Any MGTOW advice on purchasing homes and land for lower prices?

DWShimoda · 2019-02-03T21:22:52+00:00

Get out and away from large cities & likewise avoid major "bedroom" suburban areas.

Head instead for smaller towns, and/or rural areas -- particularly in "middle America" (places coastal city types disparage as being "flyover land", etc)-- IMO & IME... ideally you want to look for an area that has a history (at least 30+ years) of being a "vacation" home area (quite commonly near "lakes").

Why a "history" of being such? Simple: there will be a plethora of relatively modest (1 BR, 2 BR + 1 BA) "cabin/cottage" homes that were built as seasonal/vacation properties (back in the 1950's to the 1990's; aka post WWII, but pre-2000's "housing bubble" era) -- often with a fairly decent little chunk of land (at least those which are NOT directly "waterfront" properties, but yet which likely still have "lake/water rights"), 1/2 acre to 3 acres...

IOW not some urban "postage stamp" lot, but also NOT some recently constructed suburban "McMansion" development (though there might be some of those nearby) -- yet also still shy of "hobby farm" status -- basically an acre or so will give you sufficient space to potentially put an "addition" onto the house as well as construct various "outbuildings" (garage, sheds, workshop etc); and at the same time also put out a decent sized garden, and (at least the possibility of engaging in small-animal food raising: chickens {eggs} & rabbits {meat} etc).

Prices of homes (at least the older modest cabin/cottage homes) in those areas will likely be relatively affordable (anywhere from $50k to $200k) -- in no small part because they AREN'T really "trendy/upscale" or suitable for "families" (most "couples" and even "singles" {stupid ones} these days want a MINIMUM of 3BR, 2 BA and often prefer/desire even larger, and obviously "newer" homes) -- while the older cabins/cottages might need some work/upgrading, they will generally be in decent enough shape to move-in/live-in while you do so (ergo you can save on rent, while performing DIY and/or staged/phased improvements); and you will be ABLE to do so much more readily because of carrying far less debt-load, as well as the fact that most often various "building codes/regs" will be significantly less intrusive/onerous (especially for "inside" aesthetic DIY work).

Add on that -- due to the fact that a good chunk of the homes/properties in the area (and possibly even a majority of them) will in fact NOT be full-time residences for families (and thus smaller schools, fewer students per property on average, etc) -- the local property tax burden will likely be lower than in the higher-density "full time residence" areas.

Ironically, while living in such an area/region WILL tend to create a fairly long "commute" (1/2 hour or hour) -- it might be longer in terms of MILES, but probably won't necessarily be any longer in terms of TIME; given that you'll avoid the "congestion" of city streets, and also because many businesses/industries & jobs are now located on the outer fringes of cities. Add on that -- depending on the location of the area; especially if it is "in the middle of no & where" (that is between two or more urban areas) -- you may actually have a HIGHER number of job possibilities, and be able to "switch" between those various cities depending on which one is ascendant in economic terms (whereas those who line in ONE or the other of those same cities face the prospect of either having to move, or else engage in a multi-hour commute).

As for how to FIND homes in such regions... well there too you MAY be in luck: since they are VACATION areas, you can often RENT a home or room in or near the area, and spend a week or two of some summer vacation* "test living" in & around it, while also scouting out the local real estate scene, and potential properties. (HINT: the better "value" areas will NOT necessarily be highly touted by the local realtors, you WILL have to spend some time "investigating" the area yourself in order to find them -- keep in mind that realtors work on commission, and thus are obviously far more likely to "steer" you toward the more expensive properties in the area {if they can convince you to only look at the $500k+ properties, they can likely convince you that you HAVE to buy a house in that range -- and obviously their commission on a $500k property will be 5x that of a commission on any $100k property, and more than 2x the commission on any $200k one... so guess how much effort they put into selling those lower priced homes?}).

* EDIT: And of course you may have to do something similar to that a few years running... you may not LIKE (or not find what you are looking for) in one area, and need to shift gears to a different area the following year. Of course much also depends on what kind of WORK you do, and what the job/business possibilities are available (nearby or possibly not quite so nearby) for any given area.

EDIT #2: As for the closing costs/inspections, etc -- alas, but that's just part of the process. It seems ridiculous, but to be blunt, so long as you intend to LIVE in a home for a decade+, the impact of that isn't actually that bad -- and conversely, if you're really NOT intending to live someplace for at least that long, then you probably shouldn't be looking at "buying" a home to live in anyway; you should stick with "renting." (With the exception of "housing bubble" conditions -- where LUCK allows you to "flip" at a profit -- then buying/selling a house in anything less than 5 years {at a bare minimum} is invariably going to be a large, possibly significant financial LOSS scenario.)

