Jump to content

All Encompassing Mortgage and Real Estate Thread


UTPhil2006

Recommended Posts

14 minutes ago, UTPhil2006 said:

I bet he was pissed too.  When is upstairs lease up?  

He was unhappy, but he handles situations like that better than I. That’s why we’re also paying him to be our PM. 

 

Not until April :/  I don’t think they’ll last that long though. Wife doesn’t work, House is still a shit hole even though she is home all day, they have trouble payment mg their rent, yet they apparently can handle hundreds of dollars in animal expenses. We learned Friday they have 4 dogs, multiple cats, some snakes and lizards, rabbits, and a sugar glider. And who knows if there are more.  I doubt they are going to comply with the “get rid of all but one animal and pay pet deposit or get evicted” notice. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/home-prices-could-skyrocket-if-amazon-hq2-comes-to-austin/1565583028

Quote

Home prices could skyrocket if Amazon HQ2 comes to Austin

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A decision on which city will get Amazon HQ2 is expected by the end of the year.

Amazon hasn't said much about how its search process is going, but a new report already analyzed some data and suggested if HQ2 comes to Austin, it will jack up property values by anywhere from 8 to 16 percent. 

Owners.com said it reviewed the potential impact of income, employment and number of households to see how home prices might increase for each city in the running. 

A local economist, however, told KXAN he believe's the report's estimate might be too low.

Angelos Angelou said, "Austin does not need Amazon to reach its economic potential."

He explained, "We see this kind of price increases already" referring to the report's findings. "It'll be at least double that. Maybe even triple that. And the impact will be fairly immediate."

According to Amazon, the company will invest $5 billion to build its second headquarters, and HQ2 will offer 50,000 high-paying jobs.

Angelou said, "We're already building a lot of homes in Austin, nearly 18,000 homes. To build another 50,000 homes in rather short period of time is going to be very taxing for any city, particularly a small of a city as Austin."

The report worried many Austinites we spoke with Wednesday. 

Udelle Robinson said people already pay too much to live in Austin. "In Austin proper, it is unreasonable, so yes, that's what I would say, unreasonable in the worst way possible," she said.

But even without HQ2, Mark Krauklis said, "You might as well be living in San Francisco. That's the way I see Austin becoming."

Amazon's second home or not, Robinson said dealing with high home prices is an issue that needs to be resolved. "If Amazon comes I hope they do something more than just build a headquarter," she said.

Another potential consequence that concerns a lot of people is traffic, but economists say there are  benefits to having Amazon's second headquarters, including higher personal income and the company's brand recognition.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a little end of year promotion for Shaggy/Surly people me and Thad are doing starting today (includes all current loans)--- any Shaggy/Surly members (or lurkers, or friends who mention they were referred from Shaggy/Surly) who do a loan with us between now and Dec 31 will have the Underwriting fee ($899) waived.  Email me if you want any numbers, pre approvals, etc or questions answered - pdubord@prodigymbo.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wasn’t planning on looking for a new place for a year or two but a property was listed Thursday that really appealed to my wife and I, so we went and checked out the open house Saturday. It showed well and had good traffic but we were the only one to put in an offer this weekend (full price). Apparently another offer was given before it was even listed. We upped our offer by $5k but didn’t get it. Kinda bummed but I didn’t want to get into a bidding war at the top of my price range.

Stupid question, but why would they list it for less than the offer they already had on Thursday? Maybe they got the offer after listing but before the open house and I misunderstood. Regardless, it would have been good to be told that they had an over ask offer up front. Waste of my time and worse it got my pregnant wife all attached to the property. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, GottaB said:

I thought open houses were where RE agents got leads on new clients.

For the most part, but when I'm doing an open house, I'm trying to sell that particular house.  Now, houses out here are expensive.  If I'm working an open and it's at $500,000 or so, I'll offer any buyer a cash rebate of $3,000 or more, depending on the circumstances.  I figure if the buyer's coming to me randomly, I don't need to get paid as much. It's not like I've been driving these folks around showing them houses for a dozen weekends.

1 hour ago, drewlaws said:

I wasn’t planning on looking for a new place for a year or two but a property was listed Thursday that really appealed to my wife and I, so we went and checked out the open house Saturday. It showed well and had good traffic but we were the only one to put in an offer this weekend (full price). Apparently another offer was given before it was even listed. We upped our offer by $5k but didn’t get it. Kinda bummed but I didn’t want to get into a bidding war at the top of my price range.

Stupid question, but why would they list it for less than the offer they already had on Thursday? Maybe they got the offer after listing but before the open house and I misunderstood. Regardless, it would have been good to be told that they had an over ask offer up front. Waste of my time and worse it got my pregnant wife all attached to the property. 

