We are buying our first house. Any advice or suggestions?

[LonesomeTriZ]

No time to biuld. How do I find a good inspector?

[Jim mac]

One thing Id like to chime in. If your into playing with dirt toys, cars or anything that involve god forbid stepping outside onto your own yard, watch out for the neighborhood associations. Just because you paid 175000 for your house, doesnt mean you can park a car in YOUR driveway. Luckily Im in a older neighborhood, not a cookie cutter type place, but if I want to open the garage door and fire up the welder, or cut some metal, Pull a motor in my driveway I can. I try to keep the mess to a minimum, I wont cut anymore cars in my side yard, or store dead (Im going to build it someday) cars. But just make sure what you like to do for leisure and make sure it works with where you buy. Good luck Jim

[LonesomeTriZ]

That is a major concern for me. We have a lot of machines and two trucks a peice. Not to mention all my tools and equipment. The first thing i will be checking into is a home owner association. If I can not enjoy my hobbies on my own property than I will not live there.

[Dammit!]

Your Realtor (assuming you have decided on who to use) will be able to provide you with a good home inspector. I have three different ones I refer to but people always just get the cheapest guy (luckily in my case, that guy is really good). It's not a bad idea to be present during the inspection as well so you can tell the guy your concerns and make sure he checks those items out thoroughly.

Get a termite inspection. They're generally only around $50.

The property taxes (at least in the AZ MLS that I use) are on the bottom of the agent listing so your Realtor can give you that information easily.

HOA contact info is typically on the agent listing as well as a brief summary of the major rules (no visible RV's or trailers, age restricted community and that sort of thing). DO NOT just trust the info on the listing however and don't leave it in the hands of the Realtor. The Realtor is there to help guide you through the process but it really is your responsibility to do your due diligence during that inspection period.

[dickieg89]

I just bought my house last year. I have a couple suggestions. Pay for a home inspection, most mortgage companies require that anyways. Do not buy what you are pre-qualified for, a lot of people here have said that, it's very true. Sit down and budget everything out with utilities and all that. My taxes have gone up $60 a month this year. Stay away from wells fargo bank, I've had a bad experience with them and their customer service is not very good. Just my 2 cents, good luck.

[jeddy]

I would say a home inspection is a waste of money, but a necessary evil if your contract or loan (mortgage) provider requires it. You are better off befriending a good contractor and having him (or her) take a look at it for you. I bought my first house recently so I am very familiar with the process. On one of the houses I didn't buy the home inspector just called everything average for the age of the home, basically just covering their own butts. I had a friend of mine who is a contractor/fireman (I put his 911 Porsche back together) take a look at it, he found tons of things that were wrong that I missed and a lot of things that were downright unsafe. The most notable thing was that he knew the local building codes and told me that my plan to knock down the garage and start over wouldn't work because it was right on the property line and I wouldn't have room to build another one unless I left at least one standing wall of the previous structure.

The other big thing I'd say is to not feel bad about bickering on the price. Think of it this way, you're basically going to save three times the amount over the coarse of the loan. So if you drop the price $1k now, it'll save you $3k in the long run. If you think your realtor is pressuring you to buy a house for a price you don't like, find a new realtor, assuming your contract with the current one is up or will expire soon. Remember that they are working for you (and you will be reminded of that during the closing costs).

Anyways, good luck and try and get one in a good neighborhood. You can always change your house but you can't change your neighbors.

-J

[oldsking86]

Heres a good rule of thumb I use as a mortgage broker... Assuming you put NO money down and finance the home fully, 10% of that price is pretty much your mortgage payment, not exactlly but pretty close (the mathematical possibility)

Say you get a home for $150,000.. The most you should be looking at for a payment would be $1500 a month, PITI (principle, intrest, taxes, and insurance)

I just did a gentelmen for a $140,000 home and came out with a figure just above $1300. He financed the full home with $500.00 down. That's with a fixed rate, I personally don't have my clients go with adjustable unless it's an investment property or they can't afford high payments at the beginning.

The more money you put down the lower your payments will be. Always keep that in mind, also if you purchase a NEW home becareful because if the property wasn't assessed after it was built yet, your taxes will be low at first but after the property is re-assesed with the new home on the property they will go up and so does your mortgage.

[Eric250R]

That is a major concern for me. We have a lot of machines and two trucks a peice. Not to mention all my tools and equipment. The first thing i will be checking into is a home owner association. If I can not enjoy my hobbies on my own property than I will not live there.

This is a very good point that I was surprized no one had made earlier. Especially in Florida. A good friend of mine moved to Fort meyers. The community he lived in wouldn't even allow gas powered lawn mowers. So yes, definately look for this as well. Needless to say he moved back here after about a year of putting up with their nonsense.

[LonesomeTriZ]

Thanks. All of that was good reading. I see what all of you are saying and at the same time I have been corrected.

If 10% is usualy what the payment will be, why did my realter tell me around $735 will cover the monthly paymnet (including insurance and taxes) for a $100,000 home? should I be conerned about his math?

Alos, does any body know about that government program that hepls with the closing costs on a first home?

[firefirefire90]

If you will only be there for a year, why not apply for military housing? Or rent a house. It doesn't make any sence to me to buy a house that you will live in for only a year. A few things to check (family has moved around a lot) is for water damage, window seals, and if the house smells like beans. We checked out one house in the town of Temecula, oh God....the smell of beans was so strong I swear I was in a can of Heinz Baked Beans.

[LonesomeTriZ]

Renting is not an option and living on base is no where near one either. We have standards. I want at least some freedom. Considering property value is no the rise in this area and the rent on a house like the one we are getting is far more than the average mortgage, I think this is a good idea. We will make money either way when it is time to move.

[xd 200x]

you really need to look into the tax sitation here I was no kidding. not property tax.

[Billy Golightly]

If you do not do ANYTHING else when you buy a piece of property, get a SURVEY! Even if its already fenced its a must. It'll save you tons of headache with the neighbors in the long run.

[Dammit!]

If 10% is usualy what the payment will be, why did my realter tell me around $735 will cover the monthly paymnet (including insurance and taxes) for a $100,000 home? should I be conerned about his math?

Alos, does any body know about that government program that hepls with the closing costs on a first home?

If you told him you're planning on living there short term he might be quoting some type of ARM or interest only loan. Some people are scared of those but if you know what you're doing they can save you a lot of money.

There are FHA and VA loans you can look into as well. Have you talked to a good lender yet? You might try Ditech.com and quickenloans.com also. I know with Ditech the closing costs are miniscule compared to a traditional lender but your credit has to be pretty solid. Not sure about quickenloans. I called them the other day just to see what they could do and the guy looked at my credit and got back to me. Said if I can bump up my credit score a little he can literally cut my monthly payment in half. I never called him back to see what kind of crazy program that was though.

[LonesomeTriZ]

I did not think about those options. I do have a VA approval, but I am not sure if they are the best or not. My credt was perfect. I had a score in the high 7's. But there is a debt on there that is not mine and it is holding me up. Any ideas on how to get rid of it? The collection company is no help at all.