Towns within 495 with nice walkable downtowns and good schools (Boston: lender, buy)

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by robr2

Don't hate the player - hate the game.

more like hate the prices

[bricka]

there are services in other states that allow buyers to waive financing contingencies and buy with "cash"

my understanding is the service company effectively buys the house in cash and then sells it to the buyer afterwards privately.

[thinkingotherthings]

Originally Posted by bricka

there are services in other states that allow buyers to waive financing contingencies and buy with "cash"

my understanding is the service company effectively buys the house in cash and then sells it to the buyer afterwards privately.

There are services like this now in MA too. My issue with them is that they charge the buyer a fee (e.g. 2% of the purchase price) which they keep even if buyer financing falls through. Even though the odds of our financing falling through are very low, I keep the financing contingency in my offers because I don't want to take that chance of losing a big chunk of change on top of me or my wife losing our job (which is the only way financing would fall through). If I was comfortable with that risk then I might as well just waive the financing contingency in my offer without using this service and save myself the 2% fee. Granted EMD is usually 5% so it is a larger amount at stake, but still, even throwing away 2% ($20K-$30K) would really sting.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by msRB311

On days like today central AC is not overrated...that said if I found a home i really liked that had no central AC it probably wouldnt deter me from buying it...but 1.2 mil for a house with no AC? GTFO.

Our house that we bought in 2014 had central AC...the next home we bought in 2020 had it as well. i think most homes should have it these days for what people are expected to pay for them. It's an average of $5k to install apparently.

I mean it depends. From time to time, older, legacy towns will have expensive homes without A/C. Some of those homes are generational, some of them have had a single owner long before A/C was the rule.

If the house is functional, in good condition, in a good location... Sticking a few ductless units in there will do the trick, and is a modest investment in the grand scheme of a $1.2M purchase. Or, go all in with central or space pack if it's possible. Slightly larger investment, but well worth it for the right house.

[msRB311]

I think most of the houses we looked at had central AC. I didn't think too much about central AC, i could probably do without it. I can't help but think someone who's selling an older dated home for 1.2 million is a cheapskate for not doing SOME type updating. There's the argument of why would they if someone will buy it without it...but I think there was a thread on here recently about how home owners shouldn't bother to paint cabinets if they're not going to do it 'professionally' (aka don't do it yourself unless you do it really well). If you're selling a house looking to make top profit I think you should do some kind of updating. We replaced our floors in the house we sold in 2020. I think it was appreciated, and in 2020 the prices weren't even at what they are at now.

I just feel like people are getting gipped these days with homes in many cases. I would not be happy if I paid 1.2 million for a home that needed lots of updates.

[Bunny123456]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Are there any real benefits to building a house these days? I don't imagine it's any more cost effective and seems to take longer than ever before.

I've noticed this past year a LOT of new homes being built in my town. Developments and some on single plots. In all cases woods have been torn down to make room for these massive homes. I assume anyone moving into them has kids so not exactly great for the schools. I just wonder why so many of the homes are being built at once. Maybe covid slowed down initial plans.

No, there doesn’t appear to be - there is very little buildable land and between insane prices, lackluster spec homes, builders not even wanting to look at basic customizations, plus all the unknowns - it really doesn’t make much sense. At least that’s our conclusion after a few months of serious research on the topic.

I will add, one advantage (and only against the backdrop of the insanity that is the RE market in this area) is that you would likely avoid bidding wars, cash buyers who can burn in hell as far as I am concerned, hahaha and the general madness that ensues around multiple offer situations. For that reason, we are still keeping an eye on potential possibilities to build.

Like the OP, we also lost a house we made an offer on this weekend and I am in a funk about it. We have a similar budget, but are looking for a more “wow” type of home in a very average area. We waived all contingencies except mortgage and it still wasn’t good enough. I think if it happened in a more desirable town like Arlington, I’d probably be ok with it but the whole concept that you can’t even buy an overpriced place in country bumpkin land without stif competition is just insane. There is a big part of me that wants to say screw if all and head someplace out of this nutcase state with our 1.2 million budget

[msRB311]

Yeah I can see how people are frustrated for sure. Apparently the country bumpkin towns are becoming unaffordable too lol.

[htfdcolt]

I mean, the reality is--if you don't own a home already, and you don't have a career for which Greater Boston represents a unique ecosystem, you're better off elsewhere. There are numerous metro areas in the Midwest where quality of life is good, traffic is nonexistent, and half of the $1.2M gets you a (relative) mansion that's actually built in this century.

[Bunny123456]

Originally Posted by thinkingotherthings

There are services like this now in MA too. My issue with them is that they charge the buyer a fee (e.g. 2% of the purchase price) which they keep even if buyer financing falls through. Even though the odds of our financing falling through are very low, I keep the financing contingency in my offers because I don't want to take that chance of losing a big chunk of change on top of me or my wife losing our job (which is the only way financing would fall through). If I was comfortable with that risk then I might as well just waive the financing contingency in my offer without using this service and save myself the 2% fee. Granted EMD is usually 5% so it is a larger amount at stake, but still, even throwing away 2% ($20K-$30K) would really sting.

Anyone personally familiar with such services, could you recommend the company you worked with? Do they offer options for only a certain amount of cash? Say if someone had a 40% or 50% down payment but needed the rest in cash.

[bricka]

Originally Posted by Bunny123456

I think if it happened in a more desirable town like Arlington, I’d probably be ok with it but the whole concept that you can’t even buy an overpriced place in country bumpkin land without stif competition is just insane.

define "country bumpkin" lol