After I put in an offer today the sellers agent told my realtor that another offer is coming in tomorrow and another person saw it for the 3rd time today. My realtor suggested an escalator clause and the seller's agent told him not to do that and that we should just offer the best offer that I can do. On top of that the sellers agent also said two of the executors would not take an offer that low and said that verbally tonight. Should I put in a higher offer? I really like the plot of land but I don't know if they're just trying to get me to go higher. This is in Oregon also. [link] [comments]  |
| How much are fees for selling house? Extremely unhappy with location Posted: 07 Nov 2020 03:46 AM PST I purchased a home a month ago, new construction. The house is great, lot is fine and immediate neighborhood is fine. What I did not discover in all my visits to the property before moving in is that the house is 1 mile from a skeet shotgun range. I'm not sure if I came in the couple days they are supposed to be closed, early before they opened or was raining and no one was there but I had zero knowledge about it before moving in. Now I can hear gunshot pops every few seconds from 10-5 every wed,Fri, sat, sun. My highest priority for the house was quiet and I feel my life is ruined, that I can't open windows in nice days, that I can't sit outside in the weekend without this water drip type torture of pop, pop, pop gunshots. I need to get out, how do I do that? What kind of seller fees am I looking at? New construction, everything about the house itself is fine [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Nov 2020 02:26 PM PST The last day to close selling my house is Tuesday. When I get my money I am paying for a lot that I've put a $2,000 deposit on. The deposit is good through Thursday or I lose my deposit. My agent just told me to expect to close selling my house on Friday, so I won't have my money on time and will lose my deposit on my land. I told him we need to close Tuesday which is when the contract says we're going to close by. He said, sorry about your luck, we close on Friday. What actions can I take? I really want to say, okay, cancel the sale of my home since they didn't follow contract deadline and fire him. I've have nothing but problems with this guy. Edit: It's his fault we are late. He forgot to tie up a loose end. [link] [comments]  |
| Backing out during due diligence period due to neighbor being a chainsmoker? Posted: 06 Nov 2020 03:36 PM PST I'm currently in the due diligence period of my contract on a townhouse in a community that has a row of these attached homes with a first level private outdoor space. This outdoor space is separated by a wooden fence. The two most recent times I went to the house for a walkthrough and the inspection, both times there was a strong smell of cigarette smoke in the outdoor area from the next door neighbor. The first time I didn't think much of it, but it can't be a coincidence twice in a row at different times of the day... He's an old dude that I'm pretty sure just sits out there for most of the day and smokes cigs. This is honestly my biggest concern about the property. It would be a real shame to move in and be in a situation where we cant use the outdoor area because of the cigarette smoke, or even worse, have it eventually creep in through windows or doors. He's smoking outside on his own property so it's well within his right to do so, but Idk if I want to live next to that. Is it reasonable to back out of the deal because of this? [link] [comments]  |
| How do you know it's a bad flip? Posted: 06 Nov 2020 02:15 PM PST Someone posted, "Are people flipping homes ruining the market? RANT" (I don't know how to link in a post...) And there are a lot of strong and conflicting feelings on the subject. I'm pretty broke and will probably never be able to afford a home; however, if I can somehow change my fate, I really wouldn't know what a bad flip looks like. Theoretically, whatever the flippers did, they would do it in a way that looked legitimate. However, how can an untrained eye spot cover-up jobs? A lot of the posters mentioned painted-over mold. Unless it's a bumpy mess, how would someone looking to buy a home know that the mold was there? If the electrical updates technically pass inspection, what more could someone do? I don't know what cheap wood floors or over-valued countertop upgrades look like. I don't think a lot of home buyers do. Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| [NC] Thinking of selling my Condo for profit Posted: 07 Nov 2020 12:10 AM PST Never posted on here before but I really want some advice. Im 25 and got my first mortgage 3 years ago. I got a condo for $85k, the highest priced condo in the complex at the time which I was comfortable doing because it had a lot of renovations. Since, I've renovated a lot and have changed many things as I wanted to prepare myself for when I bought my first house. Currently, many condos in my complex have been selling immediately for $100k+ with the highest being $110k. My rate is 5%, and have become extremely tempted to sell and list at $120-125k and be comfortable negotiating down towards $112-117k and using $10k of that profit to put down on a house with the rates being historically low. Some of my friends said I should keep it and see if they continue to trend upwards, but I don't want to miss on an opportunity to make a decent profit and get into a house with a boost towards my savings, or even paying my car off and having some change left over. Side note: I don't plan on staying in NC, I just finished my masters and was planning on renting out my condo when I leave the state. If I get a house I would rent it out when I leave. Should I sell my condo and get into a house, or just keep it? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Nov 2020 11:29 AM PST TLDR; get a sewer scope before buying a house. For some reason questions about sewer lines have been showing up everywhere. Maybe because everyone is pooping at home lately. Been copy/pasting this a lot so figured this is a good spot to share. **I AM NOT A PLUMBER or sewer line expert, my experience is primarily in the Mid-Atlantic region, so if you're in more extreme climates, this may or may not apply. Simply sharing my experience here, if it helps 1 person save $2,000+, it's a success. WHEN BUYING - Any property over 20 yrs old you should get a sewer scope from a plumber or use a home inspector that offers them, it's worth the money if you have any concerns. Does not apply to condos. WHAT YOUR AGENT CAN DO TO HELP - you can DIY some of this It's time consuming to do this kind of research, but I've been able to save clients tens of thousands of dollars, as well as surprise sewer problems. Knowledge is power as they say. An experienced agent should know & show:
