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2005/05/11, 12:14 PM
My husband and I are starting to think about looking for our first house. I do a lot of research online, but any advice from someone who has actually bought a house as opposed to statistics would be much appreciated. Thanks guys!
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2005/05/11, 01:57 PM
Make sure the house has a roof :)
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:Hard work equals great results!:
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2005/05/11, 07:51 PM
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I don't know where in the united States you live, but in my state Iowa you can access real estate records on line through the assessor. It should give you history of the house what it is currently valued at, the purchase price of the present owner. You can also access similar houses in the area and see what they sold for and when. Prices are very negotiable. Start low you can always go up but never down. Do a thorough inspection of the house and remember the real estate agent is working for him/her self. Neither the buyer or the seller; probably 7-10% of the purchase price.
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2005/05/15, 07:50 PM
I have lots!
When you go to buy a house, get a realtor. The people you end up buying the house from are paying 6% - 3% to their relator, and 3% to yours. Pick your realtor carefully. The biggest thing is HONESTY/TRUST and that they are well educated in the market and will work hard for you. Realize that you should be interviewing THEM. Ask people you know what they thought of their relator. And make sure they're being honest (I've found people who just seem to want to tell you to use ANYONE whose services they've used as well - regardless of what morons they were). Let your realtor help you negotiate the price - they are getting paid to minimize the headaches and give you advice. They should make it a smooth, painless and mebbe even enjoyable process paper-wise.
Realize there are lots of first time homebuyer programs. FHA requires only 3% down and it can be a gift, but there are 100% loans too. Don't have different lenders pull your credit. I recommend talking to a few loan officers in person (don't have them all pull your credit). Get two Good Faith Estimates and compare them. Each lender NEEDS to give you a GFE, which will show closing costs, rate, etc. When you decide on your loan officer, go with your gut feeling on the person. Apply with them and get your paperwork approved.
BUT BEFORE YOU LOCK IN YOUR RATE... once you find the property, ask the loan officer you've chosen what the rate is for the program you're using. Then call one of the other loan officers and ask them what that same rate is, just to make sure that yours is keeping honest. Then lock in and wait for your home to close!
I'd be happy to help with any other quesitons you have!!
Happy house shopping!
Nikki
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2005/05/17, 02:55 AM
Ensure that your mortgage provider don't deny that they have received the surveyors report for 2 weeks before finally admitting they had it all along, leaving them with less than 48 hours to get the loan papers to your solicitor before you are supposed to move in :angry::angry:
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The path to righteousness is a cycle path
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2005/05/18, 10:22 PM
Get it inspected under ANY curcumstances and must pass or your offer will be retracted. And don't take an inspecter recommended by an agent.
Oh, and make sure it has 1 extra room for the gym!
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Scales are for dead weight: We are not dead yet!
Still trying to find out how to do the Hollywood Free Press.
Ivan
Montreal Canada
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2005/05/24, 07:48 PM
Ditto the inspection. Try and get a responsible, certified inspector (NACHI, ASHI,)who'll give you a written report. You'll be up on the condition of all the house's systems, and you'll have documentation to help negotiate a more realistic price, if need be. It would be horrible to miss, say, a bad furnace, foundation, roof, potentially dangerous electric problem and end up paying an xtra 8000 bucks (or loonies) for the house in necessary repairs.
And keep a cool head. Don't let emotions buy the house, you might regret it later, which is what happened to me.
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2005/05/31, 01:32 PM
everything seems to be already discussed other than PMI.
You can avoid Property Mortgage Insurance by taking 2 loans out when buying. 80% and 20%. The 20% secondary will be alittle bit of a higher interest rate however the benefits of not having PMI help to lower your overall monthly costs.
Avoid the ARM loans, because the current interest rates are only going to go up. good luck.
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2005/05/31, 01:50 PM
Ditto the inspection and ditto call one yourself, not the agents recommendation as she wants to close with all speed. My inspector here in Pensacola found some major septic system problems that the county inspector did not fine. That cost the seller a little over 12K to replace.
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2005/05/31, 05:23 PM
The thing that I notice most with home buyers is that they really get into the small things about a house, stuff like the color of the walls or old appliances. Unless you have a lot of money, you need to look for the potential in a home. Usually the difference in cost between a house with all the latest appliances, fancy countertops, paint color trends, etc and a house that needs some work is not equal to the cost of those things. What I mean is that it is usually cheaper to buy a well built house that needs a little work (especially if you do that work yourself) than it is to buy a new cookie cutter place with all the newest features.
I second carivan's advice. After you make an offer get an inspection no matter what. Absolutely do not use the inspector your agent or the seller's agent recommends. You'll probably have to pay 300 dollars or so for a good inspection. Make sure the offer is contingent on your satisfaction with the inspection. Also make sure the offer is contigent on the house appraising at or above the selling price, otherwise you may find yourself being forced to make up the difference between what the bank will issue a loan for and the selling price.
I would also second the recommendation on avoiding PMI. Though I would recommend staying away from 80/20 loans and other similar types of loans if at all possible. You will basically be making payments on interest only for the 20% loan (meaning you're not building much equity). The loan officer is going to try to push a ARM loan by saying that you get a low interest rate and then you can refinance later when you have more income, but this just makes the bank richer and really doesn't start to pay off your home. The best way to go is to get a fixed interest rate with a 20% downpayment, but that's hard for a lot of people. Make sure to get a full faith disclosure on closing costs for a loan, you don't want to pay several thousand dollars more for closing than you expected.
