Real Estate Advice

[arrington_QBkiller]

Saden, you said you paid NO closing costs? I would love to see the HUD1 on that one.

He may not have had to pay any closing costs if he wrote into the contract that the seller would pay his closing costs for him.

[Monkeydad]

Most of the top tips have been covered and I emphasize, STAY AWAY FROM ARMs!!!!!

One home inspection is fine, but make sure the inspector is not a contractor who could potentially make money off of doing the repairs. An inspection company that ONLY does inspections will be the most honest and fair since they have no chance of doing repairs and cashing in on them.

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by Buster

Most of the top tips have been covered and I emphasize, STAY AWAY FROM ARMs!!!!!

One home inspection is fine, but make sure the inspector is not a contractor who could potentially make money off of doing the repairs. An inspection company that ONLY does inspections will be the most honest and fair since they have no chance of doing repairs and cashing in on them.

Yeah. If you are a current home owner and have an ARM I apologize in advance but in my opinion you have made a very bad move. ARMs are hideous creations by banks to be able to offer more loans for more money to less qualified people. To do so they have to offset all of their increased risk somehow so that should clue you into how bad ARMs really are compared to standard loans. Right now all the people who jumped into an ARM 4 and 5 years ago are starting to really realize what kind of problems they can cause. Avoid them at any cost. If you have to hold off on buying a house or have to buy less house then do so. But don't jump into an ARM so you can qualify to buy a $500,000 house. Buy a $250,000 house wait 2 years and sell for profit(hopefully) then take your increased equity and move up. It is the safer and less expensive way of doing it over the long haul. And when it comes to primary housing you are ALWAYS talking about the long haul.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by FRPLG

Yeah. If you are a current home owner and have an ARM I apologize in advance but in my opinion you have made a very bad move. ARMs are hideous creations by banks to be able to offer more loans for more money to less qualified people. To do so they have to offset all of their increased risk somehow so that should clue you into how bad ARMs really are compared to standard loans. Right now all the people who jumped into an ARM 4 and 5 years ago are starting to really realize what kind of problems they can cause. Avoid them at any cost. If you have to hold off on buying a house or have to buy less house then do so. But don't jump into an ARM so you can qualify to buy a $500,000 house. Buy a $250,000 house wait 2 years and sell for profit(hopefully) then take your increased equity and move up. It is the safer and less expensive way of doing it over the long haul. And when it comes to primary housing you are ALWAYS talking about the long haul.

Concurred. ARMs are a contributing factor in all the subprime mortgage lending problems that are all over the news right now.

Adjustable or balooning rates put your cash flow at risk, big time. If something goes financially wrong in your life, the last thing you would choose to part with is your home. But by using an ARM or a baloon, you're exposing yourself to the risk that the FIRST thing to go in a crisis will be your house.

The potential of taking a bath is significant. Take the fixed rate; you'll know exactly what you need to pay each month. And it ensures that you won't buy a house you can't afford.

[Beemnseven]

I just wanted to clear up one thing since I am a real estate agent.

As far as agent commissions go, the listing agent and the buyer's agent will typically split the commission 50/50. In cases where you have a sympathetic listing agent, or when the agent is related to the homeowner, you may find that one side of the transaction will forego a percentage or two in order to help the deal get closed. Otherwise, on a 6% listing, 3 will go to the buyer's agent, and 3 will go to the listing agent in most cases.

Now, the other thing to consider is that the field of real estate is highly regionalized -- so what may be true here in southeastern Virginia may not be true in Philly, Seattle or Wisconsin. That's why it's hard for anyone to give advice unless they reside in and work in the area you're in, SGG. Good luck.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Beemnseven

I just wanted to clear up one thing since I am a real estate agent.

As far as agent commissions go, the listing agent and the buyer's agent will typically split the commission 50/50. In cases where you have a sympathetic listing agent, or when the agent is related to the homeowner, you may find that one side of the transaction will forego a percentage or two in order to help the deal get closed. Otherwise, on a 6% listing, 3 will go to the buyer's agent, and 3 will go to the listing agent in most cases.

Now, the other thing to consider is that the field of real estate is highly regionalized -- so what may be true here in southeastern Virginia may not be true in Philly, Seattle or Wisconsin. That's why it's hard for anyone to give advice unless they reside in and work in the area you're in, SGG. Good luck.

Ah good point, I didn't realize there were regional differences.

