What to look for when house searching

[ecotourist]

One final thing - At no time in your life can you afford to ignore resale value. Even if you plan to live in a house for the rest of your life and don't care about the .. (whatever) .. life may surprise you and you'll find yourself selling.

We recently sold a well maintained, very nice house in a very good neighbourhood - in a terrible market - and got a good price within a few weeks! Good houses in good locations will always sell no matter how bad the market. And some day you may be forced to sell in a bad market.

A good house doesn't necessarily mean an expensive house either. In fact, buying mid market may be the best plan. Just avoid really bad design, really bad renovations, next door to a junk yard, etc.

 

[zzyzzx]

Make sure it has a garage.

 

[dareo]

Consider buying a 2 or 4 unit property. Often you can live in a 4 unit cost free by renting the other 3.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: hatt
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle


Or had to drop a bunch of money on repairs (new roof, new furnace, siding, even something like a burst pipe), or are in an area that has a weak housing market.

Or an area that has skyrocketing property taxes.
If the property taxes etc are sky high the rents are going to be sky high too. You're also paying for all those repairs through your rent payments. There's no free lunch. You're right about those incredibly weak markets, but those aren't the norm.


My taxes quadrupled in 4 years. I'm in a nice apartment now for not much more than I was paying just in PROPERTY TAXES. It's just not worth it.


It sounds more like you made a poor choice when you purchased a home. Not only was the location not suitable, but almost all of the issues you're touting are easily discovered during a prepurchase inspection or during your own inspection with a little common sense.

Quite frankly, being shoved into a tiny apartment with neighbors as close as the width of the wall isn't really appealing to anyone who has owned a home. And to top it off, paying rent every month and not realizing any future equity is only a good option for those who can't afford home ownership or have such poor credit that home ownership isn't viable.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Yet again: I'm in a nice apartment (with full garage) for not much more than I was paying just in property taxes. Keep rereading that until it sinks in.

 

[JustinH]

Yeah I can see it both ways. I lived in several apartments in the suburbs of Austin Tx when I first moved down here.

It kind of wears on you, searching for parking every night, dealing with people. These were somewhat middle income apartments, not luxury. Throwing $900 out the window every month for a one bedroom apartment rent made little sense. Also plenty of gotcha charges and surcharges, also rent increases.

It made sense for us to buy a house, we are in a 30 year fixed mortgage, and pay $1000 a month for a house. Rents have gone up, we would be looking at $1200-$1400 for a decent 2 bedroom apartment.

My property taxes have crept up, but the value of my home has gone up as well. Nearly 30k in 3 years.

Jaraxle. My dad is sort of in a situation like you in New York. He has the house we all grew up in, but doesn't want to pay the stupid amount of property taxes and the mortgage. A little apartment is starting to make sense for him, and he doesn't want to deal with the lawn and shoveling either.

We live in the suburbs on a two lot house, with an greenbelt acre of land behind us and I still want more space between me and my neighbors. Next house will be in the county on a multi acre plot of land. We are looking at having a modular house built on a slab.

 

[hatt]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Yet again: I'm in a nice apartment (with full garage) for not much more than I was paying just in property taxes. Keep rereading that until it sinks in.
Around here people are paying $900 for a 1 bed 1 bath 700 sq ft apartment. For $900 I can get you into 3/2 1500 sq ft on 1/4 acre. Taxes and insurance included.

If you're in an area where rents on great apartments are cheaper than owning and you like apartment living then good for you. Most people are not in such situations. Rents are gobbling up their paycheck. And every time they renew the lease their payment goes up.

In FL property tax increases are limited to 3% a year on homesteaded property. Perhaps your state should petition for such things so taxes don't increase 4x in a few years.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Actually, one state in this area DID limit property taxes. (Massachusetts: Proposition 2 1/2)

But it doesn't really matter, because they are rising (like a Titan booster) anyway!

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: hatt
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Yet again: I'm in a nice apartment (with full garage) for not much more than I was paying just in property taxes. Keep rereading that until it sinks in.
Around here people are paying $900 for a 1 bed 1 bath 700 sq ft apartment. For $900 I can get you into 3/2 1500 sq ft on 1/4 acre. Taxes and insurance included.

If you're in an area where rents on great apartments are cheaper than owning and you like apartment living then good for you. Most people are not in such situations. Rents are gobbling up their paycheck. And every time they renew the lease their payment goes up.

In FL property tax increases are limited to 3% a year on homesteaded property. Perhaps your state should petition for such things so taxes don't increase 4x in a few years.


Hatt,

What part of Florida do you live ?

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: dareo
Consider buying a 2 or 4 unit property. Often you can live in a 4 unit cost free by renting the other 3.


Most don't want the headaches of being a landlord. Sounds like problems down the road when people don't pay on time and you live next door.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Originally Posted By: dareo
Consider buying a 2 or 4 unit property. Often you can live in a 4 unit cost free by renting the other 3.


Most don't want the headaches of being a landlord. Sounds like problems down the road when people don't pay on time and you live next door.


I've been a landlord for 10+ years with 10+ units. It's not the headache that most people seem to fear. I've done my share of evictions, but lately the economy has been better and I haven't evicted anyone in a while, maybe my screening has gotten better or I've just been more lucky lately.

 

[supton]

I can't imagine doing a single eviction, let alone multiples. Isn't it months of effort, all the while not collecting rent? and then never recouping that loss?

