All Encompassing Mortgage and Real Estate Thread

[Gil Bang 26177]

tankless water heater vent?   

[Gil Bang 26177]

imgur

[Gil Bang 26177]

On 6/7/2019 at 9:28 AM, NBMisha said:

That is a great hit rate.  I always did think the main point of the open house for for the agent to pick up a client or two.

Yeah, that's the idea.  

So, I didn't exactly tell the full story.  Out here, as you all know, house prices are high.  Much higher than you all are used to.  So, if I'm doing an open house on a 600,000 house, my commission (before splits) is 15,000 or more.  Usually 2.5%, so call it 15,000.   That's a nice payday, right?    Well, 11,500 is also a nice payday as far as I'm concerned.  

So, when Mr. and Mrs. Jones walk into my open house, I say to them "Hi, I'm Gil, let me tell you about this great house. bla bla bla, yada yada, and by the way, I'm personally offering a $3,500 cash rebate anyone that buys it from me to help with closing costs".  That gets their attention.  And I often get "does that apply if we buy a different house instead of this one?".  Sure it does. 

And for vets/VA buyers, I rebate even more.  There's a real practical reason for the VA thing.  Out here, we are near Pendleton, so almost all of our VA buyers are Marines or Navy and most of them get their mortgage from Navy Federal Credit Union.   Well, the fuckfaces at Navy Fed have a special "program" for their borrowers.  They "assign" a real estate agent to their borrowers that they've pre-approved.  And, that agent promises to rebate part of the commission to the buyer, similar to what I described above.  Here's the rub.  Not only do their "preferred" agents give a kickback to the buyer, they are also forced to give a kickback to Navy Fed.   So, instead of collecting that 15,000 commission, the agent is collecting 5,000.

So, I explain to the VA buyer that I will match the Navy Fed program, but that I will do a much better job than that "preferred" agent will do, because I'm making a decent payday from the deal and they are working for fast-food wages.  66% of the time, it works all the time. 

I want to stress the fact that an open house buyer just falls out of the fucking sky.  I didn't have to invest a ton of dough in a drip campaign to get them to call me, I don't have to spend 5 saturdays and 5 sundays driving them around showing them houses...they come to me.  And I'm thrilled to work for less money for a client that fell out of the sky into my lap. 

 

 

[Dbeasy 15529]

Yeah, that's the idea.  

So, I didn't exactly tell the full story.  Out here, as you all know, house prices are high.  Much higher than you all are used to.  So, if I'm doing an open house on a 600,000 house, my commission (before splits) is 15,000 or more.  Usually 2.5%, so call it 15,000.   That's a nice payday, right?    Well, 11,500 is also a nice payday as far as I'm concerned.  
So, when Mr. and Mrs. Jones walk into my open house, I say to them "Hi, I'm Gil, let me tell you about this great house. bla bla bla, yada yada, and by the way, I'm personally offering a $3,500 cash rebate anyone that buys it from me to help with closing costs".  That gets their attention.  And I often get "does that apply if we buy a different house instead of this one?".  Sure it does. 
And for vets/VA buyers, I rebate even more.  There's a real practical reason for the VA thing.  Out here, we are near Pendleton, so almost all of our VA buyers are Marines or Navy and most of them get their mortgage from Navy Federal Credit Union.   Well, the fuckfaces at Navy Fed have a special "program" for their borrowers.  They "assign" a real estate agent to their borrowers that they've pre-approved.  And, that agent promises to rebate part of the commission to the buyer, similar to what I described above.  Here's the rub.  Not only do their "preferred" agents give a kickback to the buyer, they are also forced to give a kickback to Navy Fed.   So, instead of collecting that 15,000 commission, the agent is collecting 5,000.
So, I explain to the VA buyer that I will match the Navy Fed program, but that I will do a much better job than that "preferred" agent will do, because I'm making a decent payday from the deal and they are working for fast-food wages.  66% of the time, it works all the time. 

I want to stress the fact that an open house buyer just falls out of the fucking sky.  I didn't have to invest a ton of dough in a drip campaign to get them to call me, I don't have to spend 5 saturdays and 5 sundays driving them around showing them houses...they come to me.  And I'm thrilled to work for less money for a client that fell out of the sky into my lap. 
 
 

When you rebate that, I assume your broker takes the normal percentage of the full amount and then you rebate at closing off your part of the commission? Then when your 1099 comes in for the higher amount, you just take the rebate as an expense?

