Steve of phpBB wrote:I love houses that are surrounded by big, stately trees.
I used to, until my area suddenly turned into a hurricane and devastating ice storm region. Now i fear big trees near houses.
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Steve of phpBB wrote:I love houses that are surrounded by big, stately trees.
Love the trees too. But yeah, that was my immediate thought when seeing this house. One big storm and couple of those trees snap and yikes. Seen it too many times. But you can't live your life worrying about shit like that. That's what insurance is for.The Sybian wrote:Steve of phpBB wrote:I love houses that are surrounded by big, stately trees.
I used to, until my area suddenly turned into a hurricane and devastating ice storm region. Now i fear big trees near houses.
Yeah, I started thinking about that right after I posted.The Sybian wrote:Steve of phpBB wrote:I love houses that are surrounded by big, stately trees.
I used to, until my area suddenly turned into a hurricane and devastating ice storm region. Now i fear big trees near houses.
I have two big trees in the backyard and love it because it's shady almost the entire day in the spring and summer. I'm also in a little bit of a valley in my neighborhood and surrounded by trees, so it's like that all the way around me for a few houses.Steve of phpBB wrote:Yeah, I started thinking about that right after I posted.The Sybian wrote:Steve of phpBB wrote:I love houses that are surrounded by big, stately trees.
I used to, until my area suddenly turned into a hurricane and devastating ice storm region. Now i fear big trees near houses.
I guess the optimum for me is big stately trees + top notch insurance.
DSafetyGuy wrote:We've moved. Our stuff? Well, sort of? At least our cars will show tomorrow, two days ahead of schedule.
And Wegman's is our local grocery store.
Word. And even post 2008, don't believe the mortgage broker when he says your income can support a $2 Million mortgage. They get paid a commission based on the amount of the mortgage, then sell your mortgage to a big bank within minutes of closing, so they don't give a fuck if you default.mister d wrote:This isn't 1970, you can just call for a mortgage (then shop the first rate).
mister d wrote:Talking to a mortgage broker will tell you what they'll loan you, not what you can afford. We were offered something like 1.75x what we're able to handle on just my salary alone, which is insane. If you don't carry credit card debt or having car / student loans, they basically pretend like you don't have any expenses at all. The predatory loans are still very alive, just not at the lowest income levels anymore.
Brontoburglar wrote:How much does homeowner's insurance run down there given the HURRICANES?
mister d wrote:NO NO NO NO NO PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!!!
sancarlos wrote:C'mon doug... anybody should be able to work up a budget to see what they can afford, without discussing with a mortgage broker, first.
Gunpowder wrote:We'll call others but I want to go to one first because I hate the phone.
Florida went through their Chinese Drywall phase a few years back, I don't believe it's legal anymore. I have friends that were evacuated from a house four years ago to have it all replaced. Of course I'd research all of this, but it would be nice to see just what I can afford. When you are talking $500,000 for a house, a percentage point on that mortgage makes a huge difference. Right now we rent at $2000 a month and it's no problem, but I think this may be a bit too much at the moment at 4% and with taxes and HOA to worry about (it's probably going to push $3000 a month and we are probably a few years away from being able to afford that). But I guess we have to start somewhere.
Housing in South Florida is way too expensive no matter where you live.
Or kids, which are even more predictable. In Boston, where daycare is stupid, we more or less added a second mortgage to the mix. Here its closer to just over 1/2 another (higher) mortgage, but its massive. You'll never be able to comfortably afford more than you can now so maxing out now is a great way to "fuck up" for the future.Gunpowder wrote:However, this is contingent on not having any work issues over the next, you know, 30 years.
