Home Buying & Real Estate Thread

[crcballer55]

 

Exactly! Good faith money or earnest money deposit.

My agent is really pushing it hard..like trying to hurry us up to buy the house...almost to the point I feel really uncomfortable. He's saying we can probaly discount between $10k ~ 20k. but now hes saying theres an offer on the table so hes saying just to go with the asking price.
Should i back out?

What city are you looking in? The market is all over the map in OC. If you're in a hotter area, asking price might not even win you the home. In other areas, you might be able to get below asking.

Inventory is still pretty tight. Prices have stabilized and inventory is taking 50 days to turnover.

 

What city are you looking in? The market is all over the map in OC. If you're in a hotter area, asking price might not even win you the home. In other areas, you might be able to get below asking.

Inventory is still pretty tight. Prices have stabilized and inventory is taking 50 days to turnover.

I just dont like how my realtor is rushing me with all these documents, offers, etc..

Im looking at La Mirada/Buena Park area... This will be my first time buying a house so i dont know the traits of a good realtor... going blind here

Why do you say you're going blind? What kind of research did you do on the agent beforehand? Did you see what kinds of reviews they got online? How would you gauge their communication level/frequency?

What kinds of documents are they asking for? You've already been pre-approved for a loan, right?

 

[ekrev98]

Purchased another one and did a walktrhu today to make sure the planning and schedule fits the 4 week time frame. Excited for this one

 

[superantigen]

Purchased another one and did a walktrhu today to make sure the planning and schedule fits the 4 week time frame. Excited for this one

Would you be willing to post pics of the progress?

Also, I'm looking to get into flipping. Ok if I pm you sometime for advice?




...

 

[ekrev98]

Would you be willing to post pics of the progress?

Also, I'm looking to get into flipping. Ok if I pm you sometime for advice?




...

I'll be posting pics of the progress...and feel free to PM if you have any questions.

Here's some updated pics of my other project. Master bath and 2nd bathroom almost done. The flooring is all done too. Should be done in 2-3 weeks

 

[pdino]

^looks nice!

Refinanced my FHA mortgage that I purchased 7 months ago through FHA streamline program. Went from 4.5% interest 30 year loan to 3.5% interest 25 year loan. I'll be paying 100$ less/month and 5 years shorter

For anyone who bought around when I did, I recommend doing it ASAP with the lower rates if it works for you. Also, the earlier you do it, the more of a FHA upfront mortgage insurance refund you get (the $ you paid for your initial loan is put towards your refinance, but the % you get goes down the longer you wait)

I called Cash call mortgage, Quicken, and my current lender (penny mac) for quotes.

Quicken gave me the best deal and I went with them.

 

[rightguard]

I am thinking of refinancing. What factors influence your ability to get the lower rate outside of credit score did you have to pay? Did your credit score improve immensely from the time you bought until now? thanks!

 

[babygawd]

Can I use an FHA loan on a short sale property? Is it up to the bank or whoever owns the property to allow it? How does that work?

 

[dam itz lou]

So the landlord sold the house to some investors. They told us nothing is changing as far as the rent and they'd let us know when they'll will start to looking to build. I don't feel like throwing a bunch of money away on rent for a year or two. I'd rather take the L with PMI. I could live with spending $120 a month on PMI until we get to 20%.

What's the deal with the property tax % ? How accurate is the zillow mortgage calculator ?

 

[iamjusayn]

Can I use an FHA loan on a short sale property? Is it up to the bank or whoever owns the property to allow it? How does that work?

Yes you can go fha on a short sale as long as the house is in livable condition. Be prepared to wait s long time for sale to go through.

 

[pdino]

I am thinking of refinancing. What factors influence your ability to get the lower rate outside of credit score did you have to pay? Did your credit score improve immensely from the time you bought until now? thanks!

The mortgage rates have been getting lower for the last 10 months, I bought about 7 months ago, so it has been mostly the rates just decreasing on their own with a combination of my credit score going from 666 (devils #, when I first purchased) to 715 (They saw on-time payments for my mortgage and I upped my credit limits on all credit cards right before refinancing for a small boost).

