Real Estate
Bay Area House Hunter's Bible: 12 Crucial Tips for a Smart Purchase
Houses • oubiu wrote the post • 0 comments • 175 views • 2023-08-08 13:38
Buying a house is a major decision, and avoiding pitfalls is crucial! Over the years, I've encountered countless pitfalls while buying houses in the Bay Area. I want to share some insights here for anyone who might be looking to buy a house in the future, hoping they can smoothly navigate and find their dream home. (Disclaimer: I'm not a real estate agent, and I'm not trying to advise anyone to buy or not to buy a house. Please refrain from arguing. If you argue, you win.
1. When it comes to properties with drawbacks, caution is key:
Many people have already shared advice about avoiding properties near highways, trains, busy roads, power lines, etc., so I won't repeat those points.I want to highlight two things: 1a) If you're considering a house near a highway, it's better if the distance to the highway is at least 1000 feet (300 meters) in a straight line (you can use Google Maps' "Measure Distance" tool by right-clicking, which is quite handy). 1b) When you buy a property with drawbacks, it might be cheaper upfront, but the resale value might also be lower. So, the overall capital gain might not necessarily be lower than that of a property without drawbacks. However, properties with drawbacks are often preferred for investment purposes, especially for renting, as they don't affect your own living quality. Additionally, properties with good transportation accessibility despite drawbacks can actually be easier to rent out. For instance, I have a rental property near a highway, and it's better rented than my other properties without drawbacks.
2. Before buying a house, interview multiple real estate agents:
Based on my personal experience, what suits others might not necessarily suit you. When I was buying a house, a couple of close friends were using the same agent. This agent had a lot of experience, so initially, I thought of using her to save time. However, after talking to her, I realized our buying and investment mindsets were completely different. She advocated for borrowing as much as possible within your capacity, leveraging bank loans to buy the best property in a good school district to preserve value. However, I wasn't comfortable putting all my money into a single property, especially considering the risk of sudden layoffs and being unable to afford the mortgage. Later on, I interviewed five or six agents in succession until I found one whose philosophy aligned well with mine. For instance, if I had $1 million in cash, I'd prefer to split it and buy multiple investment properties, utilizing bank leverage while earning rental income to mitigate risks. I wouldn't put all the money into a top school district property for personal use. Remember, finding an agent who suits you is more important than necessarily going for a "top agent." Top agents might be too busy to prioritize your needs, especially if you're not a major client. At the beginning, I considered a top agent who was too busy to handle my case herself, so she assigned a junior team member to me. However, after speaking with the junior member, I felt I knew more about the market than they did. This experience taught me that selecting an agent isn't about their top-agent status or the volume of transactions in a specific area. I recall a conversation with an agent who suddenly called one evening to ask about the safety and rentability of a certain area in San Francisco. She was about to submit an offer for a client but had no prior experience in that area. I was amazed by this and realized that although she seemed impressive during our previous conversation (a top 2% agent from a major brokerage), I was lucky to receive her call, which helped me avoid a potential pitfall. In the end, everyone has their preferences, and it's important to interview multiple agents to find the one that suits you best.
3. The above principles also apply to finding a loan agent.
It's essential to interview several loan agents from different banks. Interest rates vary among banks at different times. Sometimes Bank A might have better rates, and other times Bank B might. You don't need to stick with the bank that provided pre-approval before buying a house. Even though it might not be entirely ethical, I have personally experienced a situation where I got pre-approved by one bank but later found that their rates weren't the best when I finally bought the house. At the time, I was a novice buyer and lacked experience, so I ended up using their loan offer. If I had chosen a different bank's loan, I could have saved 0.25% on the interest rate. Over the years, that would have amounted to significant savings. So, when looking for a loan agent, don't hesitate to interview multiple agents.
4. Choose someone you personally know, trust, and who has a good credit history. Don't blindly rely on online reviews or internal company recommendations.
In the past, I had an unfortunate experience when buying a house. I chose a loan agent who had great reviews on a Google internal sheet. This agent promised terms that she couldn't deliver on (such as price matching and additional lender credits). She convinced me to reject offers from other banks and work with her. However, she intentionally delayed telling me until the last week that she couldn't fulfill her promises. She even revealed on the day of the agreed closing date that the initial promised interest rate wasn't achievable. At times like these, some people might give in to the time pressure and accept unreasonable terms. My partner was furious and said they'd rather lose the earnest money than work with her. We quickly found another bank, and thanks to our proactive buyer agent and effective communication with the seller, we closed the deal two weeks late. Despite the delay, we avoided substantial losses. Initially, we could have secured a 3.75% interest rate, but due to the rate increase, our monthly payment ended up higher by nearly a thousand dollars.
5. Continuing from the previous point about loan agents, it's crucial to calculate approximate costs, time, and energy for renovating a fixer-upper before buying it.
Budget accordingly, as failing to account for these factors could result in higher total costs compared to buying a move-in ready home. I've previously mentioned the importance of having an agent who understands renovation for buying a fixer-upper, so I won't repeat that here. However, it's important to note that while you can't predict exact renovation costs, they shouldn't vary drastically from initial estimates. My personal experience with my first fixer-upper was quite challenging. The seller had replaced the flooring and repainted the walls before listing, giving the house a decent appearance. My agent at the time wasn't well-versed in renovations and assured me there were no issues. I proceeded with the purchase, but upon having renovation experts assess the property, I realized I had been misled. The seller had used the cheapest wood flooring and left many hidden renovation costs, such as outdated, uninsulated wood walls, and an outdated electrical meter that needed replacement along with rewiring after dismantling the old walls. The final renovation costs far exceeded my initial expectations.
6. Avoid having records of gift money deposits in your bank statements for the last two months.
This advice pertains to large remittances from overseas. Many banks may not accept this when processing a loan application, especially for significant sums. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's advisable to keep your bank statement primarily reflecting regular salary or monthly income deposits. Try to avoid any large one-time deposits.
7. Furthermore, if you've been involved in stock trading and unfortunately experienced significant losses on your tax returns for two consecutive years, it's advisable to confirm with the bank whether this will affect your loan interest rate when processing your loan application.
I personally experienced this situation and was surprised to find out that even significant investment losses could impact the loan application. Some banks consider such losses as a higher risk factor for providing loans. For instance, banks like Chase US Bank indicated that this could affect the loan. They might require a higher loan interest rate. After inquiring with multiple banks, I finally found one that wouldn't be influenced by these losses.
8. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's best to transfer the down payment to a designated account in advance.
I have a friend who encountered an issue with this. In pursuit of bank account opening bonuses, he opened several different bank accounts and distributed the down payment among these accounts. However, this led to delays in the loan approval process, far exceeding the typical 30-day closing period. The seller demanded compensation for the extended time, resulting in substantial penalty fees. Sometimes, it's better to avoid minor gains if they come at the cost of major setbacks.
9. Don't assume that buying an off-market house guarantees a good deal. In my first home-buying experience, lacking experience, I believed that purchasing an off-market property would result in savings. I specifically sought an agent with ample off-market resources. However, after analyzing the transaction data of neighboring properties, I realized that the off-market purchase was actually more expensive than buying a non-off-market property. Several factors contributed to this:
10a: Sellers aren't charitable entities; why would they sell at a discount? For sellers, listing a property and exposing it to more potential buyers is ideal. Often, off-market properties come with their share of issues, such as age-related wear or the need for significant renovations.
10b: Many off-market properties involve direct transactions with the seller's agent. This creates a dual agency situation, which can lead to conflicts of interest. It's risky for inexperienced buyers to work directly with a dual agent, as they don't solely represent the buyer's interests.
11. Invest time in reviewing disclosures and inspection reports yourself.
When it comes to inspections, it's important to note that the presence of foundation issues shouldn't immediately alarm you, unless you're purchasing a brand-new house. In the Bay Area, older homes tend to have some degree of foundation issues due to the natural shifting of soil over time. Vertical cracks on walls are generally not a major concern. However, if you encounter horizontal cracks, it's advisable to consult a structural engineer. A quick note: I've seen instances where sellers patch up and repaint wall cracks before selling. This makes it difficult to spot issues during inspections. If a house truly has serious foundation problems, they might become apparent when inspecting crawlspaces or concrete slabs.
12 .So, like, make sure to really check out the permits and the actual size of the house in the city or county system (I'm telling you, this is super important, like really important!). Some sellers might have added, like, a sunroom or something, or even, like, an illegal room without getting a permit (or they might've, you know, turned the garage into living space or something). When they sell the house, they might include this extra space in the total area, and that's why you sometimes see a listing on Redfin saying the house is, like, over 2000 square feet, but if you look it up in the county records, you might find that the living square footage they have registered is actually, like, just over 1000 square feet.
12a. So, first off, if there's an unpermitted addition and you move in, there's a chance a neighbor might snitch, and the city could come to check it out and, like, ask you to tear it down and, you know, put things back the way they were (this really varies from city to city, you know? I had this happen with an investment property I bought before – I was a newbie and didn't pay much attention to permits, and my agent didn't mention it either. Turns out the previous owner converted the garage into a bedroom and bath, and they showed me a permit copy, but later, like, a year after, the city sent me a letter saying it was illegal. Checked the city records, turned out the permit was pending and not completed. Tried talking to the city a bunch of times, no luck. Ended up spending a ton of money to bring it up to code and get the permit completed. Thought about legal action but that's a whole other story, trust me, it was a mess. Moral of the story, be super careful when buying a house!).
