[audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
- From: "Josh" <lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2015 17:28:02 -0400
Our agent comes recommended by Amanda’s dad. Amanda’s step-sister and her
boyfriend bought a house using our agent. Sometimes she seems as though she is
looking at for us and other times she seems up in the air. However, since
having that talk with her the other night she seems more like a team player for
us. She is kind of hard to read, but I think so far I am doing alright reading
her *LOL*. That is just like the house the other night she warned us about a
potential problem with the the foundation. However, the Sunday before that she
was practically trying to take our hand and sing us on the dotted lines. This
house I just found out about, I texted her and she was trying to talk me out of
it. However, once I jogged her memory about the fact we were going to go and
look at it, she remembered which one it was and said she would look into it.
She was going on about it being a tax sale, but it is not a tax sale and I did
my best to stress that to her. It may be heading towards a tax sale, but right
now it is just on the market. If we are able to get into it and it is a steal
of a deal then the waiting it out to find the right house paid off. It may be
sitting though because of further issues, but like Bethann said I believe they
have an obligation to disclose major issues with the house here in Tennessee.
If they do not disclose and we end up getting the raw end of the deal I would
imagine that I would have some sort of recourse. I will have to iquire about
that to find out before just singing on the dotted line. We have to go through
it to and make sure it is what we have been holding out for before we decide to
buy as well.
From: audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Thomas McMahan
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 4:44 PM
To: audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
If your agent was bluffing and it wasn’t the selling agent’s bluff that borders
on conflict of interest because at that point your agent borders on
representing the buyer. My suspicion is that the owner’s agent was bluffing or
they were.
Any seller is going to go for highest bidder, that’s just common sense, but
your hunch paid off because it’s still there.
Yes it would be interesting to see what this one you are interested in is going
for in relation to others in the area. It could be fire sell where they want
out from under it, that’s how my mother got her house at a good price and that
was 1989 which definitely favored the seller not the buyer in our part of the
world, but the people that owned it had to move because they were military and
had bought another place and wanted out from under the mortgage. So she got
her place for under value actually, and they were quick to sit down and talk to
her because she had sold our place in Tennessee not to long before. Think she
paid that place off in under 20 years going on conventional 30 year loan. But
she settled that out upon her retirement I think and just paid it off instead
of keeping stuff or so much stuff invested. The guy at the bank thought she
was crazy. She retired in 06. You know what happened in 08, and most of what
she kept invested either held okay or still gained slightly, so I say “good for
her.”
On Mar 12, 2015, at 3:29 PM, Josh <lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
To me from what the house has to offer, location, features, school systems,
etc. they are selling this house at a very low price. I will have to have my
agent do a little research and see what other houses in the area have sold for.
I am just speculating here, but I wonder if they are not trying to sell it
before they lose it. We were going to go and see it back a few months ago, but
they had family in and staying with them so we were unable to go see the house
at that point in time. So, they are still living in it too. I imagine that it
is very close to foreclosure. I did a little research on the other house that
my agent said had an offer on it. When she let me know she told me it had an
offer and the owners were giving the offer till noon the next day in case we
wanted to place an offer. My agent said they were looking for the highest and
best offer. I speculated that this was a selling tactic on the part of the
selling agent or perhaps on part of my agent so we would make an offer out of
impulse. However, I told her we would just pass and it just so happens I found
out one of three things happened. The first thing is that could have happened
is they did not accept the offer or it fell through for some reason, the second
thing that could have happened is there never was an offer on the house so the
selling agent was bluffing or the third thing is my agent was bluffing and I
called well you know what I called *LOL*. We went and looked at the house
earlier in the week and this Sunday it has an open house. So, I called the
realty company selling the house and just acted like an interested buyer to
find out about the upcoming open house. The secretary gave me the agent’s cell
number. I called him and inquired and he actually gave me the date and time of
the one that we went and looked at. I should have asked him if the offer fell
through, but I did not *LOL*. He also told me about another one that I do not
think Amanda was aware of. The fact that this one was still on the market after
the fact makes me wonder if the others that we were told sold actually sold or
not.
