Why I LOVE real estate !!!

[Busted07]

I joined the air force back in 1997... got sent to louisiana.. bought me a starter home in 1999. 3 bedrooms, 1 bath.. 1005 sq feet.. not big, but big enough for a single dude..
fast forward to today...my soon to be wife and her daughter live with me so the house feels like a shoebox. we decided to get a bigger house after the wedding in july, and to put ours on the market monday in case it took a while to sell.
to make a long story short.. we listed it at 6am yesterday (tuesday) and by 6pm the same day, it had 4 showings.. at 10am today (wednesday) i got a call saying we got a full price offer on the house if we pay closing... i am about to make 30 thousand off this house. we listed it for just under 100,000, and i have some equity built up, so i do believe i made one hell of an investment!
my first thought was i didnt list it high enough, but we found out that the people that made the offer are evacuees from new orleans and have needed a house for quite some time, but the next house they were considering was 1200 sq feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a little newer, and that one sold for 118,000 and just out of thier price range..... so im happy with the outcome

 

[Strype]

Congrats!!!

The builder (me father-in-law) should break ground on my first house in about 2 weeks!!! I can't freaking wait to get out of my "shoe box" condo

 

[Busted07]

Congrats!!!

The builder (me father-in-law) should break ground on my first house in about 2 weeks!!! I can't freaking wait to get out of my "shoe box" condo

Thanks man!

Thats what we are doing next.. the house we are about to make an offer on is almost 1800 sq feet, (feels like a mansion compared to what we had) the yard is a little smaller than what i have, but i hate mowing anyways.. after we get this house (hopefully) our plan (within 5-7 years) is to buy and pay off a chunk of land (probably about 3 acres) and build a house.. but ya gotta start somewhere!

 

[Strype]

Yea I hear ya! That's a good plan. I wish I could afford 3 acres

I'm building an 1890 SqFt house which I would in no way, shape, form, or fashion be able to afford if the Father-in-law weren't the builder...

My wife and I have taken HUGE risks for him the past few years and we are getting payed back... he's doing it for cost. Hell my wife may still see bankruptcy because of her helping him but oh well... my name is in tact!

 

[srothfuss]

We just moved into our first house last September (out of a condo) and love it! It's 1600 sq. ft for just me and the wife. We'll worry about the kids in a couple years once we are finally ready....

Congrats on the sale and good luck with the new house!

 

[Daggar]

Nice! If you've not done it already, start working on getting your V.A. loan benefit recertified. Doing the ground work now will make it just a one or so, day process once you're able to provided the bill of sale (if your current loan is V.A. guaranteed).

Best of luck with your new house hunting!

 

[Roland69]

yea life's a Dirt man ya just got ta dig it....Ya just got ta keep on keeping on





J/K congrats on selling and making a profit. And you gave a family in need a chance to live in a house again.

 

[Busted07]

Nice! If you've not done it already, start working on getting your V.A. loan benefit recertified. Doing the ground work now will make it just a one or so, day process once you're able to provided the bill of sale (if your current loan is V.A. guaranteed).

Best of luck with your new house hunting!

Thanks! I bought this house with the VA and everything, so i do have to sell it outright before i can reapply for the new house... but i do have the paperwork on the way... the wierd thing is, i live 5 miles from the base here, and ALOT of the people selling homes down here will not accept a VA backed loan.. they want either conventional or FHA... so we applied for both of those as well. we havent gotten the nitty gritty of the new house yet so im not sure what they are willing to accept.

 

[Busted07]

yea life's a Dirt man ya just got ta dig it....Ya just got ta keep on keeping on





J/K congrats on selling and making a profit. And you gave a family in need a chance to live in a house again.

It actually pissed me off at first that i got an offer that quick... it made me think i listed it too low, but now that i understand thier circumstances, i feel alot better about it.

 

[Daggar]

Thanks! I bought this house with the VA and everything, so i do have to sell it outright before i can reapply for the new house... but i do have the paperwork on the way... the wierd thing is, i live 5 miles from the base here, and ALOT of the people selling homes down here will not accept a VA backed loan.. they want either conventional or FHA... so we applied for both of those as well. we havent gotten the nitty gritty of the new house yet so im not sure what they are willing to accept.

Hmmmm... I have to wonder if it's because the seller knows about something wrong with the home that would not get past the V.A. inspection. I mean... as far as they are concerned, it's a regular loan and they get their money all the same. The only real difference is for you. It just allows you to finance some or all of your closing costs and down payment. My last home loan went through CountryWide. I don't know if you have a preference or not, but they did a pretty good job in my dealings with them. A lot fewer hiccups than I'd anticipated through the duration of my dealing with them. They hadnled all the V.A. "stuff". All I needed to provide (of course) was the certificate of eligibility.

 

[mustang120plus]

So what are you going to do to the stang?

 

[Busted07]

Hmmmm... I have to wonder if it's because the seller knows about something wrong with the home that would not get past the V.A. inspection. I mean... as far as they are concerned, it's a regular loan and they get their money all the same. The only real difference is for you. It just allows you to finance some or all of your closing costs and down payment. My last home loan went through CountryWide. I don't know if you have a preference or not, but they did a pretty good job in my dealings with them. A lot fewer hiccups than I'd anticipated through the duration of my dealing with them. They hadnled all the V.A. "stuff". All I needed to provide (of course) was the certificate of eligibility.

