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Grumpy Camel

Grumpy Camel 2

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My wife and I are hoping to be first time homeowners in the next 12 months or so.  Problem is, neither of us are very knowledgeable in the buying process, how to choose a lender, etc.  We are pretty stable financially, no debt besides car payments, and have money saved for a down payment.  Are there any resources or books out there that can better educate us on this adventure?

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UTPhil2006

UTPhil2006 3807

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<--- Resource.  We do Mortgages and Real Estate and have done 500+ Surly/Shaggy members homes.  I can definitely help you and walk you through the entire process.  You can always email me at pdubord@prodigymbo.com (Mortgage) or phil@reihomerealty.com (Real Estate) at any time with any questions.  Where are you located?

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ChickenSandwich

ChickenSandwich 9836

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On 5/2/2018 at 10:05 AM, UTPhil2006 said:

<--- Resource.  We do Mortgages and Real Estate and have done 500+ Surly/Shaggy members homes.  I can definitely help you and walk you through the entire process.  You can always email me at pdubord@prodigymbo.com (Mortgage) or phil@reihomerealty.com (Real Estate) at any time with any questions.  Where are you located?

Phil helped me with my home purchase last year. Happy satisfied customer. 

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El Diablo

El Diablo 4232

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9 hours ago, Celery Man said:

I gave Phil my business, figuring he wouldn't buttfuck me too bad.  That was on the old board with rep, though.

(but yeah I was satisfied/served well/he didn't give me shit for being a dumbass/etc)

I haven't done business with Phil but my last home purchase, the guys motto was "I Will Not Buttfuck You".

And it was true, he didn't buttfuck me. That's a good feeling 'cause a lot of people walk in there basically with their pants around their ankles. And they're thinking "I'm gonna get buttfucked here". 

So OP, find a guy that won't buttfuck you. That's the sum of my real estate knowledge.

Or find a chick who likes to party.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateagents/Ashley-Doyle_Austin_TX_909099_218579412

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UTPhil2006

UTPhil2006 3807

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On 5/4/2018 at 11:08 PM, El Diablo said:

I haven't done business with Phil but my last home purchase, the guys motto was "I Will Not Buttfuck You".

And it was true, he didn't buttfuck me. That's a good feeling 'cause a lot of people walk in there basically with their pants around their ankles. And they're thinking "I'm gonna get buttfucked here". 

So OP, find a guy that won't buttfuck you. That's the sum of my real estate knowledge.

Or find a chick who likes to party.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateagents/Ashley-Doyle_Austin_TX_909099_218579412

Has anyone actually used her?  She was on the other side of one of my transactions 

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HornOnTheBayou

HornOnTheBayou 8922

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The great thing about UTPhil is his attention to detail. He always takes care of the little things. For example, when he is butt fucking you, he makes sure to give you a reacharound and tickle your balls. I really appreciated it. It's those details that separate him from the other butt fuckers.*

*Seriously though, UTPhil knows his stuff. I talked to him about a refinance a couple of years ago and he was very helpful and professional. 

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UTPhil2006

UTPhil2006 3807

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13 hours ago, RowdyVic said:

Looking to do an equity cash out refi in a couple of years. Wanting to take the money and add on to the house. Trying to get my debt down right now though. What are some of the things I should expect about the process..Phil?

Pretty straightforward process similar to a normal purchase or refinance. You can borrow up to 80% of the value of the house. 

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UTPhil2006

UTPhil2006 3807

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On 5/26/2018 at 6:53 PM, HornOnTheBayou said:

The great thing about UTPhil is his attention to detail. He always takes care of the little things. For example, when he is butt fucking you, he makes sure to give you a reacharound and tickle your balls. I really appreciated it. It's those details that separate him from the other butt fuckers.*

*Seriously though, UTPhil knows his stuff. I talked to him about a refinance a couple of years ago and he was very helpful and professional. 

giphy.gif

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orangecat92

orangecat92 306

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Am about to sell a home in the metroplex, but I vividly remembering soaking up all of the info I could get.  Back in the day, 2002-2004, there were "first time homebuyer" seminars all over the place.  I kept learning the same things over and over, and one thing that stuck with me is turning off the water to your house when you go on a vacation.  We have had a water softener in our garage for years.  I know that there are three ways to turn off the water to my house and I can easily do two of them.  I don't own a "key" to the cutoff in the driveway.  Don't need it.   I am told most homeowners don't even know where the water cutoff is to their house.

