Buying my first home...

Hey guys, I'm currently on the market for my first home, and I've found one I like on a shortsale. I've put a offer on it at it's listed price last week, but I'm still keeping an eye out for other homes.

Can any home buyers give some helpful advice on the home buying process, things i should look out for, tips on short sales...? I'm looking to purchase a newer home (year 2000+) so i won't have to deal with bad roofs and whatnot.

 

inspection, inspection, inspection

 

do you mean the inspections i pay for? i'm getting them all done (as required in escrow) so i think my grounds are covered. should that be enough?

 

Short sales can take a while so be prepared. Some people get sick of waiting and pull their offers. Even at the listed price, the bank or whoever lent the money in the first place has to approve the sale. When I was looking last year I was told plan on a minimum of 3 months for a short sale approval and it could take up to a year. Not all are like this but just giving you a heads up, hopefully you're real estate agent already told you.

Like someone else said, get a good inspector!! Ask around, see who's bought a house recently and who they'd recommend. Some will miss a ton of stuff and cost you a lot of money down the road.

Good luck!

 

i know what you mean. i look at a house, love it, and it gets bought before i can put an offer on.

that's great advice. so far i haven't found another home that i like, but if i do i will definitely keep this in mind.

thanks! i'm in a good position to wait, i'm in no rush to buy the home. and it may work out, because the long process gives me more time to build up back up funds.

man, 6th offer ...that sucks! i think the uncertainty part is the suckiest part about it. i'll follow up with you on the realtor if the one i'm working with now is no good..

 

I had two offers accepted. we even put a down payment on the 1st offer, and the next day our other offer was accepted. You have 3 days to back out of your offer. We backed out, got our down payment back, and bought the other house.

 

Get pre approved for the amount you want to spend before ever making an offer. Interview real estate agents and pick a good one that you like. Interview loan officers and brokers before filling out any paperwork.

As for home inspections, they have some value but don't rely on them 100%. Find someone you know that is in construction, plumber, carpenter etc.. and bring them along. Most of the time the inspector isn't liable if he or she misses something important so you have no legal recall if you buy the home and it's a mess. I can tell you a horror story offline if you need to hear it.

Don't fall in love with any one house, look around, it's a huge buyers market and there will be a lot of homes to choose from. Always offer less and let them counter. I've never paid the asking price in 30 years of buying homes. I even got a few grand off my house that I bought at the peak of the housing market in '05 when homes weren't staying on the market for more than 2 weeks. Remember, it's business.

Pay very close attention to the disclosure documents the lender sends you. KNOW exactly what your payments will be and be very wary of ARM loans.

Ask about HOA's. I hate them but you need to know if there is one and what you can and can't do to your house if you are forced to be bound by HOA covenants. I won't buy any home that has an HOA, they plain piss me off.

Drive around the house at various times of day and night. You need to know what the neighborhood looks like after dark as well. Walk around and meet the neighbors, before you make an offer, if the guy next door is an asshole he will still be an asshole when you move in and you will have to deal with him.
Good luck! It's awesome that you are buying a home!

 

I dont know if you have an HOA or Mello Roose, ( supplemental taxes on top of your property tax) but make sure when you sign the dotted line that the lender shows you they are included in the final mortgage amount. I was told after asking countless times that they were all included.
I found out 3 months later come tax time I didnt have enough in escrow to cover the huge tax bill. Long story short my $1250 mortage did not include the extra taxes and my new adjusted mortgage was now $1630. I wanted to firebomb that bitches office. I got lucky I sold the damn thing 3 months ago. Write a list of questions and take them with you to the final signing meeting. Make sure they show proof of all your questions answered.

 

Fantastic advice here! but if your other neighbor on the other side is a Hot single Blonde, then the asshole will balance out.

 

Silverback has it right- Take a pad of paper and write down everything you have questions about.
Get the mortgage set up the way you want it (I recommend bi weekly payments with some extra if you can swing it-I'm paying an extra 100 every 2 weeks and i'll have my mortgage paid off roughly 13.5 years early)

 

True but I'm met some assholes that can almost outweigh the hotness.

 

I've already been pre-approved, so that part is taken care of. also my real estate agent is a good friend of mind that's been in the business for awhile, so i think i'm covered there as well. i've been bringing my dad along to the houses, and he's been working on homes for yeaaars (just short of a licensed contractor).

Going with a 30 year fixed (wayyy too many horror stories about ARM loans. pretty much everyone i know that lost their house, had an ARM). the house i just bid on has HOA fees...sucky, but not as bad as some areas (in the new developments farther south, HOA fees range around $400 - $500. this house is $150) also, it's in a gated community...very nice from what i've seen so far.

ouch! i'll keep that in mind! my mortgage is gonna be around $1,800...effin san diego

definitely hoping for that i'll be "walking my dog" and "getting the mail" pretty often...

 

I bought a short sale and it took them 3 months to counter and 6 months total before we closed. It was frustrating but worth the wait. We got a great deal only because two full priced overs backed out because they got sick of waiting. Also the inspection is a good idea but don't rely too heavily on it. Good Luck!

 

awesome! that's great to hear. i hear so many "no good" endings from short sales that i got kind of discouraged. i'll definitely wait it out and see what happens!

 

x2.... my neighbors do this. pisses me off... bunch of hill jacks that casue nothing but trouble. This is the reason I am waiting to buy a house on a nice piece of land in the woods so I don't have to deal with any neighbors. lol. I like my peace and quiet.

 

haha

 

This is great advice , any extra amount paid above your regular payment will come directly off of your principal , if you add even $100 per month at the beginning of your mortgage you will save huge dollars in the long run .

 

Do you ever thought about Foreclosures? There are so many foreclosed homes in this economy that you can get a hell of a deal vs. a short sale. You already have a real estate buddy that can get foreclosure listings. You'll be surprised that even the nicest neighborhoods are prone to forclosures. Pay for an inspection and also something to think about if you are serious about a home, cruise the neighborhood during evening hours and weekends. Knock on some neighbors doors and ask about the neighborhood. Nothing worse than after move in, you have got some bad neighbors, traffic is horrendous to work/stores, and bunch of neighborhood teenagers up to no good on weekends.. I tried this on my home purchase and ended up with my 2nd choice of home and couldn't be happier. That 1st home's neighborhood was not the same on weekend nights. Loud,traffic, lots of teenagers foot traffic, etc... Good luck and be patient. Homes are a very big and expensive purchase, you at least want to be happy long term to raise a family in one place.