From: <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[ <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of BethAnn LaPresta (Redacted
sender " <mailto:bela28_02@xxxxxxxxx> bela28_02@xxxxxxxxx" for DMARC)
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 3:56 PM
To: <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
This would HAVE to be disclosed to you by the sellers at the time you placed an
offer (if you were going to). When the agent selling a home takes the listing,
they usually "open" title with a title company that would spell all of that
out. So, everyone should be very aware of this...if your agent isn't yet and
you are interested, I would ask her. This becomes a negotiating point. The
seller is required to sell you a home with a clear title, if the city and/or
county has placed a lien on the property (or anyone else for that matter), this
would be something that you must insist is paid up before closing. It may also
be something that you negotiate in as far as you guys may be willing to pay the
back taxes, but it will come out of the proceeds of the house. Honestly, this
one sounds a little scary...why are they behind? Is the mortgage also behind?
Are they in foreclosure yet with the lender? Are they going to do a short
sale? Lots of questions if you're really interested.
_____
From: Josh < <mailto:lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx> lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 12:22 PM
Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
Hey this may be a question that you can answer here, I was doing some rsearch
on the property that Amanda and I are potentially interested in. Well, I called
the city tax office and found out that this property has both city and county
taxes which I already knew. However, I also found out that they are upside down
in their taxes. I found out the property owners are two years delinquent on
their taxes at both the city office and the county office. The city office
mentioned that I would want to go through a title company to purchase this
property. I do not know why the title company was recommended though. Do you
have any knowledge regarding properties that are delinquent on their taxes and
up for sale?
From: <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[ <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of BethAnn LaPresta (Redacted
sender " <mailto:bela28_02@xxxxxxxxx> bela28_02@xxxxxxxxx" for DMARC)
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 3:01 PM
To: <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
I found a 3% down program in 2011---you had to have a 680 credit score or
better at that time through my credit union. A true conventional loan is 20%
down, but there are exceptions depending on your bank. There are also a lot of
low down payment options for first time home buyers, so it's good to check
around.
_____
From: Josh < <mailto:lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx> lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 11:45 AM
Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
That sounds about right, since the lender has only talked about that option.
However, if we end up getting a house that is around 100 K then we may be able
to do conventional. Conventional requires what 10% down or 5% down?
From: <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[ <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of BethAnn LaPresta (Redacted
sender " <mailto:bela28_02@xxxxxxxxx> bela28_02@xxxxxxxxx" for DMARC)
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 11:11 AM
To: <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
I am fairly certain that with an FHA loan, you will have the taxes and
insurance in your monthly payment already.
_____
From: Josh < <mailto:lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx> lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 3:40 AM
Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
Well, before we decide that any house is the house we want, we make sure that
we can afford it with the rest of our bills. As far as escroe goes we have not
discussed that so that is something that we will have to discuss as the time
draws near. As I read on down through your email it appears that we have
discussed the whole escroe aspect. We definitely have had each payment
considered with tax and insurance in mind with the payment.
From: <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[ <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Thomas McMahan
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 4:58 AM
To: <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
I accidentally hit the send before cleaning up that mail darn it.
Here’s another little exercise to work on. Lets say you guys decide to go for
this house. You should have a ballpark of the monthly payment. Sit down and
plot out a budget around it on one paper, as well as a list of possible repairs
to do on another list and their costs. Yes a house payment can be cheaper than
rent, but their are other realities such as the taxes, and insurance. Are you
going to escrow your insuranc and tax payments into your house payment? Most
people do that and it usually works out well until they assess your house taxes
up and then you have to make up the short fall. Of course if they assess them
downward you get a chunk of money back in the mail like my sister-in-law has
done the past two years. I didn’t escro my other payments. I deal with
insurance as I would any other utility, and we would do our taxes on our own.
Because of that I now pay my insurance once a year and it’s cheaper, and once
the house was paid for there was less entanglement with the bank. I even
removed the automatic withdraw for house payment because they double dipped us
a couple of different months, and didn’t have a very good explanation as to
why. So it put us into over draw land, which isn’t a place you want to be.
