All Encompassing Mortgage and Real Estate Thread

[Catpfish 618]

18 minutes ago, HoustonFrog said:

Alright - so who can give me the run down on what I should be looking for when buying a plot of undeveloped/partially developed land?

Looking at buying 20-40 acres somewhere between Lufkin and Austin (we like the Moscow and Centerville areas a lot). Basically plan to sit on the land for a couple years and eventually build a weekend home on it. In the meantime we may buy an RV and take that on the weekends with the kids.

Obviously my #1 concern is utilities. My strong preference would be that electric, water and septic is already on site somewhere but that’s somewhat hard to find unless they have some home on it already. If I pay $125 for undeveloped land, how much am I paying to bring in utilities?

Second interest is the Ag exemption. How easy is that to obtain? Huge difference in prop taxes.

Any other huge pitfalls I should be looking for? I’ll have a realtor who knows the areas and buying property but curious to know from people who have done it.

Utilities are impossible to answer without knowing how far you have to go.  For instance, Oncor allows a certain amount of money or a certain distance whichever gets you further.  You can probably expect to pay somewhere between $9-11 a foot all in on running a water line from the meter to where you are building, but who knows how far you'll have to run the water to get to your property...it could be right in front, it could be across the street (you'll have to pay for the burrowing) or you could have to extend the water line yourself.

On the septic, I'm not so sure that I would want one installed.  If is already installed, you are going to be limited to what it was designed for.  For instance, someone might have put one in for a one bedroom/one bath cabin.  If you build any larger, you'd have to redo the whole system.

The ag exemption is another issue.  Usually, there'll already be one in place.  If so, work with the owner/seller on keeping it.  For instance, if they are running cattle, let them continue to run cattle, or hay, or row crops or wildlife exemption, etc.  It's much easier to do that than it is to get one yourself.  You are looking at a minimum of three years and lots of proof to get the county to agree to it if you are starting from scratch.

[HoustonFrog 368]

Thanks - a lot advertise as “utilities are available at the road”. Does that then mean I’d pay the $10ft to the house?

[TKthunder2 4,997]

25 minutes ago, HoustonFrog said:

Thanks - a lot advertise as “utilities are available at the road”. Does that then mean I’d pay the $10ft to the house?

That means you pay what it costs to hook it up to where your house will sit.  Closest to the road is the cheapest the further away from the road the more expensive, but once it gets to your property it’s whatever your subs will charge for labor/materials. If utilities were half a mile down the road he’s saying the utility company often subsidize/split the cost with you since they can then use those lines/pipes for multiple properties in the future so you don’t pay the full cost.

[TKthunder2 4,997]

1 hour ago, XYZ said:

Where is all this demand coming from? I mean, aren’t we in a kind of depression, with millions of jobs gone more or less permanently? 

Austin is a large tech hub now.  Even with COVID many are still hiring because tech is one thing that people are depending on now more than ever.  People, like myself, who will now be work from home are looking for bigger homes to accommodate offices.  And others who may have been stuck in Seattle or San Francisco due to their tech jobs are now choosing to sell their million dollar homes and are buying similar ones in Austin at a cheaper price.  Also I’ve seen a few friends in Houston and Dallas decide to move to Austin now that they’ve been moved to permanent work from home.  All of this coupled with the housing shortage and the inability of people to easily renovate or expand their existing homes thanks to the mayor/city council in the McMansion area and many other fun restrictions that you don’t know until you try to get a permit makes for a crazy real estate market.

[HoustonFrog 368]

Houston here - We are prepping our house as quickly as possible so that we can get out of the city and into the suburbs/outer Houston now that I’ll never be back in the office more than 2-3 days a week.

Little window of opportunity has presented itself and we are trying to run away as quickly as possible (as evidenced by this comment and my question about buying weekend acreage elsewhere). I’m in banking so it’s not killing it, but quasi stable at least.

[HoustonFrog 368]

That means you pay what it costs to hook it up to where your house will sit.  Closest to the road is the cheapest the further away from the road the more expensive, but once it gets to your property it’s whatever your subs will charge for labor/materials. If utilities were half a mile down the road he’s saying the utility company often subsidize/split the cost with you since they can then use those lines/pipes for multiple properties in the future so you don’t pay the full cost.

