Home Buying & Real Estate Thread

[edshoecator]

City of Los Angeles owns so much land that’s not being used or is prime for building but they’ll hold it till a sports team owner comes and wants to build near it.

Same with ladwp. A bunch of out of use substations in the middle of neighborhoods

And still they’ll imminent domain a block instead of doing anything close to morally correct

 

[yogetoffmykickz]

I've been sounding like a broken record talking about my place and saying im a post pictures and never do for months lol... I wanted to wait until my place was fully furnished then share pics but im tired of talking and not sharing anything... I will post more pics once I get my desk assembled and tv put in which hopefully is this weekend... the kitchen is pretty much done in my condo just need a toaster and toaster oven... but heres a small sample for now and like I said will post more pictures later... I know my fridge and microwave are not flush with the cabinets but my dad personally picked it out and he was dealing with heart surgery at the time so I was like I'm a roll with your choice... the last 2 pictures are of my kitchen when I got my place in September...

Congrats on the condo... Over range micros and refrigerators that don't land flush with the cabs is actually pretty common... But for future reference, they sell "counter depth" appliances if it's something that you really want/care for...

That’s why I’d rather just buy some land 45 minutes out and not deal with the overbidding a house by 100k and all that.

How's the traffic life where you live.?

I only ask because, though I can agree with your statement, 45 minutes in bumper to bumper traffic hits a lot different than 45 minutes smooth sailing and cruzin ..

But here in LA, 45min is like a 5mile commute during rush hour... So to get to the "affordable" areas of LA county.. you're probably looking at 2hrs +

 

[yogetoffmykickz]

Also, on the topic of condos in general... Its definitely a good option for some ..

I myself was looking at condos when shopping for my first home...

I was completely priced out of SFR's in my market and some of the condos I was looking at were within the similar price range of renting.. HOA included...

Ultimately, my thinking was, for what it cost to rent in my area .. I could pay just as much (maybe a little more) to "buy" a condo instead.. which would in theory, continue to appreciate in value and build equity...

Sure HOAs, rules and regs, nosy neighbors and such is definitely a turn off, but all things considered. It was really a no-brainer for me..

I ended up going in a different direction... But I just wanted to share my perspective..

 

[mplsdunk]

Congrats on the condo... Over range micros and refrigerators that don't land flush with the cabs is actually pretty common... But for future reference, they sell "counter depth" appliances if it's something that you really want/care for...



How's the traffic life where you live.?

I only ask because, though I can agree with your statement, 45 minutes in bumper to bumper traffic hits a lot different than 45 minutes smooth sailing and cruzin ..

But here in LA, 45min is like a 5mile commute during rush hour... So to get to the "affordable" areas of LA county.. you're probably looking at 2hrs +

traffic is horrible where I live but I'm leaving in 3 years and I have to decide where to move, I want a little space, nothing crazy but I don't want to be 10 ft from my neighbor.

somewhere warm with booming construction thats not the south.

 

[pdino]

Also, on the topic of condos in general... Its definitely a good option for some ..

I myself was looking at condos when shopping for my first home...

I was completely priced out of SFR's in my market and some of the condos I was looking at were within the similar price range of renting.. HOA included...

Ultimately, my thinking was, for what it cost to rent in my area .. I could pay just as much (maybe a little more) to "buy" a condo instead.. which would in theory, continue to appreciate in value and build equity...

Sure HOAs, rules and regs, nosy neighbors and such is definitely a turn off, but all things considered. It was really a no-brainer for me..

I ended up going in a different direction... But I just wanted to share my perspective..

Condos don't appreciate as much as SFRs, but will still appreciate, something to keep in mind. When you buy a condo, you don't own the land. When you buy SFR, you own the land, and the land appreciates significantly

 

[yogetoffmykickz]

Condos don't appreciate as much as SFRs, but will still appreciate, something to keep in mind. When you buy a condo, you don't own the land. When you buy SFR, you own the land, and the land appreciates significantly

Oh definitely. I get that 100%... But sometimes, the only alternative, is not buying at all (untill you can afford the SFR) and continuing to rent... I think that's the wrong choice, almost always...

