Snor

I would suggest you buy at 700k house, 6 months later when you cant make the payments, then you will be forced into forclosure and my investor friends will be able to buy your property at an auction for 250k.

thats my advice and while you at it, ramp up some credit card debts, and maybe buy a new car since you seem to think 121k is alot of money. thats chicken feed. - Sun Sep 21 2008, 13:14

@luke, its not about "trying to get him to borrow 100k less", you seem to be focused on what he was approved for and not what he can "afford". I just showed you how even a 417k mortgage could very very tight for him. I dont mean to point fingers at you but it just seems like realtors (who's job is to buy and sell homes) rarely have any clue when it comes to home affordability.

I understand why that is so, its because the bigger the purchase the bigger the commission. - Thu Sep 18 2008, 15:37

@Andy and Luke,

THis is going to be my final post on this, it just seems like people cant calculate. So I am going to help you out here. Here is the math, since you make 121k combined, lets use that. Since you are married and have no dependents, your combined take home with no 401k, or medical or dental is $6442.62 per month.

So aprox.. $6442.62 per month. a loan for $417k @ 5.65 over 30years and property taxes of 3500 a year will give you a house payment of about $2900.87 that is almost half of your take home pay, no including any of the debts i listed below.

Plus with new house, you are going to want some new furniture.. Therefore 6442.62 - 2900.87 = $3541.75 is left to take care of the following below.

Retirement = 15% of 121k = $18,150/12 = $1512
401k
roth IRA
traditional IRA
$3541 - Amount left after mortage - Retirement $1512 = $2029

Therefore you have about $2029 left for normal expenses and savings.

Normal expenses.
- home insurance
- medical
- dental
- Car payment
- Car Insurance
- Gas for car
- food
- electricity
- Gas
- credit card
- student loan?


Long term saving for retirement..
401k.
Roth IRA
Traditional IRA - Thu Sep 18 2008, 14:59

Sarah, i agree with part of what you said, its people like him why we are in the problems we are facing now. He takes a loan for a property, he can "barely" afford. According to him of course "just need sacrifice on some things". Then he loses his job or something else happens then guess what he can no longer afford to keep the house, it goes into foreclosure or something. What is funny to me is that i know people around me, make upward of 250k and live in homes that barely cost 400 or 500k.

Andy i can see your future, you are going to become what we call "house poor". That is, nice house like the jones but have to eat sardines.. wise up. buy way below what you can afford.. - Thu Sep 18 2008, 11:52

Jackie, seems like you are about to be got, you are trying to be penny wise and pound foolish. Why do you refuse to talk to a real estate attorney?

1. The buyer is not waiving anything. (the 3% he or she included in the 5% towards buyers closing cost), which I am assuming had she not been an agent, you would only negotiate 2% of your listing price?

2. I think someone mentioned this, but lenders are very strict rule regarding how much a seller can contribute to closing.

3. $269, 000 not sure this is correct, what about taxes to date, insurance (assuming you have those escrowed)

4. Why would the agent just say what???, its not the buyers agent job to calculate your bottom line #, its yours so stop being a baby.

Anyway you are on the right path to be got. Keep it up and your next post maybe, "I got got by the agent". Pay the 300 bucks and talk to a real estate attorney, or be got. - Sat Jun 7 2008, 23:40

Thank you all for your comments.. appreciate it. Now i will proceed to delete this thread. - Fri May 30 2008, 15:49

Jym, Jam, or Wham whatever your name is, talk about a troll, this fool just registered yesterday.. hahahahaha - Fri May 30 2008, 08:01

@ok, kids, cool down, because it doent matter what anyone say in this forum, the site is being built you can cry blood. - Thu May 29 2008, 20:20

@ Mike,

Well its not just getting the site, there is huge PR cost. Actually this is a huge part of my planned budget right now. My focus right now is just getting the site done, i have staff of 5 data collectors, looking at public records, sites like trulia and zilliow and other real estate site, to get info on realtors.

I have developed, what i think is a cool way to get ratings (which not solely based on people, but a few other things because i am filing a IP, i wont get into it.)

Again, my reason for posting the question here was more to get feedback. Just so other realtors know, this site is being developed by consulting with brokers, realtors and attorneys.