Much appreciated. So if I planted a house 300feet inside property it would probably be $3,000 electric or so?

[Dbeasy 15,093]

The Austin market has very few houses for sale, with a ton of people moving here for Apple, Tesla and other tech companies. It’s creating multiple offers per house and driving prices up by $10-30k every few months as the demand continues.

Normally, this would have all busted by now due to the economy, but because our federal government just gave out trillions of dollars in business grants, extended unemployment benefits, direct to citizen payments, and freezes on evictions, they’ve artificially extended the day of reckoning into 2021. Its a bet on vaccines coming in time to fix the economy before another $3-4 trillion is spent or the economy is wrecked.

Ten years from now Austin home prices will be like the coasts - pretty darn expensive. But for the next 2-3 years it could go up or down by huge amounts.

[Catpfish 618]

1 hour ago, HoustonFrog said:

Much appreciated. So if I planted a house 300feet inside property it would probably be $3,000 electric or so?

Again, hard to say.  Are the power lines on your side of the road?  Are you okay with power lines running to the house or do you want the lines buried?  How much power are you going to require (affects the size of the transformer and gauge of wire)?

For instance, my house is about 600 ft back from the road.  I had to use one Oncor "credit" to get power to the front of my property (I'm at the end of this particular transmission line and it had previously ended at my neighbors property).  That got me a meter at the gate which I use to power the gate, entry lights and pond aerator.  Then I got another "credit" to get the power up to my house by getting another meter.  I had to come out of pocket for the extra cost of running underground, installing 2" conduit for 600 feet) and the extra distance beyond the Oncor credit, and, even then, stupid Oncor undersized the transformer and we are limited as to what we can do in regards to outbuildings and extra power usage.  I want to say the Oncor "credit" was 300 feet or some dollar amount (can't remember the number), whichever got you more distance.  I think I ended up coming out of pocket in the $3,000-$4,000 range just for the Oncor charges.

Edited to add this was in 2014, so I'm sure things have changed and gotten more expensive

 

 

Edited November 23, 2020 by Catpfish

[Nueces River Rat 5,539]

On 11/2/2020 at 11:26 AM, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

Our house is older, built in the 70's, with popcorn ceilings.  We've redone a majority of the house and expect to put it on the market early spring '21. 

One area we need to fix is a real pain.  Ceiling sheet rock in the Master bedroom is cracked.  It would be an undertaking to get all the furniture out for repair while we are still living in it.  We've had the foundation repaired so it appears that is not a contributing factor to the ceiling cracks.  FIL said it is just old sheet rock.  

So should we get an estimate and offer a credit to a potential buyer and let them decide the end result?  I wouldn't repair and put popcorn back.  I would scrape that whole room and redo it all.  

 

I had the same issue with a house we sold back in the early 2000's.   Get a drywall guy to come fix it and remove the popcorn ceiling at the same time and might as well pay him to prime and paint it at the same time as ceilings can be a pain in the l ass to paint.    If you are showing any cracks in they drywall and you have folks looking at it who are not first time buyers,  it might to them indicate the foundation is screwed up even though it's fine and you can document it.  They might just see it and walk out and move on to the next one.

[HoustonFrog 368]

Again, hard to say.  Are the power lines on your side of the road?  Are you okay with power lines running to the house or do you want the lines buried?  How much power are you going to require (affects the size of the transformer and gauge of wire)?
For instance, my house is about 600 ft back from the road.  I had to use one Oncor "credit" to get power to the front of my property (I'm at the end of this particular transmission line and it had previously ended at my neighbors property).  That got me a meter at the gate which I use to power the gate, entry lights and pond aerator.  Then I got another "credit" to get the power up to my house by getting another meter.  I had to come out of pocket for the extra cost of running underground, installing 2" conduit for 600 feet) and the extra distance beyond the Oncor credit, and, even then, stupid Oncor undersized the transformer and we are limited as to what we can do in regards to outbuildings and extra power usage.  I want to say the Oncor "credit" was 300 feet or some dollar amount (can't remember the number), whichever got you more distance.  I think I ended up coming out of pocket in the $3,000-$4,000 range just for the Oncor charges.
Edited to add this was in 2014, so I'm sure things have changed and gotten more expensive
 
 

Thanks. I tried some internet searching but all Google could give me were “$1,000 - $20,000” guesses. Sounds like somewhere in the $3k-$8k range is a decent guess.

