Home buying thread

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Lanx

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Tide27 said:
Everything that is in the 150k to 200k range seems to be old, run down homes that will need a ton of work, but we could get a new build for around 220k, so that's the direction we are leaning. We currently make about 120k year and would use a VA loan. On the flip side, there is a nice mobile home on a permanent foundation that's 1600 sq ft and only 77k, which would allow us a much lower payment.
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yea when i was looking at homes i was seeing a lot of old homes (wood paneling, decor from the 80s) and a few new construction. thought "might as well get a nice new home that no one has stepped in and fucked up".

but then i read more and asked friends on their new construction homes, and everyone regrets it, it's like these builders actually just bring a pick up truck to home depot and go "juan, jose, get in the back, we're gonna build a house today!!!"

i have a friend w/ new construction in a secluded 4 house lot, ALL of those homes are fucked and 3 of them (1 house is the builders friend) are banding together to sue the builder, i visited them, and they had no living room, ha.

imo, if you can find a nice 90s to 00s house, cool, but def sign up for zillow and realtor to trac houses sold and how they move.
 
TJT

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TheBeagle said:
Bought a new house in Northlake TX last week (a few miles from Texas Motor Speedway). 3/2, open floor plan, about 1,500 sq ft. Single developer neighborhood, Centex. $5k for cabinet/countertop/ flooring upgrade. They had three selections to choose from and we went granite/white cabs/grey vinyl wood floors/ivory subway tiles for the backsplash. We were the third house to sign in this development, really pleased with what we are getting. Prices increase $3k across the board for every 4 houses they sell. It's 1000x nicer than resales in the current market at our price range, $243k and we're out in the country. Good HOA; no rentals and no investors. I plan on running for a seat on the board once everything is settled. Construction starts in the next week or two, hopefully move in June. As a pool builder I hope to build my own backyard oasis next year. Pic of the model we got.
View attachment 332525
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Ours is really similar. Just with the extra garage.

We got outright zero options though. They don't even let you pick anything. Sadly.
 
TJT

TJT

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Lanx said:
so all your storage is attic based?
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Garage based?

I don't have tons of shit so it's fine. I just wanted the 3 car garage so I have space for my paramotor and bikes and bike repair stuff.
 
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Lanx

Lanx

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TJT said:
Garage based?

I don't have tons of shit so it's fine. I just wanted the 3 car garage so I have space for my paramotor and bikes and bike repair stuff.
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just curious i'm sorta prepping a move so i'm transfering some stuff in moving boxes to plastic bins (the tough kind, not the rubbermaid kind)
 
TheBeagle

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Lanx said:
do you tx ppl have basements?
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No. Doesn't work well with limestone and hard clay substrate. We do precast iron shelters that you dig inthe ground or a fortified room in the middle of the house for tornadoes.
 
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Fogel

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Lanx said:
yea when i was looking at homes i was seeing a lot of old homes (wood paneling, decor from the 80s) and a few new construction. thought "might as well get a nice new home that no one has stepped in and fucked up".

but then i read more and asked friends on their new construction homes, and everyone regrets it, it's like these builders actually just bring a pick up truck to home depot and go "juan, jose, get in the back, we're gonna build a house today!!!"

i have a friend w/ new construction in a secluded 4 house lot, ALL of those homes are fucked and 3 of them (1 house is the builders friend) are banding together to sue the builder, i visited them, and they had no living room, ha.

imo, if you can find a nice 90s to 00s house, cool, but def sign up for zillow and realtor to trac houses sold and how they move.
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You need to find a good builder in the area. Some people usually refer to them as boutique builders I believe. Instead of buying large developments and mass building the same basic floor plan they buy individual lots and will usually only build 1 or 2 houses a year. But you get the quality workmanship you're looking for since they're not bringing in random immigrant labor. Thats what I did when I moved to Florida last year, though I stumbled on mine who was already building first without a buyer, so I got lucky in a way.
 
TheBeagle

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I'm definitely going to be bird dogging the construction of my home. As a builder myself I should be able to keep things from going sideways and catch any mistakes without being an over bearing asshole. Supposed to be a good builder though and their warranty is above and beyond what most others are doing in the area. Our realtor went with us when we bought and he verified that they are offering more than the other developers that he's worked with lately.
 
Sanrith Descartes

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TheBeagle said:
I'm definitely going to be bird dogging the construction of my home. As a builder myself I should be able to keep things from going sideways and catch any mistakes without being an over bearing asshole. Supposed to be a good builder though and their warranty is above and beyond what most others are doing in the area. Our realtor went with us when we bought and he verified that they are offering more than the other developers that he's worked with lately.
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Make sure the builder and foreman know you will be visiting the site every day after work and are in the construction industry. It increases the chances your specific house wont be built like shit.
 
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Nija

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Why don't they let you pick options? When I was looking up here over the summer the new construction that I was interested in let you pick all kinds of shit.

This neighborhood. Nothing for sale now that I can see. They had seriously 20-25 houses for sale back in June. 810 Flat Head Cv, Bentonville, AR 72712 | Zillow
 
TJT

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Nija said:
Why don't they let you pick options? When I was looking up here over the summer the new construction that I was interested in let you pick all kinds of shit.

This neighborhood. Nothing for sale now that I can see. They had seriously 20-25 houses for sale back in June. 810 Flat Head Cv, Bentonville, AR 72712 | Zillow
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Austin market is too hot. They don't give a shit is the simplest answer. East side of Austin like Manor still does but nobody wants to live out there.

