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Homeowner/House Thread: It's going to cost how much, now?

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Posts

  • BlackDragon480BlackDragon480 Bluster Kerfuffle Master of Windy ImportRegistered User regular
    edited April 2020
    That_Guy wrote: »
    They used to print $1000 bills but they were discontinued in the 60s. The last thousand dollar bill sold at auction for around $20k.

    Iirc they also used to print even bigger bills, but they were just for transferring large amounts of cash between banks - they were legal tender, but not available to the public.

    Yep, largest ever was $100,000 note from 1934 that had Woodrow Wilson on it and was only used in transactions between Federal Reserve banks.

    At my work I've seen a few McKinley $500 notes and a couple of Grover Cleveland $1000 notes roll through.

    BlackDragon480 on
    No matter where you go...there you are.
    ~ Buckaroo Banzai
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    That_Guy wrote: »
    They used to print $1000 bills but they were discontinued in the 60s. The last thousand dollar bill sold at auction for around $20k.

    Iirc they also used to print even bigger bills, but they were just for transferring large amounts of cash between banks - they were legal tender, but not available to the public.

    Yep, largest ever was $100,000 note from 1934 that had Woodrow Wilson on it and was only used in transactions between Federal Reserve banks.

    At my work I've seen a few McKinkey $500 notes and a couple of Grover Cleveland $1000 notes roll through.

    Spendable at respectable Nevada locations and selected back-alleys everywhere!

  • matt has a problemmatt has a problem Points to 'off' Points to 'on'Registered User regular
    The brown area is about 20x20, and had five years worth of brush and branches piled on it when I started. It was chest high to me, and I'm 6'4. I know it was five years worth, because I found five Christmas trees buried in the pile. Four ~1000 pound loads to the dump, and I was down to a level where what remained could be burned.

    Xx6v3uD.jpg?1

    Why am I doing this? My mom decided, since everybody's sheltering in place, she wanted to plant their vegetable garden again this year. The plot for which was under the pile of yard waste...

    nibXTE7.png
  • StraygatsbyStraygatsby Registered User regular
    edited April 2020
    I really wanted to plant a vegetable garden, but then we discovered we are a public park for a crew of about 12 deer who do not give any fucks and just hang out all day in our neighborhood eating anything that looks good.

    Maybe one day I'll landscape up some kind of greenhouse or fenced area, but I don't see it happening just yet.

    I think I can grow some herbs they don't like, though.

    Straygatsby on
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited April 2020
    .

    Xx6v3uD.jpg?1

    That looks like a Far Cry screenshot of your paragliding into a bush fire.

    MichaelLC on
  • SmokeStacksSmokeStacks Registered User regular
    A while back I decided to get the ball rolling on buying a house. Then Covid happened, and I got sidetracked by current events (I work in a Hospital).

    Anyway, I finally spoke with a realtor and a couple loan officers, and the general gist is that my income is in the right place, and my credit, "while improving", should still be acceptable for a home loan. Both mortgage lenders want me to actually apply so they can see what I might qualify for, and then I'd know what sort of downpayment ballpark I might be looking at afterward (and how long it would take me to put it together).

    I have a sneaking suspicion that I don't actually make enough money, but that lenders are so desperate right now that they'll take anybody. On the other hand, my friend bought a four bedroom house in a decent neighborhood on a cul de sac a couple of years ago and his mortgage payment (before insurance and property taxes, but still) was around $100 a month less than the shitty two bedroom apartment I was renting in a neighboring city.

    Speaking of my friend, I told him this info today while we were hanging out and he put on The Money Pit to help me get mentally prepared for eventual home ownership.

  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Both lenders want to run credit checks on you so they can give you concrete numbers and that's a good thing.

    Specifically for mortgages, a number of credit checks in a short period don't destroy your credit.

  • ThegreatcowThegreatcow Lord of All Bacons Washington State - It's Wet up here innit? Registered User regular
    Yeah you might as well find out and get a pre-qualification process started just to see what range of things you can afford and what your potential payments might look like. This is the best time to sort of see where the rubber meets the road on whether you can really afford a house. Note that if you're buying for the first time, check your local municipality and see if they have any first time buyer programs. I know up here in washington there's several and if you pretty much take a class and go with specific lenders, some can offer you a first time homebuyer's credit and discounts on your rates.