I often price listings below market, to drive traffic, create excitement, and yes, to generate multiple offers. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/11/2018 at 10:53 PM, GottaB said:

I thought open houses were where RE agents got leads on new clients.

To an extent.  It can be used for that, to generate traffic, to create bidding war, etc.  We usually hold our own, but we usually get 4-5 emails when a listing goes live with realtors wanting to hold an open house.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, UTPhil2006 said:

To an extent.  It can be used for that, to generate traffic, to create bidding war, etc.  We usually hold our own, but we usually get 4-5 emails when a listing goes live with realtors wanting to hold an open house.

Yeah, the agents that have "made it" don't hold open houses.  They get a shitload of listings, and let their minions hold them.  New agents (or experienced agents that aren't busy enough) will reach out to other agents to ask if they can hold a listing open. 

I do it too, particularly if it's a listing in an area that I work regularly, and if I'm not too busy.

 

Meanwhile, I wanted to share an anecdote.   A good friend of mine is selling  his house in the Chicago 'burbs (near Northwestern Campus) as work has taken him west.  He listed with an agent with whom he'd been previously acquainted.   I'm BS'ing with him and ask him how it's going.  He says "oh...the market is super slow.  We aren't getting any showings, yada yada"

I've been in this home on several occasions.  It's a nice home in a HIGHLY desirable school district.  The price doesn't set off any alarms.  I pull it up on redfin, and holy shit, the photos are horrible.  As bad as I've ever seen.  They make the house look terrible.  I call my buddy and say dude, what the fuck?   He makes a bunch of excuses for his agent...house looks better now, we've fixed that since the photos were taken, etc.  I give it to him and his wife with both barrels.  "These photos make a nice house look like a shitty house, and it's no wonder that you aren't getting showings.  I wouldn't take a client to this  house either". 

So, at my insistence, he gets his agent to hire a real photographer, does virtual staging, and a drone showing the lot.   Walla, he's getting a lot of showings, even now when it's cold as a mofo in Chicago. 

The lesson here is some agents suck, and if you aren't getting the action you expect don't take any bullshit excuses from them.
 

 

 

Edited by Gil Bang
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah photos and staging and whatnot can absolutely make a world of difference. Especially now when a majority of the legwork of the buyer is looking at homes online, that first impression is vital. Vital. 

Especially on homes that are higher value your realtor should be able to break it down verbatim the several step plan of how they’re going to sell it and market it, and all the options/suggestions to ensure a good price and timely sell. 

As far as the other post, tract builders are always up to something, could be moving on to a new project, could need to close by end of year, could be cash poor, etc but yes I would agree it’s time to buy. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Solid news for those splitting liens and whatnot on higher balance loans..

Quote

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2019. In most of the U.S., the 2019 maximum conforming loan limit for one-unit properties will be $484,350, an increase from $453,100 in 2018.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More news..

Quote

Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell has tempered his tone on rate hikes.

In a speech before the Economic Club of New York on Wednesday, Powell said, “Interest rates are still low by historical standards, and they remain just below the broad range of estimates of the level that would be neutral for the economy‑‑that is, neither speeding up nor slowing down growth.”

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

closing day #2 is finally here today. our builder is an old friend of mine. Dec 2017 he was randomly invited to lunch by my cousin as we tablegated for an NDSU football game. he asked me to see his plan hes been drawing up. we tweaked it to fit our wants and he did a hell of a job. our house was his first project for his new business. He was a project manager for another builder in town here but nothing like being the man. gotta say...outside of a few communication blunders, he did quite well putting up with us(wife) and the changes we made on the fly.

 

I'll post a few pics when we get some taken of the inside/outside.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's awesome that you gave him that chance, and even better that he exceeded expectations.  Everyone has to start somewhere.
Also - wtf is "tablegate"
The warmth and services of buffalo wild wings across the street from the dome vs tailgating in 10 below weather.

We usually do it if the game is going to suck. So less effort on our end setting up tents, heaters, walls etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/14/2018 at 9:10 AM, Sbbruin said:

Interesting blurb on what $780K gets you in greater LA.  FWIW, Highland Park is a shithole that is trying to gentrify with mixed results.

https://la.curbed.com/2018/12/13/18138444/los-angeles-homes-for-sale-comparisons-highland-park

It's gonna be a shithole until the Avenues are eradicated from the planet. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A note of appreciation to UTPhil, Thad, and the rest of the team for their help in purchasing my new home in the Heights. Because it was a new build, it took a few months to complete the process, with the close completed on 12/31. UTPhil and Thad were attentive, accessible, and patient with my dumb questions and occasional freak-out moments. I highly recommend these guys.

