Ok you know what I meant lol... yea feasible was not the word to use there.

I was bored in a meeting and messing around on here

3/6/2008 1:19:10 PM

Quote :

"How did you refinance for $390?"

i have a very good real estate attorney and a very cooperative home town bank.

3/6/2008 8:20:37 PM

How did having a good attorney help?

3/6/2008 10:00:14 PM

waived bullshit fees i assume

3/6/2008 10:28:37 PM

i paid $0 in attorney fees.

3/6/2008 11:37:21 PM

My refinance was around $1400 I think which was at least $600 cheaper than the first mortgage I took out.

The lender fees were less than what I've seen from most other banks (+$495 iirc). The lender waived the appraisal requirement (-$350) because my tax value said I had over 20% equity. My lawyer is on the expensive side (+$450) or so. All lenders are going to require title insurance, even on a refinance from what I've seen (+225.) Add in the deed registration ($60) and a bunch of misc fees to pick up the rest.

3/7/2008 7:46:48 AM

Supposedly, Bank of America has 0 closing fees..... but the same can't be said if you're refinancing

3/7/2008 9:01:40 AM

I was just informed that our mortgage division head OKed the bank to pay $1,000 in closing costs for Wake County Schools employees.

If you know anybody who might be interested feel free to pass their name and number along. I've got some TWWers who can provide testimonials if needed of course. I also make sure that the person I send you to knows you're being referred by a bank employee (I work with her on the personal mortgages for all of my commercial clients).

3/7/2008 12:29:02 PM

where do you work yo?

3/7/2008 1:08:00 PM

bb&t

3/7/2008 6:02:29 PM

okay...i'm looking at buying my first house by the end of may (that's the goal, but i'm not dead set on the date)...i've (obviously) never done this before, though a few years back i went so far as to get approved for a $200,000 home loan through wachovia, but that's been YEARS so i'm not sure a lot of what i remember is valid

so anyway, i have some questions that y'all may be able to answer:

1.) what's the disadvantage of buying a foreclosed home? how do i find these (i've checked online, but everything i've seen save for the federal .gov sites require a registration and payment)? how does the foreclosed price work (from my brief foray, it looks like you have to pay the remaining loan, but those look like such great deals that i'm sure there's a disadvantage that i'm missing)?

2.) for those of you who have recently gotten loans or are in the process of getting a loan, what sort of rates have you been offered (i doubt it matters, but i have bank accounts at NC SECU, wachovia, BOA, and ING Direct)?

3.) i had a GREAT real estate agent those few years back, but i can't seem to find her anymore...not that this is a huge deal, but she was really the only person i was willing to go with - i'd like to give it a shot looking on my own since i'm busy 9-5 every day anyway...in your experience, does this work out well, or do you think i'd be better off getting an agent again? in your experience, are you able to view homes in the evenings, or is this something i should take off work for (not ideal, but i can do it if necessary)?

4.) do you have any site suggestions for viewing MLS listenings? for sale by owner homes? i know that owners can list their homes via MLS without going through a realtor, but i'm trying to find as many resources for finding homes (aside from driving around, though this isn't a bad idea, either) as possible

any other suggestions or comments you have are welcome...thanks!

3/10/2008 10:30:52 PM

Quote :

"1.) what's the disadvantage of buying a foreclosed home? how do i find these (i've checked online, but everything i've seen save for the federal .gov sites require a registration and payment)? how does the foreclosed price work (from my brief foray, it looks like you have to pay the remaining loan, but those look like such great deals that i'm sure there's a disadvantage that i'm missing)?"

There are a few ways to get a foreclosed home. If they are bank owned and the bank has them on the market its pretty much the same process as buying any other home. There are some addendum's that will be required by the bank basically waiving any obligations they might have to disclose issues with the home etc. Usually the pricing is pretty attractive on these because the banks do not want to sit on them long. If you think the price is high and they will not negotiate it down wait a while and eventually they will drop the price to spur a sale. When they do sometimes its 10% or more so thats when you want to act before anyone else snatches it up.

If you buy a foreclosure at a courthouse auction you are gonna need a large cash deposit and will not be able to back out for any reason without losing your money. Even if the home fails inspection and sits atop a graveyard or something. It is a true auction and you buy as-is.