    You might as well get the following info handy in advance of applying as they'll most likely start asking for it:

    -Last 2 Years of Tax Returns
    -Last 2-4 months of all of your bank statements
    -Latest 2-3 paystubs from your work
    -How much of a down payment you can realistically cobble together
    -If you're going to be getting a "gift" payment from someone else (like if your parents are going to chip you some money to help buy the house, document it in a letter somewhere)
    -Address history (at least the last 2 places you've lived for the past several years.

    That should make the process go smoother.

  • That_GuyThat_Guy I don't wanna be that guy Registered User regular
    edited April 2020
    Mugsley wrote: »
    Both lenders want to run credit checks on you so they can give you concrete numbers and that's a good thing.

    Specifically for mortgages, a number of credit checks in a short period don't destroy your credit.

    Exactly. It's perfectly normal and expected to have several hard credit pulls when buying a house. Lenders realize this and take it into account when you are shopping. You will notice a sizeable drop in your credit score right after buying a house with a mortgage. Over the proceeding few months your score will recover and end up higher than it did before your purchase. I think I lost about 30 points after all was said and done but gained 50 points over the next year.

    That_Guy on
  • OneAngryPossumOneAngryPossum Registered User regular
    I’ve moved into the next stage of the weed war, which involves chemical weapons. Bought some thistle-specific herbicide and a pump sprayer, going to see how this works in a few limited locations tomorrow before applying more broadly.

    I’ve also started clearing out the tree-area behind our house to make a walking loop - mostly raking, but there are some fence post remnants I’m going to have to deal with soon. Any tips for removing the concrete base of chain link posts with a limited toolset? I’m not opposed to digging them out, but if I can make it easier, all the better.

  • ThegreatcowThegreatcow Lord of All Bacons Washington State - It's Wet up here innit? Registered User regular
    Yeah you might as well find out and get a pre-qualification process started just to see what range of things you can afford and what your potential payments might look like. This is the best time to sort of see where the rubber meets the road on whether you can really afford a house. Note that if you're buying for the first time, check your local municipality and see if they have any first time buyer programs. I know up here in washington there's several and if you pretty much take a class and go with specific lenders, some can offer you a first time homebuyer's credit and discounts on your rates.

    You might as well get the following info handy in advance of applying as they'll most likely start asking for it:

    -Last 2 Years of Tax Returns
    -Last 2-4 months of all of your bank statements
    -Latest 2-3 paystubs from your work
    -How much of a down payment you can realistically cobble together
    -If you're going to be getting a "gift" payment from someone else (like if your parents are going to chip you some money to help buy the house, document it in a letter somewhere)
    -Address history (at least the last 2 places you've lived for the past several years.

    That should make the process go smoother.

    One thing I also forgot to add that the pre-qual may not necessarily cover. Some banks like Wells Fargo will ask you early on if you plan to go with a House or Condo. This is important because they then will factor in the additional monthly cost of the HOAs and will adjust how much you qualify for, sometimes by a large margin. It was a huge difference for me. If you can actually get a downpayment to afford a real house versus a condo, you'll see you'll generally qualify for a larger mortgage amount as they know not to factor in the several additional hundreds of dollars per month you'd normally have to pay with an HOA.

  • Knight_Knight_ Dead Dead Dead Registered User regular
    hrm, so my mortgage guy just called me and said that they could probably get me a rate like 1.3% lower than my current (4.5%) without up front costs which would save almost 200 a month. It seems a little too good to be true, but I know the rates are lower now than they were 1.5 years ago so sort of makes sense. He said he's going to send some papers over, is there anything I should look out for?

    aeNqQM9.jpg
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    Knight_ wrote: »
    hrm, so my mortgage guy just called me and said that they could probably get me a rate like 1.3% lower than my current (4.5%) without up front costs which would save almost 200 a month. It seems a little too good to be true, but I know the rates are lower now than they were 1.5 years ago so sort of makes sense. He said he's going to send some papers over, is there anything I should look out for?

    Anything adjustable?

    Make sure he's not converting a 30-year to a 15-year lease (unless you're planning on that and can afford the payments)?

    Are they rolling the closing costs into the loan? If so, you might end up owing a little more over time than you expected

    Also, you're almost definitely resetting the endpoint of your loan, so you'll be paying a little longer (but if you split the difference, and pay an extra $100 / month over your new rate, you'll make up that lost time really, really quickly).

