Home Improvements

[smeags]

go to big marty's, im sure you'll find some deals there ...

seriously though, at $4 a sq, make sure you're completely sold on the vinyl.

[SD]

I've never installed it and wouldn't because I have yet to see a fake wood/engineered floor, of any kind, that doesn't look and feel fake. 

I say, install wood and clip your dogs claws.

That was option B my buddy gave me, plus hardwood is a hell of a lot cheaper. The problem is the dog has a lot of energy. Even 2 mile a day walks with him doesn't always calm him down. Getting rid of him isn't an option. There's a sampler pack I can order for $12, going to order it to see what I'm dealing with before I make any investment.

[smeags]

did look into bamboo flooring ?

[Tomahawk]

If you get bamboo, make sure it's stranded to get the hardness of oak. i say get wood and let you dog go; any potential scratches could be looked at as character.

My bitch gets geeked out for a couple of her toys, so much so she'll even fall down and shtein, but her claws don't scratch my floor.

[smeags]

get hardwood and buy one of these.



problem solved.

[Rome]

NSFW?

[smeags]

NSFW?

depends, do you often masturbate with dog grooming products ?

[Tomahawk]

You can jerkin' your gurkin without dog grooming products?

[smeags]

you and rome are off in the head.

I like that.

[Munson]

Can't remember what thread it was in people were talking about buying houses and advice....but who has some basic insights on the process? Interest rates are still low enough/threat of them raising is great enough to avoid ARMs at all cost, right?

What is the accepted practice for submitting an offer that doesn't piss off the seller? How much leverage do you have as a buyer if a house is newly listed? Are they going to list above their true asking price regardless?

We don't have 20% so we're looking at PMI...but Delaware has a few programs that basically give you cash for a downpayment 'for free' as long as you have good credit....catch is the bigger program that gives you more money also comes with a higher interest rate on your mortgage. but playing around with the calculators seems to point to this higher interest rate not being too big of a deal with a monthly payment difference of ~$100, give or take. Meaning it would be at least 7+ years before we'd pay more in mortgage to make up for the free cash the state is giving.

We're meeting with a realtor on Wednesday just to talk some basics and get an idea, but any advice is welcome.

[Sgt PSN]

What is the accepted practice for submitting an offer that doesn't piss off the seller?

Who cares if you piss them off.  Offer what you think is a fair price for the home, taking into consideration the cost of any repairs you may have to make.  Don't factor in how much money you plan on spending on cosmetic shtein like new paint or replacing ugly shower tiles that you don't like.  Your realtor should be able to give you sound advice on what you should be offering and ultimately paying for any house. It's a negotiation.  Make your offer and if they don't like it, they won't accept.  If your offer is in their neighborhood though, then they'll likely make a counter offer.  If they don't, then that's how you know your offer was too low for them.  You can always make a 2nd offer.

How much leverage do you have as a buyer if a house is newly listed?

Practically none, but this is something that is always unique to each seller's circumstances.  If they need to sell quick or if they owe far less than what you're offering, then that's good for you.  But what you really want to focus on are homes that have been on the market for at least 60 days or longer if you want to try and get a better deal.  That seller is starting to get impatient and will be more likely to want to just cut bait and move on.  The longer the home has been on the market, the lower my initial offer would be.   

Are they going to list above their true asking price regardless?

If the seller's realtor is worth a damn, yes, the list price will exceed the amount they actually want to get.  How much more depends on a variety of factors that vary from seller to seller, but you can safely expect that any list price is at a minimum of $5000-10000 above what the sellers are willing to take. 

We don't have 20% so we're looking at PMI...but Delaware has a few programs that basically give you cash for a downpayment 'for free' as long as you have good credit....catch is the bigger program that gives you more money also comes with a higher interest rate on your mortgage. but playing around with the calculators seems to point to this higher interest rate not being too big of a deal with a monthly payment difference of ~$100, give or take. Meaning it would be at least 7+ years before we'd pay more in mortgage to make up for the free cash the state is giving.

