CAG home owner topic. Buying or selling a home? Have a maintance issue? Help is here!

All right, got a question for this topic coming up on 1 year since we closed...

It's about homeowner's insurance. Homesite (Progressive's partner) doubled our insurance quote for the upcoming year with no real reason. They claimed claims were up in our area, yet we had one of the mildest winters on record here in MA. Incidentally, I posted this query on facebook and ALMOST IMMEDIATELY one of my fb friends posts that they jacked up their rates too- and the guy lives halfway across the country!

So I was hoping some of the good people on CAG could recommend a certain provider. Our mortgagor does not care which company it is.
 
My insurance company jacked up my rates a year after my first house, switched to allstate and have been good ever since then. Also, ask about raising your deductible to 2-3k. It'll drop your rates a TON, and if you are worried about having high rates ask family/friends how many times they have made a claim...chances are you are pretty close to striking out on knowing anyone that has.
 
[quote name='ajh2298']Anybody have any ideas on how to waterproof a basement? I have two "cold rooms" that are in the front of my basement underneath my porch. We have been using them for storage of items in plastic rubbermaid bins and other items. The problem is when it rains hard water just comes out of the corner of the walls and runs through the whole basement towards the drain which is a good 12-15 feet away. I had hopes of finishing my basement and making it a game room but with the water coming in thats now a pipe dream.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']To really waterproof a basement you have to start outside. Look at the grade of your property, especially where the water is coming in. Do everything you can to et water away fom that area: make sure the gutters are working well, dig a french drain to move water away from the house in trouble area.

Inside the basement you can have a sump pump installed along with French drains around the walls. If you aren't getting a ton of water and the power stays on during a storm, that should keep you pretty dry.[/QUOTE]

Also, you may want to pick up a dehumidifier. I run a 55 pint dehumidifier in my basement and it makes a big difference in the amount of moisture in the air and on the floor. It will usually fill the pan in one day if there has been a recent rain.

Another thing to try out is applying UGL Drylok to the walls. It's a waterproofer that covers about 60 sq. ft. per gallon. My house has a cinderblock foundation, not sure if you should use it on brick. I am going to try this out (whenever that may be) after using some hydraulic cement to fill in a few cracks. My goal is to not have water enter my basement so I can actually put electronics and furniture down there without worry.
 
[quote name='Invicta 61']Also, you may want to pick up a dehumidifier. I run a 55 pint dehumidifier in my basement and it makes a big difference in the amount of moisture in the air and on the floor. It will usually fill the pan in one day if there has been a recent rain.

Another thing to try out is applying UGL Drylok to the walls. It's a waterproofer that covers about 60 sq. ft. per gallon. My house has a cinderblock foundation, not sure if you should use it on brick. I am going to try this out (whenever that may be) after using some hydraulic cement to fill in a few cracks. My goal is to not have water enter my basement so I can actually put electronics and furniture down there without worry.[/QUOTE]

I know about the hydraulic cement and I want to give that a try I am just worried if I fill in where the water gets in now I will just open bigger problem later. Right now the water coming in is semi controlled to run across the basement floor right at the drain. I also have been running a dehumidifier I thinks it a 70 pint model. We have been running it almost all the time since we got it even when it does not rain. Is that a mistake by us? It did seem to help remove the musty odor in the basement we had when we first moved in.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']HOA rules it is a condo. That is a big strike as I wanted to have the option to rent it in the future.

This is a 2 bed 2 bath condo, so I don't own the land and taxes are about $3,500/yr. Good middle class neighborhood in the burbs. It has a semi finished basement which is why I want it (but that can't be included in sq ft in this area). It is about 900 sq ft. not counting the basement. Needs a new kitchen and everything is dated 80s era. Needs new washer and dryer and appliances. Assessments are only $155 which is crazy low for this area. Normally assessments are $250-$400/month. The highest it sold for was $153,000 in 2005, but it is currently valued around $90,000. Realistically it won't be worth 90,000 for 2-3 years and until I update everything/paint.

