Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Signed an agreement to try to buy a townhouse today. Maybe more my style with a private garage, etc. We'll see what happens. It's in the vicinity of Chicago which I know isn't the best cycling but it's close my origins in Wisconsin and Minnesota. In other words, I guess I'm OK with life in the upper Midwest. Besides, it's where I work.
Hopefully this next transaction is smoother and closes smoothly. Also, it's a bit more affordable, so I've got that going for me.
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Sorry you’re having troubles. Been there. It is amazing that we have created a real estate system that is so complicated that every. single. transaction. needs attorneys and agents involved for the common person. We can buy a $100k car in ten minutes with zero down, and an underlying asset that will depreciate the second it rolls out of the dealer’s possession. But to get a $150k loan with $30k down, to purchase an asset that likely won’t depreciate immediately, requires weeks of paperwork, attorneys, agents, and stress.
Frankly, I think it’s people/jobs that have to justify their own existence, because if people paid attention and did some homework, those jobs probably don’t need to exist.
If we had a reasonable personal finance requirement in order to graduate high school in this country, a lot of problems would go away, along with several roles in society that probably don’t really need to exist. </soapbox>
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Recently moved from Boston to San Diego so bought and sold this year and observed a few things in the process over the years:
1) I much prefer to have a real estate attorney on east coast manage transaction vs escrow agents in CA (I understand to some degree the value the attorney delivered but have no clue what value escrow delivers). Attorney fees were actually less than escrow which I find odd as I felt much more protected with attorney
2) CA real estate is more complicated and a lot more reading of documents/disclosures was required, real estate agents in CA had to work harder than in MA (one Boston real estate agent seemed to think calculating 5% fee was extent of required representation)
3) Inspectors on both coasts were of limited value but expensive and reports came with superficial observations and disclosures as to why major structural aspects could not be assessed (I realize foundations are underground but not helpful to disclose that without any further assessment of signs of foundational issues) , not sure what additional insight was provided beyond bank appraisal
4) Realtors pushed hard for their contacts for financing, escrow/attorneys etc - used our own where possible and with some resistance but no issue in the end
5) overall real estate agents delivered value over their fee on both buying and selling side as I don’t think we could have bought or sold houses at the favorable prices we ended up with but I will not use their contacts for ancillary services going forward if I have options
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Too Tall
Ummm Try buying the house across the street for your parents from two raving alcoholics. Luckily, buying a house and doing all the paperwork myself is not rocket science. Everytime they objected to some minor "thing" I'd write their inconsequential (annoying) demand on the contract margins and initial it. The contract had changes on every page amounting to...wait for it....nada.
It was a exercise in patience.
Yep.
We bought a short-sale from two alcoholics who were also "Mold People" who went from school to school and got "Sick Building Syndrome" in each one - it was a shit-show, and it came down to which fridge we were going to get and on the way out they stole the mailbox.
It was one weird transaction.
- Garro.
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Sorry to hear. Thinking you're about to get into a house and having the rug pulled out from underneath you can be heartbreaking.
We bought our first home last year. Before we ended up in the home we're in now, we were so close to closing on a different home. Halfway through escrow, days before the point of no return, the seller reneges on some repairs he agreed to credit us for and serves us with a "notice to perform" and sign away the paperwork without the repairs. He said he had another buyer interested.
The whole transaction went from feeling like a normal and civil back/forth to feeling terrible at that point and I pulled out. It put a lot of stress on me and my relationship with the lady, but I just wasn't going to be bullied into something because of our emotional attachment to it.
In the end we lost what it cost to do a home inspection ($500) and nothing else. I believe but can't prove the scummy seller's agent used our $500 home inspection we shared with him to woo another buyer. It was unbelievable that a home that was on the market for months all of a sudden had 2 interested parties, and I truly think he used our interest and home inspection to sell the home to someone else.
In the end we ended up in a bigger home in a better neighborhood with more bathrooms and are really happy here. I can't help but think what could have been. I am glad we ended up where we did but wish we didn't have to take the stressful path to get here.
For a lender, I recommend using a Costco membership to find the lowest rate and go with someone "vetted" by Costco. I liked that because you had the peace of mind of Costco's CS to deal with any potential issues with the lender. Their lenders costs were the lowest by thousands of dollars. At the end of the day they all sell the loan to bigger banks anyway so all you need is a team that can do your paperwork fast and effectively. My lessons are go through Costco for the loan, don't get attached to a home til moving day, expect it to be stressful and roll with the punches.
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Only have done one and it worked but two things I remember. After we made an offer the seller's agent said there was a competing offer for some amount more. After our agent told us not to budge we were told the sellers went with us because we were a nice pair. I think our agent knew it was a gambit for us to raise our offer.