[Gil Bang 26177]

On the military guys, my broker eats an equal % of what I rebate. 

On the non--military, the rebate is done at settlement (and disclosed to the lender...it's none of the seller's business).  So the split is calculated, then the buyer's portion is rebated, and then my check is cut.  So, my 1099 is equal to the total of my checks for the year.   

My previous broker didn't even cut checks.  They sent commission instructions to escrow, and escrow cut the checks.  One for the broker, one for me.   Escrow sent the 1099. 

[UTPhil2006 3910]

10 year hanging around 2.08 which is right around the 2 year lows its been hovering at

[tx 3 putt 78475]

Thanks @UTPhil2006 for all the hard work on my recent purchase. Your team made the whole process so easy. Great customer service.

I love the new place and we got a great price. 

[UTPhil2006 3910]

29 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

Thanks @UTPhil2006 for all the hard work on my recent purchase. Your team made the whole process so easy. Great customer service.

I love the new place and we got a great price. 

Thanks bud!  I still owe you an Astros game at some point

[UTPhil2006 3910]

Fed decision coming soon.  Expected to cut rates. 

[Storm the Field 5362]

26 minutes ago, UTPhil2006 said:

Fed decision coming soon.  Expected to cut rates. 

None this time around, though they hinted at the possibility later this year.

[Storm the Field 5362]

On 6/7/2019 at 10:48 AM, Chewbacca said:

On 6/6/2019 at 9:43 AM, Storm the Field said:

How long does permitting typically take in Houston? Our builder submitted plans a little over 3 weeks ago and the dept. just now came back with some ticky-tack BS they want to see verified/corrected. I'm gonna lose it if the plans get resubmitted and they sit on them for another couple of weeks.

Get ready to lose it. That's not that long for plan review and permitting.

2 weeks later, still sitting here in permit limbo. From what I've been told, the permitting office recently launched a new all-digital submission system that was supposed to streamline the whole process, but, as you might guess, so far it has actually had the opposite effect. Neither builders nor the employees seem to have figured out how to use it. Plans are getting denied and kicked back for missing documents that aren't even missing, and then upon re-upload, the system tries to send you back to square one.

Apparently most of their days now are spent fielding phone calls and emails about bullshit problems caused by the new system and requests to skip ahead in line to correct minor errors, to the point they've issued internal memos saying to just process everything in order and no more favors allowed. 

Just freaking awesome.

Edited June 20, 2019 by Storm the Field

[Gil Bang 26177]

So, my preferred lender hosted a lunch today, and went over all the "new" loan programs. 

Folks, nobody learned shit last time around.  Same bullshit loans are available again.  Stated income, no doc, no tax returns, etc.    

Shit's gonna hit the fan, but fuck it, I'm gonna sell as many houses to as many strippers and fraudsters as I can.  After all, I'll be paying my share of the bailouts, correct? 

[Dbeasy 15529]

So, my preferred lender hosted a lunch today, and went over all the "new" loan programs. 

Folks, nobody learned shit last time around.  Same bullshit loans are available again.  Stated income, no doc, no tax returns, etc.    
Shit's gonna hit the fan, but fuck it, I'm gonna sell as many houses to as many strippers and fraudsters as I can.  After all, I'll be paying my share of the bailouts, correct? 

Why should they care? Don’t they just dump it on our pseudo government agencies?

[Gil Bang 26177]

No.  These aren't fannie/freddie deals, these are securitized mortgages.  Wall Street fucks are bundling them and selling them to saps like you and me.  

[Modessit 5665]

No.  These aren't fannie/freddie deals, these are securitized mortgages.  Wall Street fucks are bundling them and selling them to saps like you and me.  

All us strippers and fraudsters want to know is if the minimum down payment requirement has gone back down to basically nothing.

 

[Pato del Muerto 53344]

Looking to do a SISA neg am loan at 95% ltv for an investment property. Rural of course. Credit score is above 600!  Let me know when that becomes available. I’ll also be needing a heloc about 90 days after closing. 

Oh and I need this program for about 10 properties and I need them to all close simultaneously within a month of pulling the first credit report. 

Edited June 21, 2019 by Pato del Muerto

[ChiTownDoc 21326]

3 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

  Shit's gonna hit the fan, but fuck it, I'm gonna sell as many houses to as many strippers and fraudsters as I can.  After all, I'll be paying my share of the bailouts, correct? 

You do your part, I’ll do mine.  I’ll make sure the strippers get that 20% down for you.  