They had no other offers on the place, so I figured they might bite. I can tell there was water damage at some point, but I contacted the HOA and it was repaired in 2003, so I think that might be scaring most buyers off. That and the fact that it looks dated. Realistically some paint and new appliances and it will look decent. The basement is the best part of the condo really.

I took a video of my walk through, but I don't know how to edit/upload it. It is from a "flip" that I bought at a thrift store.[/QUOTE]

Here is an update. I am still looking for a place to buy and I keep coming back to the one that has turned down 2 of my offers. It is listed at 72,000 and after 2 of my offers they countered at $70,000. My last offer was $62,000 cash. It is a short sale, vacant, costs them to keep on the heat,water,etc, and it can not be rented.

My agent thinks they are shooting for $68,000 and believes that if I put a few grand into it, I can flip it for $90,000 in a couple of years.

I am debating if I should wait for them to be foreclosed or to up my offer. I saw that short sale sellers have to report the amount forgiven by the bank on a mortgage as income on their taxes if a short sale does not sell by the end of the year. I am tempted to roll the dice, but the market is also picking up in this area.

BTW the owner has first right of refusal, so the bank doesn't even see my offers (which is frustrating).

What do you guys/gals think?
 
[quote name='slowdive21']Here is an update. I am still looking for a place to buy and I keep coming back to the one that has turned down 2 of my offers. It is listed at 72,000 and after 2 of my offers they countered at $70,000. My last offer was $62,000 cash. It is a short sale, vacant, costs them to keep on the heat,water,etc, and it can not be rented.

My agent thinks they are shooting for $68,000 and believes that if I put a few grand into it, I can flip it for $90,000 in a couple of years.

I am debating if I should wait for them to be foreclosed or to up my offer. I saw that short sale sellers have to report the amount forgiven by the bank on a mortgage as income on their taxes if a short sale does not sell by the end of the year. I am tempted to roll the dice, but the market is also picking up in this area.

BTW the owner has first right of refusal, so the bank doesn't even see my offers (which is frustrating).

What do you guys/gals think?[/QUOTE]

Short sales are awful. The owner may be refusing the offers because your offers are simply below where the bank will let them walk away from it all. Do you know how much they put down, whether they used a 2nd note to pay for the down payment, how much is remaining on that note and the primary mortgage, and how delinquent they are? That should give you an idea of what they're looking to get. Chances are the bank was going to reject your offers too. Banks, for some reason, think that going through the foreclosure process, then selling the place at a gimped value in foreclosure several months from now is somehow better than just eating an $10,000 loss to sell it to you and to take it off their books. I'll never understand it, but I've seen it many times. Maybe the bank gets some kind of write off for keeping shit like this on their books.

Everyone also says the only place for the housing market to go is up, but you just never know. I wouldn't buy the place and gamble on it being a "flip" as the market still isn't that stable unless your area has something special going on. A $20K difference on a condo in a few years is pretty drastic in this economy, but again, your local market may say differently. You also have to consider how many thousands of dollars you're going to have to put into renovating the place, plus property taxes, etc. Is it worth the time, money, and effort to flip this one property?

I didn't go back and re-read the thread to see where you are at in life, but if you're just looking for a place to live, treat it as that and don't look at it as a flip. Just make sure that you could break even if you needed to. You never know, the market may dip more.
 
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[quote name='kodave']Short sales are awful. The owner may be refusing the offers because your offers are simply below where the bank will let them walk away from it all. Do you know how much they put down, whether they used a 2nd note to pay for the down payment, how much is remaining on that note and the primary mortgage, and how delinquent they are? That should give you an idea of what they're looking to get. Chances are the bank was going to reject your offers too. Banks, for some reason, think that going through the foreclosure process, then selling the place at a gimped value in foreclosure several months from now is somehow better than just eating an $10,000 loss to sell it to you and to take it off their books. I'll never understand it, but I've seen it many times. Maybe the bank gets some kind of write off for keeping shit like this on their books.