I will update all, when we go into private beta. - Thu May 29 2008, 16:30

@Mike,

No dont work for software firm, its interesting, i sold my house and using the proceeds to bank roll this project for now. However have a very interested investor, an torn between just doing it myself for now or taking seed money. I just thought i would throw it out there since sellers and buyers frequent this site.

The realtors seems to be so concern about what a system like this will do "to them", but i really believe, enough to sell my house to do this project, that its necessary. Even more so now with everything going on in the industry.

I wont disclose how the rating system will work, but it will consider a range of what i call "activities". - Thu May 29 2008, 01:15

@Mike,

That is a great idea, however am not sure it work, since Trulia and Zillow has different goal and objectives. The sole purpose of the site is to give buyers a platform to "evaluate" realtors based on there dealings with other clients. I know that realtors run rampant in NY, burning clients without anything stoping them. Well in 2 months we go into private beta.. - Wed May 28 2008, 23:54

@ Debt Free,

Whether or not its exciting, the site is in development right now. I am currently talking to a group of investors and they seem to think the idea has some legs. - Wed May 28 2008, 21:35

@ Deborah, regarding "Can you rely upon public feedback? You may be opening yourself up to potential litigation. " see yelp.com

Last time i checked realtors sell and buy for "the public", so who else is qualified but the people you serve? - Mon May 26 2008, 18:37

@ Bay,

Thank, sure will let you know. The information will be pulled from a number of sources, along with individuals. I am currently working on a system where the client will have to provide some "verifiable" data so as to avoid just bashing because they can.

My intention/motivation is simple, I have heard great and horror stories as it relates to realtors. As a one time NY brownstone owner, landlord and current home owner. I have been on all sides of the coin and i can tell you there a some realtors that deserve great commendation, as well as some needs to choose a different profession.

I am sure users of this site, will know about it once it goes live. - Mon May 26 2008, 17:49

Hey Bill,

A can of worms is necessary to get this industry into shape, for far too long realtors have been mis-behaving and i think a rating website will help people to recognize those that dont adhere to the rules. And since you (not singular, but plural) represent people with subjective/opinions then who better to review you than them? - Mon May 26 2008, 08:49

your right, i dont. what i do understand is that its next to impossible to be objective if you are representing two people in the same transactions.

and you right again, i am not a realtor, so what? does that make me less qualified to notice when something is not right. - Thu May 29 2008, 01:19

@ Chris and Michael are you guys really serious?? I dont mean to say this but i am more convinced now that you have the reasoning skills of a 1st grader. Your analogy is crappy..

Having a Agent represent you and buyer is the same as having a Attorney represent you in court and he also works as the prosecutor. His abilities to put your interest first will be clouded, not because he or she is a bad person but merely because he or she gets paid either way. Isnt your agent suppose to be working for you??? Isnt that what all you realtors say?

Can you honestly say that you represent both buyers and sellers in the same transaction? Who are you fooling.

Jackie, my grandmother always tells me, a fisherman never says his fish is smelly. With that said, asking a question of this nature, in this forum where people's job depend on sellling homes is like asking oil and gas companies to invest in green technology.

Wake up and smell the coffee, get an objective opinion, talk to an attorney, for $150.00 you will get the best advice money can buy. Pun intended.

I can wait to finish my realtor rating website, where the public gets to rate and review your performances. - Mon May 26 2008, 19:51

Jackie

Couple of things,
If you remotely care about your credit dont do a short sale.
re-read your contract with the current agent, am sure there is a "cooling off" period. about 30days. FIRE THE AGENT ASAP. Its impossible for her to be objective, since she is trying to represent both of you, where is her morales..

Drop the price and offer some incentives for a quick sale, plus also list to for rental. I know its tough right now but the market is rough and you made a dumb mistake.


This industry really needs someone to straighten it out. I am very serious, i am going to start programming a realtor rating website. People like this needs to be exposed so that others are aware of them.

@ Stacey, cut the crap about boss asking her to take a pay cut, it is not the same. A rather preposterous analogy if you ask me. - Sun May 25 2008, 23:34

Jackie, am going to say something here, and I hope you dont take it the wrong way. Asking a question of this nature in this forum is the stupidest thing on earth. with that said, her is my advice.

