Buying A House: C or D?

Full-on structural survey - classic or dud? I hear a lot of different things. Some people are very pro, some people say hey, they're still just eyeballing everything and it's a waste of money.

What say you?

Not sure I see the point, unless you have to get one cos something's obviously wrong. They'll just tell you a load of stuff that might need fixing at some unspecified point in the future.

Is there a particular reason why it's been suggested you get one?

Not really. I sort of suspect that the structural engineer my mortgage advisor is recommending is a mate of his. And that a chunk of that £1K+ will kick back to him. Maybe that's cynical.

I sort of want to get one just so that I know The Deal with my house. Like if you buy a used car, you find out its little particularities.

"More a house-owning than house-buying question but ... how much would you need to set aside to replace a small-ish bathroom? (ie. replace bath/sink/toilet/tiles - and get someone to do this)"

This is widely variant depending on where you live, but even a 5x8 bathroom in the Bay Area will run you at least $20k.

And $2k has to mean you are basically doing everything yourself. Because just materials for tile/fixtures/toilet/vanity/tub are going to run you nearly that.

estate agent also runs a solicitor service, and they say the seller is using them. they say it would be "brilliant" if we also used them. it sounds tempting, i.e. could make everything quicker and go more smoothly but what if they're all somehow in cahoots to screw us?

I would assume they're all in cahoots to screw you (or at least, they'll put their own interests first rather than act in yours).

I sort of suspect that the structural engineer my mortgage advisor is recommending is a mate of his. And that a chunk of that £1K+ will kick back to him. Maybe that's cynical.

I don't think that's especially cynical and I wouldn't bother getting a full structural survey unless you've got a specific thing that you're very concerned about. Even the Homebuyer's Report will probably make it sound like the place is going to fall down, but a lot of it is just arse-covering on the part of the surveyor.

Tracer, not sure where you are buying and the age of the property but my parents skimped on a structural survey once and ended up having to have a large section of wall replaced when I was growing up. At least that's how I recall it.

I'd shop around as well although I imagine there aren't many starving chartered surveyors in london right now.

Why on earth do seemingly every British estate agent hold 'open days' to view a property... for which you need an appointment? In what way is this any different from booking a normal appt? An open day is supposed to be for any nosey person who wants to snoop around, surely

Open days normally at the request of the seller - means they only really have to clean and tidy the once, and can do all the crap tricks that Sarah Beeny and Kirsty have taught them, like baking biscuits.

Also it brings in a sense of urgency, most open days won't go without an offer; the estate agent will normally ladle on to people viewing that either there's a full day day of viewing to come, or that someone earlier that day will be putting in a bid later.

What our agent said to us when we sold is that it's rare if someone actually gets around to putting in an offer that the two parties won't agree a figure in the end (even though it did happen with a place we put an offer in on). The key to the open day, then, is to get someone panicked enough to think they like the house enough to make sure they don't miss out and they sell it to themselves.

If you're trying to buy a flat or house in London, open days are now apparently the thing. Friend trying to buy went to about four of them and cash buyers 'won' each flat, offering well over the asking price. I wonder if they then 'gazunder' if the survey shows even one little wrong thing.

In SF if you are paying that kind of money in cash you are basically forgoing almost any contingency.

Alright, I might be doing this now.

Talk me out of it.

where?

If you locate a house you like, in the right place, and you can afford it without self-inflicting financial pain then I won't talk you out of it. Best advice I can give is buy less house than the realtors tell you that you can afford.

I am in Western Mass, so I am looking at houses like all the crazy cheap big houses scott was posting above. I want to find somewhere by early summer, which might be a little ambitious, I don't know. I also know nothing about this stuff as I never imagined I'd be able to afford a house. Any books or websites I should look at?

Scott is also looking for houses for me as he's obviously good at this stuff.

1. get realtor

So on Zillow, there's this "Zestimate" thing alongside the actual price. What's that about? Seems like around here things probably go for close the valuation.

Not actually considering this place, but I was tempted!

http://westernmass.craigslist.org/reb/4370075341.html

What are things to say to a realtor when first contacting them? We were recommended a realtor by some friends who bought in the area.

2. When budgeting, remember that if your downpayment is not in excess of 20%, you'll have to carry PMI (private mortgage insurance) on top of your homeowners' insurance.

hi, my name's adam

my PMI is only $45/month. no way i could have afforded 20% down for many years!

