Home buying thread

  • Guest, it's time once again for the massively important and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!



    Go here and give us your nominations!
    Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Give us your worst ones!
Brahma

Brahma

Obi-Bro Kenobi-X
12,727
47,654
I am still looking for a home after a year+ of searching, and I probably have finally found one. It is literally everything I need. An apartment over garage for my mother. A literal lodge for a basement. House is in a great neighborhood (Though the city is meh). The school system is also meh. I would be sending the kids to catholic schools more than likely for at least 4 years...Leaving me pretty much check to check. That's fine. Risk I can take. My career is solid. Just hate not being able to save during that time.

Now here's the thing. I have been offered a job (15% increase in pay, much better health insurance and retirement), that if I purchase this house, will take my commute from 20 minutes to well over an hour. Close to 90 minutes. Do you pull either trigger? Take the house, and stay put where I am currently until the kids are off to college? Say Yes to the job, and say screw this particular house? (It is everything I want and more). Or take both and say fuckit, I join the masses with crazy commutes to work.
 
Cad

Cad

scientia potentia est
<Bronze Donator>
25,916
51,069
Brahma said:
I am still looking for a home after a year+ of searching, and I probably have finally found one. It is literally everything I need. An apartment over garage for my mother. A literal lodge for a basement. House is in a great neighborhood (Though the city is meh). The school system is also meh. I would be sending the kids to catholic schools more than likely for at least 4 years...Leaving me pretty much check to check. That's fine. Risk I can take. My career is solid. Just hate not being able to save during that time.

Now here's the thing. I have been offered a job (15% increase in pay, much better health insurance and retirement), that if I purchase this house, will take my commute from 20 minutes to well over an hour. Close to 90 minutes. Do you pull either trigger? Take the house, and stay put where I am currently until the kids are off to college? Say Yes to the job, and say screw this particular house? (It is everything I want and more). Or take both and say fuckit, I join the masses with crazy commutes to work.
Click to expand...

Take the better job and stay in the house you can afford. Live below your means.
 
  • 1Solidarity
Reactions: 1 user
Siliconemelons

Siliconemelons

Naxxramas 1.0 Raider
12,288
18,523
Picasso3 said:
never get paycheck to paycheck
Click to expand...

This...

It is very hard today to do - when rent is MORE or the same as a mortgage for an equivalent house. And student loans etc... 10 years of marriage and we just now seeing the light at the end of our debts, its crazy - almost all our debts sans house will be gone almost all at the same time (student loan, cars) all drop off within the next 1-2 years. We made choices poorly in the beginning...well she did...but I gave in to her wants, so its my fault also...but we have been working on it constantly - children actually helped lol.

Once all CCards are gone (over 1/2 done from just 2 years ago) and those structured loans finish (all are 4+ months early payoff due to consistent overpay)- student/car - we can finally start REAL savings beyond my pension and her 401k - and do stuff more for the kids such as college prepaid etc.

edit: nor do we do everything perfect now - never saying anything like that.
 
Fogel

Fogel

Mr. Poopybutthole
13,496
53,803
Also, I'd suggest not buying a house in the middle of switching jobs. Have no idea how stable/good the other job really is.
 
Cad

Cad

scientia potentia est
<Bronze Donator>
25,916
51,069
Fogel said:
Also, I'd suggest not buying a house in the middle of switching jobs. Have no idea how stable/good the other job really is.
Click to expand...

Particularly not a house thats going to put you paycheck to paycheck. Thats just a recipe for shit to happen.
 
Oblio

Oblio

Utah
<Gold Donor>
11,778
25,794
Have you considered moving closer to the new job? What are neighborhoods like? How are the schools in that area?

As a Catholic High School Grad from one of the highest rated Catholic Schools is Southern California I can honestly say that shit is overrated. Take a portion of what that tuition would cost and put it into a 529.

EDIT: We moved from Vegas to Spokane where the School District we are in is about 1000 times better than Clark County Schools. It wasn't the only reason but it sure helped.
 
Brahma

Brahma

Obi-Bro Kenobi-X
12,727
47,654
The new job is as stable as it will come. I will probably retire there.

There are no houses that I could afford where the new job would be located.

The public schools are just not good enough for what I want for my son.