Also, if you have a choice you want a home with a hot water heater in the garage, elevated about two or three feet above the floor of the garage.    When it breaks the water can simply flow out of the garage onto the street.  Our last water heater breakage was January 2018.  Kitchen was a mess.  

The other major item of interest was that one night one year in mid-April I was doing my family's income taxes.  We were still in our apartment and on the back page of the 1040 was this mysterious MCC.  I researched and found that as first-time homebuyers on a moderate income we qualified.  14 years later, we are selling, but that little bit of research earned us a $2000 annual tax credit= $28,000 over the last 14 years. 

That payoff, along with appreciation makes all of this remodeling stuff worth it, imo.  

The only thing that really didn't payoff I think was the decision to buy a house a little too big.  Our home was advertised as 2306 square feet, the appraisal came back at 2725, and we've accumulated way too much junk since.  2306 would have meant far, far less junk to get rid of.   

The plus side is that 2725 is an absolute unique number.  The floorplan for our house is either 2709 or 2703 feet.  

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UTPhil2006

UTPhil2006 3807

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Posted (edited)
On 6/14/2018 at 9:11 AM, UTPhil2006 said:

Heights house for sale... House next door (exact same build out) appraised for 715,000 so built in 16k equity 

 

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/631-W-18th-St-Houston-TX-77008/2098749382_zpid/

Go see my sister at her Open House today at 3, maybe one of you can be my brother in law. 

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25958

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On 7/6/2018 at 7:56 AM, orangecat92 said:

Am about to sell a home in the metroplex, but I vividly remembering soaking up all of the info I could get.  Back in the day, 2002-2004, there were "first time homebuyer" seminars all over the place.  I kept learning the same things over and over, and one thing that stuck with me is turning off the water to your house when you go on a vacation.  We have had a water softener in our garage for years.  I know that there are three ways to turn off the water to my house and I can easily do two of them.  I don't own a "key" to the cutoff in the driveway.  Don't need it.   I am told most homeowners don't even know where the water cutoff is to their house.

Also, if you have a choice you want a home with a hot water heater in the garage, elevated about two or three feet above the floor of the garage.    When it breaks the water can simply flow out of the garage onto the street.  Our last water heater breakage was January 2018.  Kitchen was a mess.  

The other major item of interest was that one night one year in mid-April I was doing my family's income taxes.  We were still in our apartment and on the back page of the 1040 was this mysterious MCC.  I researched and found that as first-time homebuyers on a moderate income we qualified.  14 years later, we are selling, but that little bit of research earned us a $2000 annual tax credit= $28,000 over the last 14 years. 

That payoff, along with appreciation makes all of this remodeling stuff worth it, imo.  

The only thing that really didn't payoff I think was the decision to buy a house a little too big.  Our home was advertised as 2306 square feet, the appraisal came back at 2725, and we've accumulated way too much junk since.  2306 would have meant far, far less junk to get rid of.   

The plus side is that 2725 is an absolute unique number.  The floorplan for our house is either 2709 or 2703 feet.  

You may live in an area of the country where the majority of water heaters are located in the garage. It is acceptable to have water heaters in the garage but there are some things that you need to be aware of. The authority on determining what the requirements are for residential water heater installation and safety is the ICC (International Code Council). The following information is taken from the 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) section P2801.6 and P2803.6.1 commentary.

