Hi Clutchfans, I am thinking of buying a home in the heights area. As I was driving, saw quite a number of new construction homes and other older ones for sale which peeked my interest. Any thoughts on the following would help: 1. How is the area around W 20th to W18th between N Durham and Beall st in general? I believe this is shady acres... 2. Are there better areas in the heights anyone recommends? 3. What should be the price point for a typical 3 BR townhome with double garage and gated? 4. How is crime in the area? I understand there are the usual petty car break-ins etc. 5. What about flooding? Thanks.
I live just West of the Heights, in Timbergrove. Never forget that you're inner-city. Protect and secure your house, cars, and family at all times. Also - know the deed restrictions before you buy. The Heights has very specific restrictions that are tightly enforced.
I don't recommend it, you have to be extremely careful with the documentation and terms. I've been in real estate for a while now and worked on the foreclosure and eviction side of it for about 7 years... Those rent to own deals were constant eviction cases where people would end up paying tons up front and monthly only to default somewhere down the line and not have a proper mortgage to fall back on that would give them options that could help save their home.
WOW! Thanks for the information. Perhaps some of these 1st time buyer programs or something May have to do more research Rocket River
Are you a 1st time buyer? Some mortgage companies have good programs where they offer incentives and even credits towards closings. Make a game plan financially of where you are at and where you want to be within the next couple of years. Its okay to wait and be fully prepared to take a home loan on... Also there are several different loans, the two most common loans are going to be FHA and Conventional.... Many 1st time buyers start with an FHA, its basically a government insured loan that requires a lower down payment... Something like 3.4 %... But the monthly payments are going to be a little bit higher. So if you are looking at a home that is 260K.. Your down payment will only be $8,840 roughly... Try several mortgage companies out and see what they can offer...
Im out of the loop on the latest rental ‘trends’ but my first thought is to never trust anything ‘rent to own’. Build your credit, save 20% and buy a home with a conventional mortgage.
A version of rent to own called contract to deed was very popular in the 70s and 80s because interest rates were really high back then (think double digit interest rates). It is still technically an option today and if you are going to look for alternate financing outside of a mortgage, that is really the only option that makes any sense as you do get some of the protections that come with a mortgage. Similar to rent to own, a contract for deed will have a balloon payment at the end that you either have to pay yourself (probably not feasible) or you refinance and get a mortgage to cover the balloon payment. However, contract to deed was only popular because financing a mortgage in the 70s and 80s was really difficult. Today financing is much easier so its just not a very popular option anymore. Rent to own on the other hand offers you virtually no legal protection as you don't own the home in this scenario until the house is paid off in some way (either by you or via mortgage). There are lots of different financing options today that you should research. Never do rent to own and even contract to deed is an absolute last resort (and frankly no one will do it because sellers don't even understand how that works anymore)
Did OP wind up moving to that area? If I'm reading it correctly, that's a potentially floody part of the Heights.
Seen a few Videos on this Basically You pay your deposit .. . . You rent for 18~36 months Alledgedly you get about 10% of the rent toward the deposit on the mortgage If you leave at any point .. .that 10% goes away - and deposit lost. Then at the time of building their maybe a huge surcharge on the house i.e. the cost 200K . . .When you buy it . .it is 250K They buy the house. . .rent it to you . . . then when you buy They have your deposit. . your rent. . . .and a nice 50K premium on top of it But if it gets you in a house. .. is that better than simply renting? Rocket River
I almost did a rent to own many years ago. It was for an existing albeit fairly new property. For they seller they get three years of rental payments from a tenant who has an incentive to treat the house well, stay, and make payments on time. For the buyer part of your rental payments are credited towards the purchase price which is agreed upon at the time you sign up. There was no $50k premium. It also gives the buyer 3 years to fix their credit and save up a down payment. Also to make sure they do in fact want that house, neighborhood, and school district. If they can’t get their financing in order well they lose their deposit and the “equity” their payments were building. It can be a win/win if done correctly.
This was my initial thoughts I been kind of researching how it works I have done rent to own before. . . had no issues even though I know I over paid but I stayed on track So I know I CAN do it .. . the question is how much do I overpay for the convenience Rocket River
