Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Apr 4, 2021 21:44:33 GMT -5
Here's some references: ncrc.org/holc/dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=13/35.104/-89.988&city=memphis-tnI found another website from a class I took, that compared the old redlining maps to the current conditions. These websites aren't cooperating with me today, so I can't find it. I did see something interesting on my hometown map. The red section included Polish and Hungarian immigrants. I didn't know there were even that many here. Anoway, my area didn't really bubble up back before the great recession, but housing prices are jumping up here, too. And inventory is super, duper low. My old apartment, I couldn't afford anymore making double what I did. Well, maybe I could, technically, but rent is outrageously high there now-- more than my SFH. Now the white flight is going further out into suburbs with cheaper land. Its mostly about the cheaper prices for new houses out there. My school district is better, but you pay a bit of a premium for housing. The inner city districts are quite bad. I think charter schools have made them worse. There are new expensive condos going up in the city proper, but I wouldn't send my kids to that school district, while I might have back in the 80's while I was growing up. My district has gotten much more diverse over the same years, so its mostly an economic thing now, I think. I really hate how the city has declined like that, though they keep trying and are building the downtown back up.
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Ryan
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Post by Ryan on Apr 5, 2021 8:57:41 GMT -5
We were just talking about this the other day. I hadn't really noticed, but recently I noticed that 90% of the houses that feed into our school district were under contract. Our R/E friend told us that normally there are 90 houses availailable in her market, now there are less than 10 at any given time. She said it was a combo of an influx of people from the city, people rethinking their home due to working from home, and low inventory because people that would normally sell are not until COVID is clear.
My dad also told me that lumber prices are through the roof now, so maybe people that would look to buy a new home are not doing so. Low rates probably just adds fuel, although they have been low for awhile.
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azucena
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Post by azucena on Apr 5, 2021 9:02:48 GMT -5
I'm in a suburb of StL and the market is hot. People want to upgrade and use the low interest rate to their advantage. Plus limited inventory due to covid. Open houses in our subdivision are causing traffic jams. Houses go well above asking within 24 hours of listing.
This has been great fun to watch since we are in our dream home. We took a hit with our first home in 2006 as we got caught buying at the top of the market and then had to pay for some major drainage issues and repairs. We were able to sell at a slight profit in 2016 but not enough to make up for the repairs. Our current house was listed for $325k in 2016, and we purchased for $340k in a bidding war that I've never regretted. I get the reports from redfin and have watched it increase to $377k. That along with putting 20% down and refinancing in 3/2020 for a 15 yr at 2.5% has us sitting really pretty. I think we could easily go up another 10k by the end of this selling season.
We also have plans in the next two years to egress basement windows in two 'bedrooms' downstairs and build a back-to-back closet which will take us from 3 bedroom to 5 bedroom.
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Apr 5, 2021 9:45:28 GMT -5
My son in buying a duplex his Grandparents own. I tried to get him interested in buying it several years ago, but it was a no go. 2021 brought a split with his then girlfriend and the hot housing market. DS lifts weights, and his $9,000 worth of weightlifting equipment requires a basement to reside in. We think his grandparent's duplex will work, but we don't really know. There is a minor foundation issue that needs to be repaired.
My BIL that currently lives there says it will take 3 dumpsters to remove everything they need to take out and demo the basement so they can do the repairs. Another brother lived in the upper, he is currently a dis-funtional alcoholic who lives with his girlfriend. He abandoned a bunch of crap in the upper unit. MIL and BIL say it is so bad it is not worth saving.
DH was hemming an hawing around saying I don't think we need a dumpster (DH and DS have pickup trucks). I told him your brothers seem willing to help, order the damn dumpster and get the work done even if you have to pay for it. Apparently said dumpster has to go on the street so they need a dumpster permit. DH said he would order the dumpster permit for Saturday. It is no loss one way or the other - family will need to do the same work another.
