What do you guys think? Is it a good time now, or will prices go even lower? Not in any rush, first time home buyer here looking to buy my first home in the mid 500 range. Wait a little longer, or buy soon? I am in no rush either way.

Home Buyer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What do you guys think? Is it a good time now, or
> will prices go even lower? Not in any rush, first
> time home buyer here looking to buy my first home
> in the mid 500 range. Wait a little longer, or buy
> soon? I am in no rush either way.


Just ask a realtor. They always say that now is the best time to buy a new home.
Realtors are the scum of the earth.

My real advise- take your time and look around quite a bit. It's still a buyers market and loans are cheap. Educate yourself and assume anything a realtor says is a lie then pick a home in the early spring.

Prices are trending upwards again. Interest rates are at an all time low. Do it now or pay much more later

Get rid of the real estate mafia and save 6%. Realtors might be a bigger scam than that guy trying to recruit people to his MLM.

Home prices in NoVA aren't going to be getting any cheaper. You're better off buying a home in Fairfax than having money in a bank earning 0.1% interest!

Unless you are total fool and think this area is Shangri La, Get out ass quick as possible. NOVA sucks.
Plastic,concrete and no place to raise children
You only live once. Think about it.

If your a DIY kinda of person, use redfin. I did and was a first time home buyer. Everything went perfectly fine and you get a check at the end of it.

Don't buy,RUN Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Unless you are total fool and think this area is
> Shangri La, Get out ass quick as possible. NOVA
> sucks.
> Plastic,concrete and no place to raise children
> You only live once. Think about it.


Don't blame the area. Sick of people blaming their problems on their surroundings. Guess what? Everywhere else in America is the exact same. Traffic, immigrants (get used to it already), overcrowding, pollution, etc.

Feel free to move to the midwest and raise your kids there, I'm sure they'll really excel in those public school systems, yeehaw!

Last month my wife and I were denied a mortgage by three different lenders. We both had credit scores in the high 700's, both have good jobs each paying over $100K, no credit card debt, no student loans, 1 car payment that will be paid off in early 2013. We were going to put 25% down on house in the $550k - $600k price range. The BS reason for the denial was that our savings to asset ratio after buying the house would be outside the norms set forth by the Gov't in comparison to others with similar mortgages in the NOVA area. WTF does that even mean? Even after buying the house we would still have nearly $100k in savings and $200k in our respective 401Ks.

Oh yeah, and get this because we applied for mortgages with three different lenders our credit scores dropped 50 - 75 points each, which means we no longer qualify for a mortgage. Our realtor has advised us to wait until the car loan has been paid off for 3 months before trying again. Beacuase that is when our creidt scores should improve enough for us to qualify for a mortgage again, which means sometime next summer! Banks are nothing but shisters!

NOMortgageForU Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Last month my wife and I were denied a mortgage by
> three different lenders. We both had credit
> scores in the high 700's, both have good jobs each
> paying over $100K, no credit card debt, no student
> loans, 1 car payment that will be paid off in
> early 2013. We were going to put 25% down on
> house in the $550k - $600k price range. The BS
> reason for the denial was that our savings to
> asset ratio after buying the house would be
> outside the norms set forth by the Gov't in
> comparison to others with similar mortgages in the
> NOVA area. WTF does that even mean? Even after
> buying the house we would still have nearly $100k
> in savings and $200k in our respective 401Ks.
>
> Oh yeah, and get this because we applied for
> mortgages with three different lenders our credit
> scores dropped 50 - 75 points each, which means we
> no longer qualify for a mortgage. Our realtor has
> advised us to wait until the car loan has been
> paid off for 3 months before trying again.
> Beacuase that is when our creidt scores should
> improve enough for us to qualify for a mortgage
> again, which means sometime next summer! Banks
> are nothing but shisters!

Whilst I'm not normally a grammar and spelling Nazi, someone who is making over $100K a year would probably know how to spell words like "because", "credit", and "shyster", and be able to adeptly use correct English grammar.

You are a liar and a troll.

