All of the Sudden I'm buying my First House

[AtomSmasher]

At 2pm yesterday, not only was I not planning on buying a house, but I wasn't even looking to buy one, but today I signed the sales contract to a new house which is expected to close on Aug. 31, less then 4 weeks away.  Needless to say the past 24 hours have been a little crazy.

Heres the short version of the story.  I was buying a new house, but the construction had been delayed over a year, with no one knowing when the city would issue permits to allow them to build it, I had given up hope that it would ever be built.  Yesterday I got a call that the buyer of one of the last houses that had gotten permits in the neighborhood pulled out at the last minute.  Since the builder didn't want an empty house sitting around, they slashed the price and paid off Countrywide to lower their interest rates.

This new house is 100 sq.ft. bigger then my previous house, is on a nicer lot, and had similar upgrades.  The amazing thing is that it was priced virtually the same price as the house I picked out a year ago.  Needless to say I couldn't pass up on this deal and agreed to buy it pretty much on the spot.  Today I signed the sales contract and escrow is supposed to close on Aug. 31, less then four weeks from now.  Its amazing how fast this is going, my head is still spinning.

As I mentioned, the builder is paying off Countrywide to lower their rates, so its a 100% loan with stated income and I'm getting 6% interest rate on both the 80% and the 20% which is amazing.  Basically I'm buying a nicer house then I originally planned and my payments are going to be lower.  Not only that, but that same model house is selling on the market for $25000 more then what I'm paying for it, so I'll already have a good amount of equity built up.

If you can't tell, I'm a little exciting about this and still can't believe how fast this happened.  Heres a few picture because I just want to show it off





Behind that orange fence they're building a park, and those hills in the background are supposed to be built into a golf course sometime in the next few years.

Heres the floorplan if your curious: http://www.atomic-train.com/images/My%20House/floorplan.gif

[Ninten-doh]

Congrats!  That's exciting news.   

[J_K_M_A_N]

Is that Arizona? My wife wants to move there.

Looks nice. I would recommend getting a fridge though. It is easier to keep food cold.

J_K_M_A_N

[TOK]

Beautiful place, congratulations! I rented for almost 10 years thinking I'd have trouble swinging a mortgage. Once I got in a house and got my money actually working for me, it was the greatest feeling of satisfaction I'd ever had.

I'm into dirt bikes, so if I was in your location, I'd be doing anything I could to slow down the building of the golf course and park! 

[RTSDaddy2]

Congratulations! Beauty, and it sounds like you really got it at a steal.  I sympathize with you on all the excitement, though -  it's been 9 years since we bought the house we're in, and I still remember the adrenaline rush I got taking in that earnest money, signing papers, etc.  Enjoy it!   

[AtomSmasher]

Is that Arizona? My wife wants to move there.

Its california actually, its in the city of Palmdale which probably has a similar climate to Arizona, but its only about an hour from Los Angeles.

Since I'll have so much extra space in this new house, I can dedicate one of the bedrooms to be a gameroom   I need to get to work on a few more cabinets to fill it up   

[mrhowell]

Congrats.  The only thing to look out for is a Homeowners association.  Don't join it if possible.  I was in one for 6 years.  $95 a month.  Good luck with gameroom.

[grantspain]

looks like where i live in spain,lovely house btw

[shardian]

You are required to join a homeowners association if your neighborhood has one. They will put a lein on your mortgage if you don't pay your dues. If the leaders of the association care about the neighborhood, it can be a very good thing. My mother-in-law lives in a subdivision where they disbanded their homeowners association because they didn't want to pay their dues. Now their roads have fallen apart and there is no fund to pay for the repairs, and noone willing to foot the bill.

If you don't like paying $95 a month, go to the president and ask for a statement of how the money is being spent. They are legally obligated to give you a report of every penny. Our association hands out a year end report at the new elections every year. Also note that the homeowners are the ones who elect their officials and pay their dues. If you want lower dues, show up to the meetings and say so.

There were only about 15 homeowners out of the 78 total that showed up at our meeting. The ones that don't show up are the ones that ---smurfette--- the most.

[shardian]

BTW, congrats on the home purchase! I also got my house for about $25k below fair market value.
Desparate people rule!

[AtomSmasher]

Ya, I'm required to join the HOA, I'm not sure what the dues are, but they're probably around $100/mo.   Theres a lot of places in palmdale where the neighborhood has gone to crap so I think an HOA will probably be a good thing.

