Home buying thread

I just checked and the estimate value increase for my area over the next year is close to 5%. WTF

Tarrant said:

What did you use? I’m curious to see mine.

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Just Zillow emails and this one service my broker sends me on the zip code. Not sure if you can actually see it on Zillow anywhere else?

My house/land is currently worth just about double what I paid for it less than 20 years ago. This shit is bonkers.

Cad said:

Its awesome if you own a house, kinda shitty if you don't. Since we can't do anything about it ourselves, might as well enjoy the fruits of our investment.

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You're absolutely right. If you don't own a house now, you're pretty screwed. Especially as a first time buyer with no equity to transfer. I honestly feel badly for people in that situation. When my kids settle, have a job and all that, I'm going to help them buy a house for sure. But I'm able to do that, and many people are not. I've been investing a bit for each of the kids, and when they get to the point of buying, I'll cash out the investment and the money will be theirs. If they don't buy, they get it at 30 for whatever. My kids are spoiled and they know it. And I love being able to do it.

lurkingdirk said:

You're absolutely right. If you don't own a house now, you're pretty screwed. Especially as a first time buyer with no equity to transfer. I honestly feel badly for people in that situation. When my kids settle, have a job and all that, I'm going to help them buy a house for sure. But I'm able to do that, and many people are not. I've been investing a bit for each of the kids, and when they get to the point of buying, I'll cash out the investment and the money will be theirs. If they don't buy, they get it at 30 for whatever. My kids are spoiled and they know it. And I love being able to do it.

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It's shitty that non owners missed out on the rise in prices had they been owners, but as a nonowner myself, I have a fair bit saved up for a downpayment. I actually prefer apartment living for now being single and somewhat young. A home is a very long term purchase IMO, I don't like being tied down unless I have kids/wife.

The reality is someone who had like 60k in 2018 wanting to one day be a homeowner, invested in SPX and saved a bit more, they're still in a position to own a home at some point here. Two issues are really that most of those people didn't save and didn't invest, and the younger Gen z and Gen alpha that didn't have the benefit of time are well and truly behind.

I am a bit scared about what will happen if rates do come back down, though. First fuck the realtors and their percentage bullshit, but also I just do not want to be in a perpetual sellers market either because I want to buy the house I want, not the one I can get. Normal balanced market is much more conducive to everyone getting what they want and can afford. The market here since COVID has been you get what you get and you still pay through the nose for it.

Kais said:

We're seeing a mix of new construction clients wanting to hold off, or lock in their contract right the fuck now over tarrif and price speculation. Costs are going to go up, it's just a matter of when. Masonry went up 10% already this year (on top of 15% late last year). Lumber can't decide if it's going to go up or go pandemic bonkers, and is holding it's breathe for the moment. We are locking in quotes on speculation of business. It's a risk but not doing so hoping prices stabilize is riskier still. Noone has a clue what mortgage rates are going to do but they sure aren't falling.

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I really think lumber is going to go bonkers again. Trade war with Canada is going to mean stupid expensive lumber in the US.

tugofpeace said:

It's shitty that non owners missed out on the rise in prices had they been owners, but as a nonowner myself, I have a fair bit saved up for a downpayment. I actually prefer apartment living for now being single and somewhat young. A home is a very long term purchase IMO, I don't like being tied down unless I have kids/wife.

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I get that completely. A home is, indeed, a very long term purchase. Don't do it until you're ready. And save all the money you'd be spending on drywall, doors, and vanities.

How I bought in 2017 for 200,000 is now “zestimated” at 434,000-546,000. Since buying the house I put hurricane impact windows, updated the water heater, electric panel, got a new air conditioner, and put new flooring in the house. So about 30,000K into it.

Luckily I refinanced it to a 15 year mortgage at 2.75% and can keep it as a rental forever.

Palum said:

The reality is someone who had like 60k in 2018 wanting to one day be a homeowner, invested in SPX and saved a bit more, they're still in a position to own a home at some point here. Two issues are really that most of those people didn't save and didn't invest, and the younger Gen z and Gen alpha that didn't have the benefit of time are well and truly behind.

I am a bit scared about what will happen if rates do come back down, though. First fuck the realtors and their percentage bullshit, but also I just do not want to be in a perpetual sellers market either because I want to buy the house I want, not the one I can get. Normal balanced market is much more conducive to everyone getting what they want and can afford. The market here since COVID has been you get what you get and you still pay through the nose for it.

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What happened with that real estate agent fee thing last year? I thought they got sued and that shit would go away, but I hadn't heard anything since.

Gravel said:

What happened with that real estate agent fee thing last year? I thought they got sued and that shit would go away, but I hadn't heard anything since.

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My understanding is this didn't actually change anything. It removed the listing component of commission (e.g. could entice agents to push customer towards a house), which for me never came up because I don't give a shit what my realtor thinks.

You have to sign the forms agreeing to commission explicitly now on the buying side. I would imagine this means now that much like closing costs and transfer taxes, it's just informally the seller's issue through 'normal concessions' rather than a formally informal standard real estate agents used.

