The Home Ownership Thread

[patrick_b]

Talked to our realtor. He said he's working with a couple who put in an offer for $30k over asking with a $20k non-refundable deposit, and they're not even sure they'll win.

Glad we pulled the trigger when we did. We'd be renting indefinitely if we waited much longer. Even new construction is going 5-10% over asking now.

Also my redfin estimate jumped $5k+ after a couple sales in my zip code closed. It's now $40k over what we paid (net), and we've probably put $20k into major repairs so far. Freaking wild.

How accurate is redfin/zillow? Looking out of curiosity, redfin has us $45K more than zillow.

 

[Van Veen]

Went to a different Lowe’s than usual and scored 10 plastic old work boxes and the last 4 box extenders. There was a ******* douchebag in the electrical aisle bitching about everything. “No ******* box extenders. These ******* pussies need to get back to work.” I’m not even sure I need the box extenders but I sure as **** was not giving them to him.

There’s also a gas run going on today. Seems like everyone’s in a ****** mood.

 

[ValidusLA]

How accurate is redfin/zillow? Looking out of curiosity, redfin has us $45K more than zillow.

Hard to say. Depends on area much of the time. Zillow has us significantly higher than Redfin currently, by about 100k.

 

[brokencycle]

I saw a first: house sold for 15% over list. Redfin, post sale, estimates it is worth list price.

 

[imatlas]

yeah, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say she isn't that picky

Attention @edinatlanta

I saw a first: house sold for 15% over list. Redfin, post sale, estimates it is worth list price.

Sucks for the new owner

 

[otc]

How accurate is redfin/zillow? Looking out of curiosity, redfin has us $45K more than zillow.

Check realtor.com--if available, they report value history for 3 different automated valuation models.

No idea how right they are (probably decent on average but a fair amount of error on any specific house), but its nice to see numbers from 3 independent companies whose business is valuing properties rather than trying to get people to buy/sell.

Their typical clientele is something like an insurance/reinsurance company gut checking values on a portfolio of policies.

But its probably still not going to beat a realtor/appraiser hand-picking recent comps that actually match your house.

edit: and I'm sure realtor gets a special deal, but buying reports from Corelogic is like 15x more expensive than Quantarium (although they contain more info on the property) and I've heard them described as the "Cadillac" of valuation software.

 

[PhilKenSebben]

Attention @edinatlanta

I said she wasn't picky, not that she was deaf blind and a poor judge of character

 

[double00]

briefly reading up it sounds like core logic uses a different analytical technique (repeat sales index, never heard of it). zillow uses some sort of hedonic analysis which is something i've bumped into and understand a little bit.

 

[PhilKenSebben]

I have a kitchen faucet that doesn't get very hot water. If I turn he cold water off, it gets very hot, but with both leads on the water isn't very hot. Does anyone have a suggestion why this might be?

I have already had my nanny/stepsister/stepmom come over and look very far under the sink and get stuck, but that didn't seem to fix the problem

Thanks in advance!

 

[Van Veen]

I saw a first: house sold for 15% over list. Redfin, post sale, estimates it is worth list price.

I've seen that a few times. Seems like it takes a few days for their algorithm to catch up.

Check realtor.com--if available, they report value history for 3 different automated valuation models.

Lol I just checked realtor, and my "preliminary offer" from Opendoor is 17.5% higher than the net price we paid after concessions/credits.

Funny because my realtor said if he listed this place now, he'd probably list about 20-25% over that net price (higher than the redfin/zillow estimates).

OTOH the realtor.com estimate is much, much lower than redfin/zillow. It is very close to asking price.

I think given the craziness of the market, these estimates are even more worthless than usual.

I have a kitchen faucet that doesn't get very hot water. If I turn he cold water off, it gets very hot, but with both leads on the water isn't very hot. Does anyone have a suggestion why this might be?

I have already had my nanny/stepsister/stepmom come over and look very far under the sink and get stuck, but that didn't seem to fix the problem

Thanks in advance!

I had this problem with a shower. The mixing valve has a safety feature that limits how hot it gets. I was able to adjust it. I have no idea if it's the same with kitchen faucets. Don't think there's that feature on mine.

Otherwise... are you sure the shutoff valve is fully open? Because...

This could fit in the "pissing you off" thread as well, as this is a major facepalm moment. We've had extremely low cold water pressure in the kitchen for the almost entire time we've lived in this apartment (almost 4 years). We've asked the landlord about it multiple times. He's checked it out and said there's nothing he can do. Tonight I had an epiphany and checked the valve under the sink. Turned out it was not open all the way. This is the plumbing equivalent of a computer not working because it's not plugged in. I both feel like a complete moron and am completely relieved that I no longer have to use the bathroom sink when I need cold water.

 

[HRoi]

I have already had my nanny/stepsister/stepmom come over and look very far under the sink and get stuck, but that didn't seem to fix the problem

You make it sound like those are all the same person

 

[PhilKenSebben]

You make it sound like those are all the same person

Well, no, but I did have them all wedge themselves under the sink together. It really helped make sure they all got stuck

 

[Texasmade]

Well, no, but I did have them all wedge themselves under the sink together. It really helped make sure they all got stuck

I'm sure your dad came in and took care of business while you watched on the side.

 

[SirWilliam]

Does anyone have recommendations for home security systems? I live in a condo with two entrances and three balconies (six total possible entry points). I have a NVR camera system of Lockly Secure Lux Mortises (on my main entry doors) but I don't have a proper alarm system that can call the police.

 

[Omega Male]

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