Again, just from my experience... One of the condos I was heavily considering at the time, has since appreciated over $100k..

I think should I had purchased the place... Couple years of paying down the mortgage+condo appreciation+current market inflation would = pretty nice equity...
IMO, a much better option than lining a landlords pockets by paying rent.!

 

[you go boy]

I bought my condo because I wanted to own instead of rent an apartment... if I rented an apartment the price of rent would have been more vs me buying my current condo...but a big difference is I used a huge chunk of my savings to renovate which had to be done because the previous owner didn't take care of my place...rent in NJ is ridiculous... I could of bought a ranch house instead of my condo but didn't want to worry about the maintenance a house involves like the grass, landscape, snow removal and if stuff breaks I'm responsible for everything like roof replacement etc...a townhouse woulda been nice since it's a little bigger but can't afford it and not only that it's just me so I don't think it would make sense to have a big place....my 2 beds 2 full bathrooms is decent just don't like how I lack closet space

there was another condo with a garage I was supposed to buy instead of my place but I got outbid and refused to higher my offer because I felt the seller was price gouging... the owner bought the condo for 170 in 2019 and had the house for sale at 220 in 2021.... I offered 235 because I really wanted the place and the winning bid offered 250... the seller said I had to increase my offer and I was like nah I'm good.... a month later they hit me up saying the winning bid fell through and I can take the place for 235 but it was too late I already signed my contract for my current condo which was much cheaper....so in two years that condo I didn't buy increased in value $65,000 which is crazy

 

[206to813]

Man that is crazy when renting an apartment costs more than a mortgage + fees on a condo. Only way I’d suggest not buying if those are your choices is if you’re close enough to being ready to buy a house, within 12 months. Renting longer than that, nah buy a condo imo. Get that equity started

 

[ballinsam23]

People in NYC have been sticking with co-ops. Higher maintenance but way cheaper. You still own, but own in shares. Also way more strict on the type of renovations you can do based on management, but everyone renovates illegally at this point.

Average prices for a 2 bedroom compared to a house in a good neighborhood/building.

All require a 20% down payment minimum.

Coop: 450k, $1000/m maintenance
Condo: 800k, $300/m maintenance
3-4 bedroom detached house 40x100 unrenovated: 900k, 10k/yr property taxes.

It’s tough out there.

 

[bangdak]

Has anyone had any success purchasing a SFH (or any property really) without a Buyer’s agent? We’re on the apps everyday looking at homes and have a good idea of what we want and are perfectly capable of spreading comps, etc.

Ultimately, we think it comes to whether the decrease in purchase purchase due to not having the seller pay a buyer’s agent fee is worth the market intel of how negotiations currently go in the market.

Looking in the NYC/LI market for context.

 

[solewoman]

Not sure if this is the right thread but does anyone use Fundrise?

Wondering what people’s thoughts are on it.

I use them. Been for 3 years. Returns are pretty decent.

 

[206to813]

Has anyone had any success purchasing a SFH (or any property really) without a Buyer’s agent? We’re on the apps everyday looking at homes and have a good idea of what we want and are perfectly capable of spreading comps, etc.

Ultimately, we think it comes to whether the decrease in purchase purchase due to not having the seller pay a buyer’s agent fee is worth the market intel of how negotiations currently go in the market.

Looking in the NYC/LI market for context.

Ehh. I don’t think it works like that

 

[oh you mad]

Has anyone had any success purchasing a SFH (or any property really) without a Buyer’s agent? We’re on the apps everyday looking at homes and have a good idea of what we want and are perfectly capable of spreading comps, etc.

Ultimately, we think it comes to whether the decrease in purchase purchase due to not having the seller pay a buyer’s agent fee is worth the market intel of how negotiations currently go in the market.

Looking in the NYC/LI market for context.

Get a buyers agent that offers commission rebate. A lot of Chinese agents do this in SoCal. My buddy and his broker/agent split the 3% commission half ways and got back about 14k.

