-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Home Buying |OT|
- Thread starter Ourobolus
- Start date
- Status
What do you mean real first time buyers? My wife and I are first time buyers in January and just saved like the dickens to pay for what we wanted rather than just buying a crappy starter home.
It is definitely possible in this market, you just have to be patient.
This is really common. Plus cash is fucking king.
As much as it sucks that the market for housing is back on the rise, price-wise, I'm hoping that when my wife and I eventually decide to sell, we make a nice profit on it. I plan on redoing the backyard and adding a privacy fence still and hopefully that'll add some value overall.
We had 3 other offers when we bought ours, but eventually won. We were already going under the list price, but ended up going $500 over because we put in an escalation clause in our bid war.
We had 3 other offers when we bought ours, but eventually won. We were already going under the list price, but ended up going $500 over because we put in an escalation clause in our bid war.
AstroNut325
Member
Yes it's possible. But I have to offer around 5-8% over list. And I have to waive buyer protections. The agents I speak with have yet to close a single transaction where the buyer didn't have to go over asking by at least $30K and waived appraisal and termite this year. Oh and every winning offer up until now has been with at least 22% down. I can't compete with my 10% down.
So I'm officially out of the market. Hunkering down to get to 25% down so we can buy a house we like instead of a crappy starter home like you said.
And I say real first time buyer because in CA... if you haven't bought a home in X number of years you're considered a first time buyer!
Edit:
I should also mention that I'm the only income earner in my home. Wife is looking into doing masters full time. It's not easy saving massive amounts of money on a single income. Trying regardless. Not giving up.
WarMacheen
Member
Bought a house just over the state line into WV from VA to escape Loudoun taxes etc. The house was a short sale so got a 3,500 sq house, 6 years old, originally listed for $450,000, for a quarter of that. Didn't pay closing cost and used my veterans benefits (va loan). There was no bidding war and I came in lower than the drastically reduced list price. Place was in perfect condition essentially and is my first home, I lucked out.
Since it was a short sale it took about 7-8 months to get the purchase done...pain in the ass, but worth it.
If you are buying a house either through short sale or foreclosure and the price is already steeply discounted, inspectors may find things, but the seller isn't going to fix them, it's more for your "to do" list, and usually doesn't bring the price down much further unless it's something substantial.
Since it was a short sale it took about 7-8 months to get the purchase done...pain in the ass, but worth it.
If you are buying a house either through short sale or foreclosure and the price is already steeply discounted, inspectors may find things, but the seller isn't going to fix them, it's more for your "to do" list, and usually doesn't bring the price down much further unless it's something substantial.
Valkyr Junkie
Member
St. Johns Bluff around Sandalwood. Decent homes, and can't see myself anywhere other than SS.
finally finished moving into our new, first and last, home. its fucking beautiful and we are stoked. its a good size and sits on a river with an amazing view. all of our friends and family comment on how it feels like a true vacation home.
Man, not bad at all. Every short sale our realtor took us to was a major shithole. Would have taken a ridiculous amount of work to make it livable.
AstroNut325
Member
Nice. Congrats. Do you mind sharing City and State?
Valkyr Junkie
Member
AstroNut325
Member
WOW! Amazing! Congrats. Do you work locally or are you commuting to the major cities?
locally. my wife and i lived and worked in the sacramento area and made it a goal to move up here whenever possible. while pregnant with our first child, she got a 1/2 time job offer up here and we decided we'd try to use that as our foot in the door. a few years latter we are both full time, had a second child, and just bought our dream house.
Since my previous posts, we put an offer in on a home at $125,000 and it was accepted. We've already done all of the paper work, loan has been approved, inspection done, appraisal scheduled for tomorrow, so now we just sit back and wait.
It is a 1,750 square foot home with hardwoods and an open floor, split floorplan. It has everything we wanted except that it's not on a flat lot, but we were willing to sacrafice that. It's also just 1.2 miles from our apartment, so moving wont be a big deal and we already know the area perfectly well. I'm fine with all of that.
This may be a stupid questions, but coming from an apartment to our first actual house, what are some must have items that we should start picking up?
It is a 1,750 square foot home with hardwoods and an open floor, split floorplan. It has everything we wanted except that it's not on a flat lot, but we were willing to sacrafice that. It's also just 1.2 miles from our apartment, so moving wont be a big deal and we already know the area perfectly well. I'm fine with all of that.
