Author Topic: Went through the process of house hunting/buying  (Read 116923 times)

Offline Dan

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #80 on: June 11, 2013, 03:13:50 PM »
Not everyone can, i personally wish i could  :(
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Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline smee123

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #81 on: June 11, 2013, 03:37:07 PM »
Yup, that's the main thing. And then of course there is community& family but who needs them  ;D

Offline melodystewart

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #82 on: June 21, 2013, 05:21:03 AM »
The pace of the economic recovery has been too slow from last few years and this ultimately tends to rise in mortgage rates.

Offline RT

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #83 on: June 21, 2013, 09:52:48 AM »
I know everyone here stressed how invaluable a good inspection is. I bought a house last July and I don't think we even got a home inspection. My question is, if you're going to buy the house anyways then what's the point? Isn't the home inspection done right before closing?
So what if the guy tells me I need new windows, roof, HVAC.. I'll figure it out at some point anyways. What am I missing here?

Offline RT

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #84 on: June 21, 2013, 09:58:58 AM »
If you figure it out before you buy the house, you can have the owner pay to get it fixed or renegotiate the house price.
Aha. that makes sense.
I bought a short sale. Got a sick deal and the owners were broke so I wasn't getting a penny from them. A year later and many thousands of dollars later we still have plenty more work to do in the house, but we still got a decent deal after all the money we put in and still need to put in.

Offline Marco Polo

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #85 on: June 21, 2013, 10:01:46 AM »
Aha. that makes sense.
I bought a short sale. Got a sick deal and the owners were broke so I wasn't getting a penny from them. A year later and many thousands of dollars later we still have plenty more work to do in the house, but we still got a decent deal after all the money we put in and still need to put in.
Understandable, but you may have been able to get the house at a cheaper price though...

Also, not everyone is getting a short sale and can still recognize a good price after putting in all  kinds of work.
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Offline Fan of Dan

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #86 on: June 21, 2013, 10:02:33 AM »
I know everyone here stressed how invaluable a good inspection is. I bought a house last July and I don't think we even got a home inspection. My question is, if you're going to buy the house anyways then what's the point? Isn't the home inspection done right before closing?
So what if the guy tells me I need new windows, roof, HVAC.. I'll figure it out at some point anyways. What am I missing here?
If the guy tells you the foundation is not stable you may want to walk. Or if the septic is finished it can cost you between 10 to 20k. It's just due diligence.

Offline Barryg

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #87 on: June 21, 2013, 11:07:39 AM »
If the guy tells you the foundation is not stable you may want to walk. Or if the septic is finished it can cost you between 10 to 20k. It's just due diligence.
Also, if there is something that both the buyer and the seller were unaware of, an inspection can be a good source to take $ of selling price...
Ex. since inspector found this issue that will cost $2000 to fix, I'd ask you to fix or take $1000 off price...

Offline RT

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #88 on: June 21, 2013, 11:17:27 AM »
So bottom line is a good inspection is important when not dealing with a short sale or foreclosure. In which case the owner has no money and the money from the sale is going to the bank to pay off the mortgage.

Offline bem684

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #89 on: June 21, 2013, 12:04:35 PM »
So bottom line is a good inspection is important when not dealing with a short sale or foreclosure. In which case the owner has no money and the money from the sale is going to the bank to pay off the mortgage.

It's still important in that case.  You don't want to buy first and only later find out the foundation is 10 years from crumbling to dust...that's got to be expensive to fix, and even if you plan to move out instead of fixing it, the resale value will plummet.

Offline daganster

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #90 on: June 26, 2013, 09:45:27 PM »
I know everyone here stressed how invaluable a good inspection is. I bought a house last July and I don't think we even got a home inspection. My question is, if you're going to buy the house anyways then what's the point? Isn't the home inspection done right before closing?
So what if the guy tells me I need new windows, roof, HVAC.. I'll figure it out at some point anyways. What am I missing here?
In general it's OK to take risks in life, but one should be aware of the risks he's taking.
I personally think that sometimes you may be better off with a real estate investors i.e. People who by foreclosures and remodel homes vs an inspector.

Offline RT

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #91 on: June 27, 2013, 10:37:36 AM »
In general it's OK to take risks in life, but one should be aware of the risks he's taking.
I personally think that sometimes you may be better off with a real estate investors i.e. People who by foreclosures and remodel homes vs an inspector.
Keep in mind that when ppl buy foreclosure and flip them they usually put in crappy appliances. Although they may put in a new HVAC they will put an entry level system in to cut back the costs. You may end up replacing it sooner than you would expect..

Offline daganster

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #92 on: June 27, 2013, 10:28:11 PM »
Keep in mind that when ppl buy foreclosure and flip them they usually put in crappy appliances. Although they may put in a new HVAC they will put an entry level system in to cut back the costs. You may end up replacing it sooner than you would expect..
My point is that investors that have gone through this process many times have seen a lot, and their experience can be more valuable than an inspector who's reading out of a college text book. 

Online ckmk47

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #93 on: June 28, 2013, 08:33:47 AM »
My point is that investors that have gone through this process many times have seen a lot, and their experience can be more valuable than an inspector who's reading out of a college text book.
My inspector waslife experienced.  He knew what he was looking at, and could explain things to me as we walked around.  Definitely be there during the inspection.  I learned things about the house and how to maintain it. 
My cousin had an inspector that wasn't informative and was a waste of money.
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Offline skyguy918

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #94 on: June 28, 2013, 08:42:53 AM »
My inspector waslife experienced.  He knew what he was looking at, and could explain things to me as we walked around.  Definitely be there during the inspection.  I learned things about the house and how to maintain it. 
My cousin had an inspector that wasn't informative and was a waste of money.

+1. As long as you get an inspector that you have recommendations for, you're not getting someone reading out of a textbook.

Offline bzam99

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #95 on: July 22, 2013, 11:48:05 AM »
Anybody have any experience with Home Warranties? What do they really cover? preconditions? etc

Offline Ergel

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #96 on: July 22, 2013, 11:53:13 AM »
Anybody have any experience with Home Warranties? What do they really cover? preconditions? etc
From a cursory reading it seems it's just a glorified service contract. Doesn't seem worth it
Life isn't about checking the boxes. Nobody cares.

Offline Marco Polo

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #97 on: May 13, 2014, 10:43:34 AM »
Does anyone have a good/reliable home inspector for the NY/NJ area?
Quaerite et Invenietis.

Offline sb613

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #98 on: May 13, 2014, 10:58:14 AM »

Does anyone have a good/reliable home inspector for the NY/NJ area?
Monsey area?

Offline username

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Re: Went through the process of house hunting/buying
« Reply #99 on: May 13, 2014, 11:11:43 AM »
I know everyone here stressed how invaluable a good inspection is. I bought a house last July and I don't think we even got a home inspection. My question is, if you're going to buy the house anyways then what's the point? Isn't the home inspection done right before closing?
So what if the guy tells me I need new windows, roof, HVAC.. I'll figure it out at some point anyways. What am I missing here?
I think that its been mentioned, but if your inspection says that there are $10,000 roof repairs around the corner, you can use that as leverage to knock some money off the sale price, or get some other concession from the seller.
Also, in my case, I had a good real estate agent (another topic altogether) and together, the agent, armed with the home inspection got me a nice deal. Suffice to say that in my case the agent and the inspection payed for themselves.
YMMV
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