User not logged in - login - register
Home Calendar Books School Tool Photo Gallery Message Boards Users Statistics Advertise Site Info
go to bottom | |
 Message Boards » » another house buying thread Page [1]  
qntmfred
retired
40340 Posts
user info
edit post

so my wife and i are currently renting the first floor of a 2 story house. our landlord lives on the top story. the landlord is moving to pittsburgh and is looking to put the house on the market. we're considering buying it, but i know very little about owning or renting out a house. if we rent out the second floor like he did, it would probably pay for most of the monthly mortgage payment. which would be nice to save all that money, but i have no idea, it might not be worth it in the end. i don't know how long we're going to be living in this area, anything about being a landlord, property taxes or what the value of the house might be (it's pretty old, i have no idea what kind of condition it is really in). any advice?

10/31/2005 11:51:07 AM

Sonia
All American
14028 Posts
user info
edit post

Don't lease to anyone allergic to Miss Kitters !!

10/31/2005 11:57:09 AM

Houston
All American
2269 Posts
user info
edit post

if you dont know how long you will be living here, dont buy a house. If you dont know anything about the house you are buying, you probly should not buy the house. Go to the wake county website, do a real estate records search, find out how much your house last sold for, how much the tax value is, how much property taxes are, and how much the other houses on your street recently sold for. Then go to trianlgemls.com and find out how much people are asking for houses in your neighborhood. That should give you a better idea on the house value.

10/31/2005 12:11:15 PM

Opstand
All American
9256 Posts
user info
edit post

Well there are people out there who are professionals at answering some of your questions. You can pay to have the house appraised and inspected to know what you are getting into. A poor man's way of guessing the value of the house is to look through the property and deeds database for recently sold houses in the same neighborhood. If you find 4 or 5 of those, you can usually get a ballpark of what the price / sq ft should be.


IMO, if you are considering staying here for a few years, I'd look into this. If you are going to move sooner than 3-5 years, it's probably not worth it to buy. The cost of selling the house will probably exceed any money you'd make in appreciation based on the rate house prices in this area have been growing.

10/31/2005 12:14:13 PM

Sonia
All American
14028 Posts
user info
edit post

^^ They live up north. Good advice though.

10/31/2005 12:24:35 PM

chocoholic
All American
7156 Posts
user info
edit post

^ Use google and look up "---- County GIS Maps" for the county you live in. That should pull up the site for property maps and deeds.

The site you find should also tell you what the most recent property tax assessment was for the parcel you're looking at, break out the value of the building vs. the land, and list all the previous owners. Some counties even post photos of the house online. You can look up by street name, owner's name, or parcel ID.

10/31/2005 7:06:47 PM

JennMc
All American
3989 Posts
user info
edit post

Take into consideration closing costs. That alone can you $1,000. You will have attorney fees, document prep, inspections, title insurance, and filing fees.

10/31/2005 8:08:52 PM

sd2nc
All American
9963 Posts
user info
edit post

if you do decide to have renters, the monthly rent that they pay will be counted as income for tax purposes, unless you can find a way around it

10/31/2005 8:11:14 PM

BobbyDigital
Thots and Prayers
41777 Posts
user info
edit post

yeah, by not reporting it.

10/31/2005 8:23:31 PM

qntmfred
retired
40340 Posts
user info
edit post

works for me

10/31/2005 9:20:00 PM

skokiaan
All American
26446 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
" Use google and look up "---- County GIS Maps" for the county you live in. That should pull up the site for property maps and deeds.

The site you find should also tell you what the most recent property tax assessment was for the parcel you're looking at, break out the value of the building vs. the land, and list all the previous owners. Some counties even post photos of the house online. You can look up by street name, owner's name, or parcel ID."


Actually, assessments are done in very long intervals and probably have no relation to what people will pay for the property today. It's better to look at sales records if they are available.

10/31/2005 10:03:56 PM

sd2nc
All American
9963 Posts
user info
edit post

yeah i def. don't declare the rental income, and it's even handled through a management company.

10/31/2005 11:03:25 PM

chocoholic
All American
7156 Posts
user info
edit post

^^of course. But you need to know your annual property tax too.

11/1/2005 8:06:48 AM

ImYoPusha
All American
6249 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"Take into consideration closing costs. That alone can you $1,000. You will have attorney fees, document prep, inspections, title insurance, and filing fees."




actually, these usually come in around $2500. Which is really nothing in the big picture.
Suggestion, if closing costs are hindering you, write into your offer to purchase that the seller must absorb these costs. He'll prolly say no, but usually they'll agree to pay at least half.

11/1/2005 9:46:28 AM

Opstand
All American
9256 Posts
user info
edit post

Or you can finance the closing costs into the mortgage. It artificially inflates the selling price of the house slightly, but if you plan on staying for a while it shouldn't matter.

Our closing costs were just over $3k on a $145k house, so I think even $2500 is a little low. That didn't include the inspection which was another $300. Apparently this is on the high end for an inspection as most people told me that you can get them for around $200. However, I highly recommend getting a good inspection from someone people can vouch for. I went with the same inspector BobbyDigital used and she did an awesome job. The report was so thorough that the seller spent about $2000 making repairs before we moved in.

11/1/2005 9:56:16 AM

BobbyDigital
Thots and Prayers
41777 Posts
user info
edit post

^ ah sweet, i had forgotten to follow up with you on that to see how it went. Glad to hear you also had a good experience!

11/1/2005 10:09:57 AM

sober46an3
All American
47925 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"actually, these usually come in around $2500. "


closing costs are usually dependent on the cost of the house. from what i read, (and it worked well for me when i bought a house) it is a good idea to set aside about 3% of the cost of the house for closing costs.

...it may end up being a little less, but its good to be on the safe side. it really varies from where you are buying as well because tax laws are different.



[Edited on November 1, 2005 at 10:21 AM. Reason : t]

11/1/2005 10:15:54 AM

drtaylor
All American
1969 Posts
user info
edit post

call 789-5200

talk to Ben Pierce, the agent that runs my call center - he can match you up with one of our Realtors who knows the area the house is located in

it only makes sense to talk to an agent first thing when you're buying a house, it's ABSOLUTELY FREE TO USE AN AGENT AS A BUYER and then you have somebody with experience and actual answers to all your questions looking out for your best interests

[Edited on November 1, 2005 at 10:24 AM. Reason : did i mention you don't pay them?]

11/1/2005 10:23:26 AM

jesgani
All American
1282 Posts
user info
edit post

Closing costs will also depend on your lender. I bought a brand new centex home and used their mortgage lender and actually got $36 back from my closing costs (this obviously included the $2000 I gave for earnest money).

Best advice is shop lenders, make them compete and throw money towards your closing.

11/1/2005 10:25:01 AM

 Message Boards » The Lounge » another house buying thread Page [1]  
go to top | |
Admin Options : move topic | lock topic

© 2024 by The Wolf Web - All Rights Reserved.
The material located at this site is not endorsed, sponsored or provided by or on behalf of North Carolina State University.
Powered by CrazyWeb v2.38 - our disclaimer.