29 minutes ago, paco said:

As for appraisals, our pre-approval had an appraisal wavier and we were conditionally approved with it.  So barring Armageddon, we should be in good shape to close.

that makes things much easier.

35 minutes ago, paco said:

We did our own "inspection".  Had my father in law go through it before we submitted our offer.  We found the water heater was 13 years past its lifecycle and also the furnace was a bit old, so we came in under.  They countered at 5k under asking which we accepted.

 

As for appraisals, our pre-approval had an appraisal wavier and we were conditionally approved with it.  So barring Armageddon, we should be in good shape to close.

 

We sold our beach condo cash in one day.  We bought it in 1/2018 and between the market and the renovations I did, it doubled in value.  Crazy out there.

You didn't pay for an actual inspection? Waiving it just means you're waiving contingency rights and buying as-is, no? You still absolutely need that house to be professionally inspected for your own knowledge. There are some things you can't easily do on your own, like scoping sewage lines, looking for roof damage, checking radon levels (unless you've already bought a DIY meter, though perhaps not as accurate as what an inspector might use), etc.

10 hours ago, bobeph said:

Even if a boxer is 60 grand, how many poor people do you know that kind afford a $60,000 car?  

It's all relative. In my world, driving a 60k car = broke arse poor.

2 hours ago, paco said:

Pfft.  We just went under contract on a 600k property.  But we're not poor so we waived inspection.

Congrats man. Good luck.

1 hour ago, paco said:

TBF, where he lives, 600k gets you 

In West LA, that place would have 5 offers at above $1.5.

1 hour ago, we_gotta_believe said:

You didn't pay for an actual inspection? Waiving it just means you're waiving contingency rights and buying as-is, no? You still absolutely need that house to be professionally inspected for your own knowledge. There are some things you can't easily do on your own, like scoping sewage lines, looking for roof damage, checking radon levels (unless you've already bought a DIY meter, though perhaps not as accurate as what an inspector might use), etc.

My father in law is a contractor and a master plumber with almost 40 years experience.  So we had him go through the place for 2 hours as an unofficial inspection, got the thumbs up (with the two exceptions) and put in an offer waving inspection to make it stronger on paper.

21 minutes ago, vikas83 said:

Congrats man. Good luck.

Thanks.  

 

This is what is driving my push for solar.   Place is going to cost a lot more in electricity.  

5 minutes ago, paco said:

My father in law is a contractor and a master plumber with almost 40 years experience.  So we had him go through the place for 2 hours as an unofficial inspection, got the thumbs up (with the two exceptions) and put in an offer waving inspection to make it stronger on paper.

Thanks.  

 

This is what is driving my push for solar.   Place is going to cost a lot more in electricity.  

As long as he got up on the roof, walked around in the attic, scoped the sewer lines, etc. The financial risk involved isn't worth the few hundred it would cost to get it professionally inspected if all those boxes aren't checked.

26 minutes ago, vikas83 said:

In West LA, that place would have 5 offers at above $1.5.

That’s nuts.  I mean, it has to even off at some point, doesn’t it?   At what point are most people just going to be like, "F it.  I’m throwing up a tent!”

10 minutes ago, paco said:

My father in law is a contractor and a master plumber with almost 40 years experience.  So we had him go through the place for 2 hours as an unofficial inspection, got the thumbs up (with the two exceptions) and put in an offer waving inspection to make it stronger on paper.

Thanks.  

 

This is what is driving my push for solar.   Place is going to cost a lot more in electricity.  

My parents live in Landenberg, which is probably close to you guys. Their house is probably 7k sq feet with the basement, and probably would sell for ~600k. Guessing you got a nice pad.

7 minutes ago, vikas83 said:

My parents live in Landenberg, which is probably close to you guys. Their house is probably 7k sq feet with the basement, and probably would sell for ~600k. Guessing you got a nice pad.

