Announcement

Collapse

Facebook Forum Migration

Our forums have migrated to Facebook. If you are already an iMSN forum member you will be grandfathered in.

To access the Call Room and Marriage Matters, head to: https://m.facebook.com/groups/400932...eferrer=search

You can find the health and fitness forums here: https://m.facebook.com/groups/133538...eferrer=search

Private parenting discussions are here: https://m.facebook.com/groups/382903...eferrer=search

We look forward to seeing you on Facebook!
See more
See less

Home buying/moving question

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Home buying/moving question

    My husband and I own our first home...we purchased it before we moved here and basically moved in right out of training.

    We both want to move. OK...I want to move and he has basically given in to my demands. :> In any case, we already have tons of repairs to do in the house after just 4 years. :| (the shame). The white (well, once white) carpets have to be replaced. They run throughout the entire house and they are in bad shape. They could be steam cleaned, but they are builder's grade and are basically worn away in many, many spots. There isn't a single room that I walk into where I would say "this carpet could stay". We could just invest in cheap carpet again, but to do the whole house would be expensive. Not recarpeting isn't an option because the house wouldn't show well.

    The wooden floor in our kitchen needs to be resanded/re-sealed. We had some damage to the floor.

    Our bathroom cabinets in the kid's room have to be replaced. There is water damage on the base near the toilet. :|

    The linoleum in the garage entry way has to be replaced. It has turned yellow in spots. We had someone come and look at it and he said it was caused by cheap base boards underneath it seeping yellow upwards.

    All walls must be patched and repainted....my paint job bites the big kahoona.

    To top it off, interest rates are on the rise. Even though our home has gone up 45k in value since we purchased it 4 years ago, ALL homes have gone up in value about that much in this area. To buy the same size house, we'd have to pay more and so we wouldn't really get ahead...and of course we have to pay realtor's fees and closing costs.

    So basically, everytime we talk about moving my husband tells me....yes, definitely,in 3-5 years.

    How can it be that all of the people around us are moving from house to house and it has to be so difficult for us?

    To those of you who have moved more than once....how do you do it?

    kris
    ~Mom of 5, married to an ID doc
    ~A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

  • #2
    Kris,

    Call two or three realtors, have them do a walk-through, ask them what price they would recommend listing the house IF you were going to list it....ask them about what would need to be fixed/replaced and what wouldn't.....ask them about price/sq. ft. in your area and average time on the market.....and then you and Thomas can talk about the information they give you and decide what to do. We had our realtors come by in December, way before we actually listed, and we were surprised at the things they didn't think needed fixing vs. the things they did think we needed to address. The whole walk-through thing and conversation should take less than an hour per realtor and it obligates you to NOTHING.

    You all should do this.....you're at the beginning of the peak time to list. You've got nothing to lose by getting more information.

    Sally
    Wife of an OB/Gyn, mom to three boys, middle school choir teacher.

    "I don't know when Dad will be home."

    Comment


    • #3
      I agree with Sally.
      There were a few things at our last house we were going to fix that the realtor advised us to leave (either they weren't a big deal or could be negotiated upon inspection). And a few things we were not going to fix that she suggested we did (good suggestions, in hindsight).

      I don't think those repairs sound too bad, Kris. Even though all of the houses in your area have appreciated, you're still better off going in to it with more of a down payment than you might have had last time around.

      You will have to face the realtor fees and closing costs again but.....happy wife, happy life!

      Comment


      • #4
        How does the new down payment work? Do people usually just use the equity from their home or should we be saving up a huge sum of money? Thomas is convinced that we have to have the cash on hand first and I just can't imagine that that is right.

        Do mortgage companies ever "roll over" mortgages from one house to the next?

        kris
        ~Mom of 5, married to an ID doc
        ~A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

        Comment


        • #5
          Mortgage companies usually do not roll-over the loans (I've heard of one that does, but it is unusual, and you have to have that loan to begin with).

          You would take the equity out of your house to put down on the new house. If that wasn't enough to cover the closing costs, etc, then you would have to chip in cash. (I think....that is how we did it). If you wanted to put down more of a down payment you could do that too -- with money you have saved.

          Another thing I thought of re: the realtor fees....if you are moving in the same area, you can negotiate down the realtors fee because s/he will be making a comission selling your house and a comission on the house you buy. That's a good negotiating tool.

