ACk! Purchasing a house is so stressful!

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: SampSon
I appraise 100+ year old houses all day long. Just about every house that old is vastly superior to new houses. I would never buy a new house with the garbage materials and labor they put into them today. As long as your mechanical systems, insulation and windows are updated you should have no problems with energy use. In most cases these old houses will excel beyond newer houses when updated properly.

I agree, as long as the foundation is solid and not settling poorly. From the picture, this house looks pretty straight and solid. I missed my shot at a great deal in a nice neighborhood. It was the quintessential starter home--the worst home in the best neighborhood, but solid. With five years worth of sweat equity and normal appreciation, I could have increased its value 50%. Unfortunately, I couldn't scrape together everything I needed before someone else came in and bought it... And sold it for $20,000 more 6 months later.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: rh71
btw, you can check the previous price those owners paid for it through domania.com ... as long as there was a transaction for it since 84. Interesting stuff to know... how much profit they're making (adjust for inflation).

Or... you could ask your realtor or mortgage broker to acquire from the title company a "property profile" (aka "trio") of the property for you. It is, however, generally discouraged for buyers to do this because (quite frankly) it is none of your beewax.

 

Just because it's your profession doesn't mean that your statement is accurate. I don't think 99% of them out there are no good. My inspection did not take 4 hours (a little over 2) and it was VERY well done. He was recommended by my Realtor...and then by my best friend (it was funny cause they mentioned the same person). He took digital pictures and created a wonderful report and presented it to us. It only cost me $225 and was well worth the peace of mind.

You appraise house and inspect them all day long? Isn't that a conflict of interest? I didn't realize people did both.

No, it's not a conflict of interest. A home inspection has little to no bearing on a real estate transaction. Unless specifically requested by a lending institutuion. Beyond that there really are no federal (read: fannie mae, freddie mac) guidelines when it comes to home inspections. If I was a realtor and appraised the house I was selling, that would be a conflict of interest.
I do way more appraisals than home inspections. Way too much liability in home inspections. On top of that, the dollar per hour fees on appraisals are much greater.

As I said, there are many good inspectors out there. I would just rate most of them as mediocre to poor. Most home inspections that I see could be conducted by a 13 year old with a working electrical appliance and a flashlight. They really don't do much more than the average joe poking around who has the most rudimentary understanding of houses and their mechanical systems.

I would say that my statement is very accurate, obviously an exaggeration with the 99% remark, but that is only to get a point across. You got one of the good ones, and just like I said, through word of mouth. Not to say most of these guys don't "get the job done", they just don't provide a service that is truly useful or worth the hundreds of dollars they charge to do it.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: rh71
btw, you can check the previous price those owners paid for it through domania.com ... as long as there was a transaction for it since 84. Interesting stuff to know... how much profit they're making (adjust for inflation).

Or... you could ask your realtor or mortgage broker to acquire from the title company a "property profile" (aka "trio") of the property for you. It is, however, generally discouraged for buyers to do this because (quite frankly) it is none of your beewax.

Anonymity + Internet is such a wonderful thing, isn't it ? 😀

I'm surprised it's auto-published on that site if it really isn't supposed to be public info (not our business). Our purchase price was posted 3 months after, and the house across the street got posted after that much time also (I can tell sellers made $80k profit in 2 years).

 

[iamwiz82]

Ugh... The first disaster has occurred. No Cable Internet! AHHH!!

🙁

😛

 

[KEV1N]

I'm in the same boat but I'm buying a new house! Why not start a house blog?

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: KEV1N
I'm in the same boat but I'm buying a new house! Why not start a house blog?

Because no one would read my blogs :laugh:

 

[Aves]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Ugh... The first disaster has occurred. No Cable Internet! AHHH!!

🙁

😛

DSL? If you can't get broadband then you can't get the house!

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: rh71
I'm surprised it's auto-published on that site if it really isn't supposed to be public info (not our business). Our purchase price was posted 3 months after, and the house across the street got posted after that much time also (I can tell sellers made $80k profit in 2 years).

My county publishes all of that information on all property - residential, commercial, and industrial. Here. All you need is a name or an address. That stuff is public knowledge, there is nothing wrong with wanting to know it.

 

[Patt]

Anything less than 30% that will be going to financing should be OK ... I have an old house too, and the character was, and is the major selling point for us. Looks pretty well maintained anyway ...

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Ugh... The first disaster has occurred. No Cable Internet! AHHH!!

🙁

😛

lmao! Everything is going great on our house (3rd attempt) after the sagas I've been through. The appraisal just came in today - 17k more than the selling price. Now, we have to wait for confirmation that the appraisal price was for the house only and not the house, barn, and 16 acres.

btw, your first toy should be a chain saw... those are some ugly trees... either prune or replace. I'm looking forward to cutting down a couple of tall pine trees behind the house we're buying 😀 (my toy = chainsaw)

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: Vic
As far as income, take your new mortgage payments, including the new insurance and property tax amounts, plus all your other monthly bills, and divide that into your gross income averaged over the last 2 years. If the result is 50% or less, and you have at least 2 months of income in the bank, you should be fine.
Lenders generally like to see total debt ratios in the 40% range, but do not include costs like utilities and auto/health/life insurance in their calculations. The practice of just using the new housing costs (mortgage payment plus property taxes and insurance) as a qualifying debt ratio (called the "front end" debt ratio) is no longer used.

Can you clarify this? One month of mortgage + bills or 2 years worth? I think I'm missing something here. Basically don't spend more than 50% of your monthly income on your house and associated costs?

 

Or... you could ask your realtor or mortgage broker to acquire from the title company a "property profile" (aka "trio") of the property for you. It is, however, generally discouraged for buyers to do this because (quite frankly) it is none of your beewax.