In this market?  Townhouses are going for 300k+.  We sold our old townhouse to my wife's cousin.  It was built in the early 90's 1600 sq ft no real yard and not an end unit and it went for over 300k when he just sold it.  New construction townhouses are starting in the mid 300's.  We got our current house which is on over 2 acres and very private for that.   I think you are underestimating you parents house value.  Market has no logic right now.

13 minutes ago, vikas83 said:

My parents live in Landenberg, which is probably close to you guys. Their house is probably 7k sq feet with the basement, and probably would sell for ~600k. Guessing you got a nice pad.

Yeah, its close to Landenberg.  Its in a really nice neighborhood, still KSQ school district but not in KSQ.  3700, not including the unfinished basement (so I have a project for the next 15 years).

 

It was a perfect compromise in one area that schmoopie and I didn't agree on.  She wanted a pool and I didn't want to have anything to do with a pool.  This place has a private clubhouse, tennis courts, gym, etc and.... a multi tiered pool for residents. (There is a pool dedicated to children on one level then a little bit below is the adults only pool)

2 minutes ago, rambo said:

In this market?  Townhouses are going for 300k+.  We sold our old townhouse to my wife's cousin.  It was built in the early 90's 1600 sq ft no real yard and not an end unit and it went for over 300k when he just sold it.  New construction townhouses are starting in the mid 300's.  We got our current house which is on over 2 acres and very private for that.   I think you are underestimating you parents house value.  Market has no logic right now.

When we moved out here in 2016 we were looking at the townhouses next to Victory in KSQ.  They were new construction so it was appealing to pick out all the finishes and what not.  Looked great on paper all the way from Denver.  Once we got there we were surprised how poorly they were laid out and how small they felt inside despite the sq footage.  So we bought elsewhere.  They eventually sold out but it took forever.

 

Fast forward today and they $$ on them barely moved even in this market.  They might be the one decent buy now considering everything in the surrounding area skyrocketed and they are still basically brand new.

11 minutes ago, rambo said:

In this market?  Townhouses are going for 300k+.  We sold our old townhouse to my wife's cousin.  It was built in the early 90's 1600 sq ft no real yard and not an end unit and it went for over 300k when he just sold it.  New construction townhouses are starting in the mid 300's.  We got our current house which is on over 2 acres and very private for that.   I think you are underestimating you parents house value.  Market has no logic right now.

It was built in the late 1980s, and it needs some work. 

Plus, the smell of curry permeates.

7 minutes ago, paco said:

Yeah, its close to Landenberg.  Its in a really nice neighborhood, still KSQ school district but not in KSQ.  3700, not including the unfinished basement (so I have a project for the next 15 years).

We have a 1600 sq ft basement that could be easily finished.  I refuse to because my kids are pigs and manage to cover every square foot of it with legos and toys.  So until those little bastids clean up after themselves better I'm out.  Now I just walk down there, shake my head, go back up the steps and pretend it doesn't exist.

1 minute ago, vikas83 said:

It was built in the late 1980s, and it needs some work. 

Plus, the smell of curry permeates.

Spraying 7000sq ft with vinegar to get the smell out certainly sounds daunting.

15 minutes ago, paco said:

Yeah, its close to Landenberg.  Its in a really nice neighborhood, still KSQ school district but not in KSQ.  3700, not including the unfinished basement (so I have a project for the next 15 years).

 

It was a perfect compromise in one area that schmoopie and I didn't agree on.  She wanted a pool and I didn't want to have anything to do with a pool.  This place has a private clubhouse, tennis courts, gym, etc and.... a multi tiered pool for residents. (There is a pool dedicated to children on one level then a little bit below is the adults only pool)

the kids pool is on the upper level? man, they'll be peeing into the adult area.

1 hour ago, rambo said:

In this market?  Townhouses are going for 300k+.  We sold our old townhouse to my wife's cousin.  It was built in the early 90's 1600 sq ft no real yard and not an end unit and it went for over 300k when he just sold it.  New construction townhouses are starting in the mid 300's.  We got our current house which is on over 2 acres and very private for that.   I think you are underestimating you parents house value.  Market has no logic right now.