12b. Also, these additions, whether they got permits or not, usually cost around, like, $450 to $500 per square foot (before the pandemic, it was even cheaper). Regular house prices are like, you know, around $1000 per square foot. So, when sellers include this added space at market price, it's kinda not fair, you know? I mean, I get it, in a crazy hot market, buyers might not have much choice, but personally, I wouldn't pay an unreasonable price just to snatch a house, especially now that house prices are dropping. As a buyer, you totally have the chance to negotiate down with the seller about this. I noticed that a lot of agents don't even pay attention to these things, especially the second point. Some might know but won't tell you 'cause they just want you to buy the house. That's why I now make sure any agent I work with knows this stuff, no matter how good they are. If they don't give me a heads-up on this, especially if I'm a newbie, I'm just gonna pass on 'em. view all
1. When it comes to properties with drawbacks, caution is key:
Many people have already shared advice about avoiding properties near highways, trains, busy roads, power lines, etc., so I won't repeat those points.I want to highlight two things: 1a) If you're considering a house near a highway, it's better if the distance to the highway is at least 1000 feet (300 meters) in a straight line (you can use Google Maps' "Measure Distance" tool by right-clicking, which is quite handy). 1b) When you buy a property with drawbacks, it might be cheaper upfront, but the resale value might also be lower. So, the overall capital gain might not necessarily be lower than that of a property without drawbacks. However, properties with drawbacks are often preferred for investment purposes, especially for renting, as they don't affect your own living quality. Additionally, properties with good transportation accessibility despite drawbacks can actually be easier to rent out. For instance, I have a rental property near a highway, and it's better rented than my other properties without drawbacks.
2. Before buying a house, interview multiple real estate agents:
Based on my personal experience, what suits others might not necessarily suit you. When I was buying a house, a couple of close friends were using the same agent. This agent had a lot of experience, so initially, I thought of using her to save time. However, after talking to her, I realized our buying and investment mindsets were completely different. She advocated for borrowing as much as possible within your capacity, leveraging bank loans to buy the best property in a good school district to preserve value. However, I wasn't comfortable putting all my money into a single property, especially considering the risk of sudden layoffs and being unable to afford the mortgage. Later on, I interviewed five or six agents in succession until I found one whose philosophy aligned well with mine. For instance, if I had $1 million in cash, I'd prefer to split it and buy multiple investment properties, utilizing bank leverage while earning rental income to mitigate risks. I wouldn't put all the money into a top school district property for personal use. Remember, finding an agent who suits you is more important than necessarily going for a "top agent." Top agents might be too busy to prioritize your needs, especially if you're not a major client. At the beginning, I considered a top agent who was too busy to handle my case herself, so she assigned a junior team member to me. However, after speaking with the junior member, I felt I knew more about the market than they did. This experience taught me that selecting an agent isn't about their top-agent status or the volume of transactions in a specific area. I recall a conversation with an agent who suddenly called one evening to ask about the safety and rentability of a certain area in San Francisco. She was about to submit an offer for a client but had no prior experience in that area. I was amazed by this and realized that although she seemed impressive during our previous conversation (a top 2% agent from a major brokerage), I was lucky to receive her call, which helped me avoid a potential pitfall. In the end, everyone has their preferences, and it's important to interview multiple agents to find the one that suits you best.
3. The above principles also apply to finding a loan agent.
It's essential to interview several loan agents from different banks. Interest rates vary among banks at different times. Sometimes Bank A might have better rates, and other times Bank B might. You don't need to stick with the bank that provided pre-approval before buying a house. Even though it might not be entirely ethical, I have personally experienced a situation where I got pre-approved by one bank but later found that their rates weren't the best when I finally bought the house. At the time, I was a novice buyer and lacked experience, so I ended up using their loan offer. If I had chosen a different bank's loan, I could have saved 0.25% on the interest rate. Over the years, that would have amounted to significant savings. So, when looking for a loan agent, don't hesitate to interview multiple agents.
4. Choose someone you personally know, trust, and who has a good credit history. Don't blindly rely on online reviews or internal company recommendations.
In the past, I had an unfortunate experience when buying a house. I chose a loan agent who had great reviews on a Google internal sheet. This agent promised terms that she couldn't deliver on (such as price matching and additional lender credits). She convinced me to reject offers from other banks and work with her. However, she intentionally delayed telling me until the last week that she couldn't fulfill her promises. She even revealed on the day of the agreed closing date that the initial promised interest rate wasn't achievable. At times like these, some people might give in to the time pressure and accept unreasonable terms. My partner was furious and said they'd rather lose the earnest money than work with her. We quickly found another bank, and thanks to our proactive buyer agent and effective communication with the seller, we closed the deal two weeks late. Despite the delay, we avoided substantial losses. Initially, we could have secured a 3.75% interest rate, but due to the rate increase, our monthly payment ended up higher by nearly a thousand dollars.
5. Continuing from the previous point about loan agents, it's crucial to calculate approximate costs, time, and energy for renovating a fixer-upper before buying it.
Budget accordingly, as failing to account for these factors could result in higher total costs compared to buying a move-in ready home. I've previously mentioned the importance of having an agent who understands renovation for buying a fixer-upper, so I won't repeat that here. However, it's important to note that while you can't predict exact renovation costs, they shouldn't vary drastically from initial estimates. My personal experience with my first fixer-upper was quite challenging. The seller had replaced the flooring and repainted the walls before listing, giving the house a decent appearance. My agent at the time wasn't well-versed in renovations and assured me there were no issues. I proceeded with the purchase, but upon having renovation experts assess the property, I realized I had been misled. The seller had used the cheapest wood flooring and left many hidden renovation costs, such as outdated, uninsulated wood walls, and an outdated electrical meter that needed replacement along with rewiring after dismantling the old walls. The final renovation costs far exceeded my initial expectations.
6. Avoid having records of gift money deposits in your bank statements for the last two months.
This advice pertains to large remittances from overseas. Many banks may not accept this when processing a loan application, especially for significant sums. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's advisable to keep your bank statement primarily reflecting regular salary or monthly income deposits. Try to avoid any large one-time deposits.
7. Furthermore, if you've been involved in stock trading and unfortunately experienced significant losses on your tax returns for two consecutive years, it's advisable to confirm with the bank whether this will affect your loan interest rate when processing your loan application.
I personally experienced this situation and was surprised to find out that even significant investment losses could impact the loan application. Some banks consider such losses as a higher risk factor for providing loans. For instance, banks like Chase US Bank indicated that this could affect the loan. They might require a higher loan interest rate. After inquiring with multiple banks, I finally found one that wouldn't be influenced by these losses.
8. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's best to transfer the down payment to a designated account in advance.
I have a friend who encountered an issue with this. In pursuit of bank account opening bonuses, he opened several different bank accounts and distributed the down payment among these accounts. However, this led to delays in the loan approval process, far exceeding the typical 30-day closing period. The seller demanded compensation for the extended time, resulting in substantial penalty fees. Sometimes, it's better to avoid minor gains if they come at the cost of major setbacks.
9. Don't assume that buying an off-market house guarantees a good deal. In my first home-buying experience, lacking experience, I believed that purchasing an off-market property would result in savings. I specifically sought an agent with ample off-market resources. However, after analyzing the transaction data of neighboring properties, I realized that the off-market purchase was actually more expensive than buying a non-off-market property. Several factors contributed to this:
10a: Sellers aren't charitable entities; why would they sell at a discount? For sellers, listing a property and exposing it to more potential buyers is ideal. Often, off-market properties come with their share of issues, such as age-related wear or the need for significant renovations.
10b: Many off-market properties involve direct transactions with the seller's agent. This creates a dual agency situation, which can lead to conflicts of interest. It's risky for inexperienced buyers to work directly with a dual agent, as they don't solely represent the buyer's interests.
11. Invest time in reviewing disclosures and inspection reports yourself.
When it comes to inspections, it's important to note that the presence of foundation issues shouldn't immediately alarm you, unless you're purchasing a brand-new house. In the Bay Area, older homes tend to have some degree of foundation issues due to the natural shifting of soil over time. Vertical cracks on walls are generally not a major concern. However, if you encounter horizontal cracks, it's advisable to consult a structural engineer. A quick note: I've seen instances where sellers patch up and repaint wall cracks before selling. This makes it difficult to spot issues during inspections. If a house truly has serious foundation problems, they might become apparent when inspecting crawlspaces or concrete slabs.
12 .So, like, make sure to really check out the permits and the actual size of the house in the city or county system (I'm telling you, this is super important, like really important!). Some sellers might have added, like, a sunroom or something, or even, like, an illegal room without getting a permit (or they might've, you know, turned the garage into living space or something). When they sell the house, they might include this extra space in the total area, and that's why you sometimes see a listing on Redfin saying the house is, like, over 2000 square feet, but if you look it up in the county records, you might find that the living square footage they have registered is actually, like, just over 1000 square feet.
12a. So, first off, if there's an unpermitted addition and you move in, there's a chance a neighbor might snitch, and the city could come to check it out and, like, ask you to tear it down and, you know, put things back the way they were (this really varies from city to city, you know? I had this happen with an investment property I bought before – I was a newbie and didn't pay much attention to permits, and my agent didn't mention it either. Turns out the previous owner converted the garage into a bedroom and bath, and they showed me a permit copy, but later, like, a year after, the city sent me a letter saying it was illegal. Checked the city records, turned out the permit was pending and not completed. Tried talking to the city a bunch of times, no luck. Ended up spending a ton of money to bring it up to code and get the permit completed. Thought about legal action but that's a whole other story, trust me, it was a mess. Moral of the story, be super careful when buying a house!).
