- Feb 10, 2003
- 22,263
- 11,084
When I built my house they told me a half ton for every 500 square feet was recommended
Now if you got guys who are financially incentivized to upsell you still saying 3 tons they probably right
Home Buying & Real Estate Thread
- Thread in 'General' Thread starter Started by TYE_The Time Traveler,
- Start date
When I built my house they told me a half ton for every 500 square feet was recommended
Now if you got guys who are financially incentivized to upsell you still saying 3 tons they probably right
- Nov 16, 2001
- 3,949
- 1,197
Lennox is top of the line, but that still seems really high. I got a quote from a CostCo vendor for a Lennox AC & heater for $7500. From what I was told, an AC unit should be around $5000 for a 3 ton. Train is pretty good too, so I would stick with that unless you can get a better quote.That was for a lennox 3 ton unit...my house e is around 1700 square feet...that was for new unit, thermostat and installation. Got another quote from another company that delay with Trane. That was for $4800 for a 3 ton unit as wellCheapest quote from first place was $7600another company is coming out at 2 for another quote
So when you're saying "quote", is that just closing costs, or are they including escrow accounts in there too? Most places require 3 months of taxes to be included up front in your escrow account (if you have one).
No this is to replace my ac unit
My bad, got my topics crossed. How big is your house and what kind of unit? That's just for the AC?
- Feb 10, 2003
- 22,263
- 11,084
So I've been in my house for 3 weeks now and their was some regulator switch on my A/C that wasn't installed properly that had the Heat and the A/C going at the same time. Only reason I knew something was up was because of the master bedroom and other rooms weren't cooling properly.
So for the first 16 days we used 4-5 of the amount of energy we have since they fixed it.
This means that my first energy bill is going to be a good 2.5 times what it should be.
Do I have any recourse with this or is it just is what it is?
So for the first 16 days we used 4-5 of the amount of energy we have since they fixed it.
This means that my first energy bill is going to be a good 2.5 times what it should be.
Do I have any recourse with this or is it just is what it is?
- Apr 30, 2002
- 7,643
- 9,726
No legal recourse, just a bummer to deal with.
Last edited:
glennvagmire
Banned
- Jun 30, 2015
- 2,809
- 1,144
Anybody own homes they rent out?
Thinking about doing it but I want to get the most information about anything I invest in.
Thinking about doing it but I want to get the most information about anything I invest in.
- Nov 6, 2012
- 4,758
- 1,409
http://www.BiggerPockets.com
Study up there is alot of information, I wil be purchasing my first rental property by mid 2017 at the latest. Building up my capital now using cash, checking lines of credit, credit cards, and hard money lenders (only if needed).
- Jul 29, 2012
- 4,744
- 5,528
Closing on my place this week!
My systematic breakdown of how I decided what I wanted and where. Also my experience doing everything on my own (insanely long read that I wish I had got from someone):
Got no help from anyone financially directly or indirectly in any shape or form. Feel free to ask any questions.
My systematic breakdown of how I decided what I wanted and where. Also my experience doing everything on my own (insanely long read that I wish I had got from someone):
27 year old, single, Male, Mom is full Filipino, and dad is full Polish (cause I know it matters on here)
Occupation: Registered nurse (Dialysis, Corrections) Side Hustles: Daily fantasy sports (NBA)
Finances:
Took out 60k in student loans, down to 37k as of now. Pay off my CCs in full, every month. I push around a 2000 Ford focus that is paid off. No other debts.
expenses are:
Cell phone Bill - T-mobile 1 gig single user plan - 60$/month
Car Insurance - 58.20$/month (no collision)
Gym - LA Fitness 30$/month
Student Loans - 290$ a month (20years left
)
Rent - Live with a friend for 800$/month
Gas- 250$/month (work a ton and LA traffic)
200$ auto-deposit into ROTH IRA
Food + everything else - 800$
=~2500$. Of course the everything else is random and fluctuates.
I have 10k saved up.
10k in a Roth/traditional IRA
10k invested in stocks that I refuse to touch.
Working 3 (12h) days a week, full time hours I make 1800$ per pay period (for the 3 days). I always pick up the extra shifts (when people go on vacation or take time off), and I end up working on average 4 days a week. I also work per diem (as needed) for the same company for other clinics. I pick up about one extra shift per week. The pay is the same. I have a third per diem job for a correctional facility in Santa Ana. This job is for higher pay, but only 8 hour shifts. Whenever I am only working 4 days a week, I plug in the corrections for a 5th day. The paychecks come from different places and I don't keep good enough track of where I'm working. I Usually save 1000$ or so a month after all is said and done.