Everyone also says the only place for the housing market to go is up, but you just never know. I wouldn't buy the place and gamble on it being a "flip" as the market still isn't that stable unless your area has something special going on. A $20K difference on a condo in a few years is pretty drastic in this economy, but again, your local market may say differently. You also have to consider how many thousands of dollars you're going to have to put into renovating the place, plus property taxes, etc. Is it worth the time, money, and effort to flip this one property?

I didn't go back and re-read the thread to see where you are at in life, but if you're just looking for a place to live, treat it as that and don't look at it as a flip. Just make sure that you could break even if you needed to. You never know, the market may dip more.[/QUOTE]

According to my agent (at least in Illinois) it is illegal to find out/contact the bank about short sales. I checked at city hall for foreclosure notices and there are none listed at the address. I figured if they receive a foreclosure notice it would list the amount of debt in the court filings.

I should add the place sold for 153,000 in 2005, but that was the peak of the market.

Realistically I do not plan to sell it so soon as I was going to use the basement as my warehouse. I basically have 700 sq ft already filled with 'inventory' at my parents house, so I am basically buying it because it is the most space for the money that has come up in the past 6 months. There is another unit that is similar that is listed at $99,000 (same sq feet/same builder).

I'm mainly debating how much to offer. I would image they are only dropping 1,000 each offer because 70,000 is where they walk away with extra cash or near what the bank will forgive.
 
Anyone ever rent a POD? I need to put my entire basement and garage in one but I want to store it on my property. Is this generally allowed or do I need a permit from the town? I called but after 20 minutes on hold they disconnected me.

Construction starts 3 weeks from today so we have to be ready by then. This is going to be a HUGE pain in the ass but worth it once we are finished. They are turning off the washer and dryer pretty much right away for the first 8-10 weeks and then once that goes back on we lose out only shower for 8-10 weeks as well. The logistics are going to drive us nuts and there are so many additional costs over and above the bid that scare me (POD rental, construction permit fees, etc.).
 
Wait wtf, you're not going to shower for 8-10 weeks? :puke: Or do you have somewhere else where you'll take your showers?

I remember my parents rented a bigass dumpster that's even more unsightly than those pods and I don't think they needed a permit or anything. But YMMV, I would ask the town first just to be safe. Or maybe you can ask the PODS office- they would be likely to know the rules in your area and they won't disconnect you.
 
I am going to shower at the gym every morning. I could also shower at work but I don't want to deal with bringing clothes all the way to the office. It will be easier to shower at the gym, come home and get changed and then go to work.

The POD place didn't know off hand but after doing some digging through the town ordinances it seems like I need to get a permit for $50 and it lasts 6 months. Although the same thing was said about tree removal which we most definitely didn't get (unless the tree removal company applied and got it without our knowledge). I think the plan is to rent one and wing it - if someone says something we will get the permit and deal with it then.
 
Work is going slow on my gaming basement. Got the outlets and drywall up, painted part of the walls, and just had an egress window put in. My Dad and I have been at it since last winter. We only go there 3-4 hours at a time like 3 days a week.
 
[quote name='2DMention']Work is going slow on my gaming basement. Got the outlets and drywall up, painted part of the walls, and just had an egress window put in. My Dad and I have been at it since last winter. We only go there 3-4 hours at a time like 3 days a week.[/QUOTE]

Mine has been on hiatus since June. Guy doing it bought a house. Damn him and his priorities.
 
[quote name='2DMention']Work is going slow on my gaming basement. Got the outlets and drywall up, painted part of the walls, and just had an egress window put in. My Dad and I have been at it since last winter. We only go there 3-4 hours at a time like 3 days a week.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='Pookymeister']Mine has been on hiatus since June. Guy doing it bought a house. Damn him and his priorities.[/QUOTE]

At least you guys have rooms that can be finished. They start digging the hole for mine in a couple of weeks (I won't be finishing it for probably 2 or 3 years, unfortunately). :D

I'm excited but really nervous. It is expensive and it is really going to disrupt my life for about 6 months... it didn't seem like a big deal at first but the closer it gets and the more we prepare I can see it is going to be awful.
 