Small postage stamp houses are going for around $200,000 here. DH and I bought our first house for $48,000 with $5,000 down. The only way DS can afford this house with his rather large truck payment and his Student loans is b/c of the rent income. We figured it at $850 which is what BIL pays for a 3 Bedroom, but we are seeing that even 2 bedrooms in the area are going for $1250. We will try for $1200/1250 as DH says the 3rd bedroom is so small it hardly counts as a bedroom (MIL used it as a pantry when they lived there). DS is paying $155,000 for a Duplex that was built around 1910? Separate heat and Central air in each unit. If we can fix the moisture issue, the house could have egress windows as there is an exposure on one side of the house. The bank is trying to close the loan by First week of May. I doubt it will close that fast.
This is a suburb of MKE that is kind of cut off, so it remained largely white and lower income. There are some blacks and more Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, but probably still at least 80% white.
My Nephew who is a teacher, said that the kids in MKE have lost (I think) 10 years of of career growth due to learning loss and the shutdown. This suburb would be similar to MKE in schools I would think, but DS does not even have a steady girlfriend, so schools are not a huge issue. He can always rent the house out and go live somewhere else.
There is very little to look at here. Everything goes to multiple offers over asking as soon as it hits the market. One house we were interested in looking at for DS was pulled from the market the same weekend it was listed. In the end we found out that someone had offered $20,000 over asking (it needed work, but was priced very fairly - going $20,000 over asking was smart - I knew when I saw it it was worth the elbow grease it would require).
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Apr 5, 2021 11:35:46 GMT -5
My DS bought a house on outskirts of Phoenix 2 years ago for $600k. It is now worth over $800k on Zillow. DS and his wife bought it to be their “forever home” and that is still their plan. DS jokes that some months he makes more money on home value than he does in his paycheck. I told him to enjoy it while it lasts and don’t count on it to be like that forever.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Apr 5, 2021 12:10:01 GMT -5
Bought my home (1665sf) in 2007 (before crash) for $120,000. It was a fixer, so less than the going $100/sf. Still the great recession dropped the value quite a bit. We've now remodeled much of the house, probably putting in almost $50k with new roof, windows, deck, shed, not to mention the new bathrooms, kitchen, front door, flooring through most of the house, and drywalled and insulated den which was previously cheap paneling. We finally hit the $100/sf value last year, and now surpassing it this year at a zillow price of $205k. There's still a lot of trim work that needs to be completed, but if it was, we'd probably be able to get that much right now.
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Post by minnesotapaintlady on Apr 5, 2021 12:19:48 GMT -5
I'm not sure how our housing market here is doing as I don't pay a lot of attention. It's not really an area that is subject to wild swings though. Currently Zillow says mine is worth 375K without the back 10 acres, maybe add another 50K for that so 425K. I built the place 20 years ago. First mortgage was 184K. In addition I had paid 30K for the land, 30K for the barn and there was something in there for a down payment, but I have no memory or record of what...let's say 15K. So, I had at least 260K in it 20 years ago. I can't imagine getting 425K without sticking a bunch more money into it for things like fixing the siding and I'll be the septic would fail inspection as well. Basically, it wasn't the greatest investment.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Apr 5, 2021 13:11:59 GMT -5
Homes under $400k have full price and over offers same day without anyone even going in to look at it because its so hard to get anything at a somewhat affordable price. I hope prices get more in line with incomes soon. My city is looking at approving accessory units (not attached) soon, and I hope that goes through to make generation households a bit easier.
