Real Estate Crash thread

[Hugh Conway]

I went to a event showing of this place last week...not really my style but check out the dining table chairs!

http://m.sf.curbed.com/archives/2013...s_for_765m.php

Heh - those are really creative, but would they actually work for a dinner party other than a oneoff novelty? And an open joist ceiling at that price?

[schuss]

If it weren't for the fact that the flow is all wrong in that place, it may be nice.

[grrrr]

That place is hideous.

[iceman]

... an open joist ceiling at that price?

It's a "design element" man, you pay extra for that.

[skier666]

There's ton of small rooms scattered on a few floors. I wish they would had kept some of the Edwardian flair and mixed it with the modern with larger rooms. But, it's a rare single family home in a zone full of condo buildings...they just need one tech executive to like it.

[Hugh Conway]

they just need one tech executive to like it.

True. Looking at those pictures and thinking it looks poorly architected with a veneer of fashion over poor function. can't help think for about the same money this place is much nicer all around:
http://www.zillowblog.com/2013-04-05...sidio-heights/

[schuss]

True. Looking at those pictures and thinking it looks poorly architected with a veneer of fashion over poor function. can't help think for about the same money this place is much nicer all around:
http://www.zillowblog.com/2013-04-05...sidio-heights/

Yeah, but that one isn't 2 steps from the office.

Seriously though, that other place is a design abortion. It looks like someone looked at a modern art/furniture catalog and circled EVERYTHING

[Flyoverland Captive]

Listed yesterday; got our first showing Friday. Fingers crossed...

[MontuckyFried]

We did it! FINALLY closed on the house last Friday. After jumping through tons of hoops, working my way up through the bank's chain of command, and the title company working some absolute miracles, the house is finally ours. Super stoked. I learned through this whole process that (A) although they can be a good deal, buying a foreclosure can be quite tricky, and (B) although rates are super low right now, lending is excruciatingly difficult to come by. I'm as good of a borrower as a bank could ever hope for, and they really put me through the ringer.

It took me about two months to seal the deal, and even then, I dang near lost it all-together. The stellar title company is the only reason it ended up working out. They were phenomenal. Going through the whole ordeal really makes me question our nation's current RE market. There is a LOT of shady stuff going on right now. Somehow making it through the last 7 months of shopping and buying, I certainly don't think it's as rosy as I did a few months ago.

Good luck out there, everyone!

[Deebased]

Yeah, but that one isn't 2 steps from the office.

Seriously though, that other place is a design abortion. It looks like someone looked at a modern art/furniture catalog and circled EVERYTHING

Its much worse in person. I unfortunately got invited in by a proud agent.

[13]

Can't help but think all your hassles were due to buying a foreclosure and the fact that you own your own biz, Austin.

Congrats anyway.

We close 5/10 and it has been smooth sailing (not a foreclosure and I'm not self-employed). Banks in the area are super busy though, so we will not be closing early as my wife had hoped.

[AdironRider]

Can't help but think all your hassles were due to buying a foreclosure and the fact that you own your own biz, Austin.

Congrats anyway.

We close 5/10 and it has been smooth sailing (not a foreclosure and I'm not self-employed). Banks in the area are super busy though, so we will not be closing early as my wife had hoped.

Ding!

I was going to say, I just closed on my third rental, and it was like two phonecalls and an email pdf. Super easy.

Owning your own business definitely brings out a closer audit IMO.

[MontuckyFried]

Can't help but think all your hassles were due to buying a foreclosure and the fact that you own your own biz, Austin.

Congrats anyway.

Thanks. And yes, you're absolutely right. That's what the manager who finally pushed things through told me. Apparently 7 years of business, beautiful credit, no debt (personal or corporate), good income, being employed under my own corporation with rock-solid and provable W-2 income, and years of tax returns (both personal AND corporate) isn't good enough. Manager told me that self-employment, even when you're a W-2 employee of your own company, REALLY effs up the retard underwriters. They just can't comprehend it for some reason. Thus, they decide to put you through months of underwriting hell. They made things SO much more complicated than they ever needed to be.

Good luck on your closing. Hopefully they won't do you like they did me, and come up with a whole slew of new requirements 10 minutes before the close of business on the day you should be closing. Title company told me the banks have gotten REALLY bad about that lately. They said whereas unforeseen complications with underwriting used to be the exception, now it has become the rule in the last 6 months or so.

Owning your own business definitely brings out a closer audit IMO.

Yup. A lesson hard learned. I would've had better luck making less money but being a normal employee at a normal company. Oh well. At least I closed, which I'm super stoked about.