What did you do for water and sewer?

[Catpfish 618]

48 minutes ago, HoustonFrog said:

Thanks. I tried some internet searching but all Google could give me were “$1,000 - $20,000” guesses. Sounds like somewhere in the $3k-$8k range is a decent guess.

What did you do for water and sewer?

Water is from a private water company.  I think the tap was $3,000-4,000.  Then the cost of the water line that we talked about before.  I actually got everything at cost because the plumber is long time family friend.  We ran the water line 900 feet with hose bibs every 200 feet or so.

Septic system was around $18,000-$20,000 with nothing really exotic, 3 bedroom/4 bathroom. Standard low-pressure dose system with pretty large drain field due to clay content.  3 zones in one area with a float switch that alternates between them.  I think the drain field is about 30'X140'.

Again, these prices were from 6 years ago, so add a fudge factor.

[Gil Bang 26,024]

8 hours ago, XYZ said:

Where is all this demand coming from? I mean, aren’t we in a kind of depression, with millions of jobs gone more or less permanently? 

One theory that I've heard repeated:  With the pandemic, folks are staying home more, and enjoying it more.  Many are working from home.  So, they upsize to get that extra bedroom/office, the outdoor kitchen (since they don't go out to eat), the pool, etc.  

[TKthunder2 4,997]

58 minutes ago, Catpfish said:

Septic system was around $18,000-$20,000 with nothing really exotic, 3 bedroom/4 bathroom. Standard low-pressure dose system with pretty large drain field due to clay content.  3 zones in one area with a float switch that alternates between them.  I think the drain field is about 30'X140'.

Again, these prices were from 6 years ago, so add a fudge factor.

Prices vary a lot.  I’m about to pay upwards of $50k for septic (seller covered $40k) since I’m over the aquifer recharge zone to upsize our 2600 sqft 3/2.5 to a 3800 4/3.5.

[TKthunder2 4,997]

9 hours ago, XYZ said:

Where is all this demand coming from? I mean, aren’t we in a kind of depression, with millions of jobs gone more or less permanently? 

Just saw this in my feed...

https://www.statesman.com/business/20201123/survey-in-one-year-foreign-buyers-spent-800m-on-austin-area-homes

[HoustonFrog 368]

Water is from a private water company.  I think the tap was $3,000-4,000.  Then the cost of the water line that we talked about before.  I actually got everything at cost because the plumber is long time family friend.  We ran the water line 900 feet with hose bibs every 200 feet or so.
Septic system was around $18,000-$20,000 with nothing really exotic, 3 bedroom/4 bathroom. Standard low-pressure dose system with pretty large drain field due to clay content.  3 zones in one area with a float switch that alternates between them.  I think the drain field is about 30'X140'.
Again, these prices were from 6 years ago, so add a fudge factor.

Bit surprised at the septic cost. All good information, thank you very much. Sounds like $30-$40k for all three, with potentially some variability depending on circumstances.

[Sam Lin 3,561]

10 hours ago, XYZ said:

Where is all this demand coming from? I mean, aren’t we in a kind of depression, with millions of jobs gone more or less permanently? 

Don't believe the media narrative on this. The current situation really is no depression for anyone who is buying houses.

[Celery Man 20,998]

Plenty of actually middle class people have been severely financially impacted by the current disaster.

Anecdotally I do think that there is some musical chairs happening with tech hubs and we're probably getting a lot of people from the west coast and other more expensive tech areas.

[Enchubben 5,510]

PT question:  Bought a new build home in September and at closing the seller/builder paid me for property taxes in the prorated portion of the year prior to close.

If my property taxes ended up being greater than the estimate at close, should/can I go back to the seller to cut me a check for the underpayment? It's not too significant, but $400 is $400 I can blow on Christmas gifts or ammo.