 

[Jarlaxle]

Pretty much! Also, you will probably have to gut and redo the apartment, because it will be absolutely TRASHED! My cousin sold his building after two horrible tenants (and about $20,000 in damage) and his blood pressure dropped 20 points.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: supton
I can't imagine doing a single eviction, let alone multiples. Isn't it months of effort, all the while not collecting rent? and then never recouping that loss?


Takes about a month. Sometimes I have 2 months worth of rent. I used to wait a month or two before starting, but now I start after a couple weeks. It's pretty straightforward once you get to court though, there's no real defense for not paying the rent. Even when they claim there are defect in the apartment, the judges now tell them them to bring the money to court and they'll send someone to investigate their complaints. When they don't bring the money, it's a moot point. So normally it's about 1-2 months of lost rent plus repairs, but you sometimes have those anyway after a tenant moves out, depending on how long they've been there. In terms of total effort, it takes about a half a day in court. It takes about 3 weeks once you start the process to get a court date. Some people worry that the tenants will go after the landlord, but I've never had that happen, they're usually trying to avoid me because they owe me money. People avoid bill collectors, they don't chase them. I have multiple units so it's just the cost of doing business. Even banks have a standard rule of about a 10% vacancy factor.

 

[Mr Nice]

Wolf359,

How much are your properties worth in total $$$ ?

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Originally Posted By: supton
I can't imagine doing a single eviction, let alone multiples. Isn't it months of effort, all the while not collecting rent? and then never recouping that loss?


Takes about a month. Sometimes I have 2 months worth of rent. I used to wait a month or two before starting, but now I start after a couple weeks. It's pretty straightforward once you get to court though, there's no real defense for not paying the rent. Even when they claim there are defect in the apartment, the judges now tell them them to bring the money to court and they'll send someone to investigate their complaints. When they don't bring the money, it's a moot point. So normally it's about 1-2 months of lost rent plus repairs, but you sometimes have those anyway after a tenant moves out, depending on how long they've been there. In terms of total effort, it takes about a half a day in court. It takes about 3 weeks once you start the process to get a court date. Some people worry that the tenants will go after the landlord, but I've never had that happen, they're usually trying to avoid me because they owe me money. People avoid bill collectors, they don't chase them. I have multiple units so it's just the cost of doing business. Even banks have a standard rule of about a 10% vacancy factor.


If you have never had an apartment destroyed, you're lucky. Helping my cousin, I recall concrete in pipes, someone taking an axe to a refrigerator, walls ripped open to steal wire, counters smashed. Two stand out as the worst: one where we filled two dozen 50-gallon bags with the trash left behind, and another where, after trashing the whole apartment, the dude took the globe off the kitchen light, and took a dump in it!

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Originally Posted By: supton
I can't imagine doing a single eviction, let alone multiples. Isn't it months of effort, all the while not collecting rent? and then never recouping that loss?


Takes about a month. Sometimes I have 2 months worth of rent. I used to wait a month or two before starting, but now I start after a couple weeks. It's pretty straightforward once you get to court though, there's no real defense for not paying the rent. Even when they claim there are defect in the apartment, the judges now tell them them to bring the money to court and they'll send someone to investigate their complaints. When they don't bring the money, it's a moot point. So normally it's about 1-2 months of lost rent plus repairs, but you sometimes have those anyway after a tenant moves out, depending on how long they've been there. In terms of total effort, it takes about a half a day in court. It takes about 3 weeks once you start the process to get a court date. Some people worry that the tenants will go after the landlord, but I've never had that happen, they're usually trying to avoid me because they owe me money. People avoid bill collectors, they don't chase them. I have multiple units so it's just the cost of doing business. Even banks have a standard rule of about a 10% vacancy factor.


If you have never had an apartment destroyed, you're lucky. Helping my cousin, I recall concrete in pipes, someone taking an axe to a refrigerator, walls ripped open to steal wire, counters smashed. Two stand out as the worst: one where we filled two dozen 50-gallon bags with the trash left behind, and another where, after trashing the whole apartment, the dude took the globe off the kitchen light, and took a dump in it!


Never had concrete in the pipes. I think if it ever got that bad, I'd file criminal charges against the tenant for malicious destruction of property. And yeah, they usually leave their trash behind and I sometimes end up getting a dumpster, either a 20 or 30 yard dumpster. There's usually other trash around to throw in as it tends to accumulate in the basement.

 

[supton]

Not directed at the OP:

Would it be worthwhile to bother with a FSBO who states "will not pay commission fees" in their ad? I just saw this pop up in a property near me; sixty seconds revealed I'd want a real estate attorney involved (although I don't see why I couldn't pay an agent some stipend), so the question is, would you bother with such a seller?

Not sure what their story is, but not sure if this is a common selling tactic for FSBO's.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: supton
Not directed at the OP:

Would it be worthwhile to bother with a FSBO who states "will not pay commission fees" in their ad? I just saw this pop up in a property near me; sixty seconds revealed I'd want a real estate attorney involved (although I don't see why I couldn't pay an agent some stipend), so the question is, would you bother with such a seller?

Not sure what their story is, but not sure if this is a common selling tactic for FSBO's.


It's a total rookie move. You just write up the offer with the commission in the offer. If it's not enough for them, they just reject the offer. It shouldn't really matter whether there's a commission in there or not. FSBO's don't know what they're doing. That's why I like to pound them. I can throw out all sorts of things and they have no counter to them because they haven't experienced any of it before.

 

[supton]

Thanks. We're casually looking, and saw this.

The seller appears to be a rookie. Ad makes mention of a garage, and when I went to look at it--no picture. Only six pictures total? Not making it very easy for themselves, and shutting themselves out of a number of advertising opportunities.