All Forum Posts by: Yasmin Mughal

But the inspector already told you. 75% empty.

@JD Martin a long time voice of reason seems to say at least 75% empty.

So either you ask for an extension or cancel the deal as I doubt a reasonable seller would take their property off the market that long. 

But at least you see the value of putting your property’s location. And it’s good you know they build bad houses there. It’s all local. But I’d follow JD’s advice if you’re worried and wait or cancel if you’re worried. Good luck. 

You forgot to put your location in your post or your profile. That would help local experts weigh in. In Vegas I wouldn’t even bother with an inspection, but especially not of a 4 year old home. We don’t have basements, or foundation issues, the tile roofs last “forever” so there’s almost no reason. We might have the AC units inspected if the property was 15+ years old, make sure the water heater is less than 6 years old, that kind of thing. 

But you need to know your market. What are you looking for on a. 4 year old house? Is market like Texas where they often have soil/foundation issues, or like MN/the Midwest where the asphalt shingles might have hail damage? If it’s truly 4 years old I’d skip it outright or go ahead while occupied if you want to feel good about it. But unless you believe it was built badly there should be zero problems to find. Good luck and maybe add your market details so local experts can weigh in. Maybe they’ll say homes in your market ar built very poorly and always need inspections, even if they we worthless. 

Yasmin, I cannot speak on Hagerstown, but with REI in Pittsburgh, there's investors flocking to the area to get in on this market. One of my colleagues house hacks himself, and I plan on doing it as well once I can get the cash to put money down! There's definitely college oriented areas, but there are plenty of huge rental areas (such as Bellevue) where I think you could find success. Happy to connect if you're looking into options as I am an agent here in the Pittsburgh area. Good luck with your search!

Thanks so much, Jospeh. I'm going with Hagerstown for now because it's really hard for me to look at Pittsburgh from here. I'm also really wary of the tax situation. The new comer tax has been resolved but it does mean a lengthy process of getting taxes straightened out and they are markedly higher than Washington County. Based on my research, in Pittsburgh, the school board tracks sales of homes and if there is a significant discrepancy between sales price/current assessment values, they will appeal and you get a higher tax bill. The owner has to appeal that assessment in the courts and the judge will apply the CLR of 54.5% in 2024. Meaning the house can't be assessed for more than 54.5 % of the current market value. So buying a 450k home in Pittsburgh means that eventually the property will be taxed at an assessment value of 240k, which is close at 5k. The other issue is the time and energy it takes to sort this out if you end up being reassessed (some people never have it happen.) 

Could she not co-sign the mortgage with you and both of you go on title?

 Be very careful - you could get into fraud territory quickly. There's no such thing as changing residence "on paper." She either lives in the property as her primary residence or she doesn't. You need to be on the mortgage for it to be considered a mortgage for a primary residence, and she would be the non-occupying coborrower. Your options are A) look at pathways for getting you on the mortgage, B) live with the marginally higher rate and possibly refinance once you're income is more stable and/or if rates were to drop, or C) buy the rate down to whatever number you want. 

 There's construction every where in Frederick. I suspect it is more of a pricing issue than an easement issue. Unless the easement is like taking half the lot of land away.