Home Buying

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Anondson
IDS Center
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Re: The economics of housing

Postby Anondson » June 24th, 2016, 10:29 pm

Maybe writing a love letter to the house will help win a bidding war for a house in the hot twin cities starter home market.

http://www.startribune.com/to-get-an-ed ... 384347721/

Sara Bergen

Re: Home Buying

Postby Sara Bergen » June 27th, 2016, 10:27 am

We sold our house in St. Louis Park and are looking to buy in South Minneapolis. Our preferred area is right around the 38th street stop of the light rail, west side of Hiawatha. We are willing to look at other locations also, but don't want to get too far south. We want a 3 bed/2 bath home---an efficient lay out if much more important than actual square footage. We haven't been able to find much, so thought I would put it out there to see if any of you who are real estate agents (or anyone else for that matter) knows of anything coming on line anytime soon. If you find us the house you will get the buyer commission. Email me at sarabergen at hotmail dot com if you have any leads. Thanks.

dbaur31
City Center
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Joined: August 23rd, 2012, 11:08 am

Re: The economics of housing

Postby dbaur31 » June 27th, 2016, 12:32 pm

Worked for me (or helped at least). The seller even brought it up at closing and talked about his wife's reaction to it. It might seem cheesy, but why not try to tip the odds ever so slightly in your favor if you can, right?

amiller92
Wells Fargo Center
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Re: The economics of housing

Postby amiller92 » June 27th, 2016, 12:52 pm

Negotiating a real estate transaction is always a reminder that I'm not a normal human being. There is absolutely zero chance I'd take a lower offer over some saccharin nonsense.

Or lots of other things that real estate professional think sway sellers.

QuietBlue
Target Field
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Joined: September 14th, 2012, 8:50 am

Re: The economics of housing

Postby QuietBlue » June 27th, 2016, 12:54 pm

If it works, it works, as long as you don't get too emotionally attached to the house to the point where it clouds your judgement.

As a seller, though, I wouldn't give it any weight either way. I plan on getting every penny I can when I eventually sell my place.

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FISHMANPET
IDS Center
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Re: The economics of housing

Postby FISHMANPET » June 27th, 2016, 12:59 pm

It could happen that you have otherwise identical offers, then maybe a letter could push you over the edge.

But it just seems rife with opportunity for discrimination, I'm honestly surprised it's even legal.

dbaur31
City Center
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Joined: August 23rd, 2012, 11:08 am

Re: The economics of housing

Postby dbaur31 » June 27th, 2016, 2:21 pm

"Saccharine nonsense" is in the eye of beholder I suppose, but in our case we 1) made an aggressive offer on a house we really liked and believed was underpriced relative to the current market within a day of when it became available in the hope that the seller would accept before there was competition 2) and we explicitly acknowledged in the letter that we hoped it would be the best offer they'd receive regardless of whatever else we said because we knew $$$ would be the ultimate determining factor. There was no attempt to offer less than we felt it was worth with a plea to cut us a break because we really, really, super duper wanted the house pretty pretty please.

twincitizen
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Re: Home Buying

Postby twincitizen » July 19th, 2016, 1:56 pm

http://finance-commerce.com/2016/07/med ... in-cities/
Median home sales price reaches all-time high in Twin Cities
Important to remember though that the median price is affected a great deal by price inflation at the bottom end. If there are near-zero houses selling under $200k, the median sales price is going up regardless of what's happening with higher priced homes


Sidebar: I'm still very happy with the decision I made almost a month ago. At first I was a little remorseful that we overpaid (by going almost 5% over asking), but that feeling quickly dissipated as I've not seen anything comparable to the house we bought. In fact, it seems the already minuscule number of listings has dropped even further. It was/is crazy out there with next to nothing on the market. More than anything, it's just nice to be done looking.

We close August 25 and couldn't be more excited!

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mister.shoes
Wells Fargo Center
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Re: Home Buying

Postby mister.shoes » July 19th, 2016, 3:19 pm

Totally feel what you're saying. When I bought in 2008/09 (long process), I offered $20k more than the list price because I knew I wanted that house—and I was willing to pay that much money for a house I didn't want as badly. For a while I couldn't shake the "but what if I had offered just a little less, I might still have gotten it and not spent as much" feeling. That's gone away entirely because I still can't believe how lucky we are to live where we do. House-buying is incredibly hard—both as a process in general and as an emotional rollercoaster of feelings. Finding shelter has a way of doing that to us.
The problem with being an introvert online is that no one knows you're just hanging out and listening.

twincitizen
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Re: Home Buying

Postby twincitizen » July 29th, 2016, 2:35 pm

Homeowners insurance:
who do you go through?
what type of policy do you have? how big of a deductible?