I do mortgages for a living and I still can't understand how people afford these kinds of mortgages. (Obviously I understand how our qualifying #'s work, I just can't imagine dedicating so much of my income to a fixed expense). But I don't know what the alternative is either with rents so high.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2021 15:11:31 GMT -5
I do mortgages for a living and I still can't understand how people afford these kinds of mortgages. (Obviously I understand how our qualifying #'s work, I just can't imagine dedicating so much of my income to a fixed expense). But I don't know what the alternative is either with rents so high. I was "house-poor" after my divorce in 1997. I wanted to stay in the same high priced school district for DS but I joked that we moved to the poor section of town. I forget what % of my take-home pay the mortgage was but I was grossing about $120K and the mortgage was $250K. My guess is that people with higher incomes can afford to spend more on their mortgages because their spending on other items isn't proportionately higher compared to people with lower incomes. I doubt we spent twice what a similar $60K household spent on groceries or clothing, for example. Vacations were visiting my parents in Myrtle Beach, so airfare only. I drove the same car, long paid off, the whole time we lived there. DS not only didn't get a car when he turned 16, he didn't even bother learning to drive. No remodels or upgrades- just repairing what was needed and I was grateful we could do that. Fortunately it turned out to be a very good investment.
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tractor
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Post by tractor on Apr 6, 2021 9:35:34 GMT -5
We have seen much of the same here in Michigan. I have an “extra” house that I will probably put on the market soon. It’s a structurally sound 1,200 square foot ranch on 2-acres in the country with the closest neighbor 500+ feet away.
It would be perfect for a flipper, and I just don’t have the time/interest in fixing it up myself, it will be a complete gut job. Anyway, I should be able to get 60K out of it, and if someone put another 70K into a complete remodel, it would be worth 150K or more, easy.
We own it free and clear, so I could invest the extra cash into something else.
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Apr 6, 2021 21:17:55 GMT -5
OMG DH has pictures of how bad my BIL left his apartment. There is bags of cans & bottles all over the apartment. DH said dirty clothes are piled in a corner, but the dresser drawers are empty. The fridge is filthy. Bil has a carton of eggs in the fridge, looks like he cracked the eggs into the pan, and returned the shells to the egg carton and put them back in the fridge. DH says given the condition, MIL is getting a good price. She showed up when DH and DS were loading garbage in his truck to make a run to the . DH said he told her to go home, DS is buying the place “As Is” and she should not do Anything! Hopefully she will listen. I told DH I think BIL has hoarder tendencies.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Apr 7, 2021 9:41:00 GMT -5
The market is really heated in our rural area about 90 minutes out of D.C. We bought a house in November and just put our old house on the market on March 12. The Zillow value on it was 170k and the realtor listed it for 200k, which I thought was overreaching (but we hired a professional and took her advice). On March 17 we reviewed the offers and accepted a cash offer for 230k, it is scheduled to close this Monday. The house is in great condition and right next to a large park and forested area, but it is only 1000 square feet with very small rooms.
Our realtor says we could probably sell the house we just bought in November for 60k more than what we paid, but of course we need someplace to live and love this house, so that isn't going to happen.
My husband works in the carpentry field, and the price of lumber has increased by 200% this year. Other building materials have also increased, so new homes aren't going to be cheap to build. I am curious if prices will let up when all the foreclosure forbearances run out, or if it will stay high due to high construction costs and all the pension funds and other investors buying up houses.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Apr 7, 2021 10:01:01 GMT -5
I do mortgages for a living and I still can't understand how people afford these kinds of mortgages. (Obviously I understand how our qualifying #'s work, I just can't imagine dedicating so much of my income to a fixed expense). But I don't know what the alternative is either with rents so high. I was "house-poor" after my divorce in 1997. I wanted to stay in the same high priced school district for DS but I joked that we moved to the poor section of town. I forget what % of my take-home pay the mortgage was but I was grossing about $120K and the mortgage was $250K. My guess is that people with higher incomes can afford to spend more on their mortgages because their spending on other items isn't proportionately higher compared to people with lower incomes. I doubt we spent twice what a similar $60K household spent on groceries or clothing, for example. Vacations were visiting my parents in Myrtle Beach, so airfare only. I drove the same car, long paid off, the whole time we lived there. DS not only didn't get a car when he turned 16, he didn't even bother learning to drive. No remodels or upgrades- just repairing what was needed and I was grateful we could do that. Fortunately it turned out to be a very good investment. This doesn't seem extremely house poor to me...I gross $120K a year and financed $236K for my home. I am still saving around 35% of my income, and have money for vacations, etc. Of course, I am also a SINK so that probably helps.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Apr 7, 2021 11:00:08 GMT -5