This may be a stupid questions, but coming from an apartment to our first actual house, what are some must have items that we should start picking up?
Well, you're probably going to find that you don't have enough furniture. If you ever want guests, some people have a second bedroom set up for them. I didn't have room in my apartment for a dining room, but now I do.
It's really up to you. What do you want to be able to do in your house?
congratulations. Exciting and nerve racking time.
Things to get or you may want now that you have your own place*:
a dog
A grill/smoker/bbq pit
lawnmower(if applicable)
leaf blower(if applicable)
various tools: hammer, drill, screw drivers, paint brushes, stud finder
spray bottle with ortho or some other insect killer, spray around foundation of home to keep bugs out.
if you live in a cold climate, or somewhere it occasionally freezes insulation for your outdoor faucets.
water hoses
sprinkler(s)
an irobot roomba - seriously best invention ever, if you can spare the funds.
*obviously biased interpration of what you one might want for their home.
Skiptastic
Member
It's months late but congrats! And your advice later on was very good from my experience. Always need to be pro-active.
Also, as I added above, it's also just 1.2 miles from our apartment, so moving wont be a big deal and we already know the area perfectly well. I'm fine with all of that.
Well, we never have too many people over but we want to have it so her parents can stay overnight if need be. They are from NC, we are in SC, and when they visit they have been staying in a motel since we don't have a guest bed (second bedroom is our "office" right now) and I don't want to make them do that anymore.
We are moving from two bed (again, second one is just an "office") and bath and a half to three bed two full bath.
Thanks!
I'll go over your list...
-a dog (We plan on it, if not as soon as we move in then for Christmas. We've planned to get a Boston Terrier for years, but didn't want to in an apartment. We already have Clancy, our Siberian cat.)
-A grill/smoker/bbq pit (that one is already on our list. We have a nice deck off the back of the house and it would be just perfect.)
-lawnmower(if applicable) (Yeah, I'll need one of some sort. I'm trying to budget to see if I can just get someone to take care of it for us though, if only for the short term.)
-leaf blower(if applicable) (I don't think this will be needed, but we'll see.)
-various tools: hammer, drill, screw drivers, paint brushes, stud finder (Got ya, I have a lot but I need stud finder and drill for sure.)
-spray bottle with ortho or some other insect killer, spray around foundation of home to keep bugs out. (Totally forgot about that, I'll remember it now.)
-if you live in a cold climate, or somewhere it occasionally freezes insulation for your outdoor faucets. (It gets cold in the winter, but not for long. I'll remember this as well.)
-water hoses (As stupid as it sounds I forgot about this also.)
-sprinkler(s) (Same as above.)
-an irobot roomba - seriously best invention ever, if you can spare the funds. (Hmmmmmm, I've always wanted one but didn't think it would work fine on the carpet we have in our apartment. Now with hardwoods, do they really work that great?)
We close right near labor day, either the day before or the day after.
The current homeowner has been told to install a complete French drainage system as well. We have had a TON of rain the past couple of months and it is needed, even if we haven't had that much rain in decades and may never again.
Well, we never have too many people over but we want to have it so her parents can stay overnight if need be. They are from NC, we are in SC, and when they visit they have been staying in a motel since we don't have a guest bed (second bedroom is our "office" right now) and I don't want to make them do that anymore.
We are moving from two bed (again, second one is just an "office") and bath and a half to three bed two full bath.
Thanks!
I'll go over your list...
-a dog (We plan on it, if not as soon as we move in then for Christmas. We've planned to get a Boston Terrier for years, but didn't want to in an apartment. We already have Clancy, our Siberian cat.)
-A grill/smoker/bbq pit (that one is already on our list. We have a nice deck off the back of the house and it would be just perfect.)
-lawnmower(if applicable) (Yeah, I'll need one of some sort. I'm trying to budget to see if I can just get someone to take care of it for us though, if only for the short term.)
-leaf blower(if applicable) (I don't think this will be needed, but we'll see.)
-various tools: hammer, drill, screw drivers, paint brushes, stud finder (Got ya, I have a lot but I need stud finder and drill for sure.)
-spray bottle with ortho or some other insect killer, spray around foundation of home to keep bugs out. (Totally forgot about that, I'll remember it now.)
