Real estate General topic

[ultrarunner]

I know two homes back on market because unable to obtain home owner insurance except through limited state plan…

Insurance is killing deals here and these are homes in city limits with sidewalks, streetlights, fire hydrants, etc.

 

[Runner]

What I've seen in very broad strokes; septic installers who Don't have a pump truck service, don't recommend it; guys that offer a pump truck service recommend routinely pumping. Can't say either side is exactly impartial. I do know that some of the commercial septic systems Require pumping as part of their DEP permit.

We have lived in our current home for 18 years and it has an aerobic system. Three bedroom/2 1/2 bath, but only two people living here the whole time. The tank was pumped right before we moved in. Everything has always worked fine, just replaced parts as necessary (timer, aerator, sump pump), however, I noticed a little more "stank" than usual one time when the system was discharging to the evaporation pond.

I had heard you should have these pumped every 5 years or so, so I decided to have the system pumped, just to be on the safe side. Given the time in service, I was kind of expecting to find the tank full of sludge. To my surprise it was pretty much all liquid and looked about as good as sewage can look.

So, now I still don't really know what the pump schedule should be, but I'm inclined to let it go at least another 10 years unless we start having problems.

 

[2manyrocks]

Even if someone can afford to make their mortgage payments, the loan will go into default if they can't keep the property insured. Lenders used to have the option of force placing coverage to only protect the lender's mortgage balance, but this didn't protect the homeowner's equity and the coverage was extremely expensive. I've been wondering what lenders are currently doing in states like California and Florida where insurance companies have stopped writing policies on a broad scale affecting so many instead of the lack of coverage formerly mostly being a matter of someone not paying their insurance bill on time or being seen as too risky to carry?

 

[ultrarunner]

Just one more reason some leave...

Insurance was almost an afterthought when home buying and now it can derail the buying process...

Might go back to be self insured if no mortgage involved.

Years ago Grandfather was State Farm and he would gain customers buying a home and always loose a few when home paid off.

 

[paulsharvey]

Got the text below from my agent. Apparently the appraisal made several mistakes, and they are reworking it.

 

[WinterDeere]

No matter the field, it's hard to find competent help. Most people suck at their job.

 

[2manyrocks]

I'd take a look at the comps to see how comparable they really are.

 

[ning]

Once when we refinanced we found that the lender was using an appraiser from down in the city who was entirely unfamiliar with rural properties; you can't look in the one-mile-radius "neighborhood" because there's like a handful of properties perhaps one of which has changed hands in years. We convinced them to use a local - we didn't specify who, just that it be local - and they found comps... some a few miles away, with sales in the last 6-9 months.

 

[Snobdds]

If banks would not lend on the above appraisal price the past few years, the runup in prices would not have happened. If people had to pay out of pocket for above list and appraised values...the mania would have stopped.

But banks are actually not that bright at times and suffer from the same issues people do when the money is flowing freely. This means banks have a huge liability that the asset they underwrote will not be worth market value when the market corrects. Not only will homeowners have losses, but banks will to and since they have to adhere to GAPP, their balance sheets are going to suffer.

I know a banker that has developed an ulcer due to how much underfunded liabilities he has.

Pain is coming...and never pay above an appraised value. Even though appraisers are basically rubber stamps, never pay above their game.

 

[2manyrocks]

Have to wonder about the financial acumen of the bankers who loaded up with low interest rate treasury securities and then found themselves with huge losses in their portfolios on supposedly safe treasury instruments after relatively modest increases in the fed funds rates.