Taking the plunge!
vnstacie
member
H and I have been discussing some options.
I really wanted a new (bigger) vehicle for my birthday, and we had decided on what SUV we would buy, and even spoke to our car guy yada yada, I was excited! But then, we thought what if we keep my car and buy an RV instead, then when we take road trips to TX we wouldn't have to stay at someone's house and feel like we were imposing. Which is a great idea especially so that if we needed to sleep for the night we wouldn't have to spend $150 on a hotel halfway there.
So last night we were talking about it again, and H said maybe we should just buy a house instead. Haha
I think we are taking the plunge! So I need to start learning about first time home buying so by April/may I'm in the know!
where can I learn about this stuff? Any good websites, books, etc??
? Voted Cool Cat ~ 2012 Sweetpea Mom Awards ?
Re: Taking the plunge!
I like zillow. It gives you local home values and recent sales. It tracks the market for you and tells your exactly what you're buying (as in, this house is more expensive 'cause it has a garage).
I'm pretty sure it also has alot of articles about what you want to look for.
I know some places offer classes on home buying. My DH read a lot of books and did a lot of research online.
My only tips are:
Buy what you can afford not what the bank will loan you. Just because you are approved for $300K doesn't mean you can easily afford the monthly payment for that amount mortgage
Try not to get attached to a house. Deals can fall through at the last minute.
Colors/floor/landscaping can be changed. Their furniture won't be there. Don't get hung up on the cosmetics.
The biggest thing I needed to remember was we didn't need to buy the first house we saw! I fell in love with the first house we saw just because of the excitement of thinking we were finally going to have a house that was our own and not a rental. We looked at 25 more houses after that before finding our house and it's a lot better than that first one
Also, don't be afraid to ask to see the house for a second or third time before making an offer. One of the days were were looking was really stormy and we saw two houses we thought we loved. When we went back to see them on a nice, sunny day we realized the outsides were in worse shape than we thought.
DD1 Feb 2010
DD2 Sept 2011
If you like a house book another viewing with a third set of eyes because sometimes it's easy to talk it up between the two of you but when someone else comes in they can put things into perspective a little better.
This happened with SO and I a few times before buying our house, neither of us were particularly thrilled with certain aspects of houses and throughout the night we were talking it up and getting too excited over things that in reality werent very good features for us and a growing family.
https://www.hud.gov/buying/comq.cfm
This is so exciting!!!
Here is what we did or thought of:
Talked about what were must haves in our family home, and what were deal breakers. There is no way I would buy a house without AC and my H really wants a big back yard. Also, we use the kitchen so an updated kitchen or option to update would be ideal. (security system, landscaping, fence, and good schools are a must).
Be picky about where you put your money. It takes a lot of time and money to renovate; you can negotiate the price of the home based on these "allowances".
GET AN INSPECTION!
When you look at neighborhoods be cognizant of how your neighbors keep their yards and vehicles. A nice neighborhood helps your resale.
Speak to multiple brokers and see what numbers you are working with. Like shelly said, go with what you and your H can easily afford. I thnk your mortgage payment should be no more than a quarter of your monthly income.
Make sure your interests rates are locked and it is documented.
Look through FTHB (First time home buyer programs and watch the incentives). There are so many tax breaks, or loopholes that change everyday. There are 30 year or 15 year loan options..
This about your home owners insurance you HAVE to carry
What will your utilities cost you? Does the property use well water?
What are the property taxes?
Also, if you buy a house with on land.. who owns the mineral rights?
Think about a down payment... Do you want to put a lot down? My cousin put 40k down and then had to relocate for work... his house is still on the market
, My friend put 10k down on a foreclosure and somehow they workd out an awesome mortgage payment! However! she lives in the boonies! Sooo Opportunity cost, ya know?
Ask lots of questions whenever you speak with realtors, brokers, the bank, and if you have a financial advisor. The more you know, the more they cannot jerk you around. I know there have been surprising discussions we have had about random numbers and expenses popping up on the "back end" or closing costs.
I believe it is a market analysis that will tell you all of the homes in the area you are looking in that are exactly comparative to what you are looking into (year built, renovated, price it sold, how many days it sold in.. etc)
With those comparisons you can negotiate your price!
Do not just go with the first realtor you speak to. Make sure they know what you want.. and are not trying to get you in a home fast.. and make a few bucks. Follow your intuition and do not settle for less.
Homes go on the market everyday, so if you do not find something you like... do not force it.
I have a few names of people we like... if you want I can send them your way!
Congratualtions!! This is so exciting!
yes, great advice!
this is not our forever home though, we will build in the area we like in about 5 years.
? Voted Cool Cat ~ 2012 Sweetpea Mom Awards ?
That is very exciting and I think you will be happy that you made the investment in a house rather than a car or rv.
I don't really have advice to add other than what PPs have said, but wanted to say good luck!
My biggest piece of advice is get very familiar with the inventory in your market. Start stalking the MLS now! We stalked our realtor's website with all the area listings for a year before putting our house on the market. We were fully informed on what was happening in our selling range and what was happening in our buying range. (actually we knew the whole market because we live in a small area)
My 2nd piece of advice is look at as many homes as possible. Things are so much different in person so don't judge by what you see online. Look at stuff you don't really even think you'll have an interest in. I think you should view at least 15-20 homes before putting in an offer, even if you fall in love with the first house. The more houses you see, the better you can judge value.