12b. Also, these additions, whether they got permits or not, usually cost around, like, $450 to $500 per square foot (before the pandemic, it was even cheaper). Regular house prices are like, you know, around $1000 per square foot. So, when sellers include this added space at market price, it's kinda not fair, you know? I mean, I get it, in a crazy hot market, buyers might not have much choice, but personally, I wouldn't pay an unreasonable price just to snatch a house, especially now that house prices are dropping. As a buyer, you totally have the chance to negotiate down with the seller about this. I noticed that a lot of agents don't even pay attention to these things, especially the second point. Some might know but won't tell you 'cause they just want you to buy the house. That's why I now make sure any agent I work with knows this stuff, no matter how good they are. If they don't give me a heads-up on this, especially if I'm a newbie, I'm just gonna pass on 'em. view all
Buying a house is a major decision, and avoiding pitfalls is crucial! Over the years, I've encountered countless pitfalls while buying houses in the Bay Area. I want to share some insights here for anyone who might be looking to buy a house in the future, hoping they can smoothly navigate and find their dream home. (Disclaimer: I'm not a real estate agent, and I'm not trying to advise anyone to buy or not to buy a house. Please refrain from arguing. If you argue, you win.
1. When it comes to properties with drawbacks, caution is key:
2. Before buying a house, interview multiple real estate agents:
3. The above principles also apply to finding a loan agent.
It's essential to interview several loan agents from different banks. Interest rates vary among banks at different times. Sometimes Bank A might have better rates, and other times Bank B might. You don't need to stick with the bank that provided pre-approval before buying a house. Even though it might not be entirely ethical, I have personally experienced a situation where I got pre-approved by one bank but later found that their rates weren't the best when I finally bought the house. At the time, I was a novice buyer and lacked experience, so I ended up using their loan offer. If I had chosen a different bank's loan, I could have saved 0.25% on the interest rate. Over the years, that would have amounted to significant savings. So, when looking for a loan agent, don't hesitate to interview multiple agents.
4. Choose someone you personally know, trust, and who has a good credit history. Don't blindly rely on online reviews or internal company recommendations.
In the past, I had an unfortunate experience when buying a house. I chose a loan agent who had great reviews on a Google internal sheet. This agent promised terms that she couldn't deliver on (such as price matching and additional lender credits). She convinced me to reject offers from other banks and work with her. However, she intentionally delayed telling me until the last week that she couldn't fulfill her promises. She even revealed on the day of the agreed closing date that the initial promised interest rate wasn't achievable. At times like these, some people might give in to the time pressure and accept unreasonable terms. My partner was furious and said they'd rather lose the earnest money than work with her. We quickly found another bank, and thanks to our proactive buyer agent and effective communication with the seller, we closed the deal two weeks late. Despite the delay, we avoided substantial losses. Initially, we could have secured a 3.75% interest rate, but due to the rate increase, our monthly payment ended up higher by nearly a thousand dollars.
5. Continuing from the previous point about loan agents, it's crucial to calculate approximate costs, time, and energy for renovating a fixer-upper before buying it.
Budget accordingly, as failing to account for these factors could result in higher total costs compared to buying a move-in ready home. I've previously mentioned the importance of having an agent who understands renovation for buying a fixer-upper, so I won't repeat that here. However, it's important to note that while you can't predict exact renovation costs, they shouldn't vary drastically from initial estimates. My personal experience with my first fixer-upper was quite challenging. The seller had replaced the flooring and repainted the walls before listing, giving the house a decent appearance. My agent at the time wasn't well-versed in renovations and assured me there were no issues. I proceeded with the purchase, but upon having renovation experts assess the property, I realized I had been misled. The seller had used the cheapest wood flooring and left many hidden renovation costs, such as outdated, uninsulated wood walls, and an outdated electrical meter that needed replacement along with rewiring after dismantling the old walls. The final renovation costs far exceeded my initial expectations.
6. Avoid having records of gift money deposits in your bank statements for the last two months.
This advice pertains to large remittances from overseas. Many banks may not accept this when processing a loan application, especially for significant sums. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's advisable to keep your bank statement primarily reflecting regular salary or monthly income deposits. Try to avoid any large one-time deposits.
7. Furthermore, if you've been involved in stock trading and unfortunately experienced significant losses on your tax returns for two consecutive years, it's advisable to confirm with the bank whether this will affect your loan interest rate when processing your loan application.
I personally experienced this situation and was surprised to find out that even significant investment losses could impact the loan application. Some banks consider such losses as a higher risk factor for providing loans. For instance, banks like Chase US Bank indicated that this could affect the loan. They might require a higher loan interest rate. After inquiring with multiple banks, I finally found one that wouldn't be influenced by these losses.
8. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's best to transfer the down payment to a designated account in advance.
I have a friend who encountered an issue with this. In pursuit of bank account opening bonuses, he opened several different bank accounts and distributed the down payment among these accounts. However, this led to delays in the loan approval process, far exceeding the typical 30-day closing period. The seller demanded compensation for the extended time, resulting in substantial penalty fees. Sometimes, it's better to avoid minor gains if they come at the cost of major setbacks.
9. Don't assume that buying an off-market house guarantees a good deal. In my first home-buying experience, lacking experience, I believed that purchasing an off-market property would result in savings. I specifically sought an agent with ample off-market resources. However, after analyzing the transaction data of neighboring properties, I realized that the off-market purchase was actually more expensive than buying a non-off-market property. Several factors contributed to this:
10a: Sellers aren't charitable entities; why would they sell at a discount? For sellers, listing a property and exposing it to more potential buyers is ideal. Often, off-market properties come with their share of issues, such as age-related wear or the need for significant renovations.
10b: Many off-market properties involve direct transactions with the seller's agent. This creates a dual agency situation, which can lead to conflicts of interest. It's risky for inexperienced buyers to work directly with a dual agent, as they don't solely represent the buyer's interests.
11. Invest time in reviewing disclosures and inspection reports yourself.
When it comes to inspections, it's important to note that the presence of foundation issues shouldn't immediately alarm you, unless you're purchasing a brand-new house. In the Bay Area, older homes tend to have some degree of foundation issues due to the natural shifting of soil over time. Vertical cracks on walls are generally not a major concern. However, if you encounter horizontal cracks, it's advisable to consult a structural engineer. A quick note: I've seen instances where sellers patch up and repaint wall cracks before selling. This makes it difficult to spot issues during inspections. If a house truly has serious foundation problems, they might become apparent when inspecting crawlspaces or concrete slabs.
12 .So, like, make sure to really check out the permits and the actual size of the house in the city or county system (I'm telling you, this is super important, like really important!). Some sellers might have added, like, a sunroom or something, or even, like, an illegal room without getting a permit (or they might've, you know, turned the garage into living space or something). When they sell the house, they might include this extra space in the total area, and that's why you sometimes see a listing on Redfin saying the house is, like, over 2000 square feet, but if you look it up in the county records, you might find that the living square footage they have registered is actually, like, just over 1000 square feet.
12a. So, first off, if there's an unpermitted addition and you move in, there's a chance a neighbor might snitch, and the city could come to check it out and, like, ask you to tear it down and, you know, put things back the way they were (this really varies from city to city, you know? I had this happen with an investment property I bought before – I was a newbie and didn't pay much attention to permits, and my agent didn't mention it either. Turns out the previous owner converted the garage into a bedroom and bath, and they showed me a permit copy, but later, like, a year after, the city sent me a letter saying it was illegal. Checked the city records, turned out the permit was pending and not completed. Tried talking to the city a bunch of times, no luck. Ended up spending a ton of money to bring it up to code and get the permit completed. Thought about legal action but that's a whole other story, trust me, it was a mess. Moral of the story, be super careful when buying a house!).
12b. Also, these additions, whether they got permits or not, usually cost around, like, $450 to $500 per square foot (before the pandemic, it was even cheaper). Regular house prices are like, you know, around $1000 per square foot. So, when sellers include this added space at market price, it's kinda not fair, you know? I mean, I get it, in a crazy hot market, buyers might not have much choice, but personally, I wouldn't pay an unreasonable price just to snatch a house, especially now that house prices are dropping. As a buyer, you totally have the chance to negotiate down with the seller about this. I noticed that a lot of agents don't even pay attention to these things, especially the second point. Some might know but won't tell you 'cause they just want you to buy the house. That's why I now make sure any agent I work with knows this stuff, no matter how good they are. If they don't give me a heads-up on this, especially if I'm a newbie, I'm just gonna pass on 'em.
1. When it comes to properties with drawbacks, caution is key:
- Many people have already shared advice about avoiding properties near highways, trains, busy roads, power lines, etc., so I won't repeat those points.
- I want to highlight two things: 1a) If you're considering a house near a highway, it's better if the distance to the highway is at least 1000 feet (300 meters) in a straight line (you can use Google Maps' "Measure Distance" tool by right-clicking, which is quite handy). 1b) When you buy a property with drawbacks, it might be cheaper upfront, but the resale value might also be lower. So, the overall capital gain might not necessarily be lower than that of a property without drawbacks. However, properties with drawbacks are often preferred for investment purposes, especially for renting, as they don't affect your own living quality. Additionally, properties with good transportation accessibility despite drawbacks can actually be easier to rent out. For instance, I have a rental property near a highway, and it's better rented than my other properties without drawbacks.
