The Topic That Will Never Die XX

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#11,329
#11,329
volwindy said:
Nope
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Get ready for a long process. A long, long, long process lol.

Some tips:

Find a home inspector in advance that's in good standing (like Angie's List) and not specifically one that's recommended by a realtor. Realtors will give you a list of recommended ones they've had in the past, but the inspectors also know where that recommendation comes from. Get an independent.

Nobody will ever get what they are asking for a house. And nobody expects to.

If it's cheap, there's a good reason for it. If you can't see something wrong on the surface, chances are it's hidden. No such things as can't miss deals in real estate these days.

If you can get the seller to pick up at least half the closing costs, it will save you a bundle.

When it comes to setting aside funds for repairs on the sellers end, don't get greedy. But don't cut yourself short either.

Did I mention it's a long process and start doing hand exercises now in anticipation of signing day?
 
#11,330
#11,330
Grand Vol said:
Get ready for a long process. A long, long, long process lol.

Some tips:

Find a home inspector in advance that's in good standing (like Angie's List) and not specifically one that's recommended by a realtor. Realtors will give you a list of recommended ones they've had in the past, but the inspectors also know where that recommendation comes from. Get an independent.

Nobody will ever get what they are asking for a house. And nobody expects to.

If it's cheap, there's a good reason for it. If you can't see something wrong on the surface, chances are it's hidden. No such things as can't miss deals in real estate these days.

If you can get the seller to pick up at least half the closing costs, it will save you a bundle.

When it comes to setting aside funds for repairs on the sellers end, don't get greedy. But don't cut yourself short either.

Did I mention it's a long process and start doing hand exercises now in anticipation of signing day?
Click to expand...

Great tips.

Also, have you been pre approved for a certin ammount? Don't go with the max... When we bought our house I was amazed of what they said we could afford. Glad we didn't go anywhere near that ammount. Also, if you can put 20%down and avoid PMI, I would do that and avoid it. No sense in paying insurance for the mortgage company.
 
#11,331
#11,331
Grand Vol said:
Get ready for a long process. A long, long, long process lol.

Some tips:

Find a home inspector in advance that's in good standing (like Angie's List) and not specifically one that's recommended by a realtor. Realtors will give you a list of recommended ones they've had in the past, but the inspectors also know where that recommendation comes from. Get an independent.

Nobody will ever get what they are asking for a house. And nobody expects to.

If it's cheap, there's a good reason for it. If you can't see something wrong on the surface, chances are it's hidden. No such things as can't miss deals in real estate these days.

If you can get the seller to pick up at least half the closing costs, it will save you a bundle.

When it comes to setting aside funds for repairs on the sellers end, don't get greedy. But don't cut yourself short either.

Did I mention it's a long process and start doing hand exercises now in anticipation of signing day?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips. Kevin's mom was in town this weekend and we went to look at model homes just for fun.

We really thought we would extend our lease and wait another year, which is still an option. We want to go look at one house that we really like, its at the price point we want as long as the sellers will pay closing costs. So if we love it, we may offer. If not, we will just keep on with only wedding planning an officially start house hunting after the new year.
 
#11,332
#11,332
Also, take it slow... A house is a HUGE investment that hopefully you'll spend a long time in. No need to jump on the 1st house you think you love.
 
#11,333
#11,333
jhen713 said:
Great tips.

Also, have you been pre approved for a certin ammount? Don't go with the max... When we bought our house I was amazed of what they said we could afford. Glad we didn't go anywhere near that ammount. Also, if you can put 20%down and avoid PMI, I would do that and avoid it. No sense in paying insurance for the mortgage company.
Click to expand...

We haven't been preapproved yet, but I spoke with a couple lenders today and yesterday and told them what we want to spend monthly, what does that put us at.
 
#11,334
#11,334
volwindy said:
We haven't been preapproved yet, but I spoke with a couple lenders today and yesterday and told them what we want to spend monthly, what does that put us at.
Click to expand...

They won't base your amounts off what you want to spend. They will give you a cap and go from there. It's based off your credit history rather than your monthly income.

And make completely, absolutely, positively sure you get the total monthly bill before doing anything else. Taxes and the like. If your property taxes can be added in as part of your escrow, that's the best option.

Also, depending on the lending agency you go through, chances of your loan being sold to another company is high. Wells Fargo, Chase and Bank of America are the three big ones that buy out loans from your lending agency and take over from there. So don't be surprised if/when it happens.
 
#11,335
#11,335
All really good tips when it comes to buying a home. If you can get your payement to include insurance and taxes that's the best way to do it IMO. That way when times comes to pay taxes or insurance the money is already there to pay those items instead of having to come up with a larger sum of money all at once.
 
#11,336
#11,336
volwindy said:
Thanks for the tips. Kevin's mom was in town this weekend and we went to look at model homes just for fun.

We really thought we would extend our lease and wait another year, which is still an option. We want to go look at one house that we really like, its at the price point we want as long as the sellers will pay closing costs. So if we love it, we may offer. If not, we will just keep on with only wedding planning an officially start house hunting after the new year.
Click to expand...

I would try a six month lease as opposed to a year long if your renters offer it.

Also, the actual contract will be a give and take. The seller might agree to pay all the closing costs, but will drop the repair cap to under $500. or would be wiling to go half in on closing and offer $2000 as a repair cap. Or drop the price on the house down a few thousand for relief on the closing costs. So on and so forth. It's a lot of negotiating back and forth.
 
#11,338
#11,338
Grand Vol said:
They won't base your amounts off what you want to spend. They will give you a cap and go from there. It's based off your credit history rather than your monthly income.

