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My offer was accepted! I'm buying a house!
- Thread starter Confused101
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JoeBoy101 said:
Not in my experience. You should take what a home inspector says with a grain of salt. They are not always right, yet when it comes to closing a real estate deal, they play a huge part as to whether or not that deal gets closed. IMO opinion, they hold way too much power in the deal.
My wife and I sold our old house and purchased a new house this year. We dealt with 2 different home inspectors, both of which caused major problems on every end of the deal.
We purchased a very large home built in 1992. The home inspector told us that the roof was worn out and would need to be replaced in 2-3 years. My wife and I freaked out and told the sellers that they either needed to put a new roof on the house or we were going to walk away. The cost of a new roof for this size house would run about $15,000. Nobody wants to have that kind of expense right off the bat after moving into a new place. The owners of the house insisted that the roof was fine. They said that the home had 30-year shingles on it and that it was barely over half of its usefull life. We all hired another home inspector, an independent roofer, and an independent home builder to check out the roof. They all put in writing that the roof was in very good shape and estimated that it had at least another 15 years of life on it. The original home inspector would not back down from his assessment, despite 3 other experts telling him he was wrong. This guy almost blew the whole deal.
On the house we sold, the day of the home inspection, it poured down buckets of rain that morning. We're talking torrential gale force winds and rain that would physically hurt you if you stood out in it too long. When the buyer's home inspector went under the house later that day, there was a little bit of standing water under the house and he told the buyers that we needed to have a sump pump installed. We lived in that house for 6 years and NEVER had a problem with standing water. The problem was that I had not cleaned the gutters in over a year and water was not draining down them properly. Water was pouring over the top of the gutters and getting under the house, instead of draining away from the house. I explained this to the buyer, yet they insisted we have a sump pump installed and lots of other work done in the crawl space that wasn't necessary. They got an estimate of $3,000 to do all the work. It was ridiculous because all that needed was the gutters to be cleaned, which I could have had that done for maybe a couple of hundred bucks tops. I explained to the buyers that a sump pump was not necessary, it was overkill. Our house was on a 15 degree elevation level and water poured downhill. I told them that common sense would tell you that if standing water was a problem under the house, you would have mold, rot, and decay on the floor joists, and there was NONE of that under the house. We ended up giving them a cash settlement at closing of $2500 and let them do whatever they wanted. I was pissed off about it though, I basically felt that they stole that money from us.
TLDR version - home inspectors are paid to find something wrong, and they will find something wrong and raise a big alarm with both buyers and sellers, over the most miniscule of things that can be fixed.
dinazimmerman
Incurious Bastard
Zoe said:
fixed
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
No he was right. California housing prices are insane, especially if you want to buy a house in a relatively nice neighborhood. When my fiance and I were looking for a house a couple years ago most places went from 700K-900K. Those were your typical single family, single story homes in decent neighborhoods on the West Side of L.A. You can find stuff for cheaper elsewhere but not by much and in much worst neighborhoods. We found a home for a little over 700k but I would kill for a home in the 100k - 300k range.Goya said:
OP, the house looks great and it looks like you got a killer deal on it. Just don't be afraid to walk away if the inspection comes up bad. Last thing you want is to move into a lemon.
Wads said:
This is actually pretty bad financial advice, especially when you're young. CNN Money just covered it earlier today:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/11/19/pf/...atest+(Latest+News)&utm_content=Google+Reader
The long and short is to take the tax break from the mortgage interest and put that money towards retirement, where compounding will pay off down the road.
Seriously? Seriously? I hope you're kidding and not absurdly naive, but America is about the same size as continental Europe. That's like looking at the housing prices in Bulgaria and saying "that's what you can buy a house for in Europe?"
crazy monkey said:in toronto we have 2 bed room small apartment for 155k
your house looks amazing. I would love to go and buy property in USA
not sure where you live but there's nothing available downtown at that price. jesus, i'd jump on that so fast as an income property. my brother in law just bought a 2 bdrm 890 sqft place downtown for 435k.
to OP, great looking place! really staggering how much bang for your buck you get in certain places.
Confused101
Member
I'm well aware that the house is a steal. 
It's been on the market since July and she lowered the price a few times. No one was showing interest. It's definitely a buyers market here in Oklahoma.
Also, as a comparison, my property taxes will be $1601 per year. My father, who resides in New Jersey, has to pay over $9000 in property taxes and his lot is smaller than mine. That right there is plain ridiculous.
It's been on the market since July and she lowered the price a few times. No one was showing interest. It's definitely a buyers market here in Oklahoma.Also, as a comparison, my property taxes will be $1601 per year. My father, who resides in New Jersey, has to pay over $9000 in property taxes and his lot is smaller than mine. That right there is plain ridiculous.
Funky Papa
FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Funny, I'm thinking about building a house, and a plot of land of the size of your yard out in the boonies costs around 150k over here (Spain).
I'm not going to lie, I kinda hate your guts right now
Edit: After seeing the pictures, make it one third of your yard. God damn.
I'm not going to lie, I kinda hate your guts right now
Edit: After seeing the pictures, make it one third of your yard. God damn.
Congrats. Hopefully you were preapproved for a loan before putting down your option money (I wasn't, but my credit was good--but even still those first few days were nerve wracking as hell). Make sure you leave money enough in the bank for 2 months payments and for furniture.