  • StarZapperStarZapper Vermont, Bizzaro world.Registered User regular
    Yeah I'm in the same boat right now, though I haven't been approached by any banks. But I'm trying to wait until I can get at least a 1% reduction from my 4.5% until i bite the bullet, some of the banks are pretty close but I figure with the way rates have been headed, just a little more time and I should be able to save quite a bit more.

  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    edited April 2020
    Knight_ wrote: »
    hrm, so my mortgage guy just called me and said that they could probably get me a rate like 1.3% lower than my current (4.5%) without up front costs which would save almost 200 a month. It seems a little too good to be true, but I know the rates are lower now than they were 1.5 years ago so sort of makes sense. He said he's going to send some papers over, is there anything I should look out for?

    You might be buying points on your mortgage. You basically drop a little extra money at closing to buy down the rate (some people call the term discount points). Something might have changed that adjusted your closing costs but allows you to buy points and keep it the same.

    bowen on
    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • Knight_Knight_ Dead Dead Dead Registered User regular
    edited April 2020
    bowen wrote: »
    Knight_ wrote: »
    hrm, so my mortgage guy just called me and said that they could probably get me a rate like 1.3% lower than my current (4.5%) without up front costs which would save almost 200 a month. It seems a little too good to be true, but I know the rates are lower now than they were 1.5 years ago so sort of makes sense. He said he's going to send some papers over, is there anything I should look out for?

    You might be buying points on your mortgage. You basically drop a little extra money at closing to buy down the rate (some people call the term discount points). Something might have changed that adjusted your closing costs but allows you to buy points and keep it the same.

    i don't think it's points. it seems like the closing costs are being covered by lender credits, which as far as i understand is the inverse of buying points. i'll have to look into that i suppose. after all is said and done it does seem like even with the lender credit adding some points back on i'm still down 0.9% on the rate and my payment would be lower. not a huge fan of resetting the term, but i've only been on the loan for a year and a half so i guess that's not a huge deal. taking the money i saved and putting it back into the loan would probably end up saving me more time fairly quickly.

    that said, i'm still pretty cross with them because they hit my credit again without asking to do so which is frustrating because when i bought this house i got like 5 hard pulls and my credit has still been suffering for it, and I have been waiting to apply for a better credit card without jacking it up even more and then they go and do it yet again. ugh. i literally only asked for the very vaguest estimate on the phone but out comes the hard pull.

    Knight_ on
    aeNqQM9.jpg
  • electricitylikesmeelectricitylikesme Registered User regular
    edited April 2020
    Success! I have removed the god damn alarm sensor in the kitchen which was broken and had the world's loudest relay in it. If it could've just died that would be fine, but it didn't - instead it just triggered all the time for no reason, more at night. It has been this way since we moved in.

    But now it's dead! It won't be coming back.

    EDIT: Oh! The other success today - down pipe surgery. Multi-tool cut a slot into the angle where there was a drip when it rained that echoed up the pipe. Cut a slot of carpet tile and stuck it in with butyl tape. Now to wait till Monday to see if it worked before we can seal up the incision.

    electricitylikesme on
  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    @Knight_ I recommend you freeze your credit at all 3 agencies. When you're ready to apply for a credit card, you can temp thaw it.

    Then no one can do hard pulls without you knowing about it

  • SmokeStacksSmokeStacks Registered User regular
    Something that the realtor mentioned was to think about what I want in a home (some people want a big kitchen, or a spare room for a home office, or a fireplace, that sort of thing). I had a rough idea of different features in mind, but never really sat down and made a concrete list before now.

    Are there any features that you guys looked for in a home that later ended up not being as important as you thought they were, or issues that you thought would be a major problem but ended up not being that bad at all?

  • CptHamiltonCptHamilton Registered User regular
    Something that the realtor mentioned was to think about what I want in a home (some people want a big kitchen, or a spare room for a home office, or a fireplace, that sort of thing). I had a rough idea of different features in mind, but never really sat down and made a concrete list before now.

    Are there any features that you guys looked for in a home that later ended up not being as important as you thought they were, or issues that you thought would be a major problem but ended up not being that bad at all?

    Since you mentioned fireplaces... Fireplaces are great but if you live in a state where code precludes wood-burning and you're looking for a newer home: gas fireplaces ain't shit. Don't even bother. My old house had a wood burning fireplace and I used it probably 20+ times a year. My current house has a gas fireplace and I'd be amazed if I've turned it on 20 times in the 12 years I've lived here.

