Home Buying & Real Estate Thread

[polosanddunks]

It's in Lindenwood, NY in Queens. We told him about the quote we received. He thinks its ridiculous. I did some research online and I read things like the rates are set by FEMA. There's no such thing as shopping around. If true, I dont know how he didn't know about this. That quote is the cheapest option with a $10K deductible.

We're seriously thinking of backing out. I'm going to talk to our lawyer tomorrow. We were already throwing away a lot of money on PMI and this is just getting to be too much.

thats messed up man. Thats way too much I would back out as well honestly. Its messed up because you've been looking pretty hard and now when your finally there it falls through over something you expected the realtor to get on initially from the start.

 

[ekrev98]

I dont know man.

He told us we wouldn't need flood insurance before we even made an offer. Later on, I was worried about the type of money we were spending. Now this, it's getting ridiculous. This guy has worked in the area for a long time and lives in the neighborhood. Homes 3-4 blocks away aren't required to have flood insurance. I just don't see how he didn't know this. I'm reading about a law that sellers have to disclose that the property is in a flood zone. I'm hoping thats the case in NYC, it gives us a way out if we decide to go that route.

Ah ic. He just assumed it was all good then. The whole buying process can be very stressful but hopefully everything works out man.

 

[galaxynexus]

For those living in high COL areas, what's your strategy for saving up for the inevitable large down payment?

Similarly, in a fast growing market like the Bay Area / CA, aren't there scenarios where putting down 5-10% and eating PMI for a bit would be better than waiting and buying in with 20% down at a higher price due to appreciation? I guess it's like trying to time a market / moving train but wanted to get everyone's thoughts.

 

[HankHill]

I wouldn't put 20% in a high COL area unless I'm married and we've both saved quite a chunk for the DP.

 

[capital sb]

Yeah I'm not even sure how anyone young could save up 20% in a HCOL area, unless you've been living at home for years.

 

[dathbgboy]

Why wouldn't they do a hard pull? Every lender does.

Yea, I guess I just wasn't expecting the hard pull until we got to the point where we were about to get the loan. Because now if we decide to go through another lender, that pull is on our credit and hit me fore 28pts. And we all know credit scores are like GPAs

 

[206to813]

It's in Lindenwood, NY in Queens. We told him about the quote we received. He thinks its ridiculous. I did some research online and I read things like the rates are set by FEMA. There's no such thing as shopping around. If true, I dont know how he didn't know about this. That quote is the cheapest option with a $10K deductible.

We're seriously thinking of backing out. I'm going to talk to our lawyer tomorrow. We were already throwing away a lot of money on PMI and this is just getting to be too much.

That sucks man. Did you put down your good faith deposit? If not maybe backing out would be smart. Between your pmi and high insurance, you'll hardly make a dent into that principle, for how much you're paying monthly.

 

[206to813]

For those living in high COL areas, what's your strategy for saving up for the inevitable large down payment?

Similarly, in a fast growing market like the Bay Area / CA, aren't there scenarios where putting down 5-10% and eating PMI for a bit would be better than waiting and buying in with 20% down at a higher price due to appreciation? I guess it's like trying to time a market / moving train but wanted to get everyone's thoughts.

Makes sense bro. If you know for sure the homes will be appreciating. I got lucky and bought in 2012 before the market started going up. I bought a house in tampa for 225k and put down the minimum dp for a 30 yr fha loan. In 2014 my house appraised for 290 and i refi'd to a 15 yr conventional, getting a better rate and no more pmi.

Now im gonna sell/upgrade, in the process right now

 

[capital sb]

Yea, I guess I just wasn't expecting the hard pull until we got to the point where we were about to get the loan. Because now if we decide to go through another lender, that pull is on our credit and hit me fore 28pts. And we all know credit scores are like GPAs

A 28 point hit from a hard pull is not normal. You might want to check you credit report .

 

[lazyj10]

It's hard to bank on appreciation. Lots of factors to think about. How long can you withstand to live in said property should things turn down like in 2008?

We lucked out on the house we have now - got in at the bottom and can live there for the foreseeable future. Did a gut renovation initially thanks to my/my wife's parents. Since it was a foreclosure at the time that wouldn't pass any inspection, other prospective buyers couldn't FHA qualify so it gave us the in.

