HelloagainandwelcomebacktoHappyHour.Now,onwiththeshow.
Helloeveryone,welcomebacktoAmericaundertheMicroscopeadvancedlevel,HiLulu.
Hi,James.
Great.Wefinallymovedonfromrentingtobuying.goingupintheworld.
Sure.
Probablyintheirearlythirties.
Earlythirties.
Yeah,sousuallymarriedcouplesbeforetheyhavekidswhentheystillhavemoneycanaffordtobuyahome.
Yeswedidtalkaboutthisbefore.
Soeitherbuyingorrenting,itisthesame,thesameinthis.Allright,lasttimeweweretalkingabouthousesandapartmentsandwouldyousaythevastmajorityofAmericansliveinahouseratherthanapartments
Buthousesaredifferent.Letmetrytoaskyousomequestionsthatalwayskindofconfusedme.ComparingtheUK,BritishEnglishandAmericanEnglish.So,intheUKyouhavedetachedhousewhichisahousestandingonitsown.
Americawejustcallthatahouse.
Oh,okay.Andwhataboutsemi-detached,whichistwohousessharingonewall
Wecallthataduplex.
Duplex.Whataboutterrace,terracedhouse
Wecallthosetownhouses.
Condominiumorcondoforshort.
Oh,soapartmentsyoucannotbuy,condosyoucanbuy.
Condosyoucanbuy.So,ifIbuildacondominiumbuilding,itwilllooklikeanapartmentbuilding.Buttheindividualunitsareforsale.
Isee.Butcanapartmentbuildingturnsintoacondo
Isee,butcondos,condominiums,theyareusuallybetterquality,betterdecoratedandeverythingthantheapartments.
Fancier.Condosaredefinitelyfancierthannormalapartments.
Thatcanbemoreexpensivethanahouse.
Wow.WellIguesssomehigh-endcondos,onceyoudecideyouwanttobuyoryoufindaplace,ahouseoracondothatyouwanttobuyandthenfirstofall,yougotothebank,rightYoutrytoapplyforamortgage.
Butthenormalpeople...
Thebankswillcheckyourcredithistoryaswell.
Yeah.Onethinginthisis,soinsomepreviousepisodeaboutuniversity,wetalkedaboutuniversitydebt,allthesestudentloandebt.Willthataffectyourcredithistory,ifyouhaveoutstandingstudentloan
So,youhavetopaythatbackbeforeyouapplyformortgage.
Butevenifyougetamortgage,probablytheinterestratewillbeskyhigh.
That’sentirelypossible.
So,whenyoubuy,inthepreviousepisode,wesaidthatifyourent,youjustgototheleasingoffice,butwhenyoubuy,youwillneedanagent.RightOtherwisewhydoweneedagents
Bytheway,whatistheideaoftheopenhouse
Soifafewpotentialbuyersareinterested,thenyoualsohaveto,basicallytrytomakeabetterofferthanotherpeople.
Makeanoffer.
Nono,sofortwohundredthousand.Youmakethemanoffer,soIcansayahundredandeighty-fivethousand.Thentherealestateagentwillasktheowner.Theownercanrejectoraccept.So,iftheowneracceptsit,thenyoupayahundredandeighty-fivethousanddollars.Iftheyrejectit,youcanoffermoremoney.
Likeanyothernegotiation.
Thisisverymuchnegotiation.
Um,especiallythingslikealotofthestructuralthingsthatyoucannotreallyseelikewithinthewall,likemoldortermites,thingslikethat.
Exactly.So,whatarethefeesapartfromthehouseprice,theagentfee
Ah,likeaprocessingcost
Ifyouownit,youhavetopayit.Ifyourent,welltheownersjustgonnaincludethepropertytaxonit.
Stillkindofpayingforit.
ArethereanyrestrictionsinAmericaasinwhereyoucanbuy,whereyoucannotbuyAsyouknowinChinawehavealotofrestrictions.Youhavetoberegisteredincertain,uhforexampleinBeijing.
Havemoney,canbuy.
Youcanbuyanywhere.
Aslongasyoucanaffordit.
What,toprotectyou,protectyourrightsasalandowner
Waitaminute.So,inUnitedStateswhereyouknoweverythingisquitebasedonindividualism.Youhaveorganizationsthatwilldictatewhetheryourhouseisblueorgreen
Yesinsomeneighborhoodsandtheyarenotpopular.
So,ifIwannapaintmyhousepink,perhapsIneedtobuyinaplacewheretherearenoHOAs.