2. Before buying a house, interview multiple real estate agents:
- Based on my personal experience, what suits others might not necessarily suit you. When I was buying a house, a couple of close friends were using the same agent. This agent had a lot of experience, so initially, I thought of using her to save time. However, after talking to her, I realized our buying and investment mindsets were completely different. She advocated for borrowing as much as possible within your capacity, leveraging bank loans to buy the best property in a good school district to preserve value. However, I wasn't comfortable putting all my money into a single property, especially considering the risk of sudden layoffs and being unable to afford the mortgage. Later on, I interviewed five or six agents in succession until I found one whose philosophy aligned well with mine. For instance, if I had $1 million in cash, I'd prefer to split it and buy multiple investment properties, utilizing bank leverage while earning rental income to mitigate risks. I wouldn't put all the money into a top school district property for personal use. Remember, finding an agent who suits you is more important than necessarily going for a "top agent." Top agents might be too busy to prioritize your needs, especially if you're not a major client. At the beginning, I considered a top agent who was too busy to handle my case herself, so she assigned a junior team member to me. However, after speaking with the junior member, I felt I knew more about the market than they did. This experience taught me that selecting an agent isn't about their top-agent status or the volume of transactions in a specific area. I recall a conversation with an agent who suddenly called one evening to ask about the safety and rentability of a certain area in San Francisco. She was about to submit an offer for a client but had no prior experience in that area. I was amazed by this and realized that although she seemed impressive during our previous conversation (a top 2% agent from a major brokerage), I was lucky to receive her call, which helped me avoid a potential pitfall. In the end, everyone has their preferences, and it's important to interview multiple agents to find the one that suits you best.
3. The above principles also apply to finding a loan agent.
It's essential to interview several loan agents from different banks. Interest rates vary among banks at different times. Sometimes Bank A might have better rates, and other times Bank B might. You don't need to stick with the bank that provided pre-approval before buying a house. Even though it might not be entirely ethical, I have personally experienced a situation where I got pre-approved by one bank but later found that their rates weren't the best when I finally bought the house. At the time, I was a novice buyer and lacked experience, so I ended up using their loan offer. If I had chosen a different bank's loan, I could have saved 0.25% on the interest rate. Over the years, that would have amounted to significant savings. So, when looking for a loan agent, don't hesitate to interview multiple agents.
4. Choose someone you personally know, trust, and who has a good credit history. Don't blindly rely on online reviews or internal company recommendations.
In the past, I had an unfortunate experience when buying a house. I chose a loan agent who had great reviews on a Google internal sheet. This agent promised terms that she couldn't deliver on (such as price matching and additional lender credits). She convinced me to reject offers from other banks and work with her. However, she intentionally delayed telling me until the last week that she couldn't fulfill her promises. She even revealed on the day of the agreed closing date that the initial promised interest rate wasn't achievable. At times like these, some people might give in to the time pressure and accept unreasonable terms. My partner was furious and said they'd rather lose the earnest money than work with her. We quickly found another bank, and thanks to our proactive buyer agent and effective communication with the seller, we closed the deal two weeks late. Despite the delay, we avoided substantial losses. Initially, we could have secured a 3.75% interest rate, but due to the rate increase, our monthly payment ended up higher by nearly a thousand dollars.
5. Continuing from the previous point about loan agents, it's crucial to calculate approximate costs, time, and energy for renovating a fixer-upper before buying it.
Budget accordingly, as failing to account for these factors could result in higher total costs compared to buying a move-in ready home. I've previously mentioned the importance of having an agent who understands renovation for buying a fixer-upper, so I won't repeat that here. However, it's important to note that while you can't predict exact renovation costs, they shouldn't vary drastically from initial estimates. My personal experience with my first fixer-upper was quite challenging. The seller had replaced the flooring and repainted the walls before listing, giving the house a decent appearance. My agent at the time wasn't well-versed in renovations and assured me there were no issues. I proceeded with the purchase, but upon having renovation experts assess the property, I realized I had been misled. The seller had used the cheapest wood flooring and left many hidden renovation costs, such as outdated, uninsulated wood walls, and an outdated electrical meter that needed replacement along with rewiring after dismantling the old walls. The final renovation costs far exceeded my initial expectations.
6. Avoid having records of gift money deposits in your bank statements for the last two months.
This advice pertains to large remittances from overseas. Many banks may not accept this when processing a loan application, especially for significant sums. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's advisable to keep your bank statement primarily reflecting regular salary or monthly income deposits. Try to avoid any large one-time deposits.
7. Furthermore, if you've been involved in stock trading and unfortunately experienced significant losses on your tax returns for two consecutive years, it's advisable to confirm with the bank whether this will affect your loan interest rate when processing your loan application.
I personally experienced this situation and was surprised to find out that even significant investment losses could impact the loan application. Some banks consider such losses as a higher risk factor for providing loans. For instance, banks like Chase US Bank indicated that this could affect the loan. They might require a higher loan interest rate. After inquiring with multiple banks, I finally found one that wouldn't be influenced by these losses.
8. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's best to transfer the down payment to a designated account in advance.
I have a friend who encountered an issue with this. In pursuit of bank account opening bonuses, he opened several different bank accounts and distributed the down payment among these accounts. However, this led to delays in the loan approval process, far exceeding the typical 30-day closing period. The seller demanded compensation for the extended time, resulting in substantial penalty fees. Sometimes, it's better to avoid minor gains if they come at the cost of major setbacks.
9. Don't assume that buying an off-market house guarantees a good deal. In my first home-buying experience, lacking experience, I believed that purchasing an off-market property would result in savings. I specifically sought an agent with ample off-market resources. However, after analyzing the transaction data of neighboring properties, I realized that the off-market purchase was actually more expensive than buying a non-off-market property. Several factors contributed to this:
10a: Sellers aren't charitable entities; why would they sell at a discount? For sellers, listing a property and exposing it to more potential buyers is ideal. Often, off-market properties come with their share of issues, such as age-related wear or the need for significant renovations.
10b: Many off-market properties involve direct transactions with the seller's agent. This creates a dual agency situation, which can lead to conflicts of interest. It's risky for inexperienced buyers to work directly with a dual agent, as they don't solely represent the buyer's interests.
11. Invest time in reviewing disclosures and inspection reports yourself.
When it comes to inspections, it's important to note that the presence of foundation issues shouldn't immediately alarm you, unless you're purchasing a brand-new house. In the Bay Area, older homes tend to have some degree of foundation issues due to the natural shifting of soil over time. Vertical cracks on walls are generally not a major concern. However, if you encounter horizontal cracks, it's advisable to consult a structural engineer. A quick note: I've seen instances where sellers patch up and repaint wall cracks before selling. This makes it difficult to spot issues during inspections. If a house truly has serious foundation problems, they might become apparent when inspecting crawlspaces or concrete slabs.
12 .So, like, make sure to really check out the permits and the actual size of the house in the city or county system (I'm telling you, this is super important, like really important!). Some sellers might have added, like, a sunroom or something, or even, like, an illegal room without getting a permit (or they might've, you know, turned the garage into living space or something). When they sell the house, they might include this extra space in the total area, and that's why you sometimes see a listing on Redfin saying the house is, like, over 2000 square feet, but if you look it up in the county records, you might find that the living square footage they have registered is actually, like, just over 1000 square feet.
12a. So, first off, if there's an unpermitted addition and you move in, there's a chance a neighbor might snitch, and the city could come to check it out and, like, ask you to tear it down and, you know, put things back the way they were (this really varies from city to city, you know? I had this happen with an investment property I bought before – I was a newbie and didn't pay much attention to permits, and my agent didn't mention it either. Turns out the previous owner converted the garage into a bedroom and bath, and they showed me a permit copy, but later, like, a year after, the city sent me a letter saying it was illegal. Checked the city records, turned out the permit was pending and not completed. Tried talking to the city a bunch of times, no luck. Ended up spending a ton of money to bring it up to code and get the permit completed. Thought about legal action but that's a whole other story, trust me, it was a mess. Moral of the story, be super careful when buying a house!).
12b. Also, these additions, whether they got permits or not, usually cost around, like, $450 to $500 per square foot (before the pandemic, it was even cheaper). Regular house prices are like, you know, around $1000 per square foot. So, when sellers include this added space at market price, it's kinda not fair, you know? I mean, I get it, in a crazy hot market, buyers might not have much choice, but personally, I wouldn't pay an unreasonable price just to snatch a house, especially now that house prices are dropping. As a buyer, you totally have the chance to negotiate down with the seller about this. I noticed that a lot of agents don't even pay attention to these things, especially the second point. Some might know but won't tell you 'cause they just want you to buy the house. That's why I now make sure any agent I work with knows this stuff, no matter how good they are. If they don't give me a heads-up on this, especially if I'm a newbie, I'm just gonna pass on 'em.
Investor/Partner WANTED for fund business
Others • BlueFireBoy wrote the post • 0 comments • 413 views • 2020-10-01 03:08
I am seeking one or more investors for an investment opportunity to invest in an entity holding gold and other precious metals (e.g. silver, platinum and palladium) as well as other assets (e.g. real estate). Get in-touch if interested with your mobile phone number and/or e-mail address.
view all
view all
I am seeking one or more investors for an investment opportunity to invest in an entity holding gold and other precious metals (e.g. silver, platinum and palladium) as well as other assets (e.g. real estate). Get in-touch if interested with your mobile phone number and/or e-mail address.