Look in to SECU first for your loan, they generally have a better rate than you are gonna get anywhere else. I can't think of a time in my career where someone has had access to an SECU mortgage and not taken advantage of it. I have even had buyers forgo thousands in closing cost assistance to use the credit union because the rate was that much better.

3/10/2008 10:44:38 PM

bus 225 teacher huggard said the bank has this list of people that get first dibs on those houses...i didnt think that was far

3/10/2008 10:58:21 PM

Quote :

"Look in to SECU first for your loan, they generally have a better rate than you are gonna get anywhere else."

What?!?! Every bank I checked failed to beat the mortgage institutions when looking at 30 year fixed.

3/11/2008 6:43:18 AM

dr. huggard is a bit off

he may have meant investors are trying to work out something with the borrower and the bank prior to foreclosure so when it goes into the process there is already a pending transaction (might even be a double close to move it to another investor from what i've seen in this market)

if you want to look up foreclosure properties search: ORE, other real estate, or bank owned properties on financial institution websites

like so:

http://www.bbt.com/applications/specialassets/search.asp?p=1

^ everybody i've sent to our mortgage division said we had the best rates around (30 yr fixed or otherwise). i'm curious as to what you consider a "mortgage institution" and a"bank"

the search link is for demo purposes - we don't really have any foreclosures due mainly due to our philosophy as a bank - the result is we still have everything wide open on loans we can do

[Edited on March 11, 2008 at 7:14 AM. Reason : asdfsa]

3/11/2008 7:09:55 AM

bb&t, NCSECU, Wachovia vs HPW, Countrywide, Daylight Discount Mortgage

[Edited on March 11, 2008 at 7:18 AM. Reason : ]

3/11/2008 7:18:26 AM

Quote :

"we don't really have any foreclosures due mainly due to our philosophy as a bank"

what exactly does bb&t do different? just curious

3/11/2008 7:22:06 AM

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/08/news/companies/countrywide_FBI/index.htm

Quote :

"FBI probes Countrywide for possible fraud Federal authorities are looking into whether the troubled home loan servicer used fraudulent lending practices, financial reporting. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The FBI is looking into fraud allegations against Countrywide Financial Corporation, a U.S. government official told CNN. The investigation is still in its early stages, another government official familiar to the situation said. The story was first reported in The Wall Street Journal Saturday. The probe will examine underwriting and mortgage origination practices, and whether the company misrepresented losses related to subprime loans, the paper said. Subprime mortgages, or home loans given to borrowers with weak credit, have been at the root of a crisis that has rocked the U.S. economy. Though the Federal Bureau of Investigation has acknowledged ongoing investigations related to the subprime debacle, neither the FBI nor the Justice Department would comment on the specific targets. "The FBI has been investigating potential fraud in the mortgage/sub-prime lending industry, however, we can not confirm or deny which companies are under investigation," said FBI spokesman Richard Kolko. A law enforcement official told CNN that there are currently 16 companies being investigated. Both Countrywide and Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), which agreed in January to acquire Countrywide for $4 billion in stock, did not return calls to CNN. Calabasas, Calif.-based Countrywide is the nation's largest home lender, responsible for roughly one-fifth of the mortgages in the United States. Mortgage mess CEOs defend pay When the housing crash began, Countrywide (CFC, Fortune 500) was faced with an increasing number of subprime customers who were delinquent with their mortgage payments. The company was forced to essentially shut down its subprime lending operations last year to focus on originating loans that conform to Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) guidelines, considered to be safe investments. On Friday Countrywide's founder and CEO, Angelo Mozilo, testified before the House Committee on Government and Oversight Reform, along with two other CEOs who resigned in the wake of the mortgage crisis - Charles Prince of Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and Stanley O'Neal of Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500). All three defended their lofty compensation packages, despite the loss of billions to their companies and shareholders."

3/11/2008 7:49:28 AM

Quote :

"2.) for those of you who have recently gotten loans or are in the process of getting a loan, what sort of rates have you been offered (i doubt it matters, but i have bank accounts at NC SECU, wachovia, BOA, and ING Direct)?"

bous of daylight discount mortgage got me 4.75% on a 15 year fixed about 6 weeks ago. you should contact him.

