Home buying thread

The commission is taken into account in the sales price, so from the buyer"s perspective they"re not paying "extra" over and above that price, while the seller has the commission come out of their proceeds.

Eomer said:

The commission is taken into account in the sales price, so from the buyer"s perspective they"re not paying "extra" over and above that price, while the seller has the commission come out of their proceeds.

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hmmm, i guess i thought it was simple...
X: Total Home Cost
Y: Commision someone gets.
as in, I could pay X, or X-Y....

Is there a reason i couldn"t play my own realtor and negotiate a lower price?

If you are buying a house with no agent for $100,000:

-Seller sells house for $100,000.
-Seller"s agent gets 6% sales commission ($6k).
-Seller nets $94,000

If you are buying a house WITH an agent for $100,000:

-Seller sells house for $100,000
-Seller"s agent gets one half of 6% sales commission ($3k).
-Buyer"s agent gets one half of 6% sales commission ($3k).

Seller still nets $94,000
You still pay $100,000

Theoretically you could negotiate the price down if you come to the table with no agent. Like I said, if you don"t bring an agent you effectively have the power to cut the seller"s agent commission in half. Youmightbe able to get the price lowered 1-2% if the seller"s agent decides to talk to you. But in my experience, they aren"t gonna come down in price just for that. But it does make them call you back quicker.

Tortfeasor said:

Like I said, if you don"t bring an agent you effectively have the power to cut the seller"s agent commission in half. Youmightbe able to get the price lowered 1-2% if the seller"s agent decides to talk to you. But in my experience, they aren"t gonna come down in price just for that. But it does make them call you back quicker.

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Then, i"ll attempt to use that as leverage should the situation develop that way =).

thanks for the l33t insider infoz.

Then again it"s not always easy to find places for sale without an agent.

If you get an agent to help you find a house, only to dump him at the last minute to negotiate a better deal then I hope your dick shrivels up and falls off.

Cad said:

Real estate agent as a job needs to be eliminated. Public MLS = no need for real estate agents. I hope their jobs go away soon.

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Agree on the buy side at least. Maybe it"s just because I"m from a younger generation, but when I moved for my job I started looking at condos on zillow/MLS without even thinking to call up a real estate agent or anything like that. I could understand for people who are too busy to do their own house shopping that an agent would be a plus, though.

Do they do a lot of work? No, but if you ask me, the majority of people don"t do a whole fuck of a lot in the grand scheme of things, and they still make way more money than I think they should, so I guess it"s kinda hard to pick on RA agents.

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Don"t forget, you"re talking to a lawyer. It"s almost maddening the level of irony.

OpenSource, dude.

I forget what the actual numbers where but it was something staggering like <5% of agents controlling upwards of 80% of the market share. It"s a good profession for those that are good at it.

I don"t see why it needs to be abandoned. A balance will be struck between SELLYOURHOMEONYOUROWN.com and actual real estate agents.

Cad said:

What % of houses are sold owner-occupied vs. vacant? The vacants, I can see you"d need someone to show the house - but owner-occupied, why can"t the owner just show it? I"ve sold a bunch of cars, I never needed anyone to show it for me, for example.

I guess it just rubs me the wrong way that these guys can get $50k+ for a car ride and a walkthrough.

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for one, there is a security issues showing your house to someone. the agent provides a security aspect to the transaction, in which you are essentially letting complete strangers into your house.

all it would take is a single case of robbery or god forbit rape, and your do it yourself website reputation would be ruined. while you might feel comfortable showing your own house, the little 45kg lady down the street might not feel comfortable.

I believe in the future the real estate agent will go the way of the travel agent, they will be dramatically reduced by online websites, but wont entirely disappear. there is a still some uses for them.

Way back when I was a real estate agent I did a lot of work for very little pay.

It takes a lot of networking and personal advertising (this costs money) to get clients and listings.

Clients are deceitful. They"ll use you to get listings and call them on their own. They"ll use you to see houses then make a deal behind your back with the owner. They"ll use you to price their house then put it up for sale by owner with your price.

You end up doing hours of free work for the off chance that someone won"t rip you off and fuck you over. I probably netted about $10 an hour for my time spent, on par with waiting tables.

These are the first time buyer programs in thestate of Indiana. Some stack with the FHA and the government $8,000 tax credit so you should check with your state to see what kind of deals they have and what stacks.

The MCC is the one I have. It stacks with FHA (I don"t know if it stacks with the $8,000 credit or allows you to refinance early) and the way it works is the first xxx number of people a year who apply for it get it then when they run of of money that"s it till next year. Once your in, your in for the lifetime of your home though it"s value goes down when you paid your interest off and your paying almost entirely on your principal.