House for sale in auckland|3 bedroom on 825m2 and renovated and 4 utilities asking $799k. Rickhil 02108213015
Houses • Rickhil Prakash wrote the post • 0 comments • 497 views • 2020-04-02 04:38
3 bedroom on 825m2 and renovated and 4 utilities asking $799k. Rickhil 02108213015
Bay Area House Hunter's Bible: 12 Crucial Tips for a Smart Purchase
Houses • oubiu wrote the post • 0 comments • 175 views • 2023-08-08 13:38
Buying a house is a major decision, and avoiding pitfalls is crucial! Over the years, I've encountered countless pitfalls while buying houses in the Bay Area. I want to share some insights here for anyone who might be looking to buy a house in the future, hoping they can smoothly navigate and find their dream home. (Disclaimer: I'm not a real estate agent, and I'm not trying to advise anyone to buy or not to buy a house. Please refrain from arguing. If you argue, you win.
1. When it comes to properties with drawbacks, caution is key:
Many people have already shared advice about avoiding properties near highways, trains, busy roads, power lines, etc., so I won't repeat those points.I want to highlight two things: 1a) If you're considering a house near a highway, it's better if the distance to the highway is at least 1000 feet (300 meters) in a straight line (you can use Google Maps' "Measure Distance" tool by right-clicking, which is quite handy). 1b) When you buy a property with drawbacks, it might be cheaper upfront, but the resale value might also be lower. So, the overall capital gain might not necessarily be lower than that of a property without drawbacks. However, properties with drawbacks are often preferred for investment purposes, especially for renting, as they don't affect your own living quality. Additionally, properties with good transportation accessibility despite drawbacks can actually be easier to rent out. For instance, I have a rental property near a highway, and it's better rented than my other properties without drawbacks.
2. Before buying a house, interview multiple real estate agents:
Based on my personal experience, what suits others might not necessarily suit you. When I was buying a house, a couple of close friends were using the same agent. This agent had a lot of experience, so initially, I thought of using her to save time. However, after talking to her, I realized our buying and investment mindsets were completely different. She advocated for borrowing as much as possible within your capacity, leveraging bank loans to buy the best property in a good school district to preserve value. However, I wasn't comfortable putting all my money into a single property, especially considering the risk of sudden layoffs and being unable to afford the mortgage. Later on, I interviewed five or six agents in succession until I found one whose philosophy aligned well with mine. For instance, if I had $1 million in cash, I'd prefer to split it and buy multiple investment properties, utilizing bank leverage while earning rental income to mitigate risks. I wouldn't put all the money into a top school district property for personal use. Remember, finding an agent who suits you is more important than necessarily going for a "top agent." Top agents might be too busy to prioritize your needs, especially if you're not a major client. At the beginning, I considered a top agent who was too busy to handle my case herself, so she assigned a junior team member to me. However, after speaking with the junior member, I felt I knew more about the market than they did. This experience taught me that selecting an agent isn't about their top-agent status or the volume of transactions in a specific area. I recall a conversation with an agent who suddenly called one evening to ask about the safety and rentability of a certain area in San Francisco. She was about to submit an offer for a client but had no prior experience in that area. I was amazed by this and realized that although she seemed impressive during our previous conversation (a top 2% agent from a major brokerage), I was lucky to receive her call, which helped me avoid a potential pitfall. In the end, everyone has their preferences, and it's important to interview multiple agents to find the one that suits you best.
3. The above principles also apply to finding a loan agent.
It's essential to interview several loan agents from different banks. Interest rates vary among banks at different times. Sometimes Bank A might have better rates, and other times Bank B might. You don't need to stick with the bank that provided pre-approval before buying a house. Even though it might not be entirely ethical, I have personally experienced a situation where I got pre-approved by one bank but later found that their rates weren't the best when I finally bought the house. At the time, I was a novice buyer and lacked experience, so I ended up using their loan offer. If I had chosen a different bank's loan, I could have saved 0.25% on the interest rate. Over the years, that would have amounted to significant savings. So, when looking for a loan agent, don't hesitate to interview multiple agents.
4. Choose someone you personally know, trust, and who has a good credit history. Don't blindly rely on online reviews or internal company recommendations.
In the past, I had an unfortunate experience when buying a house. I chose a loan agent who had great reviews on a Google internal sheet. This agent promised terms that she couldn't deliver on (such as price matching and additional lender credits). She convinced me to reject offers from other banks and work with her. However, she intentionally delayed telling me until the last week that she couldn't fulfill her promises. She even revealed on the day of the agreed closing date that the initial promised interest rate wasn't achievable. At times like these, some people might give in to the time pressure and accept unreasonable terms. My partner was furious and said they'd rather lose the earnest money than work with her. We quickly found another bank, and thanks to our proactive buyer agent and effective communication with the seller, we closed the deal two weeks late. Despite the delay, we avoided substantial losses. Initially, we could have secured a 3.75% interest rate, but due to the rate increase, our monthly payment ended up higher by nearly a thousand dollars.
5. Continuing from the previous point about loan agents, it's crucial to calculate approximate costs, time, and energy for renovating a fixer-upper before buying it.
Budget accordingly, as failing to account for these factors could result in higher total costs compared to buying a move-in ready home. I've previously mentioned the importance of having an agent who understands renovation for buying a fixer-upper, so I won't repeat that here. However, it's important to note that while you can't predict exact renovation costs, they shouldn't vary drastically from initial estimates. My personal experience with my first fixer-upper was quite challenging. The seller had replaced the flooring and repainted the walls before listing, giving the house a decent appearance. My agent at the time wasn't well-versed in renovations and assured me there were no issues. I proceeded with the purchase, but upon having renovation experts assess the property, I realized I had been misled. The seller had used the cheapest wood flooring and left many hidden renovation costs, such as outdated, uninsulated wood walls, and an outdated electrical meter that needed replacement along with rewiring after dismantling the old walls. The final renovation costs far exceeded my initial expectations.
6. Avoid having records of gift money deposits in your bank statements for the last two months.
This advice pertains to large remittances from overseas. Many banks may not accept this when processing a loan application, especially for significant sums. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's advisable to keep your bank statement primarily reflecting regular salary or monthly income deposits. Try to avoid any large one-time deposits.
7. Furthermore, if you've been involved in stock trading and unfortunately experienced significant losses on your tax returns for two consecutive years, it's advisable to confirm with the bank whether this will affect your loan interest rate when processing your loan application.
I personally experienced this situation and was surprised to find out that even significant investment losses could impact the loan application. Some banks consider such losses as a higher risk factor for providing loans. For instance, banks like Chase US Bank indicated that this could affect the loan. They might require a higher loan interest rate. After inquiring with multiple banks, I finally found one that wouldn't be influenced by these losses.
8. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's best to transfer the down payment to a designated account in advance.
I have a friend who encountered an issue with this. In pursuit of bank account opening bonuses, he opened several different bank accounts and distributed the down payment among these accounts. However, this led to delays in the loan approval process, far exceeding the typical 30-day closing period. The seller demanded compensation for the extended time, resulting in substantial penalty fees. Sometimes, it's better to avoid minor gains if they come at the cost of major setbacks.
9. Don't assume that buying an off-market house guarantees a good deal. In my first home-buying experience, lacking experience, I believed that purchasing an off-market property would result in savings. I specifically sought an agent with ample off-market resources. However, after analyzing the transaction data of neighboring properties, I realized that the off-market purchase was actually more expensive than buying a non-off-market property. Several factors contributed to this:
10a: Sellers aren't charitable entities; why would they sell at a discount? For sellers, listing a property and exposing it to more potential buyers is ideal. Often, off-market properties come with their share of issues, such as age-related wear or the need for significant renovations.
10b: Many off-market properties involve direct transactions with the seller's agent. This creates a dual agency situation, which can lead to conflicts of interest. It's risky for inexperienced buyers to work directly with a dual agent, as they don't solely represent the buyer's interests.
11. Invest time in reviewing disclosures and inspection reports yourself.
When it comes to inspections, it's important to note that the presence of foundation issues shouldn't immediately alarm you, unless you're purchasing a brand-new house. In the Bay Area, older homes tend to have some degree of foundation issues due to the natural shifting of soil over time. Vertical cracks on walls are generally not a major concern. However, if you encounter horizontal cracks, it's advisable to consult a structural engineer. A quick note: I've seen instances where sellers patch up and repaint wall cracks before selling. This makes it difficult to spot issues during inspections. If a house truly has serious foundation problems, they might become apparent when inspecting crawlspaces or concrete slabs.
12 .So, like, make sure to really check out the permits and the actual size of the house in the city or county system (I'm telling you, this is super important, like really important!). Some sellers might have added, like, a sunroom or something, or even, like, an illegal room without getting a permit (or they might've, you know, turned the garage into living space or something). When they sell the house, they might include this extra space in the total area, and that's why you sometimes see a listing on Redfin saying the house is, like, over 2000 square feet, but if you look it up in the county records, you might find that the living square footage they have registered is actually, like, just over 1000 square feet.
12a. So, first off, if there's an unpermitted addition and you move in, there's a chance a neighbor might snitch, and the city could come to check it out and, like, ask you to tear it down and, you know, put things back the way they were (this really varies from city to city, you know? I had this happen with an investment property I bought before – I was a newbie and didn't pay much attention to permits, and my agent didn't mention it either. Turns out the previous owner converted the garage into a bedroom and bath, and they showed me a permit copy, but later, like, a year after, the city sent me a letter saying it was illegal. Checked the city records, turned out the permit was pending and not completed. Tried talking to the city a bunch of times, no luck. Ended up spending a ton of money to bring it up to code and get the permit completed. Thought about legal action but that's a whole other story, trust me, it was a mess. Moral of the story, be super careful when buying a house!).
