anybody else have any thoughts on

Quote :

"what do you guys think about hardwood floors in the kitchen and living room? seems to me that hardwood floors are more likely to get ruined in the kitchen with dropping and spilling stuff (even with sealing or whatever) and it's gonna put more stress on your feet to be walking around so much on a hardwood living room floor. any of y'all ever tried either of these?"

3/26/2007 5:45:41 PM

^i've given my thoughts, but will throw in that my mom and stepdad's house was on the cover of log home magazine and they have hardwoods on all of the first floor...they love it and i've always liked it. that's kind of why i chose to do that i guess.

Quote :

"dammit, I am having no luck with houses the first house that went under contract didn't do so hot on home inspection and the duplex I just tried to buy failed home inspection too I'm gonna go back to plan A I guess and just build me a damn house"

check out the townes at umstead and get a townhouse in the same building as me and i'll share my dvds and home theater . i had the same problem with the house i went under contract on...HORRIBLE inspection. that led me to choose a townhouse pre-construction so i get to pick everything i want.

3/26/2007 5:49:59 PM

yeah I am afraid that I'm gonna have to go that route (townhouse)

that or just go ahead and site build at my farm

^ got any information on them?

[Edited on March 26, 2007 at 5:53 PM. Reason : ...]

3/26/2007 5:53:10 PM

http://www.beazer.com/findHome/community.asp?MetroID=21&CommunityID=2264 is the site.

$600,000 plus houses are being built right around the corner, so it's walking into equity if you like the houses. I'm going with a Lennox model and finishing the unfinished room for my home office and I went crazy with upgrades.

If you check into it, talk to Jennifer Poland. She's awesome, helps a lot, and is a hottie.

3/26/2007 6:09:16 PM

cool thanks


I'd really prefer to find a duplex

but that search isn't going so well

3/26/2007 6:20:33 PM

they have virtual tours and all three models you can check out in person and it's right at umstead park off of glenwood...i'm pretty happy with it. if you end up going tell them i sent ya

3/26/2007 6:21:48 PM

Quote :

"Jennifer Poland."

lol, i know her. i used to sell for a local builder, you meet alot of the competition. she is pretty hot.

3/26/2007 7:30:19 PM

i'd be careful with beazer

see http://www.charlotteobserver.com/foreclosure

3/26/2007 8:00:10 PM

Quote :

"what do you guys think about hardwood floors in the kitchen and living room? seems to me that hardwood floors are more likely to get ruined in the kitchen with dropping and spilling stuff (even with sealing or whatever) and it's gonna put more stress on your feet to be walking around so much on a hardwood living room floor. any of y'all ever tried either of these?"

i can let you know in a few months - should be closing the last week of april - the first floor is entirely hardwood - kitchen/living room/dining room - while the upstairs is carpet

and does ^ have anything at all to do with the builder or idiots buying more house than they can afford?

3/26/2007 8:05:39 PM

The latter.

Quote :

"She omitted from her application a monthly payment of $350 on a leased Dodge Avenger."

3/26/2007 8:59:38 PM

HEY DON'T GET A HOUSE UMKAY...I HEARD THAT SOMEONE HAD A FORECLOSURE...HOUSES ARE BAD!



my realtor makes a living on foreclosures and that's not even his full time job...people strap themselves waaaaaaay too often.

if you read the beazer article...it's clear that most people in the neighborhood were in over their heads and didn't understand what their mortgage payment would be at the full amount and it appears that didn't have fixed loans. honestly, with a combined income of less than $20 an hour, a $350 car lease, and bad credit history...this family placing the blame on beazer is pretty funny to me.

[Edited on March 27, 2007 at 12:05 AM. Reason : .]

3/26/2007 11:58:16 PM

FYI

Townes at Umstead has a promotion, 1/2 off upgrades up to $30,000.

I just worked it out to combine that with the promotion when I signed so I just saved another $2,211.... ...too bad I won't close until August at the earliest.

3/27/2007 2:03:27 PM

Does anyone have recommendations for a buyers agent?