See y’all at the happy hour next Friday...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/4/2019 at 4:04 PM, Victor Franko said:

A note of appreciation to UTPhil, Thad, and the rest of the team for their help in purchasing my new home in the Heights. Because it was a new build, it took a few months to complete the process, with the close completed on 12/31. UTPhil and Thad were attentive, accessible, and patient with my dumb questions and occasional freak-out moments. I highly recommend these guys.

See y’all at the happy hour next Friday...

Thanks bud!

HH for those who didnt see/read the sticky at the top - https://www.surlyhorns.com/board/index.php?/topic/7116-surlyhorns-houston-hh-jan-11-heights-biergarten/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/3/2019 at 10:03 AM, UTPhil2006 said:

2.58 and falling.

Who wants to refinance?

About that, does this mean I get an even lower rate now?...  :)

Reccomend Phil and his group to anyone. I’m a pain in the ass to deal with and they have been helpful the whole time. 

 

So to update from earlier:  duplex 1 we finally are seeing the extra income from not paying the downstairs utils AND getting a rent increase from the city.  The process of kicking out the upstairs tenant has been slow, but we are finally to the step where we are just waiting for the Constable to come over. Still getting excuses from them every day about why they haven’t moved out. I’m dreading seeing what the clean up and repair costs are going to be. 

 

Almost done with our AirBnB rehab. The floor work ended up costing more than expected once we got to rip things up.  Turns out they just dropped a new floor on top of the old one about 8” up. Bathroom window started a small leak, and it ran between old and new floor and was trapped by the linoleum on the old floor. We also had a tiny bit of extra electrical. Final budget was 9k, we’re probably going to end up at 11-12. 

 

Tomorrow going to look at a duplex in Texas city that was tax foreclosed on and a triplex that the landlord kind of neglected. And he had a a tenant commit suicide in one unit a year ago. He’s behind on his mortgage to the point of foreclosure, apparently doesn’t much if any equity, but wants out. If that ones good finding the financing will be interesting as I don’t have the cash to buy it outright, and the amount he owes plus where it will appraise at May even make it tough with a hard money lender. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/8/2019 at 11:25 PM, UT_OB1 said:

About that, does this mean I get an even lower rate now?...  :)

Reccomend Phil and his group to anyone. I’m a pain in the ass to deal with and they have been helpful the whole time. 

Tomorrow going to look at a duplex in Texas city that was tax foreclosed on and a triplex that the landlord kind of neglected. And he had a a tenant commit suicide in one unit a year ago. He’s behind on his mortgage to the point of foreclosure, apparently doesn’t much if any equity, but wants out. If that ones good finding the financing will be interesting as I don’t have the cash to buy it outright, and the amount he owes plus where it will appraise at May even make it tough with a hard money lender. 

Yeesh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, UTPhil2006 said:

Yeesh

Yeah, it was interesting.  Saw the bullet hole.  Other than dragging the couch out and cleaning up the blood, that unit hadn't had anything else cleaned up.  All the guys clothes and other junk were just all over the place.  

Supposedly the price they reduced it to is the lowest they can go without the seller coming to the table with cash (@ $110k).  Not making sense though as  we only see 1 loan on it that was originally 104k, and that was taken out 8 years ago.  And the county website doesn't show them behind on the taxes.  So either we're not finding all the info, they are confused, or someone is feeding someone else a little BS.  The selling realtor said the guy has been tough to get info from (keeps paper records and can't find mortgage statements, for example), so I could see it being a little of everything.  It is at least $60k worth of work, probably closer to $80k.  They're going to need to drop the price significantly or get forclosed on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Starting the 15th, we along with our 2 biggest lenders (UWM and Caliber) are offering  the following...

$0 Application/Admin fee (always has been for Shaggy/Surly)

$0 Underwriting Fee (were going to continue this for the forseeable future for Surly users)

$0 Processing fee (new)

$0 Appraisal (new from lender)

So all in all you're looking at around $2,000 in savings.  Let me know if you (or any of your friends - this offer will apply to referrals) have any questions..

PM's are always open but for a faster response you can always email - pdubord@prodigymbo.com

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/14/2018 at 11:10 AM, Sbbruin said:

Interesting blurb on what $780K gets you in greater LA.  FWIW, Highland Park is a shithole that is trying to gentrify with mixed results.

https://la.curbed.com/2018/12/13/18138444/los-angeles-homes-for-sale-comparisons-highland-park

  We moved back to Texas from Woodland Hills at just the right time. Before the fires and when Real Estate was just right.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...