12b. Also, these additions, whether they got permits or not, usually cost around, like, $450 to $500 per square foot (before the pandemic, it was even cheaper). Regular house prices are like, you know, around $1000 per square foot. So, when sellers include this added space at market price, it's kinda not fair, you know? I mean, I get it, in a crazy hot market, buyers might not have much choice, but personally, I wouldn't pay an unreasonable price just to snatch a house, especially now that house prices are dropping. As a buyer, you totally have the chance to negotiate down with the seller about this. I noticed that a lot of agents don't even pay attention to these things, especially the second point. Some might know but won't tell you 'cause they just want you to buy the house. That's why I now make sure any agent I work with knows this stuff, no matter how good they are. If they don't give me a heads-up on this, especially if I'm a newbie, I'm just gonna pass on 'em. view all
1. When it comes to properties with drawbacks, caution is key:
Many people have already shared advice about avoiding properties near highways, trains, busy roads, power lines, etc., so I won't repeat those points.I want to highlight two things: 1a) If you're considering a house near a highway, it's better if the distance to the highway is at least 1000 feet (300 meters) in a straight line (you can use Google Maps' "Measure Distance" tool by right-clicking, which is quite handy). 1b) When you buy a property with drawbacks, it might be cheaper upfront, but the resale value might also be lower. So, the overall capital gain might not necessarily be lower than that of a property without drawbacks. However, properties with drawbacks are often preferred for investment purposes, especially for renting, as they don't affect your own living quality. Additionally, properties with good transportation accessibility despite drawbacks can actually be easier to rent out. For instance, I have a rental property near a highway, and it's better rented than my other properties without drawbacks.
2. Before buying a house, interview multiple real estate agents:
Based on my personal experience, what suits others might not necessarily suit you. When I was buying a house, a couple of close friends were using the same agent. This agent had a lot of experience, so initially, I thought of using her to save time. However, after talking to her, I realized our buying and investment mindsets were completely different. She advocated for borrowing as much as possible within your capacity, leveraging bank loans to buy the best property in a good school district to preserve value. However, I wasn't comfortable putting all my money into a single property, especially considering the risk of sudden layoffs and being unable to afford the mortgage. Later on, I interviewed five or six agents in succession until I found one whose philosophy aligned well with mine. For instance, if I had $1 million in cash, I'd prefer to split it and buy multiple investment properties, utilizing bank leverage while earning rental income to mitigate risks. I wouldn't put all the money into a top school district property for personal use. Remember, finding an agent who suits you is more important than necessarily going for a "top agent." Top agents might be too busy to prioritize your needs, especially if you're not a major client. At the beginning, I considered a top agent who was too busy to handle my case herself, so she assigned a junior team member to me. However, after speaking with the junior member, I felt I knew more about the market than they did. This experience taught me that selecting an agent isn't about their top-agent status or the volume of transactions in a specific area. I recall a conversation with an agent who suddenly called one evening to ask about the safety and rentability of a certain area in San Francisco. She was about to submit an offer for a client but had no prior experience in that area. I was amazed by this and realized that although she seemed impressive during our previous conversation (a top 2% agent from a major brokerage), I was lucky to receive her call, which helped me avoid a potential pitfall. In the end, everyone has their preferences, and it's important to interview multiple agents to find the one that suits you best.
3. The above principles also apply to finding a loan agent.
It's essential to interview several loan agents from different banks. Interest rates vary among banks at different times. Sometimes Bank A might have better rates, and other times Bank B might. You don't need to stick with the bank that provided pre-approval before buying a house. Even though it might not be entirely ethical, I have personally experienced a situation where I got pre-approved by one bank but later found that their rates weren't the best when I finally bought the house. At the time, I was a novice buyer and lacked experience, so I ended up using their loan offer. If I had chosen a different bank's loan, I could have saved 0.25% on the interest rate. Over the years, that would have amounted to significant savings. So, when looking for a loan agent, don't hesitate to interview multiple agents.
4. Choose someone you personally know, trust, and who has a good credit history. Don't blindly rely on online reviews or internal company recommendations.
In the past, I had an unfortunate experience when buying a house. I chose a loan agent who had great reviews on a Google internal sheet. This agent promised terms that she couldn't deliver on (such as price matching and additional lender credits). She convinced me to reject offers from other banks and work with her. However, she intentionally delayed telling me until the last week that she couldn't fulfill her promises. She even revealed on the day of the agreed closing date that the initial promised interest rate wasn't achievable. At times like these, some people might give in to the time pressure and accept unreasonable terms. My partner was furious and said they'd rather lose the earnest money than work with her. We quickly found another bank, and thanks to our proactive buyer agent and effective communication with the seller, we closed the deal two weeks late. Despite the delay, we avoided substantial losses. Initially, we could have secured a 3.75% interest rate, but due to the rate increase, our monthly payment ended up higher by nearly a thousand dollars.
5. Continuing from the previous point about loan agents, it's crucial to calculate approximate costs, time, and energy for renovating a fixer-upper before buying it.
Budget accordingly, as failing to account for these factors could result in higher total costs compared to buying a move-in ready home. I've previously mentioned the importance of having an agent who understands renovation for buying a fixer-upper, so I won't repeat that here. However, it's important to note that while you can't predict exact renovation costs, they shouldn't vary drastically from initial estimates. My personal experience with my first fixer-upper was quite challenging. The seller had replaced the flooring and repainted the walls before listing, giving the house a decent appearance. My agent at the time wasn't well-versed in renovations and assured me there were no issues. I proceeded with the purchase, but upon having renovation experts assess the property, I realized I had been misled. The seller had used the cheapest wood flooring and left many hidden renovation costs, such as outdated, uninsulated wood walls, and an outdated electrical meter that needed replacement along with rewiring after dismantling the old walls. The final renovation costs far exceeded my initial expectations.
6. Avoid having records of gift money deposits in your bank statements for the last two months.
This advice pertains to large remittances from overseas. Many banks may not accept this when processing a loan application, especially for significant sums. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's advisable to keep your bank statement primarily reflecting regular salary or monthly income deposits. Try to avoid any large one-time deposits.
7. Furthermore, if you've been involved in stock trading and unfortunately experienced significant losses on your tax returns for two consecutive years, it's advisable to confirm with the bank whether this will affect your loan interest rate when processing your loan application.
I personally experienced this situation and was surprised to find out that even significant investment losses could impact the loan application. Some banks consider such losses as a higher risk factor for providing loans. For instance, banks like Chase US Bank indicated that this could affect the loan. They might require a higher loan interest rate. After inquiring with multiple banks, I finally found one that wouldn't be influenced by these losses.
8. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's best to transfer the down payment to a designated account in advance.
I have a friend who encountered an issue with this. In pursuit of bank account opening bonuses, he opened several different bank accounts and distributed the down payment among these accounts. However, this led to delays in the loan approval process, far exceeding the typical 30-day closing period. The seller demanded compensation for the extended time, resulting in substantial penalty fees. Sometimes, it's better to avoid minor gains if they come at the cost of major setbacks.
9. Don't assume that buying an off-market house guarantees a good deal. In my first home-buying experience, lacking experience, I believed that purchasing an off-market property would result in savings. I specifically sought an agent with ample off-market resources. However, after analyzing the transaction data of neighboring properties, I realized that the off-market purchase was actually more expensive than buying a non-off-market property. Several factors contributed to this:
10a: Sellers aren't charitable entities; why would they sell at a discount? For sellers, listing a property and exposing it to more potential buyers is ideal. Often, off-market properties come with their share of issues, such as age-related wear or the need for significant renovations.
10b: Many off-market properties involve direct transactions with the seller's agent. This creates a dual agency situation, which can lead to conflicts of interest. It's risky for inexperienced buyers to work directly with a dual agent, as they don't solely represent the buyer's interests.
11. Invest time in reviewing disclosures and inspection reports yourself.
When it comes to inspections, it's important to note that the presence of foundation issues shouldn't immediately alarm you, unless you're purchasing a brand-new house. In the Bay Area, older homes tend to have some degree of foundation issues due to the natural shifting of soil over time. Vertical cracks on walls are generally not a major concern. However, if you encounter horizontal cracks, it's advisable to consult a structural engineer. A quick note: I've seen instances where sellers patch up and repaint wall cracks before selling. This makes it difficult to spot issues during inspections. If a house truly has serious foundation problems, they might become apparent when inspecting crawlspaces or concrete slabs.
12 .So, like, make sure to really check out the permits and the actual size of the house in the city or county system (I'm telling you, this is super important, like really important!). Some sellers might have added, like, a sunroom or something, or even, like, an illegal room without getting a permit (or they might've, you know, turned the garage into living space or something). When they sell the house, they might include this extra space in the total area, and that's why you sometimes see a listing on Redfin saying the house is, like, over 2000 square feet, but if you look it up in the county records, you might find that the living square footage they have registered is actually, like, just over 1000 square feet.
12a. So, first off, if there's an unpermitted addition and you move in, there's a chance a neighbor might snitch, and the city could come to check it out and, like, ask you to tear it down and, you know, put things back the way they were (this really varies from city to city, you know? I had this happen with an investment property I bought before – I was a newbie and didn't pay much attention to permits, and my agent didn't mention it either. Turns out the previous owner converted the garage into a bedroom and bath, and they showed me a permit copy, but later, like, a year after, the city sent me a letter saying it was illegal. Checked the city records, turned out the permit was pending and not completed. Tried talking to the city a bunch of times, no luck. Ended up spending a ton of money to bring it up to code and get the permit completed. Thought about legal action but that's a whole other story, trust me, it was a mess. Moral of the story, be super careful when buying a house!).
