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  • Heh... I will gladly front you some money for that in return for a tenancy-in-common share of the house's value... =P
  • LOL, Rym. Your terms are far worse than even a crappy mortgage.
  • LOL, Rym. Your terms are far worse than even a crappy mortgage.
    But he can pay interest in sexual favors!
  • LOL, Rym. Your terms are far worse than even a crappy mortgage.
    But he can pay interest in sexual favors!
    That is a lot of beard burn. Are you sure you want that?
  • So update, they came back and went with my 260k offer, but then I went to the bank I have my first mortgage with and they told me to go somewhere else because they couldn't give me the rate they felt I deserved, that's kinda nice. still kinda weird for a business to not try and take my money....
  • I've found that being honest once in a transaction like that buys you trust for a lifetime from the customer.

    Meaning: they'll rip you off next time. =P
  • It's more that I'm not the clients they deal with, they like being the loan center for people who this is there last choice. So I guess they like getting high interest rates.
  • I'm looking at a foreclosure for $114K. Listing says it needs work.

    I have not looked inside it yet but as long as it habitable I can fix it while I live in it.

    It is a late 1800's farmhouse with 3 bedrooms and a nice fenced in yard. I checked the exterior and did some peeking. Found a bricked up coal chute, hoping basement is not dirt floor.
  • I'm looking at a foreclosure for $114K. Listing says it needs work.

    I have not looked inside it yet but as long as it habitable I can fix it while I live in it.

    It is a late 1800's farmhouse with 3 bedrooms and a nice fenced in yard. I checked the exterior and did some peeking. Found a bricked up coal chute, hoping basement is not dirt floor.
    The town I grew up in had 1800s houses, and even some late 1700s. Dirt floor unless someone already did serious work on it.
  • Whatever you do, make sure you get a proper inspection before you make an offer and make sure said inspector has a good reputation (there are shoddy inspectors out there). It may be a fixer-upper, but you should at least know just what needs to be fixed up.
  • Whatever you do, make sure you get a proper inspection before you make an offer and make sure said inspector has a good reputation (there are shoddy inspectors out there). It may be a fixer-upper, but you should at least know just what needs to be fixed up.
    Motherfucking Radon is priority number 1 among many.
  • Radon is BS for the most part. If you look at the stats on Radon I'd only worry about it if you LIVE underground (I.E spend 15 hours a day for 30 years underground) AND smoke.

    As for inspections you can do that after you make an offer, it's just if they find anything wrong with the house you can break the offer without any repercussions or renegotiate..
  • Radon isn't a big deal: wood-boring insects, roof problems, electrical/plumbing problems, foundation issues, and flood dangers are.

    I still have the inspection report from the house I almost bought in Beacon.
  • Radon may not be as common as those other things, but if you have it, what can you do? A roof can be re-roofed. Wiring can be replaced. Radioactive basement, gotta move.
  • edited December 2012
    This ain't my first rodeo!

    I've been combing local foreclosures for three years now. I almost bought one but had to back out last minute and lost money in the process.

    This one looks good enough on the outside but the listing specifically mentions "needs work" and 203k loans. So I am worried it might have burst pipes or worse things wrong with it. The house has also dropped in price recently and none of the local buy-fix-sell folks have grabbed it yet.
    Post edited by HMTKSteve on
  • Radon may not be as common as those other things, but if you have it, what can you do? A roof can be re-roofed. Wiring can be replaced. Radioactive basement, gotta move.
    Actually you just get a vent put in since radon is a gas.
  • edited December 2012
    yea, fixing radon is extremely easy...it just involved giving a path for the gas to move out of your basement.
    Post edited by Cremlian on
  • yea, fixing radon is extremely easy...it just involved giving a path for the gas to move out of your basement.
    Indeed. My house actually has a radon mitigation system. It's basically a pipe with a fan that sucks any radon out and vents it to the outside.
  • edited December 2012
    yea, fixing radon is extremely easy...it just involved giving a path for the gas to move out of your basement.
    Indeed. My house actually has a radon mitigation system. It's basically a pipe with a fan that sucks any radon out and vents it to the outside.
    Insert joke about fart ventilation system.
    Post edited by Matt on
  • edited December 2012
    Having grown up in another adapted 1800s farmhouse: be prepared for a lot of ongoing maintenance, on top of whatever it takes to make the place immediately livable. The impressions of my childhood are of an ongoing war against decay in one place or another.
    Post edited by Alex on
  • Having grown up in another adapted 1800s farmhouse: be prepared for a lot of ongoing maintenance, on top of whatever it takes to make the place immediately livable. The impressions of my childhood are of an ongoing war against decay in one place or another.
    One thing you may want to consider, if your budget allows for it, is to completely gut the place and build it back up. When I was shopping for a house a couple years back, this was the only way I'd even consider buying an older home -- either gut it and rebuild it or buy one that was recently gutted and rebuilt.
  • Looks inside the house. Hit the main breaker and power was on for lights.

    Basement is not dirt but is also not usable for much. Furnace is in the middle and floor is uneven. Foundation is a mixture or rock and brick. Someone used expanding foam to seal the foundation rather than repoint.

    Chimney has horrible creosote tar substance on the outer side in the attic. Some of this has leached/dripped onto the walls around the chimney.

    A few additions were added and floors are not level in these addition areas. Nothing major but an issue.

    There are no real closets in the house. I am fine with this.

    Half bath on main level is a portion of front porch boxed in to be part of the house.

    House has been vacant since May.

    Bank is installing a new furnace by Friday and the house looks good.
  • The bank has verbally accepted my offer. Writen acceptance coming this week.
  • cool, I had my inspection yesterday, it went pretty well, standard electrical issues nothing my dad and I can't fix, a bit of mold in the attic (though could be dead) and some other minor stuff. Going forward with ruining my financial life.
  • My closing will be interesting. VA on one side, Freddie Mac on the other!

    Since there is no subfloor in the house I am contemplating whether to refinnish the existing floors or lay new flooring on top.
  • yea the financing end is freaking annoying kinda wish this was 2007 when I could just walk in and get a loan and not prove every which way I got money.
  • I hear you. I spent a few days reading and signing mortgage paperwork. Good thing I have an awesome credit score and almost no debt.

    Looking forward to the 30% drop in monthly housing cost.
  • Closing is expected mid january.

    Bank installed new furnace yesterday and I have to hand over my earnest money Friday.

    For those interested MLS is 99000459.
  • What a cute little house!
  • Yup! Plus I'm getting it for about 60% less than what it sold for in 2005!
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