Real Estate

sequoias said:
Yeah u pay property taxes every year, once u own a house. The property taxes doesn't increase much as long u own the house, but when u sell it to someone and they pay MORE property taxes because of the current rate.
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oic, thank u, I m buying the brand new house as it was just constructed, lol, my husband refuses that toilet used with strangers past, eww, rme J/k
 
it depends on

the interest rate in that area.In fact yes you have take care of lawn all that if you are renting it isincluded It depends on landlord not always they re all different.you have to look at the agreement before you sign it.
 
harleymn said:
the interest rate in that area.In fact yes you have take care of lawn all that if you are renting it isincluded It depends on landlord not always they re all different.you have to look at the agreement before you sign it.
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no, i mean first or few years of 10, 20 or 30 years making payment, interest, for example, was 5.5% then changed 6.9 % huh, can be happened?
 
There are houses that are not too far from where I live have a nice pool in the backyard and have gardeners to work on their really big garden. I will estimate their property to be around 1 million dollars. :-o My property is worth about 1/10 of their property. :ugh:
 
sequoias said:
In my opinion, owning a house is MORE expensive than renting a house, because you have to pay for the broken heater, wear and tear of the house, lawn and garden costs and all that stuff. You don't pay much of that when u rent a house. Landlord is responsible for the wear and tear of the house and the equipment/mantience. There are pros and cons anyways, but in the long run it's cheaper to own a house, I think, also more freedom too.
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how true... I saw the "tlc" moving up.. one owner brought REAL old house and had to pay too much to get it fixed.. and didn't know it was screwed up house cuz had dead squirells up in attic and cud not get it out.. and the smell was so bad so she had to get the ceiling destoryed and get out what was in there.. they had maggots, rats and squirrells in that real old house and she got it remodeld and all and lucky for her grandma who will be willing to pay more than 50,000 to get it fixed all for her (she brought a house with a fiance but he dumped her just before she moved in) it sucked.. :roll: I think people should get a inspector first to make sure everything is okay to move in tho.. :) or be stuck with too many problems with old house anyways.
 
yah this house we got for mere 80 something thousand... bought and paid for no mortage no nothing, now its worth 280.00 cuz we revamoped the yard plus added hottub and new cemented decking and a outside bathroom YES U READ RIGHT OUTSIDE BATHROOM and very nice feel to it.. ( waiting for the weekend gonna do two days of yard work one at my boss's house and one here so two days of mowing and weeding :) hehehe but all in all u can do whatever u want even under the HOA the only rule is, NO CHICKENS ALLOWED.. and no cutting palm trees unless its in danger of wrecking ur electricity lines.
 
I guess I am not too late to post about Real Estate?

Few questions.. but you shouldn't focus on just real estate issue.. but also you need to look outside of box.

Let's think what to put this way.. okay.

First.. Have you serious considering about dollar value are declining? It will effect on your house value. Right now, USD is 1.00 equal to EUR almost .75 or .55 in Germany. In past 20 years. USD has already lost nearly 70% value of purchase powers. Is it too scare isn't?

Second. Have you concerning about interest rate? a percent or 2 increase could overkilled mortgage rate payment! Have you done researching and determine whether mortgage is "affordable"?

Third. have you thought about other methods such as using corporation to own real estate rather than you? to gain of advantage tax or reduce tax.

Start worry? Maybe you should ? :) If you are too smart.. then you shouldn't!

-Benjamin
 
Purchasing a house can be a rewarding and stressful experience. I haven't yet bought my first house, but I've already gone through the process several times and this summer it will finally happen!

I'll address a couple of questions made so far:

1)

Alex said:
if one has never bought a home in the past, he can buy his first house at 10% down
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That's incorrect. There are SO many mortgage / loans out there that you have a billion different options -- 100% loan, 95/5, 90/10, 80/20, whatever. What sucks is that the loan company just wants to get you to pay the max amount of money possible in interest, so they won't necessarily be forthcoming in finding the "best" loan for you.

The BEST bet to get the lowest interest payments is to pay as MUCH up front as possible, while still having a reserve amount of money (in case you lose your job, medical emergencies, etc.) and being able to pay closing costs (unless the seller agrees to pay them for you in exchange that you pay them more from the loan) and moving costs.

2)
Alex said:
One of the many benefits of owning a multi-family house is that it helps pay off the mortgage month after month
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EW! No! I do NOT want to deal with tenants in my own home. The amount "profited" in rent payments does not cover the value of my time spent managing the tenant. No, thank you.

