I was wondering if any of you knew of a website that deals with buying a house. A site that deals with questions to ask of owners and such. Any info would be great. ------------------ "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning how to put food on their family while being put to death."
ZRB man! Excellent thread! The wife and I have been starting to contemplate house buying. Yes! Any info for first time buyers would be great! ------------------ Everything you do, effects everything that is.
This is a good site for finding a house. www.realtor.com . You can refine your search for location, price, and details of the house you are looking for. There are many links on this page to answer questions. However, buying a house is really complicated.Your best bet is to find a realtor and talk to him or her, and a mortgage company. One thing that makes house hunting fun is to get pre-approved for a loan. Do the money part first, and searching for the house is much easier. ------------------ Behad Sergeant at Arms of the Clutch BBS
http://www.har.com Houston Area Realtors, tons of listings! Good luck! ------------------ Whatever you want to do, you have to do something else first.
Doesn't do me much good in New York! Yes, I've been looking at web sites for a few months. Behad we've got an appointment with our banker in a couple of weeks to start the money part. Anybody explore foreclosures or government funded housing? ------------------ Everything you do, effects everything that is.
I can give you three pieces of advice from my experience: 1. Check your credit NOW. Do whatever you must to guage your credit before you go fishing for a loan. Fortunately, my wife and I had no problems in this area but you'd be amazed how one missed payment on a Discover card 5 years ago can haunt you. 2. Hire a buyer's broker. They get a percentage of the sale of the house. You DON'T PAY THEM. They work to help make sure you are getting a good deal and understand the earnest money contracts, etc. They will also accompany you to the title company for the closing to protect your interests. 3. Hire a home inspector and use him. Our guy found quite a few things that needed to be fixed and got us a better deal on the house. This is, of course, extremely important when buying an older house, but just as important when purchasing a new home. Don't ever feel pressured to do ANYTHING. Take your time when looking at homes, going over your contracts, etc. Also, go with your gut. Don't buy something you don't want because it's a good deal or if it doesn't feel right. You'll likely be in this house for a while so pick something that feels right even if others don't agree. My wife and I were criticized by EVERYONE just about for buying an old house in an old neighborhood. Within the 5 years we've owned it, it has more than doubled in value. Remember that this isn't just about praciticality. This is a house AND a home. Best of luck. ------------------ "You know what they say about the music business. Here today, gone TODAY! - Chris Rock at the MTV Music Video Awards
Jeff... I couldn't agree more with ALL your points. ZRB, take heed of Jeff's wise words. I would definately get the potential home inspected. A home inspector is a must especially in this area. Also get a termite inspector. These two guys alone can save you from making a big mistake. Our home inspector was ridiculously thorough and even crawled under the house to check pipes, structure, etc. We knew exactly what we had to do to the home before we bought. We also bought an old home in an old neighborhood, twice! Jeff also mentioned using an agent. I would recommend this also. An agent knows the ins and outs of buying and selling homes and can help you with all the legalese. Good luck, take your time and shop around. You'll know when you walk into a house that "it's the one!" If you don't feel it, don't buy it. Big money, big investment, hopefully good return when you sell it! Good luck again rH ------------------ The Psychedelic Groove House of Rockets Basketball Love! Come and chat with us on game nights in CC.net chat!
To add to Jeff's important rules...I also want to add this: If you have recieved any substantial money gifts in the last year, your lender will probably require that you get written autorization that it was not a loan, and that you are not required to pay them back. Try to put down 20% if you can, to avoid adding a mortage insurance payment into your mothly payment. There are several types of loans to fit your purchasing requirements. Look into the one that fits you best. Have a months worth of paycheck stubs available for proof of employment and income. Provide a realtor with as much information as you can...we did and the realtor did a great job of bringing us (to the house) a packet each week with new and updated listings. Drive around the areas that you are interested in living in...as summer approaches, you will see more and more houses going on the market. Family types tend to move when school is out, and put their homes on the market around April. Keep this in mind...when you do find a house, you might be ready to buy, but the current owner can't vacate right away. They might ask you to lease back the house until they are ready to leave. Your realtor will help you out with this paper work. Make sure that when you buy the house of your dreams that you (and your inspector) go over every little thing. If you don't like it, make sure it is fixed. The rainy season is a good time to see if a doorjam is sticking...(possible bad slab) Last but not least...I highly advise getting an American HomeShield warranty. This covers the majority of the house...including (most, but not all parts) A/C, Heater, dishwasher, water heater, roof, structure...etc....well worth the cost if any of these breaks down. Especially if you are buying a 5-10 year old house or older. ------------------ In the end there will be no judges...only witnesses to my greatness.