Here's the actual model photo we getting. Just will have the 3rd garage. 4/3 2377 SQFT.

Screen Shot 2021-02-02 at 10.08.23 AM.png
 
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Cad

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Khane said:
I didn't realize they made reasonably sized homes in TX. Nice place, congrats.
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Just the first floor of my house is bigger than that. Heh.

However, I would not mind living out of town. I have been thinking of buying land north of Flower Mound or east of Rockwall just sit on, maybe build a country house on just to have some place out of town to go to if jogger-infested Dallas County keeps going downhill.

While currently our bubble is very well protected and safe, that can change. By the time they make it out to Northlake, shit will have gotten very real. Some distance is a good thing.
 
taebin

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Cad are you HP or UP? I've got a college buddy that lives off Lovers (UP side). They have been flipping M street houses for a couple years making a nice profit. Just bought a lot down by Snyder Plaza to move to. Think their Lovers house has about tripled in price since they bought in 2014.
 
lurkingdirk

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Tide27 said:
So I am looking for opinions on what to do, and feel yall seem pretty informed and knowledgeable about things I am not.

My new job is taking me to Columbus, IN and its about a 1 1/2hr commute to my work if we stay in the Indy area, so that's not really possible.

We currently rent a home for around 1600 a month ( because we went monthly knowing my job situation just changed ) that's 2k sq feet. I am tired of throwing so much money away.

We have looked in Columbus for rentals ( there aren't any ) , so we started looked at buying a home. Everything that is in the 150k to 200k range seems to be old, run down homes that will need a ton of work, but we could get a new build for around 220k, so that's the direction we are leaning. We currently make about 120k year and would use a VA loan. On the flip side, there is a nice mobile home on a permanent foundation that's 1600 sq ft and only 77k, which would allow us a much lower payment.

We only plan to be in Columbus, IN until I can find a way to transfer back to TN, which is where we want to perma settle. Hopefully our time in Columbus is 3 to 4 years or less, before we can get out of there.

What would be the most sensible thing to do? Buy a new build for 220kish, buy a fixer upper for 180kish, or buy a nice mobile home for 70k and use that savings for our forever home in TN?
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If you're not going to be there long go for the nice mobile home. Buy it at a good price, build some equity, then, when you move back to TN the equity you have built can be used as a down payment toward the home you want to be in longer. Doing a build in a town you're looking to get out of pretty quickly just doesn't make sense, and you're not going to build much equity in a new build in just a couple years.
 
T

Tide27

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lurkingdirk said:
If you're not going to be there long go for the nice mobile home. Buy it at a good price, build some equity, then, when you move back to TN the equity you have built can be used as a down payment toward the home you want to be in longer. Doing a build in a town you're looking to get out of pretty quickly just doesn't make sense, and you're not going to build much equity in a new build in just a couple years.
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Ty for the response.
 
Burren

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Tide27 said:
So I am looking for opinions on what to do, and feel yall seem pretty informed and knowledgeable about things I am not.

My new job is taking me to Columbus, IN and its about a 1 1/2hr commute to my work if we stay in the Indy area, so that's not really possible.

We currently rent a home for around 1600 a month ( because we went monthly knowing my job situation just changed ) that's 2k sq feet. I am tired of throwing so much money away.

We have looked in Columbus for rentals ( there aren't any ) , so we started looked at buying a home. Everything that is in the 150k to 200k range seems to be old, run down homes that will need a ton of work, but we could get a new build for around 220k, so that's the direction we are leaning. We currently make about 120k year and would use a VA loan. On the flip side, there is a nice mobile home on a permanent foundation that's 1600 sq ft and only 77k, which would allow us a much lower payment.

We only plan to be in Columbus, IN until I can find a way to transfer back to TN, which is where we want to perma settle. Hopefully our time in Columbus is 3 to 4 years or less, before we can get out of there.

What would be the most sensible thing to do? Buy a new build for 220kish, buy a fixer upper for 180kish, or buy a nice mobile home for 70k and use that savings for our forever home in TN?
Click to expand...

I'd opt rent in that situation if it's a pleasant place to live temporarily. But, the caveat to that statement is: what's the overall state of the market there? Can you sell the $220k house in a few years and not take a loss factoring in taxes over that period of time? Can your money work harder for you in investments versus selling a home? If its a hot housing market, then perhaps the purchase is a better idea.
 
Arative

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TJT said:
Austin market is too hot. They don't give a shit is the simplest answer. East side of Austin like Manor still does but nobody wants to live out there.

Here's the actual model photo we getting. Just will have the 3rd garage. 4/3 2377 SQFT.

View attachment 332551
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I'm shocked that they don't let you pick options, I always thought that is how builders make their money but then I guess if the market is that hot, that there is bidding wars on new construction they're making money. All the options my wife and I did, added $70k to the base price of the our house but that was upgraded kitchen, master bath, garage extension and 10 foot foundation pour for the majority of that money.
 
Cad

Cad

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taebin said:
Cad are you HP or UP? I've got a college buddy that lives off Lovers (UP side). They have been flipping M street houses for a couple years making a nice profit. Just bought a lot down by Snyder Plaza to move to. Think their Lovers house has about tripled in price since they bought in 2014.
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I'm in HP, and I bought in 2010 at the bottom of the market. I'll probably have to rent this house when we move rather than sell it to avoid capital gains since I am way past the exemption now.
 
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