My mortgage broker says that as long as I stay within the same line of work, swapping jobs is fine. I REALLY didn't think about buying the house during job transitions though.
 
Oblio

Oblio

Utah
<Gold Donor>
11,778
25,794
Are there any neighborhoods that are closer to the new job that are affordable & with a better School District? Maybe do a search around the new job with a radius equivalent to a 45 minute commute & see what options there are. Not trying to beat a dead horse but a 15% increase in income is significant.
 
Hoss

Hoss

Make America's Team Great Again
<Gold Donor>
27,684
16,112
kegkilla said:
I guess technically, but if you put in an offer contingent on that, what is the sellers agent going to do, refuse to go along with the sale because they want an extra 3℅ of the closing price that they weren't entitled to in the first place? I'm sure the seller would be thrilled.
Click to expand...

Not the exact situation, but the house I just sold I had an offer from a guy who had no agent, and then wound up selling to another person with no agent. So I know the answer. When I signed the seller's rep agreement, I agreed to pay 6% agent fees, to be split up evenly between the agents. So in cases where there was no buyer's agent, my agent got it all. Basically, those agent fees go to the seller's agent after the house closes who then distributes it to the buyer's. The agreement even says if the fees don't get held out at closing, or if I accept a cash offer from someone who refuses to deal with agents, that I have to write my agent a check. The fees don't even have to be the same. When you make the listing, you put in what the agents fees are. Your agent could make it a 4%/2% split if they want. I noticed some weird shit like that when I was buying houses. Normally if they play any games with the commissions, they increase them to try to get agents to show the house more. When you find one with lower fees, that's probably a shiester agent.

Now, in my case, when my agent saw that and we started negotiating, the first thing she did was give me a waiver (or whatever it was called) for half the agent's fees. You can't really put in an offer contingent on agents not getting paid because the agent fees are not part of that contract. In negotiations, you can always say "Hey since I have no agent, how about you give me more in closing costs" but it's really a nonsensical request. You might as well say "Hey I can't afford the closing costs, how about you give me more." If you're getting certain loans, the amount of closing costs the seller can pay will be capped and it won't matter if you find an extra 3% anyway.

I lost my train of thought. Did I answer your question?
 
kegkilla

kegkilla

The Big Mod
<Banned>
11,320
14,739
Hoss said:
Not the exact situation, but the house I just sold I had an offer from a guy who had no agent, and then wound up selling to another person with no agent. So I know the answer. When I signed the seller's rep agreement, I agreed to pay 6% agent fees, to be split up evenly between the agents. So in cases where there was no buyer's agent, my agent got it all. Basically, those agent fees go to the seller's agent after the house closes who then distributes it to the buyer's. The agreement even says if the fees don't get held out at closing, or if I accept a cash offer from someone who refuses to deal with agents, that I have to write my agent a check. The fees don't even have to be the same. When you make the listing, you put in what the agents fees are. Your agent could make it a 4%/2% split if they want. I noticed some weird shit like that when I was buying houses. Normally if they play any games with the commissions, they increase them to try to get agents to show the house more. When you find one with lower fees, that's probably a shiester agent.

Now, in my case, when my agent saw that and we started negotiating, the first thing she did was give me a waiver (or whatever it was called) for half the agent's fees. You can't really put in an offer contingent on agents not getting paid because the agent fees are not part of that contract. In negotiations, you can always say "Hey since I have no agent, how about you give me more in closing costs" but it's really a nonsensical request. You might as well say "Hey I can't afford the closing costs, how about you give me more." If you're getting certain loans, the amount of closing costs the seller can pay will be capped and it won't matter if you find an extra 3% anyway.

I lost my train of thought. Did I answer your question?
Click to expand...
so in your experience, if there was no agent representing the buyer, the fees would all go to the seller? what a crock of shit.
 
Big Phoenix

Big Phoenix

Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
<Gold Donor>
46,869
100,191
you know the dangers of buying and selling houses without professional education and licensing?!
 
Vinen

Vinen

God is dead
2,791
497
Crossing fingers. Putting in an offer on a house about a half-mile from where I live now.
Has a full in-law apartment w/ full kitchen, etc.

Way under our maximum so we have some room to throw in a higher offer if need be.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.