-if you live in a cold climate, or somewhere it occasionally freezes insulation for your outdoor faucets. (It gets cold in the winter, but not for long. I'll remember this as well.)
-water hoses (As stupid as it sounds I forgot about this also.)
-sprinkler(s) (Same as above.)
-an irobot roomba - seriously best invention ever, if you can spare the funds. (Hmmmmmm, I've always wanted one but didn't think it would work fine on the carpet we have in our apartment. Now with hardwoods, do they really work that great?)
We close right near labor day, either the day before or the day after.
The current homeowner has been told to install a complete French drainage system as well. We have had a TON of rain the past couple of months and it is needed, even if we haven't had that much rain in decades and may never again.
yes the roomba totally works. We have a border collie and she sheds ridiculous. We run the roomba every day and it keeps up ok, but my dog sheds way too much. If my dog didnt shed the roomba would do a great job of cleaning up. As it is now we have to spot vacuum every couple of weeks.
It especially works well in more open concept homes.
It especially works well in more open concept homes.
I'm considering the opposite at this point. Not necessarily a starter home, but going for something that isn't necessarily my ideal be all end all home, maybe a fixer, just to get on the damn ladder at this point. Have you considered, I guess 'settling' in this sense, trying to determine the pros and cons of waiting with all these shitty charts and anecdotes.
Need serious advice guys:
My parents are looking to buy a house under a FHA loan. Its brand new house and it was going to be under my Father's name. But to get FHA loan, my Father's income is 3K short. So housing folks are asking that I co-sign FHA loan. I just took a look at the papers and they say co-purchaser. My google skills not up to par to find anything that clarifies co-purchaser versus a co-signer.
Does anyone know?
Would we have refinance the loan to get my name of the loan?
Will I be eligible for a FHA loan later on ie. in 2 to 3 years time?
I mean this a good idea?
Also how expensive is the living expenditures of a new House on top of mortgage that we should take in account. I have estimated 1000 dollars a month. Is that reasonable?
My parents are looking to buy a house under a FHA loan. Its brand new house and it was going to be under my Father's name. But to get FHA loan, my Father's income is 3K short. So housing folks are asking that I co-sign FHA loan. I just took a look at the papers and they say co-purchaser. My google skills not up to par to find anything that clarifies co-purchaser versus a co-signer.
Does anyone know?
Would we have refinance the loan to get my name of the loan?
Will I be eligible for a FHA loan later on ie. in 2 to 3 years time?
I mean this a good idea?
Also how expensive is the living expenditures of a new House on top of mortgage that we should take in account. I have estimated 1000 dollars a month. Is that reasonable?
gooderthanu
Member
Where in SC? I'm in Columbia SC. I've had my house for 4 years and just refinanced (at no cost, literally, took a higher interest rate, 4%, to pay for all closing and this is lower than my previous 5.25% rate).
You definitely don't want standing water/flooding, it's very high priority! I also paid $125k for my house but is 1620 sq ft and doesn't have wood floors but want to eventually get around to that.
More to the list
- variety of screws/nails.
-anchors for hanging heavy items
-broom/dust pan/steam mop
-weedeater
-watering jug
Valkyr Junkie
Member
Technically this is doable I believe. The term to search on is "non-occupying co-borrower." You likely would meet an exemption to be on a second FHA loan. Obviously you need to verify the scenario with a loan officer.
Why would you have to refinance to get your name on the loan if the loan hasn't gone through yet?
Personally, I think it's a terrible idea. I don't believe in co-signing (unless with a spouse) for anything, let alone a house. Especially now that FHA loans require mortgage insurance for significantly longer than they have in the past....... like potentially the life of the loan.
Assuming you are factoring homeowners insurance, HMO fees, and property taxes into your mortgage, $1000 a month will easily cover other monthly expenses. That's more than a lot of people in this country pay for their mortgage by itself.
My girlfriend and I are looking to buy our first place. In London. Sigh! Well, we'll end up with a tiny flat in a (hopefully) nice area. Hard not to feel down on the whole process when I know I won't be able to afford an actual house, but hopefully we'll end up with something with a fair amount of space and can move up later in life. Our own faults for wanting to live close to zones 1/2 I guess.
