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I'm looking to make a purchase on a home in Seymour, CT. Last year while we were looking, the market just went insane... we are finally getting out of this whole 25-40K over asking price. People were really buying up houses in our area all cash, without inspection, WELL over asking price.
Given that I live in CT, our house prices are higher than average.
Anyways, this is our 2nd house we are under contract (first fell through).
We managed to nail a 2.9% Mortgage interest. Between my wife and I we only have about 22K disposable cash which will take care of both closing and deposit.
The house is 215K which is 15K under original asking but after inspection we found more than just a couple of things and certainly bigger ticket.
For one the roof is over 20 years old. We had a roofer come out to take a look and he said this thing is end of life, and has some issues... needs a replace.
The water heater is old and oil tank is rusted (but might just need a service).
Electrical is missing GFCI's and none are grounded.
My dilemma:
We love the house and we want to take advantage of these crazy low interest rates. Buying the house will basically make us broke (at least in my eyes with about 5K left in our savings). We can for sure handle the monthly expenses AND save.
Trouble is, we could never take up the expense of a roof replace AND appliances AND fix all the things that need to be fixed.
I have countered requesting all of those things to be fixed, but not sure what I would do if they give me a flat out "no".
I've never purchased a home before, what sort of tax credit do you normally get?
Is jumping on this interest rate more important in the end?
We want to do everything we can to avoid renting as those prices are practically the same as a mortgage!
I'm looking to make a purchase on a home in Seymour, CT. Last year while we were looking, the market just went insane... we are finally getting out of this whole 25-40K over asking price. People were really buying up houses in our area all cash, without inspection, WELL over asking price.
Given that I live in CT, our house prices are higher than average.
Anyways, this is our 2nd house we are under contract (first fell through).
We managed to nail a 2.9% Mortgage interest. Between my wife and I we only have about 22K disposable cash which will take care of both closing and deposit.
The house is 215K which is 15K under original asking but after inspection we found more than just a couple of things and certainly bigger ticket.
For one the roof is over 20 years old. We had a roofer come out to take a look and he said this thing is end of life, and has some issues... needs a replace.
The water heater is old and oil tank is rusted (but might just need a service).
Electrical is missing GFCI's and none are grounded.
My dilemma:
We love the house and we want to take advantage of these crazy low interest rates. Buying the house will basically make us broke (at least in my eyes with about 5K left in our savings). We can for sure handle the monthly expenses AND save.
Trouble is, we could never take up the expense of a roof replace AND appliances AND fix all the things that need to be fixed.
I have countered requesting all of those things to be fixed, but not sure what I would do if they give me a flat out "no".
I've never purchased a home before, what sort of tax credit do you normally get?
Is jumping on this interest rate more important in the end?
We want to do everything we can to avoid renting as those prices are practically the same as a mortgage!
You don't have to do everything all at once. What is most important? The first home we bought, had a roof with a hole in it, needed to be replaced, including the sheathing. Electrical box was outlawed, had to redo that before we could even move in. The whole house was in general disrepair. We did electric immediately, and waited a whole year until we could have the roof done. Even then, we financed it for a couple months before we were able to pay it off.
Just get through the first year, that's always the hardest. And just remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. Good luck!
I'm looking to make a purchase on a home in Seymour, CT. Last year while we were looking, the market just went insane... we are finally getting out of this whole 25-40K over asking price. People were really buying up houses in our area all cash, without inspection, WELL over asking price.
Given that I live in CT, our house prices are higher than average.
Anyways, this is our 2nd house we are under contract (first fell through).
We managed to nail a 2.9% Mortgage interest. Between my wife and I we only have about 22K disposable cash which will take care of both closing and deposit.
The house is 215K which is 15K under original asking but after inspection we found more than just a couple of things and certainly bigger ticket.
For one the roof is over 20 years old. We had a roofer come out to take a look and he said this thing is end of life, and has some issues... needs a replace.
The water heater is old and oil tank is rusted (but might just need a service).
Electrical is missing GFCI's and none are grounded.
My dilemma:
We love the house and we want to take advantage of these crazy low interest rates. Buying the house will basically make us broke (at least in my eyes with about 5K left in our savings). We can for sure handle the monthly expenses AND save.
Trouble is, we could never take up the expense of a roof replace AND appliances AND fix all the things that need to be fixed.
I have countered requesting all of those things to be fixed, but not sure what I would do if they give me a flat out "no".