[UTPhil2006 3910]

On 6/21/2019 at 12:14 AM, Pato del Muerto said:

Looking to do a SISA neg am loan at 95% ltv for an investment property. Rural of course. Credit score is above 600!  Let me know when that becomes available. I’ll also be needing a heloc about 90 days after closing. 

Oh and I need this program for about 10 properties and I need them to all close simultaneously within a month of pulling the first credit report. 

7 day close?

[UT_OB1 2262]

On 6/21/2019 at 12:14 AM, Pato del Muerto said:

Looking to do a SISA neg am loan at 95% ltv for an investment property. Rural of course. Credit score is above 600!  Let me know when that becomes available. I’ll also be needing a heloc about 90 days after closing. 

Oh and I need this program for about 10 properties and I need them to all close simultaneously within a month of pulling the first credit report. 

Was that really a thing?  And if so, where might I find one of these today. I don’t need 10. 1 at a time will do    

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2779]

No.  These aren't fannie/freddie deals, these are securitized mortgages.  Wall Street fucks are bundling them and selling them to saps like you and me.  

Gil where are you a realtor? CA right?

[Nonbryan 176]

Can I get a home loan w/o unfreezing my credit?

[Gil Bang 26177]

On 6/23/2019 at 5:45 AM, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

Gil where are you a realtor? CA right?

Yes. North San Diego

[HRSchenker 2331]

Is it unreasonable to ask for a decrease in the home price if it's located within an HOA community?

[NeverMarryAStripper 22246]

It’s perfectly ok to ask for a decrease for any, or even no, reason. Just like it’s ok for them to tell you to get bent.

 

[Gil Bang 26177]

It’s perfectly ok to ask for a decrease for any, or even no, reason. Just like it’s ok for them to tell you to get bent.
 

Yep.

[Gil Bang 26177]

2 hours ago, HRSchenker said:

Is it unreasonable to ask for a decrease in the home price if it's located within an HOA community?

Yeah, it's kind of unreasonable, because you (your realtor) should be looking at comps in the same community to determine what the property is worth.  

 

 

[UTPhil2006 3910]

56 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

Yeah, it's kind of unreasonable, because you (your realtor) should be looking at comps in the same community to determine what the property is worth.  

 

 

This.  Not necessarily a binary situation.  We have a property in an HOA and have had 20+ offers over two different times well over asking.  Not as simple as that.  Just gotta run the comps and the competition.

[Gil Bang 26177]

Also, anybody that's considering buying in a HOA should examine the financials of the HOA before closing.  Sometimes they are poorly run (inadequate reserves) and fee increases and/or special assessments could be implemented.    More important in condos than SFR communities, as condo HOAs usually have greater responsibilities (roofs, etc).

[UT_OB1 2262]

I feel stupid for even saying/asking this - can HOAs really do a special assessment? I always thought that was a condo only thing. 

[Gil Bang 26177]

the general answer is "yes".  The more technical answer is "read the HOA docs and see what they say". 

[Pato del Muerto 53344]

11 hours ago, UT_OB1 said:

I feel stupid for even saying/asking this - can HOAs really do a special assessment? I always thought that was a condo only thing. 

Yep. Decide they want a pool or gym or need a retaining pond, special assessment.  

Not sure if it needs to be specifically allowed in the bylaws or just not specifically disallowed. 

[Gil Bang 26177]

Allow me to bitch a little bit. I’m in the Pacific Time zone. I have a client I’ve been working with for several months now. She’s a young widow with two kids.

Her husband died of natural causes and had a little bit of an insurance policy. She wants a condo in a certain part of town. I’ve shown her 20 or 30 units minimum. She’s finally settled on one specific development, but there’s nothing in there for sale.

Well, I just got an angry text from her. “There is a unit available in that complex and why didn’t I tell her about it?”

I panicked a bit and logged into my multiple listing service. As I type this post, it’s about 9:20 pm out here. The newly listed unit went into my MLS at 8:37 PM.

It hadn’t been listed a half hour before my client is busting my balls about it.

This is the world we real estate agents work in nowadays. Particularly with younger buyers. Most of the folks that are retirement age o over our checking their phones every five fucking minutes, but the young people, they are.

[Pato del Muerto 53344]

So you are saying that she didn’t need you to find the property she wanted. 

[Gil Bang 26177]

Heh.