You know that hood being built on Tollgate right by the newer circle?  One of those dumps was listed for over 700k.  What a ukn’ ripoff!  Those things are cookie cutters being built right on top of each other.  

1 hour ago, vikas83 said:

My parents live in Landenberg, which is probably close to you guys. Their house is probably 7k sq feet with the basement, and probably would sell for ~600k. Guessing you got a nice pad.

Landenberg is nice.  Can't wait to walk the trail down there when it's not so stinking hot outside!

1 hour ago, paco said:

1 hour ago, paco said:

Yeah, its close to Landenberg.  Its in a really nice neighborhood, still KSQ school district but not in KSQ.  3700, not including the unfinished basement (so I have a project for the next 15 years).

 

It was a perfect compromise in one area that schmoopie and I didn't agree on.  She wanted a pool and I didn't want to have anything to do with a pool.  This place has a private clubhouse, tennis courts, gym, etc and.... a multi tiered pool for residents. (There is a pool dedicated to children on one level then a little bit below is the adults only pool)

 

Somerset?  I pictured you two going Unionville/Chadds Ford.  Congrats!!  

9 minutes ago, bobeph said:

You know that hood being built on Tollgate right by the newer circle?  One of those dumps was listed for over 700k.  What a ukn’ ripoff!  Those things are cookie cutters being built right on top of each other.  

Not too mention the real estate taxes on them will be astronomical.  I pay 7k for a 90s home.  Those will probably be 14k.  For those that don't understand pa real estate taxes homes are assessed when built and never really reassessed.  So new construction homes carry higher taxes.  Buying older homes and fixing cosmetics will generally save you in the long run just from a tax stand point.

1 hour ago, paco said:

It was a perfect compromise in one area that schmoopie and I didn't agree on.  She wanted a pool and I didn't want to have anything to do with a pool.  This place has a private clubhouse, tennis courts, gym, etc and.... a multi tiered pool for residents. (There is a pool dedicated to children on one level then a little bit below is the adults only pool)

You made the right call. Let somebody else deal with the pool maintenance.
As long as the kids pool is separate, the waters don't mix, you're good.

13 hours ago, bobeph said:

My advice to anyone who wants to get into government work…. Take it for what it is for the benefits and then get a gig on the side.  For us, Real estate seem to work.  But that will change at some point also.  But as far as benefits go, my co-pays are peanuts and I can retire in eight years.  
 

 

High Noons, Miller Lite and Red Stripe???  Don't forget your tampons today.

20 minutes ago, rambo said:

Not too mention the real estate taxes on them will be astronomical.  I pay 7k for a 90s home.  Those will probably be 14k.  For those that don't understand pa real estate taxes homes are assessed when built and never really reassessed.  So new construction homes carry higher taxes.  Buying older homes and fixing cosmetics will generally save you in the long run just from a tax stand point.

Absolutely!  Bucks doesn’t have the manpower to reassess.  I think they have like a total of 4 appraisers.

4 minutes ago, barho said:

High Noons, Miller Lite and Red Stripe???  Don't forget your tampons today.

I see some Troegs hiding in the door... Put the cheap stuff in plain view for the guests. Hide the good stuff.

2 minutes ago, bobeph said:

Absolutely!  Bucks doesn’t have the manpower to reassess.  I think they have like a total of 4 appraisers.

I live in Bucks and immediately reassessed back in 2008 when I bought my house new.  They still haven't hit me with a new assessment.  Still, my taxes are over $10k

2 minutes ago, barho said:

I live in Bucks and immediately reassessed back in 2008 when I bought my house new.  They still haven't hit me with a new assessment.  Still, my taxes are over $10k

The only reassessment I know of was my buddy who bought a total fixer upper was well under the assessed value.  He had it reassessed to lower the taxes.

2 minutes ago, rambo said:

The only reassessment I know of was my buddy who bought a total fixer upper was well under the assessed value.  He had it reassessed to lower the taxes.

Yeah, I was able to reassess when I bought in 2008 due to the market down turn.  Perfect timing as I also go the last house in a new development so wound up paying substantially less compared to my neighbors.  🙂