Brother Adam Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 We were approved to go and find a house today by our bank and know our price range. Now, how do we find that sweet killer unheard of deal? Those of you who have bought a home, what is your advice at this point? Realtor? Shop on our own? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 We used a realtor just because of time constraints. Think about commutes. If the price of oil hits 200 a barrel, can you use public transport from where you are looking for a house. Line up someone now to do the inspection. This is the largest investment you will probably ever make. I'd have an electrician check the electrical, and a plumber check the plumbing. Some home inspectors are just graduates of a two day course. Someone who has done construction for 30 years, or was a maintenance guy for a landlord for a bunch of properties can tell you a bunch. We had someone at church that had been a fireman forever, and did maintenance at Queens University on his days off to look over everything. He'd had tickets in electrical, plumbing and boilers. Wouldn't hurt to look at the registered sex offender website. Lots of cities have a website that tracks crimes by neighborhood. If there is still snow on the ground, you might take a snow shovel with you to have a look at the foundation where it is covered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKolbe Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 if you are handy, get a repo.. you can get a good deal that way...but they can be risky too...i know someone who paid $30k under market value for a repo, and it went great.. i know someone who saved about the same amount of $ and it has been a $ pit for him, as he is not handy and has to hire out for everything. and..no matter what they say you are approved for...use the lower limit, not the higher one... (you are approved for $200-$215...look at houses for $200-$205) but then i am cheap and don't like being a slave to my house payment... i would get a realtor, they just know things you won't...especially if this is your first home. with the market as bad as it is...maybe have them take less of a commission percentage and reverse that into a lower price. Did that on our first house and saved about 7k. Plus, many of the realtor's of sellers will not take you seriously, nor let you look at the house, if you dont have a realtor. don't rush...take you time... you are pre-approved and it aint going away. have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Adam Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 I admit ignorance here - do you seriously hire 4 or 5 different inspectors for every home you might be interested in and pay them to look at all of them? So if you have one home with 15 different people interested in that home, does that mean it gets inspected 15 different times by 15 different inspectors who write 15 different reports? How did you convince your realtor to take less money? How else do you save money on buying a home? Do you pay your realtor, or does the seller? Also, we can have either a conventional or FHA loan. Which is better to go with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 You can get one guy to look at your house. I was just making the point that you have to make sure they know what they are looking at. Don't let it be someone the realtor picks though. The realtor has a vested interest in having the sale go through, so someone they pick might let something slide. Even new houses need inspecting. Some areas that had building booms or where a developer put a bunch of houses up quickly, have cheap construction in the worst sense. You don't get the inspection until your offer is accepted. The contract should be contingent on the inspection and the financing. Just because you are pre-approved doesn't mean the financing will go through. Stuff happens. FHA is more paperwork, but it also has some more protections for the buyer. I'd probably look at the bottom line. Realtors can also tell you about other incentive programs you might be eligible for. First time home buyers can sometimes get state or local help with a grant towards down payment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark of the Cross Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 [quote name='Brother Adam' timestamp='1298511024' post='2215098'] We were approved to go and find a house today by our bank and know our price range. Now, how do we find that sweet killer unheard of deal? Those of you who have bought a home, what is your advice at this point? Realtor? Shop on our own? [/quote] Look for one away from flood plains, beaches, geological subduction zones, volcanoes and of course the Middle East. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKolbe Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 [quote name='Brother Adam' timestamp='1298516970' post='2215123'] How did you convince your realtor to take less money? How else do you save money on buying a home? Do you pay your realtor, or does the seller? Also, we can have either a conventional or FHA loan. Which is better to go with? [/quote] Depends how well you talk...At the time that I talked them down, the housing market was on fire. My argument was, lower your take, lower the price, I buy, you move on to the next client. (that is the abbreviated version) You could propose the contrast..how many people are buying now??? Sometimes when there are no sales, you gotta lower the price...something on that level...again..it's about doing research, becoming knowledgable, and well.. selling the idea. Well, depending how you look at at, you both kinda pay the realtors...In CA, normally 7% is commission, which is split between the 2 realtors. So yes, the $ comes from the seller...but you are paying the seller..LOL..so in a way, you are both paying them... (it is factored into the selling price) (very broad statement) If you can afford to put down more than 15% or 20% – without jeopardizing your current and financial position, then go with conventional loan because you pay no PMI and will get a very competitive interest rate. Otherwise, consider going with a FHA loan. I would also suggest doing a line-by-line cost comparison on both...comparing interest rate, PMI, fees..etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southern california guy Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Here's a suggestion that my dad gave me. Don't buy a house that has a problem that you can't fix. Here are a few examples: Bad street -- There are problems with the street in front of the house. Bad location -- Bad neighborhood, Near a big noisy road, Close to an airport, etc The city plans to run an "easement" through the property The septic is failing and the city requires the house to be hooked up to sewer (It could cost $50,000 or more in some cases). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groo the Wanderer Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Get a house with a roof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKolbe Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 and a door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Adam Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 But there was a house for 20,000 with no door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKolbe Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 the doors cost $180K. srsly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhetoricfemme Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Everyone here has given great advice. We just bought a house, and while I feel like we were guided very well and got great advice, the one thing no one was coming our way was flood insurance. [url="http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/"]Go to Floodsmart.gov and type in any address you're interested in.[/url] You can find out if it's in a flood zone, and what you may expect to pay for flood insurance. We didn't find out until the end of our dealings that we needed flood insurance; it was our loan processor who was first notified, and who tried to fight it for us, because our property is apparently in a high risk flood zone, and we ended up paying almost $900 up front, before closing. Seriously, the last owners didn't have to pay flood insurance, and apparently only 5 hours on our block are required to have it. So it's definitely worth looking into. Ooh! Also, if I remember correctly, don't you live in Michigan? If so, I'm pretty sure that FEMA put a hold on any Michigan insurance companies selling flood insurance. We're in Illinois right now, but my sister works in real estate there, and that's what she was telling me. If you do end up needing flood insurance, we went with a company called[url="http://premierflood.com/home-premierflood.htm"]Franklin Homeowners Assurance[/url]. They're worth looking into, as flood insurance is their main thing. I also really liked using [url="http://www.homefacts.com/"]Homefacts.com[/url]when looking into houses. It pulls up good and bad information about a neighborhood, including stats on crime, nearby sex offenders, environmental hazards, etc. Congratulations on getting approved, and good luck finding what you're looking for!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southern california guy Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 [quote name='MIkolbe' timestamp='1298558825' post='2215224'] the doors cost $180K. srsly... [/quote] You're missing the point. A door is something that [b]YOU[/b] can fix. If it's in the hands of the city, or something like location, than no matter what you do you aren't going to be able to fix it. Arguably the sewer connection is something that you can fix as well -- but just beware of the potential cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Adam Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 Let's say we have 30,000 in the bank - that is it, and includes all of our assets (with the exception of a small amount in checking and pension/retirement). Should we put the 30k into a down payment, to lower the mortgage payment, or should we put 10k? or 20k down? Obviously I don't have 30k in savings, but we do have a bit there. How much do we put towards the downpayment (%), how much do we keep for repairs, bills, new floors and paint? If I can get a RD/FHA loan with 0 down, can I request the same type of loan but actually put a down payment on it so I can avoid having the 3.5% tacked onto the loan? I have heard something about points or adding 1/2% of the homes value to your down payment that can lower the interest rate. Does anyone know anything about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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