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Moving to Wasilla, seeking information on renting prices, procedures, moving without jobs but have good references, solid employment history, 1200-1700 3-4 bedroom
If you have home or homes for rent in wasilla area we will be arriving in anchorage april 1st. My main question is are renters usually understanding that we just got there no jobs ect... we would have good refrences from our 2 previous landlords and have been at same employer for 2 years just time for a change. There will be me and wife 2 kids(3-9) and possibly my retired mother for the first 6months- year. Our price is around 1200-1700 p/mo for 3-4 bedroom (even better if furnished) If you have any info or if you have rental property that would be available around there any help would be greatly appreciated.
If you have home or homes for rent in wasilla area we will be arriving in anchorage april 1st. My main question is are renters usually understanding that we just got there no jobs ect... we would have good refrences from our 2 previous landlords and have been at same employer for 2 years just time for a change. There will be me and wife 2 kids(3-9) and possibly my retired mother for the first 6months- year. Our price is around 1200-1700 p/mo for 3-4 bedroom (even better if furnished) If you have any info or if you have rental property that would be available around there any help would be greatly appreciated.
That's quite a ways out to line up a rental. YOu should be able to find one without any problem. That price will get you a pretty nice place. I don't think your lack of a job will be a problem either.
However, if you have pets, (dog or cat), that can be a problem and severely narrow your choices.
no pets unless you count the kids lol thanks marty u made me feel a little better. We dropped everything 5 years ago to go to the fl keys and it was a great time except for hurricanes and cost of housing. We are trying to find a wholesome place for our kids to grow up and wifey wants another one for some reason. She is a food server at a disney restraunt right now she wanted me to ask if there were any serving positions that would make good money up there or would she be better to look for a hourly job. I am hoping alaska will have the same kind of atmosphere and people as the keys but honestly the only way to ever know is to try. we have an adventurance mentality where else better than alaska...
For upscale type restaurants have her check out the Snow Goose, Simon and Seafort, Kinley's, Club Paris (good steakhouse despite a name which sounds vaguely reminiscent of a strip club), all in Anchorage. For family fare with a theme, The Sourdough Mining Company or Gwennie's Alaska Restaurant. No Disney type restaurants that I know of. Some of the hotels have their associated restaurants, but I think the Captain Cook (note Cook, not Hook - Peter Pan was a hot house flower guy) has the classiest as far as restaurants are concerned. Couldn't speak to quality of food as I've never eaten there.
Mid-scale restaurants include Henry's (REALLY good food), and a horde of others. As far as Wasilla-Palmer area restaurants, I couldn't say a word as I think I've only eaten in BK out there. But the commute to the restaurants in the city from the valley communities is 40 miles, 1 way. Might want to consider an hourly job.
I have heard that baristas even in the valley earn $60-80/day in tips and have heard higher numbers but am skeptical as the $120-150 number sounds inflated.
If you have home or homes for rent in wasilla area we will be arriving in anchorage april 1st. My main question is are renters usually understanding that we just got there no jobs ect... we would have good refrences from our 2 previous landlords and have been at same employer for 2 years just time for a change. There will be me and wife 2 kids(3-9) and possibly my retired mother for the first 6months- year. Our price is around 1200-1700 p/mo for 3-4 bedroom (even better if furnished) If you have any info or if you have rental property that would be available around there any help would be greatly appreciated.
Go to www.frontiersman.com and put an ad in for "Wanted, house with lease and option to buy". There is some campers and motorhomes in there too...
It will give you a chance to find a house and your least payments may be partially applied to the down payment, or all of them depending on the deal you strike. After a year, you will either like the house or can move on to the next one.
Have a Lawyer draw the papers up for you to present to the owners. You will find a lot of folks that are losing their homes like everywhere else for one reason or another, and this gives them the option to get out of it...
Or they just are tired of Alaska and want to head South....
You will be supprised at how many calls you will get. State what you are looking for in the ad, number of rooms, lot size, etc.