I agree with Jeff and the others, although i did not use an inspector because it was a brand new house and the city had sent out inpspectors aey major level. I agree with 20% that makes things much more manageable, however they will cfoable ake about 5% Keep an eye on the interest rates, sometimes you can get special deals to keep them low. The general guideling is that the mortgage company wants your payments to be ~30% of your monthly wages. That is all of your debt added to the new mortgage. Look for targeed "re-development" neighborhoods. That is what has given Jeff such a great advantage. This is any neighnorhood that has been targeted for beautification, renewal, or expansion. in addition to making a strong investment, you can often get one of those special mortgages to keep rates low. There are first home deals as well, but you usually have to make under a certai amount of money. ------------------ Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it. " " " " "
This is an outstanding suggestion. In our case, the homeowner offered to pay for a year's subscription for us. We kept it for 3 years after the home was built and it ended up saving us. One winter, we found we had a cracked heat exchanger - about $900 to replace. With the warranty, it cost us $25!!! Also, on leasing homes to previous owners which we also did. Remember that the realtor is NOT on your side in this. Their job is to get the best deal for their client (which, of course, is the seller) in all situations. That is why I so strongly recommend a buyer's broker. By the way, the real estate agent handling the house will NOT like the buyer's broker being involved because he/she will get a cut of their commission. Don't let them try to talk you out of it. Ok, I forgot a couple of things... 1. Talk to the neighbors. Walk around and ask them about the street or block (most important) and about the neighborhood in general. These are people you will have to live with/near for a while. 2. Check crime report statistics for the area. You can find these online usually or, at the worst, with a trip to the police substation. This will help you guage just how tough the area is. But, don't be too concerned if the area is coming up. Just 3 years before we moved in, there were regular gun shots heard nearby, but that changed as the neighborhood changed. 3. If you are unfamiliar, drive around about a 20-block radius from the house and check out other homes, businesses, schools, parks, etc. If people are out walking, ask them for directions and then about the neighborhood. 4. Talk to the owner of the house. That is actually what finalized our deal. I went and just sat down with him one day and he was a really nice guy. In fact, he and his partner (two gay men) were so friendly, it pretty much convinced me the house was worth it and they even came down to my price just because we got to know each other. That should just about do it. Understand, that we weren't really even looking for a house at the time. We just saw the ad in the paper and drove by just for curiosity. My wife fell in love with it and about 6 weeks later, we closed. It was really just meant to be for us. ------------------ "You know what they say about the music business. Here today, gone TODAY! - Chris Rock at the MTV Music Video Awards
Jeff's on the money. I'll add one thing: * don't use a real estate agent that you're friends with. You're less apt to impose on them when you really do want to see that one other home at 10:00 at night. If they've been in the business as well (and it's your first home), you might be less apt to question everything. I got burned, IMO, by a guy that's been in the business for 20 years. I asked about an inspection... which he said we didn't need for our condo and its age. Obviously things still rested on my shoulder (see Jeff's point about going w/ your gut), but I deferred to my friend the expert. I've had tons of issues w/ the heater & water heater, etc. Things that would have been pointed out, I believe, by a good home inspector. ------------------
Oh...and if you like, you can buy down your interest rate...cost fluctuates, but if I remember right, it's about 1K per 1/4 point of percentage. This ammount has to be paid in full. And development is very important. Check with the city planniners to make sure that a house you are looking isn't going to back up on a proposed highway or other development that you would not like. If you know that you won't be in your house for more that 5 years, and your looking in an upper scale area, and they are still building in that area...go ahead and buy the smaller house surrounded by the big houses, and your value will go up allong with the big houses. ------------------ In the end there will be no judges...only witnesses to my greatness.