[shardian]

I understand that real-estate is more expensive out where you live in the west, but I really don't see why your HOA would be $100/month. In Arizona, what kind of upkeep costs could you have in a subdivison? Here in WV, we are on hills, so we deal with natural creep and slide damage to roads. Drainage is an issue, so a major chunk of the fund goes to maintaining our drain system. Also, we have a fairly harsh winter, so our HOA pays for a salt and shovel truck (which is outrageously overpriced).
All I can say is get involved with the HOA

BTW, our HOA YEARLY dues were just raised to a whopping $300.  I would be highly pissed if they were $1200 a year.

reason #1274329 I like living in West Virginia.

[AtomSmasher]

I understand that real-estate is more expensive out where you live in the west, but I really don't see why your HOA would be $100/month. In Arizona, what kind of upkeep costs could you have in a subdivison? Here in WV, we are on hills, so we deal with natural creep and slide damage to roads. Drainage is an issue, so a major chunk of the fund goes to maintaining our drain system. Also, we have a fairly harsh winter, so our HOA pays for a salt and shovel truck (which is outrageously overpriced).
All I can say is get involved with the HOA

Well, I live in California, not Arizona, if that makes a difference to you.  But the house is being built in an entirely new community which has 3 large parks (at least one of which has a baseball field) and a security partrol, plus it actually is built on a hillside, my house is on the bottom of the hill and you really can't see that from the picture.  I think the HOA is also responsible for building the some of the roads, many of which are still being built or widened, so the HOA will probably go down once everything is finished.

I will take your guys advice though and get involved in the HOA to see where my money is going.

[shardian]

...hehe..you consider that a hill..

Either way, it sounds really nice. If the parks are inlcuded in your subdivision and not built by the city, then yes it should effect the HOA rates. To tell you the truth, the cost of roads should really be a contractor expense, and should have been rolled into the cost of new homes in the area.
The cost of private security would definitely explain higher HOA rates.

[DrumAnBass]

Congrats! Yah with housing being so insane in SoCal I think Palmdale will make a comeback. Given the choice of buying a crappy condo in the valley or a nice brand new house in Palmdale,  I think people will choose the new house. I think more and more people will be moving out there and property values will rise. Either way, owning sure beats paying rent! How bad will your commute be? I am out in West Hills in the valley myself...

[AtomSmasher]

Congrats! Yah with housing being so insane in SoCal I think Palmdale will make a comeback. Given the choice of buying a crappy condo in the valley or a nice brand new house in Palmdale,  I think people will choose the new house. I think more and more people will be moving out there and property values will rise. Either way, owning sure beats paying rent! How bad will your commute be? I am out in West Hills in the valley myself...

Agreed, Palmdale has been expanding like crazy the past few years.  It will probably slow down quite a bit since the housing market has slowed down quite a bit lately, but once that golf course is built, the value of my house should sky rocket.  I had the choice of a 1 bedroom condo in Santa Clarita, or a house in Palmdale, that was an easy decision.  My commute is where ever I get the work   I'm a real estate appraiser so I go all over the place, right now about 1/4 of my work already is in palmdale/lancaster, and I'm going to start marketing out there and hopefully get 1/2 to 3/4 of my work out there.  The majority of the rest of my work is in Santa Clarita (where I live now) which is only 45 min away.

...hehe..you consider that a hill..

next time I'm out there I'll take a picture looking the other way, then you'll see its a hill.  Its actually the end of a long incline over a mountain, Palmdale is the valley/plateau just past the top.

[JackTucky]

...hehe..you consider that a hill..

next time I'm out there I'll take a picture looking the other way, then you'll see its a hill.  Its actually the end of a long incline over a mountain, Palmdale is the valley/plateau just past the top.

I'm sure that shardian has seen the biggest/nicest coolest hills ever.  Don't bother taking another picture.

If it is an hour from L.A., is that rush hour commute time, or 4am on Xmas eve time?

Jacktucky

[AtomSmasher]

...hehe..you consider that a hill..

next time I'm out there I'll take a picture looking the other way, then you'll see its a hill.  Its actually the end of a long incline over a mountain, Palmdale is the valley/plateau just past the top.

I'm sure that shardian has seen the biggest/nicest coolest hills ever.  Don't bother taking another picture.

If it is an hour from L.A., is that rush hour commute time, or 4am on Xmas eve time?

Jacktucky

4 am on Christmas
I pretty much never go into LA, so its not really an issue for me, I was just using that as a reference of location for you guys.