We live in Brixton currently, my girlfriend works in central London near Blackfriars, I work out in Feltham which is about 15 miles west of Brixton. Don't want to move too far out as we're both fairly young and want a good social scene around us, so smaller place it is. Got about £40k saved at the moment, and adding about £1k a month in savings. Going to use part of that for the deposit and the rest for furniture/decorating etc. Don't know if there's many UK people here reading but would be good to get some tips in general I suppose!
We live in Brixton currently, my girlfriend works in central London near Blackfriars, I work out in Feltham which is about 15 miles west of Brixton. Don't want to move too far out as we're both fairly young and want a good social scene around us, so smaller place it is. Got about £40k saved at the moment, and adding about £1k a month in savings. Going to use part of that for the deposit and the rest for furniture/decorating etc. Don't know if there's many UK people here reading but would be good to get some tips in general I suppose!
n64coder
Member
I don't view a leaf blower as necessary. I do have one but I use it to blow the grass clippings off the street and walkway and back onto my lawn. It's nice to have but it's totally unnecessary. It would be better to invest in a good tarp and rake. Rake the leaves onto the tarp and dump them in the woods or into a bag. I would go around and make leaf piles around the property and then bring the tarp over before raking the pile onto the tarp. I dump it in the woods on my property.
Getting a good mulching mower is a wise investment. Don't bag the clippings but instead, mulch them into the lawn. I do the same with the leaves in the fall. It's the primary reason why my lawn is the best in the neighborhood.
The idea of spraying stuff around your foundation to kill bugs is not a good idea in my opinion. You'll barely make a dent in the population. A better approach is to go around looking for entry points and sealing them with foam, caulking, etc to seal them out. Look around the windows, doors, garage doors, sill plates, eaves, etc for entry points that need to be sealed.
Lastly, if you're in a climate that is prone to freezing of pipes, it's best to drain those outside faucets if shutoffs/drains exist or invest in frost-proof faucets.
teruterubozu
Member
You can also buy heat tape if frozen pipes are a problem - lotsa folk use 'em here in Maine.
Valkyr Junkie
Member
A caveat for this would be to do additional research on your particular type of grass, and the leaves you'll be mulching. I have St. Augustine, and mulching oak leaves is a no-no since they contribute to thatch build-up since they don't break-down as cleanly as other leaves. St. Augustine is also fairly susceptible to thatch build-up.
Woody Invincible
Banned
I've had a Neato robot vacuum for a month now and I don't regret it one bit. Very good investment to save you time.
Congrats!
I bought a house late last September, so, in addition to lots of the things that have already been mentioned...
- A ladder
- Any gardening? Shovels, rakes, etc.
- Sounds like your winters are relatively short/mild, but a snow shovel if it makes sense - Edit: Oh, SC, probably not needed then!
- Garbage cans, if not city provided
- An unholy amount of boxes for moving
Be ready for lots of trips to Home Depot/Lowes/whatever.
Obviously people live in different areas and climates, all my experience is from Texas, specifically Houston, where the idea of foaming everything that's entry or exit point is scrupulous and will create mold in the long run due to the amount of humidity we experience year round.
As for actually spraying, I couldn't care less about the population, I care about keeping ants out of my pantry and roaches out of my house. Our brick homes have weeping holes everywhere, so spraying the foundation is the best option and as I go around I spray windowsills etc. Ever since I started doing it on my old 1960's home bugs and roaches were no longer being found in our house, alive or dead. Our newer home built in the 90s i've only sprayed once in a year plus since we've lived there.
The insulation I am referring to for faucets outdoors is the Styrofoam box(they litereally cost like a dollar) that has a rubber attachment to put on them for the one or two times it may freeze every few years. Neither of my homes have had separate shut offs for outdoor faucets and investing in frost proof faucets in Texas is a waste of money not to mention you're tearing out brick to put them in pre-existing construction.
Everyone lives in different environments, what works in one place may or may not work in another part of the country. Also, I never said anything on my list was mandatory, just nice things to have. ;-)
ha, be ready for multiple trips for the same project seems like you always forget something even with a list.Be ready for lots of trips to Home Depot/Lowes/whatever.
Definitely a problem I have. 3 Oak trees in the front yard with St. Augustine grass.Valkyr Junkie said:
I'm in upstate SC in Anderson to be exact. Yeah, I'm glad that is being taken care of. I'm so glad we got all that rain before we had the inspection and everything too!
Thanks for the thoughts and advice!
