Any advice on purchasing a home?

Shabutie · February 2014

So, as you probably already know, My husband and I are searching for a home to buy. We have found three candidates barely in our price range, and are setting up appointments to go see them.
Do you ladies have any advice on specific things to look for? Like, stuff that maybe you didn't see, but found out when you moved in? I dunno, anything, really. What is something I maybe haven't thought of?

*Send me a PM or join chat if you want to see the potential houses....maybe would give a better idea.

Shabutie · February 2014

M&MHaveMyHeart said:

Roof is a biggie. Furnace if it has one, as well as central air conditioner conditions. If there's a basement, you want to look for moisture or the smell of mold/mildew. Also, foundation cracks from the inside & outside.
Also, the grading of the land. Does it slope inwards towards the house or outwards. Hmm.. what else? Hot water tank. All the big appliances you should be able to tell how old they are & if they are old, if the sellers are willing to credit a new one or put a new one in.

Ah, yes, some of these are things I forget about! I will definitely look at the roof, I know if there is more than one layer of shingles then that is a bad omen(Guess how many my house has? 3! lol)
We looked at a house months ago where the basement was covered in mold- no way, no thanks!
Pretty much everything you listed- roof, appliances, land grading towards house- all of those things are wrong with the place I'm living now! I feel bad for the poor sucker to buy this place when FIL decides to sell..

Shabutie · February 2014

YellowWallpaper12 said:

Oh, and well water vs city water. We had well water in our house growing up and our particular well (they are not all like this) was so bad, we had to wash our whites at my grandmother's house or they would turn yellow.

Whoa, good tip! I will definitely check that one out

Shabutie · February 2014

@M&Mhavemyheart
I Sent you a PM

Question. Is it wise to ask for a credit/discount because of something that needs fixing since these houses are way at the top of my budget? Because they're really my only options and I don't want the seller to hate me/back out. I will already have to ask one of them to bring the price down like 3k because it's slightly over budget. Should I just pay asking and deal with fixes later when we get some money for it?

Shabutie · February 2014

Lol. I told you guys to join chat and I forgot to join chat. I'm in there now :P

Shabutie · February 2014

lildis09 said:

Check the windows & insulation. If its an older home make sure the electrical & plumbing are up to code. Find out what your mortgage payments, closing costs, heating (esp if its oil), utilities etc will be. Where you are looking at the top of your budget you don't want to be house poor. Also, just because the bank/mortgage company says you can afford $X, doesn't mean its necessarily true. Check foundations, doorways, stairs etc. Make sure there is no rotting wood or mold.

I am looking at the top of my budget because I don't have a choice unless I want to live in the ghetto. I definitely am not living in the ghetto.
Believe me, I would LOVE to get a nice house that's 20k under my budget, but it's not an option. My budget is 80-100k depending on property taxes. 100 is if taxes are only like $300. Rare

JackoftheBox · February 2014

Randoms to look at. Lighting. We bought our home and when we went there after closing I realized there wasn't a light fixture in the living room!! Apparently this is normal for a split level but i never even noticed.

Also as you know check out the neighbors as best you can and the area. You actually have to live next to them

And finally.... visit on a rainy day if possible. Our back yard floods in several spots. It's very aggravating. Also this will alert you to any leaks.

kristennd · February 2014

M&MHaveMyHeart said:

Another one to ask is about the property taxes listed. Some may be misleading because they are showing it with an old folks discount. Here it's called a Homestead credit so there might be something similar in your area for seniors.

The person we bought our house from was getting a large property tax discount for being a veteran. Definitely skews the numbers.

Shabutie · February 2014

All your advice is very good, and I will definitely use it when we do go look at homes. But my husband just broke down the numbers for me and we wouldn't possibly be able to ever pay off student loans if we purchase a home. I don't know why he never said this to me before, I assumed we would still be able to make some leeway with the loans............ We're calling a plumber to come fix the pipes here. FML

kristennd · February 2014

Our house was about $80,000 and we're still unable to pay off my student loans. It's just interest and will only be interest for about ten more years. It will be 20 years before they're gone. But getting a house is still usually the better financial choice of the two.

Shabutie · February 2014

M&MHaveMyHeart said:

All your advice is very good, and I will definitely use it when we do go look at homes. But my husband just broke down the numbers for me and we wouldn't possibly be able to ever pay off student loans if we purchase a home. I don't know why he never said this to me before, I assumed we would still be able to make some leeway with the loans............ We're calling a plumber to come fix the pipes here. FML
How much student loans do you guys have? Have you looked into the income based replayment plan? Is renting an option?

We have around 35k left to pay off... They are private loans and those MF'rs will NOT budge an inch in any way. No refinancing, no income based anything. Unfortunately, renting puts us in the very same predicament- where we do not have the extra money to pay off the loans any quicker because it is spent on the house.

kristennd said:

Our house was about $80,000 and we're still unable to pay off my student loans. It's just interest and will only be interest for about ten more years. It will be 20 years before they're gone. But getting a house is still usually the better financial choice of the two.

This is exactly what we want to avoid. If we get a house, we will be trapped under student loans for a very very long time, and we would just barely have enough left each month to eat. How can anyone live their life like that! I'd rather suffer here for another year and be OK paying a mortgage then.

I don't know why my husband got my hopes all up saying we could afford to get a house now. He totally forgot to mention the part where we wouldn't have money for anything else. And he was trying to persuade me to look at even more expensive houses.... WTF is wrong with men?

kristennd · February 2014

My loans are more than that. They're more than our household annual income. But they're not private. Now incurious how much difference that makes in payments. Do you mind sharing what you pay per month?

A house doesn't sound practical under those circumstances, as disappointing and frustrating as that must be. Any house that cheap is going to require work, which requires money. But if a year can make a difference, that's great.

Shabutie · February 2014

We have one 8k loan that we do not have to make payments on at the moment. We pay $250 for minimum payments each month. Living here, rent-free, we are able to set aside an extra $650/month to pay on loans. So, we pay $900/month currently. We will be able to get out from under them relatively soon this way, as long as we don't have to pay rent/mortgage.... Any money I make from my two jobs goes straight towards loans, but I haven't had work from one of them in months now, and I have been getting next to nothing from my other job. Work is expected to pick up drastically in April. I do hope it does.

eyenigh · February 2014

peanutrach1 said:

I haven't read the responses but I would recommend to hire a home inspector once you decide on a house you would like to buy. They should be able to identify any issues that you aren't able to see yourself.

I was under the impression that you were required to get an inspection in order to get insurance? Ultimately, I didn't know this was even optional.

MrsCodeMonkey · February 2014

See a house twice before you put in an offer. You'll be able to notice new things the second time you look.

When you negotiate a price do your own research on comps and as long as your offer is not insulting, you'll get a counteroffer. You don't need to pay list unless there's a bidding war.

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