Where can I find a NC contract form?

I'd like to get this house squared away quickly.

10/3/2008 10:19:16 AM

In a nutshell:

There's a house we like in Harnett co., mls sheet says "ready to sell, bring all offers." It's listed around 211k. Our agent thinks we would be lucky to get them to go for 200k, since it was originally on the market before it was finished at 225k. Super nice house, in the country, large lot etc. Been finished for a while, sheet says 10/07, but dont think that is correct.

How low should we offer? Husband and I are of different opinions- I say lowball at 185ish, and he says 199. Everybody other than agents I have talked to says with real estate the way it is, offer low and see how far they would come down. Comparative market analysis in that neighborhood says that all houses sold were at most 5k below asking, some of those being sales in the last month.

Opinions??

Thx

10/4/2008 11:01:42 AM

hard to say.. personally i'd probably lowball and see what they say. if they reject then then maybe go for 199... if things are still selling in the area though the sellers probably know that--and that would be a big reason for them to not accept the lowball offer

..might as well try though. just hope somebody else doesn't offer more at the same time

10/4/2008 11:09:51 AM

are there any other houses for sale in the subdivision that you are interested in?

I would knock 20% off the asking price and start there...somewhere around 190k and if they say no, go to the next house and make a comparable offer.

keep that up until an offer is accepted.

10/4/2008 2:32:10 PM

It just depends on the builder on how eager they are to get rid of the house. We have some houses in that price range that if someone offered $20k off of asking price, our realtor knows not to even bother asking my boss if he's interested. But other builders may be more desperate to get rid of it.

Where at in Harnett county?

10/4/2008 9:02:48 PM

Post a link to the house.

10/4/2008 10:18:58 PM

DONT LET THE 27610 ZIP CODE FOOL YOU. The area is actually nice. Sure some areas with much older homes are kinda bad. My neighborhood is very nice.

My home was orginally listed for 160k. I bought it for 150k. I got $4000 in closing cost, blinds on all windows, upgraded grass, full black appliances, smooth top range, washer and dryer, garage opener.... all from the builder. The builder even paid $1500 to break my lease on my apartment. Since I did all the work, my agent split her commission. I used down payment assistance, eventhough I didnt have to. FHA 6% fixed. 1649 square feet, 2 car garage, 4 bedroom. View of down town raleigh out masterbed room. My job is paying for the move to Raleigh from Durham.

Neighborhood is quiet, less than a mile from beltline. About 1/4 mile from my job (i walk to work!!, no more gas!!!)

When it was all said and done, i bought a house and walked away from the table with about $2500 and didn't spend a dime. I put all the money and my down payment money to the side in a money market account for safe keeping.

10/16/2008 2:00:38 PM

^ sounds like a good deal

floorplan? just wondering how 4 bedrooms are laid out in 1649sqft unless they are all the same size - i've got 3 bedrooms in 1800sqft

also what is upgraded grass?

10/16/2008 2:26:32 PM

upgraded grass according to the building is Bermuda? While Fesque is a down grade. I guess

the 4th bedroom is really a playroom, you can call it a bedroom, legally, cause it has a closet.

the 3 bedrooms are kinda small. The master is huge though.

The square footage is usually wisely. the house doesnt have a formal living room or dining room, niether of which i would use anyway.

http://www.walnutcreek.hpw.com/NBSPDFs/203_Roanoke%20for%20web.pdf

10/16/2008 2:47:36 PM

Quote :

"Bermuda"

ick.. its all itchy and shit though.. sure less work and less weeds but less fun to play on too.

10/16/2008 2:52:35 PM

:|

12/14/2008 2:14:47 AM

Quote :

"anyone interested in investment condos? got one for sale near NCSU that im trying to move. "

PM sent.

anyone else have any ideas on investment property, either in the triangle or coastal NC?

12/14/2008 2:52:40 AM

so my wife and i closed on our first place right before the new year.

3 bed, 2.5 bath townhouse on the north side of san diego.
1560 sq ft, 2 car garage, huge storage space.

1/9/2009 12:37:00 AM

Congratulations!

1/9/2009 11:01:28 AM

Quote :

"PM sent. anyone else have any ideas on investment property, either in the triangle or coastal NC?"

I'm skeptical about purchasing rental properties in the Raleigh area right now. If I didn't live here and have the ability to have a hand in management of the properties myself I wouldn't even consider it. Too much bullshit going on with PROP right now. They're in the process of registering all rental properties, creating a database of said properties, and hiring people to manage PROP.

http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/columns/story/1157437.html

Do you really want to have to worry about this shit remotely?

[Edited on January 9, 2009 at 11:18 AM. Reason : s]

1/9/2009 11:17:19 AM

So I am looking to buy my first house in no more than a year from now assuming everything continues to go according to plan at my job etc.