Water heaters having an ignition source shall be elevated so that the source of ignition is not less than 18” above the garage floor. An ignition source could be many things, including an open flame, electrical switch, open resistance heating coils, or an electrical igniter unit. Residential garages have a high potential for volatile liquids, such as gasoline and paint thinners that can spill or leak from their containers. Because the vapors from these liquids are heavier than air, they concentrate just above floor level, posing an explosion hazard in garages with a water heater.

Many electric water heater thermostats have enclosed contacts, but they are not sealed gas tight. Therefore, if an electric water heater with an ignition source located less than 18” from the bottom of the unit, it is required that the unit be elevated so the ignition source (thermostat) is at least 18” above the garage floor. Electric water heaters having all switching controls located above 18” from the bottom of the water heater are not required to be elevated.

Gas-fired appliances have to meet the elevation requirement for elevation above the garage floor, but have an exception to allow gas-fired appliances having flammable vapor ignition resistant (FVIR) design to be installed without elevating the unit.

Edited by Gil Bang
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UTPhil2006

UTPhil2006 3807

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On 7/6/2018 at 9:56 AM, orangecat92 said:

Am about to sell a home in the metroplex, but I vividly remembering soaking up all of the info I could get.  Back in the day, 2002-2004, there were "first time homebuyer" seminars all over the place.  I kept learning the same things over and over, and one thing that stuck with me is turning off the water to your house when you go on a vacation.  We have had a water softener in our garage for years.  I know that there are three ways to turn off the water to my house and I can easily do two of them.  I don't own a "key" to the cutoff in the driveway.  Don't need it.   I am told most homeowners don't even know where the water cutoff is to their house.

Also, if you have a choice you want a home with a hot water heater in the garage, elevated about two or three feet above the floor of the garage.    When it breaks the water can simply flow out of the garage onto the street.  Our last water heater breakage was January 2018.  Kitchen was a mess.  

The other major item of interest was that one night one year in mid-April I was doing my family's income taxes.  We were still in our apartment and on the back page of the 1040 was this mysterious MCC.  I researched and found that as first-time homebuyers on a moderate income we qualified.  14 years later, we are selling, but that little bit of research earned us a $2000 annual tax credit= $28,000 over the last 14 years. 

That payoff, along with appreciation makes all of this remodeling stuff worth it, imo.  

The only thing that really didn't payoff I think was the decision to buy a house a little too big.  Our home was advertised as 2306 square feet, the appraisal came back at 2725, and we've accumulated way too much junk since.  2306 would have meant far, far less junk to get rid of.   

The plus side is that 2725 is an absolute unique number.  The floorplan for our house is either 2709 or 2703 feet.  

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25958

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On 7/6/2018 at 7:56 AM, orangecat92 said:

Am about to sell a home in the metroplex, but I vividly remembering soaking up all of the info I could get.  Back in the day, 2002-2004, there were "first time homebuyer" seminars all over the place.  I kept learning the same things over and over, and one thing that stuck with me is turning off the water to your house when you go on a vacation.  We have had a water softener in our garage for years.  I know that there are three ways to turn off the water to my house and I can easily do two of them.  I don't own a "key" to the cutoff in the driveway.  Don't need it.   I am told most homeowners don't even know where the water cutoff is to their house.

Also, if you have a choice you want a home with a hot water heater in the garage, elevated about two or three feet above the floor of the garage.    When it breaks the water can simply flow out of the garage onto the street.  Our last water heater breakage was January 2018.  Kitchen was a mess.  

The other major item of interest was that one night one year in mid-April I was doing my family's income taxes.  We were still in our apartment and on the back page of the 1040 was this mysterious MCC.  I researched and found that as first-time homebuyers on a moderate income we qualified.  14 years later, we are selling, but that little bit of research earned us a $2000 annual tax credit= $28,000 over the last 14 years. 

That payoff, along with appreciation makes all of this remodeling stuff worth it, imo.  

The only thing that really didn't payoff I think was the decision to buy a house a little too big.  Our home was advertised as 2306 square feet, the appraisal came back at 2725, and we've accumulated way too much junk since.  2306 would have meant far, far less junk to get rid of.   

