Homeowners

Heylel

Heylel

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Pools aren't really all that hard once you have them cleaned properly. Mine is an absolute bitch to get going every year, but after that it's mostly just a few minutes every other day. It only gets bad if I'm lazy with it.

I do wish I had a timer for my pump though. It doesn't need to run as constantly as it usually does, and I could definitely save some power that way. It's about due for a replacement anyway, so I might look at getting a nicer one that has all the energy saving stuff built in. They really do make a difference.
 
Joeboo

Joeboo

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Yeah, you don't need to run a pool pump all day long while you are using the pool. Get a timer and have it kick on for an hour or 2 a few times a day and you should be good.

Obviously it varies a bit with weather and how much you use it, but in general you don't need it running anywhere close to 100% of the time during daylight/use hours. Might have to run it more if it rained overnight, or maybe not run it at all during a day you don't use it and the cover stays on it.
 
meStevo

meStevo

I think your wife's a bigfoot gus.
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Heylel_sl said:
I have a pool, which is expensive in the summer but I do enjoy it. I've gotten a lot of use out of it since I bought my house back in '09. I do push for visitors to help subsidize it though, since my friends often like to come over during summer to hang out, drink a couple beers and go swimming. It helps defray the cost of chemicals, though the power bill going up is definitely a pain.

Got a second quote today on a refinance, which is near enough to the previous one that I'm probably going to go with my original lender. His offer still hasn't been beaten. I actually started this whole process in November before getting discouraged. It turned out that even though I closed on my home in April of 09, it wasn't technically endorsed by FHA until June 10. Legislation since then has caused a very significant increase in PMI on FHA loans like mine that were endorsed after May 31, 2009. I missed the cut off by 10 days, through no fault of my own, because the lender and FHA took forever to get my paperwork straight. Right now my PMI is $66/month out of my mortgage payment. After refinancing, that's going to go up to about $166. I'm dropping 1.5% off my current mortgage rate, so in the end I'm still saving money month to month, but not nearly as much as I would. I'm lowering my payment about 10%, when it would be more like 18% if it weren't for my PMI missing the grandfathered cutoff date.

There's at least one small silver lining in that PMI is a tax write off, so a higher portion of my overall payment will be tax deductible. That will hopefully let me keep my refund about the same, while paying less overall. It also means that when I reach 20% LTV, my payment will make a more significant drop. Overall, there aren't many downsides, just a smaller advantage. All because some nameless clerk with Metlife somewhere took their sweet time filing my application.
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Yeah... same problem with my FHA refinance. Bought ours November 2009. mortgage insurance was going to triple, was going to save money anyways and go forward with it since we're at 5.65% right now... and then I missed the credit requirement by 4 points.
 
Falstaff

Falstaff

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How much experience do you guys have negotiating repairs/fixes after the inspection has been done?
 
OneofOne

OneofOne

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I'm not sure any real negotiating was involved when we did it - we simply asked them to make a few repairs and they did, no questions asked. I'm guessing we got lucky in this respect. The previous buyers had fallen through when they couldn't get financing, and she just wanted to unload this place (dead parents home).
 
moontayle

moontayle

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Continuing the saga from before... we ended up closing the Friday before New Years. Got confirmation of the bank approval the Friday before Christmas. Oddly enough, thanks to all the delays we had more than enough money in the bank due to me working again. 4% interest (best rate would have been 3.5% at the time it was locked in) and we're paying the same per month now that we were paying before in our old house, which was smaller and had a higher interest rate (bought in 2005). Oye, what an ordeal.

The biggest thing I can offer to anyone looking to get an FHA loan is to have all your paperwork lined up ahead of time. We got an absolute cunt of an underwriter so you might get lucky, but best to cover your ass. They will want documentation for just about everything when it comes to money, especially if it's reflected in your bank statements. Oh, and if you're getting some help via family members throwing money in the pot, make sure you do it at least two months before you approach a lender. Have it deposited the day before the close of a bank statement at the latest. They'll want two months of bank statements, and if the gift shows up on one of those, you get to do a really fun paperwork quest. And yes, I used the word quest because getting that shit taken care of was just shy of taking the One Ring into Mordor.
 
meStevo

meStevo

I think your wife's a bigfoot gus.
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OneofOne_sl said:
I'm not sure any real negotiating was involved when we did it - we simply asked them to make a few repairs and they did, no questions asked. I'm guessing we got lucky in this respect. The previous buyers had fallen through when they couldn't get financing, and she just wanted to unload this place (dead parents home).
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A lot of that depends on how reasonable and necessary the repairs are I think. I wouldn't think they'd be a problem for the most part. A leaking roof or something might be a whole other story though. We just had some broken windows that were able to be fixed within a couple days. I appreciate that now that I've had to replace one myself for almost $300.