I was "house-poor" after my divorce in 1997. I wanted to stay in the same high priced school district for DS but I joked that we moved to the poor section of town. I forget what % of my take-home pay the mortgage was but I was grossing about $120K and the mortgage was $250K. My guess is that people with higher incomes can afford to spend more on their mortgages because their spending on other items isn't proportionately higher compared to people with lower incomes. I doubt we spent twice what a similar $60K household spent on groceries or clothing, for example. Vacations were visiting my parents in Myrtle Beach, so airfare only. I drove the same car, long paid off, the whole time we lived there. DS not only didn't get a car when he turned 16, he didn't even bother learning to drive. No remodels or upgrades- just repairing what was needed and I was grateful we could do that. Fortunately it turned out to be a very good investment. This doesn't seem extremely house poor to me...I gross $120K a year and financed $236K for my home. I am still saving around 35% of my income, and have money for vacations, etc. Of course, I am also a SINK so that probably helps. It is all a matter of perspective. My household is grossing around 140K and we just took out a 240K mortgage. I really like the mortgage and would like to keep it as long as possible, but DH is really stressed out about it and keeps working too many hours to earn more money. I am about to be really stupid and let him take 100k out of the proceeds of our other house sale to pay it down and recast it, just so that he can be more comfortable with our expenses. We would be way better off investing the money and keeping the mortgage as is, but we all have different comfort levels. I am sure he would love to just take all the money from the sale and pay off the new one, but I am fairly confident we will end up with a 50/50 split on how we get to spend the proceeds.
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hurley1980
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I am all that is wrong with the world....don't get too close, I'm contagious.
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Post by hurley1980 on Apr 7, 2021 11:05:47 GMT -5
Sacramento area here. I bought my little 3/1, 1150 sf home (built in 1953) for 130k in 2009. The latest appraisal came in at 309k. I am also in a very depressed part of town, the whole area was built around an AF base that was closed in the 90s, and nothing is here but discount stores and fast food places. There have been only 3 new construction projects that I know of since I bought 11 years ago, and one was a Walmart. So its not like I'm in a hot area. NorCal is just so expensive that you really can't find anything under 250k, and that is going to need a lot of work.
We have a housing shortage. Even new construction is expensive because the cost of materials has skyrocketed. People are getting desperate.
My garage I'm converting....first quote came in at 110k! That's almost as much as I paid for my entire house! I'm getting more quotes, but its obvious that the conversion is going to cost a lot more than I anticipated. Contractors have told me that a lot of people are construction ADUs right now for family, or as rentals because rental prices are so high that most people can't afford them, and people are either looking to house family members, or rent the ADU out for additional income. Its crazy here!
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Apr 7, 2021 11:20:07 GMT -5
Our neighborhood is crazy pants hot. Many (most?) Of the houses have added on 1200+ square feet so prices are crazy. But even original footprint houses are snatched up at very good prices.
Our neighborhood has always been nice and desirable, but the area around us has blossomed. We have tons of restaurants we can walk to now. The strip mall at the corner was bought and they cleaned it up and doubled the rents. Surprisingly, they are nearly full of quality businesses. They got rid of the crappy stuff, so each store is very nice. And other questionable stuff around the hood has either sold out or got pushed out.
I love it here, but so many of my friends are looking at moving post-kids or post-retirement, which still may be 10 or more years. 😔
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2021 11:28:41 GMT -5
My garage I'm converting....first quote came in at 110k! That's almost as much as I paid for my entire house! I'm getting more quotes, but its obvious that the conversion is going to cost a lot more than I anticipated. Contractors have told me that a lot of people are construction ADUs right now for family, or as rentals because rental prices are so high that most people can't afford them, and people are either looking to house family members, or rent the ADU out for additional income. Its crazy here! At one point I read of an HOA in CA that required that you keep your garage doors open during certain hours of the day- people were renting their garages out to tenants, which was forbidden by the Restrictions. I suppose you let them use your bathroom and supply them with a microwave and a mini-fridge? When you have high-paying IT people bidding up the price of housing and the more modestly-paid retail workers wanting to live near their jobs, I guess it comes to that.