I have never even heard of that but it may be worth picking up. We don't have too long and cold of winters, but it happens. Growing up we had a number of pipes freeze and bust from time to time.
Congrats!
I bought a house late last September, so, in addition to lots of the things that have already been mentioned...
- A ladder
- Any gardening? Shovels, rakes, etc.
- Sounds like your winters are relatively short/mild, but a snow shovel if it makes sense - Edit: Oh, SC, probably not needed then!
- Garbage cans, if not city provided
- An unholy amount of boxes for moving
Be ready for lots of trips to Home Depot/Lowes/whatever.
Thanks! Yeah, we need a ladder for sure for both inside and out. The only reason a snow shovel would be needed is because our driveway is on a bit of a slope. If it does anything on it, it'll have to be taken care of, especially with the vehicles we have right now.
I really need to get on the boxes right now and do as much as I can.
I remember the trips to Home Depot, Lowes, and other places when just moving to the apartment. I can't imagine how it'll be now.
One problem I've discovered is my surround sound system. At the apartment I have the wires for the rear speakers tucked under the carpet at the edge of the walls. I have no clue what I'm going to do now. I may just try to find someone locally to try and run the wires through the walls, I don't know. I'm sure I'll need some sort of rug or something in the living room where it will be also, if for no other reason than for insulation, right?
This is all for another thread though I guess.
Well, we close on 9/3 at 10AM. Is it normal to be nervous? I don't even know why that is, heh.We don't even have to be out of our apartment until 10/28 but we'll likely be totally moved well before then and then our first mortgage payment will be due on 11/1. We timed the closing date so that we wouldn't have our apartment rent due in the same month that a mortgage payment would be due. I can't believe we got that worked out.
I'm not sure how to fully transistion. Should we move everything ASAP or do it slowly? It will suck having to pay utilities on two places for a month or two.
Here are a few pictures of our place showing the slop in front, the house, the back, the deck, and a few shots of the inside. It's not the most amazing place ever, but it's our first home. It is a 3 bed 2 bath at just over 1,700 sq ft on half an acre and cost us $125,000...
I'm not sure how to fully transistion. Should we move everything ASAP or do it slowly? It will suck having to pay utilities on two places for a month or two.
Here are a few pictures of our place showing the slop in front, the house, the back, the deck, and a few shots of the inside. It's not the most amazing place ever, but it's our first home. It is a 3 bed 2 bath at just over 1,700 sq ft on half an acre and cost us $125,000...
Marty Chinn
Member
Looks nice. Congrats!
Sigh only 125k. That house would be 900k here =(
Sigh only 125k. That house would be 900k here =(
Can't stress this one enough! We just sold our old place, and we never had a ladder that would let us get to all areas of our roofline... it was an enormous pain in the ass because there were always places that we could never fix up even of we wanted, so if you can afford an extension ladder that will let you get to all of your gutters and roofline, it's totally money well-spent.
Thanks!
But yeah, wow, where do you live? I know we are sorta lucky to live in a place where we can afford something like that. Then again, salaries aren't as high here as they are in most places so maybe it all evens out in the end, lol.
We need to pick up a ladder soon. We will need it almost on day one I just know it. There are areas in the house where I wont be able to reach without a ladder as well. Up along the top of the wall in the dining and living rooms is a little indented area that is sorta like a shelf I guess you could say.
kiunchbb
www.dictionary.com
That's a very awesome house, I wish I can get something like that near where I live.
Congratulation!
The deck look pretty wear out, but I am sure you can renew it yourself pretty easily. Keeping all those lawn green will be annoying and demand a lot of water. I suggest you either try save the lawn or look for alternative before the grass die completely. Otherwise it will only take a few weeks for weed to completely dominate your lawn (the dead grass became fertilizer for weeds). The grass also prevent dust from flying up, if the grass die your house will get very dusty, especially if you live in a windy area. I made that mistake once
Leaving a house vacant could be dangerous, people could break in looking for savage whatever they can sell. Happened to me once when my family complain that they don't want to play utilities for both places. Nothing valuable got stolen (well it is empty), but the damage they did to the door and the wall around it suck. It was in a pretty good neighborhood too.
Your electricity and water bill should not be that much, since most company have a tier system by usage, and taxes are based on your bill. The only full hit is the garbage collection.
Thanks for the comments and thoughts guys!