[mobygrape]

congrats. And good luck to 4matic and flyover. Good to hear some +stories in this thread!

[liv2ski]

^^^Austin, did you not move from one geographical location to another? If yes,unless you had 2+ years in the new area, that is a major problem for most self employed professions. So really, if the answer was yes and you didn't have 2 years in your present location, that is why you had an issue.
I have done a bazillion loans for self employed people and they close just as easy as a W2 employee, if you have the 2 year work history in the same area.

[MontuckyFried]

^^^Austin, did you not move from one geographical location to another? If yes,unless you had 2+ years in the new area, that is a major problem for most self employed professions. So really, if the answer was yes and you didn't have 2 years in your present location, that is why you had an issue.
I have done a bazillion loans for self employed people and they close just as easy as a W2 employee, if you have the 2 year work history in the same area.

Yeah. You must be right! They actually did give me a lot of hassle about that. Which I thought was stupid because I was working for the same client who moved me from one place to the other, so nothing changed financially whatsoever, and I gave them loads of proof to back that up from the get-go.

So if we need a 2 year work history in one area when working for the same company before and after like me, then how the hell do people buy houses when they are relocated? I thought people did that all the time. Guess not.

[cramer]

Can't help but think all your hassles were due to buying a foreclosure

Are foreclosures harder to close on now? My house was REO and i closed in a couple weeks on mine back in dec of '08. Id imagine it more him owning his own business. I'm sure they rake you with a fine tooth comb. My situation was alot different, maybe thats why we closed so quick. I'd been at my job for 9 years and my wife 8. That and I had 2 years proof of paying more rent than my new house payment was going to be. Pretty much a slam dunk for the bank.

[liv2ski]

Yeah. You must be right! They actually did give me a lot of hassle about that. Which I thought was stupid because I was working for the same client who moved me from one place to the other, so nothing changed financially whatsoever, and I gave them loads of proof to back that up from the get-go.

So if we need a 2 year work history in one area when working for the same company before and after like me, then how the hell do people buy houses when they are relocated? I thought people did that all the time. Guess not.

You may think it is stupid, but it is hard to have your cake and eat it to, meaning your self employed, correct? You say you moved for the benefit (likely yours too) of your only client???? Lucky for you, the lender finally felt comfortable with the continuance of your income, without a 2+ year track record and they are making you the loan.

Most people that are relocated are Employees, not self employed. In fact, a relocation loan is one of the most solid loans we can make as normally the Employer is paying big bucks to relocate the client, possibly assisting with down payment, a nice raise, etc. Being that you said your self employed, I doubt if any of those factors came into play.

Your one of the few self employed people that changed areas and got a loan in less than 2 years. All the other dentists on here are pissed at you. So be happy, is all I am trying to say.

[MontuckyFried]

Are foreclosures harder to close on now?

It was in my case, but due to FNMA as lender. FNMA, who also happened to be seller, was actually ok to work with on the selling side. They want things to close as quickly as possible. If I paid cash, we would've closed fast, no problem. Where it gets tough is that their selling side and their lending side have VERY stringent guidelines who happen to conflict with each other.

Example A: FNMA (seller) says all buyers must sign this one particular addendum to the buy-sell stating all the terms. I agreed with it. Nothing unusual or unacceptable. However, FNMA (seller) also told us they will sign nothing else, period, end of story. THEN right before our original closing date (like a month ago), FNMA (lender) says we need the seller (also FNMA) to sign a new amendment stating the value of non-realty items. I, the sellers agent, and my agent, had to explain to them multiple times that there WERE no non-realty items conveyed, thus no value, it was clearly laid out in Paragraph 11 of the original buy-sell addendum, and besides, FNMA (seller) WILL NOT sign any additional documents. We tried anyway. FNMA (seller) refused. FNMA (lender) kept insisting on this stupid (and pointless) amendment and said they would not fund the loan without it. So, FNMA ended up fighting with FNMA due to conflicting policies. Seller gave us an extension on the closing date, which we ended up needing anyway due to the appraisal taking forever, and their underwriters requesting more, and more, and more, and more, and more. They never did give us the amendment, but thankfully the title company who closed the deal came up with a solution that satisfied both lender and seller. Some other little form to be signed at closing. Stated non-realty items - $0. That's it. That's what the lender was holding things up for?