One thing that I haven't seen is a home warranty. Usually you can put in the offer that the seller is to provide a one year home warranty (ask your realtor about this). That way if your experience any problems with appliances, plumbing, electrical, heat/AC, and a few other things you will not be responsible for repair costs.
Good luck, and take your time! Impatience is the best way to get taken advantage of. If you can't get what you want out of the buyer, move on...
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2005/05/31, 05:30 PM
Oh, and don't offer the asking price. Unless you're in a very competitive housing market, I would suggest offering 5% or so less. That will give you room to negotiate. If the seller won't budge on the asking price and you think it's a little higher than you should pay, try to get something out of them for it. Don't be afraid to ask for new AC/furnace/water heater if they're older. Make sure you have it in the offer and that the replacements must be approved by the buyer.
The longer the house has been on the market, the more you can usually get out of the seller. They'll be very eager to sell.
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2005/06/02, 02:15 AM
Did my homework long before I even considered looking at homes. The first thing I would recommend is to look at your budget and see what you can actually afford without making yourself "house poor" as so many do. That number is the best place to begin. Secondly, I would go to the Fannie May website (among others) and have the free materials mailed to you. They have tons of lenders/fees information and homebuying tips free of charge. One thing will lead to another, go slow. And don't forget, you'll also need homeowners' insurance on the home you buy; don't forget to put that in your budget.
Also, use this time to get copies of all your credit reports and make sure everything on them is accurate. After your report is squared away, order your credit score. Know where you stand as far as credit and fair interest rates.
Also remember some basics. Each time you apply for credit, your score goes down. Apply for credit as few times as possible (which should be a life-long rule). It is best to have everything squared away PRIOR to actually applying with the lender you actually intend to use after comparing them (at least two, three is sufficient). Watch for hidden fees; under no circumstances should you be charged for "paperwork processing, faxes" or anything of that nature (among billions of other fees that are included and cleverly disguised as "rightful" charges).
This should be plenty to keep you occupied for a long time.
We also avoided the PMI. PMI is for the lender's benefit, not for yours. Your lender CAN set up your loan for that (although they hesitate to admit it). Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions. Then ask around and compare the answers. You can also find the daily interest rates online in several places, most by using the zip code for the area in which you intend to move to.
In our case, a new home was the best option; we bought direct from the builder and everything is under warranty, even including the grass and sod they put down. It also covered the inspection processes, etc. I also prefer to pay my taxes as part of my monthly mortgage payment instead of getting stuck with that huge tax bill every year, a personal preference.
To summarize, in planning initially ... I had to know how much I could afford to cover the mortgage, the interest, the taxes, my homeowners' insurance ... and lastly, what I needed to have down to purchase the home I wanted. Then, I had to consult with lenders to see how my finances could be set up, as far as the loan, to suit my circumstances and budget.
Best of luck finding your new home!! Tedious, but worth it!
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~ Apneac ~
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my grandfather did ... in his sleep, not screaming like the passengers in his car.
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2005/06/02, 02:23 AM
One more thing. Important if area is not a huge issue. We moved 35 miles further out than where we lived and were originally looking. That saved us 80K on our new house (comparable to surrounding areas) and the neighborhood is much better! We also had to consider mileage/travel and potential for future growth value to make certain it was worthwhile. Because of intersecting highway, our mileage only had an actual increase of five miles. We got very lucky!
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~ Apneac ~
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my grandfather did ... in his sleep, not screaming like the passengers in his car.
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2005/06/03, 02:37 PM
the 80/20 loan can be a fixed 30 year for both primary and secondary. You can also go with an interest only loan, however when demand for homes goes down, and the interest rates sky rocket, you will find yourself in a bit of a mess. We are coming to the 16 year real estate pop very soon, so stay cautious about the interest only/low monthly payment loans and don't get in over your head.
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2005/06/04, 09:34 AM
gangstershoes, I ditto that. Our loan was set up with as an 80/15/5 ... and it is fixed, and the interest will not change, ever! We paid the 5 up front and the 15 part is at 5.6, the 80 is at 4.7 and these rates will never change. We pay on BOTH the 80 and the 15 each month, which totals $825 per month and we will have the house paid off early because we put in extra toward the principle each month. Make sure they give you these interest rates (on the divisionals) as permanent interest rates that will not be subject to change.
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~ Apneac
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my grandfather did, in his sleep ... not screaming like the passengers in his car.
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2005/06/05, 11:17 AM
One more thing. Since we purchased a brand new home, there was no squabbling over price. Best to go to the builder before they actually start building and/or right when they start, you can also go see the home being built to insure quality materials, building, foundation, etc. We were even luckier because my husband's second job is home inspections (so we had a better feeling about what we were getting), if he had not, we would have hired our own. We also did not use an agent, given the fact that the cost of the home would not change and there was no negotiation applicable (being a new home) ... so that would just be money in the agent's pocket for doing nothing. Instead, we hired a real estate attorney to review everything for $125 and went directly through the builder which saved us thousands as well! We got in early, before they put the shovel in the ground, and our neighbors that came later paid $20-$80k more or their homes, which are the same (as they sell the lots/homes, the cost goes up).
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~ Apneac
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my grandfather did, in his sleep ... not screaming like the passengers in his car.
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2005/09/30, 09:01 AM
Message deleted by moderator due to unsuitable content for this board.
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2005/10/07, 10:34 AM
I'll add one thing
figure out how much you can afford to pay each month - including escrow(taxes & insurnce) & subtract $100 & tell them that is the amount you can afford - just because you can get a higher dollar house doesn't mean that you should
keep in mind houses use more eletricity(sp?) so figure a higher bill there too but the backyard is worth it
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Reddy
All people smile in the same language
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