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Apr 7, 2021 13:11:17 GMT -5
The house I mentioned in our neighborhood that was coming on market came on this week listed 85K over the zillow estimate and 3.3x what it last sold for in 2000. It's got curb appeal but the bathrooms are dated and it's under 1,200 square feet inside. The house literally across the street that's one bedroom smaller just over 2 years ago sold for 185K below asking on this house. We had an offer on a house two years ago down the street that was bigger inside by 150 square feet and that sold for 145K less. If I had to bet I'd say they'll get asking or close to it but the appraisal won't get the comps and the seller will have to come down a bit or maybe they refuse to in an attempt to get a buyer to bring more cash to the table. Pure speculation on my part but it's just ridiculous what places are going for as there's nothing rational driving the market. Long term locally I don't see how the current prices are sustainable but history here as shown us that somehow that doesn't always matter.
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jeffreymo
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Post by jeffreymo on Apr 7, 2021 13:31:53 GMT -5
We bought at the height of the bubble in 2007 and paid $200k for a 3/2.5. Right now there are zero 3 br 2.5 ba for sale in our zip code. A 3br 1.5 ba is listed for 309k. If we’d sell we’d want a 4/2.5 and probably have to pay $450k for something that was selling for $400k 2 years ago. The market was hot long before the pandemic but now it’s just getting silly.
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Apr 7, 2021 14:09:06 GMT -5
The pandemic has contributed to extremely low supply. Year over year as of March in the US the median home price was up almost 16% and inventory was over 50% lower. The market here has been on a rise since the rebound from the mortgage crisis started but the low rates and low inventory during the pandemic have made it ridiculous. Came across an article earlier today relevant to this topic: I understand the desire to buy but I think some people are playing a dangerous game buying sight unseen. There's nothing wrong with fixer uppers but if you don't have the skill set or money to get the work done that's an easy way to get in over your head.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Apr 7, 2021 16:15:07 GMT -5
Usually every spring, for sale signs pop up in my neighborhood and on my street. There were none on my street this summer and very few in town. Looking at Zillow today, there are a few new houses that have been on the market for quite a while and one house that has been on the market since last fall. My nephew and his fiance looked at that house and said it's a flip and everything is poorly done. Probably why it hasn't sold.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Apr 7, 2021 18:35:37 GMT -5
I was "house-poor" after my divorce in 1997. I wanted to stay in the same high priced school district for DS but I joked that we moved to the poor section of town. I forget what % of my take-home pay the mortgage was but I was grossing about $120K and the mortgage was $250K. My guess is that people with higher incomes can afford to spend more on their mortgages because their spending on other items isn't proportionately higher compared to people with lower incomes. I doubt we spent twice what a similar $60K household spent on groceries or clothing, for example. Vacations were visiting my parents in Myrtle Beach, so airfare only. I drove the same car, long paid off, the whole time we lived there. DS not only didn't get a car when he turned 16, he didn't even bother learning to drive. No remodels or upgrades- just repairing what was needed and I was grateful we could do that. Fortunately it turned out to be a very good investment. This doesn't seem extremely house poor to me...I gross $120K a year and financed $236K for my home. I am still saving around 35% of my income, and have money for vacations, etc. Of course, I am also a SINK so that probably helps. I don't know what the interest rates were in 97 but they were definitely way higher than they are now. So that would make the payments higher as well. that said I took out a $225k mortgage when my income was just $60k so yes for a bit I was quite house poor. Still I survived
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Apr 7, 2021 19:10:24 GMT -5
In 1999, I bought a $100k house on a $1100/mo takehome pay. I don't remember the interest rate but my payment was $840/mo. I was an E-4 in the USAF. I had a second job for eight months until my housing allowance kicked in and that was just $400 more/mo. lol I shopped at the Commissary to not spend a ton on groceries.
