Ask people you trust if they can recommend a good realtor. This is not to say any recommendations you get from this BBS aren't trustworthy. Having a good realtor can make all the difference in the world. When I bought my home, I was able to close in less than half the normal time thanks to some really dedicated work by my realtor and financial agent. Codell's advice about avoiding PMI is brilliant. Make sure you do this at all costs. PMI is an absolute scam. It's throwing money down a well.
A good home inspector is worth gold. The inspector I used helped write the legislation that requires that inspectors be certified in Texas. His inspection # is #1. It's funny cause when I told my realitor what inspector I was using, she cringed. He is so thorough that her office has had meetings specifically about this guy because he tends to scare buyers away. I know this is true because he also told me the same thing. Inspection reports are based on a template. If you don't fill in anything, the report will be 5 pages long. Most completed reports are in fact 5 pages long because they only fill in the minimal amount. My inspection reports (I used him 4-5 times) are about 30 pages long. I'd rather have too much info than too little. Another thing to think about is many inspectors are in bed with the realitors. If an inspector provides a negative report, the realitor might lose a sale. So the inspectors know this and try to tip toe a fine line between what the realitor wants you to know and what you want to know. Chose your own realitor from an independant source. Don't take a recommendation from the realitor or mortgage lender. By law, I don't think they're even allowed to but they do anyway. If you e-mail me, I'd be happy to provide you my inspectors name.
Find an EXCELLENT realtor. Shop around, check references and backgrounds, and ask around. Realtors are involved in most parts of the process and their influence (and advice) can make a huge impact on how smoothly the process goes. Like I said, my wife and I are going through the process right now. We close May 21 (we're so excited!) and we've been very happy with our realtor. Because we live out-of-state, we've had to do everything via phone/fax/email. So our need for a good agent was amplified.
UPDATE: After a ton of headaches and stress, we got our first house. We've been in it about 3 weeks now. It's an awesome feeling. It turned out a family friend from church was a well know realtor and she was great. I really don't know what we would have done without her. I also want to give props to The Home Inspector, run by Bob Lovelace. His son Brad did our inspection and was great. It ook him over 5 hours, but he was incredibly thorough and showed me a lot of minor things I was able to fix myself that have already made the house a much nicer place to live. He didnlt do the generic 5 page report either,. Well he did, because it;s required by law, but he also did his own, VERY detailed report that came out around 10 pages. It gave us a bit of leverage on price negotiations and seller repairs. Thanks for everyone's advice.
Congrats, DHB! I'm right behind you buddy! Closing in 6 days!! This has been a goal of mine for years. I made a Y2K resolution on New Years Eve 1999 that I would be a homeowner before 2005. After busting my ASS for 4 years fixing my GODAWFUL credit and overall financial situation, I can say that this is well worth all the sacrifices I've made since then. I had a great inspector as well. He found tons of things I would have never even thought of to inspect. The seller is having everything fixed that he listed. At least all the semi-serious things. I also have a KICK ASS mortgage broker I'm working with. She's pretty much done everything for me and there's no way I could have done any of this without her. If you're buying a house, I would highly recommend using a mortgage broker. In fact, I would highly recommend using MY mortgage broker. She's the shiznit. She's also married to a *frequent* poster codell on this bbs. Another thanks to all the home buying threads. Lots of great advice to ponder.
Hmm... they just poured the foundation on my house last Thursday/Friday. My "official" closing date is Nov. 24 or 29.
Congratulations. I was thinking about putting my 86 year old historic victorian on the market until I found out the company I went to work for in February may be moving 3 blocks away from my house. Right now my commute is 8 minutes in the car. If the company moves it will be a 5 minute walk. I jokingly told my wife I was going to buy a segway.