I've done a complete gut of the only bathroom when I owned my condo. Luckily that only took a week, could shower at work, and work was 2 mins away(so could shower whenever i wanted)
 
Best way to get rid of mice? Humane is preferred, but we will kill em if we have to. I saw a few people say a very cheap and easy way to do things is take sponges, soak them in beef broth then leave em laying about. Apparently the mice love em, eat em and then it expands in their gut and they die...but that seems really cruel.

Someone else said a really easy and cheap way of getting rid of them is to put some grain in a bucket, then build a ramp to the corner. The mice smell the grain, jump in and are trapped. You can either let them die or you can let em go. Sounds like it COULD work and work very well, but not sure if its a good idea in the house.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Best way to get rid of mice? Humane is preferred, but we will kill em if we have to. I saw a few people say a very cheap and easy way to do things is take sponges, soak them in beef broth then leave em laying about. Apparently the mice love em, eat em and then it expands in their gut and they die...but that seems really cruel.

Someone else said a really easy and cheap way of getting rid of them is to put some grain in a bucket, then build a ramp to the corner. The mice smell the grain, jump in and are trapped. You can either let them die or you can let em go. Sounds like it COULD work and work very well, but not sure if its a good idea in the house.[/QUOTE]

These work, but you have to check them:

http://www.amazon.com/Mice-Cube-Pk-Reusable-Humane/dp/B000WB13QC

It took less than a day to catch the mouse.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Best way to get rid of mice? Humane is preferred, but we will kill em if we have to. I saw a few people say a very cheap and easy way to do things is take sponges, soak them in beef broth then leave em laying about. Apparently the mice love em, eat em and then it expands in their gut and they die...but that seems really cruel.

Someone else said a really easy and cheap way of getting rid of them is to put some grain in a bucket, then build a ramp to the corner. The mice smell the grain, jump in and are trapped. You can either let them die or you can let em go. Sounds like it COULD work and work very well, but not sure if its a good idea in the house.[/QUOTE]

There are live capture traps at every hardware store. There are smaller ones for mice, larger cage ones for rats. The smaller ones like slowdive21 posted work, but only to a certain extent. Eventually the mice smarten up and just ignore those traps. I'd say try some of those first and hope they work. Don't get glue traps or the old fashioned ones that snap on the mouse. Mice will gnaw off their own limbs on the glue traps. If the snap ones don't kill instantly, it's not very humane. Tricking them into falling into a bucket might work as well. If you can catch them humanely, just be sure to dump them in a field or something far away from your place, otherwise they'll be back.

If you can't live-trap them, just get some poisons (assuming you don't have pets or small children that might come into contact with the poisons). That should do them in, but who knows where the corpses will eventually lie.
 
Update: I gave up on the condo I was bidding on. My agent agrees that he thinks the people are sitting on it waiting for it to get foreclosed. They won't take a cash offer at $65,000 on a $72,000 unit.

Just by chance my realtor found a 1 bedroom that was dirt cheap and new on the market in the same complex. I put in a bid today and we are expecting to close tomorrow. It is only $39,900 (I offered 35,900 cash) and it last sold for $110,000. It is old, but clean, and I should be able to flip it if necessary within 12 months and make $15K with a few upgrades. It has only been listed for 3 days, and it is from an estate (the lady died, not in the condo BTW) so hopefully they will be looking to move it quickly. I am not looking to flip it, but I am going to keep my eye on the other unit. If it gets foreclosed it will be at least 3-4 months before it comes back on the market or goes to auction.

I really need more space, but this one is move in ready and I think I could be in by 11-1 if my offer gets accepted. :bouncy:
 
Damn. $40,000 for a place to live. That's nuts! Congrats.

It's official - construction on my house starts 11/5. So this weekend I have to completely empty my basement (I'm making trips to my parents house to store stuff in their basement). Then I have to rent a POD and empty my garage over the next 2 weekends. I think it's totally doable but it is going to be a lot of work.

I need to start taking pictures - I want to be able to track the construction progress.
 
