All Forum Posts by: Michael Chang

Hi everyone,

I live in bucks county, Pennsylvania and am hoping to get advice about soil remediation process. I am currently under contract with a SFH property, but the seller was responsible remediating the soil contamination before closing. Then seller took care of the digging up the underground oil tank and remediated the soil contamination. The excavating contractor company, which did all the remediation work, produced a PA Unregulated Heating Oil
Storage Tank Closure Report to show that the work is completed and met the state requirement. However, I was expecting a “No Further Action letter” from the Township or PADEP. My question is the closure report produce by the excavating company same as the NFA by DEP? Should I ask for the NFA from the Township and PADEP? I'd like to just the make sure that the case is closed properly on the state level. Thanks in advance for your advice. 

Michael

Thanks everyone who have commented. I wanted to give you an update. The seller is removing underground oil tank and remediating the soil contamination. The tank company set up a temporary small tank to keep the house heated to avoid frozen pipe. It looks like that seller can complete the soil remediation at the end of January and the closing might be beginning of Feb (I've asked the seller to provide the No further action notice from the Township before closing)

Another question: Is it perhaps more cost effective not to convert to gas heating system during the winter? Guessing more demand in the winter...? I was thinking to wait till Spring or Summer to convert to gas heating system, but not sure how long the oil in the temporary tank will last and it's probably risky to not have heat (to avoid pipes from freezing) in the later Feb/March timeframe in eastern part of Pennsylvania. Thanks.   

Hello BP community,

We are looking to purchase (offer accepted) a house in Bucks County Pennsylvania. I was informed by my lender that Fannie Mae approved to waive appraisal requirement. I know that not everyone needs an appraisal to complete the underwriting process but home appraisals are typically part of the homebuying process.

Would you still get an appraisal any way to confirm home’s value (not paying too much for the property or that the bank has the correct valuation) ? What other considerations do you have when deciding whether to skip the appraisal or not? Thank you.

Michael

Hello BP community,

We are looking to purchase (offer accepted) a house in Bucks County Pennsylvania that has oil heating system and has the oil tank buried underground.   

Is it true that if you want to sell your home down the line, underground oil tanks are arguably #1 on the list of “Biggest Potential Buyer Turn-offs” because whoever buys the home takes on liability?? What is your experience in using oil-based system ?

Would you consider converting to natural gas? I heard the conversion cost around $5-6k provided there's natural gas access. Is that about right?   

I will get an inspection to check out the oil tank underground, but I haven't lived in a house that's heated using oil. So I'd love to hear your advice and experience about the oil based heating system. Thank you.

Michael

@Tom Harkins I am in Bucks County Pennsylvania. We are not sure the cause of the leak/puddle water and it's more likely recent because the seller used that space to store carpet. I have to find out what kind of foundation it is and get inspection/basement waterproof specialist to examine it. Were you able to leverage the inspection to negotiate on the purchase price or get repair credit? Thanks.

Hello BP Community ,

(Un)fortunately we viewed the house on a day with heavy rain and it had a few spots of running water from the basement walls (the seller agent is aware of the puddle of water as well).  I took a few videos that you can see the basement (basement wet 1& basement wet 2)   We generally like the neighborhood and the house, but the wet basement is our biggest concern about the house at the moment.

We definitely want to be safe and take all precautionary measures to ensure the basement and home stay dry and warm and will want to repair and invest in basement waterproofing.

Would you consider a house with water in the basement? Not sure if you have any advice or tips on how we should address the water in the basement problem during the homebuying process in the terms of inspection, repair and negotiation. 

Thank you,

Michael

Hi BP community, 

I am a newbie in BP. A bit of background context: I have the downpayment saved for my starter home, and I would like to understand how you can go from the first property to buying second property. Is using home equity (from a starter home) to invest in a second "nicer" home a risky move? Do HELOC and Cash out financing carry implied risks? When accessing equity, you are borrowing more money thus higher repayment. I'd like to better understand the risks and possible consequence of home equity financing and other ways to buy second/3rd properties. Thanks in advance for sharing your pointers and knowledge.
  

@Natalie Schanne.  Thank you for responding to my questions and providing great advice. I am looking for a home for my family to live in. I am a first time buyer and am willing to put 20% down. I agree that looking estate sale might not worth the effort to rehab and brainwork. While I don't disagree with buying the dream home within my prequalification budget, I don't want to be trapped with a big and nice house when the real estate bubble burst and enters into a recession. Is that a legitimate concern? I'd also like to buy another property and rent out the first property. 

This might be a silly question. How do you figure out the prequalified budget?  is it by how much monthly mortgage payment you can afford to pay? Thanks in advance.

Hi BP community,

I am a newbie in BP. I am going to a house tour an estate sale tomorrow in a good neighborhood near the Philadelphia suburbs. Since the seller's disclosure is not available and it's my first time looking at an estate property sale. What are some questions that I should ask my real estate agent about? Is there any implication that comes with an estate sale? Has anyone bought properties from estate sale that went didn't go as well?  Your thoughts and comments are much appreciated. 

Thanks in advance for your help,

Michael

Hi BP community,

I am a newbie in BP. I am going to a house tour an estate sale tomorrow in a good neighborhood near the Philadelphia suburbs. Since the seller's disclosure is not available and it's my first time looking at an estate property sale. What are some questions that I should ask my real estate agent about? Is there any implication that comes with an estate sale? Has anyone bought properties from estate sale that went didn't go as well?  Your thoughts and comments are much appreciated. 

Thanks in advance for your help,

Michael