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Friday, April 9, 2010
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25 comments:
Cara-
I was reading through the article you pointed out that said DC was ~1/3 distressed sales. Although I assume they are correctly comparing REO + Shorts to normal sales it looks like they are missing foreclosure sales. Its less clear that foreclosures set comps so maybe it is correct to ignore them, but on the other hand there is some subset of buyers that are taken off the market because they decide to buy through a foreclosure sale.
Has anyone ever had their house appraised to get rid of PMI? Was the process straightforward? Do you choose the appraiser, or does the bank? Was it just similar to the appraisal upon buying, where someone just crunched some neighborhood numbers?
Thanks.
In addition to Fred's question I was curious if your house is appraised for 5% more than your purchase price does that mean you only need to put 15% down to not pay PMI, because the LTV is 80% or do you still need to put down 20?
Housebuyer,
I believe that when calculating LTV, the lenders consider whichever is lower--purchase price or appraisal. PMI can't be avoided by higher appraisal.
hb,
The FACL report was lacking in specifics in terms of definitions, so one would need to dig around to see exactly which things were considered. REO could have been MLS REO or REO + court house steps. I don't know.
hb,tedk,
Ted is correct, initially what counts towards your LTV as the defined house value is the lower of the contract price or the appraisal. So you do still have to put 20% down on whatever your contract is, regardless of the appraisal.
Cara & Tedk-
Thanks I wasn't sure and am actually somewhat happily surprised by the answer. It is good to see that banks are actually making people put down a large down payment to get rid of PMI.
Very bubblicious listing in N. Arlington for a 3 bdrm/3 bath townhouse:
http://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/1945-N-Woodley-St-22207/home/11234836
Purchased in 2008 for $460k, underwent extensive renovations and now on the market for $825k. Tax assessment is $560k.
Awesome renovations, but I think they over-improved... should have done these renovations on a SFH.
Might I add: 1.3 miles walk to Ballston Metro.
Redfin feature I hadn't stumbled across before.
They'll give you the demographic information on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis. Check it out. Go all the way to the bottom on a listing, click on demographics, and then click again on neighborhood or community... It's slightly hard to navigate...
I have no idea where they got this info (other than it comes from Onboard Informatics?) or how accurate it is. But it is interesting.
This is annoying me, I love having numbers, but if there's one thing worse than having no numbers it's having numbers that are wrong. I can't verify or even ascertain where Onboad Informatics is getting its demographic information from. Gah. And if I don't know the source, I can't trust it. Sigh, I'll just go back to pretending that feature isn't available.
Whacko lady has some competition on her street - 3 new listings this week alone.
Colonial 3 bdrm/3.5 bath .27 acre lot - $868,500
Rambler 3 bdrm/3.5 bath .21 acre lot - $850,000
Farmhouse 3 bdrm/2.5 bath .39 acre lot - $899,900
Whacho Bungalow 4 bdrm (2 legal)/2 bath .18 acre lot - $879,900
Inventory has been exploding in N. Arlington the past few days.
Jewel, I agree with you about the pricing of that townhouse. I also think the kitchen is too dark--a kitchen without a window, which that appears to be, should have lighter cabinets. At that price and that location/distance to the metro, potentially interested parties might be empty nesters and retirees, but many of them don't want all the townhouse steps (without an elevator). So I think it has a limited market.
March MRIS data is out.
Nothing thrilling in FFX cnty so far, except the 1900+ contracts and contingencies. That's a lot more than the last three months, spring has started (or the credit is having a big effect). Luckily the number of new listings this month still exceeds that at 2500.
OK, I stand corrected - it appears from the easier-to-see photos on frankly that there is a window in the kitchen, but because they took the photos at night, they closed the dark blinds.
now awaiting the compilations from Harriet and NVAR monthly reports...
Things look pretty darn healthy in terms of price stability MoM and numbers of sales relative to inventory. It'll be easier to see with Harriet's spreadsheet though.
Jewel, the tax assessment for 2010 is only $530K. Given how cheaply the owner bought it, even though the upgrades appear very high quality and in great taste, it looks to me as if he could make money, and it might sell quickly, if it were priced $50K lower. It's a nice size and well laid out.