I was working with one lady but when it came time to negotiate the contract it was very clear that she was not looking out for what was best for me.

3/28/2007 8:41:31 AM

Other than myself of course

Mike Montpetit with Town & Country Realty

He is one of the best negotiators I have dealt with and will definitely take good care of you!
http://www.mikesrealestateteam.com/

3/28/2007 8:48:55 AM

Dave Peterson hpw.com

3/28/2007 8:49:01 AM

Randy Collins..he's a customer service exec for Siemens, but transitioning to a fulltime job with Blue Green to take over Chapel Ridge. I closed two properties in two days total thanks to him and got major discounts. He owns his own company and has sold over 50 houses this year...he's the man.

http://www.randycollinsrealestate.com

3/28/2007 11:22:12 AM

Thanks.

I had found a house that i wanted but had to walk away from the deal because I am pretty certain the listing agent and my buyers agent were fucking me over on the deal.

It sucks because the more they make me pay the more money they make. The incentive is to make the buyer pay as much as possible.

I am going to look a several agents this time and try to be a lot more careful.

3/28/2007 12:59:32 PM

can someone settle this for me?

my friend says the time to buy is now cause the market is flooded with foreclosed homes(sup prime thing) and there are all these new homes that are not really selling so the price is gonna go down- i said u should wait til the bottom falls out on this...

i mean i guess my answer sounds better but anyone know how much longer til thats gonna happen?- i told him to wait like at least another 6 months

3/28/2007 1:39:32 PM

^well rates may rise a little by then, so it kind of balances out i guess...

3/28/2007 1:41:40 PM

Quote :

"Thanks. I had found a house that i wanted but had to walk away from the deal because I am pretty certain the listing agent and my buyers agent were fucking me over on the deal. It sucks because the more they make me pay the more money they make. The incentive is to make the buyer pay as much as possible. I am going to look a several agents this time and try to be a lot more careful."

you probably just found a bad apple - i had a great experience with my buyer's agent

Quote :

"i mean i guess my answer sounds better but anyone know how much longer til thats gonna happen?- i told him to wait like at least another 6 months"

predicting the market is almost impossible - but yes it is typically a good time to buy when the prices are driven down by some reason - it is a buyer's market in a lot of areas currently - to know how long this will continue is impossible - you can make a rough guess but that's it

3/28/2007 1:42:50 PM

Yeah, that's like trying to time the stock market. Not happening. If you plan on staying in the place 5+ years then I wouldn't wait 6 months just on some off chance prices go down a tad. I bought a new place a few months ago and now the same modesl are priced several grand higher than what I bought it for.

3/28/2007 1:51:10 PM

Quote :

"$600,000 plus houses are being built right around the corner, so it's walking into equity if you like the houses. I'm going with a Lennox model and finishing the unfinished room for my home office and I went crazy with upgrades."

I would be careful with instant equity assumption. Townhomes and detached homes price quite differently per square foot and my guess is the 600K homes have significantly more square feet.

3/28/2007 2:26:27 PM

well durr...i would hope a $600k house has more sq. ft than a townhouse.

the point is they will be my NEIGHBORS within EYESIGHT. instead of a highly populated townhouse community, there will be townhouses with 4,000 to 6,000 sq. ft houses right around the corner. that will create a solid neighborhood and not a typical rental or townhouse community with 100s of the same looking house.

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 2:31 PM. Reason : .]

3/28/2007 2:31:04 PM

$600k guy trips me out

those are starter Beazer townhomes, they're peices of shit (they get my vote for worst tract builder around) that aren't going to appreciate much at all

foreclosures are up in wake county, but we're not really participating in the sub-prime crisis in the local market any more than usual

3/28/2007 5:03:21 PM

^umstead isn't a starter community...and if you don't believe me about the $600k houses around the corner...http://www.beazer.com/findHome/community.asp?LocationID=6&MetroID=21&CommunityID=2935 is the link and those are all base prices before upgrades.

and the models closest to ebenezer church road have already appreciated by $4000 each. you can keep trolling though because i'm sure you know a lot more than me and the other people who have invested in that community.

