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I have Equity! AND...New Homeowner Chat!

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MovingForward_2012
Valued Contributor

I have Equity! AND...New Homeowner Chat!

I stopped by this afternoon to talk to the Lennar salesperson that I worked with during the mortgage process. He has been wanting me to come see him since about 3 weeks after we moved in. We moved in 2/7/13. I have just been so busy with the new house and trying to catch up at work. But finally today I got to drop by. He said there are only 4 homes left for sale. He said between now and last Christmas they sold 32 homes! And he said that my house that has the top upgrade package located on a premium lot would be sold today at $365,000. We bought it 100% financing at $347,900. So we have almost $20K in equity now!

Our home was the most expensive in the subdivision when we bought it. Not anymore. I was looking at the brochure in the model home and the remaining homes are priced between $365K to $367K and he said those homes don't even have all the upgrades our home has. He has been saying we bought the best house in the subdivision and I took it as a sales pitch at first but after looking at all of data, we did score the best house!

I was just so shocked that the prices shot up so quickly and shocked that I have equity already! But he said places like Michigan and California are struggling in real estate. He said taxes are so much higher in CA and that a lot of folks' salaries are being cut and so those people are moving out of the state as they can no longer maintain their desired lifestyle. That is so so sad. Smiley Sad I feel the folks out in CA right now.

To leave on a positive note...energy efficiency. Our home is 3700 sq ft and the electricity/gas bills for Feb and Mar were $170 and $153, respectively. The bill amounts were about the same during this time of year when we were renting a 1467 sq ft house! Amazing! For additional comparison, our first home was 4,000 sq ft and the elect/gas bill was $500!!! So the homes they are building now are SUPER energy efficient! The rental was built in 2000 and our first home was built in 1997.

So I'm curious about how other new homeowners are settling into their new homes. Any surprises from your first month of utility bills? Were changes made to adapt to the new bills associated with owning a home? Have you noticed a change in property value since you moved in? And any other info you wish to share about how your new experience is going!

I know a lot of us closed early this year and just wanted all of us to check in with each other regarding how things have been going! Smiley Very Happy
Cards: Orchard Bank ($1100) | Cap1 Cash Rewards ($2500) | Chase Freedom ($1000) | Best Buy ($2500) | Discover It ($1000) | Barclay Rewards ($2500) | Current scores: EX FAKO: 684, CK TU: 649, FICO EQ: 680, FICO TU: 698, FICO EX: 658 Happy Homeowner Since 2/6/13! Smiley Happy Last App: 4/5/13 Gardening until July 2014
Message 1 of 14
13 REPLIES 13
Kozmo
Frequent Contributor

Re: I have Equity! AND...New Homeowner Chat!

I would have to protest the notion that Michigan is struggling housing wise. We are actually booming here. Prices up double digits y/y.

Inventories low... Buying frenzy out here. It's insane how fast properties are moving.

But congrats! Always nice to have some equity when financing 100%!
Message 2 of 14
MovingForward_2012
Valued Contributor

Re: I have Equity! AND...New Homeowner Chat!

Thanks! Yes! I am so stoked! He said the hardest hit is Detroit right now? Is it just Detroit that is struggling?
Cards: Orchard Bank ($1100) | Cap1 Cash Rewards ($2500) | Chase Freedom ($1000) | Best Buy ($2500) | Discover It ($1000) | Barclay Rewards ($2500) | Current scores: EX FAKO: 684, CK TU: 649, FICO EQ: 680, FICO TU: 698, FICO EX: 658 Happy Homeowner Since 2/6/13! Smiley Happy Last App: 4/5/13 Gardening until July 2014
Message 3 of 14
Kozmo
Frequent Contributor

Re: I have Equity! AND...New Homeowner Chat!

Well Michigan was a hardest hit state.

I mean Detroit's in rough shape but again prices are up quite a bit here. Suburbs are doing great.

But to be honest you can still buy homes in the city limits for $5,000 haha. Bear in mind they have been stripped of all plumbing and electrical...probably have a few tax liens on them as well. But still boggles my mind.

It's gonna be another 20 years before the city catches up to the rest of the country. There's so much empty space. There's "neighborhoods" that have one or two houses on the street. Everything else is burned or vacant.

Downtown is great though. Lots of new businesses, lofts and young entrepreneurs coming in.

But the house I'm trying to buy is about 20 minutes north of the city. Completely different world. It's amazing actually how different it is outside the city limits.
Message 4 of 14
Adalen
Frequent Contributor

Re: I have Equity! AND...New Homeowner Chat!

Yeah, he may have been exaggerating that California thing quite a bit, haha.  I'm in Central California and while our economy has certainly suffered, people are not without their luxuries.  Houses are being built pretty steadily and houses are selling quickly.  They're not selling for what people are asking but they are certainly selling.

 

The home we are buying only appraised for $275K (we are paying $256K) and the owner first listed it in 2008 at $435K and last listed it in 2011 at $299K.  So yeah, people still have their heads in the clouds but it doesn't take a lot to bring them back down.


Message 5 of 14
MovingForward_2012
Valued Contributor

Re: I have Equity! AND...New Homeowner Chat!

