Why it's good to consult DH about life's financial challenges.

**Greebo** · 01-03-2010, 01:14 PM

Originally Posted by Gardengal18

Again there is NO "Standard" there is No "Set" there is NO "Usual" there is NO "Customary" or whatever you want to call it Rate. It is ILLEGAL to do so. You seem to have a huge problem grasping that.

Oh yeah?

If I call your office tomorrow morning and ask what your fee is for acting as an agent in a real estate transaction, what will they tell me?

**monkeywrangler71** · 01-03-2010, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by MomToTwoBoys

We have a mortgage renewal in July anyways. DS11 will be transitioning into a new school in August/September. My inlaws are not getting any younger. The house we're buying is in a fantastic location and it's our dream home. We WILL have all of our financial ducks in a row when this happens.

Have you settled on a house then? Which one are you going with?

**Gardengal18** · 01-03-2010, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by Greebo

Oh yeah?

If I call your office tomorrow morning and ask what your fee is for acting as an agent in a real estate transaction, what will they tell me?

That it will be negotiated upon at the "Listing Appointment" once we have viewed the home. THERE IS NO "SET" etc., etc. Rate. Get it yet?

Still waiting for that appolgy...comon' Greebo put your big boy pants on and do the right thing.

**Greebo** · 01-03-2010, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by Gardengal18

That it will be negotiated upon at the Listing Appointment once we have viewed the home. THERE IS NOT "SET" Rate. Get it yet?

And then when you go to their home, what rate do you start with?

http://www.advancerealtyusa.com/comp....php?&chome=1&

This company has signs all over Maryland advertising their commission as 1.75%. That's *their* standard rate. Do you mean to try to tell me that them having a set rate THEY use is illegal?

**Greebo** · 01-03-2010, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by Gardengal18

Again there is NO "Standard" there is No "Set" there is NO "Usual" there is NO "Customary" or whatever you want to call it Rate. It is ILLEGAL to do so. You seem to have a huge problem grasping that.

You didn't read the dictionary yet did you?

Since you challanged me I have went back through the posts and found that when I initally said "Don't ever let a broker tell you that the "Standard" or "Usual" Commission rate in the area is X% - it is ILLEGAL for a Licensed Realtor to do such a thing".

Your immediate response was:
"Well I don't think it's illegal to say "standard" in the sense that there is a normal rate that most realtors use in a specific region" (Your words not mine)

And how many times do I have to explain to you what that means? It's not "standard" as in "set by price collusion" but simply their own rate they customarily use and that other realtors also customarily use.

Once again there is NO "Standard" "Usual" "Traditonal" "Set" or "what ever else you want to call it" Rate. It is ILLEGAL for that to be done.

Again - please read a dictionary.

As far as what I or my company charges it depends on the property in question and the terms of the Listing Agreement....for some it's been as little as 3% and for others it's been as high as 6%.

And you mean to tell me that your office doesn't have some set of guidelines it uses to determine what that rate will be?

Still waiting for your appology there Greebo...

Originally Posted by Gardengal18

Still waiting for that appolgy...comon' Greebo put your big boy pants on and do the right thing.

Keep on waiting. So far I've been snippy and sarcastic. You've gotten downright insulting. You started with ""Super Moderator" Ego" and now you're on "big boy pants"? And you think I owe YOU an apology? Now you're moving on from insulting to hypocritical.

**Greebo** · 01-03-2010, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by Gardengal18

Since you challanged me I have went back through the posts and found that when I initally said "Don't ever let a broker tell you that the "Standard" or "Usual" Commission rate in the area is X% - it is ILLEGAL for a Licensed Realtor to do such a thing".

Your immediate response was:
"Well I don't think it's illegal to say "standard" in the sense that there is a normal rate that most realtors use in a specific region" (Your words not mine)

Oh, hey, as long as you're digging up quotes?

DIG UP THE WHOLE QUOTE.

What did I REALLY say in response, huh?

"Well I don't think it's illegal to say "standard" in the sense that there is a normal rate that most realtors use in a specific region, but you are right - the rate is ALWAYS negotiable."

You will note the use of a COMMA in that statement, which makes the second half part of the entire response.

Context dropping someone else's words to try to prove your point? And you want an apology from me??

**MomToTwoBoys** · 01-03-2010, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by monkeywrangler71

Have you settled on a house then? Which one are you going with?

We found out that the original house we wanted (which is about a three block walk from my inlaws) is up for sale in the Spring. It's set at $310,000. If we can't turn enough of a profit on the sale of this place to pay on the mortgage for the new one without us going over our heads, we're going to look for something more suitable and in a good neighborhood.

I wish I had pictures of the place we're set on, but by the time her son finishes the remodeling then it'd be completely different from what we'd seen in October anyways.

**Gardengal18** · 01-03-2010, 05:04 PM

Originally Posted by Greebo

You didn't read the dictionary yet did you?

And how many times do I have to explain to you what that means? It's not "standard" as in "set by price collusion" but simply their own rate they customarily use and that other realtors also customarily use.

Again - please read a dictionary.

And you mean to tell me that your office doesn't have some set of guidelines it uses to determine what that rate will be?

Keep on waiting. So far I've been snippy and sarcastic. You've gotten downright insulting. You started with ""Super Moderator" Ego" and now you're on "big boy pants"? And you think I owe YOU an apology? Now you're moving on from insulting to hypocritical.