Oh that's really not bad at all.

if you get an FHA loan it's much more, like $200 or something

Where you want to buy. What you want to buy (size, condition, any other requirements). How much you want to pay. How much you can put for downpayment. Since you are the buyer you don't have to worry about their commission (at least in CA that's paid by the seller as is transfer tax) but you should get a sense of the fees that you as the buyer will responsible for. Realtor will probably ask you all these questions though.

Definitely if you can put 20%+ down and avoid PMI.

OK, avoid FHA and maybe PMI. got it

Don't avoid FHA necessarily. If there are downpayment assistance programs in your area, you might be able to hit the 20% mark and still avoid the PMI.

I know you're in Western Mass, so I haven't looked to see if you have any programs like that. Here in Atlanta, some assistance programs will give you a soft second mortgage of up to $15k that will be forgiven 20% for each year you stay in the house until it's all forgiven at the end of five years. aka neighborhood stability grants

Yeah I wouldn't avoid anything necessarily (well except for variable rate mortgages).

yeah i wouldn't say necessarily avoid it but there are other benefits to avoiding it. the rate was higher for FHA at the time i got my loan. there are also restrictions on how much of the closing costs the seller is allowed to give back. the lender will run the numbers and you will see. they also have specific requirements about the condition of the house and some of its features. i wouldn't have been able to buy my house with an FHA house because certain repairs are needed that to me aren't that urgent. it wasn't worth it.

i got some down payment assistance from the state, but i used slightly less of my own money then. i think i put like 10% down.

er, FHA loan, not FHA house

except for variable rate mortgages

right??? in the uk there are ONLY variable rate mortgages. a few variable mortgages have a "teaser" deal of 2, 3 or 5 years on a fixed rate, switching to a variable rate afterwards. these mortgages are advertised as "fixed rate mortgages".

condition of that farmhouse on CL looks nasty if you look closely, though stylisticly i like it.

zillow "zestimates" seem to be based on what similarly-sized properties in the same development sold for. I find them most useful and accurate in newer developments where nearly all properties are still in good condition and similarly designed. In older neighborhoods, the 'comparible' houses range from neglected/poor condition to well-maintained or recently renovated, which can cause misleading computer-generated estimates. And in old rural areas where every house is different and the properties vary considerably, all bets are off.

Totally agree. You really need to find approximate comparables to what you are looking for that have sold recently. Admittedly though I love in an area where nothing goes for asking. Might be different in western mass.

The best luck I've had for approximating the market in an area is to use Redfin's "sold homes" listings -- you can narrow by a bunch of different categories, do various timeframes (1 week, six months etc.). I spent a lot of time watching what was selling for what on my little Redfin app and I felt very happy with the price we paid in the end because it seemed below market for a comparable apartment. They're actual, up-to-date, sale listings as opposed to estimates or stale old sales.

Yeah, ever since I decided to start window shopping Redfin has been a superb resource.

Just checked and Redfin doesn't cover this area. This is the badlands of Western Mass, we don't play with your fancy city "apps" out here.

:)

http://www.trulia.com/property/3134234504-17-Library-St-Bernardston-MA-01337#photo-1

That house is awesome, and it's on LIBRARY Street. Would live.

i'm trying to buy right now in Toronto and it is a nightmare. got a kid on the way (hey ilx - i'm pregnant!) and maybe renting isn't so bad. not sure i want on this crazy merry-go-round that is the local real estate market.

Aw yeah. Scott is my Redfin

congrats, thermo! and GL with house hunting

I am in the "hell no don't use a realtor" camp unless it is your first time buying or you are looking in a market where it is challenging to assess value. Admrl, sounds like you are both, so my advice is therefore "realtor, stat."

Interview a couple of people, go with the one you like best, and refuse to be locked into a realtor agreement for more than like 30 or 60 days. You want to be able to fire him/her if you are not happy.

Good god, Western Mass has even better deals on houses than here.

OTOH, what does it cost to heat a house like that through a New England winter?

realtors lock people into agreements? even buyers? mine was just like, do you want me to be your realtor and i said yeah ok.

can't tell which side is the front on that library st. house

The price of the Library St. house made me cry. It's like looking into a time machine.

Yeah, in DC a buyers agent will want you to sign an exclusive agreement for X amount of time. IDK maybe some don't? I can understand why, I mean you could do a lot of running around and get fucked over by a buyer.