Originally Posted by rochdalediva

You should also check out the on-line versions of any local newspapers you will probably find lists of recently sold houses together with the selling price.

Originally Posted by Manc

hey lookit, Lisa Stansfield everyone.

Originally Posted by Boiler

Well you might want to get a Realtor......

First caveat the details vary from state to state, with that being said and with my experiance being mainly Colorado:

Estate Agents = Realtors but they also do some of the work a Solicitor would do in the UK.

Sometimes it seems like everybody who I speak to knows one, has a friend/ relation who is one or was one at some point in their life.

They are licensed by a State Board and have to pass an exam, not sure how hard that can be.

Usually you have a Realtor for the Sellor and one for the Buyer. Both are paid from the proceeds of the sale, here it is just over 7%.

Most if not all States have a Mutiple Listing Service, MLS. Search under MLS and your State. This a data base with all Realtor properties on it, usually there will be some additional information only the Realtor can get.

Despite the high comission most sales have Realtors involved, there are SellByOwner and variants but I think well over 95% of the Houses we saw were with Realtors.

The Buyers realtors does all the hard work, they have to take you around, usually there are lock boxes on the doors and the people selling will vacate for an hour whilst you and your Agent look around.

I would suggest spending a couple of weekends first going around the open houses in the areas you are looking at.

The market where we are is flat, I also used the local County web site because I could find out what the local County appraiser had valued the houses at, not just the ones on the market but also in areas we were looking at but did not have the house we wanted on the market at the time.

I had a long chat with our local Appraise the other day, here they revalue every 2 years, legally they are required to be within 5% of the market value at the valuation date, they reckon on average to be within 1%. This is not a perfect measure but if someone wanted a lot more than tax I would be wondering why.

I had big arguements with our Realtor about this, she was more interested in Comparables, but in most cases my methodology worked out OK.

We met our Realtor at an Open House, we appointed her in the end for 2 reasons I think, she was not so pushy as many we had come across and she got on well with my wife!

Originally Posted by bromleybill

I am arriving on my spouse visa at the end of November and staying for two months to check out places to live in Southern California (SE of LA). I have not ye sold my house in the UK due to the flat market.

My question is: Without credit history, is it impossible to get a mortgage in the US. And: will I face a massive tax bill from bringing in the entire assetts from the uk. I have been enticed to off-shore the bulk and enter the US with what seems less capital????????????

Originally Posted by Englishmum

So what happens if you do paint your house purple or have your car standing on bricks in your drive? Do you get evicted?

Originally Posted by Yosser

I went to our first HOA meeting last night, it was a right laugh, there a 5 members on the board that had worked out to keep our little division neat and tidy and it would cost us $250.00 a year x 80 houses
($20,000 a year), they wanted $1000 for this, and $375 for stationary for that.

They went on to spout how it would cost $4000 a year to mow a bit of grass at the entrance and plant a few shrubs.....anyways it turned into a near riot, 3 women almost got into fisty cuffs, one member stepped down, in tears vowing never to do it again, 4 people walked out and the Rowlett Libary manager had a spaz because everyone was still yelling and shouting 2 minutes after we all should of left the building.......Better than any soap opera I tell ya.

Bloody Yanks....

I can't wait for the next one!

Originally Posted by dbj1000

Are you waiting for your house in the UK to go UP more?!? If we still had our house in the UK we would be unloading it ASAP given that the "flat market" is more likely to be the start of a declining market.

You don't pay tax on income from property sale if it is less than $250,000. (see, for example
this link

I'm not a US tax expert, but I was under the impression that "offshoring" money is illegal in the US, as it is seen as tax evasion. Perhaps someone can correct me on this if I'm wrong?

Originally Posted by dbj1000

Yikes! We don't have an HOA in our community. There used to be one, apparently, but thankfully it was allowed to die out. Having read the HOA horror stories on the net (e.g. here) I really am thankful for that. It seems to be the preserve of litigation lawyers and retired busybodies who want to impose thier petty powers on their neighbours. What a nightmare!

Originally Posted by dbj1000

Are you waiting for your house in the UK to go UP more?!? If we still had our house in the UK we would be unloading it ASAP given that the "flat market" is more likely to be the start of a declining market.

You don't pay tax on income from property sale if it is less than $250,000. (see, for example
this link

I'm not a US tax expert, but I was under the impression that "offshoring" money is illegal in the US, as it is seen as tax evasion. Perhaps someone can correct me on this if I'm wrong?

Originally Posted by Taffyles

You've got it..too many people with nothing else to do. Our HOA has started sending round monthly newsletters...the crime of this month is some people not replacing the bulbs in their outside lights quick enough and SOME people (the committee, better known as, the gestapo) have to walk their dogs in the dark for a few paces...

Originally Posted by Yosser

LOL

Sounds like we may have the same committee Taff!

We do have one major problem though. We had 2 builders in our division, the estate is sorta horse shoe shaped, only one way in and out, one builder had all the plots of land on the outside and the other had all the land in the middle.......anyways to cut it short, the first builder built a brick wall the whole width of our division to the tune of $30,000, about 6 months ago a drunk driver failed to see the stop sign and ploughed into the wall doing about 40mph....it was a hit and run, no person found, so no insurance just a bloody girt hole the exact shape of a car!.....anyhow this BLOODY wall has been hit 4 times since June, the builder won't pay up, only one person was caught so their insurance company will only pay for 1 hole's worth of damage, the person who has a backyard and a wall with 3 holes in it, won't pay for it, so the comittee asked everyone on Monday to chip in $100 per house

I don't think I've ever heard so many cuss words from so many OAP's in my life!

Originally Posted by Lottie

Just wanted to pick your brains on the procedure and cost of buying a house in the US (PA specifically).

Initial questions are:

i) How do you get to view a house you like the look of on the internet?
ii) What exactly are the fee's associated with buying a house - either % or $?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Lottie

PS - Currently have been living in an apartment over here for 3 wks and neither me nor hubby can bear the thought of another 5 months and 1 wk!! Apartment lovely, but so not used to hearing other people's noises!!!

Originally Posted by ukemigrant

For viewing a house, look on the net for 3d views but your Buyer's Agent will be your best asset - they will be able to show you houses that are not detailed yet in any property paper or website. We bought ours the first day it came on the market.

Sam.