We had family loan us $3k for our downpayment, had to do a paperwork quest too. Had a good loan officer and a fantastic realtor, they did a good job of lining up the hoops to jump through as best they could.
 
Falstaff

Falstaff

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There is some minor stuff (broken window, doorbell doesn't work, one outlet not grounded, etc.) but there is also some debatable things that could be considered big, like the concrete walkway on the side and back of the house being sunken in and it's proximity to a gutter that goes god knows where underground which could cause water damage if its not draining properly.

It's an old house so we are assuming the sinking is just natural over time but our inspector was very concerned about the potential for water damage and so are we.
 
Heylel

Heylel

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meStevo_sl said:
Yeah... same problem with my FHA refinance. Bought ours November 2009. mortgage insurance was going to triple, was going to save money anyways and go forward with it since we're at 5.65% right now... and then I missed the credit requirement by 4 points.
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I got a quote Friday that's pretty much identical to what i was given in late November, so I'm going to go ahead with it. I have no plans to move anytime soon (I like my home, good school districts, and I need to stay here long enough to recoup my losses from the housing crisis), and it's unlikely I'll ever get 3.5% again, so it's worth going for it for now. It'll suck paying more PMI, but at least it'll keep my tax refund about the same as it is currently despite the lower interest rate.

The quote was from a different lender than the one I actually want to go with. He's supposed to call me this afternoon. If he can't meet the same deal as I was given via Lending Tree (from QuickenLoans I think), I'll just go with them instead. I'm pretty sure he'll come through for me though. He closed my home the first time, and did a good job.
 
C

consci_sl

shitlord
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If you have the money dont wait to re paint, buy new hardware, etc do it now and youll be glad you did! Also learn how to change out ceiling fans, switches, faucets, etc they are all really easy and will make your house feal more like your home!
 
S

silverflame_sl

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For those that have hot tubs, are the costs similar at all to pools (i imagine they are much lower)? Most of the time I feel like spending in water is to just float and relax, and I am thinking a hot tub would be better. Can you cool the hot tub down for those hot summer days or is it pretty much a requirement to keep it hot?
 
Falstaff

Falstaff

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I can't really speak to costs, but can speak to owning a hot tub. When my parents had a hot tub and I lived at home, we probably drained it and cleaned it once every month to six weeks depending on how often it was used in Spring/Summer/Fall... unless I had a party and people were spilling beer and whatever other bodily fluids in it, then it got drained and cleaned the next day.

I don't think the water temperature went below 84 (unless you unplugged it) but we would never turn it down that low... in the summer we almost exclusively went in it at night. It takes a really long time for the water temperature to drop unless you've just filled it up after cleaning.

We didn't really go in it in the winter except Christmas Day a bunch of us guys would get in there and smoke cigars and drink after dinner.
 
Gravel

Gravel

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I'm considering taking the dive into home ownership. The wife and I are living in the desert in California. Where we are we're paying $1200 monthly for rent. The average price on a comparable home is in the $110,000-150,000 range, which the internet tells me puts the monthly payment at anywhere from $450-700 a month. Property insurance looks like another $100-150, plus whatever homeowner's insurance is. Financially, it looks like a no-brainer to buy. Instead of paying $1200 a month, we could be paying $600-700 (I'm thinking my max price would be $140,000, hoping to find something cheaper). Sock away that extra $500 a month for home maintenance and we're in the same situation but we own the place. Rates right now are about as low as I think they'll be for the foreseeable future, and I partially feel like I should get in now.

I'm just wondering if anyone can give me any reasons Ishouldn'tbe considering buying. I work for the government, so my job is stable (or it is when Congress isn't sucking shit). I'm also looking at ~20% raises every year for the next 3 years, starting July 2013, guaranteed.

We have a dog, and it was a bitch to find a place that allowed them here. I would like to move out of the place we're in regardless, and not having to go searching for a place that allows them (and charges out the ass for it) is definitely appealing.

I'm also a veteran, so I'm tossing around the idea between a VA loan and FHA. We've got $10,000 in our emergency fund, but if I didn't have to touch that money it'd be nice. As of January, the wife is at around 805 credit and I'm at 795 or so.

At the moment, I'm thinking as long as I can find a place with no foundation, roofing, electrical, or plumbing issues, I'd be happy. A decent layout, and I'm game to renovate a good deal of it. If I could get a house for under $100,000 (there's one just down the street, FHA foreclosure), that'd leave a shit load of free cash to do stuff with.

So homeowners, what am I missing?
 
Deathwing

Deathwing

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Based on your numbers, I think you're confusing property insurance with private mortgage insurance. Or maybe that was supposed to property taxes? Either way, those should be separate. Doesn't cost you anything to contact a few banks with your credit scores and incomes and see what you pre qualify for. You can even take it a step further and have them run closing cost and monthly payment numbers for you.
 