Why buy?
Started looking into Real Estate last year because I started doing my own taxes and was reading up on different credits and deductions available. I found the tax benefits were really in favor of owners. Someone who rents gets basically no deductions. Someone who owns gets Mortgage interest deduction. Since mortgage loans are amortized(pay most interest early, than most principal near end is the standard), 80%+ of your beginning payments (for several years) will be mortgage interest. This means if you paid 20k in mortgage interest, it's deducted from your adjusted gross income (ex. you made 100k, it now appears as if you make 80k. While the renter, it appears as they still make 100k, cause they received no deduction.) If this wasn't enough, it is assumed by the government that all homes depreciate, and you can deduct depreciation of your property in several different methods. To keep it simple we'll use the straight line which assumes 1/28th of your properties value is depreciated each year. So now in addition to the 20k mortgage interest, 1/28th of the total value of your home is deducted on top of that making it look like you earn less money which in turn gives you more money. Since your taxes will look much more favorable, you can raise your allowances from work. I raised mine by 2 allowances, each allowance gave me 80$ more per paycheck. So for the 2 allowances I started "making" 160$ or so more for my main full time jobs paychecks. It looks like you're making less, even though you're actually making more. You also build equity. Equity allows you to take out loans with your property being collateral, since that is a huge asset as collateral, the best possible interest rates are given to you. Also, Home equity interest is 100% tax deductible. When you max out your equity, your home is paid off. For one reason or another it is my opinion that the deck is stacked in favor of people who buy from a financial perspective. I decided I wanted to buy a home last year.
House, Condo, townhouse, multifamily?
I decided I wanted to go multi family property. The idea of living in one unit of: a duplex, triplex, quadriplex while renting out the others to help me with the mortgage was really appealing to me. I liked Condos, but the idea of paying 200-400$ to a homeowners association monthly seemed like a big waste. Quadriplexes were out of my price range, so I was left with duplex and triplexs.
Where?
My main work is near east LA, and my per diem in corrections is in OC. I needed somewhere in between the two, in north OC or South LA. I did lots of research and driving around the areas, and I could either get a awesome triplex in the ghetto of LA or a dump, fixer-upper in a decent area. OC was too expensive for me, so I decided on a few areas: Long beach (near the school), Hawaiian gardens, cypress, cerritos, lakewood that met my criteria.
How?
I looked at taking advantage of different programs. Lots of great down payment assistance programs that give you GRANTS. Median income in OC was 85,900 so I was technically low income.. Whatever city you live in, they're probably home-buying assistance programs. Whatever county, whatever state there are programs for each and you can stack them all together. I'm going to use the projected rental income to increase my buying power. 75% of rental income can be used (ex. place rents out for 1,000$, 750$ will be tacked onto your' income). As of today, I'm doing showings for the place at 1500$ + utilities, there are 8 prospective tenants so far with 2 days of showings to go.
Where?
I decided on a place near where I grew up in LA county. The main attraction in this area is the casino (70% of the cities revenue), the casino is currently being renovated from ~50,000 sq ft to a 200,000 sq ft fortress that is set to be complete in early 2016(meaning the area will appreciate). Several colleges nearby including Long beach State/City. Low vacancy rates, high in demand for rent. No rental control. higher rents.
The Process:
I had narrowed down what type of property, and different areas I wanted it in. Next was get a lender and find my price range. I went to several banks and found the lenders had no idea what they were talking about, they were unfamiliar with huge federal programs or grants that were available. I called or did in-person interviews with 6 lenders. I found a guy who knew exactly the programs I was interested in, and knew what he was talking about. Young guy, who I had good rapport with, I chose him as my lender. Since I had been doing house hunting for a few months, I didn't care much for a real estate agent and interviewed the ones he recommended and picked one.
I house-hunted for a while, lurked on: zillow.com redfin.com realtor.com homes.com pretty religiously, added myself to the alerts (if any new property comes on the market that fits my filter criteria, I'm automatically notified via email). When I found a potential prospect I went to open houses if they were available, I checked out the place and decided on a few "deal-breakers":
1. Had to have a garage - don't want people messing with my beat-up focus
2. Had to have laundry hook-up - Not trying to go to laundromat
3. Had to have separate meters - Not trying to pay for my tenants utilities
My criteria narrowed further with these new deal-breakers. When checking out prospective places I would first do online research via: google maps (simply check out the area), neighborhoodscout (comprehensive, objective look at the area: demographics, crime, vacancy rates etc.), rent-o-meter (accurate depiction of nearby rentals). After my online research was complete and neighborhood scout gave me the okay that it's not crime-ridden and people aren't getting shot left and right, I would scope out the place itself. After this, I would drive around the neighborhood, 5 minutes or so in each direction to get a feel for it.