 
Can I use an FHA loan on a short sale property? Is it up to the bank or whoever owns the property to allow it? How does that work?

FHA is a program to help many first time homebuyers, but they have even stricter guidelines because of the low down-payment. An FHA approved inspector will have to come by and basically needs to deem the place livable (no fire damage, mold , toilets working, lights work, no gas leaks etc.). The realtor should have the answer to your question. 

 

[pdino]

So the landlord sold the house to some investors. They told us nothing is changing as far as the rent and they'd let us know when they'll will start to looking to build. I don't feel like throwing a bunch of money away on rent for a year or two. I'd rather take the L with PMI. I could live with spending $120 a month on PMI until we get to 20%.

What's the deal with the property tax % ? How accurate is the zillow mortgage calculator ?

Property tax is value of your place multiplied times your states property tax rate.

value of property x state property tax rate is how property tax is determined. If you plug everything in correctly, it'll be close

 

[NewWave90]

Most municipalities have a database on their website where they list property taxes for each house.

 

[aepps20]

Hey guys, I had to pull the plug on building my new house. As many of you know I've spent months talking about getting a third party inspector to follow the construction process. A few weeks ago my inspector found various issues that we assumed the builder would be willing to fix (issues that were incorrect according to the Builder's own specs). However, I was sadly mistaken. We were given the run around about how the issues were no big deal and that we should proceed (completion of house scheduled for end of March). Given their shadiness and lies throughout the entire process, my fiancee and I decided to walk. As hard as it was to walk, I would much rather walk now than to have a mortgage on a property that has so many issues. I know most buyers think that new construction doesn't need a third party inspection, but I can tell you that the city or local building inspectors miss a ton of things and you might end up living in a home that has problems. If you are buying new construction spend the extra money to get a third party inspection. DON"T TRUST ANYONE.

 

[crcballer55]

So the landlord sold the house to some investors. They told us nothing is changing as far as the rent and they'd let us know when they'll will start to looking to build. I don't feel like throwing a bunch of money away on rent for a year or two. I'd rather take the L with PMI. I could live with spending $120 a month on PMI until we get to 20%.

What's the deal with the property tax % ? How accurate is the zillow mortgage calculator ?

Find a local lender that can run the correct numbers for you. Zillow's algorithm is notoriously inaccurate. Their Zestimate is a huge joke in the industry and something people in the industry are constantly fighting to educate people on.

The Principle & Interest is pretty accurate, but everything else is probably way off since it's just an "estimate" unless you know the real numbers.

 

[iamjusayn]

Yeah zillow, trulia, etc get on my nerves! Stay tryna ruin the game...

 

[jthagreat]

Hey guys, I had to pull the plug on building my new house. As many of you know I've spent months talking about getting a third party inspector to follow the construction process. A few weeks ago my inspector found various issues that we assumed the builder would be willing to fix (issues that were incorrect according to the Builder's own specs). However, I was sadly mistaken. We were given the run around about how the issues were no big deal and that we should proceed (completion of house scheduled for end of March). Given their shadiness and lies throughout the entire process, my fiancee and I decided to walk. As hard as it was to walk, I would much rather walk now than to have a mortgage on a property that has so many issues. I know most buyers think that new construction doesn't need a third party inspection, but I can tell you that the city or local building inspectors miss a ton of things and you might end up living in a home that has problems. If you are buying new construction spend the extra money to get a third party inspection. DON"T TRUST ANYONE.

Did you take any financial hit walking away?

 

[aepps20]

Did you take any financial hit walking away?

I am still trying to get my earnest money deposit back. If I'm unsuccessful I will lose that which isn't ideal but it's better than the alternative.

 

[slicknick951]

What issues did you run into if you dont mind me asking?