DangZagnut · 2019-02-03T20:35:40+00:00

You can try the tax lien certificate auctions then file a quit claim after a year.

Disbursed-operant · 2019-02-03T20:25:31+00:00

It's a sham. At allllllll those auctions there will some motherfucker from the bank who will be bidding on it. Not because they want to buy it. But because they want to up the auction price to near-market price.

I saw a family of nine trying to buy a home. Started at 100k. The banker motherfucker bid it up to 600k and finally let the family take it.

I followed him to his car, followed him home, and decided that beating seven shades of shit out of him was just too risky.

So the answer is no. You're not likely going to get a property deal at an auction for any significant bargain.

jkarovskaya · 2019-02-03T23:28:04+00:00

If you don't know how to inspect a house for condition, at least get a book or two and read up on inspecting process.

I did that professionally for a few years, and it saved clients megabucks by finding out what true condition of the electrical, plumbing, well, mechanicals, and structure were before purchase.

Best case, you get pre-approved for financing by a credit union, which typically will give you a better rate & lower closing than banks.

Once you are pre-approved, and have a down payment ready, look online for the MLS listings in your area.
Sites like https://www.zillow.com/pa/ will have some of the MLS for your area, there are other sites too, check around for them

For houses in tax lien or foreclosure, these are typically published in a local newspaper.

You may have to end up working with a realtor because once they know your price range, they can more easily find properties than you can, including foreclosures & Tax liens

Best case you know someone who reallly knows the construction trades and will go with you to do what I call a pre-inspection, which I still do for friends, because that way you'll have a sense whether it's even worth making an offer.

Real estate agents know their market, prices, and what's moving, and basics, but I've never met one who has worked in the trades.

best of luck

[deleted] · 2019-02-04T04:09:18+00:00

Well, what I did was I got a foreclosed home.

Yes, it "failed" inspection but when you have a real estate agent that deals in foreclosures, this is pretty normal. If it's been on the market for a while it's probably been broken into and the copper stolen. Or the previous owners damaged some of the property in their rage before they were evicted from the property and it was boarded up.

What you do is you review the repairs that are required based on the inspection report. In my situation on the house that I decided to buy, it was several leaking roof vents and it only costed a few hundred dollars to repair. The house was probably the 9th or 10th house I saw and one of the only ones that looked like it didn't need any work at all.

Of course you can't get a mortgage on a house that has failed inspection. Here's where your real estate agent comes in. They file a $1000 of your money as a non-refundable deposit with the bank that owns the property. It is good faith intent to buy paperwork and that $1000 gets credited towards the closing costs of the house. The paperwork blocks the bank from changing the price of the property or taking any other offers. It also gives me a couple months to get all the repairs done on the property to meet the prerequisites of getting a mortgage. Only took a couple weeks to get somebody out to fix the roof vents and it was good to go. Got the mortgage and bought the property in the following weeks.

Since it's a foreclosure, banks are trying to get money out of the property and not put money into it. So they won't make required repairs that are needed for you to get a mortgage to even buy the property. They sell it "as is". If you're willing to jump through the hoops and keep your eyes open then you can get a great deal on a great property. Banks hate owning properties because they lose value fast, attract squatters, and take damage and lose value over time by simply not having anybody inside to take care of the house. Most people looking for homes are looking for turn-key homes, not a foreclosure or a fixer upper. So buying a foreclosure instantly gets rid of that competition.

It's been a few years, and I've put many many hours of my own work into it. However, I'm certain I could sell it for more than twice what I paid for it.

aquaticscrotum69 · 2019-02-04T07:24:11+00:00

You can put in an offer on a house and include that the seller pay YOUR closing costs. You might want to offer a few grand above asking price to get the seller to accept your offer. Home inspections repairs are often negotiated between the buyer and seller. Get preapproved for a loan and have a down payment. A steady work history and good credit score will go a long way toward getting a mortgage loan. Only buy a house you can afford. A house payment should NOT be more than 25% of your take home pay. Good luck !!!

[deleted] · 2019-02-05T04:05:28+00:00

If you can't afford $500, then why bother? Get a job and save any way possible, make it work.

Title	Any MGTOW advice on purchasing homes and land for lower prices?
Author	harpyeaglelove
Upvotes	8
Comments	7
Date	February 3, 2019 8:07 PM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MGTOW
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MGTOW/comments/amteg7/any_mgtow_advice_on_purchasing_homes_and_land_for/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MGTOW/any-mgtow-advice-on-purchasing-homes-and-land-for.398881 https://theredarchive.com/post/398881

Comments

Get out and away from large cities & likewise avoid major "bedroom" suburban areas.