Day1yun

I am looking into the same communities in addition to the Ryan homes inglewood home in the Villages of Dorchester. One thing to note is that the $155 condo fee for Gateway Overlook includes hazard insurance. I know that the villages of dorchester community has a 175 monthly HOA/dorchester tax that does not include hazard insurance. I'm not sure about the dorsey crossing homes though.

I agree with your assessment of both homes. If gateway overlook was located where the ryan homes dorsey crossing community is with no change in pricing, it would be a no brainer. The incentives given by Ryland homes, however, are much better than the ryan homes community. When I checked in Late July, right before the base price drop to $399,990, they were giving $40k in free upgrades of your choice as well as $10k towards closing costs. I'm not sure if those have changed since the base price drop. In terms of the home you get I think the gateway overlook is a much better bang for your buck but again, the location is a little questionable.

One question I have for the real estate agents is how much is ryland homes willing to negotiate? The ryan homes sales agent in the villages of dorchester was not willing to budge on their incentives. I'd like to push for all closing costs paid as well as the $40k incentives or even more. - Mon Aug 18 2008, 11:34

what would typically be the highest approvable front end dti ratio? - Thu Aug 14 2008, 09:53

Well the full details are
low 700's credit score
no debt
$10k in cash reserves after closing/settlement

Is that percentage for both front end and back end ratios? Would it be pretty safe to assume that I could get approved for a 30 year fixed loan with a 47/47 DTI ratio? - Wed Aug 13 2008, 09:46

Thanks for all the help! I am going to wait another month or two to really start negotiating with them. However, before I go in I am trying to get the best understanding of what is possible and what isn't. NVR Inc's 2nd financial quarter ends in June. Would it be best to start negotiating at the end of June? All the incentives Ryan homes is offering is contingent upon using their lender. Is it normal for builders to help with closing costs even if the buyer uses their own lender? I've heard of some horror stories about nvr mortgage and would rather use my credit union. - Tue Jun 10 2008, 05:30

I guess the bottom line is that I want to pay 350k for a particular house with upgrades. Base price of the house is $330k and the particular elevation costs $8k. Making the price with no upgrades $338k. Can I just say "I want that house with these upgrades for $350k"? I priced out the upgrades with the builder and it came out to about $35k. I'd essentially be asking for $35k in upgrades for $12k. Although it may not be the same to the builder, to me thats the same as asking for $23k off the house. Or should I ask for specific upgrades to be free or discounted? - Fri Jun 6 2008, 07:43

Sorry, I'm still a bit confused as to what the difference between negotiating the purchase price vs negotiating incentives are. Lets say the upgrades normally cost $30k but I'm able to negotiate half off upgrades even without the use of their mortgage company. To me whether I get $15k off the purchase price of the house or get half off those upgrades doesn't matter because I'd be paying the same amount either way. - Fri Jun 6 2008, 07:11

I am not working with an agent. Isn't offering free upgrades essentially the same as lowering the price? For instance, they want to charge $7k to upgrade the entire main floor to hardwood flooring. Isn't asking for a free hardwood floor upgrade essentially the same as lowering the total price of the house by $7k? I'm thinking of everything from my perspective, it probably differs in the way they document everything though.
I was planning on going in and saying I want this house with upgrades A, B,C, and D for $350k. Does it really matter if i pay for upgrade A but get B, C, and D for free or pay for upgrades A & B and get C & D for free as long as its $350? - Fri Jun 6 2008, 06:27