Lenders are forced to get tougher due to the mortgage putback settlement with the GSEs. The average credit score for loans sold to Fannie Mae is over 760. Average loan-to-value is now below 70 percent. My brother recently refi'd and had put down a third.

grass is greener Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Don't buy,RUN Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Unless you are total fool and think this area
> is
> > Shangri La, Get out ass quick as possible. NOVA
> > sucks.
> > Plastic,concrete and no place to raise children
> > You only live once. Think about it.
>
>
> Don't blame the area. Sick of people blaming their
> problems on their surroundings. Guess what?
> Everywhere else in America is the exact same.
> Traffic, immigrants (get used to it already),
> overcrowding, pollution, etc.
>
> Feel free to move to the midwest and raise your
> kids there, I'm sure they'll really excel in those
> public school systems, yeehaw!

Overpopulation and traffic dumb ass. And you are the expert on school systems.
Why do you have to get used to it when there are alternatives.
And I do not blame the area, just people for excepting.

Prices in Fairfax County are not going any lower and are starting to go back up. Interest rates are the lowest in history. It seems like a great time to buy. The issue is, the inventory sucks right now. What is inventory...its the number of houses on the market right now. Most of the houses that are on the market are older and smaller homes that are still priced higher then they should be. If you are looking for a nicer 4 bedroom single family that is less then 20 years old, in a nicer area, and does not need a lot of work... good luck to you because there are none right now. And when they do hit the market, most sell within the first 48 hours of hitting the market.

And for the poster about them not getting 3 loans, you are full of shit. Or you had some other issues that you are not telling us about.

Historically low interest rates and prices that are starting to creep up again means it's time to buy now.

If you're a flipper, I say NO. If your a home buyer to live in, I say yes. The money you are wasting on rent, could be used to build equity in your home. You can never really time the housing market.

NOMortgageForU Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Last month my wife and I were denied a mortgage by
> three different lenders. We both had credit
> scores in the high 700's, both have good jobs each
> paying over $100K, no credit card debt, no student
> loans, 1 car payment that will be paid off in
> early 2013. We were going to put 25% down on
> house in the $550k - $600k price range. The BS
> reason for the denial was that our savings to
> asset ratio after buying the house would be
> outside the norms set forth by the Gov't in
> comparison to others with similar mortgages in the
> NOVA area. WTF does that even mean? Even after
> buying the house we would still have nearly $100k
> in savings and $200k in our respective 401Ks.
>
> Oh yeah, and get this because we applied for
> mortgages with three different lenders our credit
> scores dropped 50 - 75 points each, which means we
> no longer qualify for a mortgage. Our realtor has
> advised us to wait until the car loan has been
> paid off for 3 months before trying again.
> Beacuase that is when our creidt scores should
> improve enough for us to qualify for a mortgage
> again, which means sometime next summer! Banks
> are nothing but shisters!


Complete and utter BS. If your going to spew BS at least make it a little believable. $100k in savings....$200k/year salary together? Can't get a loan? HA!!!

Buy smart Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Get rid of the real estate mafia and save 6%.
> Realtors might be a bigger scam than that guy
> trying to recruit people to his MLM.

Why do you post when you don't have a clue? Pop quiz;

Who pays the 6%? (answer: the seller)
When you BUY a house what are your realtor fees? (answer: $0)

To the original poster: If you plan on staying in the area for a few years then I would buy, with the interest rates being SO LOW. Nothing saying they won't stay there for a couple years, but still understand that less than 10 years ago they were at 6% or more. Now you can get a 30 year loan under 4%!

As someone else noted, prices are creeping up a little, but the sequestation thing could affect that.

The housing prices are still too high, not at the proper ratio to income. In order for most folks to buy these houses, even at low rates, they will have to depend on high interest credit elsewhere to survive, pay college loans, etc. Net effect is still a debt-ridden society across America.

Folks need to refuse to buy houses and rent, thus avoiding high-interest credit for survival. In time, that will force housing prices back down again to a normal ratio to income.