I checked out roughly 15 places (this also gave me a feel for values of properties) and eventually found one I liked in Hawaiian gardens, I let my real estate agent know I wanted it after checking it out.. Duplex, separate meters, laundry hook-up, car port, rents for 1500$+, low vacancy rates, appreciating area, turn-key (remodeled this year). Check, check, and check. It's 1600 sq ft on a 4900 sq ft lot. 2 units, each 2 bedroom 1 bath with remodeled kitchen/bathrooms. From realtor.com on my phone:
Lender Documentation: Lender wants everything to verify income, paychecks/slips, last 2 years of adjusted gross income, tax returns, all w-2s, 1040s, bank statements, etc. My credit score was 30 points lower than credit karma/credit sesame was showing me. I was at 700 on the sites, and 665 when they pulled it. Doesn't matter much for FHA, but good to know.
We put a bid on the place through my real estate agent for 10,000$ higher than the asking price of 440,000$, so for 450,000$, which was the max the lender could give me even with the extra rental income. My lender did me a solid and said he gave me the estimate of 1700$ for the rental price for one unit. You just got to sign some documents to put in a bid (as the seller, your agent does the rest) 4 other buyers bid on the property so the seller sent back a counter-offer to put down 5,000$ more. Initially I was set to put down roughly 15,000$ TOTAL (FHA, 3.5% down). We sent back that we will pay the closing costs (standard is that SELLER pays closing cost) and give them the extra 5,000$ down. I set it up so my lender would pay closing costs and I would have a slightly less favorable rate. My bid beat out the 4 other bidders and we were put into "escrow".
Escrow is the period of time where the buyer and seller get down to business and settle everything that needs to be done to make the exchange, tons of paperwork. Usually it's set for a month or two time period to "close" Here's what I had to go through:
Initial disclosures: About 50 pages of signatures and insurance documents and what-not that explain what I'll be paying and why. The initial disclosure estimate was that the Principal and interest would cost me roughly 2500$ total/month. If I could rent out the other unit for 1500$+ and the other bedroom in my unit for 750$, I'll be living for a couple hundred bucks is what I figured.
Home inspection: Technically, this is optional. A guy comes and inspects every nook and cranny of your place to make note of any repairs that need to be done, what kind of plumbing, lights, everything. It took about 2 hours, and cost 400$ that was paid by me. Note: Termite inspection was handled by the seller
Underwriter documentation: The underwriter is a guy who inspects your finances to make sure you're a good candidate for the loan. For work, I go 12h shifts, after 8h, we get 4h of overtime, everytime. Some reason he didn't understand this concept and I had to get a letter from my boss explaining how overtime works and that I can/ and frequently do pick up extra shifts. He asked for other things like why I had a credit inquiry and other little things. I explained that I had a credit inquiry because I wanted to boost my credit score to get a better rate. This was a very frustrating process because they ask you where all your money is coming from and all your statements. There was one time where I sent 3 of 4 pages of my scottrade account to them because the 4th page was blank. They asked me for ALL pages, I told them the 4th page was blank and there's literally nothing on it. They said they wanted me to email them the blank page... I did, but stuff like this really irks me. There was A LOT of stuff like this. They had no idea how I could get money from daily fantasy sports and couldn't comprehend that it was a hobby of mine. They were asking if the $ is going to be consistent, and whether I'll be playing this year and so on and so forth.. In addition, they requested my lease agreement before closing. They wanted me to write a letter why 3 years ago when I got out of school why I had so many jobs... I basically explained the truth: I applied for a ton of full time jobs, they all said they needed someone with experience. I acquired 4 per diem jobs, gained experience, then got a full time job and resigned from my 4 other jobs because it's not feasible to work a full time job and 4 per diem jobs.
Good faith payment: The seller required a "good faith payment" to be wired through the bank to them. Real estate agent sent me details, went to the bank and had it sent. The amount was 10,000$, half the total down payment. I liquidated my Roth/IRA accounts and of course had to send documentation to show this. Statements from all my accounts, bank statements as well, wire transfer receipt. Of course the bank charged 25$ just to do the wire as well.