Now, I have take home of ~$7000/mo and am refinancing my $110k mortgage from 3.5% to 2.75%. For me, it's about the long game.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Apr 7, 2021 23:21:03 GMT -5
The flipper house behind me just sold for 480K. It was originally a two bedroom/1 bath house - the main floor is 1000 square feet. They left the two bedrooms on the first floor (they are atleast each 11 * 12 feet (one might bigger) they would be original to the house sizes). They reworked the stairs to the attic and put in 2 bedrooms and a bath (shower stall, toilet, sink) the crazy room lines when you pretty much can only walk down the middle of the space. ** update ** the house was originally 3 beds/1bath - the flipper took out a bedroom to put in the stairs to the attic... to create the 2 bedrooms with crazy angled ceilings and no head room. They remodeled the basement with another bathroom - but as far as I can tell they didn't put in a "flood gate/check valve" to prevent sewer back up (our 100 year old sewer system is sewer and storm drains combined - so a good rain storm and you've got water backing up into your basement. I'm hoping for 480K they solved the water back up issue. They put some new exteriors lights on the garage - but did it so poorly they used a tube or two of caulk to fill in the gaps and spaces between the light fixture and the garage wall. I'm not joking. I was gonna snap some pictures of the work done - to show to my DIY friends/relatives as an example of shoddy workmanship. They didn't repair the surround/frame for the "bay door" correctly either - they didn't cover the repaired frame with siding - they just ran some caulk down the seams of the 2*4's and painted it. I guess since they only replaced the wood frame because the old wood had rotted away so badly they couldn't get the overhead garage door to look like it was closed correctly. I also liked how they broke the bank and spent $10.00 on the stick on house numbers they applied OVER the old stick on numbers on the garage. It's code - you gotta have your house number on your garage. Perhaps it's assumed the new owners will replace the rotting garage? I wonder what kinds of short cuts and "smoke and mirrors" they did in side the house. IT's all gray paint and all the gray flooring and tile that they installed on all three levels. (I'm pretty sure one of the pictures showed a new toilet without water shut offs behind it. ) I'm sure some newbie homeowner is gonna be thrilled to own this house. This is why I would rather buy the fixer and then actually FIX the fixer and then live in it. This market is INSANE.
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tallguy
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Post by tallguy on Apr 8, 2021 3:47:02 GMT -5
As a Seattle homeowner, it is sometimes amusing what others describe as a crazy market. A balanced market is defined as having about six months inventory on hand. We have less than one. A few years ago we had the highest major city month-over-month price increase in the country for something like 20 consecutive months. We had the second-highest growth last year and are forecast to be #2 again this year. The average price in the city is now around $800,000, and the median time on the market before sale is ten days. Several Eastside communities/cities are over $1 million. My area is nicer than average. I have some relatively new neighbors who put over $140-150,000 into redoing their house before moving in permanently. I'm not even sure that was the final figure or just the main floor. Another is probably around six figures so far and and I haven't even met them because they are not moved in yet. A third was bought a few years ago. The flippers put $400,000 into it before reselling. That kind of money in most of the country is a very nice house. A rapidly increasing population and healthy job growth means that those prices are not going to be levelling off any time soon.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Apr 8, 2021 10:39:21 GMT -5
$400k will still buy you a gorgeous Mcmansion here.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2021 10:47:24 GMT -5
The flipper house behind me just sold for 480K. It was originally a two bedroom/1 bath house - the main floor is 1000 square feet. <snip> the house was originally 3 beds/1bath - the flipper took out a bedroom to put in the stairs to the attic... to create the 2 bedrooms with crazy angled ceilings and no head room. <snip> They remodeled the basement with another bathroom - but as far as I can tell they didn't put in a "flood gate/check valve" to prevent sewer back up (our 100 year old sewer system is sewer and storm drains combined - so a good rain storm and you've got water backing up into your basement. I'm hoping for 480K they solved the water back up issue. You do what's showy and sexy- who cares about the plumbing and the infrastructure? I once saw new construction with the requisite fancy kitchen- granite countertops, island, stainless-steel appliances- and a nearby bathroom had one of those plastic pre-fab shower enclosures. Totally agreed.