Good luck
Oh, and don't go though a real estate agent, they will want 6% of the sale of the house if you do. That is why you pay an realestate Lawyer to do the paperwork for you. If you close the deal, the title company will do all the closings, same as they do when the realestate agents give them the paperwork like you did...
Last edited by starlite9; 11-13-2008 at 11:54 PM..
great starlite i will definatly look into that just out of curiousity would you happen to know a ballpark guess of what a lawyer would charge to write up papers if we found a potental place? and also if a real estate agent was to help who and how would they get there 6 % in a lump sum or a portion of our rent? reason i am asking is because they are there now and could possible do some of the searching and leg work to save us alot of hassle first week up there. If the people on these forums are an accurate depiction of the people in alaska cant wait to get there. Thanks Again
Oh, and don't go though a real estate agent, they will want 6% of the sale of the house if you do. That is why you pay an realestate Lawyer to do the paperwork for you. If you close the deal, the title company will do all the closings, same as they do when the realestate agents give them the paperwork like you did...
Just wanted to make it clear that this isn't always true. Many real estate licensees, (we don't have agents in Alaska), will do this type of work for a reduced fee. Since they aren't marketing the property but are only helping to write up a transaction they don't need to charge as much. At the risk of self-advertising you can look at the article I wrote on consulting.
But still, after saying that, you probably should consult an attorney because lease-purchase-options are not something that real estate licensees do everyday. Actually, no attorney in Alaska does those everyday either.
As starlite said, this is an attractive option now. While the property values in our area haven't dropped much so far, there are many more vacant houses than there used to be. The sellers are still making payments on most of those houses and are much more open to leasing them then they were two years ago.
Just wanted to make it clear that this isn't always true. Many real estate licensees, (we don't have agents in Alaska), will do this type of work for a reduced fee. Since they aren't marketing the property but are only helping to write up a transaction they don't need to charge as much. At the risk of self-advertising you can look at the article I wrote on consulting.
The problem with dealing with the "Agents", they work for a broker and have to go by what their policy is (as well as the law) and they make money based on a sale. I had my license back in the 80's, and realized it wasn't what I wanted to do after getting it, you have to live and breath it to make a living, I didn't.
The article you wrote was good, but that kind of makes you the exception and that is pretty neat, that is something that agents are starting to do more and more because of the "perception" in the past that they were ripping off people at the sale time and they are trying to rethink how they make money in a slow market.
Don't mean to steer people away from what makes your bread and butter, but when it is time to close, what it comes down to, is agents mainly just have the buyer and seller shake hands, then they take all the paperwork and dump it on the Title companies that do all the work of the transfer and charge the 6 to 10 percent for the sale, but the buyer/seller still has to pay the title/transfer fees on top of that under "Closing Fees".
Using an Real estate Lawyer to draw up a contract is a smart thing to do, Real estate agents aren't Lawyer's, they are salespeople, and do a very good job for people that don't know how to buy a house.
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But still, after saying that, you probably should consult an attorney because lease-purchase-options are not something that real estate licensees do everyday. Actually, no attorney in Alaska does those everyday either.
Anytime you spend something that is going to be your biggest cost in "most" people's lives, they should go though an Attorney as a rule of thumb.
I know that Real Estate Agents say they are working for you, they in fact work for the seller, not the buyer, even if it is the agent making the deal for you to the other agent representing the seller... He/she gets their pay from the sale of what you are buying from the seller. The Lawyer is paid by you directly, and he works for you directly...no conflicts. Most people don't realize that and don't get an attorney and most of the time, things go just fine, but if they don't, the don't really badly.
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As starlite said, this is an attractive option now. While the property values in our area haven't dropped much so far, there are many more vacant houses than there used to be. The sellers are still making payments on most of those houses and are much more open to leasing them then they were two years ago.
It has been a pretty good option for years, I have bought a number of houses over the years using the same plan. There is always someone behind the eight-ball and needs help. Just today there seems to be a lot more of them...
Starlite, I don't want to get in a fight with you on this stuff but I need to correct a few misconceptions.