The Appraisal: The appraiser is paid for by your lender. Appraiser is a third-party person who comes in and assesses the property and determines how much it is worth, market value, based on variety of factors. Since he was through FHA, he also gave a list of things that must be fixed by the seller before it is worth the amount. The appraised value was 435,000$, AFTER repairs were done. This means the property is worth 435,000$, NOT 450,000$. Note: This appraisal follows the property for a year, so if the seller were to ditch me, they'd have to put it back on the market for 435,000$ instead of the 440k that it was initially listed. The normal thing to happen is the seller will lower the price of the place to what it's worth. Instead, they wanted the full 450k still. The problem is my lender can only give me up to the appraised amount of 435,000$, meaning they would want me to foot the bill for the remaining 15,000$, in addition to my down payment. I said "nah, I'm cool on that." I already am paying your closing costs and threw in an extra 5k for the down payment. I was starting to cut it close financially and counter-offered them 1k more then the appraised value of 436k. They countered my counter with 440k, final offer. I told them I can't afford to put down an extra 4k (which was true). My real estate agent stepped up, and said she'll put in 4k of her commission when the deal is complete. Her logic was that she gets no $ if there's no deal done, so something is better than nothing. Real estate agents get like 5% commission so... 20k+ for the done deal..? I found the property and everything so...I wasn't even mad. Note: This back and forth took like a month.
Insurance: Went to my car insurance guy and got a good quote, they ask a lot of questions like what type of plumbing (galvanized and/or copper?) and square feet, which unit will I be living in, pets? All the information was found in either the home inspection or the appraisal.
We agreed to terms and I locked my rate at 4.5% which was fine for me with my lower credit score and basically everything else other then the down payment being paid by my lender.
I had to sign the loan disclosure forms again, with the new price of 440,000 now. They "impounded" the account which means they put all the taxes, insurance, principal, and interest (basically everything) into one payment, which totaled ~2900$.
The total amount I put down was about ~23,000$ down payment and everything else. 10k was due up front, the other 10k was due at close (So, you got some time in between).
As of now the repairs have been completed, I have 8 prospective tenants lined up for showing this week to LEASE for 1600$(one craigslist ad) and we are waiting on the re-appraisal.
Occupation: Registered nurse (Dialysis, Corrections) Side Hustles: Daily fantasy sports (NBA)
Finances:
Took out 60k in student loans, down to 37k as of now. Pay off my CCs in full, every month. I push around a 2000 Ford focus that is paid off. No other debts.
expenses are:
Cell phone Bill - T-mobile 1 gig single user plan - 60$/month
Car Insurance - 58.20$/month (no collision)
Gym - LA Fitness 30$/month
Student Loans - 290$ a month (20years left
Rent - Live with a friend for 800$/month
Gas- 250$/month (work a ton and LA traffic)
200$ auto-deposit into ROTH IRA
Food + everything else - 800$
=~2500$. Of course the everything else is random and fluctuates.
I have 10k saved up.
10k in a Roth/traditional IRA
10k invested in stocks that I refuse to touch.
Working 3 (12h) days a week, full time hours I make 1800$ per pay period (for the 3 days). I always pick up the extra shifts (when people go on vacation or take time off), and I end up working on average 4 days a week. I also work per diem (as needed) for the same company for other clinics. I pick up about one extra shift per week. The pay is the same. I have a third per diem job for a correctional facility in Santa Ana. This job is for higher pay, but only 8 hour shifts. Whenever I am only working 4 days a week, I plug in the corrections for a 5th day. The paychecks come from different places and I don't keep good enough track of where I'm working. I Usually save 1000$ or so a month after all is said and done.
Why buy?
Started looking into Real Estate last year because I started doing my own taxes and was reading up on different credits and deductions available. I found the tax benefits were really in favor of owners. Someone who rents gets basically no deductions. Someone who owns gets Mortgage interest deduction. Since mortgage loans are amortized(pay most interest early, than most principal near end is the standard), 80%+ of your beginning payments (for several years) will be mortgage interest. This means if you paid 20k in mortgage interest, it's deducted from your adjusted gross income (ex. you made 100k, it now appears as if you make 80k. While the renter, it appears as they still make 100k, cause they received no deduction.) If this wasn't enough, it is assumed by the government that all homes depreciate, and you can deduct depreciation of your property in several different methods. To keep it simple we'll use the straight line which assumes 1/28th of your properties value is depreciated each year. So now in addition to the 20k mortgage interest, 1/28th of the total value of your home is deducted on top of that making it look like you earn less money which in turn gives you more money. Since your taxes will look much more favorable, you can raise your allowances from work. I raised mine by 2 allowances, each allowance gave me 80$ more per paycheck. So for the 2 allowances I started "making" 160$ or so more for my main full time jobs paychecks. It looks like you're making less, even though you're actually making more. You also build equity. Equity allows you to take out loans with your property being collateral, since that is a huge asset as collateral, the best possible interest rates are given to you. Also, Home equity interest is 100% tax deductible. When you max out your equity, your home is paid off. For one reason or another it is my opinion that the deck is stacked in favor of people who buy from a financial perspective. I decided I wanted to buy a home last year.