At closing, our attorney a named partner of the firm who was the long time personal attorney for my in laws and whose kids Karen went to school with took us in a conference room and told us not to worry, the closing was going to happen but the seller's attorney was rude to his secretary and he didn't like that. It did turn out to be quite a performance.
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bcm119
ditto.
Triple ditto
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Saab,
In my town there are a couple of communities that offer condo-like living (very small yards, efficient floor plans, higher end finishes & construction), but have high HOAs that cover all lawn maintenance, snow removal, leaf removal, mulch, etc. You get the benefit of sole ownership of your own place w/o routine maintenance. Plus it keeps the whole neighborhood looking nice, which helps maintain property values throughout the community. Maybe something to look into?
EDIT--looks like you've already gone that route. Good Luck!
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
I’ll tell a story from a sellers side. We live in a 1924 bungalow in the historic district. Our neighbors (great couple) have a son who was interested in buying our home about the time we were thinking of selling but couldn’t get a mortgage because he had been out of the country for a year. We agreed to do a lease purchase. My best friend is a lawyer and said he would never speak to me again if I didn’t get a RE lawyer to do the paper work which we did. Jump forward two years and they still couldn’t close.
All ended up to our benefit as they lost their $15,000 earnest money, paid my mortgage for 2 years and property values went up. We have moved back in and used the money to remodel the kitchen. Without the legal paperwork I think I might still be trying to get them out of the house.
PS, the neighbors are glad they are gone and we are back.
Mike
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BSUdude
Saab,
In my town there are a couple of communities that offer condo-like living (very small yards, efficient floor plans, higher end finishes & construction), but have high HOAs that cover all lawn maintenance, snow removal, leaf removal, mulch, etc. You get the benefit of sole ownership of your own place w/o routine maintenance. Plus it keeps the whole neighborhood looking nice, which helps maintain property values throughout the community. Maybe something to look into?
EDIT--looks like you've already gone that route. Good Luck!
Yeah, I'm getting something like that. It's in a boring, suburban neighborhood but only about 1.5 miles from the center of the town and there is a lively life it appears. I looked at another apartment-style condo I really liked but it too pushed me to the financial limit and had pretty limited storage options. The agent I'm working with now purely coincidentally owns a unit in the same building and said it's a very solid community and the financials are very good in that association so she said I wouldn't run into the same problem I had with the failed one. What finally made me look elsewhere was the lack of storage, the somewhat old-feeling, borderline dingy common areas and the fact that even though it's not a retirement community it honesty felt like the average age of the residents is 20 years older than myself. That seems like a good home for them but I didn't feel it there even though the unit I was looking at was spectacular and the place looked like a great community. The tiny storage closet was bothersome too. Being a cyclist would be trouble.
So I'm getting a townhouse/condo (I guess I differentiate them by saying a townhouse has it's own garage and exterior entrance) with a 2-car garage so I can continue to drive my cars and hoard bikes and the place isn't too big though I really don't need 1600+ sq ft above ground and a finished basement that's probably 800 sq ft. It will be good for a Zwift station though. That will be nice.
So it's a compromise, as is everything in life. But I will sleep easier every night knowing I didn't push my budget to the last penny and will still have cash to consider bike stuff for fun.
I certainly hope this one goes more smoothly at the close. Early indications are positive and we have a deal and I appear to have more engaged and professional agent this time.
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Andy340
Recently moved from Boston to San Diego so bought and sold this year and observed a few things in the process over the years:
1) I much prefer to have a real estate attorney on east coast manage transaction vs escrow agents in CA (I understand to some degree the value the attorney delivered but have no clue what value escrow delivers). Attorney fees were actually less than escrow which I find odd as I felt much more protected with attorney
2) CA real estate is more complicated and a lot more reading of documents/disclosures was required, real estate agents in CA had to work harder than in MA (one Boston real estate agent seemed to think calculating 5% fee was extent of required representation)
3) Inspectors on both coasts were of limited value but expensive and reports came with superficial observations and disclosures as to why major structural aspects could not be assessed (I realize foundations are underground but not helpful to disclose that without any further assessment of signs of foundational issues) , not sure what additional insight was provided beyond bank appraisal
4) Realtors pushed hard for their contacts for financing, escrow/attorneys etc - used our own where possible and with some resistance but no issue in the end
5) overall real estate agents delivered value over their fee on both buying and selling side as I don’t think we could have bought or sold houses at the favorable prices we ended up with but I will not use their contacts for ancillary services going forward if I have options
RE Agents...
We were connected with a guy who's trying to blow up the whole agent model (to his own financial detriment!) by charging his clients by the hour. He was our buyer agent, and was quite valuable in the narrow areas where we couldn't handle things for ourselves, in particular helping us draft the offer: He looked at the seller agent's recent transactions and figured the guy prided himself on pricing properly out of the gate. So we came in just above the asking price (with an escalation clause) and nailed it. The best part was getting the check from him for the difference between his hourly billing and the 5% standard fee. It was a five-figure check!