We are going to at least get a new dishwasher and likely a new fridge also. Going by the picture of the kitchen above, do you guys think white or black would be best? Any thoughts on that? Heck, any thoughts on your favorite affordable brand for at least dishwasher and fridge? I was thinking a Bosch but I've decided on a more standard American brand instead since they are more affordable to repair and easier to find someone around here to help with if it ever comes to that. I want it quite, 50 or 51 dBA at the most. I'm eying this one, in either black or white...
http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/203947...&productId=203947166&R=203947166#.Uhwg-j_1UsI
I also bought a 1hp Waste King disposal off of Amazon the other day at a great $120 price. This one is exclusive to Amazon and has great reviews so far...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DCMFL5M/?tag=neogaf0e-20
We have decided to move most all the smaller stuff on the 3rd, and I have scheduled movers to come over on the 7th to finish moving everything else. I have also already got Dish and Charter internet scheduled to be installed on the 7th as well, so it will be an incredibly busy day!
We are going to at least get a new dishwasher and likely a new fridge also. Going by the picture of the kitchen above, do you guys think white or black would be best? Any thoughts on that? Heck, any thoughts on your favorite affordable brand for at least dishwasher and fridge? I was thinking a Bosch but I've decided on a more standard American brand instead since they are more affordable to repair and easier to find someone around here to help with if it ever comes to that. I want it quite, 50 or 51 dBA at the most. I'm eying this one, in either black or white...
http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/203947...&productId=203947166&R=203947166#.Uhwg-j_1UsI
I also bought a 1hp Waste King disposal off of Amazon the other day at a great $120 price. This one is exclusive to Amazon and has great reviews so far...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DCMFL5M/?tag=neogaf0e-20
We have decided to move most all the smaller stuff on the 3rd, and I have scheduled movers to come over on the 7th to finish moving everything else. I have also already got Dish and Charter internet scheduled to be installed on the 7th as well, so it will be an incredibly busy day!
Marty Chinn
Member
I live in the Bay Area. Unfortunately, one of the most expensive places to buy a house. It's crazy how much a house like you just bought costs here.
Congrats bro! I have been looking myself, but Jersey is not the place to buy right now... soon enough though.
AstroNut325
Member
Yes. Almost every property we saw was a fixer that was much smaller than what we would consider remotely ideal. Holes in the roof, missing garage door, broken tubs and toilets... All this in addition to new floors, paint, ect...
The last and final home we saw and put an offer on started with an asking price of $389K. It was 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage. Need significant repair to the kitchen, garage, and the roof. It sold for over $425K to someone who waived termite and appraisal AND 20+% down!
Thanks! I was looking through all the documents we had for the process and our first bid was on June 2nd and we didn't close escrow until July 22nd! That was a very long escrow.
We got the home with an FHA loan so it's possible to do it in los angeles. We did it against cash offers and some traditional 20% bids. So it is possible to do it with an FHA loan in today's market. Hard, but still possible.
As for the recent talk about fixer uppers and settling in this thread, make sure you have a good amount of money if you go that route. We got a fixer upper and we are delaying the move by a month to get the house repaired and updated somewhat. Not a complete job, but good enough to move into. Some things were a surprise that we found after getting control of the property, i'll just list the major ones in our renovation:
- Replace 40 yr old furnace lol
- Redo plumbing under the home since it was in a terrible condition
- Replacing all the kitchen cabinets
- all new appliances (fridge, stove, washer, dryer, over the range microwave)
- new garage door
- repave the sidewalk ( huge cracks because of the trees)
- replace all the wood of the gondola because of termite damage over time.
- complete new bathroom; the way it was it was not even fit for sec 8 housing.
- refinish the wood on places where the original is still there. Add wood floors to 2 rooms.
- New electrical system. They still had their 1950's stuff that barely worked.
- Landscape the front yard, they totally let it go. Install sprinkler system, etc..
- Paint the interior of the house.
- tearing and redoing some walls depending on the layout. Plaster walls so it's messy and heavy.
We're not touching the exterior paint for the home this year or replacing the windows. We also have a huge back yard that we are going to work on. It's like a jungle back there. Right now I'm trying to get rid of the wasps that have been there since god knows how long.
So originally we thought it would take a month and around 35k to do all these renovations / repairs and move in. But now that we've taken account of everything that is needed to do, it's going to be more like a 50k project. We're like a mini economy right now.
