How to tell realtor I'm no longer interested in purchasing a home?
Last month I contacted a realtor about a home for sale (he was the name on the sign). That property was no longer available, but he showed me other, similar homes. I didn't like most of them (bad neighborhoods, old and needing a lot of repair, way too small etc)--there was only one that I really liked and was considering making an offer on. Yesterday, I called my bank about getting a mortgage and found out that the amount they'd be willing to loan me is far less (about $50,000) than the price of the home I wanted. Now that I know this, I don't want to look at any more places. I didn't like any of the homes I'd be able to afford with the loan, and I don't see the point of buying something I don't like, or even continuing to look. What is the best way to convey this to the realtor? I don't want to be rude or burn bridges, and he seems like kind of a "hard sell" type person. What is the best way to handle this? Thanks!
My wife is interested in learning to sew - what is a good machine for her to start with ?
I learned on an old Kenmore...then my mom bought a Singer. If your wife isn't sure what kind she wants the Singer is very user friendly. I recommend looking through the newspaper and buying a used one for her first. As sewing machines are not cheep. Check with the local craft stores for lessons...there is also a really good book for beginners (and anyone else) from Simplicity called Simply the Best Sewing book. It has everything in it from machines to notions to how to measure to fabrics....the list goes on and on. Buy the book first, it will give you a great starting point. Good luck and have fun!!
How to get started in Real Estate investing ?
Flipping is probably not going to get required financing these days. It might, but a lot of flippers ended up without a market and lost money. If you can get a property that you can rent, that's a good start, but if you're a junior in college, I'd suggest finding some raw acreage in the path of progress, currently in the sticks as they say, but in the path of urban sprawl. There are lots of places selling raw land for peanuts because there is no current demand for the property. You want something that might not have roads now, but a road is in the master plan, something being sold by an estate, with low taxes, large enough to subdivide in the future. What you can do is plan for a future higher value with low carrying costs. As an alternative, find out about REITs, Real Estate Investment Trusts. They pay a nice dividend, and you gain on the value of the underlying properties when they go up as well. One key thing about REITS vs other "stocks" is taht REITS must distribute almost all of their profit in order to keep the REIT status, so you are assured of dividends, as long as the REIT has properties that are being rented or leased, Warren Buffet got into REITS a few years ago, and even now, he likes stocks that pay dividends. The market may be near a low, and after the election we'll know if the USA is to become a tax and spend social experiment, or a lower tax, smaller government situation where free enterprise can thrive. many voters seem to want the government to provide for them, if that happens, it will be the end of capitalism, so even your real estate ideas will go down the drain. Liberals tend to restrict property use, and want private property to be turned into wildlife sanctuaries for such things as kangaroo rats or some other species going extinct that they think can be saved by stopping people from developing their property. Real estate has a uniqe value -- they aren't making more of it. But the downside is the rather illiquid market for a lot of property, due to the location and small number of buyers for much of it. But it's better than playing the lottery.
Would you rather have a low paying job that you love or have a high paying job that you hate?
First let's throw some light on what "love" and "hate" mean in this context."Hate" means that you absolutely can't stand your job. In scientific terms this means you are under stress during your work hours. Any physician will tell you that stress is bad for you. Heart disease, diabetes and depression just some of the bad things that happen as a result of prolonged stress.Apart from stress, doing a job you hate is a sign of failure. As we grow from kids to teenagers to adults we gain more control over our lives; more power. So logically, we should be much more happier as adults compared to our childhood. But if your adult life is full of unhappiness, which includes doing something you don't enjoy for 40-60 hours a week, this means you have failed to put your life in order. Getting "Monday blues" is a strong sign that you don't like your job."Love" means that you enjoy doing your job. More specifically, this means that your job uses those skills you are gifted with. You have found a perfect skill-task match. You go home each night feeling satisfied and leave home every morning eagerly anticipating what your job might have to offer that day.Far too many critics say that people who look for a job they love are just being lazy, or just want entertainment at work. Sorry, but they are wrong. A job you love is just a job that perfectly matches your natural skills with the job requirements, and fun is just a byproduct of that.Its important to remember that we talk about jobs we hate and jobs we love, but there are people out there who have no jobs. There are people who keep applying for years without any success. It's important to be thankful for what you have.So, make sure you get to know yourself early on in life so you make the right choices to get that dream job you love. Unfortunately, if you do end up with a job you hate, spend all your free time making yourself capable for that job you love.
If your home price crashes, would you rather that you had a large equity in your home, or a small equity with a large mortgage?
My thoughts on this:If it was an investment property that I was hoping would appreciate in value (because my investment focus would be short term capital gain), I would prefer it to be my own equity. My rationale is if it is my equity I can still sell the property at a loss and and have liquid cash vs. if it was the banks money I would have to sell and have a cash outflow to fund the repayment to the bank.If it was an investment property that was meant to bring in cash-flow and was being rented out at positive cash flow (longer term investment), I would not be as effected since the price is resulting in an unrealized loss (either mine or the banks money has net same impact); as long as rental income stays constant. Assuming that the prices bounce back, no impact in long term.If I lived in the home, I wouldn't be as impacted as presumably other houses have also crashed in value so even if there is a sale, you will get your money's worth when you re-buy. Less of an impact because you have to live in the house, just the timing is bad and you could have bought the house at a discount (if it was your first home purchase, otherwise net same impact). I would prefer the loss to be mine, as at least the loss is capped at the amount spent on the house, vs. in a borrowing situation you will still be paying interest on the principal lent to you.
How do you buy condemned homes?
read the entire entry if you're going to post..thanks, i'm not interested in the courthouse auctions of foreclosed homes, i dont have that kind of cash/credit for mortgages. A buddy told me that some condemned homes simply dont go up on the auction block because they are too cheap. an example is, i live in pennsylvania, near lancaster city, supposedly theres condemned row homes that are listed for 3k(buy price, not auction) these are the types of houses that you gotta sleep in as you remodel because its in a bad area, yet you will have no problem selling it for about 30k when its finished, rehab is supposedly about 10-15k if totally stripped and condemed(which they usually are). you can drive through these areas and see the condemned homes, and when asking neighbors, they tell you they've been like that for years, sometimes 10+years. how does one purchase these properties?? and on a side note, are there ever any other types of homes that dont go up for auction? i know for instance in my neighborhood there is 2 foreclosed homes, one of which has been vacant for 8 years, if i understand right, typically properties go up for auction within 3 years from the date of vacancy, not just the 2 homes in my neighborhood either, within a 20 mile radius i could point out over 20 homes that have been vacant for 5+ years, why dont they go up for auction? how else can i aquire them? i've never gone up and read the literature thats always posted on foreclosed homes. Hey, we all gotta start somewhere don't we? pretty sure this is the bottom of the house flipping business. also any other advice you might have for someone trying to get into house flipping as a career will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.
Can you buy a house without a down payment?
Yes, it is called 100% financing. You have to qualify for this kind of loan with a good credit history and score.. Check the difference in interest rates as well as closing costs when choosing this kind of loan. Like with any mortgage loan, there is always a catch somewhere, just which one can you live with in order to purchase a new home. Jas