It's all public record, so it's as anybody's business.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: SampSon

Or... you could ask your realtor or mortgage broker to acquire from the title company a "property profile" (aka "trio") of the property for you. It is, however, generally discouraged for buyers to do this because (quite frankly) it is none of your beewax.

It's all public record, so it's as anybody's business.

Of course it's public record (except in Texas), but my point is that it is almost never in the buyers' best interests to know what the sellers had previously paid for the property or how much profit the sellers might be making. As the sales price is based on how the neighborhood is selling and on competing offers from other prospective buyers, that knowledge will almost never help the buyers negotiate a better deal for the home, and will usually just generate bad feeling between buyers and sellers.

Originally posted by: Triumph
Can you clarify this? One month of mortgage + bills or 2 years worth?

Total estimated new monthly expenditures / (2 years gross income / 24)

 

[BooGiMaN]

Originally posted by: Lola

Originally posted by: BooGiMaN
Does it coem with ghosts or will you have to funish those yurselves?

j/k

nice looking house

It would be "interesting" if we found that out... i am trying to find the history of the house.
The basement literally gives me chills when i walk down there, not cuz its cold, but just "not happy"
maybe we will have some "orb" pics soon!

my house i found out was one of the original building on a huge ranch...and was where the pony express came to drop off the mail...i had always wondered why my house was the only ranch style house in the area 😛

so sometimes homes have interesting histories...

so its been around for quite a while...havent seen any ghosts in that part of the house though....

 

Of course it's public record (except in Texas), but my point is that it is almost never in the buyers' best interests to know what the sellers had previously paid for the property or how much profit the sellers might be making. As the sales price is based on how the neighborhood is selling and on competing offers from other prospective buyers, that knowledge will almost never help the buyers negotiate a better deal for the home, and will usually just generate bad feeling between buyers and sellers.

From my experience I find that not to be true all the time. You should know my perspective on this, or at least have some insight into it.

For a buyer I think it's best that they know the previous sale price, the current assessed value and if the last transaction was arms length or not (very important). As a buyer you want as much information on the history of the property and its transactions as possible. Relying strictly on a broker or realtor is utterly foolish and you deserve to get burned for every dollar possible if you go that route. That is just like walking into a retail store and buying a home appliance based strictly on what the salesman tells you.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: SampSon
From my experience I find that not to be true all the time. You should know my perspective on this, or at least have some insight into it.

For a buyer I think it's best that they know the previous sale price, the current assessed value and if the last transaction was arms length or not (very important). As a buyer you want as much information on the history of the property and its transactions as possible. Relying strictly on a broker or realtor is utterly foolish and you deserve to get burned for every dollar possible if you go that route. That is just like walking into a retail store and buying a home appliance based strictly on what the salesman tells you.

You make valid points that I agree with, but IME it often leads to the buyers bitching about how the sellers only paid $X for the property and why should they be allowed to profit so much, blah blah blah.

 

[Kelemvor]

Yet another reason you should use a REALTOR when Buying a house.

 

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: SampSon
From my experience I find that not to be true all the time. You should know my perspective on this, or at least have some insight into it.

For a buyer I think it's best that they know the previous sale price, the current assessed value and if the last transaction was arms length or not (very important). As a buyer you want as much information on the history of the property and its transactions as possible. Relying strictly on a broker or realtor is utterly foolish and you deserve to get burned for every dollar possible if you go that route. That is just like walking into a retail store and buying a home appliance based strictly on what the salesman tells you.

You make valid points that I agree with, but IME it often leads to the buyers bitching about how the sellers only paid $X for the property and why should they be allowed to profit so much, blah blah blah.

That is definatly true. Though a real estate transaction is not an ongoing relationship. It is strictly a commodity purchase, on a much greater scale than most material goods.
As in any business, sellers think high, buyers think low. If a seller can get more money from a different buyer, they almost always will.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I think generally, you don't want your morgage loan to be more than 3 times your annual income, however, with interest rates as low as they are now, that may no longer apply.

So, if you are making 53K or more per year, you shouldn't have any trouble affording it.

 

[Triumph]

Anyone have preferences for home listing websites? Is it at all possible to get accurate MLS listings? The typical searches (at least in my area) bring up houses that have long been off the market. Doesn't really help.

 

[dquan97]

My mortgage + association fee = 50% of gross income 🙁

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: SampSon

Or... you could ask your realtor or mortgage broker to acquire from the title company a "property profile" (aka "trio") of the property for you. It is, however, generally discouraged for buyers to do this because (quite frankly) it is none of your beewax.

It's all public record, so it's as anybody's business.

Of course it's public record (except in Texas), but my point is that it is almost never in the buyers' best interests to know what the sellers had previously paid for the property or how much profit the sellers might be making. As the sales price is based on how the neighborhood is selling and on competing offers from other prospective buyers, that knowledge will almost never help the buyers negotiate a better deal for the home, and will usually just generate bad feeling between buyers and sellers.

Originally posted by: Triumph
Can you clarify this? One month of mortgage + bills or 2 years worth?

Total estimated new monthly expenditures / (2 years gross income / 24)

Agreed. The market dictates prices...not the seller or the buyer. You knowing what the previous owner paid for the house is a completely moot point.

 

[vi edit]

Cute looking place 🙂

Wait for spring/early summer to roll around and get some tulips and various other flowers out there and it'll really charm up. No house looks good in midwest/upper midwest gloom and doom winters 🙁

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Cute looking place 🙂

Wait for spring/early summer to roll around and get some tulips and various other flowers out there and it'll really charm up. No house looks good in midwest/upper midwest gloom and doom winters 🙁

I hear you. Lola wants to put in a stone pathway along the front and I will probably take up the renovations. I think we are going to pull those shurbs out in front, but I have little to do with landscaping.