Plus, as mentioned earlier, those kind of homes are MUCH harder to re-sell. If I can guarantee that I'll be there forever, sure, but when it comes time to sell, no one ELSE wants to manage tenants in their own home.

3)
gnarlydorkette said:
don't care how expensive the houses will get, I REFUSE to live in middle of nowhere. I am spoiled.
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Let's see how spoiled you are when you have to choose between an awesome, affordable house in the boonies or a tiny, run down house in the middle of the city. You may never be able to pay your monthly payment in a place like Coronado or La Jolla.

4)
Freewoman76 said:
no, i mean first or few years of 10, 20 or 30 years making payment, interest, for example, was 5.5% then changed 6.9 % huh, can be happened?
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That's how it works if you get a ARM for 3, 5, 7 or 9 years. You get a low interest rate for a few years, then it goes up a lot. You're betting that you'll MOVE and SELL the house before the interest rates go up.
 
"That's how it works if you get a ARM for 3, 5, 7 or 9 years. You get a low interest rate for a few years, then it goes up a lot. You're betting that you'll MOVE and SELL the house before the interest rates go up."

Here's another factor re: the ARM loan: You are also betting that, as time passes, that your salary will also be increasing.......

Personally, I prefer the fixed rate loans, either the 15 or 30 year types. Dennis is right, tho, there is a TON of ways to finance a home. Do all your research, watch the timing, etc and come up with some creative financing that will sit well with your personal financial situation.

Not to be an alarmist but I believe the US housing market might be heading into problems this summer so take it easy, and watch for the signs if you are currently in the hunt for a home......
 
I agree, Tousi. We have been riding a bubble for an extraordinary amount of time, with rates the lowest in over 40 years.
Listen for the POP.
 
cool thread cuz i love real estate. RE is like art. i run a small RE biz and hope it grows as i get older.

keep in mind that a RE plan works in a city does not guarantee work in another city. there are many strategies. for instance, my fave is 'buy and hold' cuz my goal for my biz is for long run. unlike many investors prefer 'flip' which is to buy, renovate and sell for quick profit with hard luck.

anyway, i try to put down and pay the least money as i can and keep the property as long i can. because i think of it as a leverage by pushing the expense/payments to tenants rents to cover. i bought my first property, 2bed/1bath condo in DC downtown in summer 2001 w/ 100% financing. lived there for 2 years then moved to 3bed/1.5 bath house i bought in summer 2003 w/ 100% financing again. am renting the condo for almost 2 years. being landlord requires hard work but good experience for the future cuz i would manage multifamily properties in the future.

about the property value, the condo doubled in 4 years and house 50% in 2 yrs. my 5 year goal is to have the condo appreciate more within 3-4 years before exchanging for a multifamily property hopefully either triplex or fourplex. then buy 3rd home and rent the current house.

it is very important to have best credit scoring as u can bec u would have more loan options. make sure u have deep pocket to cover unexpected expenses. if ur interested or want to learn more about real estate, i can recommend books to read (no quick cash or rich). so far, i have read around between ten and 12 RE books.
 
just use the cauation to read the fine words for pently fees... i am not sure how it spell... some do pently fee if u decide sell in less 5 years it would charge ya like round 75% then if after five years probaly goes down to round 70 then ten years goes to 50 % then 15 years no pently fees ... so just use the common senses to be cauation !!
 
Beowulf said:
I agree, Tousi. We have been riding a bubble for an extraordinary amount of time, with rates the lowest in over 40 years.
Listen for the POP.
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What goes up must come down. :)

People are obviously too overoptimistic about the real estate industry as of now. They are too busy raking in the cash to see that the bubble is expanding at a rapid rate and we all know that bubbles can't just keep on expanding. It just has to pop sometimes!

Nothing lasts forever.
 
I don't know where some of you guys are from, but where I'm from where NYC is just 25 minutes away, multi-family properties are not cheap and they're harder to buy, at least the good ones. It's all about location, location, location. Eventually I would like to own several properties and enjoy long term cash flow. I'm optimistic about this too because I know and interact with a handful of successful, real estate folks. And, yes, I'm aware of the many responsibilities a landlord has. Sure it's not easy, but I don't mind the hard work.

Has anyone heard or read about investing in pre-construction condos? Seems interesting.

