Bought A House!

[93LSOwner]

Congrats on the new house. Hope you enjoy it. Do you work in RTP?

[denslexusgx470]

Congratulations Rob..well deserved. Poor neighbors though...when "Hamma Time" comes..lol. And they thought a band practicing in the garage was bad........HAha..again, I am happy for you and your last 120 days of cloud nine..many more to ya Buddy....

Hamma gonna hurt 'em! Hahaha... Glad to see Jaws on Paws is still kickin'! We're going to do some deck work in the spring, which means I have finally found a use for the phnumatic air hammer!! Pretty sad really when you need a mortgage just to find an excuse to use one of your phnumatic tools. Hahahaa....

dens... yeah man, $35 a month for dues. But it does not include the front lawns, unfortunately. It takes care of all the common areas, curb appeals, pool, club house and park areas. It's a pretty big pool, that's for sure. But, we'll see what happens after I get on "infiltrate" the finance committee and see the budget. One thing I am already going to propose is for edging of grass along sidewalks. Some folks need to clean up a bit in that department. You know what they say; the nicer your neighbor's house looks, the more valuable your house becomes.

Also depends on location too which will be a BIG determining factor in house pricing. ;)

Not bad, $35 a month. Ours here is $105 a month, i think. But it includes EVERYTHING on the front yard (flowers, treees, whatever is in front of the house), maintainance of the gates, and lamp posts, but not the backyard. Im lucky I don't have to mow the back yard because the previous owner put artificial grass in the back...

Just be careful with HOA rules. Sometimes they may be strict with working on cars in the garage (In my neighborhood they dont allow people to work on cars here in the street or on the driveway) so watch out! Some nosy neighbor might tell on you! lol. I know here in my neighborhood, if you have a loud party going on after 10pm, there's like a $50 fine (neighbors will obviously tell on you) so I guess welcome to HOA life! :) But you'll enjoy the quietness of it. I like a gated neighborhood because I can rest assure that I can leave the GX outside a night or two when it is his turn to sleep outside (yes, I make all the cars sleep outside sometime or another, They gotta take turns!) so enjoy!

[blake918]

It's a pretty big pool, that's for sure.

Community pool? Have you seen the movie Caddyshack!!!!! jk :D

[LEXIRX330]

Congratulations Rob..well deserved. Poor neighbors though...when "Hamma Time" comes..lol. And they thought a band practicing in the garage was bad........HAha..again, I am happy for you and your last 120 days of cloud nine..many more to ya Buddy....

Hamma gonna hurt 'em! Hahaha... Glad to see Jaws on Paws is still kickin'! We're going to do some deck work in the spring, which means I have finally found a use for the phnumatic air hammer!! Pretty sad really when you need a mortgage just to find an excuse to use one of your phnumatic tools. Hahahaa....

dens... yeah man, $35 a month for dues. But it does not include the front lawns, unfortunately. It takes care of all the common areas, curb appeals, pool, club house and park areas. It's a pretty big pool, that's for sure. But, we'll see what happens after I get on "infiltrate" the finance committee and see the budget. One thing I am already going to propose is for edging of grass along sidewalks. Some folks need to clean up a bit in that department. You know what they say; the nicer your neighbor's house looks, the more valuable your house becomes.

Well as far as HOA's are concerned I have to admit, I thought I would never want to live in one. My parents house sat on 2 acres wooded that was connected to my grandfathers farm that was over 70 acres and he was surrounded by his brothers land (all farm land and trees) over 100 acres on each side. So you could go for days and not even see anyone. Skeet shoot in the field next door, sight in guns...pretty much do what ever you want...and not have to worry about it. My best friend growing up lived about 8 miles away. We used to ride dirt bikes, and 4 wheelers back and forth to each others house... I bought my 1st house and that was about 4 miles form my parents...I sold that about a year ago...and moved into the HOA lifestyle!!! I love it...now all of the houses are spaced out on just a little under 1 acre and I get along great with all of my neighbors. I would have never even looked or giving it a chance if not for my wife. :chairshot: :chairshot: I HATE WHEN SHE is RIGHT!