Example B: Depending on where you are, appraisals can take for...ev...er. Where I'm at, appraisers are backed up by 6-8 weeks. It's ridiculous. Thus, it makes it extremely difficult to make the seller's deadline for closing. Especially when FNMA (lender) keeps kicking the appraisal back to the appraiser. Apparently they weren't satisfied and kept getting him to whittle the appraised value down, which is stupid because it was an insanely good deal, being half the price per square foot as surrounding houses. I was perplexed as to why FNMA (lender) would question FNMA's (seller) own price. It was a good deal. Why question it so much? They drove the appraisal down to be within 5k of the selling price. We BARELY squeaked by, thank goodness.

What makes foreclosures (at least with FNMA) difficult is meeting the closing date in time with as long as loans can take to process these days if there are any complications like mine. Pay cash, and it should be super easy.

[MontuckyFried]

You may think it is stupid, but it is hard to have your cake and eat it to, meaning your self employed, correct? You say you moved for the benefit (likely yours too) of your only client???? Lucky for you, the lender finally felt comfortable with the continuance of your income, without a 2+ year track record and they are making you the loan.

Most people that are relocated are Employees, not self employed. In fact, a relocation loan is one of the most solid loans we can make as normally the Employer is paying big bucks to relocate the client, possibly assisting with down payment, a nice raise, etc. Being that you said your self employed, I doubt if any of those factors came into play.

Your one of the few self employed people that changed areas and got a loan in less than 2 years. All the other dentists on here are pissed at you. So be happy, is all I am trying to say.

Yikes! I didn't realize it was normally so difficult! My job sends me all over the map, so it must be REALLY difficult for people in my profession to get loans. One other thing I wasn't sure about is why do the banks consider me "self-employed" when I am an employee of my company, being an actual corporation? I am W-2 after all. Have been for many years. IRS doesn't seem to consider me self-employed, so not sure why the banks do.

I guess I do have a unique situation with work and all, but I guess mortgage processors and underwriters can't comprehend things that don't fit neatly into their boxes. Good thing I had LOADS of evidence to back me up!

[Shredhead]

Are foreclosures harder to close on now?

I purchased an REO from BOA with cash last year and they weren't able to close on time. They have their own little bureaucracy and couldn't get a signature from a VP.

[4matic]

The FHA offer I accepted is approaching it's 17 day deadline and the buyers have not performed. I spoke with their agent today and she wants to delay the appraisal till June to "bring the comps in." i understand that part but I have a signed Conventional backup offer for $20k more. I told the buyer agent that a June appraisal is not acceptable (even though I don't want to close till July 15th). So now she's scrambling to get me to extend the inspection deadline. Tomorrow I'm going to serve the buyer with notice to perform and waive all contingencies. Hey, it's all about the money. The big concern is still the appraisal. With a higher offer I don't mind waiting it out, let the comps come in, and hope for the best. The backup buyer agent seems more experienced and wants to work with me to prepare an appraisal packet when the time comes. I'm glad I hired a lawyer at this point.

[liv2ski]

4matic, on the conventional offer, try and have the appraisal not a contingency of the deal. Then you don't care what it comes in at, they have to bring in cash if it is low. I am seeing lots of deals like that these days.

[MontuckyFried]

4matic, on the conventional offer, try and have the appraisal not a contingency of the deal. Then you don't care what it comes in at, they have to bring in cash if it is low. I am seeing lots of deals like that these days.

That was exactly what my contract stated. Said if the appraisal didn't come in high enough, that I would have to pony up some extra money to make up the difference. If I wanted the house bad enough, then I should be willing to meet my own offer price no matter what it takes, right? I thought it sounded reasonable enough. You should ask the same of your buyers if they're that serious.

Strangely enough we barely made it with our appraisal. It came in at only 5k over our offer, which I thought was ludicrous. Got our home at around $94/sq. ft. versus the next cheapest in the area going anywhere from around $160s to $200/sq. ft. Didn't seem to matter, as the bank kept questioning the appraiser, and kept kicking it back to them, driving the price down. Fools. We were getting a damn good deal and they knew it. Great house, great neighborhood, great area, etc. Going by the comps, they should've appraised it at damn near double what they did. Really wasn't the appraiser's fault. I blame the underwriting department repeatedly screwing with the appraiser. If they appraised it low, I still would've made it happen though and come up with more money somehow.

The whole appraisal affair sure seems to be an odd creature, which as liv2ski has said, and I second, can hopefully be avoided by making the deal not contingent upon the stupid appraisal.

[comish]

Going by the appraisals, my house appreciated $300k in the last 6 mo's

Yeah right...

What is even crazier is I could likely get offers another couple hundred above the new, higher appraisal.

Loving this refi program though. Looks likely we will be able to close a Jumbo 30yr fixed at 3.375% and they are going to pay me $4k after all the closing cost BS! BooYa!