House, Condo, townhouse, multifamily?
I decided I wanted to go multi family property. The idea of living in one unit of: a duplex, triplex, quadriplex while renting out the others to help me with the mortgage was really appealing to me. I liked Condos, but the idea of paying 200-400$ to a homeowners association monthly seemed like a big waste. Quadriplexes were out of my price range, so I was left with duplex and triplexs.
Where?
My main work is near east LA, and my per diem in corrections is in OC. I needed somewhere in between the two, in north OC or South LA. I did lots of research and driving around the areas, and I could either get a awesome triplex in the ghetto of LA or a dump, fixer-upper in a decent area. OC was too expensive for me, so I decided on a few areas: Long beach (near the school), Hawaiian gardens, cypress, cerritos, lakewood that met my criteria.
How?
I looked at taking advantage of different programs. Lots of great down payment assistance programs that give you GRANTS. Median income in OC was 85,900 so I was technically low income.. Whatever city you live in, they're probably home-buying assistance programs. Whatever county, whatever state there are programs for each and you can stack them all together. I'm going to use the projected rental income to increase my buying power. 75% of rental income can be used (ex. place rents out for 1,000$, 750$ will be tacked onto your' income). As of today, I'm doing showings for the place at 1500$ + utilities, there are 8 prospective tenants so far with 2 days of showings to go.
Where?
I decided on a place near where I grew up in LA county. The main attraction in this area is the casino (70% of the cities revenue), the casino is currently being renovated from ~50,000 sq ft to a 200,000 sq ft fortress that is set to be complete in early 2016(meaning the area will appreciate). Several colleges nearby including Long beach State/City. Low vacancy rates, high in demand for rent. No rental control. higher rents.
The Process:
I had narrowed down what type of property, and different areas I wanted it in. Next was get a lender and find my price range. I went to several banks and found the lenders had no idea what they were talking about, they were unfamiliar with huge federal programs or grants that were available. I called or did in-person interviews with 6 lenders. I found a guy who knew exactly the programs I was interested in, and knew what he was talking about. Young guy, who I had good rapport with, I chose him as my lender. Since I had been doing house hunting for a few months, I didn't care much for a real estate agent and interviewed the ones he recommended and picked one.
I house-hunted for a while, lurked on: zillow.com redfin.com realtor.com homes.com pretty religiously, added myself to the alerts (if any new property comes on the market that fits my filter criteria, I'm automatically notified via email). When I found a potential prospect I went to open houses if they were available, I checked out the place and decided on a few "deal-breakers":
1. Had to have a garage - don't want people messing with my beat-up focus
2. Had to have laundry hook-up - Not trying to go to laundromat
3. Had to have separate meters - Not trying to pay for my tenants utilities
My criteria narrowed further with these new deal-breakers. When checking out prospective places I would first do online research via: google maps (simply check out the area), neighborhoodscout (comprehensive, objective look at the area: demographics, crime, vacancy rates etc.), rent-o-meter (accurate depiction of nearby rentals). After my online research was complete and neighborhood scout gave me the okay that it's not crime-ridden and people aren't getting shot left and right, I would scope out the place itself. After this, I would drive around the neighborhood, 5 minutes or so in each direction to get a feel for it.
I checked out roughly 15 places (this also gave me a feel for values of properties) and eventually found one I liked in Hawaiian gardens, I let my real estate agent know I wanted it after checking it out.. Duplex, separate meters, laundry hook-up, car port, rents for 1500$+, low vacancy rates, appreciating area, turn-key (remodeled this year). Check, check, and check. It's 1600 sq ft on a 4900 sq ft lot. 2 units, each 2 bedroom 1 bath with remodeled kitchen/bathrooms. From realtor.com on my phone:
Lender Documentation: Lender wants everything to verify income, paychecks/slips, last 2 years of adjusted gross income, tax returns, all w-2s, 1040s, bank statements, etc. My credit score was 30 points lower than credit karma/credit sesame was showing me. I was at 700 on the sites, and 665 when they pulled it. Doesn't matter much for FHA, but good to know.
