Home Buying & Real Estate Thread

[crcballer55]

 
Hey guys, after a lot of reading over the pass several months I've finally taken the first step and spoke with a mortgage broker about starting the pre-approval process.

What would my biggest advantage be going with a mortgage broker versus any other local bank?

Another thing I hope someone can help me better understand is the following:

The mortgage broker stated that if I were to take a slightly higher interest rate then I'd be able to get a cash payout towards my loan because he gets paid more commission on the higher % loan and he can only accept a set percentage.

In other words if I take a loan with a 3.375 loan rate, he'd get paid 5% of the loan of which he can only personally accept 2.75%. The remaining 2.25% of what he'd get paid he can apply towards my closing costs, etc. If I take the 3.25% loan, he'd get 2.75% or less and no money would be given towards my costs.

Doing a rough estimate of purchasing a 350k home, we calculated that it would take approximately 9 years for the two loans to break even and then the initial loan would start costing more. Has anyone ever done a loan like this? Should I steer clear, or is this something good to consider?

For your first point, a broker (of any kind [insurance, loans, etc]) can shop around for the best rate and is not captive to just one company. If you go to a bank, you're only going to get their products. I would shop around either way and get at least 2-3 options so you make sure you're comfortable with what you're getting. As I've stated before, don't just shop based on rate. Make sure they can actually close the loan on time.

To your second point, increasing the rate to cover closing costs is pretty standard. 8-9 years is what you'll find for the breakeven between tiers almost anywhere. The lower your rate, the more you'll be bringing out of pocket. If you know for sure you won't be staying more than 8 years, take the point where you won't have anything coming out of your pocket. I generally steer away from picking the highest rate with the most money back because you might be more likely to blow it or spend it on something else instead of just having a lower payment and putting any extra towards the principle later on.

 

[206to813]

Im buying a new house and selling my old one. As far as minor repairs and quick fixes, we have a few things that I wasnt sure if i need to bother with. I was planning to replace any dead light bulbs (although we've actually prefered the lighting not as bright where some bulbs have gone out in the kitchen, dining room, and bathrooms). 3 of the ceiling fans dont function properly (IE lights turn on but fan only spins on 1 setting). And a couple sliding closet doors are broken. Also a drippy toilet that i cant figure out how to fix. I should fix all these things?

 

[bluntobject50]

Im buying a new house and selling my old one. As far as minor repairs and quick fixes, we have a few things that I wasnt sure if i need to bother with. I was planning to replace any dead light bulbs (although we've actually prefered the lighting not as bright where some bulbs have gone out in the kitchen, dining room, and bathrooms). 3 of the ceiling fans dont function properly (IE lights turn on but fan only spins on 1 setting). And a couple sliding closet doors are broken. Also a drippy toilet that i cant figure out how to fix. I should fix all these things?

If I was buying I'd personally want everything fixed.

 

[moderndarwin]

I'd at least get

Im buying a new house and selling my old one. As far as minor repairs and quick fixes, we have a few things that I wasnt sure if i need to bother with. I was planning to replace any dead light bulbs (although we've actually prefered the lighting not as bright where some bulbs have gone out in the kitchen, dining room, and bathrooms). 3 of the ceiling fans dont function properly (IE lights turn on but fan only spins on 1 setting). And a couple sliding closet doors are broken. Also a drippy toilet that i cant figure out how to fix. I should fix all these things?

I'd at least get an estimate. Spending a few hundred may add a few thousand to the end price. A dimly lit weird fan working place sounds pretty awful (as a potential buyer). Most people don't have the imagination to see beyond that. Also if that is the surface problems they may subconsciously think there are more serious problems

 

[dam itz lou]

Things I've learned buying my first home.

- Call a few realtors that work in the area you want to live and get their thoughts on the neighborhood. Compare your notes afterwards for similarities. Get some bankers info from them also.
- Apply to those banks, see who you're comfortable with, who will give you the best terms, and close on time.
- Get a lawyer who works in the area you're buying a home in. They'll know the area too and might catch something your realtor didn't before you get into contract.

Don't take your realtors word as gold. Treat them more like a guide. Do your own research and ask them about anything you find.

 

[ekrev98]

I'd love to go check it out, but not yet. I hate getting my wife's hopes up if we're not truly ready to buy yet. judging from your previous work, i'm sure she would fall in love with the house and want to buy it on the spot. in due time my man.

maybe if you're showing during a weekday, i can step out of the office and see it. lmk!

For sure! I'll let you know and you'll see me post some progress pics on here.

I think I might throw an evening open house party at this one. I fell in love with this property as soon as I walked into it.

