we bought in 2019 at 3.1% so refinancing is not happening lol. house is worth about $520k and we owe $260k. contractor wants paid in 3 stages over about 4 months. trying to figure out if a HELOC or a fixed home equity loan makes more sense for something like this submitted by /u/Different_Pain5781 [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1xgtrm5/heloc_vs_home_equity_loan_for_a_45k_kitchen/

I'm not sure if anyone has any advice or if this is even the right sub for this, but here it goes... We own just under 4 acres. The house & property are mortgaged. The house is very old (built in 1900) & needs a lot of renovation (electrical, plumbing, additional space). The house sits on 3/4 to 1 acre in the front of the property. There is a huge field behind the house that is wooded at the edges. We talked about renovation, building onto the house & putting an addition on it to add an extra bedroom & an office. Possibly even building up, though I hesitate to do that because we are 44 & 45 & don't want to deal with stairs as we age. My other thought was to put a modular or build a new home in the field behind the house, keeping our current house to live in while the construction was taking place. However, I don't have any idea how that would work with our mortgage company or even where to start. Has anyone done anything similar? My husband thinks i...

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/440-Parkside-Way-Lititz-PA-17543/457231272_zpid/ We are considering purchasing the last remaining new construction home in a development in Pennsylvania. It's listed at approximately $807K and has been sitting unsold for over a year. The home was originally built for another buyer who backed out. It was overpriced for much of its time on the market and has undergone large price reductions recently. We toured it and genuinely love the house and neighborhood, but I have two concerns. 1. The house backs directly up to an active public park. The backyard borders a popular public park with athletic fields, walking paths, and rentable pavilions. We actually use this park frequently with our two young kids, and having direct access is appealing. There are lots of families in the neighborhood, and we have friends nearby. However, there's a pavilion relatively close to the property. Apparently, neighbors complained about noise from gatherings, an...

I'm a buy and hold investor, looking to purchase my next primary residence and turn my current into a rental. The problem is, nothing seems like a deal. During and pre-covid, prices and interest rates were both lower, while rents were not that different from today. It was possible to find a property in a decent area that would cashflow immediately, or you expect to cashflow relatively soon. Now, everything that I look at in places that I actually want to live would mean carrying a mortgage significantly more expensive than renting. It would only break even if prices went up significantly more than they are now, or interest rates dropped enough for a large refi. I think both of those outcomes are unlikely. It seems like the market is softening a little bit , but the gulf between what sellers are willing to sell for and what I am willing to pay is still too large. Not posting this as a rant. I want to get honest feedback on if it makes sense to sit on the sidelines for a few mor...

I ask this because I lucked out on a house I recently purchased in San Francisco. The housing market in the city is cutthroat and street parking is a musical chairs of memorizing all the neighborhood street cleaning no parking schedules. The listing didn't say the house was on a private street. It wasn't until our offer was accepted that we got the property lot lines showing we would be also getting an easement for the street. So now we "own" the 24 foot portion of the street and sidewalk, allowing an extra parking spot that is exclusive to us. I believe if this was in the listing, we might have been outbid past our budget because parking is a premium in the city. One of the neighbors even rents their spot out to a person that lives a few blocks away. The house already has a 2 car tandem garage, so now we can free up a room in the house by putting the gym equipment in the back of the garage and I can keep my pickup on the street, allowing my spouse to park in the g...

This is of course a purely hypothetical question. What is a seller's legal obligation to disclose a next-door neighbor's extremely obnoxious dogs that bark loudly throughout the day? (Yes, these hypothetical dogs are violating city noise ordinance, no they have not been the subject of citations or lawsuits). They rarely if ever bark at night but bark loud enough to be heard in the adjoining houses most of the day. I know the ethical answer but I'm curious if anyone has encountered this issue in their real estate selling or legal practice. Edit: state is Pennsylvania submitted by /u/Usually_Sunny [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1xekzm9/disclose_next_door_neighbors_loudly_barking_dog/

House will not pass appraisal and isn’t in the best shape. Also trying to maximize the sales price so I don’t want to hire a realtor. Where can I find a site or app that will put me directly in touch with cash buyers/investors and keep us as the only 2 parties? submitted by /u/RemarkableExample542 [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1xek6rk/any_sites_to_list_a_neglected_house_for_sale/

Hello. My husband and I purchased our very first home a few years ago. It’s a small home less than 900 sqft. We thought we could handle this after the arrival of our baby this past summer, but with the lack of storage, no garage, no basement, etc. we realize it’s time to upsize. We are looking at a house tomorrow that is literally everything we want and more in the exact location we want. The problem is, would this be a huge issue for the seller’s if our house is not even on the market yet? We plan on putting it up this week. We are so new to this as we have never sold a home before. Any advice? submitted by /u/anonymoususer249 [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1xdq8zj/looking_at_homes_before_our_house_is_even_on_the/

“A woman has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit in Queens after she says a realtor accidentally sent her a text message stating, "Ugh…they are Black," as she and her fiancé arrived to view a rental property in Flushing. CBS News New York's Carolyn Gusoff reports.” Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/video/ugh-they-are-black-realtors-alleged-text-sparks-queens-discrimination-lawsuit/ submitted by /u/Strict_Snow1996 [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1xdg3uy/ugh_they_are_black_realtors_alleged_text_sparks/

Mods, since you removed my last post. Here is one I hand-typed myself. Let me know if this is okay. I could also type it up on a type writer or hand write it with a pen and paper and re-post that. Looking for a sanity check from anyone who’s bought or sold rural-ish property, especially in the Midwest. My wife and I are trying to buy a 5 acre place in the far west Chicago burbs. 1999 cape cod, about 2500 sq ft of actual living space, though it’s been marketed at 3500 because they count a detached building that was permitted as a “game room” back in 2003 and later got a kitchen stuck in it. Barn, chickens, a hoop greenhouse that’s basically a skeleton now. Interior is all original 1999. Pet damage, original water heater, upstairs AC is dead. Roof and main furnace/AC are new though (2024/2025). It first listed in Aug 2024 at $830k. It’s been listed 5 separate times since then and is now FSBO at $774,900. Two contracts fell apart. The seller says both were financing but I’d bet money i...