And make completely, absolutely, positively sure you get the total monthly bill before doing anything else. Taxes and the like. If your property taxes can be added in as part of your escrow, that's the best option.

Also, depending on the lending agency you go through, chances of your loan being sold to another company is high. Wells Fargo, Chase and Bank of America are the three big ones that buy out loans from your lending agency and take over from there. So don't be surprised if/when it happens.
Click to expand...

The first house we bought (we still own it) was like this. It has been sold three different times in eight years. Bank of America has it now and I really wish they didn't. Hopefully this summer if we can't sell it we can look at refinancing it and getting it away from them. It may end up back with them but if I don't have to deal with them for a little while it would be nice.
 
#11,339
#11,339
Grand Vol said:
They won't base your amounts off what you want to spend. They will give you a cap and go from there. It's based off your credit history rather than your monthly income.

And make completely, absolutely, positively sure you get the total monthly bill before doing anything else. Taxes and the like. If your property taxes can be added in as part of your escrow, that's the best option.

Also, depending on the lending agency you go through, chances of your loan being sold to another company is high. Wells Fargo, Chase and Bank of America are the three big ones that buy out loans from your lending agency and take over from there. So don't be surprised if/when it happens.
Click to expand...

I know thats not how its done, but I wanted just to know how much in our minds we can spend. There is no doubt we will be approved for much more since we wanted our monthly total to include mortgage, insurance, hoa, taxes, etc. So now we know our max when we go to buy.
 
#11,341
#11,341
Orangesmokey said:
The first house we bought (we still own it) was like this. It has been sold three different times in eight years. Bank of America has it now and I really wish they didn't. Hopefully this summer if we can't sell it we can look at refinancing it and getting it away from them. It may end up back with them but if I don't have to deal with them for a little while it would be nice.
Click to expand...

I've heard in pecking order:

Wells Fargo
Chase
Bank of America

I have mine under Chase and they've been pretty good about it. Had a problem with my tax escrow account they worked through with me and even ate half my property taxes that year because of the wording in the contract.
 
#11,342
#11,342
volwindy said:
I know thats not how its done, but I wanted just to know how much in our minds we can spend. There is no doubt we will be approved for much more since we wanted our monthly total to include mortgage, insurance, hoa, taxes, etc. So now we know our max when we go to buy.
Click to expand...

For the sake of all things holy, DO NOT GET IN WITH AN HOA!!!!!!!!!!!

If at all possible, avoid a house that's already set up in that sort of thing. And if the matter comes up later that someone wants to start one, do everything you can to kill it with fire dead in it's tracks.
 
#11,344
#11,344
Grand Vol said:
I would try a six month lease as opposed to a year long if your renters offer it.

Also, the actual contract will be a give and take. The seller might agree to pay all the closing costs, but will drop the repair cap to under $500. or would be wiling to go half in on closing and offer $2000 as a repair cap. Or drop the price on the house down a few thousand for relief on the closing costs. So on and so forth. It's a lot of negotiating back and forth.
Click to expand...

Im interested to see how motivated the sellers are ready to sell since it is vacated, that's if we really do like it. I have no problems negotiating, but we don't have to buy now - how much do they need to sell now?

We've talked about doing different leases, month to month, shorter term, but I think we will wait a year if this is a no go.
 
#11,345
#11,345
Grand Vol said:
I've heard in pecking order:

Wells Fargo
Chase
Bank of America

I have mine under Chase and they've been pretty good about it. Had a problem with my tax escrow account they worked through with me and even ate half my property taxes that year because of the wording in the contract.
Click to expand...

Do you have a choice in what you can do when it happens?
 
#11,347
#11,347
Grand Vol said:
For the sake of all things holy, DO NOT GET IN WITH AN HOA!!!!!!!!!!!

If at all possible, avoid a house that's already set up in that sort of thing. And if the matter comes up later that someone wants to start one, do everything you can to kill it with fire dead in it's tracks.
Click to expand...

I would love that, my last law firm I did work to foreclose on homes that didn't pay their hoa dues. Unfortunately no hoa means out in the country on your own land around here. It's a rare thing to find.
 
#11,348
#11,348
volwindy said:
Im interested to see how motivated the sellers are ready to sell since it is vacated, that's if we really do like it. I have no problems negotiating, but we don't have to buy now - how much do they need to sell now?

We've talked about doing different leases, month to month, shorter term, but I think we will wait a year if this is a no go.
Click to expand...

Depends on how long it's been on the market. It is a buyers market right now but some folks still have some insanely higher prices on the property listed. If it's not been on there for long, chances of getting them to budge on the price are not as good as someone who's trying to get rid of a house that's been on there for six months or more.

From a long time renter (15 years), the short term leases are the way to go when looking at a house. Gives you a lot more leeway when it comes to looking for a house and the ability to move almost immediately when you find something you like.

I'd actually suggest a realtor for your search. Century 21 is the one I used and got good results.
 
#11,349
#11,349
volwindy said:
I would love that, my last law firm I did work to foreclose on homes that didn't pay their hoa dues. Unfortunately no hoa means out in the country on your own land around here. It's a rare thing to find.
Click to expand...

You wanted a dog, right? Out in the country sounds about right lol.
 
#11,350
#11,350
Grand Vol said:
You wanted a dog, right? Out in the country sounds about right lol.
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Yeah not happening, I like convenience.

We have a realtor, we used her for our rental search. We were conflicted on using one of our friends or her, but ended up choosing her because she went above and beyond on our rental search.
 
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