New (to us) home! (1 Viewer)

[HEMI6point1]

Resisted posting this for the longest time because I didn't want to jinx it....

Thanks to my dad receiving an inheritance from a death in the family, my parents were finally able to buy a house that fit within their budget, and we closed on Monday. This was actually the 2nd house we signed a contract for, the 1st one fell through because it was a short sale and was discovered to have 3 liens on it from the owner taking out 2 mortgages.

Now this involves my too because I decided to put my name as a co-signer on the deed and the mortgage. If you're wondering why, it's not because I "want to live with mommy and daddy forever," it's because it was to make it easier for them to get the loan. The bank told them 6.75 percent - that is an insult, considering my dad's credit it excellent. With my name down it dropped to below 5 percent.

Plus, while I'm living with them it builds my credit so win-win.

The house itself is a 3/2 and due to the housing market we negotiated a priced that after down payment results in a mortgage that is less then what we are currently paying in rent. On my days off I'm going to be helping my folks out with some spruce-up work, and by the time we move in in late May it will look even better than it is now.

 

[Suzie Q]

Congratulations to you and your family Sam!

 

[paoldtimer]

Welcome to the wonderful world of home ownership! Congrats.

 

[Mr. Jean]

Congrats Sam. Hope things go smoothly for you all. We are waiting for May 8th for escrow to close, on our new house too.

 

[Rexfiles]

Congratulations to you Samuel.

I did not own my own home until I was 41, and while it is a good deal of effort, you will never regret it.

BTW, I just bought my 2nd (investment property, house right next to mine) on Feb 27th of this year. 12 years later.

Lets just say, with the market where it is......... I .......did........OK!!!!!

Congrats to you too Jean, THIS, is the "time to buy".........

REX

 

[HEMI6point1]

Here's a small update on this.

The house was own by an elderly couple who passed away. Their daughter inherited the house and wanted to get rid of it, that's why we got it for cheaper.

The house had these huge mirrors on the wall in the dining room, which have since been removed. Also, several windows and their cranks needed to be adjusted. Yesterday and today we removed the some un-needed ugly light diffusers (basically textured plexiglass that was held up by a metal frame) that were covering up the florescent lights in the bathroom and kitchen.

Also, I replaced all the AC outlet and light switch covers with brand new ones, as the old ones did not match the paint on the walls. Tomorrow, the painter is coming to repaint the wall where the mirrors were.

The previous owners also put red heating lamps in the bathrooms. So, we're having them removed and A/C vents installed.

Finally, we're having laminate flooring installed in most of the house.

I'll pics when everything is done.

 

[Jenn]

Congratulations Samuel!

 

[HEMI6point1]

Thanks guys.

One thing's for certain, it's not like buying a TV set!

 

[Jenn]

Thanks guys.

One thing's for certain, it's not like buying a TV set!

I hear that!

We've been trying to decide if we should get a house or an appartment or rent a house for after we get married.

Its exhausting.

 

[MM]

I hear that!

We've been trying to decide if we should get a house or an appartment or rent a house for after we get married.

Its exhausting.

jenn it's a buyers market the likes of which may never be seen again (provided you have nothing to sell).....i've been looking into myself, but my i just don't have enough credit

Good Luck to all you new homeowners!

 

[Jenn]

jenn it's a buyers market the likes of which may never be seen again (provided you have nothing to sell).....i've been looking into myself, but my i just don't have enough credit

Good Luck to all you new homeowners!

Yes, but if the military decides to station us somewhere. Can we afford to get into a house that we might have to leave for four years or more?

Thomas supposedly gets some sort of benefit where the government will guarantee our down payment up to 20%. It doesn't eliminate the 20% of the purchase price, like a down payment does, it just acts like a "no-money down" loan where we wouldn't have purchase loan default insurance. It wouldn't be a bad time for us either, there's also programs out there that if he gets deployed again, our interest rate will drop to 1 or 2 % while he's deployed, but there is the uncertainty of the future in regards to his new station.

Samuel, how old is the home you are moving in to? There might be tons of tax breaks out there for for upgrading your home to more energy efficient products.

 

[HEMI6point1]

The house was built in 1972, and in 2007 had a new roof put in. The house is basically a block of concrete, very strong. The stove and fridge are old but still work, so we're going to wait until they die before we have to replace them. The AC unit is recent, so there are no worries on that.

