the seller is replacing the roof and siding as part of the sale

my husband is helping the seller do the roof. they've both done it before. it's a good 30 (or 35) yr shingle and we're tearing off the old one.
the seller hired someone to do the siding.

I think both the roof and siding are being done for arund $4000 - might be more since he hired someone for the siding.

7/11/2007 6:16:47 PM

sounds pretty reasonable... can't say much without numbers but I know I spent over$1000 just on siding and at least that on shingles but I think it was a good bit more, plus paper and labor should be around that

7/11/2007 9:46:44 PM

We need a good driving range near RTP, so that I can stop by there on my way home and hit a few balls. I could see it as being a good business, with a miniature golf place beside it for families to go to.

Any Idea where it would be possible, and what it would cost to get that kind of land?

Anyone interested in partnering to do it?

7/13/2007 10:16:19 PM

i'm down for anything.. but enough land to do it is probably going to cost way too much

7/13/2007 10:32:49 PM

Quote :

"enough land to do it is probably going to cost way too much "

7/14/2007 3:18:07 AM

Yeah, thats what I figured... A lease might be more realistic, but in the heart of RTP, still doubtful.

7/14/2007 7:39:53 PM

i've had an idea for a while: "the runway fairways"

knightsplay sized/par three golf courses near airports. the barren land surrounding airports seems notoriously underused. get in a round of 9 and close a deal during layovers. background checks can go through the department of homeland security if needed.

anybody in the golf course business?

7/15/2007 5:13:56 PM

i know the one i live on is for sell for $4 million...

7/15/2007 7:02:02 PM

Then business people would actually try to schedule layovers in RDU, changing the whole industry, making RDU a frequent flyers premiere destination...

Of course, RDU would never go for it for liability reasons, and neither would any government agency ... although it sounds like an awesome idea.

7/15/2007 9:16:37 PM

I always thought that it'd be nice to have a small course at/near a big car dealership. Like the course that closed down across from TTC on Capital. Drop your car off for service, play 9, car is done.

7/16/2007 10:39:51 AM

good idea

7/16/2007 11:06:52 AM

Closing at 2pm!!

7/16/2007 12:13:22 PM

anyone have experience on how to get better interest rates on a second property? what my friend did before is move out of his current condo (rents it out), then the next property he gets he says is his primary so he gets the regular interest rate...prob stays for a short period, then bought a house, again claiming as his primary

is this legal? what if I use another family members name?

7/26/2007 4:18:28 PM

It's legal if it's really his primary residence.

7/26/2007 4:31:22 PM

i finally own a piece of america!!

7/26/2007 5:57:16 PM

How does your bank feel about that?

7/26/2007 5:58:49 PM

but define "primary residence".....of course if he's renting out his current place, then the next place is his primary...but what if he only stays at his next place for a couple of months, then get another place...can he keep hopping

7/26/2007 9:31:09 PM

I believe so. A lot of newer places have it written in the contract that you have to occupy the domicile for a certain period of time before selling/renting, but if there are no stipulations, I don't see why not.

7/26/2007 9:32:33 PM

yeah i'm talking more about resales and what lenders deem as primary residence..i mean how do they verify that you claim the next place that you are going to buy is your "primary" residence....how do they prove it

i mean can't ppl be like..yah i don't like this place so i'm gonna get it out...get to the next place...do the same thing..then keep moving on.

some of yall got to have tips on getting around the higher interest rate, those of you into rental investments.....PM me if you feel more comfortable. LOL

7/26/2007 10:02:58 PM

^^ no they don't

the only time there would ever be anything like that would be something improved for affordable housing through some backed homebuyer program that doesn't allow you to keep any money made from appreciation due to a sale in a certain time frame

you can keep buying as many houses as you want but the debt load and credit score are going to be factors in your rate - primary/secondary doesn't have anything to do with it until you hit the 12 or so retail mortgages that you can carry and they make you borrow through a commercial lender - if you borrow through a company name you also get that rate on rentals - equity lines on rentals are also commercial loans - rates are probably Prime + 1.00 or so - hard to make money on most price points as a rental

people really don't like it when you pass that retail mortgage threshold and i get to explain to them they now get to pay 9.25% - of course i've also seen once you hit that 50th or so rental you don't even care how much it costs anymore

and for ssjamind and his zaney ideas - you don't build a golf course around here unless you just like losing money - really if you see a course near the triangle, just consider it a subdivision with no homes on it yet - i'm thinking indoor dog tracks

invent a way for me to return calls when i get them and you'll be on to something


[Edited on July 26, 2007 at 10:19 PM. Reason : +^]

7/26/2007 10:08:55 PM

i think the only way you're getting around an interest rate is to commit fraud on your end or find a sketchy lender who will do it for you LOL

how about just buying something affordable LOL

7/26/2007 10:13:29 PM

Quote :

"i mean can't ppl be like..yah i don't like this place so i'm gonna get it out...get to the next place...do the same thing..then keep moving on."