I don't know jack shtein about PMI or any of these other programs that you're looking at, so maybe I'm way off base here, but $100 a month increase in mortgage is ENORMOUS.  That's $1200/year that you're adding to your mortgage and if you have to carry that over 30 years then that's $36,000 extra along with the cash you're dumping into the mortgage itself. 

We're meeting with a realtor on Wednesday just to talk some basics and get an idea, but any advice is welcome.

Since you don't have 20%, do you have 15% or even 10%?  Getting into a mortgage without a sizable down payment is usually no bueno.  Aside from the down payment, there's also closing costs that you'll be expected to pay, which is going to probably run you in the neighborhood of $10k, depending on the sell price and what you and the seller are able to agree on.  If you're lucky, you'll catch some really desperate sob that will pay the full closing cost.  And then there's also inspection costs, which the buyer pays for.  Depending on the types of inspections that are required, it could just be a couple hundred or it could be a grand.  Farged up part here is that these costs are typically non-refundable. 

Say you find a house, make an offer, and the seller accepts.  Now you've got to have the place inspected and the inspector finds fault with the foundation.  If you and the owner can't come to an agreement on getting it fixed and the deal falls apart, you're out whatever the inspection cost.     

That said, since money is a factor here, I'd look at as many fixer-uppers as possible.  Yup, you'll have to do work to them but if you're handy or if you have handy friends and family, then it can be done for a much smaller price tag than buying a home that's move-in-ready.  As long as the structure, roof, electrical, plumbing, and septic are all in good order, then practically any work that needs to be done can be done for pennies on the dollar.  I bet Dio would even give you the discount.   

[Don Ho]

Sarge, where the farg were you twenty years ago?

[Diomedes]

Can't remember what thread it was in people were talking about buying houses and advice....but who has some basic insights on the process?

Chuggie knows.

[Munson]

What is the accepted practice for submitting an offer that doesn't piss off the seller?

Who cares if you piss them off.  Offer what you think is a fair price for the home, taking into consideration the cost of any repairs you may have to make.  Don't factor in how much money you plan on spending on cosmetic shtein like new paint or replacing ugly shower tiles that you don't like.  Your realtor should be able to give you sound advice on what you should be offering and ultimately paying for any house. It's a negotiation.  Make your offer and if they don't like it, they won't accept.  If your offer is in their neighborhood though, then they'll likely make a counter offer.  If they don't, then that's how you know your offer was too low for them.  You can always make a 2nd offer.

How much leverage do you have as a buyer if a house is newly listed?

Practically none, but this is something that is always unique to each seller's circumstances.  If they need to sell quick or if they owe far less than what you're offering, then that's good for you.  But what you really want to focus on are homes that have been on the market for at least 60 days or longer if you want to try and get a better deal.  That seller is starting to get impatient and will be more likely to want to just cut bait and move on.  The longer the home has been on the market, the lower my initial offer would be.   

Are they going to list above their true asking price regardless?

If the seller's realtor is worth a damn, yes, the list price will exceed the amount they actually want to get.  How much more depends on a variety of factors that vary from seller to seller, but you can safely expect that any list price is at a minimum of $5000-10000 above what the sellers are willing to take. 

We don't have 20% so we're looking at PMI...but Delaware has a few programs that basically give you cash for a downpayment 'for free' as long as you have good credit....catch is the bigger program that gives you more money also comes with a higher interest rate on your mortgage. but playing around with the calculators seems to point to this higher interest rate not being too big of a deal with a monthly payment difference of ~$100, give or take. Meaning it would be at least 7+ years before we'd pay more in mortgage to make up for the free cash the state is giving.

I don't know jack shtein about PMI or any of these other programs that you're looking at, so maybe I'm way off base here, but $100 a month increase in mortgage is ENORMOUS.  That's $1200/year that you're adding to your mortgage and if you have to carry that over 30 years then that's $36,000 extra along with the cash you're dumping into the mortgage itself. 