We put a bid on the place through my real estate agent for 10,000$ higher than the asking price of 440,000$, so for 450,000$, which was the max the lender could give me even with the extra rental income. My lender did me a solid and said he gave me the estimate of 1700$ for the rental price for one unit. You just got to sign some documents to put in a bid (as the seller, your agent does the rest) 4 other buyers bid on the property so the seller sent back a counter-offer to put down 5,000$ more. Initially I was set to put down roughly 15,000$ TOTAL (FHA, 3.5% down). We sent back that we will pay the closing costs (standard is that SELLER pays closing cost) and give them the extra 5,000$ down. I set it up so my lender would pay closing costs and I would have a slightly less favorable rate. My bid beat out the 4 other bidders and we were put into "escrow".
Escrow is the period of time where the buyer and seller get down to business and settle everything that needs to be done to make the exchange, tons of paperwork. Usually it's set for a month or two time period to "close" Here's what I had to go through:
Initial disclosures: About 50 pages of signatures and insurance documents and what-not that explain what I'll be paying and why. The initial disclosure estimate was that the Principal and interest would cost me roughly 2500$ total/month. If I could rent out the other unit for 1500$+ and the other bedroom in my unit for 750$, I'll be living for a couple hundred bucks is what I figured.
Home inspection: Technically, this is optional. A guy comes and inspects every nook and cranny of your place to make note of any repairs that need to be done, what kind of plumbing, lights, everything. It took about 2 hours, and cost 400$ that was paid by me. Note: Termite inspection was handled by the seller
Underwriter documentation: The underwriter is a guy who inspects your finances to make sure you're a good candidate for the loan. For work, I go 12h shifts, after 8h, we get 4h of overtime, everytime. Some reason he didn't understand this concept and I had to get a letter from my boss explaining how overtime works and that I can/ and frequently do pick up extra shifts. He asked for other things like why I had a credit inquiry and other little things. I explained that I had a credit inquiry because I wanted to boost my credit score to get a better rate. This was a very frustrating process because they ask you where all your money is coming from and all your statements. There was one time where I sent 3 of 4 pages of my scottrade account to them because the 4th page was blank. They asked me for ALL pages, I told them the 4th page was blank and there's literally nothing on it. They said they wanted me to email them the blank page... I did, but stuff like this really irks me. There was A LOT of stuff like this. They had no idea how I could get money from daily fantasy sports and couldn't comprehend that it was a hobby of mine. They were asking if the $ is going to be consistent, and whether I'll be playing this year and so on and so forth.. In addition, they requested my lease agreement before closing. They wanted me to write a letter why 3 years ago when I got out of school why I had so many jobs... I basically explained the truth: I applied for a ton of full time jobs, they all said they needed someone with experience. I acquired 4 per diem jobs, gained experience, then got a full time job and resigned from my 4 other jobs because it's not feasible to work a full time job and 4 per diem jobs.
Good faith payment: The seller required a "good faith payment" to be wired through the bank to them. Real estate agent sent me details, went to the bank and had it sent. The amount was 10,000$, half the total down payment. I liquidated my Roth/IRA accounts and of course had to send documentation to show this. Statements from all my accounts, bank statements as well, wire transfer receipt. Of course the bank charged 25$ just to do the wire as well.
The Appraisal: The appraiser is paid for by your lender. Appraiser is a third-party person who comes in and assesses the property and determines how much it is worth, market value, based on variety of factors. Since he was through FHA, he also gave a list of things that must be fixed by the seller before it is worth the amount. The appraised value was 435,000$, AFTER repairs were done. This means the property is worth 435,000$, NOT 450,000$. Note: This appraisal follows the property for a year, so if the seller were to ditch me, they'd have to put it back on the market for 435,000$ instead of the 440k that it was initially listed. The normal thing to happen is the seller will lower the price of the place to what it's worth. Instead, they wanted the full 450k still. The problem is my lender can only give me up to the appraised amount of 435,000$, meaning they would want me to foot the bill for the remaining 15,000$, in addition to my down payment. I said "nah, I'm cool on that." I already am paying your closing costs and threw in an extra 5k for the down payment. I was starting to cut it close financially and counter-offered them 1k more then the appraised value of 436k. They countered my counter with 440k, final offer. I told them I can't afford to put down an extra 4k (which was true). My real estate agent stepped up, and said she'll put in 4k of her commission when the deal is complete. Her logic was that she gets no $ if there's no deal done, so something is better than nothing. Real estate agents get like 5% commission so... 20k+ for the done deal..? I found the property and everything so...I wasn't even mad. Note: This back and forth took like a month.