So why, would one ask, should housing prices come down?
Answer: because wages are not increasing enough.

res Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Buy smart Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Get rid of the real estate mafia and save 6%.
> > Realtors might be a bigger scam than that guy
> > trying to recruit people to his MLM.
>
> Why do you post when you don't have a clue? Pop
> quiz;
>
> Who pays the 6%? (answer: the seller)
> When you BUY a house what are your realtor fees?
> (answer: $0)
>


Obviously from someone with a real estate license. lol

What makes it less of a scam that the seller pays? Ridiculous that people still are paying 6% to some middle man who does relatively very little compared to the amount of money they walk away with. 6% on a $500K sale is $30K. That's more than a lot of sellers are making on the transaction when you figure the cost of debt service on their loan, inflation, and money sunk into the place over the years. 6% was different back when houses cost $100K. And, yes, I know the agent doesn't get all of it. Don't care. It's still out of my pocket as a seller.

LOL you are all suckers. If sequester happen, home prices will drop 10% in the first 6 months; although it is doubtful it will happen. What will happen is basically a freeze on spending growth. Trust me buyouts are comeing hot and heavy, plus contractor spending is going to decrease by 10%/year All those GS-14-15s around 55-65 are going to cash out and get out of dodge. There will be a gult of inventory for at least 3-5 years. So I suspect the growth will be -5% to 0% for 5 years.

Good luck....the recession is finally about to hit this area.

livinglikeitis 2005 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> LOL you are all suckers. If sequester happen,
> home prices will drop 10% in the first 6 months;
> although it is doubtful it will happen. What will
> happen is basically a freeze on spending growth.
> Trust me buyouts are comeing hot and heavy, plus
> contractor spending is going to decrease by
> 10%/year All those GS-14-15s around 55-65 are
> going to cash out and get out of dodge. There
> will be a gult of inventory for at least 3-5
> years. So I suspect the growth will be -5% to 0%
> for 5 years.
>
> Good luck....the recession is finally about to hit
> this area.

This + exxon is leaving, if you can wait it out another 6 - 12 months it may not hurt. I doubt prices will be rising much more. Wait till all the baby boomers are in Florida or Colonial beach and Exxon employees are in Houston.

livinglikeitis 2005 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> LOL you are all suckers... Good luck....the recession is finally about to hit
> this area.

The world needs its chicken littles.

RE/Sux Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> res Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Buy smart Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Get rid of the real estate mafia and save 6%.
>
> > > Realtors might be a bigger scam than that guy
> > > trying to recruit people to his MLM.
> >
> > Why do you post when you don't have a clue? Pop
> > quiz;
> >
> > Who pays the 6%? (answer: the seller)
> > When you BUY a house what are your realtor
> fees?
> > (answer: $0)
> >
>
>
> Obviously from someone with a real estate license.
> lol
>
> What makes it less of a scam that the seller pays?
> Ridiculous that people still are paying 6% to
> some middle man who does relatively very little
> compared to the amount of money they walk away
> with. 6% on a $500K sale is $30K. That's more
> than a lot of sellers are making on the
> transaction when you figure the cost of debt
> service on their loan, inflation, and money sunk
> into the place over the years. 6% was different
> back when houses cost $100K. And, yes, I know the
> agent doesn't get all of it. Don't care. It's
> still out of my pocket as a seller.


I don't have a license. I don't always agree that 6% is fine, like when things were booming and there would be multiple offers on a house within a couple days. An agent would easily make 2% for less than a weaks worth of man-hours. Remember that from the 6% that a seller pays 3% goes to the buyers agent, and of the 3% sellers fee he or she only gets about 2%. So a $500k house nets them $10k.

You can list it and sell yourself through the MLS, I've done it twice. Not easy but not too hard if your willing to learn and accept that some agents will frown upon it. You have to read the fine print, understand contracts, do your own marketing, and negotiate for yourself. I personally enjoyed all of this but not for everyone.

Here's the key....now that I've done this I have a certain amount of appreciation for where the 6% comes from. BTW, many agencie's will negotiate on the 6%.

