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Thread: Real Estate is a Circus Right Now

  1. #61
    My free advise, buy a fixer uper with room for a Used but decent Motorhome or trailer. Spend the time/money to bring utilities namely sewer to it. Live like you did before , ccget the fixerupper up to your
    desire. Have a metal building built making sure to get twice the electric and so on as you would like in your shop. Lot easier to get it done in the beginning.

    Then store all the stuff you think you can't do without in the shop/store room

    Now you have a decent place to spend time in. Take your time do the fixerupper
    like you want. Move all the stuff that you can't live without, into your HOME.

    Rearrange shop stuff to your liking.

    Finially DO NOT SELL the MH/trailer,,Your kids/visitors can visit you and not be right in your face.

    I forgot to put more details about the Trailer/MH, big ones are really cheap these days and since you are not going anywhere, don't wory about mileage costs or new tires.
    That is my free advice
    Anne

  2. #62
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    Were things like that available around here, I'd consider it Anne. But alas, such properties are few and far between. The one I know that is available is actually quite close to our current property. 3br 2b rancher with a large detached garage on 2 acres. Very much a "fixer upper" as it's being sold as-is and aside from a lot of normal repairs and renovations, it will need a new septic system. . There are no utilities available other than natural gas, but that's not connected from the roadway. Oil heat. Window AC. It's $595K, down from $649k...

    And honestly, we are not and never have been motorhome/travel trailer type people. And even junkers are top dollar right now because of the pandemic because so many folks are using them for travel rather than hotels. We can live here for whatever time is necessary to get something done within reason.

    We are not in a hurry and we do not have to move. We'd rather have empty rooms than buy something that we will not enjoy. At some point, all those no-s will become a yes. It's a game.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  3. #63
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    May 2009
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    black river falls wisconsin
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    ya know. your in a good situation. now use who had to sell before we could buy with the misses looking for job and yata yats.. wish ya luck in your search but....

  4. #64
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    Yes, that's a blessing, Eugene, for sure. I would hate to have to sell first in this market because it could be a very long time before we had a new property in-hand and the rental market is hosed here, too. That motorhome thing that Anne mentioned might have to happen. Or a tent. LOL
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #65
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    Sep 2010
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    New England
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    Wow- what an eye opener this thread is. I'm now seeing similar threads out there in the Inter Web.

    We need to build more supply but right now material costs are crazy high. These things do tend to work themselves out over time but the need is NOW.

    If we can get everybody back to work soon, and keep interest rates low, there is hope. But realistically housing prices probably won't fall much, but stabilize.

    Which would be a good thing. Stable housing prices can lead to a stable economy.

  6. #66
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    Midland, MI
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    The New York Times published an article today titled: Where Have All the Houses Gone? The inventory of homes for sale is startlingly low. The pandemic is part of the reason, but it’s not the whole story.

    You can get their version of the rest of the story here
    :
    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/u...ses-gone.html?
    Last edited by Dave Bunge; 02-26-2021 at 1:02 PM. Reason: fix link

  7. #67

    Strange times

    I happen to live in the southwest where it doesn't snow, and I can just hear wives saying "I am not putting up with this snow, cold, no elec and so on.

    We are getting out of here. Thus, the housing market is good. We get letter, calls and emails all the time wanting to buy BUT where would we go and have space, good neighbors a real septic system, all the water we use in the house ends up watering our vegatation.

    The only thing we don't have is room for guests, which is why I mentioned it.

    Who ever knew when we had the house built that ordinary folks would have ha MH or trailer esp. one with a bathroom and shower built right in.

    Heck I though I was wealthy just having a pickup with a covered bed to sleep in if it rained.
    Anyhow, different world world out there , so try to enjoy it.

  8. #68
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    Anne, it's very much a fact that geography plays a roll in the real estate game. If we were free to move, I believe we could come up with some very interesting opportunities. But Professor Dr. SWMBO is a few years from retiring from teaching yet and our older daughter still needs support from us, even though she lives in an apartment in town. (special needs adult) So we have to "go with the flow" around our local marketplace. It's weird and wacky, for sure. I honestly thought this was going to be a slow weekend, but three possibilities popped up on the MLS today and we have appointments for two of them so far.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  9. #69
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    Dec 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Anne, it's very much a fact that geography plays a roll in the real estate game.