Insurance: Went to my car insurance guy and got a good quote, they ask a lot of questions like what type of plumbing (galvanized and/or copper?) and square feet, which unit will I be living in, pets? All the information was found in either the home inspection or the appraisal.
We agreed to terms and I locked my rate at 4.5% which was fine for me with my lower credit score and basically everything else other then the down payment being paid by my lender.
I had to sign the loan disclosure forms again, with the new price of 440,000 now. They "impounded" the account which means they put all the taxes, insurance, principal, and interest (basically everything) into one payment, which totaled ~2900$.
The total amount I put down was about ~23,000$ down payment and everything else. 10k was due up front, the other 10k was due at close (So, you got some time in between).
As of now the repairs have been completed, I have 8 prospective tenants lined up for showing this week to LEASE for 1600$(one craigslist ad) and we are waiting on the re-appraisal.
Last edited:
- Aug 30, 2008
- 9,092
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Repped!!!!
Great story, bro. I love to read people's journeys onto home ownership. Especially when it's a young cat in my age range. One day imma be there. Just trying to up my savings right now.
Great story, bro. I love to read people's journeys onto home ownership. Especially when it's a young cat in my age range. One day imma be there. Just trying to up my savings right now.
- Apr 12, 2011
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Congrats i started reading but i didnt realize how much you went into detail so ill contniue when i get home.
Saw a coop today and out offer was accepted so hopefully soon i will be closing as well.
Our finalncials are good but the number of steps to go with the banks and the boards and closing are a little overwhelming right now.
Saw a coop today and out offer was accepted so hopefully soon i will be closing as well.
Our finalncials are good but the number of steps to go with the banks and the boards and closing are a little overwhelming right now.
- Feb 6, 2010
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Repped my man and congrats. Ive been looking at homes for a little over a year now like u i am also 27 but acquiring a duplex out here is well out of my price range. Im jus lookin for a condo or detached single familiy unit out in the east bay. Thanks for sharing ur story really helpful
- Sep 5, 2010
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Nice to know a fellow 562er is around. I used to live down the street from HG.
- Jul 29, 2012
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If you haven't started, I suggest putting into a ROTH or traditional IRA as a forced savings plan. Take up to 10k out for first time home buying. That was half my down payment.
It has been a really long and stressful process, I just want the keys and to be done with it all
You'll get there, just keep the end goal in mind fam.
I'm a believer in the area. I know the owner of the Casino was giving checks to all the major businesses in HG to make cosmetic improvements to their businesses so the neighborhood just looks better. Mostly hispanic family dominated, but I don't mind
- Sep 5, 2010
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That's dope, I didn't know that (been gone about two years now).
I recommend hitting up Taco San Pedro if you haven't already.
I recommend hitting up Taco San Pedro if you haven't already.
- Jun 15, 2003
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Good to see a thread about real estate! I've been wholesaling for 2 years now and it's the best decision I've ever made. Gonna start doing some owner finance stuff soon for the cash flow.
- Feb 6, 2010
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pdino
i appreciate the encouragement my man. Went and checked out a 2 bed 2 bath condo its 320k 1k sq ft with 400+ in hoas i actually liked it been a while since i said that. And it's close to fwy i can see it from window which is a plus for me being close to san mateo bridge.I don't use a roth ira account i jus have a strict savings account with no atm card that will take me a few daysnto get cash out of. Thay has worked out for me to this point
- Aug 8, 2003
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Did they do a manual J, S, & D calculation when they did the estimate? With everything I've read, it they simply guess at the square ft or say they've done this for X amount of years & they just know, are cutting corners.
- Dec 27, 2014
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Great story and congrats my dude. My cousin moved from MA to CA (LA Country) and loves it out there.
I was looking to buy (condo or small house) out here in the Greater Boston area until I got laid of on Thursday with no warning. I knew there were FY16 budget cuts but my agency made us feel safe. Unbelievable
I was looking to buy (condo or small house) out here in the Greater Boston area until I got laid of on Thursday with no warning. I knew there were FY16 budget cuts but my agency made us feel safe. Unbelievable
- Jun 13, 2002
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I don't use a roth ira account i jus have a strict savings account with no atm card that will take me a few daysnto get cash out of. Thay has worked out for me to this point
Can I ask what part of the EastBay you're looking at?
