This is not going to sit long!
http://tra.mlxtempo.com/DotNet/Pub/EmailView.aspx?r=685452389&s=TRA&t=TRA


Looks like a bank owned listing near Kaplan, but in really good shape.

7/4/2014 12:14:19 AM

I may buy that as an investment.

7/4/2014 9:02:45 PM

http://www.homes.com/property/305-sw-maynard-rd-cary-nc-27511/id-214349751/

Everyone's favorite house in Cary is for sale

7/5/2014 12:51:52 AM

^Doesnt even look the same, lol. Would be funny to go up to the new owners and ask them if they know all the history on it.

7/5/2014 9:40:41 AM

Here is another good rental. HOA takes care of exterior/lawn maintenance.
http://tra.mlxtempo.com/DotNet/Pub/EmailView.aspx?r=738973859&s=TRA&t=TRA

7/13/2014 7:31:20 PM

Anyone have any thoughts on 1 vs 2 bedroom rental condos in downtown Raleigh? Is investing in a 1 bedroom considered an all around bad move in Raleigh?

7/13/2014 9:00:53 PM

Not an expert on Raleigh (or real estate investment for that matter)...but I don't think it should matter. Whether or not it's a good investment should be condo-specific. If whatever you rent it out for can cover the mortgage/insurance/taxes/HOA...and give you a little extra cash to save up for regular maintenance and wear and tear....then it's a good investment. If not...then probably not a good investment.

You would think a 2 bedroom would give you a better opportunity to do that. But one bedrooms where I live are rented out at an insane amount. So there are some condos you can get on the cheap where mortgage is pretty easy to cover. Unfortunately their re-sell value is pretty low...so you've got to hold on to it for a long time.

7/14/2014 7:49:57 AM

Quote :

"Anyone have any thoughts on 1 vs 2 bedroom rental condos in downtown Raleigh? Is investing in a 1 bedroom considered an all around bad move in Raleigh?"

I would look at rental comps, your Realtor should be able to help with this, and Zillow rent estimate. The people that would rent a 1 bedroom in that area are more likely to be single, or at least childless and therefore have disposable income to rent a nice condo. So I dont think it would be a bad market.

A 1br in north Raleigh on the other hand would be a horrible move. It really needs to be a walk-able area like downtown or north hills. The thing holding prices down on Condos is that the financing can be a bit tricky, which is deterring buyers, that could change if lending continues to loosen up.

7/14/2014 11:36:52 AM

The CPFB is redoing the HUD-1 statement this fall.

Here is a link to a sample of the revised form:
http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201311_cfpb_kbyo_closing-disclosure.pdf

2/17/2015 11:28:23 PM

can you just tell us the changes?

2/18/2015 8:56:33 AM

The worst/best change is there is a 3 day waiting period before closing after any changes are made. This is bad because it is going to screw up a lot of people's moves when something minor is changed, good because it is going to require lenders to stop waiting until the last minute to send out the docs.

2/18/2015 9:15:25 AM

If you could purchase a (east coast) beach house, where would you buy?

2/18/2015 12:04:33 PM

not in florida

2/18/2015 12:19:28 PM

finally got an offer accepted on a downtown condo. pumped!

2/24/2015 11:36:24 AM

grats!

2/24/2015 11:57:51 AM

^^^^ to the east coast beach house... are you talking about NC?

Also whats your age range...and do you go out or like to stay around the house?

2/24/2015 2:35:18 PM

Quote :

"If you could purchase a (east coast) beach house, where would you buy? "

I dig where I live, so probably Sullivan's Island. Although this past winter makes me want to go to a place with no seasons...so maybe further down the Florida Coast. Might as well hit up the Keys if money is of no object. How often does the Keys get hit by hurricanes?

If money is of no object...then fuck it, I'm heading to the Caribbean. Ambergris Caye, Belize...here I come!!

