[audio-pals] Re: Older Houses

  • From: Thomas McMahan <thomas.mcmahan@xxxxxxx>
  • To: audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2015 09:58:12 -0500

Yeah And I don’t think she would sell on dollars against her hundreds *lol*.  
For some reason she likes that big monstrosity of a house over there.
> On Mar 13, 2015, at 8:46 AM, Josh <lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> Oh we are talking hundreds, I thought we were talking dollars *LOL*. 
>  
> From: audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
> <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
> [mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
> <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>] On Behalf Of Thomas McMahan
> Sent: Friday, March 13, 2015 9:24 AM
> To: audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
>  
> Probably at least 900 per, I think it will b more though.  Reclaiming a house 
> in bankruptcy isn’t cheap well house and car.  Although that is easier on the 
> rest of us than moving her, that would be a nightmare in itself with all that 
> stuff in there, then there’s all the animals, umm, no thanks.  She has to 
> stay there and out live most of those animals *lol*.  
>  
>> On Mar 13, 2015, at 7:47 AM, Josh <lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx 
>> <mailto:lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
>>  
>> So, is she looking at going up to 10.00 or 11.00 a month? I think I could 
>> afford 10 or 11 dollars  a month *LOL*.
>>  
>> From: audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
>> <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
>> [mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
>> <mailto:audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>] On Behalf Of Thomas McMahan
>> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 12:21 PM
>> To: audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
>>  
>> I think my neighbor’s which is Patti’s mother that her house is around 6.40 
>> per month.  That is going to change though, but that is all her own fault.  
>>  
>>> On Mar 12, 2015, at 10:12 AM, BethAnn LaPresta (Redacted sender 
>>> "bela28_02@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:bela28_02@xxxxxxxxx>" for DMARC) 
>>> <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
>>>  
>>> I am not sure that $600/month figure is accurate.  I just refinanced at 
>>> 3.25% and my payment is $800/mo. (this does include property taxes and 
>>> insurance though).  
>>>  
>>> From: Josh <lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx>>
>>> To: audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 4:44 AM
>>> Subject: [audio-pals] Re: Older Houses
>>>  
>>> Amanda did some figuring using a mortgage calculator online and the 120,000 
>>> house was going to run us roughly 600 something a month for I want to again 
>>> say it was 1700 sq. ft. We currently live in a 1100 sq. ft. apartment and 
>>> pay 714.00 a month. So, given the differences there and the fact that we 
>>> have nothing to show for it at the end of the year is a little much in my 
>>> book. So, if the 120,000 was going to be 600 something it would go to 
>>> reason that the 112,000 would be less money than that. Now, as far as 
>>> utilities go, Knoxville Utilitiy Board (KUB) will give us high and low 
>>> figures for the last 12 months. The last 12 months is a good thing 
>>> providing there has been someone living in the house, but if the house has 
>>> sat empty then the numbers that KUB quotes are not in the least bit 
>>> accurate. I really like the idea of rolling insurance and taxes into the 
>>> monthly payment so that way at the end of the year or whenever land taxes 
>>> are due we are not hit with a big lump sum of money to pay. Sure it would 
>>> be nice to think that I could just put that money back each month and not 
>>> touch it, but the minute something needs to be paid for guess where the 
>>> land tax money goes that was being put bac into an account. If it is 
>>> figured into the monthly payment then for the most part the majority of it 
>>> will be paid throughout the year. The thing that really sucks is that 
>>> stinking PMI payment each month.   
>>>  
>>>  
>>> 
>>> From: audio-pals-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
>>> <mailto: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: audio-pals@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto: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 <shadowmonstrosity@xxxxxxx 
>>>> <mailto: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 <lawdog911@xxxxxxxxxxx 
>>>>> <mailto: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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