- Feb 6, 2010
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No problem, right now im looking in east bay from oakland to fremont
but after going out and looking at homes im happier to be south towards hayward union city as i go to san jose and oakland ofter bc of family and friends.
mid point is ideal
- Mar 7, 2006
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great thread! I am currently in the process of getting preapproved and have been doing my research on mortgage loans and such. I have fairly good credit 720+ but we'll see what the 3B report shows. Do any of you guys know or have experience with getting preapproved with commission income? I have been salary + commission for a year and read that i need at least two years of salary + commission income to qualify.....do i have to wait until i have two years under my belt or do i have another option? The commission is a huge part of my annual income, i would say 80%....
thanks,
thanks,
- Feb 23, 2006
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Anyone purchasing homes above what zillow (or any other mortgage calculator) gives you? I used the app and it give me a home up to about $195k (given downpayment of 10k). The total mortgage payment (principal,interest, insurance, prop tax, etc) is $1290 "fits comfortably in budget".
There's no way I'm getting a sfh or townhome at that price unless I'm living in a old 3bd/1ba or in the exburbs lol.
The largest I can get out of the app was a $251k home with total mortgage payment of $1658 "stretching my budget". Would grabbing something at $230K seem reasonable? I'd honestly prefer something at $300-400K, but looks like I wont be getting that solo.
There's no way I'm getting a sfh or townhome at that price unless I'm living in a old 3bd/1ba or in the exburbs lol.
The largest I can get out of the app was a $251k home with total mortgage payment of $1658 "stretching my budget". Would grabbing something at $230K seem reasonable? I'd honestly prefer something at $300-400K, but looks like I wont be getting that solo.
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- Nov 6, 2012
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My final walk through is tomorrow I'm od excited. Any tips for my walk through? I have a good idea of what to do but I would like to hear experiences.
I found a pretty good check list telling me what to look for, and what to check. It says to bring a hair dryer, level, flashlight, bright post its, camera, and binoculars (not bringing
).
Here is the checklist for anyone else if they need it.
https://johnmacdonaldarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/walk-through-package1.pdf
@silkboi Here is a set of great calculators. I didn't really like Zillow's I don't think it is accurate, said I can afford a 270K home, I purchased a home that was almost 70K more than that. What is your income? That is the only way to determine what you will qualify for, and you know what you can comfortably afford.
https://rpaquin.gofirsthome.com/calculators
Go to the "How much income do I need to qualify" calculator. It will tell you the total monthly income needed to qualify and your mortgage payment amount.
A bunch of other calculators up there too. Select the down payment by percentages I would choose at least 5% down for best case and 20% for worst case.
Edit: Actually just did the Zillow calculator with my budget fully stretched and it showed max home of 325K, pretty close my home is 337K.
I would still recommend the calculators I linked, they are very detailed.
I found a pretty good check list telling me what to look for, and what to check. It says to bring a hair dryer, level, flashlight, bright post its, camera, and binoculars (not bringing
Here is the checklist for anyone else if they need it.
https://johnmacdonaldarchitect.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/walk-through-package1.pdf
@silkboi Here is a set of great calculators. I didn't really like Zillow's I don't think it is accurate, said I can afford a 270K home, I purchased a home that was almost 70K more than that. What is your income? That is the only way to determine what you will qualify for, and you know what you can comfortably afford.
https://rpaquin.gofirsthome.com/calculators
Go to the "How much income do I need to qualify" calculator. It will tell you the total monthly income needed to qualify and your mortgage payment amount.
A bunch of other calculators up there too. Select the down payment by percentages I would choose at least 5% down for best case and 20% for worst case.
Edit: Actually just did the Zillow calculator with my budget fully stretched and it showed max home of 325K, pretty close my home is 337K.
I would still recommend the calculators I linked, they are very detailed.
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- Feb 6, 2010
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My issue is I have only dealt with one lender to this point who was garbage, chick wouldnt give me a pre-approval letter just said I was approved. So I am going to take my business elsewhere. Honestly finding a realtor has been difficult for me to this point havent vibed well with the people I have met
but to ur question, i am in a similar spot with income but commission is only 40% not 80
lenders have told me that in a sales role they can use to ur total income after being there 2 years. If you have been there less then that then they will run a different calculation which wont be as favorable (usually an average of what you have made over your time there)
Talk to different lenders to see what can be done, hope that helped
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- Jul 27, 2012
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Different lenders have different guidelines. I've gotten loans approved where my clients have only worked for 6 months and prior to that they were college students...and still got them approved to buy their first house.
What state are you in?
- Nov 6, 2012
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Yeah I have only been working full time out of school for 8 months now. At the time of approval I had only been working for 6 months, I had no issues.
I did have prior internships, but I don't even know if they counted those as time worked.
