Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
Latest activity
Classifieds
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Log in
Register
What's New?
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Navigation
Install the app
Install
More Options
Advertise with us
Contact Us
Close Menu
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Forums
The Water Cooler
General Discussion
home buying questions
Search titles only
By:
Reply to Thread
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Danny Tanner" data-source="post: 1981622" data-attributes="member: 10619"><p>I agree that this is one of the first things to do when it comes to actually getting the ball rolling, but with a window of 12 months out I feel that right now you'd be best to polish up your credit while there's still time for your good financial behavior to boost your credit availability. Whether this is advice others would recommend or not, I waited until it was time to go shopping before I got pre-approval, that way I knew to shop within my means. Plus, I believe the rate we were approved for was only good for 90 days.</p><p></p><p>There aren't many answers here so far, but some great advice already. Like JPK said, there are "hidden" costs. Some times, especially if you're buying brand new, the house will not come with an oven, a fence, garage door opener, etc. This will be up to you to pay for out of pocket. Great for negotiating a lower price on the house, but with everything else you're dealing with, it's just added stress. If you don't already own major appliances, you need to count on buying everything. Several grand for a washer, dryer, refrigerator, stove, and possibly a dishwasher kind of stings when you just dropped several to tens of thousands of dollars to close.</p><p></p><p>Be aware of what an HOA is and isn't. Unfortunately, our neighborhood is an HOA neighborhood. Fortunately, our HOA president enjoys Miller Lite and Chicago Cubs, so he and I get along great. Even still, I haven't heard of anybody having any problems out of our HOA in the 4 years we've lived there. Like many HOAs, we're restricted on what we can and can't do on our property, but there are a few houses that violate some of these rules. However, nobody makes a habit of it and I believe that's why we never see any mention of this in our newsletter, but this could be changed overnight with new HOA board members. From my research when looking for our first home, it seems that we're extremely lucky when it comes to our HOA. Our benefits far outweigh the $250/year fee. There was a house that made our top 5 list, but one of the major negatives was the $500/year HOA fee. Not only did that cover for a lawn crew to mow my front yard, it also covered a lawn crew mowing my back yard. Like hell I want somebody mowing my front yard for me and mowing my back yard isn't even a consideration. So no thanks on that house.</p><p></p><p>When it comes to shopping, make a check list of what you and your wife want in a home. Being a first home for you two, it might be perfect for the first couple of years, but you'll eventually find things that you wish were different that you cannot change. Prioritize the items on this list and try to satisfy this list the best you can within your budget. I got the large back patio that I wanted, but I'd kill for a front porch that's big enough for two chairs and a small table or two.</p><p></p><p>Depending on the type of loan, 20% cash down will allow you to obtain a better mortgage, as you wouldn't have to pay PMI. Don't fret, though, as once 20% of your principle is paid down, you no longer have to make the monthly PMI payment.</p><p></p><p>There's a realtor or two on board here, but I've never dealt with them. We had some hesitation, but being our first home we decided to go through a realtor. He was a great guy who actually listened to us, despite what we heard about realtors, and was in constant contact with us and we never had a problem with him returning our phone calls. He called us for the next couple of years every couple of months to make sure everything was still going great. I'm sure his way of selling his name, but hey, at least he wasn't corny about it. I'd be more than happy to give you his info. He used to work with the local media and had some connections. He actually ended up selling us the house that Bob Barry Jr and his wife had built in 2000. Pretty cool buying his old house, but pretty weird knowing that my balls are now scrapping along the bottom of the same tub as his old balls. Any way, this realtor was the #1 rated realtor in the state either at the time we bought from him or the time we discovered his superiority. By what standards, I don't know, but it says something about him.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Danny Tanner, post: 1981622, member: 10619"] I agree that this is one of the first things to do when it comes to actually getting the ball rolling, but with a window of 12 months out I feel that right now you'd be best to polish up your credit while there's still time for your good financial behavior to boost your credit availability. Whether this is advice others would recommend or not, I waited until it was time to go shopping before I got pre-approval, that way I knew to shop within my means. Plus, I believe the rate we were approved for was only good for 90 days. There aren't many answers here so far, but some great advice already. Like JPK said, there are "hidden" costs. Some times, especially if you're buying brand new, the house will not come with an oven, a fence, garage door opener, etc. This will be up to you to pay for out of pocket. Great for negotiating a lower price on the house, but with everything else you're dealing with, it's just added stress. If you don't already own major appliances, you need to count on buying everything. Several grand for a washer, dryer, refrigerator, stove, and possibly a dishwasher kind of stings when you just dropped several to tens of thousands of dollars to close. Be aware of what an HOA is and isn't. Unfortunately, our neighborhood is an HOA neighborhood. Fortunately, our HOA president enjoys Miller Lite and Chicago Cubs, so he and I get along great. Even still, I haven't heard of anybody having any problems out of our HOA in the 4 years we've lived there. Like many HOAs, we're restricted on what we can and can't do on our property, but there are a few houses that violate some of these rules. However, nobody makes a habit of it and I believe that's why we never see any mention of this in our newsletter, but this could be changed overnight with new HOA board members. From my research when looking for our first home, it seems that we're extremely lucky when it comes to our HOA. Our benefits far outweigh the $250/year fee. There was a house that made our top 5 list, but one of the major negatives was the $500/year HOA fee. Not only did that cover for a lawn crew to mow my front yard, it also covered a lawn crew mowing my back yard. Like hell I want somebody mowing my front yard for me and mowing my back yard isn't even a consideration. So no thanks on that house. When it comes to shopping, make a check list of what you and your wife want in a home. Being a first home for you two, it might be perfect for the first couple of years, but you'll eventually find things that you wish were different that you cannot change. Prioritize the items on this list and try to satisfy this list the best you can within your budget. I got the large back patio that I wanted, but I'd kill for a front porch that's big enough for two chairs and a small table or two. Depending on the type of loan, 20% cash down will allow you to obtain a better mortgage, as you wouldn't have to pay PMI. Don't fret, though, as once 20% of your principle is paid down, you no longer have to make the monthly PMI payment. There's a realtor or two on board here, but I've never dealt with them. We had some hesitation, but being our first home we decided to go through a realtor. He was a great guy who actually listened to us, despite what we heard about realtors, and was in constant contact with us and we never had a problem with him returning our phone calls. He called us for the next couple of years every couple of months to make sure everything was still going great. I'm sure his way of selling his name, but hey, at least he wasn't corny about it. I'd be more than happy to give you his info. He used to work with the local media and had some connections. He actually ended up selling us the house that Bob Barry Jr and his wife had built in 2000. Pretty cool buying his old house, but pretty weird knowing that my balls are now scrapping along the bottom of the same tub as his old balls. Any way, this realtor was the #1 rated realtor in the state either at the time we bought from him or the time we discovered his superiority. By what standards, I don't know, but it says something about him. [/QUOTE]
Insert Quotes…
Verification
Post Reply
Forums
The Water Cooler
General Discussion
home buying questions
Search titles only
By:
Top
Bottom