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Done deal $38,000 cash. (contracts signed pending inspection/lawyers/checks clearing)

Last sold for $118,000 in 2007 (I was wrong-thought it was 104,000 MLS has the correct record)

It isn't impressive, but the value is great. The only visible problem is the carpet needs to be re-stretched in the main room.

http://imgur.com/a/0QOtL#0



forums
 
[quote name='slowdive21']Done deal $38,000 cash. (contracts signed pending inspection/lawyers/checks clearing)

Last sold for $118,000 in 2007 (I was wrong-thought it was 104,000 MLS has the correct record)

It isn't impressive, but the value is great. The only visible problem is the carpet needs to be re-stretched in the main room.

http://imgur.com/a/0QOtL#0



forums
[/QUOTE]

Awesome. What part of the country are you in? That seems like a good deal just about anywhere.
 
[quote name='Viva Las Vegas']Awesome. What part of the country are you in? That seems like a good deal just about anywhere.[/QUOTE]

NW Chicago suburbs. This is one of the more desirable areas in the burbs. It is a middle class area, but it is safe and the schools are better than most of the state. The main reason I bought here is because I know the area already and it is close to my 'warehouse' (ie: my parents basement). Hopefully I will be able to rent it out for $1,000-$1,200 /month once I upgrade. As it stands I am not allowed to rent it out.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']Done deal $38,000 cash. (contracts signed pending inspection/lawyers/checks clearing)

Last sold for $118,000 in 2007 (I was wrong-thought it was 104,000 MLS has the correct record)

It isn't impressive, but the value is great. The only visible problem is the carpet needs to be re-stretched in the main room.

http://imgur.com/a/0QOtL#0


forums
[/QUOTE]

fuck you. :lol:

Congrats!
 
Yikes... construction on my house starts 11/5 10/29!!! Contractor said the permits are in early and he wants to start right away. So this weekend I have to completely empty my garage (I did the basement last weekend). I'm renting a POD - it is going to be a lot of work. Holy crap.
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']fuck you. :lol:

Congrats![/QUOTE]

Thanks! The agent's listing company is a PITA. First they ask for 10% down, eventhough I am paying cash and we are closing 11-1. Then they want two separate checks for $1,000 and $2,800 (totaling 10%). They wanted one check Monday and the Second check today. Then they say my second check has to be certified. So I jumped through their hoops and got everything taken care of...Turns out the people probably aren't even going to be ready to close by 11-1. :wall:

I did get the furnace checked out and it is old, but in good shape. The appliances seem to work, though the garbage disposal does not seem to work (but it may require a reset). The faucets seem to leak, but I can fix them myself. Water heater is relatively new (2-3 years old). All in all it seems like the place is in good shape.

I am debating if it is even worth having an electrician test everything. We decided to bypass the inspection, since we were able to test any 'deal breaker' type of problems.
 
Update: I closed on my condo today! I switched over the power and I want to buy new locks. I was just going to have the re-keyed at home depot, but I guess they don't do that anymore unless you buy one of their locks.

The carpet will be stretched and hopefully cleaned in the next day or 2.

The lady couldn't find the mail key, so I have to pay the PO $30 for a new one. My lawyer said I will be reimbursed for it from the seller.
 
Congrats slowdive.

It appears as though I'm going to be delayed due to Sandy. Still no power at home - been out since Monday. I haven't even talked to my contractor but there's no way he could have started this week and I'll be surprised if he can even start next week. Sucks.
 
[quote name='Javery']Congrats slowdive.

It appears as though I'm going to be delayed due to Sandy. Still no power at home - been out since Monday. I haven't even talked to my contractor but there's no way he could have started this week and I'll be surprised if he can even start next week. Sucks.[/QUOTE]

That's rough. Hopefully your heat and stove are gas.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']That's rough. Hopefully your heat and stove are gas.[/QUOTE]

The stove is gas and is working if I use a lighter as the pilot. The heat is out though. Contractor just emailed though and said he will start next week pending the power coming back on so that's good. I was worried we'd be put on hold since over 50 houses in town were damaged or destroyed by falling trees. Contractors are going to be really busy for the next few months.
 