More good news I just found out, I thought I was going to have to pay a penalty of 1 1/2 months rent to get out of my current apartments lease, but I just went down and talked to them and apparently if I give them a 30 day notice that I'm leaving (which I just did) they will try and rent my apartment to someone else, if they do, then I don't have to pay a penalty.  While I was waiting there I heard them make a phone call telling someone the perfect apartment they were looking for just opened up and someone else in there who looking was asking me a bunch of questions about it.  I think they will have no problem renting it which means no penalty payment for me 

[AtomSmasher]

Oh, and another cool thing about this, one of my oldest friends lives on the same street as this new house.  His family moved away when we were 16 or so and we only see each other once or twice a year since then, but now he just happens to be living in the same community and same street as me.  Crazy coincidence.

[DrewKaree]

For everyone who brought up Homeowner's association fees, with the amounts you all have brought up, you should thank your lucky stars.  I live in WI.  All of those amounts would be something people around here would KILL for.  Average association fees run $300.  Not a year, that's PER MONTH. 

What could it be for?  Well, I'll give you some ideas.  Remember, you guys aren't thinking of these as something you have to take care of, but SOMEBODY has to pay for these "amenities" (you may not have these costs, but WILL have other costs somewhere else). 

Property taxes for common areas.
Clubhouse maintenance
Maintenance for common areas such as mulch or lawn maintenance
Pool maintenance and upkeep
Electrical maintenance and upkeep (street lights, anyone?)
Sewer maintenance and upkeep (think stormwater, not sanitary sewer)
Road manintenance and upkeep (your street might not be a city street)
Insurance for any common areas (or clubhouse)

You guys talking about $100/month.....I take care of a currently-being-developed subdivision where fees are $150/month until the subdivision is completed, at which time it will double upon completion of the sale of the final residence.  My company eats up a QUARTER of their association fees just to MULCH the entire friggen place, and another HALF in lawn maintenance and bed care.  No one is willing to pull the weeds in any area other than their little slice of earth, yet evidently they expect someone else will be willing to do it for free, just for the priveledge of traipsing around their subdivision in the sun or to go out in the middle of the night in the nice frigid temperatures in the middle of winter to do snow removal on all common area sidewalks, since "it's not my responsibility to take care of that"

Costs - they are what they are for a reason.  I'm guessing you guys have a lot more you have to take care of, which is why your costs are so low.  You'll still use that money somewhere, I promise you.

[shardian]

For everyone who brought up Homeowner's association fees, with the amounts you all have brought up, you should thank your lucky stars.  I live in WI.  All of those amounts would be something people around here would KILL for.  Average association fees run $300.  Not a year, that's PER MONTH. 

What could it be for?  Well, I'll give you some ideas.  Remember, you guys aren't thinking of these as something you have to take care of, but SOMEBODY has to pay for these "amenities" (you may not have these costs, but WILL have other costs somewhere else). 

Property taxes for common areas.
Clubhouse maintenance
Maintenance for common areas such as mulch or lawn maintenance
Pool maintenance and upkeep
Electrical maintenance and upkeep (street lights, anyone?)
Sewer maintenance and upkeep (think stormwater, not sanitary sewer)
Road manintenance and upkeep (your street might not be a city street)
Insurance for any common areas (or clubhouse)

You guys talking about $100/month.....I take care of a currently-being-developed subdivision where fees are $150/month until the subdivision is completed, at which time it will double upon completion of the sale of the final residence.  My company eats up a QUARTER of their association fees just to MULCH the entire friggen place, and another HALF in lawn maintenance and bed care.  No one is willing to pull the weeds in any area other than their little slice of earth, yet evidently they expect someone else will be willing to do it for free, just for the priveledge of traipsing around their subdivision in the sun or to go out in the middle of the night in the nice frigid temperatures in the middle of winter to do snow removal on all common area sidewalks, since "it's not my responsibility to take care of that"

Costs - they are what they are for a reason.  I'm guessing you guys have a lot more you have to take care of, which is why your costs are so low.  You'll still use that money somewhere, I promise you.

Just curious - how many residences pay into your HOA? Also, do you live in one of those really, really rich people subdivisions that is behind a gate?

You must be, because no sane person on an average salary would pay $3600 in HOA fees each year...oh wait...I forgot who I was talking to there for a second.

[mrhowell]

This is what happened where I used to own a home for 6 years.