I'll have to check with FP&L on what kind of rebates they offer for upgrading to better appliances. I know they're giving us a nice rebate for the re-insulation we're doing.

 

[onfire]

I've seen Mr. Jeans' new digs.............Breathtaking comes to mind! And plenty of space for all his toys.

Late........Mitch

 

[Jim]

I'll have to check with FP&L on what kind of rebates they offer for upgrading to better appliances. I know they're giving us a nice rebate for the re-insulation we're doing.

To give you an idea of different rebates that may be offered (I may have posted this story here before). I walked into Best Buy around the end of Oct a couple years back. They have all remaining A/C's on sale for 75% off last listed price. Ended up picking up four 11,500 BTU A/C's for $50 a piece, 2 for me and 2 for my Dad. I get home and my electric bill is sitting there. Inside the bill is a piece of paper and it mentioned rebates for qualified products. They were giving $50 rebates for each unit. In the end all they cost me were $2.50 each in tax! They were originally almost $400 units. In that Bill it listed 4 or 5 items that they were giving rebates for ranging from Window A/C's to stoves to Washer/Dryers.

Good Luck with the house.

 

[PJ]

Yes, but if the military decides to station us somewhere. Can we afford to get into a house that we might have to leave for four years or more?

Thomas supposedly gets some sort of benefit where the government will guarantee our down payment up to 20%. It doesn't eliminate the 20% of the purchase price, like a down payment does, it just acts like a "no-money down" loan where we wouldn't have purchase loan default insurance. It wouldn't be a bad time for us either, there's also programs out there that if he gets deployed again, our interest rate will drop to 1 or 2 % while he's deployed, but there is the uncertainty of the future in regards to his new station.

Samuel, how old is the home you are moving in to? There might be tons of tax breaks out there for for upgrading your home to more energy efficient products.

Jenn if you do buy get a house close to base. If moved then the military has been known to rent if from you and place the next service person coming into town into it.

 

[Jenn]

Jenn if you do buy get a house close to base. If moved then the military has been known to rent if from you and place the next service person coming into town into it.

Hmmm...interesting. I didn't know that. One of the couples who I house sit for pretty regularly has another piece of property that they may be interested in renting to somebody who wouldn't generate a lot of traffic down their private driveway. It's walking distance to work and since I leave my car at work and walk home anyway, it's no big deal. They want somebody who they can trust and since they leave their home to me weeks out of the year, I'm going to go talk to them about it soon.

It's worth looking into.

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

Sam, since I'm one of the first to chide you for saying (or posting) something unpopular, let me step up and boldly congratulate you for making a wise decision into home ownership. The responsibility is great but the rewards far greater! Excellent move there buddy!

 

[willy]

Thanks guys.

One thing's for certain, it's not like buying a TV set!

Or doing tech support..hehe

Sounds like a wonderful deal Sam..for you..and your folks. Win Win Dude.

 

[HEMI6point1]

Thanks guys.

Ok.... here's the progress made so far. All the walls that needed painting are done, and in the "Florida room" we had the carpet taken out. Which answered the question "why in the world would someone put carpeting in a florida room?" The previous owners had really old, dilapidated linoleum on 1/4 of the concrete, and it took the painter's helper nearly all day to take it off. Seems like the owner put carpeting over it to help sell the house.

Other than that, everything's good. We had A/C vents installed in the bathrooms and next week we are having new shower arms and a kitchen faucet installed, as well as really nice laminate flooring installed.

Oh, and I already scheduled Comcast and DirecTV to install my internet and TV. In a couple of weeks, we'll be watching the NHRA telecasts in HD.

 

[Jenn]

Thanks guys.

Ok.... here's the progress made so far. All the walls that needed painting are done, and in the "Florida room" we had the carpet taken out. Which answered the question "why in the world would someone put carpeting in a florida room?" The previous owners had really old, dilapidated linoleum on 1/4 of the concrete, and it took the painter's helper nearly all day to take it off. Seems like the owner put carpeting over it to help sell the house.

Other than that, everything's good. We had A/C vents installed in the bathrooms and next week we are having new shower arms and a kitchen faucet installed, as well as really nice laminate flooring installed.

Oh, and I already scheduled Comcast and DirecTV to install my internet and TV. In a couple of weeks, we'll be watching the NHRA telecasts in HD.

Okay, dumb question...why a "Florida Room?"

Isn't the whole house it Florida?

Never heard that term before.