When your snippy and sarcastic toward someone to begin with expect a dose of your own medicine eventually. The Lack of an appology from you and the downright refusal to give one now just points to your character as far as I'm concerned. Greebo, you were wrong, Just admit it already. I won't be spending any more of my precious time with you on this anymore. I've seen all I've had to see from you on this topic.

**monkeywrangler71** · 01-03-2010, 05:13 PM

I hope you're able to get it, how wonderful would it be to be within walking distance of family!

**Gardengal18** · 01-03-2010, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by monkeywrangler71

I hope you're able to get it, how wonderful would it be to be within walking distance of family!

Yeah, much closer to the ATM. LOL! Sorry, but it's the truth...

**MomToTwoBoys** · 01-03-2010, 07:11 PM

An update:

DH and I talked this afternoon about the move. I think that for us, it'd be best if we waited. There's a variety of reasons for this, but they weren't financially related.

DH had the chance to go to the warehouse that he'd be working at if and when we moved to Edmonton. The setup of the warehouse there is completely different, both in size and in structure, from what he's working in now. They have a lot more clients in Edmonton (Best Buy is the big one) than in Calgary, plus they divide their workers into either Pickers or CSR (Customer Service Representatives). Where he is now, he has free reign to do what he needs to without having to answer to anyone except maybe his supervisor. All in all, he's going to wait and see how things would pan out if he went to Edmonton and that won't happen until later this year.

There's also the issue of the home renovations. Trying to squeeze everything into a four month time frame is just unrealistic for us. It's not financial; it's more of a time crunch. We had some things that can only really be done once the weather got really nice and lately, that hasn't been until June/July. If we stay here longer, we can do those renovations without feeling overwhelmed.

We also noticed that with DS11 and the transition to Grade 7, it'd be just as easy when he goes to Grade 8 in September 2011. He's really good with change, which is strange for most kids with autism since they don't do well with a change in their routine. It wouldn't matter either way if we moved now or next year, so that's another good reason for us to stick around.

I figured that by next summer, we'd be in better shape to move. I told DH that we wouldn't make the decision unless he was comfortable with the place he'd be working at in Edmonton, and right now, he's not comfortable with it. I don't want us to move and then have him hate his job.

We'll make due with what we have.

**Gardengal18** · 01-03-2010, 07:36 PM

Now that sounds like a much more sensible and better plan for the time being given the current market and financial situation . In the meantime be sure to get that debt to the In-Laws paid off as fast as you can

**monkeywrangler71** · 01-03-2010, 08:03 PM

You're on the same schedule now as we are; you should come join me in my tiny steps challenge in the goal section.

I'm a little concerned about the real estate market, which is on fire right now with home values way up. I'm worried about prices dropping here when the rates start going up this summer. I think the market I'm in is overvalued, I'm tempted to cash it in now while prices are up - but then of course we'd have nowhere to live

**MomToTwoBoys** · 01-03-2010, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by monkeywrangler71

You're on the same schedule now as we are; you should come join me in my tiny steps challenge in the goal section.

I'm a little concerned about the real estate market, which is on fire right now with home values way up. I'm worried about prices dropping here when the rates start going up this summer. I think the market I'm in is overvalued, I'm tempted to cash it in now while prices are up - but then of course we'd have nowhere to live

It was like that here and then the prices sort of simmered. The last time I checked, houses comparable to ours were going for $260-$279k and they said they were due to go up in price. We were concerned about the same thing happening up north because my inlaws have been watching the housing market there. The house that was for $310k was at least $20k under what others in the area were going for. Ahh well... I'm bummed.

I'm not too bummed because by the time we move, we'll have more paid off on the mortgage and with higher prices, we'd sell for a larger profit. That's ok by me.

**Libby** · 01-04-2010, 09:32 PM

Originally Posted by MomToTwoBoys

So DH and I did a lot of talk about the house situation tonight. It spanned about three hours and was started over dinner, so we were both pretty relaxed to get things out in the open.

I told him if he felt I was nagging him about it, then to smack me.

He then told me that he just doesn't want to get excited about it until it actually happens, and I told him that what I'm doing now is just figuring out what our financial situation is like to be able to step into those waters in May/June.

We agreed that we might have to sell the house first before we buy the new house. The reason why is that we're unsure of how much profit we would have after selling this one. That profit is what we'd be putting on the new house to sort of even out the mortgage and make it either the same as we're paying now or less. For example, if we sell this place for $280k and there's $105k on the remaining mortgage, we'd probably have about $165k to put on the new house. If we're looking at a house that's $280k-$290k, we'd probably have $115k-$125k left on the second mortgage and that's where we're at right now.

We're trying to see what our maximum budget limit is right now. DH thinks we can get by with at least a $300k mortgage without overstretching ourselves. As of right now, our base net income is $2900 a month. This means that if we get a mortgage payment per month that's 25% of our income, we'd pay about $725 a month on the new house. We currently pay $670 a month.

I want a house with a large yard and large kitchen, three bedrooms and location that's close to both good schools and DH's work. We're even looking at houses in the lower end of the $200s. If we can pay off most of the new mortgage with cash from selling this house, we'd have more expendable income in the second house to fix things up or start saving for retirement earlier than we'd thought.

Like I said, this is still the early planning stages and we're testing the waters to see what our realistic limit really is. We don't want to become a victim of the housing crisis like it was in the US, but at the same time we're fairly confident that it won't happen. What we do know is that our search is becoming more realistic every day and it's only a matter of time before we throw ourselves back into the buying and selling game again.

Kudos to you for thinking this through over a long period of time while taking the time to do your research. If you're happy with your decision then I'm happy with your decision