Came home drunk and He-Manned my door knob. Some how I managed to turn it while it was locked and jammed it. Now can't get it to open at all. Was going to go with unscrewing the door knob and putting a new one on but not sure if it is going to come off easily since it is jammed like that. Haven't unscrewed a door knob before so think it will work or try something else?
 
[quote name='sleepydumbdude']Came home drunk and He-Manned my door knob. Some how I managed to turn it while it was locked and jammed it. Now can't get it to open at all. Was going to go with unscrewing the door knob and putting a new one on but not sure if it is going to come off easily since it is jammed like that. Haven't unscrewed a door knob before so think it will work or try something else?[/QUOTE]

A door knob should pull out pretty easily if you unscrew it from the door. usually they are 3 pieces. There are the two halves of the knob and then the middle section. Most likely the middle section will have to be tweaked to get it working again.
 
So we had some heavy rains over the past few days. Monday our crawl space flodded. (Enough so that water was coming up through the heating vents on the floor)

Which has never happend in the 5 years we've lived here. Only thing that has changed, is that last summer we had a contractor put in new grass in the backyard. Upon which they were supposed to attach the downspouts to a T-Drain, and then to the street.

Appearently our downspouts are now clogged (Just had the gutters cleaned a month ago).
For two days now they've been pumping the water out. ClogPro should be here to clear out the gutters Friday.

Wife called the lawn guys who said. "Wow, this has never happened before, but we do have good insurance if it is our fault." So it seems like they might be willing to take the blame.
And hopefully this won't turn into a lawsuit.

(What's the deal with contractors and handy men guys? They never say WHEN they'll show up. Yesterday all they did was just check on the sump pumps and then left. Hey guys, wanna finish? No man, we do that tomorrow)
 
Is it better to do a 30 year mortgage and make extra payments to add to the principal or go straight for the 15 year mortgage? If you can just keep making extra payments, why do people bother locking themselves into a 15 year mortgage?

Is it worth buying a place if you only plan on staying for 3 years? The way I see it, the home value should go up (hopefully) in 3 years, and you also get to take out the 36 months of equity you built when you sell. Is my thinking too simple?

Lastly, if you have enough for a 20% downpayment, is it stupid to rent for a year just to see what it is like living on your own? My friend said that the only thing stopping most people from owning is because they can't afford the downpayment. He said if you have it, then paying money on rent is just wasted cash.
 
[quote name='Kendro']Is it better to do a 30 year mortgage and make extra payments to add to the principal or go straight for the 15 year mortgage? If you can just keep making extra payments, why do people bother locking themselves into a 15 year mortgage?

Is it worth buying a place if you only plan on staying for 3 years? The way I see it, the home value should go up (hopefully) in 3 years, and you also get to take out the 36 months of equity you built when you sell. Is my thinking too simple?

Lastly, if you have enough for a 20% downpayment, is it stupid to rent for a year just to see what it is like living on your own? My friend said that the only thing stopping most people from owning is because they can't afford the downpayment. He said if you have it, then paying money on rent is just wasted cash.[/QUOTE]

1) 15 year tends to have lower interest rates.
2) It depends on your market
3) 20% isn't enough. It depends on how much the place costs total. I would have at least a years worth of expenses in the bank (not counting the 20%) before you buy something in case you lose your job or get sick or something.
 
Is now considered the time to buy? I know it is a very general question but it seems home prices and rates have dropped for months. 12 months ago people were saying it was a great time to buy. 6 months ago people said it is the lowest it's ever been. Today they are saying they will never be lower.
 
[quote name='hufferstl']Don't buy if you are sure you are only staying 3 years. The risk/reward ratio is too high.[/QUOTE]

I only say 3 years because I am currently single so who knows what happens in the future? Whether I get married or relocate somewhere for a new job? For all I know, I could end up there for 10 years.

Is there really a negative to only owning for 3 years? I figured I wouldn't really "lose" since I'm putting money into it every month (as opposed to throwing money away with renting).
 
Closing/realtor costs would eat away any equity you built up if you only stayed a few years. Buying is always better long term, and but I definitely don't think renting is always throwing away money.
 