 

[dathbgboy]

Yea, I guess I just wasn't expecting the hard pull until we got to the point where we were about to get the loan. Because now if we decide to go through another lender, that pull is on our credit and hit me fore 28pts. And we all know credit scores are like GPAs

A 28 point hit from a hard pull is not normal. You might want to check you credit report .

Just checked and it was that hard pull plus studen loans

 

[crcballer55]

I really like my realtor but he dropped the ball on this one. He was 100% sure the house wasn't in a flood zone. The bank told us the loan was approved today and gave us a list of things we needed to provide. One of them is we need to get flood insurance. We got a quote and its almost $2800 a year.

Before making assumptions, I would weigh different options. How far into escrow are you? Can you check with another bank to see if flood insurance is required there?

I've believe I recently read that FEMA recently updated flood maps for different areas. This could be a situation where they just updated it in your area and nobody was aware because they didn't need it before. OR, it could be a bank error which is why your Realtor isn't aware of it. What was his response when the bank required flood insurance?

 

[dam itz lou]

Before making assumptions, I would weigh different options. How far into escrow are you? Can you check with another bank to see if flood insurance is required there?

I've believe I recently read that FEMA recently updated flood maps for different areas. This could be a situation where they just updated it in your area and nobody was aware because they didn't need it before. OR, it could be a bank error which is why your Realtor isn't aware of it. What was his response when the bank required flood insurance?

They sent us the remaining conditions to set up a closing date yesterday.

My broker was shocked and even more shocked when he heard the quote. I did some digging on the property and I found an amendment from Jan 2015 where the house was changed from zone X to zone AE. The funny thing is theres the same exact house right around the corner thats even closer to the water and its considered zone X by one of the flood insurance companies. I looked up the address and same thing happened to that house. I dont know why the insurance doesn't know it was changed to zone AE. I'm sure they'll catch on though. I read articles about homeowners in the area have been fighting FEMA's decision, but I'm not sure if thats something we want to get ourselves into.

I just dont get how this was overlooked by the professionals involved. This is something that should of been taken cared of from the jump. This can obviously effect if someone gets approved for a loan or not. If they even want to deal with a house in a mandatory flood area, and home value in the future. It's more money going to insurance instead of the house.

 

[gsxrpaul]

Just signed off on my refi last night, we bought in October and the rates were 4.125, just signed to refi at a 3.625 rate, saving me $217/month on my payment. Was also nice to see that all the work we put into the house on the remodel added up in the new appraisal that went along with the refi.

 

[ootherocoo]

GAME. SET. MATCH

IT'S BEEN A LONG JOURNEY.  BUT WE'RE FINALLY DONE....UNTIL THE NEXT PROJECT AT LEAST. LOL

 

[slicknick951]

Great work

 

[jthagreat]

Nice work.

I see the before picks, but what did it look like before the demo?

 

[stork]

IT'S BEEN A LONG JOURNEY.  BUT WE'RE FINALLY DONE....UNTIL THE NEXT PROJECT AT LEAST. LOL[/CENTER]

what do the #'s look like?

 

[ootherocoo]

Nice work.

I see the before picks, but what did it look like before the demo?

I'm not sure if you can see it in the last two pics, but there was this weird hallway separating the dining room from the stairs. It was like a maze between the hallway, kitchen and dining room.

IT'S BEEN A LONG JOURNEY.  BUT WE'RE FINALLY DONE....UNTIL THE NEXT PROJECT AT LEAST. LOL[/CENTER]

what do the #'s look like?

80K. That's including everything from demo to dumpster rental to the nails used. Lol. I kept digital receipts of every penny spent.

 

[jthagreat]

NICE

Its always interesting to see the previous setup to the new idea you made reality.

 

[dam itz lou]

So my realtor is blaming the bank. He said they should of done a good faith estimate and the flood insurance would of came up when they looked up the address. He said he asked her and she didn't really answer the question.

 

[slicknick951]

So my realtor is blaming the bank. He said they should of done a good faith estimate and the flood insurance would of came up when they looked up the address. He said he asked her and she didn't really answer the question.

No one wants to take responsibility mean while your on the hook

 

[703 hwy]

Nice remodel

 

[ootherocoo]

So my realtor is blaming the bank. He said they should of done a good faith estimate and the flood insurance would of came up when they looked up the address. He said he asked her and she didn't really answer the question.

No one wants to take responsibility mean while your on the hook

Forgive me. I'm late to the party here. But what happened?

 

[dam itz lou]

Forgive me. I'm late to the party here. But what happened?

I'm getting screwed. Page 93.