 

[minus28]

I’ve accepted that i’m just going to rent for the next 5 years lol.

I’m in the same boat. Housing prices in the Bay Area and surrounding cities are crazy. Multiple offers on anything in less than a day.

 

[pdino]

I’m in the same boat. Housing prices in the Bay Area and surrounding cities are crazy. Multiple offers on anything in less than a day.

Get one that needs some work, much less competition. Get some sweat equity too. I just did this last year in the bay

 

[Nereyda Vuelve Por Dios]

is it true that if you refer someone to your realtor, and they end up completing a transaction of purchase, you get a piece of that commission.

 

[sole searchin]

is it true that if you refer someone to your realtor, and they end up completing a transaction of purchase, you get, Piece of that commission

Better discuss that and get that confirmation from the realtor. Shouldn’t be assumed

 

[townbidness]

Better discuss that and get that confirmation from the realtor. Shouldn’t be assumed

They sent me a $300 gift card.
Wasnt expected .

 

[1c3m4m]

Get one that needs some work, much less competition. Get some sweat equity too. I just did this last year in the bay

Explain sweat equity?

 

[jewseejay]

Make upgrades to your home you do yourself or sub contract out for cheap and project manage. Ideally youll make investments into things thatll drive the value of the property up - "sweat equity"

 

[1c3m4m]

Make upgrades to your home you do yourself or sub contract out for cheap and project manage. Ideally youll make investments into things thatll drive the value of the property up - "sweat equity"

Thank you

 

[solewoman]

Anyone have experience with buying vacation property out the country?

 

[HankHill]

Has anyone had any success purchasing a SFH (or any property really) without a Buyer’s agent? We’re on the apps everyday looking at homes and have a good idea of what we want and are perfectly capable of spreading comps, etc.

Ultimately, we think it comes to whether the decrease in purchase purchase due to not having the seller pay a buyer’s agent fee is worth the market intel of how negotiations currently go in the market.

Looking in the NYC/LI market for context.

I haven’t, but was initially going to when dealing with my new build. You technically don’t need a realtor for that as long as you’re competent enough to read and understand your contracts. You can even try to negotiate the would-be realtor commission as a credit to your closing cost.

If you’re going for a resale I would stick with getting a buyer's agent.

 

[FreshLeeLA]

Has anyone had any success purchasing a SFH (or any property really) without a Buyer’s agent? We’re on the apps everyday looking at homes and have a good idea of what we want and are perfectly capable of spreading comps, etc.

Ultimately, we think it comes to whether the decrease in purchase purchase due to not having the seller pay a buyer’s agent fee is worth the market intel of how negotiations currently go in the market.

Looking in the NYC/LI market for context.

Best of luck with that in this hyper aggressive market

 

[sneakaprince]

Best of luck with that in this hyper aggressive market

I agree with that but I guess it depends on the situation.

Honestly, I have my filters set up pretty well plus I comb my local market daily so rarely do I "need" an agent for anything other than showings and contract work (which my homie would do for next to nothing if I needed it).

However, I've been working with my go to agent for 6 years or so now and she's given me several off market deals since we started working together.

In the last year alone I've done at least 3 deals through her. Both on the buying and selling side and now she's prepping to put my primary house on the market.

My relationship with her is invaluable. I go to her for insight on so much more than just "is this a good house". Whatever her fee is I pay it without looking or thinking twice. It's legit just good business.

I did cheat on her twice last year (sold an apartment through another agent , who raped me on fees) and bought a duplex via that same agent (she was outta town). Truth be told neither was a bad experience but I genuinely believe she could've helped me get my duplex at a lower price. The other agent was seasoned enough to get the deal done but he wasn't aggressive enough for my liking in regards to negotiating or even helping me structure a proper offer.

It doesn't hurt to have options but imo a GOOD agent can become invaluable. My agent has legit offered to front me hundreds of thousands of dollars for a cash play because we have such an outstanding relationship.