They did the same to my sis-in-law too and she went in and practically threw a
fit because she wasn’t working at the time and didn’t have income yet. They
refunded her money on that one, but as she asked them, “now how am I supposed
to pay the rest of my bills? You think you guys are my only bill to pay?”
Banks and their computers can be sloppy sometimes.
Now when you do your budget here’s another game to play which may be
beneficial. Can you run your whole budget on one income? Everybody that lives
as a couple should do this whether renting or paying for a house. Most of us
find we can’t, but it is a nice goal. The guy we had going along with us to
check out houses etc and sort of pointed and guided us along through the
process gave us that little bit of wisdom. As he said, what happens if Pat
loses her job and can’t get one very fast? Can you live on just your income
alone, because if you can get to that point, then you can start paying extra
against your house on it’s principle and have more paid off faster which is
good for the credit rating, but if you decide to move in 20 years you are
carrying less of a load thus will get more money back to leverage against your
next place should you decide to do that. Or you can both pay some extra on
house and car, then put the rest in the bank against major repairs which are
going to come even if you buy a house that was built today, in 30 years you
will have to had to replace things, they just don’t build stuff that good
anymore and sometimes that includes homes btw.
Lots of decisions, but at least it looks like you guys aren’t just jumping
right and grabbing what shines in front of you which is good.
Btw, I don’t think our budget is currently within the lowest income level of
the house here at this time which would be Patti’s income, although it’s not
way above that amount. It is a good goal to work for actually, so we will be
able to start seriously working on this place. Get a lot of little stuff done
over time, then do a loan down the road and fix the major stuff such as re
doing the roof etc. I don’t think I am going to lift the house and work on
foundation, but it would be nice to do actually.
But it’s a good exercise to do. I would run it on your income Josh because it
is likely to always be there and Amanda’s income is the variable one, it can be
lower if she’s out of work, but can also be a lot higher should land a great
paying job. Drop in everything, credit cards the whole deal, then figure out
once you get to where you’re going which angles to cover and get paid off in
the budget.
I am guessing you guys have done some of this already though in preparing for
checking out the housing market and talking to lenders because they are going
to do roughly the same thing when checking your credit etc. Especially if it’s
a conservative bank.
Now I think I’ve completed all I was going to say. Took two e-mails, but if I
had been able to clean up the other one first it would have fitted into one
probably *lol*.
Instead you get two.
On Mar 12, 2015, at 3:34 AM, Thomas McMahan <
<mailto:shadowmonstrosity@xxxxxxx> shadowmonstrosity@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Wouldn’t worry about a house on market for 5 months. Most around here are on a
year or so. To many deals fall through each time that happens that just adds
more time that the house is sitting there. Age, is only a problem if the house
hasn’t been kept up and modernized over the years. There are people who prefer
older houses simply because they are more solid. The house I live in was
placed here in 1922. Yes it came from somewhere else. The house next door is
older and was also brought in here from another place too. Fairly common in a
town that springs up by a railroad. I wouldn’t worry so much about that as
apposed to how it’s fundamentally built, there are a lot of newer places that
are likely to give you just as much trouble if not more.
Any house is going to have ongoing mantainence of some kind. Sided house are
nice but siding fades over the years for example and eventually would need
replacing. Wooden houses have their things that have to be done, and so would
brick, but brick is the best option as far as I’m concerned accept maybe when a
big earthquake comes, then I would favor a wooden house, but what are the
chances of that huh?
I don’t know the market down there anymore so don’t know if that is a low ball
figure on that house or not, but I can tell you it is larger than mine is and
mine is two stories, but so is it’s price too.
Go through it with a fine tooth comb with the idea of what has to be fixed now,
and then in the next 5 years and what would be ongoing over the years, I don’t
think for the long term ongoing it will be much different than a 10 year old
house verses the 60 year old house, but agin it is a matter of what would
immediately have to be worked on. When was the house last occupied too? A
house that hasn’t been occupied for a good while can have problems such as
drainage because they haven’t been flushed etc. It sounds like you already
have someone with you who knows how to examine a foundation well and give you
an idea of what would have to be done and when which is good. Same with tuck
pointing brick etc.