The bigger problem is the eventual rise in interest rates. From this low level, a 2 percentage point rise translates to a much larger change in the monthly payment (35-40%).

if the price of a house is good for you, and you want it, then it's a good deal. prices around here will fluctuate a bit, up and down, but it's highly doubtful there will be as much of a decrease going forward as there was when the bottom dropped out. PWC, the toxic wasteland of plummeting home prices for a long time, has been showing incremental increases the past year or so.

you can find deals out there - houses for less than "market value" - but those are going to be bank sales, foreclosures, or duress sales, and you'd be in competition with flipping companies who can come in with cash. you'd also need to be prepared for fixing them up, so if your in good standing with home depot and lowes, and know the diffence between measuing tape and scotch tape, you could do well.

i too call BS on the nomortgageforu post, there's no such thing as the "asset to savings ratio", your savings are you assets, there's nothing to "ratio". the posted profile is a slam dunk loan, especially if both borrowers are salaried ( not self employed ). i just did a loan for a guy a couple months ago who had mid 600 credit, about 60K in the bank after the 20% down payment, first time homebuyer. and oh by the way, he didnt have credit, at all, until may of 2011, and that was just a single credit card.

also, like car salesmen and loan originators, RE agents can be just as crooked. they do provide a valuable service, especially to FTHBs, their compensation on a whole is a bit skewed when viewed from above, listing agents for example.

they have a nasty habit of looking out for themselves, case in point - buyer agent has two listings to show their ( contracted ) buyer(s). listing A pays 3%, listing B pays 2%. more often than not, they'll steer the buyer towards listing A for the simple fact it pays them more, even if listing B might be better for the buyer.

if they feel that listing a person's house will require more than the bare minimum of effort, they'll demand 3% to do so. there's also the churn and burn types, ones that will purposefully list a house for below "market", not too terribly below, but lower than what the seller could get just to move it ( get it under contract ) as fast as possible. they do that so they dont have to jack around with it, open houses, etc., and be able to move on to the next one.

then there's others that'll say you could sell your house for X amount, then when the first offer comes in lower they'll steer the seller into taking it. that's a huge disservice to the seller, as it's a dollar for dollar loss to them, and only an incremental loss in income to the agent.

a friend of mine is going through that right now. he contracted with a high producing agent where he lives ( charlotte NC ), who came "highly reccommended". she did a CMA on his house and said - $275K, no problem. the first offer that came in, just a couple days after hitting the MLS was for $250K, she advised him to take it, stating "it'll be hard to get $275K, so you should take this offer". WTF? a week earlier she said $275K was no problem at all. that's $25K my friend would "lose" by accepting and only $750 in income "lost" for the agent.

res Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> RE/Sux Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > res Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Buy smart Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > > Get rid of the real estate mafia and save
> 6%.
> >
> > > > Realtors might be a bigger scam than that
> guy
> > > > trying to recruit people to his MLM.
> > >
> > > Why do you post when you don't have a clue?
> Pop
> > > quiz;
> > >
> > > Who pays the 6%? (answer: the seller)
> > > When you BUY a house what are your realtor
> > fees?
> > > (answer: $0)
> > >
> >
> >
> > Obviously from someone with a real estate
> license.
> > lol
> >
> > What makes it less of a scam that the seller
> pays?
> > Ridiculous that people still are paying 6% to
> > some middle man who does relatively very little
> > compared to the amount of money they walk away
> > with. 6% on a $500K sale is $30K. That's more
> > than a lot of sellers are making on the
> > transaction when you figure the cost of debt
> > service on their loan, inflation, and money
> sunk
> > into the place over the years. 6% was
> different
> > back when houses cost $100K. And, yes, I know
> the
> > agent doesn't get all of it. Don't care. It's
> > still out of my pocket as a seller.
>
>
> I don't have a license. I don't always agree that
> 6% is fine, like when things were booming and
> there would be multiple offers on a house within a
> couple days. An agent would easily make 2% for
> less than a weaks worth of man-hours. Remember
> that from the 6% that a seller pays 3% goes to the
> buyers agent, and of the 3% sellers fee he or she
> only gets about 2%. So a $500k house nets them
> $10k.
>
> You can list it and sell yourself through the MLS,
> I've done it twice. Not easy but not too hard if
> your willing to learn and accept that some agents
> will frown upon it. You have to read the fine
> print, understand contracts, do your own
> marketing, and negotiate for yourself. I
> personally enjoyed all of this but not for
> everyone.
>
> Here's the key....now that I've done this I have a
> certain amount of appreciation for where the 6%
> comes from. BTW, many agencie's will negotiate on
> the 6%.