We're meeting with a realtor on Wednesday just to talk some basics and get an idea, but any advice is welcome.

Since you don't have 20%, do you have 15% or even 10%?  Getting into a mortgage without a sizable down payment is usually no bueno.  Aside from the down payment, there's also closing costs that you'll be expected to pay, which is going to probably run you in the neighborhood of $10k, depending on the sell price and what you and the seller are able to agree on.  If you're lucky, you'll catch some really desperate sob that will pay the full closing cost.  And then there's also inspection costs, which the buyer pays for.  Depending on the types of inspections that are required, it could just be a couple hundred or it could be a grand.  Farged up part here is that these costs are typically non-refundable. 

Say you find a house, make an offer, and the seller accepts.  Now you've got to have the place inspected and the inspector finds fault with the foundation.  If you and the owner can't come to an agreement on getting it fixed and the deal falls apart, you're out whatever the inspection cost.     

That said, since money is a factor here, I'd look at as many fixer-uppers as possible.  Yup, you'll have to do work to them but if you're handy or if you have handy friends and family, then it can be done for a much smaller price tag than buying a home that's move-in-ready.  As long as the structure, roof, electrical, plumbing, and septic are all in good order, then practically any work that needs to be done can be done for pennies on the dollar.  I bet Dio would even give you the discount.   

Thanks sarge. The realtor we're meeting with is an acquaintance, so I trend towards trusting him, but I kind of figured realtors in general would be trying to get the highest price out of you as possible, no?

Any rule of thumb for how much lower your offer should be vs. how many days on the market? A place we really like just went on the market about a month ago, we could always roll the dice and wait a little bit to see if it's still out there in another 30 days...

As for the PMI...PMI is actually a bit more than $100, I was talking more about the higher interest rate that would come with all the 'free' cash different state programs offer. It'd be anywhere from $70-$100 more a month with the higher interest rates, but if we ended up getting 8-13K in downpayment and closing cost cash, it'd take a solid 7+ years before it started costing us money, if you kno what I mean. And you can drop PMI (as long as you get a non-FHA loan) after you've paid 20% of whatever the house is worth, which we'd also be able to reach in the 7-10 year range, which would drop the monthly payments by $130-$150ish. It's based on how much the house is worth though, so if the house's property value increases, I can reach 20% equity faster. I'm just not sure how to differentiate between actual property value increases vs. inflation.

We're searching now because of between upcoming engagement, wedding, and the possibility of children after that, we're having trouble seeing a time where we'd be able to save up 20% for a downpayment even with our dual incomes....and we're worried about interest rates spiking back up. They're already almost a full point above their historic low from a couple years ago, kind of nervous where they go from here with Trump signaling that he wants the Fed to increase their rates. Maybe we can just wait for him to crash the economy and sink home prices again...heh.

Thanks for the insight on closing costs, that was something I wasn't seeing a lot of good info on. Luckily most of the places around here are super affordable, and we're gonna be able to get a good, decent sized place for under $250K. One place we're eyeing up now is asking for $234K, for example. So I imagine the closing costs will be a bit lower from what I've been able to read. As you say that's something we'd have to talk to the realtor about what the seller is willing to cover.

I am a little confused on the order of operations though...the first step is seeing the house and deciding to make an offer...if the seller accepts the offer, THEN we get the inspections done and all of that?

[Rome]

Make it subject to a successful appraisal.  Make sure any monies offered as a down payment or hold are fully refundable if the appraisal or home inspections don't work out. 

And remember that when all is said and done the realtor is working for the seller unless you're paying for their services.

PS:  Make sure you call the tax assessor or property appraiser to get an estimate of taxes based on the sale price.  Most people neglect that step and taxes can be a killer if you're not prepared for them especially in states with exemptions or abatements in place.