Jewel,
That townhouse section is not as nice as some of the other 'expensive' townhouse neighborhoods in N. Arl. It is right next to Glebe (lots of traffic), kind of naked-looking (not sure if this is that 70s style construction or just a sad lack of trees). It is not really in the surrounding (nice) neighborhood. Also, there is a huge construction/demo project going on right next door.
My conclusion: over-priced. :)
eta-the last comp I could find in that development, from last summer, was also updated (though not as over the top) went for 529. I think that buyer got a nice price for the space and location.
http://franklymls.com/AR7047159
pp-Are realtors secretly monitoring this blog? That indoor pool house comment was a month ago and as soon as we talk about it on here, the listing gets pulled? The house was on the market forEVER.
Also, lol at the Whacko Lady's competition. Her house looks even more ridiculous next to those other houses for sale (some for cheaper!). She will be the crazy lady muttering profanities at the open house.
Meshell, agreed about wacko.
The sold townhouse looks nice and has nice bathroom updates, but appears to have a very old kitchen, and some smaller things could be changed (light fixtures, handrail). I agree with you it was a good buy at the price; it makes me wonder if the fabulously updated now on the mkt. isn't $100K or more overpriced.
ps the sold place was an end unit, with more light and possibly less neighbor noise, than the one on the market --though the builder could have put in a few more windows on the side to really take advantage of the end unit location.
Fred,
I got PMI eliminated at my last house. There was a time period of ownership (loan date) requirement which I can't remember (2yrs?).
The lender sent me a list of "approved" appraisers and it was no hassle whatsoever.
Housebuyer,
My understanding is that you need to put down 20% of the home's sale price at closing in order for PMI not to apply. This is regardless if the home appraises for much more.
I'm in a similar situation. I put down 15% on my place and the appraisal came in putting me almost right at 20% equity. Didn't matter.
According to the most common rules, in the first 24 months, you're likely to not have a bank entertain removing PMI if you originated the loan above the 80% LTV ratio. In years 2-5, you need to have 75% LTV to have PMI removed. After 5 years, an 80% LTV is acceptable. Also, lenders must automatically remove PMI when the original loan gets to the 80% LTV level given the original closing prices.
That's off the top of my head but a quick google search of PMI or Home Owners Protection Act 1998 should provide way more info.
My $0.02
Ace said
The seller is an idiot if s/he thinks she gains something by not disclosing that info. Any buyer is likely to discover the pool when the property is professionally inspected. And what if someone going through the house while it's on the market somehow falls through that floor?
In many states (although I don't think VA but don't quote me on that) you have to disclose material defects that you are aware of. And sometimes even if the state does not require it the realtors are required to do that. So they may or may not have to disclose this. At a minimum, they probably will need to stress "AS IS."
As for housebuyer's question about why we see nonsense like this . . . I would say you see it (especially in this area) as we have more and more people who are white collar and their parents were white collar and their grandparents were white collar and thus never really learned about home repairs, auto repairs, etc. My father has more knowledge of that than I do and his father had more knowledge then he did and so on. People also were probably much more likely to take classes in high school on these sorts of things then they are now.
That is why I would not be shocked if we see more a "turnkey" premium in this area than in areas where more people get their hands dirty so to speak.
TBW, I think you're adding to what I'm saying but just to clarify, I was not speaking of what the law said the seller must do, but rather what the seller would be smart to do (two separate issues, both important). In other words, regardless of any legal requirement for the seller to disclose this condition, s/he gains nothing by not disclosing it, and may help him/herself by noting it. The buyer will discover it (which will then likely make the buyer pull out of the deal, throw a temper tantrum, renegotiate terms, etc.). Meanwhile, while the house is on the market, there's a chance that visitors could be injured, which could be avoided had the problem been fixed correctly in the first place, or if not that, informing all visitors immediately upon arrival of the safety issue.
That is why I would not be shocked if we see more a "turnkey" premium in this area than in areas where more people get their hands dirty so to speak.
Not so much, actually. This area is positively lousy with flippers (I call 'em "the granite mafia"), such that it's rare to actually see anything that needs work on the market at a realistic price. It's more of a "turnkey tax" than a "turnkey premium".
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