Quote :

" 4.) do you have any site suggestions for viewing MLS listenings? for sale by owner homes? i know that owners can list their homes via MLS without going through a realtor, but i'm trying to find as many resources for finding homes (aside from driving around, though this isn't a bad idea, either) as possible"

i like york simpson underwood's site, http://www.ysuhomes.com. it allows you to sort by a variety of criteria.

[Edited on March 11, 2008 at 11:02 AM. Reason : .]

3/11/2008 11:01:58 AM

^^^

http://bbt.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=18&cat=4

I know, link to the corporate website...the difference is you won't find another company, let alone another bank that spells everything out to that level of detail. It's all authored and maintained by our CEO. My first two weeks with bank I was in front of executive management team talking about how we do business before I got around to the mechanical parts of it.

Anybody remember this?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,182974,00.html

We took the same stance on mortgages people can't pay back.

3/11/2008 4:44:15 PM

Quote :

"oh and if you want to talk about a bad company...look into kb homes and kb/countrywide. my mom won't accept their business any more because of their shady practices and at a cary community they wouldn't work with me because i had a real estate attorney...that seemed really legit...."

i posted that in march after i had finished my home search

3/11/2008 5:04:19 PM

No complaints by me thus far.

3/11/2008 5:44:45 PM

dont believe the hype on secu for a mortgage. the only useful loan they have is a 2 yr arm and nobody wants an arm right now. their arm rate is almost the same as everybody else's 30 yr fixed rate. then, their 30 yr fixed is over .5% higher than market.

wachovia custom mortgage rate today:

3% down or more at 5.625% for a 30 yr fixed.

0% down at 6.000% for a 30 yr fixed.

3/11/2008 9:31:28 PM

wtf is custom?

30 years fixed is 6.25 on their site

3/11/2008 11:07:48 PM

HEY ANYONE KNOW OF A GOOD LENDER FOR CONSTRUCTION TO PERM WITH PROGRESSIVE BILLING. IM THINKING OF GOING WITH SUNTRUST BUT JUST WONDERING IF ANYONE KNOW OF SOMEONE BETTER.

3/12/2008 7:30:34 AM

Fellow Wolfpackers,

This is Sterling Hicks from the Class of 2005. I just wanted to inform everyone that I've been a REALTOR with Prudential Carolinas Realty since graduating a few years back. I would love to answer any questions that you may have and also help anyone that has a real estate need. Thanks.

3/12/2008 3:44:41 PM

I have a question. Why did you put realtor in all caps?

3/12/2008 3:46:00 PM

It's just a practice that I use when I'm marketing.

3/12/2008 3:54:58 PM

I'm not sure this counts as marketing.

3/12/2008 9:57:03 PM

i found a better search site than hpw's : http://www.ysuhomes.com/idx/search/default.aspx?trans=residential (use the advanced search filters)

3/18/2008 11:18:56 AM

^did you find it by following the link posted earlier on this page of this thread?

but yeah, ysu's is the best i've come across.

[Edited on March 18, 2008 at 3:17 PM. Reason : ]

3/18/2008 3:17:14 PM

I like http://www.kwraleigh.com/. If click property search, then Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cary, & Durham, you get a nice map of available properties from MLS.

3/18/2008 8:39:27 PM

^^no, found it from a completely diff source than TWW. sorry if its already been posted.

wow, that would be really lame if i posted the search link when you'd already posted the main website link (had I seen your post)

[Edited on March 19, 2008 at 9:24 PM. Reason : .]

3/19/2008 9:22:48 PM

hpw's search is better after the first page (i think it presents too many options in a less than ideal format, but it was too entrenched to do anything about)

when i made it i looked at ysu (since everybody in this market knows them) and the top 20 other real estate sites in the country - it's subtle, but the elements and how they're structured result in about a 5x conversion of organic web traffic because people find it more useful

of course, it's also about what you like

3/19/2008 9:38:50 PM

follow up since tww thinks the last 30 seconds was actually 30 minutes and won't let me edit

sentence didn't really make sense, the comparison should be:

5x higher conversion of organic web traffic compared to the top national sites because people find it more useful

3/19/2008 10:43:47 PM

on another note, it'd be nice if i could afford to buy a small developed subdivision that hasn't started construction yet and carry the interest for 18 months or so and then make :cashmoneyface:

maybe there's an infomercial that can help me figure out how to pull it off

3/19/2008 10:49:36 PM

Haha. I know a few guys that did that off some townhomes off Tryon.

