Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with housing and estate

complex real estate cost benefit analysis needed

anonymous_account — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:51:46 -0800

Complex cost/benefit real estate question. We put our small, far suburban, now-overpriced house on the market two weeks ago. (Bought in '05.)

Because my wife has gotten a job, our income has doubled since buying our house, and we are saving $5k per month. However, her commute is lengthy, and we would like to move closer to the city, to lessen her commute, because now we can afford to, we know the target area better now, and we have friends in the city. Also, she may work more if we are closer, resulting in a higher income.

However, looking around at the other houses for sale in our area, I kind of doubt that our house will sell at the price which the realtor set for it, because there are nicer, bigger houses in better areas available for less or the same money. However, those are mostly foreclosures or short sales, which our realtor says takes a lot of time to buy, so maybe they are not that attractive to folks who are not real estate professionals.

We have $60k of our money in the bank and no debt except for our mortgage. We have $60k of my brother-in-law's money in the bank as seasoned assets, which he would like for us to use to buy the house. He is going to send $20k more soon. Later we could either pay him back, or he could continue to own part of our house (which I know is another big can of worms).

So what we will be faced with soon is: do we lower the price of our house (i.e., lose money on the house) in order to sell it? Although our house's price is depressed, the price of the house that we want to buy is also depressed. And I feel that we might be able to "save" more money on the purchase than we will lose on the sale...because the price of our house is only about 67% of the price of the type of house that we want to buy. We are not upside-down on the house --- our mortgage is 68% of the current asking price of our house.

Real Estate development in a nutshell

drea — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:38:47 -0800

I think I really, really want to get into developing real estate. Can anyone give me an overview description of what the work / process is is like? The thing is, I have no educational/professional background in real estate per se.

I want to start small and I know it will be a long while before I see my big hairy audacious goal realized. So what I want to know exactly is:

What books, articles do I read on basic strategies for real estate business development? Where do I get ideas for a business plan? What knowledge is within my reach for me to study? Where do I start looking?

Social housing (which is a big reason for my wanting to go into this), from the little that I know, is usually done by nonprofits and the government. Is providing that a commercially viable option? Can private companies survive while providing low-cost and public housing / has it been done?

What am I expected to reasonably accomplish every five years up to the twenty - year mark?

I know I have to start small, but where exactly does developing real estate start, and how does it grow, exactly? Where does my funding come from apart from loans?

So far, what I can see about the idea is to buy lots, develop houses, and then sell or rent them, use the profit to develop more houses, and so on until I gain momentum and a large portfolio. But it seems to me that it's like living hand-to-mouth, and given the recent financial crisis it doesn't seem like a good idea to just borrow a ton of money from the banks from the get-go.

I hope my questions makes sense. The idea fires me up and I want to start but I hope my lack of experience and knowledge doesn't cause me to stagnate/give up. I'm also really really young, but I'm looking at this as a way to give me a headstart in the business. Eventually, I hope the answers will give me what I need to start pursuing this goal. The answers might not be as in-depth as I'd like but I figure the hive mind can give me various points of view to assess.

Thank you very much.

First-time home buyer seeks help making a good investment

mintchip — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:08:57 -0800

First-time home buyer seeks help making a good investment I am interested in purchasing a short sale property. I am a first time home buyer. I'm hoping to buy an undervalued condo, live there for a few years to build equity, and hopefully trade up in a few years if (when?) prices begin to bounce back. The places I've been looking at would cost approximately the same or slightly less than renting the same type of unit...so my hope is that this is a low-risk proposition since I need somewhere to live anyway.

I am just learning about all of this so I have a lot of questions.

1. How can I tell if a property is undervalued? For example, I recently saw one that sold only a few years ago for approximately twice what I could get it for now. Assuming the inspection is clear, can I reasonably conclude that this short-sale property is undervalued?

2. What do I need to know about purchasing a short sale property? If they are a good value, why aren't more people buying them?

3. How much does the "assessed value" tell you? For example, I looked at one property that will sell for $150k less than last year's assessed value versus one that's only $35k less than the assessed value. In other words, if the sale price is close to the assessed value, am I less likely to make a profit upon resale?

4. I have substantial fixed-rate student loan debt. I can lower my monthly payments by consolidating over a longer repayment term (25 years). However, this will cost me more interest in the long run. What would make a bank look upon me more favorably--lower monthly payments or my attempt to pay it off faster?

