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12 votes
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Why Britain's newbuilds are so ugly
7 votes -
Dutch cities want to ban property investors in all neighborhoods
30 votes -
Landlords from Florida to California are jacking up rents at record speeds
15 votes -
Denser cities could be a climate boon – but nimbyism stands in the way
6 votes -
Surfside condo collapse: What we know so far
11 votes -
Buying a house relatively soon, lay your advice on me!
I'm in the market for a house, been looking pretty seriously for the past week or so. I've got two pre-approvals for mortgages, and I think I'll probably look for at least two more for fee...
I'm in the market for a house, been looking pretty seriously for the past week or so. I've got two pre-approvals for mortgages, and I think I'll probably look for at least two more for fee comparison purposes. I have yet to actually see a house unfortunately, since every house we try to view gets sold that very same day :/ Hopefully the streak is broken, since we have an appointment with another house today!
Anyway, who here has advice for (any part of the process of) buying a house? Things to look for when viewing a house, things to consider that the common person might not, tips for making offers, tips for not giving up because of the market, etc.
I'll lead with some tidbits that I've gained from asking around friends and family that have already bought places recently.
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Apparently, sending a personal letter to the owners with the offer letter has gotten multiple people a house even when their offer wasn't the highest. For example, my sisters friend knew the owners had a cat, and has cats herself. So in the letter she wrote, she mentioned how happy her cats would be laying on the windows and running around in all the new space and such.... and she got it! The owners realtor was kinda pissed.
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Try to find out the reason the owners are moving out. My sister and her husbands realtor asked around, and they were able to close on their house because the owner needed a quick turnaround to get out as fast as possible. They got the house for 60K under asking price because they were able to sweeten the deal to suit the owner.
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Location is (generally) more important than furnishings. You can add or remove things from a house, but you can't move it once you buy it.
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Once you make an offer on a house and the owner accepts, make sure the contract includes the following two parts that are (apparently) very important:
- House must appraise for at least the same value you've agreed to buy it at
- Inspection must show no more than
$buyer_defined_value
dollars of necessary repairs, otherwise the deal should be re-negotiated or considered void.
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Always leave enough money in your savings account to pay for any extras (because there are always extras) after the house is yours. New furniture, carpets, smaller repairs, paint, etc. You don't want to drain your account for the house only to find out you can't do anything afterwards.
I'm very excited (and exhausted already), but I want to make sure I'm as thorough as possible since I'll be spending the next several years of my life in it!
Forgot to mention(Thanks @Thra11), this is the US East Coast.
22 votes -
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Want to get rid of San Francisco's most toxic monument to racism and segregation? End single-family zoning
14 votes -
Homeownership can bring out the worst in you
14 votes -
Nesting as prepping
10 votes -
After the Florida building collapse, condos struggle to fund big repairs
11 votes -
Majority of Florida condo board quit in 2019 as squabbling residents dragged out plans for repairs
19 votes -
Sweden's parliament has passed a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Stefan Löfven – Socialdemokraterna leader has a week to resign or call a snap election
7 votes -
Sweden's Vänsterpartiet said it would seek to oust PM Stefan Löfven if the government didn't drop or change plans for the abolition of rent controls on new-build properties
7 votes -
Plans for an artificial island to house 35,000 people and protect the port of Copenhagen from rising sea levels have been approved by Danish MPs
8 votes -
The end of "The End of San Francisco"
9 votes -
The city dwellers trying to build a tight-knit community from scratch
8 votes -
$45 billion in US rent relief was seen as the solution to a possible wave of evictions. It ran headfirst into reality.
10 votes -
The quest for a floating utopia: Can casting away from established society to inhabit sea-based colonies save us from the problems of modern life - or are we bound to repeat our mistakes?
7 votes -
I'm moving, in the EU, from Hungary to The Netherlands. Any tips?
Inspired by (or if you prefer, ripping off) @spit-evil-olive-tips ' moving thread. I'm a US expat with Hungarian citizenship, moving with two native Hungarian friends (plus a dog and 2 cats), to...
Inspired by (or if you prefer, ripping off) @spit-evil-olive-tips ' moving thread.
I'm a US expat with Hungarian citizenship, moving with two native Hungarian friends (plus a dog and 2 cats), to The Hague. We have an apartment there, all 3 animals are chipped and vaccinated (and we 3 are not...). My cousin will be driving us there in about a month.
We already have an appointment, a couple days after the move, to register our BRPs and BSNs at the local govt office. Sooner would be better, but it must be done in person, and right now, I don't relish the idea of a 2nd trip across the EU just to get registered a bit faster.
I'm primarily looking for tips on smoothly integrating into Dutch society ... utilities, banking, health care, whatever else I'm forgetting to worry about. But I'm open to any tips regarding any aspect of moving between countries in the EU, in the middle of a poorly-managed global pandemic.
Side-note for the entrepreneurs: In the US, you can rent a car, truck or trailer anywhere, drive it to anywhere else ... and leave it there. I appreciate the added complexities of an int'l version of that service, but if anyone can be the first to resolve those challenges in the EU ... $$$. Or rather, €€€.
ETA: Any advice posted to @spit-evil-olive-tips thread need not be repeated here.
19 votes -
Facing a housing crunch almost a century ago, Stockholm built 'barnrikehus' for low-income families – today they are some of the city's more sought-after properties
9 votes -
I'm moving between apartments soon. Do you have any advice or protips on the logistics of moving?