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hurley1980
Well-Known Member
I am all that is wrong with the world....don't get too close, I'm contagious.
Joined: Dec 23, 2010 17:35:06 GMT -5
Posts: 1,943
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Post by hurley1980 on Apr 8, 2021 11:19:45 GMT -5
The flipper house behind me just sold for 480K. It was originally a two bedroom/1 bath house - the main floor is 1000 square feet. <snip> the house was originally 3 beds/1bath - the flipper took out a bedroom to put in the stairs to the attic... to create the 2 bedrooms with crazy angled ceilings and no head room. <snip> They remodeled the basement with another bathroom - but as far as I can tell they didn't put in a "flood gate/check valve" to prevent sewer back up (our 100 year old sewer system is sewer and storm drains combined - so a good rain storm and you've got water backing up into your basement. I'm hoping for 480K they solved the water back up issue. You do what's showy and sexy- who cares about the plumbing and the infrastructure? I once saw new construction with the requisite fancy kitchen- granite countertops, island, stainless-steel appliances- and a nearby bathroom had one of those plastic pre-fab shower enclosures. Totally agreed. Agree here as well. I also wouldn't buy a newly built house in a subdivision here in NorCal. Those jobs are so shoddy, the houses sometimes feel like they would crumble to pieces if we even had a minor earthquake. My house might not be in the best neighborhood, or a huge mcmansion, but it has good bones. Houses were built to last back in the 50's! And I not only love fixing up a house to make sure it what I like, but I can make sure its done right. I've remodeled almost everything in my house, interior and exterior, over the past 11 years. It was fun. And I love my little castle!
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souldoubt
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 11:57:14 GMT -5
Posts: 2,745
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Post by souldoubt on Apr 8, 2021 11:30:25 GMT -5
In SoCal where I live most of the houses were built in the 60's and in ways I'd prefer those to some of the new builds because they've stood the test of time. I realize older houses can and will require more work but I've seen too many stories about new builds using poor materials, materials that end up getting recalled (piping used in some Vegas builds during the boom), built by companies rushing through the jobs and so on. I'm not opposed to a fixer but it depends how much work it needs and where it comes in price wise. Median price where I live is now over 900K and I'm not going to spend that on a fixer unless it's a big house for the area. In the past few years we checked out a few houses on the market that were either quick flips or the person who owned it hired someone who did subpar work to spruce it up. One house we saw the new counter tops had a gap between them because they cut the wrong size and the baseboards they didn't paint after they nailed them in or rather if they did they didn't cover the holes the nails made so if what I can see looks that bad what I can't see worried me more. That kind of work I'd rather do myself or pay someone I know does a good job to get it done.
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pooks
Familiar Member
Joined: Mar 11, 2017 16:45:43 GMT -5
Posts: 627
Today's Mood: Angry
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Post by pooks on Apr 8, 2021 13:40:33 GMT -5
A house in our neighborhood went for sale last weekend for 100K over the last list price in the neighborhood, less than a month ago. I thought it was high, but it is already pending. All sales recently have been over 1 million. These are homes that 6 years ago would have been 500K. It is crazy and unlike Seattle we don't have the jobs/income to support these inflated prices. I want to sell, take the money, and run to a different state, before this bubble pops.
I watch the value of our last house in the east and it still hasn't reached the height of 2006. We didn't sell that one at the top and now we are in a similar situation, only I don't like this house as much.
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