Here, real estate rents are tax free, up to 6k in local currency. Tenants pay the equivalent of annual property tax (it's really municipal resource usage tax). Tenants pay their own electricity, water, and bring their own appliances - much like in parts of Europe, and Quebec. One also needs to put down 50% to buy a secdonary property - but surprisingly this keeps rents down, and rates of return don't match anything close to what I've seen in North America. The long and the short - I constantly debate buying (residential) property, to rent it out. Property growth is probably 2-3% annually (which in the future is capital gains). The tenant would absolutely cover the mortgage, or 90% of the mortgage (fair enough). Thinking through this, is this a reasonable hedge with a bit of growth, that is also disconnected from the market? Or, am I, in reality making my life a bigger headache, when I can just lock in low 3-4% growth in a local currency ETF (and yes, pay 25% capital gains)...

Im planning to buy a townhome around the 200k-300k, 2 or 3 bds, around DFW but most of them are from the 80's, 2 bedrooms, and no garages. And I recently learned that most of the structural, piping, and electrical issues start and need to be completely replaced around the 50 year mark. Even if the home is beautiful remodeled (I know it is mostly aesthetic) am I buying a liability? Anyone has had any experience about buying home from that age range? submitted by /u/the-furry [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1ts5wiy/is_it_a_good_idea_to_buy_a_townhome_from_the_80s/

We are buying a home in New England where the housing market is extremely tight. Our realtor is seeing offers 50k+ over asking in our price range ($650-800). First off, that’s absolutely insane to me. Second is that we CAN do that but want to avoid blowing past the highest offer. We lost to higher offers three times in the past month despite waiving appraisals, mortgage and inspection contingencies (where appropriate). We’re told we were close but not enough but no one tells us how close. Now we’re going for another this weekend ($699k) and plan to put a strong offer in today. Went to the open house last Thursday and going back today to gauge interest. They already have one offer so we know we have to go big to go home. Our plan is to offer $730k escalating up to $765 in 3 or 4k increments. We can waive mortgage contingency and cover a hefty appraisal gap (one lender already said they can only guarantee up to 718k). We can also waive inspections (we’ve owned five homes in the past and...

Selling our house of many decades and downsizing to a rental apartment. Moving out, having work done (paint/new carpet/repairs) to the empty house for a few weeks, then staging and on market. So here is the concern, do I have to change my insurance to non occupied. right away? We will be in an out for a while, but eventually more out than in after it hits the market. I know vacant house insurance is way higher than occupied, so I don’t want to be spending $1000/months when it’s waiting to be sold. (Which, fingers crossed, won’t be too long.) I am going to talk to my RE & insurance agent, but I’m wondering if other people have dealt with this and what they have done. I’m in New England in an HCOL area, low crime, no flooding risk, but obviously things could happen, people could get hurt touring the place, etc. It might be worth it to stay there a couple of nights or get someone to house sit trying to figure it out ahead of time. house will go on market after Labor Day. submit...

I will be relocating and will need to sell my single-family home (SFH) and purchase a new apartment. submitted by /u/VAer1 [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1trsiyz/navy_federal_realtyplus_is_it_good/

My husband and I are looking to move out of our first home both to have a little more space and be closer to his new job. We would like to stay in the same county, but if we move to the other side, we can shave a good 15 to 20 minutes off his 40 minute commute. We'd like to stay around 425K (which we thought was a reasonable budget for our area), and we'd like somewhere in a neighborhood where the kids could safely ride their bikes, etc. We were originally open to planned subdivisions as long as we could find something we like on a lot that's not too tiny. We initially found a few options on lots as big as a half acre. The problem is my husband is dead set against vinyl siding. He initially seemed open to it, but after seeing an otherwise great house with it, decided it was a dealbreaker. I'm trying to be respectful of his opinion, but it's severely limiting the options in our budget. We initially saw a couple of potential brick options in our budget. Unfortunately...

Home is worth about 1.2M. Remaining mortgage is about 575k. I bought this house for my parents and I live here now too but I need my own apartment. Long story. I’ve thought of renting and that is the fallback. Monthly mortgage is about 4400 a month. I have a $500 car payment and maybe $1000 for student loans. I really don’t for much other expenses but of course things like food and stuff. Parents pay for utilities at the house. I gross 7500 per paycheck, so I think the issue is that my DTI is going to be difficult to work with so AI suggested I should reach out to a portfolio lender for a HELOC rather than get a mortgage through a typical bank. I need real human suggestions on my situation. I’m not sure how much I should be looking at for max prices on condos, but I’m in north NJ. If anyone could give me a guide path that would be really appreciated. submitted by /u/Anonymous_Hazard [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1tr58t...

My house inspection report indicates that the HVAC system is almost at its lifecycle end, so to avoid getting a credit at the closing, I am planning to replace it now. I have identified a costway 3 ton 19 seer2 high-performance heat pump system that can be delivered to me quite quickly. Considering the 19 seer rating, I think this will be a significant selling advantage for buyers. If you were purchasing a house, would a brand new, high efficiency heat pump heating system make you consider putting in a higher offer?" submitted by /u/DifficultyHead5862 [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1tqyiw1/adding_a_brand_new_heat_pump_heating_system/

We started the renovation process the traditional way. Hired an architect, got drawings, went to bid with three contractors. Four months in the bids were coming back based on different interpretations of the drawings and we had no real way to compare them properly. Started over with a design and build firm. The difference was immediate. Design decisions were made in the context of actual construction costs from day one. When we adjusted the kitchen layout in week three of design, the cost implication was right there in the conversation, not a surprise six months later. Project was a full renovation of a 1960s colonial in New Rochelle. Kitchen reconfiguration, two bathrooms, primary suite addition, new HVAC throughout. Westchester permitting is more straightforward than NYC but it still needs someone who knows the specific townships and how they operate. submitted by /u/Jolly_Twist2245 [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1tqwvz...