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 5:10 PM. Reason : .]

3/28/2007 5:05:08 PM

I can't find the floorplans.

3/28/2007 5:08:34 PM

i'm not sure if they're online yet, but they have brochures outside before you enter the reserve. i can try to scan them when i get home if you want to see them....they're impressive.

fyi: i don't believe any houses in the reserve are under construction yet, and there was an investor trying to buy two lots to combine them and build a bigger house on the lots closest to umstead park...they may have more customization than most communities since there are only 15 lots. i'm not sure though.

the midrange model (the vanderbilt) has a virtual tour if that helps.

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 5:16 PM. Reason : .]

3/28/2007 5:12:05 PM

i do know a lot more. a LOT more.

the team i ran sold $40 million worth of real estate in 2005 and my current job requires me to be very handy with all things real estate.

by definition that inventory is starter homes for this market.

appreciated $4000? explain that.

3/28/2007 5:18:31 PM

my agent alone has sold over $10 million in real estate himself while working full time at Seimens so far THIS year...so your number isn't that impressive at all. but to each his own.

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 5:26 PM. Reason : pm sent]

3/28/2007 5:22:41 PM

wasnt meant to be, just to establish that i've probably had more experience with triangle real estate than most people

and the $40 million was just from organic website traffic and my sales conversion rate was 7 times the industry average and the economic profit versus what an in-person buyer brings in was a lot higher - that's the impressive part

3/28/2007 7:25:04 PM

i bet you saw some insane stuff if you had google analytics or some form of site tracking to see the click thrus and results.

3/28/2007 9:11:33 PM

if any of you are interested in raw land investments let me know

my company has purchased over 7000 acres from International Paper in NC

the land goes from Nash, Franklin, Warren counties east all the way to Perquimans county


all of these have growing pine timber and can be available from $1,000.00 an acre up depending on the tracts. Plenty of tracts are available less than $2,000.00 an acre

a great way to get your feet wet with land investments and pine harvesting for profit

3/29/2007 9:50:10 AM

Beazer: awesome company.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070328/bs_nm/beazerhomes_investigation_dc_6

Quote :

"The Observer's investigation alleged foreclosure rates in several Beazer developments ran at around 20 percent, compared with the national average of 3 percent. Beazer said at the time the high foreclosure rates were an anomaly."

I imagine a large number of foreclosures in a neighborhood will really help that appreciation along!

3/29/2007 9:58:45 AM

the fault lies with owners and the lenders, which i'm sure you are aware isn't all with beazer mortgage. also, look at the number of cheap entry level homes in some communities (such as concord that the article is mainly about). there are a lot of very low income families that don't understand budgeting or mortgage payments. if any fault lies with beazer, it's the fact that they should turn away more buyers.

but be realistic...foreclosures are rising rapidly because you can buy a house, car, furniture, a/v equipment, and your appliances with zero down. there is no responsibility on the lender end to manage the budget of buyers or prevent them from strapping themselves once they are approved...many people DON'T get approved at closing because they make large purchases between their pre app and close dates.

my mom and stepdad are real estate attorneys and my agent makes most of his money on foreclosures, so understand where the responsibility lies on both ends. there is a pending foreclosure in macgregor downs...an affluent community, that isn't the builder's fault. i'm willing to bet that the communities with the high rates are houses less than $150k saturated with first time home buyers...the article only has one slant and it even says ALLEGES...that.s not a definite answer or finding.

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....

[Edited on March 29, 2007 at 11:40 AM. Reason : kb]

3/29/2007 11:29:40 AM

Quote :

"I imagine a large number of foreclosures in a neighborhood will really help that appreciation along!"

Buy when there is blood in the streets. My guess is that the next couple of months will be the best time to get a Beazer home. The investigation will drive down the price today but there is no reason to think it will hurt resale 5 - 10 years from now.

