Skinz4Life12 Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 My wife and I are out of our apartment in June, so we figure in January we'll really buckle down with home-shopping. So far the plan is to go through Navy Federal for everything, but we haven't actually talked to anyone at Navy Federal about it yet. Looking to buy in Loudon, probably Bristow or Gainesville. What we're having difficulty with is balancing what our priorities in a house (decent flat yard, trees, open floorplan, updated kitchen, not staring into our neighbors window when we look out our own) vs what we can do to the house after we purchase to make it what we want it to be. New flooring and painting the walls are definitely in the cards and we're not worried about that when it comes to it. It's the little things, like we really want a wood-burning fireplace, we want some privacy in our backyard, I'd like a finished basement (not that little I guess). Tips and tricks on how to find the right balance of what a house already has versus what you can do to it afterwards? be willing to sacrifice things you can change for things you can't change. find a house in a location that you love for the right price. if things like the yard being flat are what you want, be willing to sacrifice for a less updated kitchen. you can always update the kitchen but you can't update the location and lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 My wife and I are going to a second viewing tonight. We grew up in a secluded area, right on the water, surrounded by trees. We desire to duplicate that for our kids and it has not been easy. We found a 3/4 acre spot of land... somewhat on the water/creek surrounded by woods... and it's priced to sell!! Hopefully it works out. Sellers seem like really good people. But until we get a contract with em... I ain't telling anyone where it is. I'm still in shock that we found a buyer for my house so quickly. We're gonna help her a bit since she's stuck in an apartment lease for a few more months. She really wants to live in downtown Annapolis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOF44 Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Looking to buy in Loudon, probably Bristow or Gainesville. Those places are Prince William County, not Loudon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissance Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Hoping to be ready to buy a place of my own in the next two years. I'm getting tired of renting and really want a yard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 be willing to sacrifice things you can change for things you can't change.find a house in a location that you love for the right price. if things like the yard being flat are what you want, be willing to sacrifice for a less updated kitchen. you can always update the kitchen but you can't update the location and lot Exactly. We found a good house for the right price in a good location, but the kitchen will need to be remodeled and we've already have plans for the upstairs to do some work. We had a hard time finding the right house, in the right area for the right price. It's hard to find all 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubble Screen Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 My last home sold in 5 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sisko Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I'm the administrator of my Mom's estate and have to sell her house. I've been dreading it but if you guys' experience is a rough indicator maybe we get lucky and it doesn't take too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reic Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I'm the administrator of my Mom's estate and have to sell her house. I've been dreading it but if you guys' experience is a rough indicator maybe we get lucky and it doesn't take too long. My dad just sold his mom's house. It was on the market for only a few months. It's def a time to buy and people are doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadySkinsFan Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Watch out for Navy Federal. My brother and his wife sold their home and Navy Federal lowballed the appraisal and now the whole deal is in jeopardy. They aren't taking any risk in lending for mortgages. Bro and wife not happy, buyer not happy. Not a good experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I closed on a house today... well, technically yesterday at this point. As far as the seller: The house (townhouse) was on the market for roughly 40 days before we made an offer on it. They reduced the price by 10K in that time span. They countered our offer, we countered theirs, etc. We did reach an agreement. As far as appraisal, it came in at the exact price that we agreed on. That price was within 5-10K of comparable recent sales in the community. As far as the buyer: The loan process was fairly simple, we chose to go with an FHA insured loan for obvious reasons (less money down). It's possible that we could have shopped for a longer period of time, but there was certainly an abundance of homes for sale in several areas that we liked. The best part of it all was the interest rate we got locked in on, 3.875% on a 30 year loan. If anything, that's the reason to buy a house right now if you can do so although I think the rate is starting to creep back up. As a buyer, we were much more attracted to homes that didn't have people currently living in them. We liked the homes that were cleaned well, new appliances, etc. It's hard, as a buyer, to imagine yourself living in a place that still has other people's stuff in it. It seems to me that home sales are starting to level off to something more reasonable. You shouldn't be able to sell a house in less than a week, and the buying process shouldn't be done without scrutiny from the lender. That's basically what I experienced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I closed on a house today... well, technically yesterday at this point.As far as the seller: The house (townhouse) was on the market for roughly 40 days before we made an offer on it. They reduced the price by 10K in that time span. They countered our offer, we countered theirs, etc. We did reach an agreement. As far as appraisal, it came in at the exact price that we agreed on. That price was within 5-10K of comparable recent sales in the community. As far as the buyer: The loan process was fairly simple, we chose to go with an FHA insured loan for obvious reasons (less money down). It's possible that we could have shopped for a longer period of time, but there was certainly an abundance of homes for sale in several areas that we liked. The best part of it all was the interest rate we got locked in on, 3.875% on a 30 year loan. If anything, that's the reason to buy a house right now if you can do so although I think the rate is starting to creep back up. As a buyer, we were much more attracted to homes that didn't have people currently living in them. We liked the homes that were cleaned well, new appliances, etc. It's hard, as a buyer, to imagine yourself living in a place that still has other people's stuff in it. It seems to me that home sales are starting to level off to something more reasonable. You shouldn't be able to sell a house in less than a week, and the buying process shouldn't be done without scrutiny from the lender. That's basically what I experienced. Low interest rates = overpay for house. Thats the basic truth. Hope you put money down. When interest rates rise, your home value will decrease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Low interest rates = overpay for house. Thats the basic truth. Hope you put money