Glad to see some of you own properties. IMO, it sure beats renting an apartment in the long run.
 
Alex said:
I don't know where some of you guys are from, but where I'm from where NYC is just 25 minutes away, multi-family properties are not cheap and they're harder to buy, at least the good ones. It's all about location, location, location. Eventually I would like to own several properties and enjoy long term cash flow. I'm optimistic about this too because I know and interact with a handful of successful, real estate folks. And, yes, I'm aware of the many responsibilities a landlord has. Sure it's not easy, but I don't mind the hard work.

Has anyone heard or read about investing in pre-construction condos? Seems interesting.

Glad to see some of you own properties. IMO, it sure beats renting an apartment in the long run.
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Did you ever try REIT? all you do is to invest and better ROI. Think about it.. no more hassle by people, no more going there to fix toliets, etc?
 
no that cant be unless you sign a

Freewoman76 said:
no, i mean first or few years of 10, 20 or 30 years making payment, interest, for example, was 5.5% then changed 6.9 % huh, can be happened?
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contract with the title co or the mortgage co.
 
I would be the first buyer of the house afraid of ripping me off, i mean bad basement or whatever i didnt notice but after buying :( also I was told first buyer no down payment required, true? or closing cost neither? or 0 closing cost impossible?
right now I need to pay off my new SUV of 2005 first then a house, 2 major payments impossible or I'd get broken, awhile making a payment for my SUV I would get a time to look about a house ;)
i have seen husband's friend disappointed his house electric/circumstance is bad or weird alot plm, others bad basement, sewer flood :giggle: and interests increased. I ant going to sell and move often I want to buy to live there once and happy
 
Alex said:
Has anyone heard or read about investing in pre-construction condos? Seems interesting.
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a friend of mine who is also a RE investor invested in a pre-construction condo in downtown DC couple years ago. the construction is not going to be completed for another couple years bec it is a highrise. the unit my friend deposited in appreciated nicely.

what questions exactly do u have about pre-construction condos?
 
Glad to see this thread about Real Estate...

I did NOT expect that
my condo would be that skyrocketing valuable
as compared to these houses.
I always prefer a house and
I always thought that any house
is much better value investment
than any condo... but
that's not quite true...
The reason why I bought my own condo years ago
only because I was able to barely afford that condo
instead of a house during that time...

I was very surprised because I bought my condo
more than ten years ago it was very cheap and
its value went up like crazy about almost $200,000 this year 2005
it is a low-rise condo (instead of a high-rise condo)
in Northern Virginia area (approx 30 miles to D.C.)
with a clubhouse, pool & tennis courts...
If I decide to sell it now, then
I would make enormous profits far more
than I ever imagined... (Has Gone Tripled or something
like about 400 Percent more)

Another condo next to me was on the market for only
8 hours and then it's already sold immediately
even after 8 hours (it was not even in the advertisement yet).

I might or might NOT consider sell my condo someday...
Brand new condos nearby is on the market for
about $300,000. I am NOT talking about houses,
just brand new condos... They are HOT HOT HOT.
That's really amazing because
I always prefer houses on very quiet streets
but they're way too costly around here ... Sigh.

This is not quite true about having to put down
thirty percent, but it depends on between you and
the agent/seller and the bank. I put down much less
than thirty percent when I first bought my own condo.

Nowdays they do NOT care if you have a very good
credit ratings or not... if you have a bad credit, then
they probably could charge you some more.

About these ARM type of mortgage, I thought
that FIXED is better that ARM, but during that time
I cannot afford these FIXED rates so thats why
I had to choose ARM cheaper...
So many people assumed that ARM tend to
increase a lot more, but that's NOT true for
my own ARM mortgage it either decrease or increase
only once a year not that much.. maybe only
ten dollars less or ten dollars more... NOT that much.
I realize from this experience that ARM is even
better than FIXED. That is just my opinion.

How true about what Net0man mentioned about
the possible bubbles - values might decrease
depends on the location and the index level itself
right now especially such
as Boston Mass, Calif and New Jersey areas.

I have no experience about the pre-construction condo.
Pre-construction condo does seem like an excellent idea
depend on the trustworthy builder, warranty,
taxes and location. I'm not sure about your location
though. It seem extremely popular
especially in Miami, Florida area. Most people from
New York tend to go to the EAST coast side of Florida.

Since I got laid off from work, a few realtors asked me
to become a real estate agent so I haven't make
any decisions I just think about it...
 
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