6% is never OK given prices today. As I said, I don't care who gets what out of it on their side. It's an unnecessary protected-market racket which continues and hasn't been prosecuted for price fixing only because the NAR is consistently in the top 5 for campaign contributions not even counting individual money locally.

I'd agree re selling yourself but that's made a lot harder because of the way that the industry is structured as anyone who's done it can tell you first hand. And intentionally so.

Not saying that some agents aren't very good and they do provide a useful service. But working on the basis of a fixed % of the gross sales price is ridiculous. The cost and level of effort involved just doesn't even approach the value derived by a seller. Especially on the buyer's side these days given that something like 70% of people find their prospective homes on their own using the Net.

RE agents Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> also, like car salesmen and loan originators, RE
> agents can be just as crooked. they do provide a
> valuable service, especially to FTHBs, their
> compensation on a whole is a bit skewed when
> viewed from above, listing agents for example.
>
> they have a nasty habit of looking out for
> themselves, case in point - buyer agent has two
> listings to show their ( contracted ) buyer(s).
> listing A pays 3%, listing B pays 2%. more often
> than not, they'll steer the buyer towards listing
> A for the simple fact it pays them more, even if
> listing B might be better for the buyer.
>
> if they feel that listing a person's house will
> require more than the bare minimum of effort,
> they'll demand 3% to do so. there's also the
> churn and burn types, ones that will purposefully
> list a house for below "market", not too terribly
> below, but lower than what the seller could get
> just to move it ( get it under contract ) as fast
> as possible. they do that so they dont have to
> jack around with it, open houses, etc., and be
> able to move on to the next one.
>
> then there's others that'll say you could sell
> your house for X amount, then when the first offer
> comes in lower they'll steer the seller into
> taking it. that's a huge disservice to the
> seller, as it's a dollar for dollar loss to them,
> and only an incremental loss in income to the
> agent.
>
> a friend of mine is going through that right now.
> he contracted with a high producing agent where he
> lives ( charlotte NC ), who came "highly
> reccommended". she did a CMA on his house and
> said - $275K, no problem. the first offer that
> came in, just a couple days after hitting the MLS
> was for $250K, she advised him to take it, stating
> "it'll be hard to get $275K, so you should take
> this offer". WTF? a week earlier she said $275K
> was no problem at all. that's $25K my friend
> would "lose" by accepting and only $750 in income
> "lost" for the agent.

If she had any experience at all, she should be able to pitch a counteroffer to your friend that she expects the buyer would accept. There's still risk that the buyer would ask for concessions before the settlement. If the buyer came in a with a take it or leave it lowball offer, then that's a different story.

like the interest rate Wrote:
> PWC, the toxic wasteland of
> plummeting home prices for a long time, has been
> showing incremental increases the past year or
> so.

I bought out in PWC after renting in Alexandria for 10 years. I bought my place for 2/3rds of the original selling price in a short sale which took about 5 months of me badgering and threatening to walk away. Bought a townhouse a couple years ago and am going through the refi process now. Just got my appraisal and, at least in my neighborhood, the value went up a ton. Enough to where I am getting out of a FHA loan and getting into a conventional loan and getting out of the up front PMI as well. A couple townhouses smaller than mine were bought at $240K last year or 2 and are sold for $280K or so.