Add to Jeff's comments -- checking your credit can give you a chance to correct a mistake as well. In college I closed a Discover card account, and found out a few years later it was listed as defaulted with a balance of $2.13. When I called them, they said it was a mistake, that I actually overpaid my last bill somehow, and sent me a check. If you've moved once or twice it's easy for these things to show up. Also, talking with the bank can help with the rest of the process. They have a lot of requirements that may seem like a pain, but are designed to make sure you can pay them back. They will point you in the right direction as far as inspectors, survey requirements, etc. Also, I have heard that a credit union is much more helpful than a bank. When you get ready to close, if it's a used house, talk to the present owner about some of the belongings in the house that you might be able to use. My parents recently bought a house from a couple moving to New Mexico, and bought their refridgerator, freezer, trailer, and some farm animals for $400. The guy threw in a hide-a-bed couch -- all because it was easier to sell the stuff than move it. Dad kicked himself for not talking to the guy sooner, because he had sold off a bunch of stuff cheap in a garage sale the week before. ------------------ Stay Cool...
It's funny that this thread was started today. I close on my house today at 3:30 PM at Stewart Title! All of the advice posted already has been good. Defnintely use an inspector and a buyer's agent. Get your credit in line ASAP. The only other advice I can give you is hold out for something that you really love, rather than compromising on a property that is just OK to you. I had been looking for 4 months and seeing nothing but crap-o-la. Then, one day, WHOOSH I saw a house that I absolutely adored, in the neighborhood I wanted to be in, and within 24 hours I had agreed on a sales price with the seller. DON'T COMPROMISE...BUY A HOUSE YOU REALLY LIKE!!!!!! ------------------ "Blues is a Healer" --John Lee Hooker
Tex is right. Lots in the Heights (with no houses) are going for $75K and up. The house right across the street and one lot over sold for $78K two years ago and the house was falling apart. It took him 2 years to re-do it and it is on the market for $220K. It is nice inside but no bigger than our house, no wooden fence and a 1-car garage that is falling apart. We paid $90K for ours 5 years ago! We have a friend who is selling her and her husband's house and lots. They have 3 lots at the corner of 12th and Rutland including a garage apartment with a leased tennant. They are probably going to get $350K for the lots with the house only being 1500 sq ft and that is priced to move. They could get over $400K! The first million-dollar home was just put on the market on Heights Blvd. It is a new construction in Victorian style - 3 stories. It is getting pricey over here! ------------------ "You know what they say about the music business. Here today, gone TODAY! - Chris Rock at the MTV Music Video Awards
I hear ya boys! Most of this happened in the late 80s early 90s. And you could tell at that time that the hood was changing. God I loved living in the Heights! I was at 11th street and Ashland from 1989 - 1991. ------------------ Everything you do, effects everything that is.
You lived about 6 blocks from where I am now. ------------------ "You know what they say about the music business. Here today, gone TODAY! - Chris Rock at the MTV Music Video Awards
The Height's is REPRESENTIN'!! ZRB, who needs a freakin' website when ya got all these friends on the CC.net BBS!!! YOU KNOW WE ROCK(et)!!! rH ------------------ The Psychedelic Groove House of Rockets Basketball Love! Come and chat with us on game nights in CC.net chat!
HEIGHTS?! I bought a little 'ol lady house in the heights about 5 years ago. I was only taking a short cut to Home Depot and saw it for sale. I just went for it and am still here. The value of my house has almost tripled!! SCOOOOOOORE! ------------------ Whatever you want to do, you have to do something else first.
Wow, this is great. Thanks for the help. ------------------ "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning how to put food on their family while being put to death."