12b. Also, these additions, whether they got permits or not, usually cost around, like, $450 to $500 per square foot (before the pandemic, it was even cheaper). Regular house prices are like, you know, around $1000 per square foot. So, when sellers include this added space at market price, it's kinda not fair, you know? I mean, I get it, in a crazy hot market, buyers might not have much choice, but personally, I wouldn't pay an unreasonable price just to snatch a house, especially now that house prices are dropping. As a buyer, you totally have the chance to negotiate down with the seller about this. I noticed that a lot of agents don't even pay attention to these things, especially the second point. Some might know but won't tell you 'cause they just want you to buy the house. That's why I now make sure any agent I work with knows this stuff, no matter how good they are. If they don't give me a heads-up on this, especially if I'm a newbie, I'm just gonna pass on 'em. view all
Buying a house is a major decision, and avoiding pitfalls is crucial! Over the years, I've encountered countless pitfalls while buying houses in the Bay Area. I want to share some insights here for anyone who might be looking to buy a house in the future, hoping they can smoothly navigate and find their dream home. (Disclaimer: I'm not a real estate agent, and I'm not trying to advise anyone to buy or not to buy a house. Please refrain from arguing. If you argue, you win.
1. When it comes to properties with drawbacks, caution is key:
2. Before buying a house, interview multiple real estate agents:
3. The above principles also apply to finding a loan agent.
It's essential to interview several loan agents from different banks. Interest rates vary among banks at different times. Sometimes Bank A might have better rates, and other times Bank B might. You don't need to stick with the bank that provided pre-approval before buying a house. Even though it might not be entirely ethical, I have personally experienced a situation where I got pre-approved by one bank but later found that their rates weren't the best when I finally bought the house. At the time, I was a novice buyer and lacked experience, so I ended up using their loan offer. If I had chosen a different bank's loan, I could have saved 0.25% on the interest rate. Over the years, that would have amounted to significant savings. So, when looking for a loan agent, don't hesitate to interview multiple agents.
4. Choose someone you personally know, trust, and who has a good credit history. Don't blindly rely on online reviews or internal company recommendations.
In the past, I had an unfortunate experience when buying a house. I chose a loan agent who had great reviews on a Google internal sheet. This agent promised terms that she couldn't deliver on (such as price matching and additional lender credits). She convinced me to reject offers from other banks and work with her. However, she intentionally delayed telling me until the last week that she couldn't fulfill her promises. She even revealed on the day of the agreed closing date that the initial promised interest rate wasn't achievable. At times like these, some people might give in to the time pressure and accept unreasonable terms. My partner was furious and said they'd rather lose the earnest money than work with her. We quickly found another bank, and thanks to our proactive buyer agent and effective communication with the seller, we closed the deal two weeks late. Despite the delay, we avoided substantial losses. Initially, we could have secured a 3.75% interest rate, but due to the rate increase, our monthly payment ended up higher by nearly a thousand dollars.
5. Continuing from the previous point about loan agents, it's crucial to calculate approximate costs, time, and energy for renovating a fixer-upper before buying it.
Budget accordingly, as failing to account for these factors could result in higher total costs compared to buying a move-in ready home. I've previously mentioned the importance of having an agent who understands renovation for buying a fixer-upper, so I won't repeat that here. However, it's important to note that while you can't predict exact renovation costs, they shouldn't vary drastically from initial estimates. My personal experience with my first fixer-upper was quite challenging. The seller had replaced the flooring and repainted the walls before listing, giving the house a decent appearance. My agent at the time wasn't well-versed in renovations and assured me there were no issues. I proceeded with the purchase, but upon having renovation experts assess the property, I realized I had been misled. The seller had used the cheapest wood flooring and left many hidden renovation costs, such as outdated, uninsulated wood walls, and an outdated electrical meter that needed replacement along with rewiring after dismantling the old walls. The final renovation costs far exceeded my initial expectations.
6. Avoid having records of gift money deposits in your bank statements for the last two months.
This advice pertains to large remittances from overseas. Many banks may not accept this when processing a loan application, especially for significant sums. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's advisable to keep your bank statement primarily reflecting regular salary or monthly income deposits. Try to avoid any large one-time deposits.
7. Furthermore, if you've been involved in stock trading and unfortunately experienced significant losses on your tax returns for two consecutive years, it's advisable to confirm with the bank whether this will affect your loan interest rate when processing your loan application.
I personally experienced this situation and was surprised to find out that even significant investment losses could impact the loan application. Some banks consider such losses as a higher risk factor for providing loans. For instance, banks like Chase US Bank indicated that this could affect the loan. They might require a higher loan interest rate. After inquiring with multiple banks, I finally found one that wouldn't be influenced by these losses.
8. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's best to transfer the down payment to a designated account in advance.
I have a friend who encountered an issue with this. In pursuit of bank account opening bonuses, he opened several different bank accounts and distributed the down payment among these accounts. However, this led to delays in the loan approval process, far exceeding the typical 30-day closing period. The seller demanded compensation for the extended time, resulting in substantial penalty fees. Sometimes, it's better to avoid minor gains if they come at the cost of major setbacks.
9. Don't assume that buying an off-market house guarantees a good deal. In my first home-buying experience, lacking experience, I believed that purchasing an off-market property would result in savings. I specifically sought an agent with ample off-market resources. However, after analyzing the transaction data of neighboring properties, I realized that the off-market purchase was actually more expensive than buying a non-off-market property. Several factors contributed to this:
10a: Sellers aren't charitable entities; why would they sell at a discount? For sellers, listing a property and exposing it to more potential buyers is ideal. Often, off-market properties come with their share of issues, such as age-related wear or the need for significant renovations.
10b: Many off-market properties involve direct transactions with the seller's agent. This creates a dual agency situation, which can lead to conflicts of interest. It's risky for inexperienced buyers to work directly with a dual agent, as they don't solely represent the buyer's interests.
11. Invest time in reviewing disclosures and inspection reports yourself.
When it comes to inspections, it's important to note that the presence of foundation issues shouldn't immediately alarm you, unless you're purchasing a brand-new house. In the Bay Area, older homes tend to have some degree of foundation issues due to the natural shifting of soil over time. Vertical cracks on walls are generally not a major concern. However, if you encounter horizontal cracks, it's advisable to consult a structural engineer. A quick note: I've seen instances where sellers patch up and repaint wall cracks before selling. This makes it difficult to spot issues during inspections. If a house truly has serious foundation problems, they might become apparent when inspecting crawlspaces or concrete slabs.
12 .So, like, make sure to really check out the permits and the actual size of the house in the city or county system (I'm telling you, this is super important, like really important!). Some sellers might have added, like, a sunroom or something, or even, like, an illegal room without getting a permit (or they might've, you know, turned the garage into living space or something). When they sell the house, they might include this extra space in the total area, and that's why you sometimes see a listing on Redfin saying the house is, like, over 2000 square feet, but if you look it up in the county records, you might find that the living square footage they have registered is actually, like, just over 1000 square feet.
12a. So, first off, if there's an unpermitted addition and you move in, there's a chance a neighbor might snitch, and the city could come to check it out and, like, ask you to tear it down and, you know, put things back the way they were (this really varies from city to city, you know? I had this happen with an investment property I bought before – I was a newbie and didn't pay much attention to permits, and my agent didn't mention it either. Turns out the previous owner converted the garage into a bedroom and bath, and they showed me a permit copy, but later, like, a year after, the city sent me a letter saying it was illegal. Checked the city records, turned out the permit was pending and not completed. Tried talking to the city a bunch of times, no luck. Ended up spending a ton of money to bring it up to code and get the permit completed. Thought about legal action but that's a whole other story, trust me, it was a mess. Moral of the story, be super careful when buying a house!).
12b. Also, these additions, whether they got permits or not, usually cost around, like, $450 to $500 per square foot (before the pandemic, it was even cheaper). Regular house prices are like, you know, around $1000 per square foot. So, when sellers include this added space at market price, it's kinda not fair, you know? I mean, I get it, in a crazy hot market, buyers might not have much choice, but personally, I wouldn't pay an unreasonable price just to snatch a house, especially now that house prices are dropping. As a buyer, you totally have the chance to negotiate down with the seller about this. I noticed that a lot of agents don't even pay attention to these things, especially the second point. Some might know but won't tell you 'cause they just want you to buy the house. That's why I now make sure any agent I work with knows this stuff, no matter how good they are. If they don't give me a heads-up on this, especially if I'm a newbie, I'm just gonna pass on 'em.
1. When it comes to properties with drawbacks, caution is key:
- Many people have already shared advice about avoiding properties near highways, trains, busy roads, power lines, etc., so I won't repeat those points.
- I want to highlight two things: 1a) If you're considering a house near a highway, it's better if the distance to the highway is at least 1000 feet (300 meters) in a straight line (you can use Google Maps' "Measure Distance" tool by right-clicking, which is quite handy). 1b) When you buy a property with drawbacks, it might be cheaper upfront, but the resale value might also be lower. So, the overall capital gain might not necessarily be lower than that of a property without drawbacks. However, properties with drawbacks are often preferred for investment purposes, especially for renting, as they don't affect your own living quality. Additionally, properties with good transportation accessibility despite drawbacks can actually be easier to rent out. For instance, I have a rental property near a highway, and it's better rented than my other properties without drawbacks.