Turns out the water coming into the crawlspace -was- the lawn guy's fault.
When they put in the new yard the put the dirt too high. Above the vents to the crawlspace. Water flows down. Down, into the vents, into our crawlsapce.
Now to make them pay for the clean up and repair.
 
[quote name='Kendro']I only say 3 years because I am currently single so who knows what happens in the future? Whether I get married or relocate somewhere for a new job? For all I know, I could end up there for 10 years.

Is there really a negative to only owning for 3 years? I figured I wouldn't really "lose" since I'm putting money into it every month (as opposed to throwing money away with renting).[/QUOTE]

Who knows if the housing market will ever get back to who it was before the crash with pretty decent yearly increases in home prices.

I wouldn't chance that happening in the next 3 years. I doubt it will crash again in that time frame, so you should be able to sell it for at least what you pay for it.

But it's not really worth going through the hassle to go through the buying process, deal with fixing up and maintaining it, just to go thorgh the hassle of the selling process three years later.

That's just me though. I'm not big on buying a house as an investment and won't buy a place until I'm ready to settle down long-term. And that will be a few more years at the least as neither myself or my g/f want to stay where were are now long-term. And we're toying around with the idea of living/working abroad for a while as well. So no home buying for me anytime soon. I kind of like renting anyway. Nice for home repairs etc. being someone else's burden (as long as you have a good landlord/property manager anyway).
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Who knows if the housing market will ever get back to who it was before the crash with pretty decent yearly increases in home prices.

I wouldn't chance that happening in the next 3 years. I doubt it will crash again in that time frame, so you should be able to sell it for at least what you pay for it.

But it's not really worth going through the hassle to go through the buying process, deal with fixing up and maintaining it, just to go thorgh the hassle of the selling process three years later.

That's just me though. I'm not big on buying a house as an investment and won't buy a place until I'm ready to settle down long-term. And that will be a few more years at the least as neither myself or my g/f want to stay where were are now long-term. And we're toying around with the idea of living/working abroad for a while as well. So no home buying for me anytime soon. I kind of like renting anyway. Nice for home repairs etc. being someone else's burden (as long as you have a good landlord/property manager anyway).[/QUOTE]

Would your thought process change if you were buying a 1BR condo? I live in the NYC area so I wanted to buy a condo instead of an actual house. Things like maintenance is basically taken care of (granted I do have to pay the maintenance fee).
 
That helps with no outdoor maintenance. Still have to deal with everything inside though--appliances, plumbing, HVAC repairs etc.

But I'd personally still not do it as the buying/selling process is a headache and I wouldn't want to go through it when chances of making much profit over a 3 year period are slim.

But again, that's just me. I hate hassling with things like buying a home, car etc. My free time is limited as is, so I really hate spending it on chores like that. Easier to just rent until I'm ready to settle down.

I'm renting a condo currently (one of my exes I'm still friends with owns it), and love condo living. But will most likely end up in a house eventually as my g/f has two big dogs. May end up moving into her place next summer potentially (she rents a small house), or maybe not until we move in a couple of years.
 
Anyone know roughly what what gutter guards cost and if they are worth a damn? Just bought a new house and the gutters are like 30 feet in the air and are going to bitch to clean.
 
Can't blame the water coming in on the landscaper.
Just seems like a drain leading to the street got clogged.
Now to hope and pray that insurance will cover it. Ha!
 
Anyone have tips on selling a house in short order? My wife and I bought this house in Toledo 2 years ago and have just been misreable. No one around here smiles, someone tried to steal our dog out of our yard, our garage has been broken in to twice and I caught someone hiding stolen merchandise in our bushes one night. For all of these reasons plus the fact that I want to move back to Tree Town(Ann Arbor) to grow my own medicinals we just want to get out of this house, even if that means taking a little loss.

We bought the house for around $35k and I think the current value estimates put it at around $40,000. However we did put $10,000 into the basement, so I dont know if that would effect anything. Any tips are appreciated! We just want to be happy and safe in our own home again ;(
 
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