NC congrats bud! Hope the move and everything goes smooth! The only thing I can tell you is when you look at the house you think..."I don't have enough stuff for this house" and a year later you will be like "what the Hell" your wife will take all of your stuff and put in the attic..."there's not enought room for it"

Not sure if you have or want kids or not...but that is probably going to be next!!! At least I am getting the talk... :whistles:

[SW03ES]

I haven't included the tax deduction yet on the interest payments, but you're right! And that will come in very handy now since I got a nice pay raise with the new job. Anything "legally" to help off-set the income taxes is a huge benefit.

Go see your accountant and the HR person at your work, they can help you lower the amount you withold now that you have the interest deduction, so it'll put more money in the bank ever month and offset the cost of the mortgage. You'll be shocked how much difference it makes.

SWO, our statistics show the same happening in the N. Virginia area, outside of DC, showing signs of slowing down a bit too.

It depends on where you are and what type of property. Condos have slowed down a lot, especially in N. Virginia because of all the new construction and condo conversions they've been doing. The markets still strong when you're close into DC but it gets progressively smaller as you move out.

I think this is a much healthier market, its certainly easier to make a living in.

[Toysrme]

Im so happy for you!

I know this is going to shock you... The average married, first time how buyer stays in the house for less than 7 years. Dont get too attached & dont get into any major construction home improvements. If you're gunna let her decorate. Limit her to earthy 3 tones, and realize that the only two rooms in a house you can expect to simply break even renovating are the kitchen & bathrooms.

Knowing that (if you dont already) I just got u set for life. :)

[SW03ES]

I know this is going to shock you... The average married, first time how buyer stays in the house for less than 7 years. Dont get too attached & dont get into any major construction home improvements. If you're gunna let her decorate. Limit her to earthy 3 tones, and realize that the only two rooms in a house you can expect to simply break even renovating are the kitchen & bathrooms.

Its true, the average is about 7 years. It varies based on location however.

That shouldn't stop you from enjoying your house though. Do what you want, over 7 years you will recoup renovation costs on a lot more than the kitchen or the bathrooms, that only becomes an issue if you're doing renovations for the PURPOSE of selling the house. Wall colors aren't as big a deal as they used to be either, as long as its nothing garish or bizarre. People do a lot of watching HGTV and things like that, makes bold colors and contrasting trim more commonplace in their minds.

You can get really wound up in bean counting everything you want to do to make sure it will cash out in your best interest when you sell, but you wind up spoiling a lot of the fun of owning a home that way.

[nc211]

You can get really wound up in bean counting everything you want to do to make sure it will cash out in your best interest when you sell, but you wind up spoiling a lot of the fun of owning a home that way.

Where have I heard this before??? Oh yeah, last weekend at Lowes, at the end of isle 14 in the glass-top-stove section, from my wife!

You two must never meet, otherwise this 11 year old LS400 I have now really will out-live me.

I agree on the 7 year ownership, I've seen that statistic as well. But in lower interest rate markets, it's more like 3 to 4 years. Stronger purchasing power of the dollar tends to motivate people to trade up in home size. But that's beside the point.. 7 years is the average. We'll probably be in this one for 3 or 4 years, is my guess. I agree with SWO, live in it like you want to. Otherwise it feels no different than renting, except you have to pay for the repairs yourself. The real value-add component to home ownership however is "Sweat Equity". Materials aren't that expensive, but the labor to install them sure is. If there is one thing I have learned from the LS400, is learn how to do it yourself, and save the money for when you must call in the mechanics.

We're going to repaint the exterior of the house when we move in, repaint inside, add crown molding, tile the kitchen floors, etc... All of this I will do myself, except for painting the exterior. My father-in-law is quite the furniture maker on the side, so we've got plans for in-place bookshelves, etc... The thing I really like about the house, is that it's pretty plain inside. Which is PERFECT for someone who wants, and likes, to do projects!

[RFeldes]

LOL, Please leave the "Hamma" in the garage!!!! ;)

[denslexusgx470]

7 years does sound about right. My dad's got a client that moves every two years! good business, but still. This is the beaty of buying an existing (or as you may say, "used") home. It's been upgraded somehow by previous owners, and you get to inherit the improvements w/o paying for them in full! I.E. a backyard pool, cheapest is about $20k. Once the seller sells the house, the pool only adds about $5k to the value of the house! You add your own improvements.

I.E. My current home. It came upgraded with finished garage, piped in music throughout house (even garage!), hardwood flooring in the first floor, flourescent lighting in garage, central vac, gas stove, upgraded chandaliers, artificial grass in the back, under the stairs storage (previous owner did it) crown mouldings, and a keypad style lock on front door of house. What we've added here so far are : laminate floorings in the second floor, tile flooring in the bathrooms, granite countertops, repainted whole inside, added chair rails throughout ground floor, built in plasma tv, new garage door opener.