3/29/2007 1:35:42 PM

i buy beat up houses/ abandoned houses

and pay bird dog commissions (finders fees) for leads

so hit me up if you know where they are.


broken gutters, abandoned cars in drive ways, for rent signs in windows, bad roofs, unkempt yards are good signs

easiest money you will ever make

3/29/2007 10:56:43 PM

pm sent

3/29/2007 11:14:12 PM

^^what do you do with them?

3/30/2007 12:04:40 AM

flip 'em i'm sure

3/30/2007 12:14:54 AM

hey guys, just an FYI for the thread, we launched our site yesterday officially.

http://www.linemodern.com

Anyone interested, don't hesistate to give us a call 919-647-4766.

We are also looking for potential partnerships to do spec homes/flips.

3/30/2007 9:34:38 AM

Do you do window frames?

3/30/2007 10:01:18 AM

Quote :

"what do you do with them?"

flip'em

3/30/2007 11:45:16 AM

he'll flip ya, flip ya for real

3/30/2007 4:49:41 PM

Quote :

"and does ^ have anything at all to do with the builder or idiots buying more house than they can afford?"

both. it's the resposibility of the sales consultant and the lender to properly pre qualify customers, and fully educate them on the buying process. of course, you're always going to have those buyers that ignore all of this, screw up, etc.

it's a shame that some builders and lenders push so hard to get people into houses just to make the sale.

i'm considering buying something for investment/rental property. probably a townhome. any thoughts/opinions on good places to look? i've been kinda out of the loop since i quit selling/bought my house. 150k or less.

[Edited on March 30, 2007 at 5:10 PM. Reason : .]

3/30/2007 5:09:47 PM

I wouldn't do a townhome for two reasons.
1. They don't appreciate as well as a house.
2. The monthly dues will give you an extra $10k-$15k in buying power towards a house when you think in terms of monthly payment. People would argue that you'll lose that money to maintenance, but if you're willing to do the work yourself or you have contacts that you can trade for work I think you can beat the odds.

Those are just my personal reasons. They certainly don't apply to everybody.

3/30/2007 5:16:10 PM

lots of neighborhoods have hoa fees now so that neutralizes some of that threat...which is usually around $110 per month...those are your only "dues" which covers some maintenance and all landscaping.

as ^ said it's mostly personal opinion.

[Edited on March 30, 2007 at 7:57 PM. Reason : .]

3/30/2007 7:54:04 PM

^^the maintinance/upkeep is alot of my motivation for a townhouse. i don't have the time or desire to mess with any more than i have to. my house keeps me occupied enough with that sort of thing.

a secondary reason is price/budget. i feel like i can probably get a townhome in a better area than i could a house. 150k or less doesn't buy much house within raleigh. if i lucked out and found a house in a decent location, i might would change my mind.

appreciation is obviously an issue, but this would be a long term thing so i'm more concerned with aquiring something in a location desireable to a target group of renters like students or rtp employees with short term contracts, etc.

3/30/2007 8:54:53 PM

I agree with Skack's comments. Also,

Quote :

"it's the resposibility of the sales consultant and the lender to...fully educate them on the buying process. of course"

I can't imagine having to explain an amortization chart and shit to someone who hasn't done any homework beforehand. Most people will read the first page or two of the loan documents and then just sign away. I believe the forclosures are 100% the buyers fault.

3/30/2007 9:57:46 PM

well, you don't have to go that in depth. i always made it a point to cover the basic do's/don'ts when i was selling, especially with lower income and first time buyers. if for no other reason but to protect my sale.

helping them understand those few things can go a long way in having a successfull closing and them having a successfull payment history.

3/30/2007 10:08:09 PM

Quote :

"investment/rental property. "

Quote :

"probably a townhome."

Personally I would avoid a town home for an investment unless you get a REALLY good deal on it. Townhomes are easy to own and generally rent well, but they take longer to sell and appreciate much slower.

Going with a modest single family home in an up and coming neighborhood will probably pay off better for you.

SET EM UP

3/30/2007 10:19:37 PM