Benny Smith's Advice

Yes look for another lender. Something is not right. First the lender should have followed back up with you and second there is no reason to charge you for the second pull. Congratulations on getting your score up. [content removed by Zillow because of self promotion. Please refer to our Good Neighbor Policy for more details.]

There is no harm in asking. That should give you a good list of the agents you may not want to deal with. I my discount as a transaction coordinator where I have no duty to ensure your best interests. As a buyers agent my duty to you is much greater and for that I expect to get paid. Would like to know how this turns out for you. Benny Smith 

I have done a few of these. Before the great melt down of real estate. Three were multifamily homes, duplexes and a Triplex.  Never had one of these fall thru but a buyer needs to be able to cut and run if the required repairs are getting out of hand. What you see the home needs may not match the FHA list of needs. These closed  because my clients and I did our research prior to making the offer. They work when the buyer has cash to handle the additional up front costs.  A cash strapped buyer should not attempt. You will not know the full out of pocket as well as the potential profit or loss until after the special appraisal.  You can work on the home yourself but you cannot get paid for that work as part of the 203K. for the right people this loan makes great sense but not everyone. 

BobbyAre you talking about a past 1031 exchange or selling your primary residence. I also recommend talking to your account but a little more info would help. Where are you getting the $600 figure

Hardwood seams to be the flooring of choice these days but in a pantry, use the vinyl, My marketing material with the home will point out the benifits such as safer when droping an item and when an item drops of spills vinyl makes the clean up much easier. For pantries vinyl is the best answer in most homes, There is no need to use anything else and if you have it that should be the deciding factor. Keep in mind this recommendation is based on the great info you provided. Up to six months out I recommend you have me or your Realtor tour the house to make sure your future efforts and resources are put to the highest cost to sales price value. My experience in buying and selling homes has helped me direct my clients to the best effect as well. Best of luck Benny Smith

There is no going rate. In fact it is a not legal for an agent to say that any amount is the going rate. However I can say for most listing I (speaking for me only) charge 6 percent and for some very high price listings less. For some listings with low prices there is a $2,000 minimum. This month if you are in the areas I am looking to get more listings, Upper St Clair, North and South Fayette and a few others I will be happy to pay for the $600.00 Home Warranty. Go to my website buyahomenow.com for details. It is not a simple answer but I at least tried to answer your question. Best of Luck.  Benny Smith [content removed by moderator for being self-promotional]

In laymans terms is what you asked for. You must start somewhere. If you can set down with your banks loan officer then that may be good but in most cases you get to give all your information to someone who only inputs the paperwork.In that case I would not use the bank. If you have not found anyone yet I can recommend some loan officers I have worked with in the past. Benny Smith

After reading your post I recommend contacting your agent and have the agent input the sales price in their zillow account. This is not hard and should not be a problem. Public records are much harder to change. Keep in mind the same info that causes Zillow to show your value is lower could also be keeping your property taxes lower.

PeterI have bought land, single family, and multi family properties, and helped many others buy form small duplexs to a 52 unit appartment building. The factors that need to be explored fill books. But the first step is matching what you need with your money or financing. After that the items you mentioned come into play. Your realtor can create much of this but the best way is get out into the neighborhood. Call for rent signs and have your agent produce past history. Good luck. But nothing beets getting your feet on the street. I can help you avoid costly mistakes.Benny Smith