[XYZ 2,154]

21 hours ago, TKthunder2 said:

Just saw this in my feed...

https://www.statesman.com/business/20201123/survey-in-one-year-foreign-buyers-spent-800m-on-austin-area-homes

That’s behind a paywall.

[Gil Bang 26,024]

6 hours ago, Enchubben said:

PT question:  Bought a new build home in September and at closing the seller/builder paid me for property taxes in the prorated portion of the year prior to close.

If my property taxes ended up being greater than the estimate at close, should/can I go back to the seller to cut me a check for the underpayment? It's not too significant, but $400 is $400 I can blow on Christmas gifts or ammo.

Out here, that's referred to as "supplemental tax" and the buyer signs a disclosure that says that the buyer eats any shortage. 

[TKthunder2 4,997]

2 hours ago, XYZ said:

That’s behind a paywall.

Not for me, weird, but here you go...

 Survey: In one year, foreign buyers spent $800M on Austin-area homes

International homebuyers spent $800 million on Austin-area residential properties between April 2019 and this March, according to a new report from the Austin Board of Realtors.

This inaugural Central Texas International Homebuyers Report was based on a survey of Central Texas realtors conducted with the National Association of Realtors.

The report comes as the five-county Central Texas region continues to see sales and median home-sales prices soar, often to record levels. Spanning Georgetown to San Marcos, the Austin area increasingly has become an attractive destination for businesses, workforce talent, university students, and people from across the world looking for new opportunities and a high quality of life.

“The Central Texas region has become a magnet for homebuyers and real estate investors from around the globe,” said Romeo Manzanilla, president of the Austin Board of Realtors.

The $800 million in sales volume from foreign buyers was 5% of all residential sales volume in the Austin-Round Rock region from April 2019 to March 2020, according to the report. Nationally, the percent of sales from foreign buyers was 4%.

The median home price for foreign buyers in the Austin metro area was $381,030, compared with a median price of $326,500 for all sales. according to the survey. The median price for foreign buyers nationally was $314,500.

According to the report, 31% of foreign-born Central Texas buyers were from Mexico, followed by India (9%), China (7%), Australia (4%) and Canada (3%). International buyers were most likely to purchase property for a primary residence (62%) and in a suburban market (61%). The report also found that 35% of foreign buyers in Central Texas paid cash, compared to 39% nationally.

The report also tracked the interest of Austin-area residents in purchasing properties abroad. Among the Central Texas real estate agents surveyed, just over half (52%) reported working with a U.S.-based client to search for real estate properties abroad, compared to only 11% nationally.

“Austinites are technically savvy, upwardly mobile and keenly aware of the importance of our global standing,” Manzanilla said.

[XYZ 2,154]

Thanks.

[Gil Bang 26,024]

Chinese buyers used to be HUGE in SoCal.  Drove prices through the roof  in several areas, and always paid all-cash.   It seems to be over now.  As I understand it, the Chinese Govt. makes it really difficult to move money to the U.S.   We've got a Chinese girl that married into the extended family, and I thought she would be a wonderful referral source.  She says that she knows a lot of people that want to buy here, but can't move the money.

I spoke to a Chinese-American agent in my office, and he confirmed the same.  He said that as a Mandarin speaker, he used to make a fortune from Chinese buyers, but it dried up a few years back. 

[UTPhil2006 3,812]

2 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

Chinese buyers used to be HUGE in SoCal.  Drove prices through the roof  in several areas, and always paid all-cash.   It seems to be over now.  As I understand it, the Chinese Govt. makes it really difficult to move money to the U.S.   We've got a Chinese girl that married into the extended family, and I thought she would be a wonderful referral source.  She says that she knows a lot of people that want to buy here, but can't move the money.

I spoke to a Chinese-American agent in my office, and he confirmed the same.  He said that as a Mandarin speaker, he used to make a fortune from Chinese buyers, but it dried up a few years back. 

Have heard similar about the money thing.  

[Dbeasy 15,093]

Chinese buyers used to be HUGE in SoCal.  Drove prices through the roof  in several areas, and always paid all-cash.   It seems to be over now.  As I understand it, the Chinese Govt. makes it really difficult to move money to the U.S.   We've got a Chinese girl that married into the extended family, and I thought she would be a wonderful referral source.  She says that she knows a lot of people that want to buy here, but can't move the money.
I spoke to a Chinese-American agent in my office, and he confirmed the same.  He said that as a Mandarin speaker, he used to make a fortune from Chinese buyers, but it dried up a few years back. 