2/24/2015 3:29:09 PM

Quote :

"If you could purchase a (east coast) beach house, where would you buy?"

as an investment or will you be using it? if you are using it you want to try to keep it close so you will go more frequently.

3/1/2015 3:02:33 PM

Southern NC beaches are my favorite.

Sunset beach for a quiet beautiful beach. Ocean Isle for an island that has some bars on it and stuff. You could also go to Cherry Grove but that's even more touristy than OIB but there's a lot more cool bars there.

I wouldn't go any further south (Atlantic, Windy Hill, Myrtle, Surfside, etc.) unless it was in Charleston.

3/2/2015 10:30:13 AM

Looking to buy my first house, and considering a NCSECU 30 year 5/5 ARM, with 2% cap/adjustment and 6% total cap.

If I'm planning on selling in 4-6 years, is this a good idea?

Also, is there a good way to estimate taxes, insurance, etc. payments before you put an offer on a place?

3/3/2015 12:13:09 PM

all of the calculators I used came in lower than what my mortgage calculations actually showed.

3/3/2015 12:20:06 PM

The person who you spoke to at SECU should be able to give you estimates based on a range of home values/locations etc. I got estimates from top, middle, and low end of my price range just to have an idea.

3/3/2015 12:22:46 PM

Quote :

"Looking to buy my first house, and considering a NCSECU 30 year 5/5 ARM, with 2% cap/adjustment and 6% total cap. If I'm planning on selling in 4-6 years, is this a good idea? Also, is there a good way to estimate taxes, insurance, etc. payments before you put an offer on a place?"

I would <3 to be your Realtor for all this good advice.

Q1: The SECU loan is a killer deal, the fees are substantially lower too, which brings your total cost of borrowing down.

Q2: Yes. You can view the actual tax bill for any property on the Wake County website. (plug that in to the mortgage calculator below to figure your payment) Homeowners insurance could run you $550-$750 a year depending where you get it and how good your coverage is. This obviously can go higher depending on your price range, but a 250k house you can cover in that price range. Here is the property lookup, the tax bill will be on the far right tab. http://services.wakegov.com/realestate/search.asp

Here is the worlds best mortgage calculator:
https://www.drcalculator.com/mortgage/
You can enter taxes, insurance, HOA dues and more!

3/4/2015 2:46:29 PM

Just an FYI.

Zillow & Trulia have lost their syndication agreement with the local MLS. That means each firm is deciding weather or not to send their listing data to them.

The most comprehensive results right now are going to be on Realtor.com, any local real estate website with IDX, or an email feed setup by your agent.

3/17/2015 1:24:26 PM

that mortgage calculator is really cool but it's way off based on everything that I put into it - by a little over $200 (plugging in directly from my mortgage quote). It also won't seem to let me calculate PMI in there but even that shouldn't be that far off.

3/17/2015 2:27:27 PM

Yeah someone else told me that recently as well. I have noticed Zillow has quite a bit of misinformation on it lately when out looking for houses. We are in the process now of buying a house and considering having one built through someone like Beazer. Does anyone have any recommendations or advice on that route? Obviously it depens on what area we are looking since each one typically has a seperate builder. We are mainly looking up 401 and over towards knightdale.

3/17/2015 2:35:23 PM

Never heard anyone have anything good to say about Beazer.

3/17/2015 2:46:57 PM

I mentioned them simply because we checked out a few of their models and they seemed nice for the price range. They were the builder in a few neighborhoods we checked out.

3/17/2015 2:50:22 PM

My cousin lives off of Forestville Rd. on the Raleigh / Knightdale border. He's about 1.5 miles or so from the Buffalo Rd. exit on 540. He had a house custom built in that neighborhood and they not only did a great job on the house, but the neighborhood is awesome. All of his neighbors hang out at one of their houses on a nightly basis. It's a lot of 30-40 year old adults, many have young children. The name of the development is Massey Preserve, you should check it out.