 

Neighborhood was allowed to run up a city bill of more than $60,000. By Nita Birmingham The Times Shreveport Mayor Keith Hightower wants to know why the Cobblestone Homes Association was allowed to run up a water and sewerage bill totaling more than $60,000 over two years without having service disconnected. Cutting service to the 295 homes in Cobblestone also would have alerted residents that the association manager was allegedly writing herself checks instead of paying the bills

By Larry Burton The Times The former property manager of Cobblestone Home Association, accused of stealing some $100,000 from the southeast Shreveport group, has lost two early rounds in court. Caddo District Judge Eugene Bryson found probable cause for holding Teresa Gaye Durden, 39, on a felony theft charge after hearing evidence against her at a pretrial hearing this week. Bryson also denied Durden's bid to have her $100,157 bond reduced
 

Yes, I went to the HOA meetings.  A group of us homeowners brought this to the attention of the BOARD 6 months before she was arrested.  All they said was "she was doing a great job".  We had copies of the water bills.  She would pay $500 on a $3000 water bill and blow the rest at the casinos.

Get involved with the Board of Directors.  Run for a seat on it.  Keep a close eye on the books.  You will be surprised to find out how many people don't pay their dues.

[shardian]

Our HOA just set a record this past year by collecting dues from 75% of the residences.

[mr.Curmudgeon]

Atomsmasher,

Congrats!


However, I happen to know that they let the house go so cheaply because it's BUILT ON AN OLD INDIAN GRAVEYARD!!!  Good Luck!



mrC

[AtomSmasher]

Atomsmasher,

Congrats!


However, I happen to know that they let the house go so cheaply because it's BUILT ON AN OLD INDIAN GRAVEYARD!!!  Good Luck!



mrC

Oh crap, I was wondering why that cat went crazy and attacked me.

[SithMaster]

is it just me or does the oven have a tv screen on the door.

[DrewKaree]

Just curious - how many residences pay into your HOA? Also, do you live in one of those really, really rich people subdivisions that is behind a gate?

You must be, because no sane person on an average salary would pay $3600 in HOA fees each year...oh wait...I forgot who I was talking to there for a second.

I don't pay fees.  I rent.  Out of the subdivisions I maintain, the management company instructs us not to take care of certain properties due to non-payment, and there's a noticeable difference so I believe I can safely hazard a guess.  It's in the 90% range.  The roads and storm sewers aren't taken care of by city or county government for these subdivisions, so if something needs to get fixed and someone hasn't paid their association fees, they're SOL or they have to pay to fix it themselves. 

When I lived in NC, that was a common price range for all new subdivisions.  Things like the clubhouse/pool needed a keycode to get in, and if someone doesn't pay, they change their codes and these HOA Nazi's have gone to the extent of calling the cops to remove people who haven't paid.  My buddy, who lives in one of these nicer subdivisions, isn't "rich", nor is his house extravagant (it looks comparable to what you've got), and their fees are $317/month.  Street lights, sidewalk, storm sewer, and common areas are paid for. 

To give you an idea, I looked at the billing today for a subdivision I take care of.  A storm runoff pond and the hill surrounding it is a separate bill.  The pond is about as wide as your house, and three times as long.  The hill surrounding it isn't that big.  We charge $600 for each cutting.  For the REST of the common areas, we charge $500 for each cutting.  That's $2000/month just to cut the grass.  There are flower beds there.  I don't know what we charge for those, but you've got an idea of where that money is getting eaten up, and I haven't got a clue how much property taxes cost on all those common areas, but I do know that WI has one of the top property tax rates in the nation.  The property taxes on your house if it were located in my city would run somewhere in the neighborhood of $3500.

[AtomSmasher]

but I do know that WI has one of the top property tax rates in the nation.  The property taxes on your house if it were located in my city would run somewhere in the neighborhood of $3500.

Actual property taxes on my house - $4730/year , although that could be caused by a lower tax rate and higher property values then your area, i have no idea what the actual tax rate is and don't really feel like figuring it out.

is it just me or does the oven have a tv screen on the door.

yours doesn't?  I thought all ovens came with tvs now-a-days. 

[Buddabing]

Make you pay for an inspection before closing! My sister bought a house and she didn't get an inspection, to her dismay later on.

[AtomSmasher]

Make you pay for an inspection before closing! My sister bought a house and she didn't get an inspection, to her dismay later on.