I'm guessing when your monthly payments are 50% of your gross pay it will be kind of hard to get another mortgage and keep moving on.

7/26/2007 10:22:17 PM

Quote :

"anyone have experience on how to get better interest rates on a second property? what my friend did before is move out of his current condo (rents it out), then the next property he gets he says is his primary so he gets the regular interest rate...prob stays for a short period, then bought a house, again claiming as his primary"

Yes its legal as long as you really to plan to move in the next home you are buying. It's actually pretty wise. Its a good idea to have 3-5 months of house payments in savings before you do this because your rental property (old place) will inevitably have some vacant periods and possibly maintenance needs.

Quote :

"what if I use another family members name?"

You dont really want to buy houses in other peoples names, it is a little more complicated than getting instant credit at rooms to go.

7/26/2007 11:06:06 PM

Quote :

"rates are probably Prime + 1.00 or so - hard to make money on most price points as a rental"

what do you mean by make money? positive cash flow or make money ever? if the majority of the people who have rental properties are paying the +1 extra interest, then why are people even investing in rental properties.....buying 5, 10, 20 .......

is it simple b/c the other way to make money is through appreciation (which is harder now) and someone building up your equity for you (if you don't have much vacancy)?

so that's why i'm penny pinching and trying to save wherever possible, starting with the interest rate, so i figure they must be doing something right

most everyone i've talked to who has rental properties always suggest it as a good idea

[Edited on July 27, 2007 at 12:38 AM. Reason : k]

7/27/2007 12:38:00 AM

So ... Hear me out..

Instead of getting a loan for the condo my wife and I bought, we just borrowed the cash from her mother and pay her a monthly payment to pay the place off.

What tax implications exist with this arrangement? Does this mean I can still get a first time homebuyers mortgage through SECU when we buy our first real house?

Just wondering what a professionals opinion of this is.

7/27/2007 8:18:28 AM

you are not able to write off the interest paid to the loan your mother in law has. (this is like what 4g's+ a year. that is if she is charging interest.)

i wouldn't think you could use your house as credit towards a first time home buyers mortgage. saying you have 40 in equity in your condo trying to get a loan might be kinda odd. haven't read up on the loan though. there are still other good loan packages out there, beyond NCSECU.

7/27/2007 8:25:58 AM

Quote :

"most everyone i've talked to who has rental properties always suggest it as a good idea"

No shit. Of course people "buying 5, 10, 20" rental properties are going to say it's a good idea. Go ask a stock broker and I'm guessing he's going to say buying 5, 10, 20 solid mutual funds is a good idea. When I move out of my house I may consider keeping it an a rental property, but I don't think I'd ever buy a ton of properties as an investment. I'll stick to the stock market where I can get a better return. If you like real estate so much then just buy up some REITs.

7/27/2007 8:32:47 AM

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-countrywide16aug16,0,1376411.story?coll=la-home-center

8/16/2007 11:08:08 PM

i don't know who to hate more. people who buy houses they can't afford, or the companies that give them the money to buy the houses they can't afford

le sigh...

8/17/2007 12:10:38 AM

i close september 20th

8/17/2007 12:47:19 AM

^ congrats man! i just closed on my 1st last year. best thing you can do with your $$.

8/17/2007 12:58:15 AM

Anyone living in Planters Walk (Knightdale). I'm closing on a house there September 17th?

9/2/2007 12:01:24 AM

Anyone got some educated tips for the current market here in raleigh??

Do you know of any large builders who have or will mark down their prices? (Like K Hovnanian did in some areas)

My wife and I are actively looking right now, and will probably make an offer of some kind within the next month.

We are also selling our condo, btw, so if anyone is interested, LP is 65k. (2 bedrooms plus office, 1140 sq feet, driftwood manor subdivision. Address is 1130-i Schaub Dr.)

9/19/2007 6:30:54 AM

The beginning of the end is December 2007 for the market here - one property in particular is the harbinger of the shift - once it goes vertical expect everything else to head the other direction.

I wouldn't buy a production home, especially at a fire sale with a coupon.

I'd sell that condo NOW!

Of course I also think that it doesn't matter where the market is headed or what prices are doing, you are buying a place to live - cheap out if it's all you can afford or want, not because you need to get a deal or think you're going to make a lot of money on it later.

[Edited on September 19, 2007 at 8:29 AM. Reason : asdfsd]

9/19/2007 8:25:38 AM

Quote :

"I wouldn't buy a production home, especially at a fire sale with a coupon."

Yeah the inherent problem with these is if you know they are giving away homes you don't know if they are gonna get more desperate the following month and lop another 5 or 10 thousand off leaving you upside down on your home.

Imagine how upset the people are that closed in that community six months ago and paid more than you for the same house. You don't wanna find yourself in that same position.

9/19/2007 10:56:38 AM

No one likes to buy a home and see it down 5K the next month, but I still don't see how it's that big of a deal if it goes few % points in the first few months if you are going to be there a while.

9/19/2007 11:43:16 AM

Quote :

"The beginning of the end is December 2007 for the market here - one property in particular is the harbinger of the shift - once it goes vertical expect everything else to head the other direction."