I've moved plenty of times before, but I've been in my current place for 4 years, which is fairly long for me - most of my adult life I've moved every 1 or 2 years. As a result, I'm sure I've...
I've moved plenty of times before, but I've been in my current place for 4 years, which is fairly long for me - most of my adult life I've moved every 1 or 2 years. As a result, I'm sure I've forgotten a lot of the "small but important things" about moving, and I've also gotten more settled into this apartment than any previous one I've lived in.
Details, if they matter:
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This is a relatively short move (within the same city, about a 15 minute drive)
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I'm going to be doing all the packing myself, moving small and/or fragile stuff myself, then hiring a moving company for the big stuff (couch, bed, TV, etc) because I don't want to put any of my friends in the position of feeling obligated to come help me move during a pandemic.
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I've hired movers before, but only for a cross-country move. This will be my first time having a moving company for just an in-town move
I found a previous thread about moving, but it was about adjusting to life in a cross-country move. I'm more interested in the logistics of how to make the move itself go smoothly.
22 votes -
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US rent has increased 175% faster than household income over past twenty years
36 votes -
China's reckoning (Part 2/3): Housing crisis
3 votes -
Kansas City's homeless camps rise as protests
10 votes -
‘The Secret Apartment’ is the story of a Vietnam vet who claims to have lived in Veterans Stadium for years
9 votes -
How socialists solved the housing crisis of Vienna after WW1 and how we can do it again
10 votes -
Swedish officials have joined Danish critics in registering concerns that an island-building plan, a signature test of Copenhagen's development model, could have risks
6 votes -
Where would you live if you had no ties to where you are now?
The US emigration thread brought back a lot of thoughts I've had about leaving the UK, and I imagine a decent number of us have at least idly wondered about a serious move - especially after a...
The US emigration thread brought back a lot of thoughts I've had about leaving the UK, and I imagine a decent number of us have at least idly wondered about a serious move - especially after a year like we've just had.
For me, the difficulty has always been figuring out where to go: politics/climate/healthcare/lifestyle/language are a delicate balancing act, and I don't think anywhere's a slam dunk. Everyone's going to have their own take on what perfect looks like, and what compromises to make mapping that to the real world!
So let's assume you're packed and ready to go, nothing holding you back. You've still got to navigate inbound immigration, handle the language, find a job, all that good stuff - but the world is your oyster. Where would you choose to go?
16 votes -
Do any other US citizens think of emigrating?
I'm a 23 year old male originally from Southern California, and like the title says I'm curious to see if anyone else near my demographic has seriously looked into emmigrating in light of the past...
I'm a 23 year old male originally from Southern California, and like the title says I'm curious to see if anyone else near my demographic has seriously looked into emmigrating in light of the past year and a half.
What factors motivate you to move?
What would be an ideal location for you?
What timeline would are you looking at?One of the main motivators I seek to emmigrate is climate change. As the world continues to progress and evolve I do not think the United States will be able to equitabbly address the changing landscape and ways of life. As for when I would want to move, I'm not sure; currently it seems like a far off probability, but I know it's a choice I will have to make in my own lifetime.
33 votes -
The bullshit economy pt. 1 - Homebuying help
13 votes -
Google submits plans to build 7,000 homes in North Bayshore, the largest project in city's history
11 votes -
The downside to life in a supertall tower: Leaks, creaks, breaks
16 votes -
Bakersfield, California just ended chronic homelessness
11 votes -
How the United States chose to become a country of homelessness
11 votes -
A beginner’s guide to Italian ghost towns selling houses for €1
22 votes -
Why the eviction ban from the US Centers for Disease Control isn't really a ban
9 votes -
According to Need is a documentary podcast in five chapters from 99% Invisible’s Katie Mingle that asks: What are we doing to get people into housing?
8 votes -
"They demolished my house for this?" In Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, families were forced out for a huge Foxconn factory, but three years later, it still hasn’t been built
22 votes -
'Flexing their power': How America's richest zip code stays exclusive
8 votes -
Jreg (Greg Guevara) has recently "toured" his apartment and people are genuinely getting concerned about his mental health and wellbeing
Admittedly the forcibly neutral headline should probably be changed. The video has been unlisted but this is the link. One important thing to note is that he recently made a video satirizing how...
Admittedly the forcibly neutral headline should probably be changed.
The video has been unlisted but this is the link. One important thing to note is that he recently made a video satirizing how people pretend your life condition doesn't affect your mental health implies that wasn't satire, which is incredibly concerning.
He deleted the comment where he talks about his landlord but it has been screenshotted here. It's also proof that's actually where he lives.
Someone has unironically compiled how that house violates Canadian/Ontarian legislation
r/jreg is in some mix of meme-ing and genuine concern.
9 votes -
Logging in to get kicked out: Inside America's virtual eviction crisis
7 votes -
Evictions have led to 10,000 additional COVID deaths
12 votes -
Canada housing squeeze: Buyers moving up 'handcuffed' by hard-to-sell condos
5 votes -
The case against single family zoning
7 votes -
"It is terrifying to face the reality that people with a full-time job have to have a home inside a tent": photos of a Seattle homeless tent camp
10 votes -
Breadtube vs economics #1: Response to Philosophy Tube on housing
13 votes -
How did Soviet planners design the Union's cities?
9 votes -
The patchwork city: What gaps and overlaps in city boundaries tell us about values
4 votes -
Elderly and homeless: America’s next housing crisis
11 votes