Due to the way MCC works it may be wiser to make minnium payments fr the duration you will get the full $2,000 credit then start stacking payments after that to pay off the loan early.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
First Time Home Buyer
Programs in Indiana
Complete First Time Home Buyer Programs Available in Indiana.

The state agency created by the legislature in Indiana to offer first time home buyer programs is the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. Here is a summary of the current first time home buyer programs that are offered:

First Home

The First Home program offers below market interest rate mortgages to qualified persons. Interest rates can vary, but are usually one-half to one percent below the market rate. This program may be used in conjunction with FHA/VA, Fannie Mae, or USDA Rural Development financing. The current interest rate may be obtained either from this web site or 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at (888) 227-4452.

First Home/PLUS

The First Home/PLUS program offers a First Home loan as well as a 5% down payment assistance second mortgage, capped at $3,500 respectively, with zero interest and no payments, which is forgiven if the borrower does not refinance and remains in the home for a specified period of time.

First Home 100

First Home 100 is a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture?s Rural Development office. Borrowers in rural areas can qualify for a combination of two mortgages, the first being an HCDA First Home loan with a below market interest rate and the second being a Rural Development loan with an interest rate based on the borrower?s ability to pay. Borrowers can also qualify for down payment assistance as with other HCDA programs. Persons interested in this program should contact their local Rural Development office.

Mortgage Credit Certificates

The Mortgage Credit Certificate program offers first-time homebuyers a Federal tax credit. The tax credit amount ranges between 20% and 35% of the interest paid on a mortgage each year, depending on the mortgage loan amount. The maximum credit per year is $2,000. This program is available on a limited basis when announced by HCDA.

Community Mortgage 100% Option

My Community Mortgage 100% is a partnership program with Fannie Mae that offers affordable homeownership opportunities for borrowers that are low to very low-income. The program offers a minimum contribution of $500 from the borrower?s own funds. The seller may contribute up to 3% of the sales price to help with closing costs. This program has greater flexibility in qualifying and underwriting standards. In addition, borrowers may qualify for HCDA?s down payment assistance.

Community Solutions 100

Community Solutions 100 is a partnership program with Fannie Mae that enables Teachers, Fire Fighters, Law Enforcement, and State and Municipal workers to purchase a home with as little as $500 of their own funds. The program allows for higher loan-to-value options, lower our-of-pocket costs and more flexible underwriting criteria. The seller may contribute up to 3% of the sales price to help with closing costs. In addition, borrowers may qualify for HCDA?s down payment assistance.

Community Home Choice

Home Choice is a partnership program with Fannie Mae that offers affordable homeownership opportunities for people with disabilities or families who have a person with a disability living with them. The Community HomeChoice mortgage loans offer low down payments; greater flexibility in qualifying and underwriting standards; and acceptance of nontraditional credit histories. In addition, borrowers may qualify for HCDA?s down payment assistance.

For complete details on these first time home buyer programs available to Indiana residents, visit the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority website.

Okay, so...

My fiance and I are getting married on August 15th, and looking at purchasing a home soon after. We"re in San Antonio, TX. I make $52k/yr pre-tax (comes out to around $1500 every two weeks after taxes and benefits), plus the occasional bonus, and he brings home $22k/yr pre-tax, so between the two of us, we can count on about $75k/yr (pre-tax). We both have very stable jobs, and he"s working on finishing a teaching credential.

Here"s the deal...I have -shitty- credit (gogo being unemployed for 6 months two years ago). FICO score is ~600. I"m current on all my accounts now, however. He has ridiculously good credit...~780.

We"re looking at getting something like a 3br 2ba, around 1500-1600 sqft. We should be able to find something like that in the area we want to live in the 100k range. With a 3% down FHA loan at 7%, the mortgage calculator says we"d be paying just under $900/mo on a 15 year mortgage. We"re currently paying $759/mo for an apartment.

If we apply jointly for a loan...will my income and his credit be good enough to get us a rate at 7% or under, or is my credit going to kill us? Also, housing prices are starting to trend back up here, so are we better off throwing $3000 down now along with the $8000 homebuyer credit, or waiting until we"ve got 20% down on whatever a home might be down the road? We can reliably sock away about $650/mo without being stretched too tightly (outside of our normal savings and debt payments), plus any bonuses, so it"d take a bit to get more than the $3k we"ve got in the bank now.

So...what do y"all think? What should I do?