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Originally Posted by starlite9
The problem with dealing with the "Agents", they work for a broker and have to go by what their policy is (as well as the law) and they make money based on a sale. I had my license back in the 80's, and realized it wasn't what I wanted to do after getting it, you have to live and breath it to make a living, I didn't.
This is true of most but not all companies. RE/MAX for instance basically allows their licensees to do what they want as long as it's legal. The broker gets paid a fixed fee and not part of the commission so it's the licensees choice on how they get paid. I am not a RE/MAX licensee any longer...I used to be one, however.
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The article you wrote was good, but that kind of makes you the exception and that is pretty neat, that is something that agents are starting to do more and more because of the "perception" in the past that they were ripping off people at the sale time and they are trying to rethink how they make money in a slow market.
I was doing business like this before things were slow. Many others do as well, I am not alone.
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Don't mean to steer people away from what makes your bread and butter, but when it is time to close, what it comes down to, is agents mainly just have the buyer and seller shake hands, then they take all the paperwork and dump it on the Title companies that do all the work of the transfer and charge the 6 to 10 percent for the sale, but the buyer/seller still has to pay the title/transfer fees on top of that under "Closing Fees".
Many people think this way, some of them actually get into real estate because they think it's an easy way to make money. After they are in they often quit because they realize how much work a realtor does for their money. Any realtor that isn't working hard isn't making a living.
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Using an Real estate Lawyer to draw up a contract is a smart thing to do, Real estate agents aren't Lawyer's, they are salespeople, and do a very good job for people that don't know how to buy a house.
Anytime you spend something that is going to be your biggest cost in "most" people's lives, they should go though an Attorney as a rule of thumb.
No argument here except to say that you should make sure to hire a REAL ESTATE attorney. Some of the worst contracts I have ever seen were drawn up by attorneys. I have had to rewrite two contracts drawn up by attorneys over my career. But REAL ESTATE attorneys are definitely worth hiring and can save you a lot of grief.
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I know that Real Estate Agents say they are working for you, they in fact work for the seller, not the buyer, even if it is the agent making the deal for you to the other agent representing the seller... He/she gets their pay from the sale of what you are buying from the seller.
This is absolutely false. In Alaska a real estate licensee can work for the seller, the buyer, or be neutral. The buyer has an absolute choice in the matter. The buyer also has a choice in how their licensee is paid. They can be paid a commission as part of the sales price, or a fixed fee directly by you. If your buyer's representative doesn't give you a choice, find a different realtor. It's a free market.
A lot of what you said was true in the 80's but is no longer true.
On the other hand as you said, there are a lot of homes for sale by owner. It's a good idea to verbally work out an agreement and then have an attorney put it in writing. In real estate, if it isn't in writing it doesn't count.
Starlite, I don't want to get in a fight with you on this stuff but I need to correct a few misconceptions.
No issues, you are right and much has changed from when I was doing it. There is an incredible amount of work done for what you get paid for and you earn what you get. People make appointments on the weekend, you get ready and they don't show, pretty much messes up your day or weekend. It just happened too often for me and I got tired of it...
But there are other options for those that want to make those choices and that is what I was pointing out.
Pretty much like going into a store and seeing something that you like, then going home and doing some research on the Internet and finding the same thing cheaper even with freight.
You have a choice of going to a Real Estate agent and have them do the legwork or doing it yourself which is what I was describing how to do. That is pretty much my point. No slant intended if one was taken....
But I would have to take you to task on the one point of the Real Estate Agents fees. Even though you may work for the buyer, the seller is the one that coughs up the fees which is split between both the selling and buying Real Estate Agents (unless something has changed in the payout of fees), which makes both of them working for the seller more than the buyer. Perfectly normal, but as a "Buyer" I would make sure that you have a "Real Estate Lawyer" looking at all the "P's & Q's", because he will be the only one paid by you as a buyer. Most agents are very good and do a very hard job of what they do, but there are some now and then that slip though the cracks as any other profession does and they give everyone in that industry a black eye.
Last edited by starlite9; 11-14-2008 at 11:54 PM..
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