          Comment


          • #6
            OK...so how do you negotiate closing dates/moving dates so that you don't have to move into an apartment for a short period of time or something?
            ~Mom of 5, married to an ID doc
            ~A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

            Comment


            • #7
              Kris, I agree with all of the above. We had pumped 20K in our old house and were ready to put that much more in to sell it. We had our realtor do a walk through first to see what really needed doing...and basically we needed to do nothing but a few small things I did myself. I am SO glad we called her first. I was going to relandscape, tear up and repave the brick pathway, put in a new furnace...you get the idea.

              As for the carpets, maybe you could steam them yourself and offer a credit on replacing them? And strategically place furniture over the worn spots? I guarantee you a lot of the stuff you mentioned won't be a huge issue. When DH and I were doing the long distance thing and he was living in RI, his carpets were not in good shape from the previous owner and there were a few cosmetic nasties in the house - he *still* made 50K on the house. People know that when they move in there are some changes that will have to be made anyway. Honestly, I would prefer receiving a credit on the carpet because then I could put down what *I* wanted and wouldn't feel guilty about wanting to replace something that was just installed.

              As for negotiating the dates, we just...negotiated. :| It was pretty easy.

              Good luck, I know you've been wanting to do this for a long time now...and you can move closer to that awesome Montessori school. And if you need help painting, I'm free at the end of May.

              Comment


              • #8
                I think that is a great question for the real estate agents you talk to. You want someone who is a good negotiator on your behalf.

                Usually you can negotiate the closing dates and make them work. (Everything -- price, closing dates, inclusions, improvements, etc -- is up for reasonable negotiation, IMO). Sometimes you can rent back from the people who buy your house if they have to close on a certain date (to get a certain rate, etc). You stay in your house beyond the closing date and pay their mortgage payment prorated for the amount of time you are there.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Good advice here, Kris. Go get "Home Buying for Dummies" (I'm sure there is one about real estate in that series) and look through it with Thomas. I see a move in your future!!!

                  Sally
                  Wife of an OB/Gyn, mom to three boys, middle school choir teacher.

                  "I don't know when Dad will be home."

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I totally agree w/Sally about having the realtor walk-through. Be sure to ask friends (or people at the hospital) for references, b/c a skanky realtor can really ruin an experience.

                    Another idea (albeit a shameless plug for my cousin's show) is to watch "Design to Sell" on HGTV. They have a realtor walk-through, point out trouble spots, then a designer & team come in w/a $2000 budget and fix the places where you'll get the most bang for your buck. You really can make a huge difference w/a little (not so little for some of us) $. My cousin is the supervising producer, so I know that the budget really is on the up & up (and in LA!).

                    Keep in mind that things you find to be terrible, horrible, no-good & very bad may or may not be an issue for a buyer. You see them day in & day out (especially if you're a SAHM), and they grate on you. A realtor or buyer may find these things to be status quo or (gasp) even an UPGRADE.

                    Good luck!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by mommax3
                      Go get "Home Buying for Dummies"
                      Are you implying something?


                      kris
                      ~Mom of 5, married to an ID doc
                      ~A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Jenn, that is way cool about your cousin!!! I'll have to tune in. Too bad I already moved. (and kudos to Nellie for giving me tons of spot-on advice!)

                        Would your cousin's show travel to MN? That would solve your problem, Kris!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Are you implying something?
                          Well, actually...... *shhh* we OWN that book!

                          So, to answer your question.....NO!

                          Sally
                          Wife of an OB/Gyn, mom to three boys, middle school choir teacher.

                          "I don't know when Dad will be home."

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Dagny
                            Would your cousin's show travel to MN? That would solve your problem, Kris!
                            They won't travel - believe me - I begged! We're in the throws of it ourselves right now.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I HEART "Designed to Sell"!!!

                              We are putting our house on the market and had basically gotten it 3/4 of the way ready because of the stuff we picked up from that show, and BBC's "House Doctor".

                              The realtor did a walk through and banged out a list of 10 or so things for us to do. We never would have thought of powerwashing the brick and concrete, but boy, it looks amazing now. Also told us to polish the doorknobs and its weird how such a tiny thing makes the place look newer.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X