So if you choose a fixer upper, have a really good buffer in your budget because of things you will find even after an inspection that was done in escrow.
Also, having a good contractor/supervisor is a godsend. Holy crap, our supervisor is there every day managing all the contractors and I couldn't imagine it doing it by myself with a full time job. You really do need someone to basically babysit and move everything in a timely manner. She's mainly using contractors that she's used for years and so far their quality of work is excellent. I'm really glad that I didn't have to go nuts calling random people, getting multiple quotes, and then hoping that the person I chose would work out. It's already quite busy as it is.
So yeah, if you're doing a fixer upper you need to plan like there is no tomorrow and hopefully have help in that department because there will be less costly mistakes.
It's probably going to be another 3 weeks before everything is done, I'll post some before/after pictures after we move in.
Flying Toaster
Member
What part of North Phoenix. I am looking at the Arcadia area eventually when I decide to upgrade.
Just bought a home using my VA loan, and here's a quick heads up:
The selling agent was really iffy about our deal going through. At the closing, she told us that we were the first people she had seen actually have it go all the way through in ~2 years.
Basically, the VA will be very picky about their appraisal since they're essentially taking the burden of the down payment.
Also, don't jump on the first house you find. My wife was getting really impatient and we ended up putting on offer in on a house that I wasn't really too thrilled about (boring house in a boring part of town). Luckily, someone outbid us and we didn't get that house. A few months of hopeless searching later, we found an awesome little house in a cool, up-and-coming part of the city. When my wife first saw the listing online and showed me, we instantly knew we wanted this house.
Long story short: take your time.
The selling agent was really iffy about our deal going through. At the closing, she told us that we were the first people she had seen actually have it go all the way through in ~2 years.
Basically, the VA will be very picky about their appraisal since they're essentially taking the burden of the down payment.
Also, don't jump on the first house you find. My wife was getting really impatient and we ended up putting on offer in on a house that I wasn't really too thrilled about (boring house in a boring part of town). Luckily, someone outbid us and we didn't get that house. A few months of hopeless searching later, we found an awesome little house in a cool, up-and-coming part of the city. When my wife first saw the listing online and showed me, we instantly knew we wanted this house.
Long story short: take your time.
Flying Toaster
Member
It depends on where you live. Before getting the fixer upper I looked up if there where home improvement (or home construction) loans where the bank would give you a loan for the amount you needed to renovate your home. Basically that was a no go. But I would have gone that route if it was available.
I would advice to plan with as much cash as possible. With whatever cash you have, set 70% of it as your budget. The other 20-30% you'll need for extra costs and unforeseen issues. Focus on repairs first that need to be done asap and leave repairs that could be done later (like gutters) out of the initial budget that you could do a month or a year later.
Aside from the traditional home improvement loan by either a bank or your parents, you can borrow from your 401k or take those special offers of 0% interest from your credit card for quick cash.
The 401k loan isn't too bad. They can lend you up to a certain amount. The interest that you pay goes towards your 401k anyways so you're paying yourself. It's a low interest rate right now too. You can manage this by lowering your 401k paycheck contribution to the amount of 401k payment per month so it doesn't bend your budget. So if you borrow 10k and the payments are 250 per month, then lower your 401k contributions by 350 or so( because of taxes) and they will basically cancel each other out.
For the credit card 0% for a year type offers, it's an option. they charge you 2-4% of the total amount and then no interest for about a year. Only go this route if you can actually pay it back by that time.
But yeah, borrow 10 or 20k from your 401k or your and 10k from your CC and you got an instant 20-30k alongside whatever cash you have. I would only recommend to borrow what you can realistically pay back within a year though, and only borrow to cover what you need (repairs), not what you want (new oled tv!).
It doesn't matter how much cash you have though if you hire the wrong contractor or don't plan things out beforehand, so I would prioritize planning and budgeting as much as how much money you have for the project.
As for how they go along with the mortgage, it depends if you borrow and the stress that comes with it. But even with all the stress, it is a ton of fun. Like I mean a lot. It is nice to know that all this money you are spending goes directly to your investment and that's a great feeling.
Mattlikewhoa
Member
Congrats on the new digs! It looks like it has some real nice potential.
Something like that in my city would run you $700K+
I'm down for some before and after pictures!
- Status