3/18/2015 11:24:12 AM

That is the specific one we met with Beazer actually haha. I liked the community but the distance from our works and our sons school makes us hesitant on that particular one. Other than location we were pretty happy with it. Also looking at Mungo homes and the Princeton Manor community in Knightdale that seems to be a better location and the houses appear a little nicer/bigger.

3/18/2015 11:40:03 AM

^ I would check out Royal Oaks Homes, but they only have one neighborhood in the general area you might be looking for. They are a pretty big, local builder.

3/19/2015 8:50:55 PM

^^

i can vouch for Mungo. know the division president. can't go wrong with them. my wife also worked for them for a long time.

3/26/2015 11:21:39 AM

Still looking for a place in Dilworth in Charlotte, and when we see an interesting one online, by the time we set up a time to view it with our realtor, it's already under contract.

This has happened about 4 times already with places we were interested in, and usually the same day the properties hit the market. The one today was UC around 5 hours after it hit the market.

How is this happening? Are people hearing about these before they hit the market? How can we do that?

4/6/2015 5:04:00 PM

Sounds like you need a better realtor

4/6/2015 11:48:48 PM

^ this.

4/7/2015 9:50:25 AM

^^^That's how the downtown Raleigh market is. I was going at it alone because my dad has a real estate license and I could get the commission but ended retaining the Glenwood Agency because they have the downtown market on lockdown and can give you the inside track on their listings before they hit the market. They must make a fucking killing.

Anyway, I'd try to find out who specializes in that area and go with them. I was on Redfin, Zillow, FM Realty every day, several times a day for over a year and people will buy shit sight unseen in the right location, and often times they'll undercut you because they have cash. I was in a multiple bid situation on the condo I'm closing on Friday and ended up going slightly over asking price just to make sure I got it. My agent had five people ask her about it after within the WEEK we went under contract. Market is crazy, man.

[Edited on April 7, 2015 at 11:46 AM. Reason : .]

4/7/2015 11:45:52 AM

Winston-Salem has been the same, albeit on a much smaller scale than NC's two biggest cities. There isn't much housing for sale in the immediate downtown area (very low condo inventory), so the surrounding neighborhoods are the most desirable (West End, West Salem, Ardmore). We've been fortunate to have a great realtor that notified us of a house in Ardmore in a highly desirable location that went on the market that day and we ended up submitting paperwork to be under contract the very next day. Ardmore is anchored by two large hospitals (Wake Forest Baptist & Novant), so it can be difficult to compete with medical people with their type of disposable income. We had to outbid a few others, so we went a little above asking price (but we believe it was a bit undervalued to begin with) to secure it. Going through the DD process right now, so hopefully everything goes smoothly!

[Edited on April 7, 2015 at 12:40 PM. Reason : ]

4/7/2015 12:40:01 PM

^good luck, glad things went smoothly for you.

My condo is a block from the new Citrix so I was really afraid one of their employees would buy it up, but now that I've got it locked down it'll just be all the more valuable when I do rent/sell it for that reason. John Kane is also developing the Dillon Warehouse right beside it into mixed use property and the new train station will be going in soon so I think it's a hot property that should appreciate a lot.

4/7/2015 3:16:38 PM

Had the home inspection today. Didn't really have anything major, though the heating/cooling system (I believe the brand is Rheem?) is 17 years old. It operates fine (according to the home inspector), but don't really know when the last time it was serviced. Would that be something to worry about? I'm not keen on having to replace it not long after purchase. Also, the water heater exhaust vents downward (not so good).

Other than that, just some other relatively minor issues with electricity (grounding issue), plumbing, and parts of the chimney (previous repairs likely need inspecting). The home inspector said the findings were a lot better that the average Ardmore house, and appeared to be in very good shape for a house built in 1942. Since we've been fairly generous with the sellers so far, we figure we should be a bit aggressive with the home inspection findings to get taken care of.

4/13/2015 1:32:54 PM

A home warranty might be something to look at if the AC is that old. https://www.ahs.com/

Your Realtor can help you get one of these at closing if you want one, maybe get the seller to pay in lieu of repairs since the remaining items are DIY stuff.