There's little chance you'll be in your first house for 30 years. I don't recommend buying a house you'll grow into. You'd be better off going smaller and moving up when the time arises. You never know what Shizz will go down.Gunpowder wrote:However, this is contingent on not having any work issues over the next, you know, 30 years.
mister d wrote:Or kids, which are even more predictable. In Boston, where daycare is stupid, we more or less added a second mortgage to the mix. Here its closer to just over 1/2 another (higher) mortgage, but its massive. You'll never be able to comfortably afford more than you can now so maxing out now is a great way to "fuck up" for the future.Gunpowder wrote:However, this is contingent on not having any work issues over the next, you know, 30 years.
We just want what's best for you. We love you.
govmentchedda wrote:Gunpowder wrote:We'll call others but I want to go to one first because I hate the phone.
Florida went through their Chinese Drywall phase a few years back, I don't believe it's legal anymore. I have friends that were evacuated from a house four years ago to have it all replaced. Of course I'd research all of this, but it would be nice to see just what I can afford. When you are talking $500,000 for a house, a percentage point on that mortgage makes a huge difference. Right now we rent at $2000 a month and it's no problem, but I think this may be a bit too much at the moment at 4% and with taxes and HOA to worry about (it's probably going to push $3000 a month and we are probably a few years away from being able to afford that). But I guess we have to start somewhere.
Housing in South Florida is way too expensive no matter where you live.
Is it new construction? If so, you're probably clear. Chinese drywall is not supposed to be used any more, but I'm not sure that its illegal. Plus, if they do have to take it out, it's basically everything comes out, house is stripped down to the studs, and that isn't cheap. My folks lucked out in that their drywall came from a German company that was solvent, and paid (after years of wrangling with the them).
The home office write-off isn't nearly as great as you'd think. Basically nothing.Gunpowder wrote:I'll just work from home for 30 years.
I was going to mention the kids aspect. Besides daycare, which ran me close to $2,500 a month and even more during the summer, they need stuff like food and clothes. And they are god damned parasites. I haven't seen a penny out of either of them to contribute.AB_skin_test wrote:There's little chance you'll be in your first house for 30 years. I don't recommend buying a house you'll grow into. You'd be better off going smaller and moving up when the time arises. You never know what Shizz will go down.Gunpowder wrote:However, this is contingent on not having any work issues over the next, you know, 30 years.
The Sybian wrote:I was going to mention the kids aspect. Besides daycare, which ran me close to $2,500 a month and even more during the summer, they need stuff like food and clothes. And they are god damned parasites. I haven't seen a penny out of either of them to contribute.AB_skin_test wrote:There's little chance you'll be in your first house for 30 years. I don't recommend buying a house you'll grow into. You'd be better off going smaller and moving up when the time arises. You never know what Shizz will go down.Gunpowder wrote:However, this is contingent on not having any work issues over the next, you know, 30 years.
I regret buying a starter home, and not just because I lost money when I sold it. Unless you expect a large increase in housing prices in your area, owning costs more that renting, and you have to factor in closing costs, transfer taxes, exit taxes (fuck you, NJ!), title insurance, mortgage broker fees, Real Estate Agent fees. Shit adds up real fast. New construction hopefully wouldn't be as bad with repairs, that but shit adds up. My house has copper pipes, and they are started to decay. As I previously ranted, I had to rip out the walls in my downstairs bathroom and a piece of the ceiling, rip up my laundry room, which left water stains on my carpet that steam cleaning couldn't fix, another $6,000 plumbing job, replacing the ceiling in my daughter's room due to a roof leak in the attic... That is just in the past 2 years. My roof is almost due for a replacement, not to mention the skylights were sealed improperly, so they all leaked, had to be re-installed with proper flashings and caused damage in 2 rooms that had to be repaired. And I need a new water heater, which will run me over $1,000 as they changed the codes on exhaust pipe size.
Shit adds up, and it is stuff I never thought about before buying. If we sell this summer, the closing costs and Realtor commissions will probably be over $50,000 on top of the $25,000 or so I strand to lose on the sale.
mister d wrote:Have you looked at how new construction from 5-10 years ago in that area has held its value? Living in the northeast, new construction doesn't really exist, but I always figured every new construction in a given area knocked the previous new construction down a bit.