Besides not all new homes are the best. I've seen homes that are only 2 years old, and you'd think it was 20 years old by the way they took care of it, and homes like a 30 year old home that's been upgraded and taken cared of and looks like it's only 10 years old!

[LEXIRX330]

Besides not all new homes are the best. I've seen homes that are only 2 years old, and you'd think it was 20 years old by the way they took care of it, and homes like a 30 year old home that's been upgraded and taken cared of and looks like it's only 10 years old!

Another thing to consider about many new homes is with all of the new construction that that we have had…at least around me...many builders are cutting corners every way they can. I must have had 50 calls this month because of "Ernesto" most from people whose homes less than 2 years old. Shingles blowing off, siding blowing off...leaks, etc...just plain poor workmanship...and the sad part about it is that the builders are not honoring the warranty on the homes, since it is weather related. The funny thing is most of the homes in this area that are over 2 years old made out fine. When my wife and I started looking to buy a new home we looked at 2 homes that had just been built and I made up my mind unless we were going to build a home I wanted a home that was at least 5 or 10 years old. I have seen so many new homes that have cracks in the dry wall...and also hairline cracks in the foundation. ;)

[nc211]

Besides not all new homes are the best. I've seen homes that are only 2 years old, and you'd think it was 20 years old by the way they took care of it, and homes like a 30 year old home that's been upgraded and taken cared of and looks like it's only 10 years old!

Another thing to consider about many new homes is with all of the new construction that that we have had…at least around me...many builders are cutting corners every way they can. I must have had 50 calls this month because of "Ernesto" most from people whose homes less than 2 years old. Shingles blowing off, siding blowing off...leaks, etc...just plain poor workmanship...and the sad part about it is that the builders are not honoring the warranty on the homes, since it is weather related. The funny thing is most of the homes in this area that are over 2 years old made out fine. When my wife and I started looking to buy a new home we looked at 2 homes that had just been built and I made up my mind unless we were going to build a home I wanted a home that was at least 5 or 10 years old. I have seen so many new homes that have cracks in the dry wall...and also hairline cracks in the foundation. ;)

I agree completely, at least in our price range anyway. We found that the new homes were way over priced in general, by $25k to $60k around here, and built with inferior materials. They just didn't make sense to me, at all. Plus, I wanted a house that "felt" new, but was old enough to have any of the craftsmanship issues appear, and repaired. For example, we found several comparable new houses to ours, that were 10 + miles further out, in a less desirable area of town, and built with very cheap vinyl siding, on concrete slabs, in rows, on 1/10th acres, for $30k+ more than the one we bought. Some of those houses had soo much vinyl, I asked if Trojon was the builder. I agree, I will never buy a new house, unless I was part of the construction from day one. A custom built home, just for us, built by our contractor.

[LEXIRX330]

I asked if Trojon was the builder.

:D TROJAN MAN!! :D

Funny :D

[SW03ES]

Another thing to consider about many new homes is with all of the new construction that that we have had…at least around me...many builders are cutting corners every way they can. I must have had 50 calls this month because of "Ernesto" most from people whose homes less than 2 years old. Shingles blowing off, siding blowing off...leaks, etc...just plain poor workmanship...and the sad part about it is that the builders are not honoring the warranty on the homes, since it is weather related. The funny thing is most of the homes in this area that are over 2 years old made out fine. When my wife and I started looking to buy a new home we looked at 2 homes that had just been built and I made up my mind unless we were going to build a home I wanted a home that was at least 5 or 10 years old. I have seen so many new homes that have cracks in the dry wall...and also hairline cracks in the foundation. ;)

Oh absolutely. I see the innards of homes during home inspections all the time, the new construction norms are scary compared to the way things used to be.

[denslexusgx470]

Newer homes, I heard, also use a smaller size wood for the contruction of the house? I've also seen existing homes older than 10 years old and it's amazing how they are much better than the new track homes. ;)

[SW03ES]

Oh yeah.

I live in a townhouse built in 2001. A few months ago there was a really bad fire and the end unit townhouse down the street was totally destroyed (It completely collapsed inside). They tore down the whole front of it and now you can see in like a dollhouse. Seeing the exposed structure of it is unbelievable, a 2x4 is literally the largest peice of lumber in the whole thing...