I guess my first question is what kind of % down-payment should we be looking at? I've seen all kinds of reports varying.

By the time we close on something early next year, b/w both of us we should have about 25% in savings in regards to the price house we have in mind at the moment. Of course, we don't want to clear out all of our savings and I would also like to put a little of the money towards my student loans at some point as well. I also know that some of our saved money will need to go towards closing costs etc. and some extra money will need to be allotted for things we will need to buy when we first move in. In general is 10-15% a good enough down payment these days?

[Edited on January 12, 2009 at 4:08 PM. Reason : ]

1/12/2009 3:52:23 PM

^^ Probably a good call. I mean, it wouldn't be that remotely--all my family is in/around Raleigh, and I'm up there on a fairly regular basis. Still, it's not the same as living nearby, and I don't always want to be worried about business on a weekend when I'm up in Raleigh.
________________

I'm leaning back towards buying a house when I get back, now (instead of renting a room from a friend, or buying a sweet boat to live on, or any of the numerous ideas I've kicked around). It might cost me a few thousand bucks in the short term, but I bet I still at least break even in the long run. If nothing else, I'm just really tired of packing up and moving all my stuff. I've had at least 10 addresses in the last 10 years, between living in different places in college and getting bounced around from school to school for my first few years in the USMC.

1/13/2009 11:45:50 AM

Hey everyone,
A buddy of mine has just listed a piece of land on Ten Ten road. There is a link for the video. If you are interested please let me know. Thanks for your support!

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=4Abs64U7Ooc

1/13/2009 9:23:48 PM

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b0a_1232747931

Peter Schiff was on point at the 2:50 mark.

1/26/2009 12:31:46 AM

Anyone looking to purchase a new home in Raleigh around the $225k-$250k range. I know of a few NEW townhome communities offering $25,000 off home prices. They also have Special Financing available that features 10% down for 3.99% 30-year fixed rate. Also 3.5% down for 4.5% 30-year fixed rate.

1/31/2009 11:29:03 AM

why not just list the neighborhood and be helpful?

From : FormerPackWR
To : OmarBadu
Received : Saturday January 31, 2009 at 2:28 PM
Subject : New Townhomes
OmarBadu,

How you doing? My name is Sterling Hicks with Prudential Real Estate. The reason I asked and did not list the neighborhoods is because I'm a Realtor. That's the way I make my living.


[Edited on January 31, 2009 at 2:47 PM. Reason : nm - he's a realtor if anyone needs one...]

1/31/2009 1:19:23 PM

oh shit sterling hicks!

1/31/2009 6:08:22 PM

Hello,

I am Brandon Williamson with (in between firms) real estate.

I try to keep a low profile because I know how you kids roll.

1/31/2009 10:11:01 PM

any news on that $7500 becoming a credit (that doesn't have to be repayed) for those who buy in 2009? Has there been any talk of 2008 counting too...or are they definitely gonna make us pay it back?

2/2/2009 6:42:27 PM

That should have to be paid back.

Then they should introduce a 10% credit that doesn't have to be paid back for the Q3 and Q4 of 2009.

2/2/2009 10:49:48 PM

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/25/RET315D3OM.DTL

2/2/2009 11:03:04 PM

I am currently more excited by this:

Quote :

"Separately, Republican officials said they intended to press for a $15,000 tax credit for homebuyers through the end of the year. Current law permits a $7,500 tax break and limits it to first-time homebuyers."

2/2/2009 11:30:35 PM

because that's what this country needs, more people buying homes who should otherwise have no business getting a mortgage

2/3/2009 12:00:01 AM

i love how these decisions are based in sound economic theory

WELL HELL BOB, LETS JUST DOUBLE IT!

2/3/2009 8:21:44 AM

I would like to know how they plan to verify a lot of the stipulations on it...

The family one for instance. How would they know if Joe bought a house from his grandmother? Barring any substantial discount (that his grandmother has to claim a gift of equity), there's no way.

2/3/2009 9:19:18 AM

^ You can cheat on this tax law just like every other one, there is no difference. How are they going to know if you donated 10,000 dollars to your church? People cheat on their taxes, doesnt make it right; but really the only way you will get caught is if the auditor comes knocking on your door.

2/3/2009 9:38:50 AM

^^^^^ yeah, i'm interested in seeing how this plays out. I'm on the fence in terms of buying a house when I get back. That would definitely make it a done deal.

^^^^ I think one stipulation is that you would have to put 5% down up front. That's a really minimal down payment--they probably ought to make it 10%, but at least they're thinking of making a provision for SOME safety control there.