This is huge.

[XYZ 2,154]

I guess some of the inflation that we generated for years running hundreds of billions of $ in trade deficit has found its way back here.

[UTPhil2006 3,812]

For those of you on Jumbo, or close to the line, or buying around 600k, etc.. the conventional loan limit in 2021 is going up from 510k to 548k.  A couple of our lenders are already letting us use that number so if you were looking to refi into a conventional loan out of a jumbo, or anything of the sort so you can take advantage of 30 year rates in the 2's give me a shout and I can run some numbers for you - pdubord@prodigymbo.com or you can PM me

[Celery Man 20,998]

Relevant to the conversation last week or so

 

[Dbeasy 15,093]

Question for smart surly real estate folks.

If a closing occurs late in the day, with the mortgage company for the buyer approving too late to wire funds to the seller, has the property ownership still transferred in exchange for the deed from the seller? Or would that technically happen only after the funds are wired. I assume it conveys the first day because the money is in escrow, not still with the buyer.

Also does the title company always file the deed and how long does it take them to do that?

[XYZ 2,154]

If you were to buy a house that sits on two lots, do you have to make a custom contract or two separate contracts or what? Asking for a friend...

[bluto 4,942]

If you were to buy a house that sits on two lots, do you have to make a custom contract or two separate contracts or what? Asking for a friend...

Not an atty but seen quite a few contracts, all you do is include both legal descriptions and addresses if those exist in the contract IMO

[MAUFRAIS 6,637]

protested my travis county tax appraisal.  shit now says:

TCB (TOP LINE ACCOUNT)

under status.  cue the BTO and elvis posts, but what does that mean in this case?

[bluto 4,942]

protested my travis county tax appraisal.  shit now says:
TCB (TOP LINE ACCOUNT)
under status.  cue the BTO and elvis posts, but what does that mean in this case?

Your agent agreed to a value but reserved the right to mediate/litigate. Whether the value on tcad is updated yet to reflect the “top line” agreement value is a good question as there can be a lag waiting on the review board to read it in. If the current value is dif than notice then pretty confident that’s what your agent achieved.

[MAUFRAIS 6,637]

8 minutes ago, bluto said:

Your agent agreed to a value but reserved the right to mediate/litigate. Whether the value on tcad is updated yet to reflect the “top line” agreement value is a good question as there can be a lag waiting on the review board to read it in. If the current value is dif than notice then pretty confident that’s what your agent achieved.

molto grotzy senor.  so far the amount hasn't changed.  says the formal hearing was 11/24/2020, so hopefully he/she/or it saved me big bucks that i can contribute to the CUM fund.

[XYZ 2,154]

How would one go about finding a reputable title insurance company in New Mexico?

[orange dream 1,256]

Another shoutout to Thad and Phil at prodigy.  They were able to help with something a little out of the box. Closed a week or two ago. This the 4th time I've used them and it has been a great experience each time. Highly recommend.

Thanks.

[UTPhil2006 3,812]

1 hour ago, orange dream said:

Another shoutout to Thad and Phil at prodigy.  They were able to help with something a little out of the box. Closed a week or two ago. This the 4th time I've used them and it has been a great experience each time. Highly recommend.

Thanks.

Pretty sure you were my first ever at Prodigy. Thanks for always using us. 

[Gil Bang 26,024]

On 11/30/2020 at 5:05 PM, Dbeasy said:

Question for smart surly real estate folks.

If a closing occurs late in the day, with the mortgage company for the buyer approving too late to wire funds to the seller, has the property ownership still transferred in exchange for the deed from the seller? Or would that technically happen only after the funds are wired. I assume it conveys the first day because the money is in escrow, not still with the buyer.

Also does the title company always file the deed and how long does it take them to do that?

Lot to unpack here.

If the money didn't change hands, the "closing" didn't occur.  I assume you're talking about an attorney state? 