 

[lilchico4life]

Hey guys, I had to pull the plug on building my new house. As many of you know I've spent months talking about getting a third party inspector to follow the construction process. A few weeks ago my inspector found various issues that we assumed the builder would be willing to fix (issues that were incorrect according to the Builder's own specs). However, I was sadly mistaken. We were given the run around about how the issues were no big deal and that we should proceed (completion of house scheduled for end of March). Given their shadiness and lies throughout the entire process, my fiancee and I decided to walk. As hard as it was to walk, I would much rather walk now than to have a mortgage on a property that has so many issues. I know most buyers think that new construction doesn't need a third party inspection, but I can tell you that the city or local building inspectors miss a ton of things and you might end up living in a home that has problems. If you are buying new construction spend the extra money to get a third party inspection. DON"T TRUST ANYONE.

What were the issues if you don't mind? If they were minor, I'd let it slide. I can't believe the builder would rather let the sale go than fix the issues, especially if you hand selected the options for the interior of the home. Also, was the earnest money deposit big?

 

[capital sb]

Yeah I am very curious as to what the issues are as well?

 

[aepps20]

What issues did you run into if you dont mind me asking?

Too many to list them all but we signed a purchase agreement in May of last year with promises that the permitting process would occur in two months with the construction process to begin shortly after receiving permits. When we initially signed our purchase agreement the sales rep whom we had been working with for almost two years prior was getting ready to go on maternity leave so she was focused on training her replacement who was going to work with us while she was out. The plan was that the new sales rep would keep us apprised on any developments and issues we encountered along the way. After about the second month of waiting for permits, the new sales rep began to send us emails and left voice mails telling us that the permits "were on their way," "arriving any day now," or "were in hand" only to find out that none of it was true. By the fifth month of waiting for permits, the sales agent stopped returning my emails and my agent's emails and voicemails. By this time we had already completed our design center trip and secured our loan commitment letter. Everyone from the design center reps to the loan officers stated that it shouldn't take this long to get permits. At this point the sales rep (the one filling in for the one on maternity leave) was transferred to a new development as the original sales rep was supposed to get back from maternity leave and take over. However, a few weeks before our original sales rep was supposed to return, we were informed that she wasn't coming back to sales and would work in the permitting division. At this point we were transferred to a third sales rep who followed the same pattern of deflection and blaming. In a last ditch effort we sent an email to all three sales reps asking whom we should speak with regarding permits. Our original sales rep sent an email back saying "I'm not in the sales department anymore so I can't help you" even though she was responsible for permitting in her new role . By this time we pestered corporate until we got a call back from the regional sales director. The regional sales director indicated that the person responsible for filing the permits had been let go because of his/her mistakes in the permitting process and that she would get things done. About three weeks later we finally got permits. One would think that the worse was over but it wasn't. Prior to our pre-drywall walk through, we had our third-party inspector come in and review the work. He noted several issues that needed immediate remediation before drywall was installed (foundation related, using wood that was already cracking and splintering (structurally weak) and other items that were easy to fix before getting too far along). When we finally had our pre-drywall walk through none of the issues identified in the inspector's report (including those issues that were incorrect per the builder's own specs) were addressed. The construction super tried to play it off that things would get fixed but he also showed us how his crew forgot which model of home they were building and cut a hole in the kitchen wall because they thought the kitchen was for a different model . The super claimed all of these items would be fixed before drywall went up. Two weeks later we get a call from the sales rep telling us that she visited the house and they were putting up drywall at a rapid pace. Based on our prior interactions with their lies and deception, my fiancee went out to the house with the inspection report and she discovered that NONE of the items were fixed and they had actually started putting insulation where they had yet to fix the hole in the kitchen . My fiancee went to the sales rep and walked the property with her and pointed out the issues. The sales rep told my real estate agent on that next Tuesday that we were satisfied with everything. At this point, we weren't going to continue given the ridiculous behavior the entire time.

 

[dam itz lou]

DAMN, what a nightmare. I hope you get your money back.

 

[dathbgboy]

Sheesh, that's crazy. Post their info so other NTers know to be weary of the company.

 

[capital sb]

Yes, please post the company. That sounds horrible, always wondered how they treated outside inspector issues for pre drywall.

 

[lilchico4life]

Wow, I can't believe what I'm reading. Great decision of walking away. They wasted a year of yours. Hope you get your earnest money back.