3/19/2008 9:59:53 PM

aaaaannndd just got home from closing.

3/20/2008 11:02:33 AM

golf course was just sold that my condo is on, it has been closed for the last year and screwing my property value.. hot damn maybe i can sell this place now

3/20/2008 11:41:37 AM

This is a GREAT property in North Raleigh if anyone is looking!!!

http://www.6510newmarketway.com

3/20/2008 11:11:30 PM

i went house hunting yesterday. i found a condo i liked but it was to much money and HOA was to high

3/21/2008 10:32:50 AM

Quote :

"This is a GREAT property in North Raleigh if anyone is looking!!! http://www.6510newmarketway.com "

I'll take it

3/21/2008 10:34:41 AM

hahah i've looked at the newmarketway house too.

3/21/2008 10:45:14 AM

just had our 11 month walkthrough and getting everything we wanted fixed - woohoo

3/21/2008 11:31:24 AM

that's pretty cool, who did you buy from? i like the master bath w/two sinks

3/21/2008 11:39:31 AM

pulte

3/21/2008 11:41:29 AM

Tax value on New Market was $9.5 Million. Nice.

I just bought a down town condo. Interest rates I've seen have been 5.25 to 5.7%. Highest I've gotten so far is 5.7% but it changes daily in this market.

[Edited on March 23, 2008 at 11:03 AM. Reason : a]

3/23/2008 11:03:34 AM

alright, so, uh, here i am, thinking about buying this house i've found...i've been through it twice, everything looks good and i've got a loan approved for more than enough to buy it

my question, though, is how does this work when the house is for sale by owner and i don't have a real estate agent? how do you make an offer? just call them up and say "hey, i'll give you $x for your house"? and if they verbally agree, you both set a time to visit a lawyer to get it down in writing? or is there some other way to do it? the owner is very nice - i like her and she seems honest...i had a friend come with me the second time (one who knows more about the intricacies of owning a home) and he said he didn't see anything in particular that looked questionable in terms of the integrity of the home (but of course i'm having an inspection done)

so is this right:

1.) make a verbal offer
2.) if accepted, set a time for the lawyer, if not accepted bargain back and forth until accord is reached
3.) have a lawyer draw up the contract with stipulations (amount of earnest money, offer dependent on clear inspection, appraisal value, etc.)
4.) take signed contract to bank, get them to put the loan through
5.) 3 weeks later, own a home

what am i missing? i realize i'm being a bit flippant about the stipulations and such - do you have any other suggestions? any other avenues of approach that might be better for both parties involved?

3/28/2008 1:43:59 PM

I guess it depends what level of assistance you want.

The lawyer is going to charge you for whatever services they provide.

It looks like a Realtor is out since you are both pretty much representing yourself and there is not mechanism here to pay one. If you want an agent maybe you can find one to represent you and bill it to your side of the transaction. I am sure you could find someone to help you with paperwork and negotiations for a flat fee or 1% or something. Especially since you have already found the house and met the seller.

You can also dig up sample real estate contracts or buy a pack of them at an office supply store. I just googled "nc offer to purchase .pdf" and found something you could probably use. I am not gonna post a link but I am sure you can find it.

I know a very good real estate attorney that would probably be glad to help you. His law firm is small, he is the only on there and has a paralegal there too. This is a good thing for someone in your situation because he probably has more time to spend personally consulting with you. Most real estate law firms have one or two lawyers and like ten paralegals. You are hard pressed to even see one of he attorneys unless you are paying $$$$ for their services.

3/28/2008 1:54:55 PM

What do y'all recommend to search for land. I'm considering trying to build a house as an investment either to sell for profit or rent out and hang onto. Craigslist is full of people looking for a sucker IMO and I'm not sure which local realty companies offer good land searches.

3/28/2008 1:56:38 PM