The plus side is that 2725 is an absolute unique number.  The floorplan for our house is either 2709 or 2703 feet.  

The only thing that really didn't payoff I think was the decision to buy a house a little too big.  Our home was advertised as 2306 square feet, the appraisal came back at 2725, and we've accumulated way too much junk since.  2306 would have meant far, far less junk to get rid of.   

So, the builder sells you "net" square footage.  That is "conditioned space" (heated/cooled).  Appraisers measure "gross" square footage. Exterior wall to exterior wall.  Both numbers are likely pretty accurate, but 2306 is the "correct" number. 

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Catpfish

Catpfish 618

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On 8/19/2018 at 4:20 PM, Gil Bang said:

The only thing that really didn't payoff I think was the decision to buy a house a little too big.  Our home was advertised as 2306 square feet, the appraisal came back at 2725, and we've accumulated way too much junk since.  2306 would have meant far, far less junk to get rid of.   

So, the builder sells you "net" square footage.  That is "conditioned space" (heated/cooled).  Appraisers measure "gross" square footage. Exterior wall to exterior wall.  Both numbers are likely pretty accurate, but 2306 is the "correct" number. 

That big of a discrepancy in square footage is really strange.  I don't think I've seen the appraisal and builder square footage that far apart based solely on exterior vs conditioned space unless there were additions/add-ons.  Are you sure that the garage wasn't included in that number (although 400 square feet would be smallish for a double garage and not a very likely scenario) or is there a bonus room (something like an upstairs gameroom option) that wasn't accounted for in the base plan?

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texhorn

texhorn 351

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That big of a discrepancy in square footage is really strange.  I don't think I've seen the appraisal and builder square footage that far apart based solely on exterior vs conditioned space unless there were additions/add-ons.  Are you sure that the garage wasn't included in that number (although 400 square feet would be smallish for a double garage and not a very likely scenario) or is there a bonus room (something like an upstairs gameroom option) that wasn't accounted for in the base plan?

Our new construction had a similar appraisal error. They had undersized the garage and said it was part of the conditioned space. Also had messed up a little on a few exterior measurements and everything totaled to about 400sqft error. Challenge that shit - I did and it was pretty straightforward.


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orangecat92

orangecat92 306

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On 8/22/2018 at 10:50 AM, Catpfish said:

That big of a discrepancy in square footage is really strange.  I don't think I've seen the appraisal and builder square footage that far apart based solely on exterior vs conditioned space unless there were additions/add-ons.  Are you sure that the garage wasn't included in that number (although 400 square feet would be smallish for a double garage and not a very likely scenario) or is there a bonus room (something like an upstairs gameroom option) that wasn't accounted for in the base plan?

The home was listed as a 3-2-2, 2306 square feet.  The home is a 4-2-2.   I knew something was up when we looked at the house.  Blame/give credit to the fed. government.  Built in 2001,  in 2004 there were 3 repos on the street, 2 FHA and one VA.   Two were on the correct side of the street, away from the light/noise pollution of the high school.   We chose the bigger one, an FHA repo.  The inside of the house really is 2725 square feet because there are few houses in any of the Fox and Jacobs Neighborhoods that had the 2703 square foot plan.  Ours was one of those.  It was a strange floorplan, because the kitchen from the 2703 square foot plan is exactly the same kitchen as the kitchen from the 2132 square foot plan.  The 2306 square foot kitchen is a bigger kitchen. I know this because I saw the very few 2703 s. foot homes on realtor.com and compared them to the 2132 s foot plan.  

I remember asking our realtor in 2004 "Steve, how do we get out of this?"  I was worried about a/c and bills for the additional 400 s feet.  His response "You don't. You just enjoy the extra square footage."  I worried for nothing.  Our electric bill went from $140 for a 2-2 apartment to $190 for the house.  That heat pump that everybody complains about was very energy efficient, and I watched the electric bill like a hawk for the first 10-12 years.  