I've never purchased a home before, what sort of tax credit do you normally get?
Is jumping on this interest rate more important in the end?
We want to do everything we can to avoid renting as those prices are practically the same as a mortgage!
So, you had one inspection but apparently it didn't call out the deficiencies you somehow found later. Depending on your location the GFCIs in some rooms usually a certain distance from water may be required by code. GFCIs are not necessarily required everywhere in the house. All outlets may need to be grounded, but the age of the house might play into that. Talk to your inspector about the local code requirements.
Depending on where you are in the buying process and whether you have an inspection contingency written into the contract, you may be able to negotiate a concession or price reduction with the seller. They can reject it. They may have known about the roof and that's partially why they accepted an offer 15K below asking. If you're past the due diligence period (usually several business days after receiving an inspection report...read your contract!) and didn't request any repairs be made in time, you may not have options other than backing out of the purchase entirely.
If you choose not to back out, start saving up for the roof and other repairs. You'll have to prioritize them. Its what homeowners do.
Not sure what "tax credit" you're talking about. Mortgage interest you pay during a tax year may be deductible.
So, you had one inspection but apparently it didn't call out the deficiencies you somehow found later. Depending on your location the GFCIs in some areas may be required by code. IIRC GFCIs are not required everywhere in the house. All outlets may need to be grounded, but the age of the house might play into that. Talk to your inspector about code requirements.
Depending on where you are in the buying process and whether you have an inspection contingency written into the contract, you may be able to negotiate a concession or price reduction with the seller. They can reject it. They may have known about the roof and that's partially why they accepted an offer 15K below asking. If you're past the due diligence period (usually several business days after receiving an inspection report...read your contract!) and didn't request any repairs be made, you may not have options other than backing out of the purchase entirely. If you choose not to back out, start saving up for the roof and other repairs. You'll have to prioritize them. Its what homeowners do. Not sure what "tax credit" you're talking about. Mortgage interest you pay during a tax year may be deductible.
Sorry I mean a tax credit for first time home buyers... when we file for taxes.
Tomorrow was the end of the request for repairs. We put in the request today, so we are good.
Sorry I mean a tax credit for first time home buyers... when we file for taxes.
Tomorrow was the end of the request for repairs. We put in the request today, so we are good.
Ah, OK. Haven't been a "first time homebuyer" for a loooong time!
The sellers may come back agreeing to make minor repairs (like installing some GFCIs...the purchase agreement may require that if local code does) but don't count on much else. No way to predict. Up to you to decide whether you can save toward the other repairs. Obviously the roof is a big concern, but no way to know whether it will last another few years or not. Other stuff can be tackled over time. Immediate safety worries first.
You've now discovered that the mortgage interest rate isn't the only thing to consider when buying houses!
Ah, OK. Haven't been a "first time homebuyer" for a loooong time!
The sellers may come back agreeing to make minor repairs (like installing some GFCIs...the purchase agreement may require that if local code does) but don't count on much else. No way to predict. Up to you to decide whether you can save toward the other repairs. Obviously the roof is a big concern, but no way to know whether it will last another few years or not. Other stuff can be tackled over time. Immediate safety worries first.
You've now discovered that the mortgage interest rate isn't the only thing to consider when buying houses!
The interest rate isn't everything. But boy is it a big chunk with regards to over the years!
At least with mortgage interest you'll have something to show for it...unlike rent!
Upcoming repairs aside, hope you also calculated the cost of property taxes and insurance into your budget.
Oh yes I have.
Our rent is $1,100 (landlord is also selling so we need to go soon) and the mortgage would be $1,415 (with insurance, taxes etc). Which is not outside of our capabilities.
I would be asking for a reduction in price for the roof. Roofs are not cheap. I would also get that oil tank inspected. I can't imagine the cost to replace a bad oil tank, with all the environmental issues associated with doing that.
I would work on having the owners pay for an electrician to get that squared away. Roofs arent cheap so make sure what youre paying for the house is in alignment of fair market value for a new roof and budget for that to be done first.
You dont have to everything you want to do to your house at once. Spread it out to a couple projects each year. As for appliances in the grand scheme of everything they are inexpensive. A repair is generally a couple hundred bucks and if you ever need to replace youre talking hundreds/low thousand dollars depending on what you want. As long as the structure of the house, everything that is inside is relatively inexpensive.
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