Thanks!

twinkess
Target Field
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Joined: November 26th, 2012, 10:46 am

Re: Home Buying

Postby twinkess » July 29th, 2016, 3:33 pm

American Family (Condo insurance actually). Just filed a claim due to water damage from an HVAC burst. Nothing but good things to say about them and Ungerman Construction who are doing the restoration. I have full replacement and $250 deductible.

MNdible
is great.
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Joined: June 8th, 2012, 8:14 pm
Location: Minneapolis

Re: Home Buying

Postby MNdible » July 29th, 2016, 3:42 pm

I'd at least consider going to an independent insurance agent to have them assist you through this process. You'll probably pay them a modest agent's fee, but they'll be able to walk you through the options pretty objectively and then shop a few different companies.

mattaudio
Stone Arch Bridge
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Re: Home Buying

Postby mattaudio » July 29th, 2016, 3:44 pm

I've had the best luck talking to independent agents who can shop for policies from a variety of insurers.

MNdible
is great.
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Re: Home Buying

Postby MNdible » July 29th, 2016, 3:50 pm

And if both Matt and I agree on something, you know it must be true.

Tyler
Foshay Tower
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Re: Home Buying

Postby Tyler » July 30th, 2016, 10:14 am

I had to deal with AmFam and Liberty mutual on claims. Liberty Mutual was 100x better. So lowest price isn't always best.
Towns!

talindsay
Wells Fargo Center
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Re: Home Buying

Postby talindsay » July 30th, 2016, 11:40 am

I had to deal with AmFam and Liberty mutual on claims. Liberty Mutual was 100x better. So lowest price isn't always best.
Winner winner chicken dinner.

Also, mind that all policies aren't created equal, even when they have the same deductibles, premiums, etc. The devil is in the details: some policies cover all sorts of things you wouldn't think, and others don't cover things you just assume would be in there. People tend to treat insurance as some awful government- and lender-required expense they have to bear, but the purpose of insurance is to protect you and your stuff.

Also, one of the reasons many of the companies say they can "save you hundreds" over your current policy is that they offer steeply discounted rates to new policyholders, then adjust all those discounts out after a year or two, when you're not likely to switch. They also will write the policy giving you the benefit of the doubt (not checking) on a variety of things that would raise your rate, then wait a year or so to come through and adjust for those things. So your rate suddenly goes way up and/or you're stuck having to fix something *RIGHT NOW* to avoid it. Reputable companies can do that too, but look at how they're rating the property: if you see a lot of things in there that you know aren't true, they're "assuming" that to make the rate look good and they *WILL* adjust for it later.

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mister.shoes
Wells Fargo Center
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Re: Home Buying

Postby mister.shoes » July 30th, 2016, 1:35 pm

Started with AmFam, am now with Farmers. Have had to go through the claims process twice with Farmers and it was relatively easy. My car insurance is the annoying one, though. Bundled with the house in both cases and I kind of hate it.
The problem with being an introvert online is that no one knows you're just hanging out and listening.

twincitizen
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Re: Home Buying

Postby twincitizen » August 1st, 2016, 1:37 pm

Thanks all. I will definitely go with an independent broker.

My mortgage broker recommended the following:
http://www.novallus.com/
http://www.options-insurance.com/

twincitizen
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Re: Home Buying

Postby twincitizen » August 10th, 2016, 6:15 pm

So, signing up for Centerpoint service...

Anyone do that Home Service Plus plan? Thoughts?
And "average monthly billing", yes or no?

Anything I need to know about starting up the other various utilities?
I currently only have Xcel, which I have already scheduled the transfer.
I need to set up Centerpoint for gas, and trash/water with the City of Minneapolis.
Sadly I have to cancel USI Fiber and get Comcast or CenturyLink for a year (hopefully just one damn year!!)

Anything else?

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FISHMANPET
IDS Center
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Location: Corcoran

Re: Home Buying

Postby FISHMANPET » August 10th, 2016, 6:35 pm

If your house is like mine, with a gas boiler, gas water heater, gas dryer, and gas stove, your gas bill will be waaaaaay higher in the winter than in the summer. I've had gas bills of $200 in the winter (in the beggining of 2015 when the winter was just brutal) but my gas bill during the summer is only around $30. Electricity is higher in the summer with AC, but not as much of an increase as gas during the winter. I figure it evens out between gas and electricity well enough, and that I have enough money, that I don't need to do the average billing.

Also, setting up trash and water with the city is super easy. For all the garbage rhetoric about the government services being inefficient and the wonder of the free market, I've been amazed at how smooth and painless every interaction has been with City when it comes to trash and water.


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