 

[crcballer55]

Im buying a new house and selling my old one. As far as minor repairs and quick fixes, we have a few things that I wasnt sure if i need to bother with. I was planning to replace any dead light bulbs (although we've actually prefered the lighting not as bright where some bulbs have gone out in the kitchen, dining room, and bathrooms). 3 of the ceiling fans dont function properly (IE lights turn on but fan only spins on 1 setting). And a couple sliding closet doors are broken. Also a drippy toilet that i cant figure out how to fix. I should fix all these things?

First, Make sure all lights are BRIGHT in the house. Nothing will turn off a buyer like a dim house. That's why retail stores always turn up the TV displays on full blast, to get maximum effect. As humans, we have this strange perception that something that's brighter must be better. Play into the human psychology when selling your house.

As far as repairs, there are two schools of thought. First, don't fix anything that doesn't have to be fixed. You can then offer a credit to the buyer at closing if the issues are only noticeable during an inspection. That way they can have the issues taken care of to their satisfaction and spend as much/little as they want. The second school of thought is to make all repairs, but do it as cheaply as possible in order to make them aesthetically pleasing since most buyers don't want to make repairs prior to moving in.

If it's only going to cost a couple hundred bucks, go ahead and just do the repairs so you can try to attract as many buyers as possible and possibly net more from the house.

 

[206to813]

Thanks [emoji]128077[/emoji][emoji]128077[/emoji][emoji]128077[/emoji]
Gonna get the leaky toilet fixed and pickup new light bulbs. Ill see what my realtor says on the fans and sliding closet doors.

 

[bobbyphills]

How do y'all feel about home warranties?

 

[taz92]

How do y'all feel about home warranties?

I've had one since I purchased my house 8 years ago and it has saved me a great deal of money. Put it this way if your toilet clogs and a Plummer comes out it is approximately $300-400 for that one incident. However I paid a home warranty company $450-500 for a warranty for a year and each time something happens like a clogged toilet, AC goes out or Heat for that matter it is only $75 for them to come out and fix it and it includes parts. I've had my Heat and AC go out this year alone and each time it was only $75 for them to come fix it, including replacing major parts. Its definitely worth it to me especially if you have an older house.

 

[ekrev98]

How do y'all feel about home warranties?

I highly recommend it. Like taz92 said, it will save you $$$ in the long run and if you have an older home. It has saved some of my past clients major money especially when their A/C or heater broke. It will give you piece of mind

 

[lazyj10]

I had a warranty with the condo I had and it was more pain than value. At least on bigger ticket items.

My house was taken down to the studs, so no need in my opinion. I see sellers offer them as a sweetener and it gives the buyer some peace of mind and a year trial period at least so I see some benefit.

 

[va tech]

How do you guys feel about corner lot homes? Good or bad buy? Looking into buying my first home and have the choice between a corner house at the front or one with houses on both sides....

 

[solesavage]

Im buying a new house and selling my old one. As far as minor repairs and quick fixes, we have a few things that I wasnt sure if i need to bother with. I was planning to replace any dead light bulbs (although we've actually prefered the lighting not as bright where some bulbs have gone out in the kitchen, dining room, and bathrooms). 3 of the ceiling fans dont function properly (IE lights turn on but fan only spins on 1 setting). And a couple sliding closet doors are broken. Also a drippy toilet that i cant figure out how to fix. I should fix all these things?

I just went through this process. I made sure that the house was clean and organized which helped a lot during my open houses and I was fortunate to sell for more than asking.

I truly believe that it was because I invested some time on making the house visually appealing and clean. However, I knew I had underlying issues that needed to get major repair. (Electrical, Roofing, Minor Termite issues, etc...) I didnt act on that until buyer ordered inspection to be done. Once that is processed, the buyer will ask for a lot of the issues to get repaired. In my case, the buyer was asking for way too much and we ended up fixing most of the minor request.

If you need any further help feel free to message me. I'm here to help.

Good luck and be patient.

 

[HankHill]

How do you guys feel about corner lot homes? Good or bad buy? Looking into buying my first home and have the choice between a corner house at the front or one with houses on both sides....

What is the neighborhood like and how far would a house be from the road? I've lived on front corner lots before when I was younger. One was on a main road through the neighborhood while another was in a tucked away community.

With the first house at the intersection of the main road, there was foot traffic, a metro and school bus stop, and people driving through. There wasn't a noise issue, but there would be litter from people walking, driving by, etc.

The second house was part of a new development with nothing around it, a HOA and originally the model home; you're more likely to get pegged if there's any violations (pollen buildup on side of house, unkept lawn etc). This didn't have the same issues as the first since it was off a backroad.