Preparing to sell, I prepped my realtor by giving him a copy of the 2004 appraisal showing 2725 s. feet.  I asked him if he was allowed to talk to the appraiser and he said yes, and we didn't hear anything from the appraiser, which was expected.  

However, the size of anything didn't make a bit of difference when we sold, unless the investor we sold to wants to put two families in there at one time, which is possible.  Huge driveway, corner lot, means even more parking available.   The home sold for about the same price as a good 3-2-2, imo.   There were a lot of complaints from families about the master bedroom location-upstairs. 

Closing was Friday afternoon.  We got plenty of good use out of the house.  Today was supposed to be money day.  Both mortgage companies say they will not know for sure that they received the wire transfer until tomorrow.  We did get our money wired today, a substantial profit, and I paid off credit cards just now. 

here is the property. 

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2500-Brinlee-Branch-Ln_MC-Kinney_TX_75071_M70501-89006?view=qv

 

 

 

 

  

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UTPhil2006

UTPhil2006 3807

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On 5/28/2018 at 11:46 PM, RowdyVic said:

Looking to do an equity cash out refi in a couple of years. Wanting to take the money and add on to the house. Trying to get my debt down right now though. What are some of the things I should expect about the process..Phil?

Also something of note, depends when your purchase was, you're looking at a (probably) higher rate.  Depends when you bought and when you refinance but just something to weigh vs how much you need/get out.

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RowdyVic

RowdyVic 106

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On ‎10‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 3:27 PM, UTPhil2006 said:

Also something of note, depends when your purchase was, you're looking at a (probably) higher rate.  Depends when you bought and when you refinance but just something to weigh vs how much you need/get out.

Bought in 2012. Been eyeing the interest rates and it wouldn't be viable to do it right now. Also, I still a survey dilemma that I havent sorted out yet. Been lazy, hate downtown, and don't feel like putting up with city officials bs! They are not exactly the helping, friendly kind of people. Because of the survey, we might end up just selling.

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RowdyVic

RowdyVic 106

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The home I purchased was a pretty good deal. It was a 2001 1500sqft 3bed 1 bath on 3 acres. But we knew eventually we would out grow it and bought it with the intent of adding on. Was going to pay on the principle for a few years until my lil girls got old enough to where the 1 bath was going to be a pain in the ass. The girls are 6 & 5 now so it wont be much longer until the 1 bath isn't going to cut it anymore. So when the time comes we would refi and use the equity to add on.

This is my dilemma. First time home buyer. Survey was provided. Cool! Financed some solar panels and the company went to get the permit but the county denied it. They say I need a subdivision plat because the original property was 10 acres that was split into 3 properties. My property was the 2nd split and it was for a family member. So I am currently paying for solar panels that I don't have. If I would have known this crap beforehand I would have never went for the panels. How the fuck is a homebuyer supposed to know this kind of crap unless you are in the real estate game? I haven't pressed the issue because I don't want to hear what they have to say honestly. The county didn't seem to recognize the situation and offer assistance. Just said you need a plat..have a good day.

But yet my neighbor(3rd property) got a permit for his septic several years ago.

I understand doing your job but I live way out in the sticks and this means nothing to you(the lady at the county).

So I have a feeling when the time comes to add on, I will have to face this bs again! So I will probably have to sell all because of a permit.

Edited by RowdyVic
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After irth

After irth 1243

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Will try to keep this short. 

House-hunting.  Planning long-term, but who the hell knows anymore...?

Found a great house that suits all my needs. Updated, well-cared for, on 3 acres...just perfect. 

Two lots down is a salvage yard. Looks like shit. 

Rest of the street is hit-or-miss in regards to size, quality, upkeep, etc.  Just your average rural road a few miles outside of the nearest town.  

After a few cursory internet searches, I discover terms such as “external obsolescence”. 

Regardless of the vocabulary, should I just forget this and run?  Will it just bite me in the ass when/if I ever have to sell?

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