    So we have to "go with the flow" around our local marketplace. It's weird and wacky, for sure. I honestly thought this was going to be a slow weekend, but three possibilities popped up on the MLS today and we have appointments for two of them so far.
    Good luck.

    I'm about 6 years behind you, taking real interest in how you balance competing demands.

    I just started inquiries where my SWMBO would like.
    New Yorkers have been showing up to listing carrying suitcases of cash, to hear the realtor tell it.

    Madness

  10. #70
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    Modesto, CA, USA
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    Just saw on TV last night that Zillow will buy your house for their estimated price in 5-6 select cities. They do send out a inspector to verify condition before paying. They charge 6%. I have no idea if that is good or bad%. They % charged seems to have no relation to home cost.

    Bil lD

  11. #71
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    Oct 2006
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    Minneapolis, MN
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    Just saw on TV last night that Zillow will buy your house for their estimated price in 5-6 select cities. They do send out a inspector to verify condition before paying. They charge 6%. I have no idea if that is good or bad%. They % charged seems to have no relation to home cost.
    Where did you see that the fee is just 6%? I can't seem to find anything that lists the fee, but some have gotten an offer and reported the fee is much higher than 6%. I don't see how they would even cover the realtor's fees at 6%. I tried to see what Zillow would offer for my house, but even though I am in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area, but my house doesn't qualify. I think part of the issue is comps are few and far between out where I live.

    I love the people complaining they can sell their house for say $35,000 more by not using Zillow Offers. None of these "cash for houses" companies are going to offer full market value with no fees or they would lose money. What they offer is convenience. You sell them your house and you have to do nothing but sign some paperwork and move whatever you want to keep out of the house. You can leave behind anything you don't want and you have to do no cosmetic repairs or any other repairs.

    My brother has three young kids. He sold his house last summer. His wife and kids went to live with the in-laws during the sale process. They didn't want to be trying to keeping a house ready for showing with three young kids. It took about a month to sell because they lived on the far fringe of the metro area.
    Last edited by Brian Elfert; 02-27-2021 at 8:11 PM. Reason: Fixed missing character

  12. #72
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    I think the Zillow Zestimate on my house is way high. They are showing $392k with a 3.2% increase in just the past month. I had the house appraised for a refinance in March 2020. It only appraised for $300k then. I am considering refinancing for cash out to build a new garage/shop, but I don't really want to go through the refinance process if my house isn't worth a fair bit over $300,000.

  13. #73
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    Just saw on TV last night that Zillow will buy your house for their estimated price in 5-6 select cities. They do send out a inspector to verify condition before paying. They charge 6%. I have no idea if that is good or bad%. They % charged seems to have no relation to home cost.

    Bil lD
    Yes, they are doing that. There is the normal 6% for brokers plus a 2.4% service fee plus any necessary repairs determined by their comprehensive inspection. But it can be a very good deal so you can avoid the hassle of showings, etc., and close as quickly as you want.. If they were in my market, I'd take that in a heartbeat and my realtor would be covered...which is nice because he's a friend after all these years.
    ----

    Brian, ZEstimate is a pretty reliable thing at this point and is rarely far off from a selling price. If anything, it's been low recently on quite a few places we've looked at. And prices have gained substantially. The offer we made early in the week was for $65K over listing on a property that was clearly undervalued after a comparable sales analysis...and we lost to someone who offered more. We literally just placed another offer a few minutes ago on another property for $56K over listing. It was listed for something more realistic than the other one, but this is the only way to win in the current market.

    Of course, this can change at any time, so it's a good idea not to over stretch on any equity taking. That's just prudent financial practice.
    Last edited by Jim Becker; 02-27-2021 at 9:34 PM.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  14. #74
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    Good luck with your offer Jim!

  15. #75
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    Thanks. Cross your crossables.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

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