The sellers' agent, on the other hand, was an enabler who ended up on the stand during our trial.
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Matthew Strongin
I should mention that I hate home ownership and, if it wasn't for my wife, I'd happily rent a condo.
1000%. When we were looking in 2014/5, our home price would have bought a sweet condo in mid-town with similar sqft to our home. She was concerned about walking the dog. I was concerned about managing an expensive asset. Our home is nice. It doesn't suck to live here, but I'd choose living next to the Beltline (ATL's highline) and Piedmont Park.
Per bad experiences, the home listing clearly includes the washer / dryer. We met the seller a few days before closing. She was nice and offered to leave some things behind that wouldn't work in the place she was going. It was all going great until she tried to sell us the washer / dryer. Um, no lady, its already coming with the house.
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Quote:
Originally Posted by
gt6267a
...Per bad experiences, the home listing clearly includes the washer / dryer. We met the seller a few days before closing. She was nice and offered to leave some things behind that wouldn't work in the place she was going. It was all going great until she tried to sell us the washer / dryer. Um, no lady, its already coming with the house.
The house that I'm in now? Older couple sold it to us, adult kids long gone. Guy had a 968 parked in the garage and a 44 foot sailboat moored somewhere in Antigua (I say this only to show that they weren't hurting for money). Day of the final walkthrough comes, and he and I are walking around the house.... I was a little dismayed to see that his old, crappy woodsplitter was still rusting in the yard. He asks me if I want it. Sure, I say, thinking whatever ends this deal the quickest and I can bring this straight to the dump.
"I'll sell it to you for $300," he says.
I'm flabbergasted. No, I do not want your non-functional woodsplitter that "only needs a part for the motor" (I didn't - it needed a whole lot more than that).
After I refuse this, thus began the process of him walking around the house with me trying to sell me everything that he couldn't be bothered to take to the dump or give away. This included:
A crappy, rusting old anvil (really, an anvil-shaped object) for only $20!!!!
Numerous bench vices in various states of decrepitude for $50 (they're vintage!!!)
Two crappy old department store bikes in the basement for $100. Each.
Ugly-ass old fireplace tools. For $35.
the fireplace grate. Yes, the f**king grate. Can't remember how much.
All of the old, dried up paint and sundry other toxic waste "I'm giving it to you for free!"
And, finally... he tried to sell me two ancient sheets of pegboard.
Ummm.... I guess the rich stay rich this way?
I guess?
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Walter Sobchak
Did you hear the one about the two perverts and the Russian mobster?
Pervert 2, a.k.a. Individual 1, outbids Pervert 1 to acquire oceanfront estate in Palm Beach for $41 million. After each of them tried to get the other disqualified from the auction. Creep vs. creep.
Four years later it's sold by Pervert 2 to a Russian kingpin for $95 million. Step 1 of how to make dirty money clean again.
https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod...1564685560.jpg
Whoever wins the Dem primary just needs to put this up throughout a voice-over ad as we get close to NOV '20...wait this just in, Tom Steyer has already copyrighted the image.
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
My post was totally non-political. I've recovered some of the lost funds but probably won't ever recover all. It's dozens of dollars or maybe a few tens of dozens. It sucks but it's not the end of the world even by a long shot. It's rapidly fading. The condo was perfect but apparently the stars didn't align.
Try to keep creeps out of this post.
Moving forward and maybe we can all learn something about trust and attention to detail. That's literally all this was ever about. If this is the worst thing that ever happens in my life I will have had a pretty good life. At the end of the day all parties were left empty handed but no worse.
Time to move forward and not sink into the mud.
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Saab2000
Time to move forward and not sink into the mud.
Ha! as if we weren't already put there circa 2016 against our will.
Sorry Saab, I couldn't resist.... We all see your point. It's all in good fun.
Re: Failed real estate transactions - tell your stories
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bcm119
ditto.
I have bought the wrong house once. I was renting a wonderfull place and the owner would not sell. I had the money and it was burning a hole in my mind. Never let that happen. So i went looking in the neighbourhood of my lovely home. Found something different that on paper was spectacular but the details... the details were all wrong and i found out too late. Next i was burglard and my computers, cameras, archives were stolen. I suspected the neighboor. I had to face the svcker everyday. I tried but could not sell the place and began renovating it like crazy to make it likeable. When it finally looked good there was a housing bubble and i sold it. Happiest day but i got distracted w/ideas of moving to another state. Time went by and one day while surfing the web and having a drink i get a phone call from the woman i sold to telling me i have to get out of the house in 3 days. She had a meltdown on the phone crying. I negotiate another week. I packed everything and moved to a storage. It was my home and working studio. I had nowhere to go.
Thankfully i found the home of my dreams but the trauma still lingers: i still have nightmares where i buy the wrong house.
Rent is a wonderfull thing.