I think it's bad policy all the way around, personally, but you can bet that I'll be house-buying all the way to the bank if they pass it.

2/6/2009 10:51:40 AM

I am interested in learning about real estate valuation or apprasials. Basically, interested in learning what makes property values decrease or increase, by how much, how quickly, etc.

Is this type of thing covered while getting a real estate agent license?

Or... any suggested readings on this?

2/9/2009 5:01:32 PM

So is this $15k credit passed with the latest "bailout" bill? I'm a little out of the loop out here...no TV, and I can't find anything about it on Google.

2/10/2009 11:28:58 AM

To get a mortgage now is way more stringent. We bought our house last Jan. making less money than we do now and all I needed to do was give them my driver's license and the phone number to my job.

To refinance the same house we need:

2 mo. pay stubs
2 yrs. W-2s with phone numbers to our managers
all account statements for 2 months
Our other house mortgage statements


Both my husband's and my credit score is higher than 780.

I really feel after hunting all of this down, you will not see people who can't afford houses getting houses as easily as before. Granted this could just be because of the particular lender the mortgage broker has found for us.

2/10/2009 1:10:58 PM

http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/09/real_estate/tax_credit_near/index.htm?postversion=2009021007

^^Yes it did, this article explains the difference between the senate and house versions.

2/10/2009 2:37:38 PM

Quote :

"The Senate tax credit, unlike the House proposal, is also non-refundable. That means, if your tax obligation is less than the credit, you only receive an amount equal to your tax bill, no more. The average taxpayer pays considerably less than $15,000 a year in federal income taxes and so would not qualify for the entire credit. For example, if your total tax bill is $8,000, your debt would be zeroed out, but you wouldn't receive the remaining $7,000 as a refund."

I didn't realize this....Looks like it basically says you can only take a credit up to total federal taxes paid.....But if you can split it between this year and next, would be the total federal taxes paid for both years?

2/10/2009 2:48:54 PM

^ Yes, if I take advantage of this I will stop contributing to my 401k pre tax and contribute after tax to increase my tax liability.

2/10/2009 3:18:45 PM

what purchasing time frame does that impact?

and what's a real life example?

You buy a $150000 house so you get the full 15000.

Say your tax liability is 8000.

You're owed a refund (anyway) of around 500 dollars. So this year, you would get an 8500 refund, right?

Then next year, you'd claim the remaining 7000?

2/10/2009 4:02:52 PM

Quote :

"To get a mortgage now is way more stringent. We bought our house last Jan. making less money than we do now and all I needed to do was give them my driver's license and the phone number to my job. To refinance the same house we need: 2 mo. pay stubs 2 yrs. W-2s with phone numbers to our managers all account statements for 2 months Our other house mortgage statements"

I'd bet that has to do more with the two different lenders you used versus the time difference involved.

2/10/2009 4:14:43 PM

Quote :

"So is this $15k credit passed with the latest "bailout" bill?"

There's talk that this is getting scaled back in the negotiations that are ongoing.

2/11/2009 12:05:15 PM

Well the housing credit was removed in the compromise, which should hurt the housing market even more. That would have been a huge lift to the market (and the economy).

Some good news though, that SECU lowered their ARM's to 3.75 for 90% LTV & 4.25 for 100% LTV.

2/12/2009 10:01:27 AM

Scaled back to 8k for new home buyers.

2/12/2009 10:17:06 AM

i resent the fact that my taxes are going to pay for people's new homes, when i bought my house two months before they started this policy and i'm not getting shit.

2/12/2009 12:16:26 PM

you shouldn't. Doing something that stimulates the housing market now (if it works) will keep your property value from falling and so you will indirectly receive money from this as well.

2/12/2009 12:51:11 PM

I'm more ticked that those who DID take the credit for homes bought before the beginning of the year have to pay it back and those who closed 1/1/09 don't.

2/12/2009 2:08:40 PM

^eh, the purpose of this is to stimulate the housing market. going back and retroactively letting people who already bought houses claim this credit will not help the housing market as they have already bought a house and presumably will not be buying another one.

2/12/2009 2:16:30 PM

seriously? there is no fair way to implement it. The people that bought a house before any of it was implemented get a new house thats value isn't going to be in the shitter. The people that bought a house in 2008 get a $7500 interest free loan, the people that buy a house now get a $8000 refund. Everyone wins to some extent...

2/12/2009 2:17:30 PM

Well, you're going back and retroactively giving those who bought houses from 1/1 until the bill is passed. What does going back to last July really do?

2/12/2009 2:22:57 PM

^costs the nation more money, and the going back to 1/1/09 lets purchases start beginning now because people can bank on it. if it didnt, people would hold off purchases until this officially passes.

2/12/2009 2:34:36 PM