It may be sitting on market because folks think it’s to high also, but you are
going to drop in a price and they will take it or leave it, or you both the
buyer and seller will eventually come up with something in the middle, or the
seller is going to have an empty house on their hands.
What heating and cooling does it have, and when was it installed too that is a
factor, a 30 year old furnace is getting kind of old in this part of the world,
but most of our furnaces are gas and they do have to work pretty hard for a
good part of the year. Does it have any chimnies, and where do they run
through the house. Ones that run through centers of houses on the surface are
nice, but when they have to be worked on they are a lot more work. Of course
where you live a lot of homes are electric heat and electric water heat, which
is another thing to add to your check list, how old is the water heater and
when will you be replacing that. A brand new house obviously you would get to
wait a while before doing that, but chances are you would have to do it
eventually, or have your price knocked down when you are selling it, or when
your descendants are selling it. But that goes with any house again.
What neighborhood is it in? How accessible is it to you. Pretend Amanda had
to leave town for a Month and start your math, what is easy to get to via
walking etc. Maybe that isn’t a problem for you at this moment, but life can
always hand you changes, and well, next thing you know, you are walking to the
grocery store if you know what I mean.
Find out what their highest bills were for each utility in the last year it was
occupied if you can, you need that in planning a general budget. I don’t know
your property tax situation anymore, but here they just give an estimate from
the seller, but the problem is, that if the sell lived in the house for a long
time you might get a little surprise when the annual taxes come. Our’s wasn’t
a surprise because the previous owner hadn’t lived or owned the house for to
long.
So it becomes also a matter of do you get a house that you won’t have to do any
work or as little work as possible on, verses one that may have to have some
work done, or one that is a fixer upper. We bought a fixer upper, but when we
bought it was a seller’s market, it definitely isn’t that nowadays, so we went
for a house we knew we could likely get. Well the trade off is that it’s
needed work done on it and still does actually, but likely we would at least
get some money back when we sell it. Maybe not a lot but probably some when
all is said and done, and of course the sell of this place could be the lverage
to getting a better place. It’s probably what you parents did, if not them
then your grand parents did, that is more the normal thing in history. Well up
until recently where you have people who expect to buy a brand new house that
is larger than what their parents owned as their first house. Well if it can
be swung, go for it, but to me it’s a little unrealistic, well to my income
level it is *lol*.
What appliances are already there, and how quickly do you think you will be
having to replace say: stove, washer, or more of a bear dishwasher? What about
cabinetry etc, is Amanda happy with that, having that done can also be
expensive unless you have someone who works with you to give you a break. How
much stuff will you guys do on your own for modifications verses having to hire
outsiders. So yes the advantage of a new place is that you won’t have to do
that, but I guarantee you will pay up front for that, but that is why newer
houses don’t stay on market long.
So then it falls back to degree of work and mantainence that has to be done.
On Mar 11, 2015, at 9:41 PM, Josh < <mailto:lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx>
lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hello,
We are finding tons of older houses that we absolutely love. When I say older
I am talking 1950’s. I am struggling with this a bit though because I am
looking ahead, past when I am living there. Or rather to the point that I am
ready to not live there anymore. So, when I get to the point of not wanting to
live there anymore it could be 10, 20, 30 or more years down the road, but I am
sure there will come a time that I am ready to move on. If this is not the case
and I stay there until I die then it is not a concern, However, a 1950 house
that I live in for 20 years will then be 85 years old. I know the specific
house that we are looking at has been on the market for right about 5 months.
So, what do you all think, do you think I would have trouble selling an 85 year
old home? It is on the market for 5 months at the age of 65 years old. It is
right about 112,000.00 right now without negotiating a lower price. Do you
think I would be able to get my money back? If it is not a major concern, the
age of the house, then I will not let it sway my decision, but taking into
consideration that it is an all brick rancher with over 1700 sq. ft. and it is
almost 100,000.00 and still on the market concerns me regardless how beautiful
the house seems right now.
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