I would be interested in seeing if this has any material changes, but for reference, Zillow still lists 'estimated agent commissions' as 100% seller, and default is 6%. So clearly Zillow doesn't think it's changed enough to warrant updating their website/app.

Gravel said:

What happened with that real estate agent fee thing last year? I thought they got sued and that shit would go away, but I hadn't heard anything since.

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The main thing is buyers agents commission. Seller is responsible for paying both buyers and sellers commission. Sellers agents would list commission of both parties as a convenience, but there sometimes was collusion. Now buyers agent has to sign a contract with buyer prior to helping them look for homes. If you sell a home it’s much easier to negotiate the commission, since you can refuse to accept , let’s say, 3% commission for the buyers agent.

So far it hasn’t made a big dent, we will see over time what happens. Personally I have been able to negotiated the buyers commission down to 1-2 percent.

Mizake said:

The main thing is buyers agents commission. Seller is responsible for paying both buyers and sellers commission. Sellers agents would list commission of both parties as a convenience, but there sometimes was collusion. Now buyers agent has to sign a contract with buyer prior to helping them look for homes. If you sell a home it’s much easier to negotiate the commission, since you can refuse to accept , let’s say, 3% commission for the buyers agent.

So far it hasn’t made a big dent, we will see over time what happens. Personally I have been able to negotiated the buyers commission down to 1-2 percent.

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I mean here's my thing, I would be much more inclined to pay a flat fee on the sale and a dollar amount up to x% (say 2-3) based on weeks listed.

Last house I sold, was a very hot market and I put in all the effort staging and touching up everything, made it look like a million bucks and sold it in one day of showings. Why the fuck should I be paying someone 15-30k or whatever for 1 day of work? I dunno the whole thing is scam. It's very hard to get fair showings/sales without getting in bed with these faggots for MLS access, and the buyers side again isn't on work (like what if you buy the first house you walk into and there's no negotiation just offer accepted?).

Palum said:

The reality is someone who had like 60k in 2018 wanting to one day be a homeowner, invested in SPX and saved a bit more, they're still in a position to own a home at some point here. Two issues are really that most of those people didn't save and didn't invest, and the younger Gen z and Gen alpha that didn't have the benefit of time are well and truly behind.

I am a bit scared about what will happen if rates do come back down, though. First fuck the realtors and their percentage bullshit, but also I just do not want to be in a perpetual sellers market either because I want to buy the house I want, not the one I can get. Normal balanced market is much more conducive to everyone getting what they want and can afford. The market here since COVID has been you get what you get and you still pay through the nose for it.

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The fucked part is anywhere nice still has high demand from fuckwits moving in from the coasts. As you said, get what you can get, not what you want. This has been the way of things in the 3 different states I've lived in almost same number of years. Huge demand, interest rates be damned. Expensive houses going for 2-3x ask in some areas. I lost count of the number of houses where my bid wasn't even close, and they were fat bids. Nice houses are sold before lunch on listing day.

Building? Impossible now. here, 2 year wait, and good builders won't look at anything under $2MM. GF and I don't want a big house. 2500 SQft custom top to bottom. No one will even look at the plans. The other option for new are cheaply built houses on postage stamps. No thanks.

Renovating? DIY or fuck off. It wasn't that long ago that I had people lining up to work on the house where I used to live. Had many bids on exterior and interior paint, no end of choices for flooring companies, craftsmen to rebuild kitchen butler pantry. All done quickly and without flaw.

I walked into a flooring place a few years ago. 6+ women sitting at desks. Not a single person asked to help or if I wanted TO GIVE THEM MONEY. Same story at every flooring place I went to. The only option was trash like Lowe's. Nope! I wanted to build there. Same 2 year wait. I wanted new cabinets. Cabinet guy only built them. Paint? Hire a guy to do it. Install? Hire a guy to do it. Dispose of old cabinets? Hire a guy to do it. Worse yet? He couldn't give me any names of people to do it.

Here, there are flooring places, but 0 of them move furniture. No one available to move furniture at all. I hear a lot of "we don't do that". I wanted a new range hood installed and plumbed in. They'd sell me the hood, but had no names of people who would do the install.

The house I had redone? I left for 6 hours, and came back to new carpet, new flooring, and new cabinets. They moved all the furniture and put it back. Here, I can't even find a fucking plumber.

NO ONE WANTS MONEY. EVERYONE ARE NOW BILLIONAIRES AND DON'T NEED TO WORK.

Except the young couple who did the interior paint. Fucking excellent work and perfect price.

Ahh yes, let's talk about expansion. I moved to bumfuck nowhere. A year after I left, owner across the street sold all his acres, and now they are going to put 100 houses on it. I didn't plan on keeping this house, but I'd be pretty sore if I did.

My house out west was on the edge of town. Walk across the street into woods. Now it at the start of subdivisions, each with ever smaller lots. There was 4 miles of farm to the left of the road when I moved out there. It's all subdivisions now, each with tiny homes and tiny lots. Woman who bought my house says I wouldn't recognize the area now.

The problem with all this expansion everywhere? The roads can't support that much traffic. 100 extra cars on a tiny two lane road? Fuck that. Bumfuk nowhere but still traffic jams.

I need to build a time machine and zap myself to 1940.