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Buying My First House Any Advice

1509 Views 28 Replies 22 Participants Last post by  tampaboatersgirl, 
SweetEmotion
Well finally my wife and I are planning on buying our first house. Very excited but nervous, any advice you guys have on financing, fees, and such would be helpful.
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PJDiesel
If you have more specific questions I can field some.

Are you dealing with a vastly oversupplied market?
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Run_em_Hard
Take your time and don't rush it. You'll know it when you find the right one.
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A
its a buyers market.......


buy low sell high
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SweetEmotion
Ya there is alot to choose from. I want to spent 100K-115K gotta keep it affordable so I can still boat alot. :D . Its time we`ve been living in apartments for 10 years :confused1 . To rent anything good with at least two bedrooms runs $700 and up. :angry1: Might as well buy instead of throwing my money away every month.
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SweetEmotion said:
Ya there is alot to choose from. I want to spent 100K-115K gotta keep it affordable so I can still boat alot. :D . Its time we`ve been living in apartments for 10 years :confused1 . To rent anything good with at least two bedrooms runs $700 and up. :angry1: Might as well buy instead of throwing my money away every month.
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Don't be in a hurry, housing is still dropping in value in Michigan.
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DagaH2X
First advice is get preapproved and make sure you qualify for the price range youre looking in. Lots of loans for people even with perfect credit that were around even 3 months ago dont exist anymore. Also make sure the payments on what youre looking at are what you think once you add taxes, insurance, PMI. FHA is a good program again if youre looking for low down payment stuff now that lots of the conventional stuff has gone bye bye.
As far as real estate values go its very regional so do local research, nobody on this site can help you there unless theyre in the same town. If you find something you like and its afordable just buy it. Dont worry about trying to time the market cause youll never get it perfect. Its pretty safe to say wherever youre looking youre not buying on the top. Good Luck and get a GOOD real estate agent....most of them arent!

You should be able to get something in the price range youre looking for a few hundred more then $700 rent plus a nice tax write off to help even it out.......
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Red Stripe
are you looking for a turn key deal or are you willing to put alittle work into the new place?
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S
#6 drives are nice. :D
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aquaforce
You can use up to $10K of 401K money with no penalty on a first home purchase. Just fyi


I wish I did that.
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djm
Get a 30yr conventional mortgage. Don't buy points.

Make some lowball offers on the houses you like, and don't let the RE agent talk you out of it. :winker: It's tough for sellers right now. You have the upper hand.
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R
I would try to lock a rate now, Rates have really climbed up on a 30 year in the last month... Also Make low offers its a Buyers market right now and The prices will continue to drop..
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danh63
Just like buying a boat a home inspection can save you a lot of money in the long run. Look into a fha loan also. We sold our last house to someone using that type and we had to pay all the darn fees and have the down payment.

My butt is still sore from that deal and like someone said don't be afraid to low ball an offer
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5
I bought my 1st house 3 years ago, so the amounts they're willing to loan you have probably changed since this whole real estate mess. Anyway, I borrowed only 2/3 of what they were willing to give me. I'm SOOOO glad I did. If I had maxed out, I'd have been broke.

The other thing that I knew going in but was still surprising was the amount of money it takes to move in. Buying furniture and everything for the kitchen/bathroom/etc got expensive quick. I moved from my parents house though. You moving from an apt will lighten that load a lot.

Also, pay 20% down if possible and eliminate PMI.
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RSCHAP1
I'll 2nd most all the info above. (Especially about #6s:)). Get some help from anyone you know in the business. I hired a real estate lawyer rather than my own realtor. Saved some $$ that way. He dug real deep and protected me real well. I have a good friend and neighbor that is an inspector and best in the area. I can pass his info if needed, cause you're not too far away. ALOT of pople I know have gotten some great deals on foreclosures and repos lately!! But makes a thorough inspection even more important. My neighborhood seems pretty heavy with real estate, mortgage, and builder people. If I can pass anyone's info on, holler. My brother is a master electricial contractor and stays busy with a couple of guys flipping repos all the time. He has gotten a real good idea of many aspects and he's the most hands on guy you'll ever meet. I would have NEVER goten my remodels done w/o him (or it would have been 10 times the costs). SHOP, SHOP, SHOP right now. I been amazed by what a coworker just got for $115 in SW Grand Rapids area (Byron Center)-forelosure/divorce. Good Luck!
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SweetEmotion
519DVX said:
I bought my 1st house 3 years ago, so the amounts they're willing to loan you have probably changed since this whole real estate mess. Anyway, I borrowed only 2/3 of what they were willing to give me. I'm SOOOO glad I did. If I had maxed out, I'd have been broke.

The other thing that I knew going in but was still surprising was the amount of money it takes to move in. Buying furniture and everything for the kitchen/bathroom/etc got expensive quick. I moved from my parents house though. You moving from an apt will lighten that load a lot.

Also, pay 20% down if possible and eliminate PMI.
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I know what your saying but I sure dont have $22,000 to throw down on a house.
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S
Don't fall in love with a house too quickly. If you're not buying new, think not only about the purchase price, but what costs you could incur in the near future - appliances, fixtures, ac, heater(I hear ya'll need heaters in the winter up there :laugher: ) stuff like that needs to be in excellent shape so you can spend your money on #6's instead of kitchenaids. Make the seller get you a 1 year warranty as part of the deal.
I don't know what your situation is, but if you can swing a 15 or 20 year fixed note go for it. Your payments will be higher, but the amount of money you save is incredible.
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danh63
The other thing that I knew going in but was still surprising was the amount of money it takes to move in. Buying furniture and everything for the kitchen/bathroom/etc got expensive quick.

Yes sir that was another $20,000 easy atleast
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T
PARTS

Buy the warranty is used
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O
Find reputable inspection company(s) to do the Electrical-Plumbing-heat/air-Structural inspections.

Hey, we look closely @ our boats....Look closer at your house.
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