That is good to hear that things aren't as bad as the sales guy said they were and hopefully things will continue to improve. Smiley Happy

Board is pretty quiet lately. It appears all the new homeowners sailed off into the sunset. Smiley Sad The homeowners-to-be can answer the questions too based on the future.
Cards: Orchard Bank ($1100) | Cap1 Cash Rewards ($2500) | Chase Freedom ($1000) | Best Buy ($2500) | Discover It ($1000) | Barclay Rewards ($2500) | Current scores: EX FAKO: 684, CK TU: 649, FICO EQ: 680, FICO TU: 698, FICO EX: 658 Happy Homeowner Since 2/6/13! Smiley Happy Last App: 4/5/13 Gardening until July 2014
Message 6 of 14
mauve
Valued Contributor

Re: I have Equity! AND...New Homeowner Chat!

My biggest shock was how quickly I had to use my emergency fund. I immediately had to put on gutters. And the floor was crazy cold, and I ended up spending 8500 on insulation stuff. That included the attic, but the part that cost a lot was spray-in foam (the kind without formaldehyde) in the basement and the crawlspace. It took my heating bills from $600 for the peak (previous owner's bills) to $300 for the peak. BIG difference.

 

Then there was the 29% increase in my property taxes. Here in Michigan, your taxable value can only go up by a maximum amount of inflation or 5%*, whichever is lower, every year. Previous owner was 30k lower on her taxable value than on the state equalized value, which is the equivalent of the state thinking that the house is worth 60k more. So after the first year, the state re-set the taxable value to the state equalized value and my taxes shot up.

 

Now I'm looking to refi, only 2 years after buying, because the rates dropped. Oh, and because my FHA 203(k) loan has me paying PMI for the next 15 years. Oh, and at the amount I'm paying now, I could refi into a 15 year conventional loan. That's assuming I can appraise for enough.

 

*(If I remember right)

 

 


Starting Score: EQ 583 TU04 619 EX 592 (lender pull) 2010
Previous High Score: EQ 700 TU04 712 EX 726
Current Score: EQ 740 TU(Discover) 750 EX(AMEX) 747
Goal Score: 740+ all around


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Message 7 of 14
qtcbcute
Contributor

Re: I have Equity! AND...New Homeowner Chat!

MovingForward, thanks for allowing the homeowners to be to chat. I have been very antsy since going under contract. We're in underwriting now and I check my email ALL DAY LONG! Closing date is scheduled for May 15th. I'm here in southwest FL so heating bills won't be a big issue. Property taxes are high but the house is over 3500 sq ft. I just hope it appraises!


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Message 8 of 14
ccubedzx3
Regular Contributor

Re: I have Equity! AND...New Homeowner Chat!

qtcbcute-

 We are also closing on May 15th and I am a big ball of stress!!

We received conditional approval and today I just sent the necessary documentaion back to my lender for their review. I must check my email 15 times in a 10 minute span.   I have never been so stressed in my life...ever!!

 

MovingForward-  We signed our pruchase agreement on our home back in September of last year.  When we signed, our base price without upgrades was $289,900.  Currently for the 3rd phase, the base price of our home went up to $315,000.  So we also will have instant equity when we move in! I am so used to losing money in regards to a house.  This will be the first time we will actually be in the black instead of red!


Starting Score:2/1/16 565
Current Score: 3/1/16 575
Lender Mid Score: 3/1/16 575

Goal Score: 700


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Message 9 of 14
MovingForward_2012
Valued Contributor

Re: I have Equity! AND...New Homeowner Chat!

@mauve - I feel your pain! We had to use some of our emergency fund for a Radon Mitigation system. The Radon levels in the basement were way too high! About 12 PCi/L. Outside air has less than 1.5 PCi/L. And we desperately needed a lot of furniture as well. So we are laying low right now and replenishing our emergency fund. I'm so happy to hear your heating bills went down so much! That's a huge savings! I hope the Refi offsets the increase in taxes plus you will be able to pay off your home quicker!

@qtcbcute - I'm so very happy to hear you're half way through the mortgage process now. Buying a home is a huge test of patience as I'm sure you are fully aware of now...lol. Soon you will be the homeowner of a beautiful 3500 sq ft home! I'm sure it will appraise just fine. I look forward to following your journey!

@ccubedzx3 - you're almost there! I'm so excited for you that you will be starting off with equity! I am also used to never having equity. Our first house had a 2/1 ARM where we paid interest only for 2 years. We didn't even get a chance to pay any principal as the house was foreclosed on. It was awful!!! So we are so happy we qualified for a 30 year fixed right now.
Cards: Orchard Bank ($1100) | Cap1 Cash Rewards ($2500) | Chase Freedom ($1000) | Best Buy ($2500) | Discover It ($1000) | Barclay Rewards ($2500) | Current scores: EX FAKO: 684, CK TU: 649, FICO EQ: 680, FICO TU: 698, FICO EX: 658 Happy Homeowner Since 2/6/13! Smiley Happy Last App: 4/5/13 Gardening until July 2014
Message 10 of 14
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