Home Buying & Real Estate Thread

valley stream NY no more city income tax :lol

It's just a wash though. What you don't pay in city income taxes, you'll pay in property taxes. I've been looking into Valley Stream and Lynbrook to move to in a year or two. I just bought a crib in Lindenwood, Queens but I'm going to LI to do a lot of my shopping to avoid going to Gateway Mall. How are you liking it so far ?
 
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Anyone here ever appealed their property tax assessment?

I just got mine yesterday, and trying to figure out it if is worth it to appeal, or if they are any negatives to doing so. 
 
 
Anyone here ever appealed their property tax assessment?

I just got mine yesterday, and trying to figure out it if is worth it to appeal, or if they are any negatives to doing so. 
I suppose a downside could be: if your property hasn't had an assessment conducted in a couple of years and the home values in your area have gone up dramatically since then, you might actually get an assessment that's higher than what you have now.
 
 
I suppose a downside could be: if your property hasn't had an assessment conducted in a couple of years and the home values in your area have gone up dramatically since then, you might actually get an assessment that's higher than what you have now.
Well the assessment went up $106k between May 2014 and May 2016.   

But what they listed for May 2016 assessment, is probably what I could see for THIS May (2017) and not what it would've sold for last May.  Not sure if that is how it works or not, but I'm wondering if I should appeal and provide proof of what homes sold for May 2016 (probably $15-20k less than what they assessed)?

Property taxes are pretty low here in Denver area, so what they assessed it at ($315k) and what I could try to appeal for ($290k?) would only save me about $200 per year. 
 
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I can see why people avoid doing 203k Loans, getting all the different necessary parties to be on the same page at the same time is tough. Not just that but the bank asks for damn near everything from the contractors before approving anything. Going on almost 3 months now and hopefully next week the bank finalizes everything and gives us a closing date.

On a side note, anyone has anywhere (website or store front) they recommend to check out in order to get better ideas for tiles/countertops/etc. Aside from Home Depots and Lowes.
 
Anybody know if buying a new construction home is worth it vs. older houses?

In Maryland, Ryan Homes is one of the more popular builders for new construction but they don't have a good reviews on the internet.

I'm also looking at Keystone Custom Homes and they look real good in person but their reviews online are very concerning.

Older houses like late-80s - 90s seem to stand the test of time.

Can someone give me advice?
 
 
Anybody know if buying a new construction home is worth it vs. older houses?

In Maryland, Ryan Homes is one of the more popular builders for new construction but they don't have a good reviews on the internet.

I'm also looking at Keystone Custom Homes and they look real good in person but their reviews online are very concerning.

Older houses like late-80s - 90s seem to stand the test of time.

Can someone give me advice?
I built a Ryans Home's new construction almost 2 years ago in PG MD. I really only have one complaint and that is that the workers left a bottle of piss behind the drywall . Luckily (kind of) there was a leak and the dry wall had to be cut open and this is how I found the bottle. Besides that no complaints at all , so I say be there for when they are going to start putting up drywall. 

My town home (2500sqft) is extremely energy efficient. My electricity bill hasn't been above $37 for the past 4 month its incredible really. I also have an Ecobee so that helps as well. I haven't had any issues at all with the house. 
 
Energy efficient homes must be nice! I have an older house and even though it's empty for the months I'm not home, the electricity bill is about $120/month. 
 
Hey guys,

I just signed and gave my initial deposit for my investment property in the DMV area. It's a new construction and i'm going in later this month to pick out the flooring, kitchen, bathrooms and lighting options. I plan to just pick from all level 1 standard options and maybe upgrade the cabinets. Standard kitchen comes with granite and the whole second floor will be wood. Should I even bother upgrading anything? I kept the structural options standard and chose a premium lot which was an extra 10k. (backyard faces the wood)

I'm trying to keep the price of the home low as possible, am I making the right move? This is my first investment property and my house is 5 miles away, so managing it would be simple. Any advice would be great guys.

Thanks
 
Another one we just finished up yesterday in RVA.

Bought it 3 years ago for 60k. Saw market trending so held onto it. Full gut renovation, all new systems, and etc. Listed yesterday and already have one offer at asking (345k), hoping for a bidding situation as no showings until tomorrow at open house.
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RVA is my city! Great work my dude. Good luck with the sale and hope to see more of your projects on here 
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Hey guys,

I just signed and gave my initial deposit for my investment property in the DMV area. It's a new construction and i'm going in later this month to pick out the flooring, kitchen, bathrooms and lighting options. I plan to just pick from all level 1 standard options and maybe upgrade the cabinets. Standard kitchen comes with granite and the whole second floor will be wood. Should I even bother upgrading anything? I kept the structural options standard and chose a premium lot which was an extra 10k. (backyard faces the wood)

I'm trying to keep the price of the home low as possible, am I making the right move? This is my first investment property and my house is 5 miles away, so managing it would be simple. Any advice would be great guys.

Thanks
Is there a reason why you are buying a new construction as a rental property? I did it, but I was living there and renting out my rooms. 

I would upgrade any vinyl to tile and pick a carpet color that wont stain easily. That's the only thing I can think of . Granite and stainless steel is standard now.
 
 
Is there a reason why you are buying a new construction as a rental property? I did it, but I was living there and renting out my rooms. 

I would upgrade any vinyl to tile and pick a carpet color that wont stain easily. That's the only thing I can think of . Granite and stainless steel is standard now.
@BeezyGotSole  What's up. I chose new construction for low maintenance and this site is .5 miles from the Ashburn metro station (last stop for silver line in 2019). The community is almost sold out without a model home even built yet. It's walking distance and a commuter lot is right across the street. It's also a plus that Ryan/Nv homes are building a huge community down the street, they are selling on average 600K. Hoping they bring my value up.
 
 
@BeezyGotSole  What's up. I chose new construction for low maintenance and this site is .5 miles from the Ashburn metro station (last stop for silver line in 2019). The community is almost sold out without a model home even built yet. It's walking distance and a commuter lot is right across the street. It's also a plus that Ryan/Nv homes are building a huge community down the street, they are selling on average 600K. Hoping they bring my value up.
Oh yeahhh we talked about this. Nvm great play !
 
 
Oh yeahhh we talked about this. Nvm great play !
Thanks! The area has a lot of potential, did you ever considering investing in Loudoun County or even in Northern VA? Or do you mainly invest in DC & MD?
 
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got this beauty an AO in 8 days and in contract in 20 *ABOVE ASKING PRICE* :smokin ... for all those around BX/Westchester area.. let me know if you need help buying/selling or know of anyone that could use my services..

700
 
 
Thanks! The area has a lot of potential, did you ever considering investing in Loudoun County or even in Northern VA? Or do you mainly invest in DC & MD?
I most likely wouldn't invest in LoCo ,because the price point is just not what I'm interested in right now. The people I do know who invest in LoCo/NoVa already have a lot of money or started after the market crashed. 

Right now me and my business partner are looking in DC & MD only .
 
How did this go? Also any new projects in the works? love seeing the process.

This one went went fast. Got an all cash offer and $6k over asking price. Sold for $835k. It worked out perfectly because the buyer is a proffesional scuba diver and the deep pool in the backyard is what he was looking for and on top of that, he's been wanting to live in the neighborhood. We should be closing escrow next week.

I have 3 upcoming projects but waiting for the tenants to move out. 1 tenant moved out last week so we are starting a new project next week but debating if I should sell as is for an $70k profit or I can remodel and get an $100k profit. I'm leaning towards selling as is because it's a quick flip and I don't have to do any work. :p

We had to wait until the other 2 projects were sold before I could move on. I'll have pics soon...
 
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