Talk to a FINANCIAL PLANNER, WORK OUT THE NUMBERS. The numbers dont lie. DONT TAKE THE OFFER. Find a new agent. Fire your current agent. YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE THE SAME AGENT REPRESENTING YOU AND THE BUYER, NEVER.

you have two choices here, you can ignore my advice and suffer the consequences later or you can heed it talk to a financial planner and then fire the agent. Remember people already saw your house and made an offer. - Tue Apr 1 2008, 22:21

@ JR. I have sold 4 homes thus far. 3 condos and 1 townhouse. So if you are insinuating that i have never sold a property because i am answering a question
based on my experience then, yes Tman is right, "YOU HATE THE TRUTH".

Lets do the math here. Remember every seller has a number in mind that they want to get as their final price.
So i am going to assume that the seller in this case
knows what he wants from a deal and as such he is going to list his property as a price point to reflect what he wants to receive ultimately.

Take this case in point.
Owner has a property and wants to receive $390,100, he ask himself/herself, ok, i am willing to give-up/contribute to the buyer, in this case he/she decides it going to be $10,000,
he/she will then list his property at say $425,000. Why? well here is the math.

$425,000 - $10,000 (contribution/willing to give up) = $415,000 (sales prices seller is willing to accept)
$415,000 * 0.06 = $24,900 ($12,450. seller agent and $12450.00)
$415,000 - seller agent commission (3%) - buyers agent commission (3%) = $390,100

So what did we learn :

sellers agent would get $12,450
and your agent would get $12,450
and you would be either financing $415,000 or paying that cash.

SO HOUSE WOULD COST YOU $415,000
SELLER WOULD NET $390,100

If you do this without an agent.

Now make the offer without your agent.

Take the $10,000 the $425,000 that leaves us with $415,000

Now is where the real fun is, You already did the math and know that the would have to netted $390,100 if you had an agent, now since you don’t have a agent,
take another $10,000 off the $415,000.

NOW YOUR OFFER WILL BE FOR $405,000 - $12,150 (seller agents 3%) = $392,850 (seller recieves this amount)

$415,000 - $10,000 = $405,000 now seller pays his agent 3% ($12150)
$405,000 - $12150 (sellers agent commission ) = $392,850 seller receives.

BUT THE IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE HERE IS THAT THE COST PRICE TO YOU IS $405,000 AS OPPOSE TO $415,000 WITH A REALTOR.

Buying a house is one of the biggest financial decision you will ever make, DO THE MATH.. IT will save you money. I just showed you how to save $10,000 easy.

I have personally bought and sold 4 properties.

My final piece of advice, "Do the Math" - Sat Mar 29 2008, 18:34

The real problem is as i pointed out, the buyers agent get paid when the deal closes. If the deal doesn't close then the agent won't get paid. Now Elvs i don't know about your math but the seller is always looking at the net cost. In my situation, I did use a Realtor in the beginning, and the seller rejected the offer, why simply because his bottom line number didn't make sense.

All am saying is tell the guy the truth, the SELLER DOESN'T PAY THE COMMISSION the buyer does, since he is the only person who brings money to the closing table. You see once i learned and understood that, i never used a realtor again to buy. - Tue Mar 25 2008, 06:11

Desidoc,

Take it from someone who has purchased with and without an agent. I know i will get flamed for this but "ITS NOT WORTH IT TO USE A AGENT", here let me show you why. Don't buy into this crazy stuff about "Sellers agent pays the commission" you do. If you dont believe me, ask yourself this question, who brings the money to the closing table, ops surely not the seller. Its you, so you are paying both buyer and seller commissions.

I was able to save $17k on a property i bought, here is how i did it. First in my offer, i reduced it by the so call 3% my agent would have received, then i further reduced their asking price by another 1%, plus they paid a few dollars on the closing.

I was able to save over $17k, by doing it myself. So my advice to you, if you know how to use the internet and have a few hours a week, buddy do it yourself, you will come back and thank me later. - Sun Mar 23 2008, 23:59