All Forum Posts by: Ika Sargeant

@Daniel Amsalem I completed the feedform .

@John Park The condo fee is average in terms of the cost. Compared to some, this one actually offers a lot more in my opinion including water and trash. Might not feel like much. Condo fees vary from building to building. Pay attention to the age of the building and everything that looks like delayed maintenance.

@Peter Aram your situation is difficult indeed. While selling this home would be easy, after paying for everything you will have less than 150K to walk away with. But on the other side could take that equity and enter a tough competitive buy market. The selling and buying will take a lot from you. I think try and get an extra job to make repairs and stay in the house.

@Curtis M. Leidig unfortunately this is common in real estate transaction. Buyers are surprised when a deal that has been going well in the back and forth suddenly dies because someone appeared  and made an agreement. Like what everyone is saying, there was never an agreement. Just back and forth stuff. It hurts.

@Kevin Choi Welcome to BP. This is a great resource, especially the people you will come across.

@Jennifer Turner is spot on because for those who think FL is a great, the costs are rising rapidly. Insurance for one has almost doubled. Taxes and HOA fees are coming up too. But for those who love VA, they have not seen the tax bill, and repair costs. A little problem with a property will leave you easily with a hefty bill and eat away at your returns. Surely VA will likely give you a higher appreciation over time. Go back to what your goal is with your this investment and see if the math works. Perhaps the best advice might be from someone who suggested pick the house that will be close to you so if anything you can self manage and learn. But I will also add if I had this 300K or 400K, I would go with VA because of location. In a downturn, you will likely to rebound faster than Gainesville(But keep in mind I have no in depth market of Gainesville- there could be a large company coming there and that would change everything)

@Ruika Lin This is true that condos do not appreciate at the same rate as SFH or townhouses in Northern Virginia and yes it includes even the ones in great location and access to public transportation. The 1% rule rarely ever applies in this market. What is true is the rising of costs across board eat away at returns. I think this is true in many areas: have a property in Orlando and the taxes and insurance have killed my returns. For example where I was paying $1100 for home insurance, the price jumped to $1900. This is after the insurance required a new roof(they refuse to insure a roof over 10 years old) I can not speak to the MTR because have not dealt with may of them. The few clients I came across were successful because they were connected to companies with people coming and out of the area. But before you go to MTR, make sure the condo allows MTR and check condo move in fees.

@Annette Yim @Jack Seiden is right. Northern Virginia is tough for that price point. Its hard even to find townhomes, although closer to 500K, you can find townhouses. There are also very few distressed home and if there is one it attracts many buyers. I would suggest looking at Prince William county and Montgomery county. You should be able to find some homes, likely one or two levels, not too many though especially with this very tight inventory situation. It is also true that repair costs for the area will likely drive your price back up again. 

@Fakaradin Floyd Congrats. Glad you shared your great news.

@K S. I am having the same reaction reading about cash refi and still able to cash flow right off the back on today's rates. @Shafi 

@Shafi Noss provided a link with a great read. A very long article but quite insightful on these issues. Examples been given here do not reference holding time periods for properties. Its like listening to 10 blind men describe what an elephant feels like.