Thanks to the fact that the "property she wanted" was listed by a Realtor, and placed on the MLS (which I pay about $1000 / year to belong to) by that Realtor, and was poached from there by some other shitty website, yeah, I guess that's true. 

Now, we can debate whether she'll "need me" to write the offer for her, negotiate any counter-offers, review all of the seller disclosures, review the HOA documents including the HOA financials (inc. reserves), review the title report and demand the necessary changes, make sure the lender is staying on top of shit,  recommend the property inspector, arrange the inspection, explain the findings to her and negotiate repairs after the inspection..nah...anybody can do that. 

 

 

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by Gil Bang

[MNLonghornFUKM 8964]

The real winner here is the dead husband

[Pato del Muerto 53344]

I left that stuff out on purpose because it detracts from the quip. 

[Pato del Muerto 53344]

Serious question:  can you not set an alert in mls to get an email or text when a property meeting certain criteria like a neighborhood or COA gets listed?

[Gil Bang 26177]

2 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Serious question:  can you not set an alert in mls to get an email or text when a property meeting certain criteria like a neighborhood or COA gets listed?

Absolutely, but it isn't instant.  It does the search every 4 hours IIRC.  So my client mentioned above would have gotten it from me last night or early this morning. 

[Storm the Field 5362]

On 6/20/2019 at 1:23 PM, Storm the Field said:

2 weeks later, still sitting here in permit limbo. From what I've been told, the permitting office recently launched a new all-digital submission system that was supposed to streamline the whole process, but, as you might guess, so far it has actually had the opposite effect. Neither builders nor the employees seem to have figured out how to use it. Plans are getting denied and kicked back for missing documents that aren't even missing, and then upon re-upload, the system tries to send you back to square one.

Apparently most of their days now are spent fielding phone calls and emails about bullshit problems caused by the new system and requests to skip ahead in line to correct minor errors, to the point they've issued internal memos saying to just process everything in order and no more favors allowed. 

Just freaking awesome.

Finally cleared the last permitting hurdle this morning. Took 47 days from initial plan submission to approval when all was said and done. FYI for anyone building a house in Houston in the near future.

[Sbbruin 22083]

Pretty eye-popping article on the housing cost burden experienced out here.  I remember thinking when I bought my house that I was certain I was buying at the top of the market as housing had been appreciating for years and bidding wars were all the rage.  My house is now worth more than double what I paid for it.  But I have no idea how any young couple today can simultaneously pay today's exorbitant rental rates and save for extremely inflated housing.  I have spoken to several younger employees at our company who have essentially resigned themselves to being lifelong renters.

https://lbpost.com/longbeachize/addison-harvard-metro-housing-cost-burdened-2019-3/

 

[Gil Bang 26177]

43 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

Pretty eye-popping article on the housing cost burden experienced out here.  I remember thinking when I bought my house that I was certain I was buying at the top of the market as housing had been appreciating for years and bidding wars were all the rage.  My house is now worth more than double what I paid for it.  But I have no idea how any young couple today can simultaneously pay today's exorbitant rental rates and save for extremely inflated housing.  I have spoken to several younger employees at our company who have essentially resigned themselves to being lifelong renters.

https://lbpost.com/longbeachize/addison-harvard-metro-housing-cost-burdened-2019-3/

 

I really disagree with the bolded part.  To clarify, I believe you and I believe that they have that mindset, but it's bullshit.   If they're paying L.A. rent, they can buy.  Maybe they can't buy exactly WHAT they want exactly WHERE they want to start with, but they can buy.   I know where you live, and I assume you work in Downtown L.A.?    Your coworkers need to pull their heads out of their asses and go east and buy something.   Sure, they will have a commute, but tough shit.  

Buy something, build some equity,  and move up the ladder.  I did it.  I had a 1 1/2 hour commute (each way) for years, but my wife and kid were in a nice house (that I could afford) in a good neighborhood with good schools.  I put on my fucking big-boy pants,  got up early every morning, and hit the road with a thermos of coffee.  

Show me somebody with a decent job and decent credit that's renting in L.A., and I'll show you somebody that can afford a decent house in Pomona. 

When I was a young guy, with my first "career" job in Irvine, I had a co-worker that bought in Perris, because that's what he could afford.  His commute was miserable, and he never saw his house in the light-of-day in wintertime, except for weekends.  But, the motherfucker never complained, because he was doing what was best for his family and future.  

And,  a few years later he was able to buy a nicer, bigger house 30 miles closer.  And a few years after that, he traded up again.  