down. When interest rates rise, your home value will decrease. Didn't put much money down. I understand that the home value will likely decrease. Hopefully it remains stable but that's a risk I'm willing to take considering the interest rate I got. The payment is one that we are comfortable with. The interest rate isn't why I bought the house, it's just nice that it was locked in at such a low rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 Just to touch on this topic again... I doubt there is any data to back this up--primarily b/c houses must be sold to reflect the claim--but in the last month or 2, my agent and some of his colleagues have had a rise in phone calls interested in listings as well as people looking for agents. He said this is the busiest he has been in 2 years. There are a lot of people calling about his listings. (Not mine unfortunately). He also said the call volume hasn't gone down due to the holidays, which is typical for dec-jan. Anyway, I just thought I'd bring it up for anyone that has been wondering when the real estate market will turn around. Of course, the rise in activity would have to sustain itself to reflect a true rebound. If anything, it's encouraging news, but not necessarily a sign of recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Just to touch on this topic again... I doubt there is any data to back this up--primarily b/c houses must be sold to reflect the claim--but in the last month or 2, my agent and some of his colleagues have had a rise in phone calls interested in listings as well as people looking for agents. He said this is the busiest he has been in 2 years. There are a lot of people calling about his listings. (Not mine unfortunately). He also said the call volume hasn't gone down due to the holidays, which is typical for dec-jan. Anyway, I just thought I'd bring it up for anyone that has been wondering when the real estate market will turn around. Of course, the rise in activity would have to sustain itself to reflect a true rebound. If anything, it's encouraging news, but not necessarily a sign of recovery. That's only because interest rates took a small decline. Nothing has turned around. As a side note, I spent a couple of hours with my dad, a real estate agent here in Annapolis. I was looking through listings of waterfront properties in Edgewater, Riva, Severna Park, Annapolis. I was SHOCKED at how many of them were short sales. It wasn't just a handful. It seemed like every other house I clicked on was a short sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 You're right about the rate and I wanted to point that out but didn't. I have a feeling that Spring 2012 is going to be a good market around here. My wife and I are about to settle on some waterfront property soon. Settlement was pushed back due to a poor appraisal but the deal will still happen. A new appraisal was ordered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 I work for a company that handles 60% of the realtors and brokers on the market US and Canada. We also have an economics division that just put out a new credit score. We are expecting 4 more years before houses start to really appreciate again.. 2012 is too soon for what has been created in just foreclosures alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Well, in about 7 hours I will be going to settlement for the sale of my house in downtown Annapolis, MD. I purchased it in 2008 and surprisingly enough, I will be making a profit of about 2% ...although i consider that more of a breaking even scenario due to the money I've spent in storage unit fees while it was on the market. It's a bittersweet feeling selling a house... lots of memories and the closing of a chapter... but it opens up a lot of opportunity in a bad economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 What was the sales price of your house? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 What was the sales price of your house? A very small townhouse that appraised slightly above what I bought it for... $121K. About $140/sq ft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 A very small townhouse that appraised slightly above what I bought it for... $121K. About $140/sq ft. Nice, glad you got out ahead of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Nice, glad you got out ahead of the game. It's in the ghetto and I'm shocked it sold. I was convinced I was gonna lose my ass by selling it. I moved in a number of years to help a lot of activist revitalize the area. We were mostly musicians and wanted to help get the neighborhood back on the Arts&Entertainment district. We did some fun stuff down here and got the people more involved with the community. I'm pretty proud of what we did there and I'm gonna miss a lot of the kids and elderly we worked with. I'm married now with a kid on the way and we simply can't raise a kid in the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 It's in the ghetto and I'm shocked it sold. I was convinced I was gonna lose my ass by selling it.I moved in a number of years to help a lot of activist revitalize the area. We were mostly musicians and wanted to help get the neighborhood back on the Arts&Entertainment district. We did some fun stuff down here and got the people more involved with the community. I'm pretty proud of what we did there and I'm gonna miss a lot of the kids and elderly we worked with. I'm married now with a kid on the way and we simply can't raise a kid in the city. I was wondering where it is. I live in the area, didn't know they had townhouses that cheap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfitzo53 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Watch out for Navy Federal. My brother and his wife sold their home and Navy Federal lowballed the appraisal and now the whole deal is in jeopardy. They aren't taking any risk in lending for mortgages.Bro and wife not happy, buyer not happy. Not a good experience. For what it's worth, my wife and I bought a house with Navy Federal as our lender, and the appraisal was just fine. There was one issue right before the closing date unrelated to the appraisal. Somebody dropped the ball on their end and they were not sure we would close on time, but it ended up being OK. Low interest rates = overpay for house. Thats the basic truth. Hope you put money down. When interest rates rise, your home value will decrease. Can you elaborate on that? Edit: Is it connected to the fact that when interest rates rise, loans become more expensive, and so buyers are looking to get loans with smaller principal amounts? (So formerly "expensive" houses won't sell as readily, leading to a drop in the price?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I've been a NFCU member for over 35 years. There's not another bank I would leave them for. :2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipwhich Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Can you elaborate on that? Edit: Is it connected to the fact that when interest rates rise, loans become more expensive, and so buyers are looking to get loans with smaller principal amounts? (So formerly "expensive" houses won't sell as readily, leading to a drop in the price?) It's connected to the fact that it's all about the payment to buyers. Houses sit on the market for extended period of time, the rates drop 1/2 point, and the houses start to sell at the inflated prices. Remember it's all about the payment. When interest rates go back up, housing prices will have no choice but to readjust again. People can't afford houses now at their current prices with historically low rates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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