I've got a few buddies here in the Philly area that are real estate agents. When they're the listing agent and there is no buying agent, they get the full 5-6% commission all to themselves. When they're the listing working with a buying agent, they typically get 4-5% and the buying agent gets 1-2%. And they say those numbers are negotiable depending upon the situation.

In my myopic view of the world, I assumed this was the way it is done everywhere. Thanks for hittin me with the knowledge, Beem.

Also, I've posted concerns about home inspectors and their incentive to be crooked and overlook certain problems. Philly is a heavily unionized city where contractors are used to banding together; you're probably more likely to run into problems with inspectors here than you are in less unionized towns. Living in Philly requires a cynical view of the world, LOL.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Thanks again everyone. I typically don't rely on advice from strangers, but the relative uniformity of the advice I'm getting indicates that you guys have provided me with some useful advice and information.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

Thanks again everyone. I typically don't rely on advice from strangers, but the relative uniformity of the advice I'm getting indicates that you guys have provided me with some useful advice and information.

No problem man. Taking advice from "strangers", and using advice to become more informed are two different things. Even if you take a path we are suggesting you don't, at least you are aware now.
Plus, we're all Skins fans...we wouldn't steer a fellow fan in the wrong path...a cowboys fan though...well

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by jsarno

No problem man. Taking advice from "strangers", and using advice to become more informed are two different things. Even if you take a path we are suggesting you don't, at least you are aware now.
Plus, we're all Skins fans...we wouldn't steer a fellow fan in the wrong path...a cowboys fan though...well

Yeah the only place I know of in the country where ARMs are good is in Dallas. Otherwise stay away from them.

[KLHJ2]

Does anyone have any info on those quicken loans? Are they are worth it or is it some scam that puts a crap load of money in their pockets.

[EternalEnigma21]

Originally Posted by angryssg

Does anyone have any info on those quicken loans? Are they are worth it or is it some scam that puts a crap load of money in their pockets.

I'm not sure about quicken, so I'm not going to lump them into this category, because I think theyre a bit different, but alot of online loan sites are just lead sources for anyone who signs up for them. You can get stuck with any crackhead idiot if you're not careful... and its a sure fire way to get sued when you show up to closing and there's no money to bring to the table....

And since there aren't rules as to where a mortgage officer can generate loans, youll likely get stuck with someone far away form you, and there's a huge lack of accountability when there's no possible way for you to directly make contact with the person.

My wife has clients who refused to go through her in-house lender because they thought it was some conspiracy to make money and they were being smart consumers and shopped online to get a better rate... turns out all they got is lied to and sued for specific performance...

Theyre filing suit against the lender, but it won't matter... Their lives are temporarily all screwed up..

They lost a huge escrow check and the house they wanted because the negotiations got nasty before all this and the sellers are done messing with them and are now refusing to sell their house.

The best advice, I think, is to join a Credit Union. I'd be using mine, but I qualified for a VHDA loan... all you virginians should look into it. If you qualify it may be a nice way to go....

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by canthetuna

I'm not sure about quicken, so I'm not going to lump them into this category, because I think theyre a bit different, but alot of online loan sites are just lead sources for anyone who signs up for them. You can get stuck with any crackhead idiot if you're not careful... and its a sure fire way to get sued when you show up to closing and there's no money to bring to the table....

And since there aren't rules as to where a mortgage officer can generate loans, youll likely get stuck with someone far away form you, and there's a huge lack of accountability when there's no possible way for you to directly make contact with the person.

My wife has clients who refused to go through her in-house lender because they thought it was some conspiracy to make money and they were being smart consumers and shopped online to get a better rate... turns out all they got is lied to and sued for specific performance...

Theyre filing suit against the lender, but it won't matter... Their lives are temporarily all screwed up..

They lost a huge escrow check and the house they wanted because the negotiations got nasty before all this and the sellers are done messing with them and are now refusing to sell their house.

The best advice, I think, is to join a Credit Union. I'd be using mine, but I qualified for a VHDA loan... all you virginians should look into it. If you qualify it may be a nice way to go....

Thanks, I am already a member of a Credit Union and have been for a while. Both myself and my wife qualify for a VA loan, but the max it will cover is roughly 430k. We are looking at houses in the 500k range or a 250k-300k home that is the size of the 500k homes. Long story short I have to get a separate loan for what VA doesn't cover on a 500k home.