Convo

Convo

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What Death said. If you buy at 140k you're probably looking at 800-1000 a month area
 
Brando

Asshat Brando

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Go VA 0% down as there is no mortgage insurance required, here's the payment at your high price range:

$150,000 purchase price
$153,225 loan amount (includes VA funding fee)
3.25% interest rate - 30YR Fixed
$666.84 P&I
$156.25 Taxes per month
Hazard (Homeowners) Insurance you shop for yourself, figure $500-$600 a year at this price point which then is another $50 a month.

If you weren't active but reserve or national guard then you're VA funding fee is higher but nothing else should change.
 
Selix

Selix

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Elurin_sl said:
I'm considering taking the dive into home ownership. The wife and I are living in the desert in California. Where we are we're paying $1200 monthly for rent. The average price on a comparable home is in the $110,000-150,000 range, which the internet tells me puts the monthly payment at anywhere from $450-700 a month. Property insurance looks like another $100-150, plus whatever homeowner's insurance is. Financially, it looks like a no-brainer to buy. Instead of paying $1200 a month, we could be paying $600-700 (I'm thinking my max price would be $140,000, hoping to find something cheaper). Sock away that extra $500 a month for home maintenance and we're in the same situation but we own the place. Rates right now are about as low as I think they'll be for the foreseeable future, and I partially feel like I should get in now.

I'm just wondering if anyone can give me any reasons Ishouldn'tbe considering buying. I work for the government, so my job is stable (or it is when Congress isn't sucking shit). I'm also looking at ~20% raises every year for the next 3 years, starting July 2013, guaranteed.

We have a dog, and it was a bitch to find a place that allowed them here. I would like to move out of the place we're in regardless, and not having to go searching for a place that allows them (and charges out the ass for it) is definitely appealing.

I'm also a veteran, so I'm tossing around the idea between a VA loan and FHA. We've got $10,000 in our emergency fund, but if I didn't have to touch that money it'd be nice. As of January, the wife is at around 805 credit and I'm at 795 or so.

At the moment, I'm thinking as long as I can find a place with no foundation, roofing, electrical, or plumbing issues, I'd be happy. A decent layout, and I'm game to renovate a good deal of it. If I could get a house for under $100,000 (there's one just down the street, FHA foreclosure), that'd leave a shit load of free cash to do stuff with.

So homeowners, what am I missing?
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Also has your rent gone up over the past 10 years? It will continue to over the next 30 but your mortgage won't. There are other tradeoffs to home ownership that go both ways, though.
 
Gravel

Gravel

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Deathwing_sl said:
Based on your numbers, I think you're confusing property insurance with private mortgage insurance. Or maybe that was supposed to property taxes? Either way, those should be separate. Doesn't cost you anything to contact a few banks with your credit scores and incomes and see what you pre qualify for. You can even take it a step further and have them run closing cost and monthly payment numbers for you.
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Meant property tax. I looked up several properties in the area and they were around $1000-1700 a year.

Not worried about PMI if I go VA.
 
Cutlery

Cutlery

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Elurin_sl said:
Meant property tax. I looked up several properties in the area and they were around $1000-1700 a year.

Not worried about PMI if I go VA.
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You're not missing anything, really. Except for the fact that you've gotta call a plumber when shit gets fucked up, and it comes out of your paycheck, not just calling the landlord and it comes out of your rent.

Home ownership is definitely more stress, just because you're financially responsible for whatever comes up, but it's the way to go long term. Your mortgage amount isn't going to change much (property taxes will, but they're a minor part of it), but rent is going to keep increasing every year. The sooner you get locked into a home, the better off you'll be financially.

If you get an FHA loan, property taxes and mortgage insurance are built into the loan, you can't have them separate. You'll just have an escrow acct that pays them. So your numbers will be a little short for that, but there's really no reason you can't get a payment that's sub $1000 on the price range you're looking at.
 
Deathwing

Deathwing

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Got my own homeowner questions:

Place my wife and I are looking at doesn't possibly have correct water drainage. The driveway slopes slightly downward towards the house and the land surrounding the house is pretty flat. There's about a foot's width of loose gravel between the driveway and the garage, which is possible for underground drainage tile, but I'm not sure. How can I check this without just asking the seller(who is biased) or getting the house inspected?

The property disclosure mentioned seepage under the front stairs during heavy downpour. It's a bi-level ranch on a cement foundation. I have checked the area and don't see any damage. The owners say a dehumidifier clears the moisture. Should I be concerned about this and how can I be sure before an inspection?

My wife wants to start an in-home daycare. Anyone have some rules and/or regulations for this type of specific business? We'd like to know before purchasing if a property is suitable for said business.
 
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