Personally I wasn't a fan of the larger lawns on a corner lot compared to the houses inside. If you're paying someone else to cut it then it doesn't matter. Also check about fencing or backyard privacy if you don't want any of that visible outside of the community.

 

[va tech]

What is the neighborhood like and how far would a house be from the road? I've lived on front corner lots before when I was younger. One was on a main road through the neighborhood while another was in a tucked away community.

With the first house at the intersection of the main road, there was foot traffic, a metro and school bus stop, and people driving through. There wasn't a noise issue, but there would be litter from people walking, driving by, etc.

The second house was part of a new development with nothing around it, a HOA and originally the model home; you're more likely to get pegged if there's any violations (pollen buildup on side of house, unkept lawn etc). This didn't have the same issues as the first since it was off a backroad.

Personally I wasn't a fan of the larger lawns on a corner lot compared to the houses inside. If you're paying someone else to cut it then it doesn't matter. Also check about fencing or backyard privacy if you don't want any of that visible outside of the community.

Its at the front of a new development, subdivision community with a HOA.

 

[206to813]

I'd pass on that. I'm a back of the cul-de-sac type guy

 

[juanthedon]

Hey guys, after a lot of reading over the pass several months I've finally taken the first step and spoke with a mortgage broker about starting the pre-approval process.

What would my biggest advantage be going with a mortgage broker versus any other local bank?

Another thing I hope someone can help me better understand is the following:

The mortgage broker stated that if I were to take a slightly higher interest rate then I'd be able to get a cash payout towards my loan because he gets paid more commission on the higher % loan and he can only accept a set percentage.

In other words if I take a loan with a 3.375 loan rate, he'd get paid 5% of the loan of which he can only personally accept 2.75%. The remaining 2.25% of what he'd get paid he can apply towards my closing costs, etc. If I take the 3.25% loan, he'd get 2.75% or less and no money would be given towards my costs.

Doing a rough estimate of purchasing a 350k home, we calculated that it would take approximately 9 years for the two loans to break even and then the initial loan would start costing more. Has anyone ever done a loan like this? Should I steer clear, or is this something good to consider?

For your first point, a broker (of any kind [insurance, loans, etc]) can shop around for the best rate and is not captive to just one company. If you go to a bank, you're only going to get their products. I would shop around either way and get at least 2-3 options so you make sure you're comfortable with what you're getting. As I've stated before, don't just shop based on rate. Make sure they can actually close the loan on time.

To your second point, increasing the rate to cover closing costs is pretty standard. 8-9 years is what you'll find for the breakeven between tiers almost anywhere. The lower your rate, the more you'll be bringing out of pocket. If you know for sure you won't be staying more than 8 years, take the point where you won't have anything coming out of your pocket. I generally steer away from picking the highest rate with the most money back because you might be more likely to blow it or spend it on something else instead of just having a lower payment and putting any extra towards the principle later on.

I don't have any intentions as of now to sell whichever property I buy. Since I'm looking for a multi family home, even if I were to move or purchase another house I'd like to keep this first one as a rental property. In this scenario, should I stay away from a higher rate or can I still take advantage of this and refinance a few years down the line to a lower rate (if the rates remain the same or decrease)?

 

[crcballer55]

Personally, I wouldn't bank on the rates going much lower. They really can't unless we get in a serious recession.

If it were me, I would pay whatever I could towards the closing costs and get the lowest rate possible if you're not going to sell. In 9 years, that will end up being a couple hundred bucks in your pocket each month

 

[cs02132]

How do you guys feel about corner lot homes? Good or bad buy? Looking into buying my first home and have the choice between a corner house at the front or one with houses on both sides....

I've lived on a corner my whole life. But I live in a quiet residential area. Houses on both sides and across the street. There's plenty of parking. I can't imagine my life being much different if I didn't live here . The only downside is having to shovel so much sidewalk in the winter :x

 

[tvobach]

How do you guys feel about corner lot homes? Good or bad buy? Looking into buying my first home and have the choice between a corner house at the front or one with houses on both sides....

I live on a corner lot. Really enjoy it because of the extra backyard space it gives you. Now, a downside is more yardwork, but I don't mind that at all.

Floors are finally finished in the new house! Really looking forward to finally moving some furniture in.

 

[stork]

The only downside is having to shovel so much sidewalk in the winter :x

what happens if you don't? citation?

 

[dam itz lou]

what happens if you don't? citation?

You can be sued if someone slips & hurts themselves in front of your property.

 

[cs02132]

Yea pretty sure you can get sued if someone falls. Plus you can get in trouble with the city because of mailmen and stuff. You gotta be a real ******* not to shovel tho. It's just part of living in Boston

 

[cs02132]

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