Its a brand new construction from KB Homes with a full warranty for one year, and partial warranty (I think foundation and structure, or something like that) for three years.  That means if a light switch breaks in the first year, they'll come and fix it    Another cool thing they're doing, after I move in, a couple guys will come by and will move or install anything I want.  They're there for 3 hours I think, so I'll have them do stuff like hang ceiling fans and blinds, move the washer and dryer upstairs, and whatever else I can think of.  Even better is that they come back every 18 months for 3 years (so two more times) to do whatever I need done to the house.  I wonder if they know how to run wires through the wall for surround sound...

Also, that friend of mine I mentioned thats going to be living on the same street as me, he used to work for Kb Homes and he is a perfectionist, I'm going to walk through the house with him since he knows what to look for and can find every little detail that might be messed up.  I already showed it to him briefly once and he noticed the thermostat was too high (about 5' high) and I should tell them to lower it before I buy, thats something I never would of noticed and not sure that I care about it even now that I know about it.

[NightGod]

I already showed it to him briefly once and he noticed the thermostat was too high (about 5' high) and I should tell them to lower it before I buy, thats something I never would of noticed and not sure that I care about it even now that I know about it.

Holy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, 5 FEET too high and you didn't notice it before?

[AtomSmasher]

Holy ---Cleveland steamer---, 5 FEET too high and you didn't notice it before?

ya, its actually right next to the ceiling      It's a total of 5' off the ground, maybe even 5 1/2 feet, I didn't measure, but it is abnormally high, somewhere between 1 and 2 feet higher then any other thermostat I've ever seen (or at least ever noticed).  I don't think I'm going to bother having them move it because it might be kind of nice having that high, keeps any visiting kids from touching it 

[shardian]

5' off the floor is pretty standard from all the houses I've been in. How high does he think it should go???

And note: A sub-division does not automatically mean you have a clubhouse, pool, security, and landscaped common areas. Homeowners associations are for housing communities that are not within the city limits, in other words, the owners fend for themselves once you step off the DOH roads.
Drew, you seem to be describing a retirement community or all-inclusive community (I'm sure there is a better name than that) when you say you don't take care of the property of non-payers - which would be a completely different issue than a standard HOA. Noone cares for my lawn or property(although it would be nice). The HOA covers the roads and common areas and that's it.

[AtomSmasher]

5' off the floor is pretty standard from all the houses I've been in. How high does he think it should go???

Really?  I'm 6' tall and this is the first time I've seen one slightly above shoulder height.  I just measured the one in my apartment and its 4' high.

[shardian]

Damn that is awful nitpicky. How would anyone even notice that off-hand? Call 'em to move it if you want, but don't be surprised if they wiz in your coffee for the trouble.

[AtomSmasher]

Damn that is awful nitpicky. How would anyone even notice that off-hand? Call 'em to move it if you want, but don't be surprised if they wiz in your coffee for the trouble.

It is extremely nitpicky which is why I used it as an example of how much of a perfectionist my friend is, he notices every detail that isn't quite right.

[shardian]

It is extremely nitpicky which is why I used it as an example of how much of a perfectionist my friend is, he notices every detail that isn't quite right.

So what did he have to say about your mame cabinet?

[AtomSmasher]

So what did he have to say about your mame cabinet?

Thats confidential      Actually he's never seen it in person since we normally rarely see each other since he moved away when we were younger, although thats sure to change when we become neighbors.  He was my greatest competitor at Street Fighter 2 in the arcades back in the day, so I'm sure he'll have some opinions on it

[AtomSmasher]

Now I have to figure out things like what sort of artwork to put over the fireplace, theres even a little spotlight that lights up that spot over the fireplace to show off your artwork.  I have a nice kramer poster that I could frame, but it would be kind of cheesy


Another option is buying something from http://www.nineteeneightyeight.com/prints.html

but most them the pictures I'd consider putting up are more then a little wierd.




Another option is buying something from http://stores.ebay.com/KROTO-STORE/canvasall.html
like


or maybe some classic art like:


Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

[MikeDeuce]

The mario and digdug/pac/etc are awesome! I will have to look into some of those for my future game room. Thanks for sharing.

That and some Luke Chueh prints... hotness.
http://luke-chueh.deviantart.com/

Congrats on the house, too...  very jealous. As a life long bay area resident I can only hopelessly watch real estate prices raise even further out of my budget (prices are already in orbit as far as my checkbook is concerned  ). I just hope there's no silly HOA rules about power tools or cars in the driveway. As someone that collects power tools and cars, reading about that stuff bugs me.