Happy house hunting! P.S. If your agent or anyone suggests "don't worry about it, you can get line insurance" MAKE SURE you look closely at all the fine print in that coverage. The utility company in my area offers a $10/month policy, but it doesn't give you full coverage for all repairs. Same w/my USAA homeowner's policy, doesn't cover the full repair. P.P.S. Most jurisdictions (in my large area of experience anyway) require sewer repairs to be done from your property to the connection to the public sewer system. If your connection is in the street, you have to pay to have the street excavated and replaced, which can get extremely expensive. [link] [comments]  |
| Bad idea to purchase a house for $165 thousand more than it sold for (nov 1st) last year? Posted: 06 Nov 2020 06:39 PM PST The house sold for 535 and is now on the market for 7. The house has had zero work done to it. Real estate agent says comps don't matter that much anymore as the market is nuts. Similar homes have sold for ~650 though. I have no doubt it will sell for 7, but theoretically we would like to move to a nicer neighborhood in >5 years so would like a home to appreciate at least somewhat and definitely don't want to take a hit. I know there is no crystal ball, but I would like to know your thoughts. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Nov 2020 08:00 PM PST Wife and I currently have a galley style kitchen with a nook, and a dining room adjacent to the kitchen, separated by a wall. We would like to turn the nook into a pantry. Question is, how much value, if any, does that add to a house? I'm not sure it's financially worth it to add it in when we plan on selling in a year or two. We would lose the kitchen dining space (still have a dining room that we use 100% of the time) but would gain a pantry. Thank you in advance for any help! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Nov 2020 01:23 PM PST Need se help deciding on my families next residence. Currently moving to a town in south FL and looking to purchase a property. Ive narrowed it down to a detached townhouse ( stacked) and a SFH. Some details... Both properties are in areas with an HOA. Townhouse HOA is more expensive ( 2-3 times), but includes: roof ( rough estimates put a minimum of 30-45k to replace eventually), outer walls and windows, lawn and insurance (insurance on SFH alone would probably make up the monthly difference). Price per SQ. Footage seems to be about the same. So my question is, is there any downside to going with the townhome? I've tried to use the same general rules when deciding between a townhome and SFH, but given the HOA for both properties, I'm not seeing a real reason not to go with the townhome. Would love some feedback and general advice. Cheers! [link] [comments]  |
| How long does it take to receive the clear to close? Posted: 06 Nov 2020 10:48 PM PST I am the seller, and the buyer has completed the appraisal/inspection (this was the last piece the lender was waiting on), the report was received on 11/6. Our contract expires 11/10/20. How long does it take to get the CTC, and do I have to wait x days after receiving the CTC before closing? [link] [comments]  |
| Real Estate Agents Steering Buyers to Specific Lenders--Why? Posted: 06 Nov 2020 10:21 PM PST Because of my line of work. I move around quite a bit, and something I've noticed is that after you choose a realtor in the city where you're going , make contact, exchange pleasantries, and initiate your search, at some point the realtor is going to try to steer you toward a specific lender. Not only that but a specific mortgage officer who works for that lender. I'm vaguely suspicious of this practice and wonder if there's something I'm missing. I guess it just makes me feel like the realtor's first and only priority isn't advocacy for my bottom line and is trying to steer business to a friend. I see mortgages as a product, while the realtor-buyer relationship is more of a service, and feel like I should treat the mortgage like I should when shopping for any product. I'm looking for the best deal. Full stop. It's a purely business transaction based on math. You're eventually getting passed off to the underwriters anyway, and I don't see any reason at all for me to have some kind of rapport with a mortgage officer or benefit in my realtor having a rapport with somebody who works at a mortgage company. Is there any reason at all to go with a realtor's recommendation about a mortgage company instead of shopping around like you would for anything else? [link] [comments]  |
| First time selling, cash buyer questions Posted: 06 Nov 2020 06:33 PM PST I'm relocating for work and my company is covering my relocation through Weichert. The first of 2 realtors from them came today to do an assessment on my house and give me his spiel. He has another agent friend with a cash buyer who is looking for a home in my area that matches mine. He said he sent the agent info about my house and it looks like they're going to want to make an offer with an escalation clause for $500 over other offers I get (if I understand correctly). Is there any down side or risk to this? He said they'll do an inspection but no need for an appraisal and likely no petty repairs will be requested. The buyer wants it to use as a rental. I'm very keen to have this go as smoothly as possible so this sounds super appealing. Is there anything I should watch out for? Questions I should ask? He wants to list my house the day before Thanksgiving and show it Thursday-Saturday that week because I'll be out of town (I have 3 young children so that's a good plan in my eyes). He expects to have multiple offers to review with me by that Friday, including the cash one. I'm particularly keen on the quicker closing time for a cash buyer-- he said roughly 20 days. If I can get an offer while I'm out of town visiting where I'm moving and can turn around and make an immediate offer on one I see while there, that would mean minimal time in temporary housing waiting for closing. But I'm super new to this and nervous! Does this all sound plausible? Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| Buying a house in the current market (AL/GA area) Posted: 06 Nov 2020 02:47 PM PST I realized alot of info was missing from my previous post and I thank those for pointing out the missing info. My husband and I are currently preparing to buy a house. We've been saving up for three years and will be using our next tax return to make up the rest of our down payment savings. The total savings will be around 10-11k. In the area I'm looking at a 3br 2ba house in a decent neighborhood will go for between 100-130k. What can we expect from attempting to buy a house in the current market? The timetable, how competitive it is, etc I'm sorry if I miss anymore relevant info, I'll try to answer as best as I can. Someone asked me to be more specific. I'm looking at the Phenix City, Al columbus ga area [link] [comments]  |
| Alternative uses for non buildable lot (MA) Posted: 06 Nov 2020 03:43 PM PST Couldn't find much on Google related to this. What else can you do with non buildable lots in a residential neighborhood. Can you use for farming, solar farming, or any other productive use? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 06 Nov 2020 09:40 PM PST We are looking at selling our home this spring. My agent has already agreed to a 2% commission. Is it possible to set the buyers agent rate at 2% as well? Our house is a 3/2 and we are listing at around $245k. I am being told houses similar to mine are moving in 30-45 days. [link] [comments]  |
| Is 6% really the average for builder upgrades on a new construction home? Posted: 06 Nov 2020 05:43 PM PST My husband and I are planning to buy a new construction home for a base of $470,000. Lot premiums are $15-30k, and the salesman said average structural costs are $5-40k. What surprised me most is that he is saying most people come in and spend 6% or so on design center upgrades. This would be around $30,000 of cosmetic upgrades. My question is do most people really spend that much on floor, counters, paint, cabinets etc? What are the hidden costs I'm not thinking of? It's surprisingly difficult to get any estimates in design center upgrades. They have basically said we need to be under contract to see these costs. Can anybody share how much it will cost to do a few minor things? For instance, I want an under mount sink in the kitchen, and a double vanity in the master. We will mostly plan to do cosmetic changes on our own (to avoid adding it onto our loan). We'll upgrade floors, counters and appliances right away with cash. I would really like to keep design center upgrades to a minimum if possible. Any advice is appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| Advice on what to ask for after inspection Posted: 06 Nov 2020 05:38 PM PST We're buying a home built in 1930 and it's great for its age. Had a thorough inspection, and we have a few big concerns I'd like advice on. I'm buying without a realtor.
Of course they found small stuff too. The dishwasher is under recall apparently, older appliances generally, and some other random stuff I'm not as concerned about. What of this is worth asking for? My first thought was to ask for "closing and down payment assistance" as credit at closing for the cost of the roof repairs, power line, and gutters. I'd also like to address the risk of the older electrical and sewer line, but I'm not sure how - a warranty or insurance of some kind? I was their only offer coming in without a realtor, so I'm confident they have some wiggle room for negotiations with that automatic 3.5% savings. [link] [comments]  |
| Buying a home while in college Posted: 06 Nov 2020 05:33 PM PST I've been renting for almost 4 years now and am getting annoyed with property management issues. Ive been fond of the idea of owning/ renting out a house found a 6 bed in the area listed at $280,000. With an $8000 down deposit Zillow is saying monthly charges would be $2,085 a month for a 30 year fixed mortgage, which could be more than covered by average rent prices around here. But I'm not sure if I can qualify for a mortgage considering I can only work full time during the winter and summer breaks. Are there any steps I can take to try and qualify/ make an offer? [link] [comments]  |
| Are nerves a part of the first time home buying experience or is this a sign I should back out? Posted: 06 Nov 2020 03:03 PM PST Ok it doesn't help that I have anxiety in general, but.. Is it normal that sometimes I get intense anxiety about whether I am making a good decision to make This enormous purchase? It's always been a goal of mine to become a homeowner and honestly feel a bit late to the game at age 29. I love the home, I love the location. It's still close to our families/friends and not much further from all my regular grocery stores and my job. It will be 4x the space that I have now and in a safe area (I live in a 400 sq feet studio apartment in a bad part of town right now.) I will finally have a garage and a big yard for my dog. But I can't help but think of all the things that could go wrong. What if my neighbors are horrible? (No way to meet them yet because it's new construction). What if something huge breaks and now it's on me to fix it? I am financially secure (I'm an RN) and have very little debt, and we want kids soon, so I know I need something different. Just so worried about all the what if's. Is this my intuition saying don't buy this house or is this normal? I over think everything. Even feeling like what if we need to move for some weird reason and the market crashes and I can't sell? Ugh maybe I'm not ready? (Even though financially I am, and my heart says go for it..) [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