 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2019 by Gil Bang

[Sbbruin 22083]

3 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

I really disagree with the bolded part.  To clarify, I believe you and I believe that they have that mindset, but it's bullshit.   If they're paying L.A. rent, they can buy.  Maybe they can't buy exactly WHAT they want exactly WHERE they want to start with, but they can buy.   I know where you live, and I assume you work in Downtown L.A.?    Your coworkers need to pull their heads out of their asses and go east and buy something.   Sure, they will have a commute, but tough shit.  

Buy something, build some equity,  and move up the ladder.  I did it.  I had a 1 1/2 hour commute (each way) for years, but my wife and kid were in a nice house (that I could afford) in a good neighborhood with good schools.  I put on my fucking big-boy pants,  got up early every morning, and hit the road with a thermos of coffee.  

Show me somebody with a decent job and decent credit that's renting in L.A., and I'll show you somebody that can afford a decent house in Pomona. 

 

 

 

I get that, but with lenders requiring healthy downpayments, saving enough for the downpayment while paying crazy rents has got to be tough.  Not sure what you are seeing on downpayment requirements, but even at 15%, you're talking $75K on a $500K house, which is about as cheap as you can buy anywhere.

[Pato del Muerto 53344]

But as that house in Pomona goes up in value, doesn’t their dream home also go up in value as much or more so that it stays out of reach unless they have a jump in income?

im in a house in town worth around 340 and we look at larger homes on a couple of acres outside of town that are 450-500ish. And I think, if I wait until mine is worth 400 before I sell, then I can afford the move. But when mine is worth 400, what will these be worth?  

[Sbbruin 22083]

Which is why we are sort of stuck in our house.  We are looking at pumping $100K plus into our house to try to bring it close to what we would want in a move.  We love our neighborhood, but the next step up in the same neighborhood is nuts- like $1.5 to $2 mil, and that ain't happening.

[Gil Bang 26177]

15 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

I get that, but with lenders requiring healthy downpayments, saving enough for the downpayment while paying crazy rents has got to be tough.  Not sure what you are seeing on downpayment requirements, but even at 15%, you're talking $75K on a $500K house, which is about as cheap as you can buy anywhere.

In Los Angeles County, 3.5% Down  FHA loans go up to $726,525.   And, with CAL-HFA, down payment assistance is available and zero-down is possible. .  V.A. loans are even better for those who qualify. 

 

[Gil Bang 26177]

21 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

But as that house in Pomona goes up in value, doesn’t their dream home also go up in value as much or more so that it stays out of reach unless they have a jump in income?

im in a house in town worth around 340 and we look at larger homes on a couple of acres outside of town that are 450-500ish. And I think, if I wait until mine is worth 400 before I sell, then I can afford the move. But when mine is worth 400, what will these be worth?  

Well, Bruin is referring to "younger employees".  So a jump in income is not only possible, it's likely.  Unless they're idiots, they will be making more in 2024 than they are in 2019.  Probably a LOT more. 

And let's say they have very little money saved. So, they buy that house in Pomona with an FHA loan with a small down payment (or none at all).  Maybe the fix up the house some, and build sweat equity.  Maybe they benefit from market appreciation.  Maybe, just maybe, they have $100,000 in equity in 7-10 years.   Their a whole lot better off than if they had rented.  

[HRSchenker 2331]

I've noticed lately that most houses don't have continuous brick layering. There is always a solid line that goes from the foundation to the roof where the brick is broken up by a sheet of mortar. What's the purpose of that?

[Gil Bang 26177]

hey BTW Bruin, I know a guy...well, about 15 years or so ago, he was ready to buy, but he worked long hours and couldn't handle a long commute.  He needed to be reasonably close to Century City.  

He had to buy in Silver Lake.  It was pretty much a shithole 15 years ago, but it was more agreeable to him than Highland Park, the other neighborhood he considered. 

 

 

Was a shithole.  He's made a fucking fortune. 

 

 

 

[Gil Bang 26177]

1 minute ago, HRSchenker said:

I've noticed lately that most houses don't have continuous brick layering. There is always a solid line that goes from the foundation to the roof where the brick is broken up by a sheet of mortar. What's the purpose of that?

@Onboard 2.0 please pick up the burnt-orange courtesy phone.

[Catpfish 618]

If you are referring to what I think you are, it shouldn't be mortar.  It should be a caulk expansion joint to allow the bricks to expand and contract