    PSN,Steam,Live | CptHamiltonian
  • TomantaTomanta Registered User regular
    The fireplace is the second thing about my home I would change, with the first being that I'm in a flood plain.

    I live in Houston, why do I need a fireplace and why did so many houses I looked at have one? It's cold enough to light it maybe one day a year! That's not even worth getting it checked out to see if it's safe to light it!

    That said, we do like the mantle.

  • CorvusCorvus . VancouverRegistered User regular
    We got gas fireplaces in our house as another source of heat, gas is much cheaper to run then say, electric heat, and we don’t have any electric heat in our place. That may be different if you don’t live somewhere that produces a ton of natural gas.

    Now, if you live somewhere hot, I wouldn’t bother, if you just want the look you can get electric fireplaces you can run with just the flame effect turned on without the heat on. Or just loop the Christmas log on your tv.

    Woodsmoke is pretty bad for your health, though I do love the heat from an airtight wood stove.

    I’d say, maybe think about your family size and what’s the maximum number of bedrooms you’re likely to need. Moving is super stressful and expensive, but you don’t want to be one kid in and having to upgrade your house if you can avoid it.

    A couple of general house lay out things I think are kind of useless is having both a family room and a separate living room (aka the formal room no one uses) or more than one “eating room”. Like, a formal dining room and a breakfast area etc, it just seems like wasted floor space.

    :so_raven:
  • AngelHedgieAngelHedgie Registered User regular
    Corvus wrote: »
    A couple of general house lay out things I think are kind of useless is having both a family room and a separate living room (aka the formal room no one uses) or more than one “eating room”. Like, a formal dining room and a breakfast area etc, it just seems like wasted floor space.

    It makes sense if you do a lot of hosting events - it's both useful and mentally protective to have "entertaining space" and "private family space".

    XBL: Nox Aeternum / PSN: NoxAeternum / NN:NoxAeternum / Steam: noxaeternum
  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    I've got questions.

    What kind of reserve requirement are we seeing during corona virus? I saw someone mention 5k is that what others are seeing?

    A house we looked at has exposed insulation in an unfinished basement. I don't plan on finishing the basement anytime soon, but is there something I could do to make the insulation less of an eye sore. Would I just bite the bullet and throw up a drop ceiling? Drop ceilings are ugly but are functional.

  • ZavianZavian universal peace sounds better than forever war Registered User regular
    Finally got my bidet mailed to me. It says quick and easy install, so putting on my plumbers crack today to install. Hopefully I won’t flood my condo. Went for a $50 one off Amazon
    h9s2hcamqgaa.jpeg
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075QC6ZHQ/

  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Is it on the walls or ceiling in the basement? You could staple on sheet plastic maybe, or screw in some thin drywall and don't mud it.

  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    Mugsley wrote: »
    Is it on the walls or ceiling in the basement? You could staple on sheet plastic maybe, or screw in some thin drywall and don't mud it.
    Ceiling. It's not on the walls.

  • vamenvamen Registered User regular
    edited April 2020
    I've owned my home for 12 years and I finally needed my insurance due to some water damage (pin hole leak under my stairs) and it took them 1.5 months to finally tell me they aren't going to help me. Very excited about that news. And the delay. The real slap in the face is that my annual auto-payment to them cleared about a week after they shot me down. Very hard to not feel like I'm not being straight up robbed by them at this point =p.

    Anyhoo, an unrelated issue I have discovered while someone was out inspecting the water damage is that my front porch (concrete) has a some seepage going on and water has leaked in over the years and rotted a lot of the joist in that area. I figure my first order of business should be to get that repaired to stop any more water damage and then have the joist issue dealt with.

    Anyone know what sort of service handles that sort of thing? Seems like it falls in an odd space between specific disciplines so I'm not quite sure who to reach out to.

    vamen on
  • SmokeStacksSmokeStacks Registered User regular
    Alright, applications are in, now I just have to wait for their responses. I am fully prepared for colossal rejection, but on the upside I'll be able to find out which direction I should be heading and how long I'll need to go to get there.

    I would have sat down to do this much sooner, but I work at a hospital and we have a scheduled set of massive equipment upgrades that would have been hectic enough without Covid.

  • Jebus314Jebus314 Registered User regular
    vamen wrote: »
    I've owned my home for 12 years and I finally needed my insurance due to some water damage (pin hole leak under my stairs) and it took them 1.5 months to finally tell me they aren't going to help me. Very excited about that news. And the delay. The real slap in the face is that my annual auto-payment to them cleared about a week after they shot me down. Very hard to not feel like I'm not being straight up robbed by them at this point =p.