Which property?

9/19/2007 11:46:02 AM

^^ Exactly the point I was making at the end there. It's your house, people have just seen other markets blow up and now everybody thinks of it as an investment first, I think it should just be a happy benefit if you decide to move and make some money on the place or at the very least not your primary consideration when deciding to buy.

After buying a production home and a custom-built one, I don't think I could go back. The level of finish was a lot different of course, but even in some of the areas that don't impact overall cost much it was nice to see quality going into the place I put most of my cash into each month.

^ http://www.westinraleighresidences.com/
I've got $100 that says it winds up being a much smaller scale project and a hotel instead of condos. There's also another 1,200 units slated to start downtown in that kind of time frame and there's already a lot of inventory just sitting there.



[Edited on September 19, 2007 at 12:06 PM. Reason : n]

9/19/2007 12:03:59 PM

i close and move in tomorrow and my appraisal was $11,000 higher than my purchase price way back when and i'm adding 225 more square feet finishing the "unfinished storage room"...townes at umstead ftw.

[Edited on September 19, 2007 at 1:23 PM. Reason : w00t]

9/19/2007 1:22:50 PM

^ I've got a friend who does drywall if you need a referral for finishing that room. Not cheap, but he is a licensed General Contractor and honest person.

9/19/2007 1:39:41 PM

i actually got the drywall and paint done for free in a lucky break

9/19/2007 3:15:05 PM

Show me a custom built home for less than 310k, and ill look into it. The problem is that these homes just dont exist in the cary/morrisville/rtp area at those prices, as far as I can tell. Production homes are your only choice unless you make 150k a year, or have enough savings to cover.


So Dr.Taylor, if you had a 65k condo on western Blvd, and you were looking to buy a home in the morrisville area, would you wait 6 months to sell the condo and buy a home, or would you do so now.

There isnt really the option of selling the condo now, and buying something 6 months later, unless we were going to move in with my mother in law

Secondly, if you did make a purchase of a production home, would you buy one that is 5 years or so old, or one that is brand new, given same price with small difference in sq footage, but the new one being marked down from the previous purchases in the same neighborhood?

My instincts say the new one at a fire sale would still be the better deal, as when it does come time to sell, your neighbors all paid more than you for the house (or at least a good percentage of them).

We are comparing a few martha stewart homes at Twin Lakes, and some other production homes in the Town Square commons / providence place areas, just for more information.

[Edited on September 19, 2007 at 5:16 PM. Reason : .]

9/19/2007 5:10:33 PM

sumbody splain to me why everyone is obsessed with buying a new house? my house, bought 1.5 years ago for 185k, built in 1970. Most of the neighborhood is now selling in the 250-300k range. Looking around, i see lots of older houses in the 200k range. Why buy a tract built house that looks like everyone elses when you can buy something with a little character that was constructed with better materials?

9/19/2007 8:46:23 PM

^ Age doesn't matter, although I'd agree that tract homes of today tend to be cheap as crap. My house was built in 1975. I've spent the last year fixing crappy build quality and 30 years of jackleg repair work.

I've got to say that the best built house out of all the ones I looked at was a 1934 Cape Cod. No creaks, no cracks, and everything was still level.

9/19/2007 8:59:31 PM

^^ i just like to know how it was cared for. i think i'd be more likely to buy something very old than say a reasonably priced 5 year old box-house in holly springs because odds are whoever was in it didn't put the money in to keep it up as well as they should have and some big ticket items are a crap shoot at that point

robster: i think as long as you 1) can afford the house 2) like the house then buy it and don't listen to know it all jackasses on the internet, just avoid that mother in law option

[Edited on September 19, 2007 at 9:36 PM. Reason : mn]

9/19/2007 9:35:31 PM

Quote :

"sumbody splain to me why everyone is obsessed with buying a new house"

Well aside from having to not worry about asbestos, lead paint, etc I got to customize pretty much everything in the house.

9/19/2007 11:05:54 PM

in reference to the closed thread about first-time home buyers program...

Its not what you think. Most people think there is some special bonus for being a first time buyer where they cut you a break but it doesn't really work like that. Its more of a "we don't really know if you can handle the mortgage yet, but we won't TOTALLY bend you over... yet". Set up an appointment with a decent lending agent, like DNJ Mortgage, and let them explain it to you and show you the options.

9/21/2007 2:29:11 PM

The first time home buyer's program at my bank, Coastal Federal Credit Union, is an interest point higher. The benefit is that they don't require any down payment and they will drop PMI if you take a two hour home buying course (free). It's probably the sweetest deal you're going to get for $0.00 down just because of PMI.

9/24/2007 10:30:39 AM

A whole point higher? That's a horrible deal.

9/24/2007 10:43:17 AM

I didn't use the program, but on a $170k house it would probably be a little over $100 per month. Aren't you saving around $80/month on PMI? Do you really think you're going to find a better deal with $0 down?

9/24/2007 11:09:40 AM