RE/Sux Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> res Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > RE/Sux Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > res Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > > Buy smart Wrote:
> > > >
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > >
> > > > -----
> > > > > Get rid of the real estate mafia and save
> > 6%.
> > >
> > > > > Realtors might be a bigger scam than that
> > guy
> > > > > trying to recruit people to his MLM.
> > > >
> > > > Why do you post when you don't have a clue?
> > Pop
> > > > quiz;
> > > >
> > > > Who pays the 6%? (answer: the seller)
> > > > When you BUY a house what are your realtor
> > > fees?
> > > > (answer: $0)
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Obviously from someone with a real estate
> > license.
> > > lol
> > >
> > > What makes it less of a scam that the seller
> > pays?
> > > Ridiculous that people still are paying 6%
> to
> > > some middle man who does relatively very
> little
> > > compared to the amount of money they walk
> away
> > > with. 6% on a $500K sale is $30K. That's
> more
> > > than a lot of sellers are making on the
> > > transaction when you figure the cost of debt
> > > service on their loan, inflation, and money
> > sunk
> > > into the place over the years. 6% was
> > different
> > > back when houses cost $100K. And, yes, I
> know
> > the
> > > agent doesn't get all of it. Don't care.
> It's
> > > still out of my pocket as a seller.
> >
> >
> > I don't have a license. I don't always agree
> that
> > 6% is fine, like when things were booming and
> > there would be multiple offers on a house within
> a
> > couple days. An agent would easily make 2% for
> > less than a weaks worth of man-hours. Remember
> > that from the 6% that a seller pays 3% goes to
> the
> > buyers agent, and of the 3% sellers fee he or
> she
> > only gets about 2%. So a $500k house nets them
> > $10k.
> >
> > You can list it and sell yourself through the
> MLS,
> > I've done it twice. Not easy but not too hard
> if
> > your willing to learn and accept that some
> agents
> > will frown upon it. You have to read the fine
> > print, understand contracts, do your own
> > marketing, and negotiate for yourself. I
> > personally enjoyed all of this but not for
> > everyone.
> >
> > Here's the key....now that I've done this I have
> a
> > certain amount of appreciation for where the 6%
> > comes from. BTW, many agencie's will negotiate
> on
> > the 6%.
>
>
> 6% is never OK given prices today. As I said, I
> don't care who gets what out of it on their side.
> It's an unnecessary protected-market racket which
> continues and hasn't been prosecuted for price
> fixing only because the NAR is consistently in the
> top 5 for campaign contributions not even counting
> individual money locally.
>
> I'd agree re selling yourself but that's made a
> lot harder because of the way that the industry is
> structured as anyone who's done it can tell you
> first hand. And intentionally so.
>
> Not saying that some agents aren't very good and
> they do provide a useful service. But working on
> the basis of a fixed % of the gross sales price is
> ridiculous. The cost and level of effort involved
> just doesn't even approach the value derived by a
> seller. Especially on the buyer's side these days
> given that something like 70% of people find their
> prospective homes on their own using the Net.

Agree. Only real estate agents point out the tired argument that "the buyer doesn't pay". Well everyone pays. They inflate the price of the house 5-6% to pay their BS commissions. Percentage based commissions are ridiculous in high cost housing markets. A nice 4 bedroom house in most areas of the country is probably $200k. Here it is more like $600k. $6k vs. $18k for doing the same thing. Is the No.VA agent $12k better? Imagine what you can do in your new house with an extra $18k lying around after completing the sale. That is a home theater setup and a hot tub.

The "mafia" comment was confirmed by the guy saying agents won't show your house if you aren't listed with an agent. I could list my place for a bargain, but if I am not paying the "tribute" to the mafia, then they won't even show it. Frankly it should be the buyer's problem if they want representation. I should be able to set the "finder's fee" for someone bringing a buyer to me, and that is it. If you want to pay someone $18,000 over the course of a month to drive you around to open houses, that is your problem. I can see some value in paying someone to market your home if you are the seller, but it still isn't worth that 3% unless they promise to move the place for asking price in a week. If you are buying, all you really need is a lawyer and a home inspector.

Remember folks. Real estate agents aren't lawyers and they aren't home inspectors. They aren't going to look out for your interests on the contract side or regarding the quality of the home. They can't help your with the loan documents. They just want you to close. Your money is better spent on having a real advocate on your side, not just a commission driven internet researcher and driver carrying a Louis Vuitton and driving a RX350.