5. What are the best resources to learn what I need to know?

How to Buy a Flat in Australia

LongDrive — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:41:10 -0800

I'm currently looking to buy my first small flat in Melbourne, Australia and having no luck. Apart from the big two online sources, are there any other sources to see what's on the market, or to find places before they get listed? I have a buyers advocate on board, but due to dodgy pre-auction policies on offers, I seem to be constantly missing out on good places, and right now it seems like nothing is out there. Maybe its my small budget or the fact that the market is really quiet until after the holidays, but it seems like there is nothing on the market right now. Am I just missing something, or are there other places or methods that I should be looking into?

Should I sell my home?

burhan — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:14:56 -0800

Should I sell my home or not? (in Alberta, Canada) Okay,

I am a single father. 3 kids, sole custody. No support from exwife who lives in Calgary as well.

I have a decent home, not too big, not too small, but too much for a single dad to take care of. Our housing market is beginning to crash here.

Do I sell and rent while I still have equity, or should I hold on and see what happens in a few years as everyone tells me that there will be a 'temporary' slump.

The stakes are high - I want to be responsible and do the right thing, but have no idea what to do as exwife was the financial brains behind the business.

Renting would allow me to save $400/mo or so.

Help us see our new house

remlapm — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:57:07 -0800

We're looking to purchase a house with a not so great exterior shape. Where do we start to help visualize exterior renovation possibilities and building costs? Some pics inside for those who want to give their thoughts... My wife and I have been looking at houses with lots of land in the NYC Metro area. Primary focus has been lot size and location, with the house being a sturdy box that we will grow into and change over the years. Problem is, some of those boxes, while comfy inside, aren't that wonderful looking on the outside. This and this are the front and back of one of the units - a non-standard cape-cod, with a rather large and goofy non-symmetrical roof. Another house was an old stone cube, essentially, with the septic field blocking and additions outward, and an awkward roof blocking upward expansion.

Do we send the photos to an architect for renderings? If so how do we find an architect and how much should we expect to pay for just this visualization service? Would a good architect help us estimate building costs if we chose their designs?

Any other resources, perhaps a website showing pages and pages of housing exteriors so we can get inspiration? Any other thoughts?

Do any architecture schools do this on the cheap?

Housing in Los Angeles: Build or Buy?

rybreadmed — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:26:14 -0800

Would it be more cost effective to build a house or buy a house in Los Angeles? The price of Los Angeles real estate has been dropping. I'm most interested in a 3 bedroom 2 bath house (or something close) around 1,500 square feet or so. I've been wondering: Would buying a piece of land in Los Angeles and building on it be more cost effective than buying a pre-built house?

We're of course talking in hypotheticals, but let's say you found a piece of land in a somewhat desirable location (a place like Silver Lake, west San Gabriel Valley, Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, Sherman Oaks, or Hollywood (as in NOT South Central, Long Beach, or some place way far out of town)). Maybe a house was already on that spot and it burnt down. The point is that there is a piece of land, and no house (but maybe remnants).

This hypothetical house: we're not talking anything super fancy, but something that's designed for low energy usage (good insulation, double paned glass, etc.). I'm not referring to a totally solar house or full grey water system. Just a one story, 1500 square foot house that's good with energy. You got me?

Any ideas of the cost I'd be looking at? Any parts of Los Angeles where building a house would be cheaper than another? Would buying an already existing home be a better economic choice?

Keep in mind, I'm not looking at cheapest--I'm looking at most cost effective. The cheapest house would be made out of straw and Saran wrap; a cost effective house would be well built and be designed to minimize energy usage for heating and cooling.

Buying a house in Chicago - good or bad?

BuddhaBelly — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:49:00 -0800

Given the current market situation, should I buy a condo in Chicago? I'm aware of the existing question with applications to the UK. This is regarding the U.S., specifically Chicago.

I am looking to purchase a condo - for my own residence - in Chicago (downtown, $300,000-$350,000). I have a great buyer's agent. I know exactly what I want.

I am just worried about all the talk of a housing market collapse...upside-down mortgages...recession.

Am I, an average Joe(sephine) going to get caught up in all this? Is it prudent to wait? If so, how long?

I am currently in a month-to-month renting situation that can continue indefinitley. I'm doing OK on money, and am planning on a 20% down, 30 year fixed mortgage. As of this morning, interest rates from my 3 lenders ranged between 6.32%-6.7%.

Any advice is, as always, deeply appreciated.

