Time to buy a house.......

[JAGG]

Here is my advice. First check out all mortgage co. And find the one offering the lowest interest rate for a fixed loan. 30 yr is probably what you want. But if you can afford a 20 yr way better choice. Then get preapproved with that mortgage co. They will lock in that low rate for 90 days or more. That gives you time to hunt. Remember even if the bank will preapprove you for 200,000. That doesn't mean you should buy a house that costs that much. Decide what you want your monthly payments to be. Then call realtor. It's free if you are buying only sellers have to pay a realtor. Tell her you are preapproved she will love you for not wasting her time. Tell her what you want your monthly payment to be. She can easily tell you what price range that puts you in. Including taxes insurance hoa any other fees etc. The banks figures will be inflated and misleading. Then start looking. Good luck . Remember it is always better to buy,than rent. If you can afford it. Renting is like tossing money away. You are paying someone else for something you could be paying yourself for.

[Ciaran]

My advice is don't underestimate the closing costs of the house purchase and move. This is something that many first time (and later) buyers are prone to do in the excitement of it all.

Originally Posted by JAGG

Remember it is always better to buy,than rent. If you can afford it. Renting is like tossing money away. You are paying someone else for something you could be paying yourself for.

That's simply not true. Just as buying can have advantages over renting, renting can equally have advantages over buying. For a start, you have flexibility and not dependent upon a sale until you can move elsewhere and clearly not at risk of negative equity which is a very real and desperate situation for many people in the current environment (and, in certain locations, house prices will not reach their 2006 / 2007 levels for many years and, probably never if adjusted for inflation).

Also, although a renter pays rent, a buyer (unless they are a cash purchaser) pays interest on their borrowings. This is also "like tossing money away". Many people would be better off, financially, renting and saving the surplus amount that they would have made as a capital payment on a mortgage into another vehicle. Added to all this, of course, is the capital depreciation component of owning property.

Therefore, no, buying isn't always better than renting ...... it's important to be aware of the pros and cons of both options and decide in a clear, rational manner.

[betenoire]

Originally Posted by JAGG

Remember even if the bank will preapprove you for 200,000. That doesn't mean you should buy a house that costs that much.

This is SUPER important to remember. I know way too many people who bought a house that cost what they were preapproved for...and then struggled financially. I have no idea why banks always overestimate what we can afford - they just do.

When I went through my "looking to buy a house phase" (I got over it and have decided to keep renting for the time being because I like the simplicity of renting) I was pre-approved for a good 50k more than what I KNOW I can afford.

Ask to see at least the last 3 months of utility bills so you have an idea of how much it'll cost you to heat/cool your home, etc. If you're in an apartment right now you -really- have no idea how much utilities in a house costs. Lord knows that I have no idea.

You -want- the total of your monthly costs (mortgage, insurance, property taxes, heat/water/electric) to be a couple hundred less a month than what you are paying as a renter. Why? Because shit happens. If your fridge breaks or a plumbing disaster happens you really do need to have that extra money socked away and waiting.

And for the love of cats...if you think there is any chance that this won't be the house you die in keep in mind the re-sellability of your house. Even if you think all you need is 2 bedrooms, a house with 2 bedrooms is infinitely harder to sell than a house with 3 bedrooms - and when the time comes for you to sell your house you'll be thanking the stars that yours has 3 bedrooms in it rather than 2.

Honestly, I think renting is pretty rad. If my oven stops working - I call my landlord. If a homeowners oven stops working - she has to pony up and buy a new oven. Fuck that.

[nekohl]

Excellent input so far. My thanks to you all!

One of the houses I am interested in has 5 additional lots. They are wooded and from what I can tell not flat. I have toured the house and it is old enough(but updated ie new roof, wiring, windows) and quirky enough that I love it (the master bedroom has a soaking tub and the attic will make an excellent studio)
The realtor said they pay all closing costs and he even gave me the key code so I could take a look at the house on my own time. I really appreciated that because my hours at work are ridiculous!


Anyway, I like the idea of the extra lots, but shou
ld I decide in the future to divide the land up could I sell the extra land if I'm still paying on it? And does a home inspector check the land as well as the house or is that a separate inspector?

I have rented and I like the dear landlord my washer is acting up ness of it, but I'be been looking at houses for a while now and it's just time.

Any thoughts on For Sale By Owner? Pros/ cons?

[kannon]

Originally Posted by nekohl

Excellent input so far. My thanks to you all!

One of the houses I am interested in has 5 additional lots. They are wooded and from what I can tell not flat. I have toured the house and it is old enough(but updated ie new roof, wiring, windows) and quirky enough that I love it (the master bedroom has a soaking tub and the attic will make an excellent studio)
The realtor said they pay all closing costs and he even gave me the key code so I could take a look at the house on my own time. I really appreciated that because my hours at work are ridiculous!


Anyway, I like the idea of the extra lots, but shou
ld I decide in the future to divide the land up could I sell the extra land if I'm still paying on it? And does a home inspector check the land as well as the house or is that a separate inspector?

I have rented and I like the dear landlord my washer is acting up ness of it, but I'be been looking at houses for a while now and it's just time.

Any thoughts on For Sale By Owner? Pros/ cons?

I pay $40 a month for home insurance on repairs and replacement of plumbing, air conditioner, heater, water heater, etc. It's been well worth it. I've been here for 3 years and they replaced my heater. I saved about $5000. I'm not sure if my plan covers washer, dryer, and other appliances but I'm sure that's an option.

[durrrrrrrr]

my .02

when you do buy a house, dont do any major projects for at least a year. if you go in, and renovate immediately, you may find out later that it just wasnt the best thing for the house, or you have changed your mind on it and prefer it a different way. Live in the house for at least a year before any major renovations.

when i bought my house, i watched house hunters...and one lady on that show was looking at a house and noticed one room that she would like to make her office didnt have any plugs in for electric.

that taught me to look for the "small stuff" and it helped, cuz the house I bought just remodeled where the washer n dryer go and they forgot to put in a vent for the dryer to go outside.

i also noticed, for the hot water heater, had no line that would run outside for the pressure relief for this and the so called "catch pan" had a hole in it, meaning, if the hot water heater busted or pressure relief, it was gonna flood the house

[Guy]

After you have become interested in a certain house, make sure to visit the house right after or during a heavy rain.

Look all around the outside of the house to see if it has good drainage and the rain runs away from the house. A house located on a small slope would be your best bet.

Water damage tends to be very expensive to fix especially if it goes for years unnoticed.