The Home Ownership Thread

[jbarwick]

Any profession dealing with building must be making a killing and if not, they aren't charging enough. We need a survey completed for a fence on the new house and most places are booked out 6-8 weeks. You can get one sooner if you are willing to pay the mark up in price.

 

[gettoasty]

Same here in the East Bay it seems.

I will be trying to get new fences up on all three sides neighboring other homes, which is another problem in and of itself. In general, how much was the estimate for you @jbarwick

FWIW my parents were also surveying one side of their fence and was quoted $2000/neighbor so about $4000 to put up one side (they also have two other neighbors).

 

[jbarwick]

We need a survey before the company will give us a fencing quote. We are hoping we can attach to a neighbors fence as it is the aluminum picket fence required by the HOA. Survey alone is $800 and fence is likely $10K+ based on what the fence cost in our current yard.

Potential items that could increase cost are if they have to put the fencing into solid rock which could happen. Also any obstructions will add to cost so after the survey and estimate, I have to go clear out any obstructions otherwise they charge to do that.

 

[gettoasty]

Sounds about right, low five figures here for three sided fenced home.

On another note, AC technician came out and everything was working just fine. Air duct could be redone for better air flow. Feeling so puzzled and a waste of time getting someone especially right now to come inspect my home. I don't even use the AC (grew up without one). Just wanted the peace of mind that things are functioning so I guess there's that. Will monitor it some more. FWIW the fan on the AC was not spinning and I am certain one of the fuse lights was on even after I replaced with new ones but upon inspection, everything was running fine. This is probably the start of many lessons I will learn along the way of home ownership. Next time, I will wait a little longer before calling someone. I only did this time because the home warranty "gifted" by my broker was about to expire and I did not use it all year until now.

 

[1969]

Any thoughts on "self-managed" condominiums? I am looking at a unit in a 4-unit building. It appears the owner (of what should be a mansion) simply subdivided the property. The unit looks great but the shared spaces (just some short hallways) are a bit cluttered. The HOA is reasonable since there are minimal amenities.

I made an offer on a place last week, which was accepted but i walked away because there wasn't an audit of the HOA available. Even if the numbers I was shown were accurate, the last thing I want is to walk into a small community and start telling them how to run the HOA. There are a number of books on HOA's and I'd suggest reading a couple before you take the plunge.

 

[Van Veen]

I think we're going to put in an offer on a well maintained, but very outdated, house that is massively overpriced. Our pART-tIME REalToR spent almost an hour on the phone with us running through comps to help us to decide on a fair offer. I still don't really want to be the first one to come in with a lowball offer, but it feels like waiting much longer would be risky. It's an estate, so I'm sure the siblings have dollar signs in their eyes. Not sure how long it will take for reality to set in.

 

[brokencycle]

Obviously the market was different in 2010, but the first house we bought had been sitting for awhile because it was overpriced. We put in a low ball offer that was lower than we thought the house was worth. They didn't even respond, but we came back a week later and upped the price about $5k (we're talking about a sub $200k house), and then they started negotiating with us.

 

[Piobaire]

Best of luck, VV.

 

[Van Veen]

Obviously the market was different in 2010, but the first house we bought had been sitting for awhile because it was overpriced. We put in a low ball offer that was lower than we thought the house was worth. They didn't even respond, but we came back a week later and upped the price about $5k (we're talking about a sub $200k house), and then they started negotiating with us.

I have a feeling that's what's going to happen here. I've talked to some family members who have executed estates and they've all said something like, "eventually you hit a point where reality sets in and you just want to sell."

Wish I could find a livable sub-$300k house around here.

 

[brokencycle]

I have a feeling that's what's going to happen here. I've talked to some family members who have executed estates and they've all said something like, "eventually you hit a point where reality sets in and you just want to sell."

Wish I could find a livable sub-$300k house around here.

I've told you that you should expand your search area.

My family sold my grandma's house in no time -- they just went to a flipper that my dad knew and did a cash deal. They were happy because it was instantly done, but I think the guy screwed them a bit. He told them he had to do a thousand things to it, but based on the pictures he didn't do anything.

I guess my point is that estates trying to sell for way too much and letting sit are deluded just like individuals who do it. Good luck though!

 

[Van Veen]

I've told you that you should expand your search area.

My family sold my grandma's house in no time -- they just went to a flipper that my dad knew and did a cash deal. They were happy because it was instantly done, but I think the guy screwed them a bit. He told them he had to do a thousand things to it, but based on the pictures he didn't do anything.

I guess my point is that estates trying to sell for way too much and letting sit are deluded just like individuals who do it. Good luck though!

I can't deal with anything more than a 20-minute one-way commute. I'm high maintenance.

 

[brokencycle]

I can't deal with anything more than a 20-minute one-way commute. I'm high maintenance.

I can't either.

 

[jbarwick]

Checked out the survey markers for the fence and I will have to do a ton of brush and scrub clearing. The edge of the property has a lot of these somewhat dying pine trees.

 

[norcaltransplant]

SF bros I need some urgent advice for a unique house. We are currently house shopping, and my wife had the opportunity to tour a Modernist style house yesterday. The house incorporates a fair amount of glass, which gives me some pause. It's part of an estate sale, and will be sold this Tuesday or Wednesday. It's being offered as is, but appears to be pretty well maintained with at least one major renovation since the 2000s. Does this sound like a money pit/headache or opportunity? Future upgrades will be contracted, I do not trust myself to become all HGTV.

My wife and I lost out on this property due to an all cash offer. We placed a similar bid, but could not compete. Anyways, it was probably going to be a money pit for us since the whole house needed a lot of updates ($125-150k for gut reno of kitchen and roof) and would have stretched the budget.

Anyways, we are about to become first time home buyers. We found another property that is about 2/3rd the size on a slightly better block/neighborhood. Its a colonial, so not as much architectural interest, though the lot is significantly larger and well manicured. It required some significant repairs post inspection, so we spent another month of back and forth between our lawyer and the seller's lawyer. The sellers seemed motivated to sell, and provided us with a greater than expected concession. In fairness, we overbid by about the same amount. All in all it should meet our needs with the ability to expand in the future...

Wish I could find a livable sub-$300k house around here.

A parking spot in my old neighborhood was about 300k. Park Slope, Brooklyn

 

[Van Veen]

I grew up in NJ and lived in NYC for a year, so I know how it is.

Anyway... realtor texted to tell us the seller's agent said someone else was putting in an offer tonight. Hopefully it's a lowball, otherwise we'll move on. We're going for a second tour tomorrow and will strategize.