I just bought a house for 1700sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage for 137k. Unfortunately my taxes are higher (like 2.8k a year). 4.24 interest, 10% down, seller's paid 3k of closing. My settlement charges ended up being less than I was expecting. If you think your yard is tiny, you should see mine. I love the house those as it had plenty of upgrades (wood laminate flooring in the living space, granite countertops, slate patio, among other things).
I just bought a house for 1700sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage for 137k. Unfortunately my taxes are higher (like 2.8k a year). 4.24 interest, 10% down, seller's paid 3k of closing. My settlement charges ended up being less than I was expecting. If you think your yard is tiny, you should see mine. I love the house those as it had plenty of upgrades (wood laminate flooring in the living space, granite countertops, slate patio, among other things).
Jason's Ultimatum
Member
Confused101 said:
I was going to say Florida. =\
My first home will not have carpet in the living room that's for damn sure.
Confused101 said:
Why is that ridiculous? He probably has significantly better public services than you do (roads, rail, schools, etc), plus he has a lot more people who want to live in the same area he does. This means his property is worth significantly more than somewhere in Oklahoma and therefore he pays higher property taxes. It's not rocket science.
Dude, he lives in Oklahoma. It's the state that literally defined the dust bowl. There's nothing there, and not exactly a lot of people pouring in to live there. There's a reason prices are so low. As an astute observer once noted: there's a high correlation between cost of living and quality of life.Funky Papa said:Funny, I'm thinking about building a house, and a plot of land of the size of your yard out in the boonies costs around 150k over here (Spain).
I'm not going to lie, I kinda hate your guts right now
Edit: After seeing the pictures, make it one third of your yard. God damn.
Confused101
Member
It's kind of funny you mention roads and schools because having lived in both places and gone to school in both places, this is definitely NOT the case. Schools and roads are significantly better down here. I can't comment on rail, but our public services seem to be quite superior out here from what I've seen. I just thought the taxes were more because my father lives 30-40 minutes outside of NYC.Nerevar said:
I have to disagree with you here as well. I live in Tulsa. There's plenty out here. People have this notion that it's nothing but cows and tumbleweed out here. Not the case. Granted, if you live too far outside of Tulsa or Oklahoma city, it's basically a dust bowl. Also, you'd be surprised how much growth this city does. Sub-divisions pop up all the damn time around here because of people coming in. I've seen the new constructions all the time and they're very nice.Nerevar said:
And the reason I moved down here was better quality of life. Cost of living is insanely low, less crowded, better communities, better schools, easy(ish) to grab employment, everything I need is relatively close to where I live... So if you're saying you have to pay through the nose for better quality of life, I'd counter that it's the opposite for me.
Don't knock it til you've lived here. =)
Confused101 said:
Sorry, I didn't mean to come across like a dick. But come on - you're comparing a state that is literally sandwiched between the biggest and 5th-biggest cities in the nation, possesses some of the best schools in the country, and is the most important transportation corridor in the country with ... Oklahoma. Yes, you can have a good quality of life in Oklahoma, but you're sacrificing a lot of culture to be there. As I said, property values are directly in line with demand. There's low demand in Oklahoma, so property values are much lower. There's high demand in Jersey, so prices are much higher. Don't kid yourself into thinking it's different.
CrayzeeCarl
Member
Congrats, man. Looks like a great house. My wife and I bought our first house about a year ago. It's normal to be really nervous even if you are prepared and have done all your homework. I sure was, but we're doing just fine.
Byakuya769
Member
Confused101 said:
You got that for 144k, you know what.. screw you man!
CONGRATS!
TimHortons
Member
Man here in Montreal a 800sq foot condo is 200k.... That house would be 450k
Sir Garbageman
Member
Awesome, OP congrats. Depressing to think though what $144K would net me in NJ.
FlashFlooder
Member
That wallpaper's gotta go! Where you located?
Nope, not kidding. I did take that into account, and even then I thought it was pretty amazing for what he got. But since most people are saying he got a great deal it confirms my thoughts, again I'm not on expert on thisNerevar said:
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Anyway, post some new pics when you're finished with everything OP!
victreeb3l
Member
looks good man, your yard looks pretty big too gonna be awesome for bbqs and other gatherings.
edit: oh shit this thread is oooooold
gonna be awesome for bbqs and other gatherings.edit: oh shit this thread is oooooold
WascallyWabbit
Member
Congrats dude, now start having some kids so u get cheap manual labor around the house!
I just had a good laugh reading this thread http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86931
Man StoOgE called it!
Man StoOgE called it!
Ash Sparrow
Banned
That is a great looking house. Congrats
But anyways kudos to op.bodyboarder
Member
The Lamonster said:edit: that house is way nice for 144k. you're an asshole
Seconded. You can't even get a unit for that much in Australia.
shadyspace
Banned
dudeworld said:we just bought a house too. $700k, 2700 sqft, brand new, just finished being built
Wow, you are super close to your neighbor.
ksan said:Carpets are kinda disgusting and look a lot worse though
Have fun scuffing and scratching the shit out of your wood floor.
The last three houses I've lived in have had wood floor and it has been nothing but a huge pain the ass to deal with. My girlfriend is in love with the idea of wood floors and all I want in my next place is carpets in every room but the kitchen and bathroom. Nice, soft, warm, comfy carpets.
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