Do you have to make mortgage payments for the deceased?

salvia — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 18:49:19 -0800

Someone died. Does her family have to keep paying the mortgage payments? Does interest keep accruing? Can they rent it out during this period? There was no will. (This is in California.) The "can they rent it out" part becomes more crucial since they wouldn't mind keeping the house as an investment property, or at least holding it until the market strengthens. But getting their own mortgage for the property is only going to get harder (and ultimately be more burdensome) the more unpaid interest gets tacked on to what is owed. The house was bought fairly recently, and since it's not clear just how bad the market is now, it's not clear what profit (if any) would come from the sale of the house at this point. Could they stall until the market solidifies?

Though there was no will, no one is going to contest who should be the executor/administrator of the estate or who should inherit the property.

I would also appreciate any "simple guide to probate in California"-type resources. I've been even thinking about finding some law-school-cramming book. (The BarBri property guide?) They're going to hire a lawyer but it's going to take a couple weeks to do that.

(You would think this would be an easy question to Google, but "get a mortgage in Death Valley!" has been the least of my search result problems.)

Should I foreclose on my house?

simpleperson — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 09:26:46 -0800

I have a crappy house that is falling apart and keeping me from moving on with my life. Should I foreclose on my house? I am in a bad position in life, and would appreciate any input from the MeFi crowd.

2 and a half years ago, when I was 25, I purchased a house on an FHA loan. At the time, I thought buying a house was the right thing to do, and I thought I was getting the right house. I thought wrong.

As it turns out, the house has been a maintenance nightmare. It was gut rehabbed by the previous owner, poorly. (In fact, by buying it I think I got scammed a little.)

Plumbing problems, leaky roof(s), faulty gutters, broken windows, and a dilapidated garage seem to never stop. We tore out a bathroom and discovered unrealized structural damage (a previous infestation of termites). And, I've been robbed.

The house is in an urban neighborhood that I thought was safe and quiet but seems to be getting worse. The housing market here has plateaued, and my house has suffered since I bought it, making me think it is probably worth less than when I bought it.

And, I have realized, even if it was all fixed up, it would still be a crappy house. It has a poor floor-plan and is not the most "livable".

I bought it for $79k, I owe $76k.

Now I just want out. This thing is sucking the life and energy out of me and I want to move on with my life. I am 28 and have opportunities that this is holding me back from.

To sell it, I need to fix it up - or at least the egregious issues. I estimate I would need $3000 - $5000 for this. I don't have any savings, basically.

Even if I put that money into it, I still have to sell the place to someone. When I bought it, it was on the market for over 4 months. It costs about $800/month to keep. So this is potentially another $3000+ to pump into it.

But if I could just get rid of it - foreclosure? I know my credit would be screwed up but I could move on with my life. I could take that $3-5k and invest it, and maybe by the time I was 35 I would have some savings and good credit again.

Should I consider foreclosing? I had a bankruptcy before and got past it, I think I can do it again.

But I do want to go to graduate school (would need student loans), and to get a car loan at some point.

(Note: I have moved out of the house, have free rent at my parents. Just trying to get rid of it at this point. But I do need to get out of Mom's _sometime_.)

Any advice for someone who bought a lemon?

thanks Mefi!!!

How do I find an apartment in NYC without going thru a real estate agency?

huskerdont — Fri, 05 May 2006 08:25:54 -0800

Non-realtor sources for an apartment in NYC/Bklyn? Currently looking for an apartment in Brooklyn but would prefer to avoid dealing with a real estate agency due to the hefty, hefty fees involved. Ideally, I would prefer somewhere with a commute within a half hour of my job and coffeeshops/bookstores/bars in walking distance - I'm finding myself searching mainly in the areas of "Brownstone" Brooklyn and Williamsburg/Greenpoint as a result. Unfortunately, I have had no luck finding for-rent by owner apartments in those areas via Craigslist or word of mouth. What are other sources for finding NYC apartments for rent without parting with $1000+ dollars?

Moving to FL

libelula — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 13:06:46 -0800

Hi, I wondered if any of you knew about where to live in Naples, Florida. My husband and I are in our mid-thirties, with 6 month baby. If the web is to be believed the average age is 137 and all there is to do is shopping and hurricane boarding and hoarding. We are a pretty hip couple moving from Brooklyn NY. We really enjoyed our neighbors and sense of community in Brooklyn but now our husband's job is moving us down to FL. We will probably rent in the short term and would like to be within walking distance of the beach and shops. Any advice would be great, thanks.