From what the R/E agent told me.. the VA is alot less leniant to back a loan for more than the house is actually worth. The house was built in 1997 and everything in there looks to be new.. i guess they just want to make sure that if i defaulted on the loan, they would be able to get all of thier money back.. now im not sure if the one we are looking at will be ok to do through the VA or not, i havent gotten that far.. hell, we only looked at it once , so i have alot more looking and research to do for sure.. i would like to use the va.. because i will also put about 10 grand down from the sale of the first house. i owe another couple grand on a loan (dont ask, long story) and whatever i have left will either go for appliances (if they decide to take them) or right into the stang

 

[rdharper02]

I'm currently breaking ground on a shelving unit for the parts I've taken of the fox.

Congrats on the sale! Still cant get the old lady to move out of base housing. Its unfortunate. Feel like I'm throwing away my housing allowance.
Good luck on the new place.

 

[Busted07]

I'm currently breaking ground on a shelving unit for the parts I've taken of the fox.

Congrats on the sale! Still cant get the old lady to move out of base housing. Its unfortunate. Feel like I'm throwing away my housing allowance.
Good luck on the new place.

Thanks man! I was in the dorms when i first got here.. and that got old... QUICK... the base housing down here is beautiful.. barksdale just looks like an old plantation and the older homes are nice.. the only advantage you have to living on base is not paying utilities... i havent looked up the current BAH/BAS rates, but alot of times, you CAN make money by moving off base if your taste isnt too expensive. Hell, my gas bill for the last few months have been under 20 bucks.. my electric bill went up to 70 (has been in the 40-50 range before the a/c kicked in) and the house im looking at now will surely triple everything because it has some pretty high ceilings and alot more space to cool / heat and light

btw, where are you stationed?

 

[rdharper02]

Everything is privatized here (MCAS Cherry point NC). Its not like it used to be. Before you didnt see the money you were giving away. now it show it being given and then being deducted. I could be paying a mortgage and do the same thing. At least I might be able to get some cash back when I move.

 

[Busted07]

Everything is privatized here (MCAS Cherry point NC). Its not like it used to be. Before you didnt see the money you were giving away. now it show it being given and then being deducted. I could be paying a mortgage and do the same thing. At least I might be able to get some cash back when I move.

you would also be building equity.. thats the one thing i hate about apartments or renting.. you get up, leave and have nothing to show for it. with a house, you have equity, and as long as you pick a good location where the property values have steadily risen over the last 10 or so years, youre almost sure to make money on it.. especially if youve lived there for at least 2 years (the usual amount of time to start building equity). if im not mistaken, usually the first 2 years you are actually only paying intrest.. then after that you start attacking the principal... another thing alot of people dont know.. if you can squeeze 1 extra house payment in per year, and stay there for a while, you can turn a 30 year mortgage into a 15 year mortgage without the gigantic increase in payment.

 

[1990Coupe]

I joined the air force back in 1997... got sent to louisiana.. bought me a starter home in 1999. 3 bedrooms, 1 bath.. 1005 sq feet.. not big, but big enough for a single dude..
fast forward to today...my soon to be wife and her daughter live with me so the house feels like a shoebox. we decided to get a bigger house after the wedding in july, and to put ours on the market monday in case it took a while to sell.
to make a long story short.. we listed it at 6am yesterday (tuesday) and by 6pm the same day, it had 4 showings.. at 10am today (wednesday) i got a call saying we got a full price offer on the house if we pay closing... i am about to make 30 thousand off this house. we listed it for just under 100,000, and i have some equity built up, so i do believe i made one hell of an investment!
my first thought was i didnt list it high enough, but we found out that the people that made the offer are evacuees from new orleans and have needed a house for quite some time, but the next house they were considering was 1200 sq feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a little newer, and that one sold for 118,000 and just out of thier price range..... so im happy with the outcome

here in Toms River, NJ, a house of 1200 square feet is going for 250's+... im 23 still with the folks as im living there rent free right now.. some condo's ive looked at in the 1000 sqft range are going for low 200's.... i almost fell off my chair when you said what u paid for ur house.. it makes me almost sad

 

[Busted07]

here in Toms River, NJ, a house of 1200 square feet is going for 250's+... im 23 still with the folks as im living there rent free right now.. some condo's ive looked at in the 1000 sqft range are going for low 200's.... i almost fell off my chair when you said what u paid for ur house.. it makes me almost sad

The cost of living down here is insanely cheap... back in ohio, the house im looking at would go for about what you were saying.. maybe a little less... here is a picture of the front of the house im selling now.... bought for 70 grand even

View attachment 462769

and one of the one i want to buy...

View attachment 462771

 

[Strype]

 

[rdharper02]

Driven: Thats nice, solid 175-200k home around here. Its sounds amazing, but we are only 20 minutes from a beach and 15 minutes from one of the fastest growing retirement towns in NC.