    Anyhoo, an unrelated issue I have discovered while someone was out inspecting the water damage is that my front porch (concrete) has a some seepage going on and water has leaked in over the years and rotted a lot of the joist in that area. I figure my first order of business should be to get that repaired to stop any more water damage and then have the joist issue dealt with.

    Anyone know what sort of service handles that sort of thing? Seems like it falls in an odd space between specific disciplines so I'm not quite sure who to reach out to.

    Usually best to start with a general contractor (sometimes called building contractor). If they can’t do it themselves they’ll have subcontractors who will be able too.

    "The world is a mess, and I just need to rule it" - Dr Horrible
  • vamenvamen Registered User regular
    Thanks for the advice Jebus, I'll look into that!

  • SatanIsMyMotorSatanIsMyMotor Fuck Warren Ellis Registered User regular
    We woke up last Friday to our water heater deciding it no longer wanted to be a water heater and instead wanted to be some sort of very dramatic indoor fountain.

    Thankfully my partner noticed the lack of hot water and went into the utility room to check. Also thankful that there's a drain right in front of the heater so instead of having an indoor pool we only had about half an inch of water that was relatively easy to clean up.

    Got the new heater installed on Monday so I'm hoping that's the extent of our exciting home news for a while.

  • vamenvamen Registered User regular
    I'm learning that even a little water damage is a nightmare, I'm so glad for you that you caught it like you did.

  • MegaMan001MegaMan001 CRNA Rochester, MNRegistered User regular
    Ran electrical conduit for a 7.2 surround sound system yesterday and drilled so many holes through the ceiling joists etc. Lots of time looking up code but everything worked out well.

    I am in the business of saving lives.
  • Steel AngelSteel Angel Registered User regular
    I may have discovered a leak from an upstairs bathroom as water was on the kitchen floor beneath after I finished showering. I'll be verifying it by taping some paper towels to the ceiling before my next shower but would like to mentally prepare myself for how boned my wallet may be if anyone has had a similar experience.

    Big Dookie wrote: »
    I found that tilting it doesn't work very well, and once I started jerking it, I got much better results.

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  • HedgethornHedgethorn Associate Professor of Historical Hobby Horses In the Lions' DenRegistered User regular
    edited April 2020
    The contractors updating our bathroom tore up the concrete to move the toilet over a few feet. They found the old cast iron drain pipe had been leaking for who knows how long and had left behind a 3-1/2' deep cavity under the slab!

    Hedgethorn on
  • Jebus314Jebus314 Registered User regular
    edited April 2020
    I may have discovered a leak from an upstairs bathroom as water was on the kitchen floor beneath after I finished showering. I'll be verifying it by taping some paper towels to the ceiling before my next shower but would like to mentally prepare myself for how boned my wallet may be if anyone has had a similar experience.

    Depends on where the leak is and how long it’s been leaking.

    Best case scenario is a pipe leak, in the floor/ceiling, that is new. Maybe $500-$1000 or so.

    Worst case is a leak in the shower pan that is old. Maybe $4,000- 6,000. Or more depending on how nice your shower is and how nice you want your new shower.

    Jebus314 on
    "The world is a mess, and I just need to rule it" - Dr Horrible
  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    At the least, check around your shower area for caulking or grout that looks suspect or has pulled away from one side. That's a good way to start narrowing things down.

    You can also run the shower while you poke around the walls with a flashlight.

    In our first house, we had to shower inside a plastic sheet cocoon for about 1-2 months before we could get a Bath Fitter type company to come in and install a new liner for the tub and walls.

    Related: I have to get off my ass and figure out what's up with my kids' run spigot because about 2" of the pipe is protruding into the tub area (i.e. the spigot is about 2" off the wall).

    No major drips but it needs attention.

  • CarpyCarpy Registered User regular
    Yo, the speed at which we went from "let's look at pre-approval and browse listings" to "holy shit they accepted our offer" is terrifying. Inspection's on Tuesday and I still don't believe it.

    The worst part so far might have been the wait from signing their counter until they gave formal acceptance. Was only like 16 hours but it felt like fucking forever.

  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    Looking at houses and the good homes are on the market for a day. And the good houses that are cheap are in terrible school districts. I’ve spent so much time looking at elementary school zoning maps.

This discussion has been closed.