The title company ALWAYS files the deed immediately.  Priority is based on when the filing occurs.  I'm sure you've heard the terms "first mortgage" and "second mortgage".  

The "first" was recorded first. That's what makes it "first".  

If some yahoo contractor recorded a mechanic's lien before the title company recorded the deed, then guess what...the contractor is in first position.  

Back to the question:  I'm guessing what you are calling "closing" was actually the buyer signing the loan docs.  That's not the closing.  The closing occurs when money changes hands, and the deed is released to record.  

 

What's the issue here?  

[Gil Bang 26,024]

On 12/1/2020 at 7:47 AM, XYZ said:

How would one go about finding a reputable title insurance company in New Mexico?

They are all there. First American, Old Republic, etc.  All the big boys operate in NM.

[Gil Bang 26,024]

On 11/30/2020 at 7:05 PM, XYZ said:

If you were to buy a house that sits on two lots, do you have to make a custom contract or two separate contracts or what? Asking for a friend...

One contract that refers to both parcel numbers.   Out here, we use the street address first, then the parcel number(s) on the contract. The title company sends the full legal description as part of the title report. 

[XYZ 2,154]

22 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

They are all there. First American, Old Republic, etc.  All the big boys operate in NM.

Thanks. Is there any one in particular that you prefer?

[Gil Bang 26,024]

34 minutes ago, XYZ said:

Thanks. Is there any one in particular that you prefer?

No.  

Well, yes, I have a personal favorite, but it's because my local rep is kickass.   If she moved to another company, I'd switch. 

If you stay with the big boys, you'll be safe. 

[Dbeasy 15,093]

Lot to unpack here.
If the money didn't change hands, the "closing" didn't occur.  I assume you're talking about an attorney state? 
The title company ALWAYS files the deed immediately.  Priority is based on when the filing occurs.  I'm sure you've heard the terms "first mortgage" and "second mortgage".  
The "first" was recorded first. That's what makes it "first".  
If some yahoo contractor recorded a mechanic's lien before the title company recorded the deed, then guess what...the contractor is in first position.  
Back to the question:  I'm guessing what you are calling "closing" was actually the buyer signing the loan docs.  That's not the closing.  The closing occurs when money changes hands, and the deed is released to record.  
 
What's the issue here?  

It worked out fine, but here’s what happened and I wanted to be prepared just in case. All docs were signed by both parties, but it was so late in the day the funds transferred to the title company but not to the seller. Deed was prepared, but obviously not filed that day. That evening there was concern that something major was going to break. Since the transfer of ownership hadn’t happened, would the seller be on the hook for repair costs? It turned out the item did not break so it became a non-issue.

[Gil Bang 26,024]

That's a tough one, and I'll leave it for the lawyers. 

[UTPhil2006 3,812]

Pocket listing Thad has in Austin for us..  3/2.. 329k..  pics below.. Can email me/him with any questions.. thad@reihomerealty.com phil@reihomerealty.com

https://vtour.realtour.biz/49-4620WestWilliamCannonDr/Austin/TX

[Celery Man 20,998]

Closed in North Carolina today, getting everything moved in tomorrow. Definitely going to pee on these trees.

[StassneyHorn 6,637]

My HOA just increased dues by 70% the next year for a new roof and outer fence at our townhome complex 235 to 400. There is the promise of it going down next year, but they don’t state how much. This is not a Richie-rich complex by any means. Previous HOA President stole a bunch of money from the reserves before she bailed. I dont think anything ever happened to her. Apparently the HOA can raise dues by 105% without a vote. Only been here 2.5 years but was already looking for an out anyway, this sealed the deal. Nothing about this place screams pay us 400 for upkeep. Needed to vent before I throw poop at their doors.

Edited December 10, 2020 by StassneyHorn

[Gil Bang 26,024]

do you know for a fact that the HOA president stole money?  If so, why the fuck aren't you going to the meetings and throwing your shoes at the board?

[Player 4,576]

[StassneyHorn 6,637]

2 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

do you know for a fact that the HOA president stole money?  If so, why the fuck aren't you going to the meetings and throwing your shoes at the board?

It was the previous president before I had even bought the place. They addressed it in an annual meeting after a forensic accountant discovered it and put two and two together.