Community Chat

[Nuttmeg]

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@Burnsite wrote:

Hello, Honny, 

          I am not buying, but I am trying to refinance to fix up my house, which has settlement issues. 

         I don't mean to sell for a while, but a refi would enable me to do this fix-up.  My schedule was to start in May and be done before the heart of hurricane season.

         So about 5 weeks in, I am still in process of step one, financing.

         I was OKd for the refi by my bank (credit-wise) but then the house didn't pass the appraisal, due to the settlement (which I had fully disclosed to them before I applied, sigh, and showed them the estimate from the structural engineer).  Now I think I am OK with a Credit Union I went to the same day I heard no (in italics) on the first app.  They say so far so good, including (I think) the appraisal, but that it will be two more weeks to check title and reassign insurance.  If it goes through, and if this happens on that schedule, it will be two months of arranging for funding.  And this is a HELOC (home equity line of credit) rather than a cash-out refinance. 

         Things have changed a lot since the mortgage collapse that started (where I live) in late 2006, and I expected strict standards.  I did not expect weeks and weeks of sit-and-wait. 

        And I can't imagine the stress of people who need to buy (or sell) in a hurry these days.

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Rates on Home Loans and HELOC's may increase, because things are getting better. You may want to see if your lender has a "Locking Rate" program. Since a HELOC rate fluctuates.

[Burnsite]

Thanks, nutmeg, that's good advice. 

Due to the settlement issues at my house, the credit union invited an application for a HELOC instead of a cash out mortgage. But I should be able to do a refi with them at a fixed interest once I fix up the house.

This would be at an extra cost, of course, so I will wait and see.  There are tax reasons why this extra tax-deductable debt is OK for me for a few years.

My brother is in banking and thinks interest rates might begin to creep up in late 2015-early 2016.  

[KarenQVC]

We bought our last house in a seller's market.  Eight weeks into the hunt we bought a house that we had laughed at the first time through.  I am easy to please and it's fine now.  I have always found--bought 6 houses in my life--it is always better to look at something well below your budget because you won't resent the price and the $ put in.

[novadc]

Well, the recent statistics indicate that the country in general is experiencing  a home seller's market right now--inventory of homes for sale way down, prices up, financing hard to get except for the well-qualified (although banks are trying to make loans more accessible).  This, of course, might vary from town to town, but is a national picture of the market trends, according to stats that came out this week.

Inventory is so low, according to the National Assn. of Realtors, that it would take only 5 months to sell all inventory, if the current sales pace holds.  (A balanced market between buyers and sellers is generally measured as 6 months of inventory, and I've personally lived through real estate busts when inventory reached as high as 15 or 16 months--very bad for sellers!).

This low inventory situation is why I said in an earlier post that a seller's "need" for a price that seems unreasonable to a buyer actually is a problem for the buyer who wants to buy the house.  Market prices and demand/supply change all the time and sometimes very quickly.  Sad but true that some buyers at times, and some sellers at times, can't keep up with what's really going on in their markets.

[ID2]

Well I'm on the other end. I just sold my house 2 weeks ago. It was listed for 50 days before we found a legit buyer. Wow is all I can say for the people that walked through my house! So different than my dh and I. Our lookers wanted a perfect house! Didn't want to lift a finger. If it wasn't perfect in their eyes they would definitely voice their opinions! My house was absolutely spotless! If anything I was sure its cleanliness would win someone over! Umm no one even commented on it being clean. Sorry but all we saw were laziness and complainers looking at our house. This definitely was an eyeopener for us for sure! Good luck in your endeavor of finding your perfect house.

[Gooday]

My BFF has been a real estate agent for many, many years.  She is slowing down and looking forward to full retirement.  We have discussed various trends in the market for at least 30 years. 

Her opinion for at least the past 10-15 years is to deal with a mortgage broker and avoid banks like the plague.  Banks continue to hold onto their cash.  Find a reputable broker which can be done with a real estate agent or a good real estate lawyer.

JMO.  It can't hurt to check it out.

[gloriajean]

We've had our house up for sale since May -had about 8 showings, and Saturday will be the Open House.  We have an apartment that we'll move into in September. Our house has no basement, like a patio home, but we have a beautiful yard and landscaping - about 1500 sq. feet.  Beautiful patio or porch, screened in deck and roomy!  Repairs are up to date, and at $170.000 no one is interested. Realtor suggests we lower the price.   It doesn't seem like a Seller's market here.  We are hoping we sell and will be able to move in Sept. not having to find a place sooner to live until our Apartment is ready.  It's a hectic summer for us.  We have a good sized garden too that we're taking care of.  Lots of beautiful flowers all over!  We'll see how the Open House works out.

[KarenQVC]

gj--I wish you the best.  It seems like basements are a cultural thing--what one is used to.  During the tornado warning the other night I was glad we had one.

[HonnyBrown]

I looked at a condo today.  It had everything on my checklist and hubby's.  It's large, great neighborhood, top floor and loft.  I made an offer.

I'm wasn't excited because it isn't FHA approved, which means we would need to do 20% for the downpayment, according to my credit union.

Luckily, based on the nightmarish house hunts of the past, I knew which lender to go to.  I called them up and not only did he say "We definitely can help you," but they have current financing in that complex.

My offer gets submitted on Monday.  Maybe I will get excited then!

[Mom2Dogs]

I feel your pain, we had our house on the market several times....and could not sell, while homes we were interested in sold to some one else.  I am destined to die in this house, which is nice, well cared for but I want to move to something smaller. We have lived here 30+years, it's time!!  When I ask people 'who do you know has lived in the same house for over thirty years"?  they say their grandparents, ugh, that's me!! 

If we would sell low we could sell tomorrow, but we cannot afford to do that.  Good luck!