4/13/2015 1:52:17 PM

Properties going under contract the same day they're listed? That's vicious. My wife and I have just in the past week started seriously looking here in Richmond and we've seen a handful go fast in the areas we're looking at (I think 3 days is the shortest I've seen), but not that fast. Wow.

I think we're ready to make an offer on the one we saw tonight--seems early in the process but we've seen 10 houses already and this one just feels right. But I'm vexed over the price. The house has been on the market 32 days without a price drop, so if they're serious about selling, it's about that time. However they have an open house scheduled on Sunday and I'd love to not see that happen by making them a strong enough offer that they no longer feel it's necessary. I'm assuming the plan is to try to get people in the door and drum up some offers with the open house, and if that doesn't do the trick, drop the price, but when it feels like the right place I don't want to gamble on that happening.

4/18/2015 1:31:22 AM

I had clients recently got oit bid 4 times on houses in apex, they were bidding over list price too. They had good taste and were patient, but it still got old! The way they finally got one.was finding a house that was priced too high, and working the sellers down. Anything reasonably priced was generating a bidding war.

It sounds like that might be the case on this house you are considering, my advice would be make the offer asap, put some decent deposit down, fastest closing you can do, work on them while no one else is competing with you. If they have been on marker 30 days in that strong god a sellers market they have to know it's time for a price drop, or at least their agent will.

4/18/2015 8:48:42 AM

House down the street from me is listed at $644,900 and went under contract in the first 3 days. Interested to see what it trades for. They claim it is 4,400 SF, but tax records say 3,600. Tax records say mine is 3,986 and is likely bigger.

4/18/2015 12:29:50 PM

Well that sucked. Put in an offer yesterday, they countered and we accepted the counter, but they told us that another buyer had right of first refusal. Waited around all day and then found out tonight that the buyer with first refusal matched our offer so we lost it.

Is that common in residential? Seems like the kind of thing a listing agent would advise against. I've heard it's common in commercial but it's often used for things like keeping a competitor from building in a spot that's good but you're not fully committed to.

4/19/2015 8:04:08 PM

I always tell all offerors to send in their highest and best terms, its the only way to be fair to all potential buyers and usually gets the best offer for the seller. The list agent is supposed to keep terms of competing offers confidential as well.

Some sellers do not want to do that and would rather negotiate with the first party that made an offer, which is within their rights.

4/19/2015 9:59:03 PM

Closing in 55 minutes

What a crazy ride it's been.

4/22/2015 1:05:58 PM

anybody ever heard of any programs to get down payment assistance on a second property? long story short my mom had a stroke last yr lost her house and her credit is shot. trying to get her a decent place.

4/24/2015 12:39:11 AM

Quote :

"Properties going under contract the same day they're listed? That's vicious. My wife and I have just in the past week started seriously looking here in Richmond and we've seen a handful go fast in the areas we're looking at (I think 3 days is the shortest I've seen), but not that fast. Wow. "

Started looking last June, probably put in 8-10 offers and couldn't seal a deal. All the houses I really liked were ones that went under contract within a day of listing.

Eventually gave up and decided to rent a little longer.

4/24/2015 1:09:51 AM

^^^ Congrats on the purchase.. You in Bloomsbury?

[Edited on April 24, 2015 at 9:17 AM. Reason : .]

4/24/2015 9:17:39 AM

I'm in Martin Place, although I did look at a unit in Bloomsbury - it just wasn't for me. I will say the showers were super nice and I liked the 20s throwback.

I really love the location and having a garage. My unit also had hardwoods and a lot of upgrades and the ceilings are 11', which make it feel a lot bigger. I'm doing some minor renovation just to add some more features that I want and it should be a really place.

I'll post before / after photos in one of the DIY / home reno threads probably but I'll put the link in this one.

4/24/2015 10:43:37 AM