2. Before buying a house, interview multiple real estate agents:
- Based on my personal experience, what suits others might not necessarily suit you. When I was buying a house, a couple of close friends were using the same agent. This agent had a lot of experience, so initially, I thought of using her to save time. However, after talking to her, I realized our buying and investment mindsets were completely different. She advocated for borrowing as much as possible within your capacity, leveraging bank loans to buy the best property in a good school district to preserve value. However, I wasn't comfortable putting all my money into a single property, especially considering the risk of sudden layoffs and being unable to afford the mortgage. Later on, I interviewed five or six agents in succession until I found one whose philosophy aligned well with mine. For instance, if I had $1 million in cash, I'd prefer to split it and buy multiple investment properties, utilizing bank leverage while earning rental income to mitigate risks. I wouldn't put all the money into a top school district property for personal use. Remember, finding an agent who suits you is more important than necessarily going for a "top agent." Top agents might be too busy to prioritize your needs, especially if you're not a major client. At the beginning, I considered a top agent who was too busy to handle my case herself, so she assigned a junior team member to me. However, after speaking with the junior member, I felt I knew more about the market than they did. This experience taught me that selecting an agent isn't about their top-agent status or the volume of transactions in a specific area. I recall a conversation with an agent who suddenly called one evening to ask about the safety and rentability of a certain area in San Francisco. She was about to submit an offer for a client but had no prior experience in that area. I was amazed by this and realized that although she seemed impressive during our previous conversation (a top 2% agent from a major brokerage), I was lucky to receive her call, which helped me avoid a potential pitfall. In the end, everyone has their preferences, and it's important to interview multiple agents to find the one that suits you best.
3. The above principles also apply to finding a loan agent.
It's essential to interview several loan agents from different banks. Interest rates vary among banks at different times. Sometimes Bank A might have better rates, and other times Bank B might. You don't need to stick with the bank that provided pre-approval before buying a house. Even though it might not be entirely ethical, I have personally experienced a situation where I got pre-approved by one bank but later found that their rates weren't the best when I finally bought the house. At the time, I was a novice buyer and lacked experience, so I ended up using their loan offer. If I had chosen a different bank's loan, I could have saved 0.25% on the interest rate. Over the years, that would have amounted to significant savings. So, when looking for a loan agent, don't hesitate to interview multiple agents.
4. Choose someone you personally know, trust, and who has a good credit history. Don't blindly rely on online reviews or internal company recommendations.
In the past, I had an unfortunate experience when buying a house. I chose a loan agent who had great reviews on a Google internal sheet. This agent promised terms that she couldn't deliver on (such as price matching and additional lender credits). She convinced me to reject offers from other banks and work with her. However, she intentionally delayed telling me until the last week that she couldn't fulfill her promises. She even revealed on the day of the agreed closing date that the initial promised interest rate wasn't achievable. At times like these, some people might give in to the time pressure and accept unreasonable terms. My partner was furious and said they'd rather lose the earnest money than work with her. We quickly found another bank, and thanks to our proactive buyer agent and effective communication with the seller, we closed the deal two weeks late. Despite the delay, we avoided substantial losses. Initially, we could have secured a 3.75% interest rate, but due to the rate increase, our monthly payment ended up higher by nearly a thousand dollars.
5. Continuing from the previous point about loan agents, it's crucial to calculate approximate costs, time, and energy for renovating a fixer-upper before buying it.
Budget accordingly, as failing to account for these factors could result in higher total costs compared to buying a move-in ready home. I've previously mentioned the importance of having an agent who understands renovation for buying a fixer-upper, so I won't repeat that here. However, it's important to note that while you can't predict exact renovation costs, they shouldn't vary drastically from initial estimates. My personal experience with my first fixer-upper was quite challenging. The seller had replaced the flooring and repainted the walls before listing, giving the house a decent appearance. My agent at the time wasn't well-versed in renovations and assured me there were no issues. I proceeded with the purchase, but upon having renovation experts assess the property, I realized I had been misled. The seller had used the cheapest wood flooring and left many hidden renovation costs, such as outdated, uninsulated wood walls, and an outdated electrical meter that needed replacement along with rewiring after dismantling the old walls. The final renovation costs far exceeded my initial expectations.
6. Avoid having records of gift money deposits in your bank statements for the last two months.
This advice pertains to large remittances from overseas. Many banks may not accept this when processing a loan application, especially for significant sums. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's advisable to keep your bank statement primarily reflecting regular salary or monthly income deposits. Try to avoid any large one-time deposits.
7. Furthermore, if you've been involved in stock trading and unfortunately experienced significant losses on your tax returns for two consecutive years, it's advisable to confirm with the bank whether this will affect your loan interest rate when processing your loan application.
I personally experienced this situation and was surprised to find out that even significant investment losses could impact the loan application. Some banks consider such losses as a higher risk factor for providing loans. For instance, banks like Chase US Bank indicated that this could affect the loan. They might require a higher loan interest rate. After inquiring with multiple banks, I finally found one that wouldn't be influenced by these losses.
8. If you're planning to buy a house soon, it's best to transfer the down payment to a designated account in advance.
I have a friend who encountered an issue with this. In pursuit of bank account opening bonuses, he opened several different bank accounts and distributed the down payment among these accounts. However, this led to delays in the loan approval process, far exceeding the typical 30-day closing period. The seller demanded compensation for the extended time, resulting in substantial penalty fees. Sometimes, it's better to avoid minor gains if they come at the cost of major setbacks.
9. Don't assume that buying an off-market house guarantees a good deal. In my first home-buying experience, lacking experience, I believed that purchasing an off-market property would result in savings. I specifically sought an agent with ample off-market resources. However, after analyzing the transaction data of neighboring properties, I realized that the off-market purchase was actually more expensive than buying a non-off-market property. Several factors contributed to this:
10a: Sellers aren't charitable entities; why would they sell at a discount? For sellers, listing a property and exposing it to more potential buyers is ideal. Often, off-market properties come with their share of issues, such as age-related wear or the need for significant renovations.
10b: Many off-market properties involve direct transactions with the seller's agent. This creates a dual agency situation, which can lead to conflicts of interest. It's risky for inexperienced buyers to work directly with a dual agent, as they don't solely represent the buyer's interests.
11. Invest time in reviewing disclosures and inspection reports yourself.
When it comes to inspections, it's important to note that the presence of foundation issues shouldn't immediately alarm you, unless you're purchasing a brand-new house. In the Bay Area, older homes tend to have some degree of foundation issues due to the natural shifting of soil over time. Vertical cracks on walls are generally not a major concern. However, if you encounter horizontal cracks, it's advisable to consult a structural engineer. A quick note: I've seen instances where sellers patch up and repaint wall cracks before selling. This makes it difficult to spot issues during inspections. If a house truly has serious foundation problems, they might become apparent when inspecting crawlspaces or concrete slabs.
12 .So, like, make sure to really check out the permits and the actual size of the house in the city or county system (I'm telling you, this is super important, like really important!). Some sellers might have added, like, a sunroom or something, or even, like, an illegal room without getting a permit (or they might've, you know, turned the garage into living space or something). When they sell the house, they might include this extra space in the total area, and that's why you sometimes see a listing on Redfin saying the house is, like, over 2000 square feet, but if you look it up in the county records, you might find that the living square footage they have registered is actually, like, just over 1000 square feet.
12a. So, first off, if there's an unpermitted addition and you move in, there's a chance a neighbor might snitch, and the city could come to check it out and, like, ask you to tear it down and, you know, put things back the way they were (this really varies from city to city, you know? I had this happen with an investment property I bought before – I was a newbie and didn't pay much attention to permits, and my agent didn't mention it either. Turns out the previous owner converted the garage into a bedroom and bath, and they showed me a permit copy, but later, like, a year after, the city sent me a letter saying it was illegal. Checked the city records, turned out the permit was pending and not completed. Tried talking to the city a bunch of times, no luck. Ended up spending a ton of money to bring it up to code and get the permit completed. Thought about legal action but that's a whole other story, trust me, it was a mess. Moral of the story, be super careful when buying a house!).
12b. Also, these additions, whether they got permits or not, usually cost around, like, $450 to $500 per square foot (before the pandemic, it was even cheaper). Regular house prices are like, you know, around $1000 per square foot. So, when sellers include this added space at market price, it's kinda not fair, you know? I mean, I get it, in a crazy hot market, buyers might not have much choice, but personally, I wouldn't pay an unreasonable price just to snatch a house, especially now that house prices are dropping. As a buyer, you totally have the chance to negotiate down with the seller about this. I noticed that a lot of agents don't even pay attention to these things, especially the second point. Some might know but won't tell you 'cause they just want you to buy the house. That's why I now make sure any agent I work with knows this stuff, no matter how good they are. If they don't give me a heads-up on this, especially if I'm a newbie, I'm just gonna pass on 'em.
Investor/Partner WANTED for fund business
Others • BlueFireBoy wrote the post • 0 comments • 413 views • 2020-10-01 03:08
I am seeking one or more investors for an investment opportunity to invest in an entity holding gold and other precious metals (e.g. silver, platinum and palladium) as well as other assets (e.g. real estate). Get in-touch if interested with your mobile phone number and/or e-mail address.
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view all
I am seeking one or more investors for an investment opportunity to invest in an entity holding gold and other precious metals (e.g. silver, platinum and palladium) as well as other assets (e.g. real estate). Get in-touch if interested with your mobile phone number and/or e-mail address.