Compare that to a townhouse built in 1975, with all brick construction...

[nc211]

Closing on the house tomorrow at 3:00 pm!!!! Went by the bank today to get the down payment certified check... It took me two times to actually write out the check request because my hands were shaking so badly. Should have seen me leaving the bank with the check... I was like "BACK...GET BACK YOU HEAVINS...BACK!!!" Bet you guys didn't know an 11 year old LS400 could lay 30 feet of rubber did ya!! To the innocent bystandered, it probably looked as if I just robbed the place. Course, that probably cost me another few hundred in torn bushings in the rear suspension...but worth every penny!!!

[denslexusgx470]

nice. Now make ur LS work and haul all ur stuffs into the house. lol. ;)

[SW03ES]

Good luck tomorrow!

Thank God you remembers the certified check LOL. You'd be shocked how many people refuse to listen when you tell them they won't take a personal check for $80,000 at settlement. I actually had a woman bring $27,000 in cash in a pillow case last year, couldn't use it.

[98es]

Good luck tomorrow!

Thank God you remembers the certified check LOL. You'd be shocked how many people refuse to listen when you tell them they won't take a personal check for $80,000 at settlement. I actually had a woman bring $27,000 in cash in a pillow case last year, couldn't use it.

Haha thats crazy. I work at a law office doing real estate closings and know exactly what you mean! Whats the market like up in DC? Everyone's been talking about a slow down but this past week we were so busy with new orders (mostly lot loans and refi's) we didn't have time to breathe, which is really odd for the first week of the month. I'm almost depressed because I locked in at 6.25% and conventional rates are creeping more toward 6% everyday!

Good Luck NC!

PS- SW, took your advice and went ahead on with purchasing a house instead of waiting until I had my full 20%. With the market flooded like it is down here and rates still low, you were right about it possibly costing more in the long run to 'wait and see'. Thanks.

[indiasfinest]

the first thing we did when we bought our house was fill it up with stuff (furniture, paintings, etc)...but within 6 months to a year, we usually do something energy saving because we realize what the greatest factor contributing to our energy bill is. 6 months ago we tinted all the windows in our house...

[nc211]

Well....I'm proud to say, and share with my friends......

That I am a proud & happy home owner now. The closing was flawless.

So, give me some time to get settled in, and then we'll have some Carolina BBQ', NC211 style...aka...a few Budweisers....

Wrote a little song, like to sing it, so here goes. Sing it with me fellas, cause you know you know it... It's a little something I call, the "Raw-Hide" run....

B....double E....double R, U, N....... BEERRUN!!!

[93LSOwner]

nc211, were you effected by the Apex fire catastrophe?

[nc211]

nc211, were you effected by the Apex fire catastrophe?

So you saw that one did ya' :whistles:

No, we weren't effected. The neighborhood was NW of the evacuation zone. They're saying it wasn't as bad as they had thought. I met one of my new neighbors last night, who is a firefighter for Apex, and he said the media totally blew the story way out of perportion.... go figure that one. It rained all weekend long, which pretty much washed the crap out of the air, put it in the sewer system, and it being treated at the plant. Or so they say anyway.

I can tell you this though, the good thing about that fire, is that those toxic stop-off stations are all going to be relocated far out in the country. When it was built, Apex was the country. But with urban sprawl, now it's not anymore. There are already a few lawsuits filed by local residents against EQ. The residents have said that they don't expect to receive any financial benefit from the suit, but want to make sure nothing like that ever happens again. Everyone has one or two of those sites in their cities, it's where all the crap is stored, before being shipped to it's final destination. With all of the development in the past few years, especially the new gas stations, all the polluted soils that had to be fixed, has those dump sites full.

[SW03ES]

Haha thats crazy. I work at a law office doing real estate closings and know exactly what you mean! Whats the market like up in DC?

I bet you have some funny stories too LOL

The market here is great if you're a buyer, if you're a seller its gotten extremely slow. I think its going to stay slow until the spring.

PS- SW, took your advice and went ahead on with purchasing a house instead of waiting until I had my full 20%. With the market flooded like it is down here and rates still low, you were right about it possibly costing more in the long run to 'wait and see'. Thanks.

Great! That was a smart decision, I'm glad I could help you make it.

Congrats nc!