Okay, I agree that the amount of work required to sell an average home is the same whether it is a $200K home elsewhere or an equivalent home in NoVA that costs $600K. There is a big difference between paying $12,000 vs $36,000 for the same service. I could do a lot more if I got to keep kept more of my money.

Therefore, why should we raise the tax rate of the rich? If we use the above logic, then we should reduce the tax rate on the rich or at least have a flat tax.

res Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Buy smart Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Get rid of the real estate mafia and save 6%.
> > Realtors might be a bigger scam than that guy
> > trying to recruit people to his MLM.
>
> Why do you post when you don't have a clue? Pop
> quiz;
>
> Who pays the 6%? (answer: the seller)

Nope. The buyer is paying. It's included in the cost of the house they are buying.

> When you BUY a house what are your realtor fees?
> (answer: $0)

Nope. It's whatever the commission is because the buyer is the one bringing the money to the deal.

im buying a second home and renting out the one im in now. i live further west, but i dont get the 6% to the realtor. my realtor is getting around 3%, so if your payin 2x that, your stupid. get the seller to pay all the closing costs. remember, its a buyers market. when i bought my first home, it was a sellers market and i paid all of the closing costs in 2005. i also locked in a 3.375 fixed 30 yr loan. its the time to buy if you want to own, but take your time picking the one you want. and that idiot who complained about making 200k and being denied, i call bs. there is something he is leaving out, because i make just over 100k, and im buying a 2nd house and dont have to show the kind of money he was talking about.

According to WTOP, it's a seller market.

You'll probably only save at most 3% since you still have to pay the commission for the buyer's agent.

To be honest. this place is a shit hole. I do understand the jobs are in this area, but It really sucks. Good luck buying a home, I'm not going to miss this area. It's just not worth it.

bigfoot Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To be honest. this place is a shit hole. I do
> understand the jobs are in this area, but It
> really sucks. Good luck buying a home, I'm not
> going to miss this area. It's just not worth it.


Then get the fuck out. Go live somewhere with no upside on resale value so you're stuck in it forever!

The alternative is that!

Now is time to buy OP. I am up almost 60k on a house in vienna purchasing in feb this year.

hoocoodanode Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> res Wrote:

> > Who pays the 6%? (answer: the seller)
>
> Nope. The buyer is paying. It's included in the
> cost of the house they are buying.
>
> > When you BUY a house what are your realtor
> fees?
> > (answer: $0)
>
> Nope. It's whatever the commission is because the
> buyer is the one bringing the money to the deal.


_________________________________________________


no, the seller pays agent commissions, 99% of the time. altho it's a shell game in a way, as the listing agent may try to get a higher price for the seller in order to garner more commission AND afford the seller more proceeds, which anybody selling a home would want the agent to do for them. the reverse is a buyer wanting their agent to get them the best deal.

again, 6% ( 3 and 3 ) has been customary, but it's far from being required. plenty of listings are done for 5.5% or 5%, it just depends on the whole situation.

@ TOP listener, did they really say that, or are you just trolling? as it's far from a sellers market currently. if they did say that, i hope they also indicated it's all relative, as in some sellers are getting multiple offers on houses that are priced "competitively", in which case it bodes well for the seller in that they can cherry pick the "best" offer. however, it's far far from the sellers market of 2003-2005/2006, in which multiple offers would come in w/i minutes of a house hitting the MLS, almost all of which had escalation clauses and waived contingencies - most notably financing and the appraisal.

any buyer waiving those, financing and appraisal contract contingencies in this market, is a complete moron.

my 2br 1bath is worth 2.1 million
>
> This + exxon is leaving, if you can wait it out
> another 6 - 12 months it may not hurt. I doubt
> prices will be rising much more. Wait till all the
> baby boomers are in Florida or Colonial beach and
> Exxon employees are in Houston.

Aren't that many Exxon employees left around here and the well-educated boomers generally prefer to stick around rather than move to a culture-free zone like Florida that's full of meth heads and Oxy/Xanax addicts or a place like Colonial Beach full of rednecks.