We want to buy a house!
Ok, since the government has extended the first-time home-buyers rebate, and because Jessica and I have been saving every penny we can, we're hoping to get into a house between February and May of 2010. We're stuck in our current apartment lease through July, so we wouldn't break even with the rebate unless we bought after February, and the rebate ends at the end of April. We're no longer looking to pay our cars off right away.
Based on our budget, I know how much house we can afford, and Jessica and I have already put together a list of "Must-haves" and "Preferreds" for a home. For instance- a 1 car attached garage is a must, while a 2 car is preferred. We're thinking that our next step would be to meet with several realtors, interview them, choose one, and find out who they recommend for loans. We'll look at banks, credit unions, and other lenders to see if we can get a good rate. (We're hoping to get a rate 5% or less, as we'll be putting down at least 10%, and have good credit scores). We met with an insurance agent the other day, and we'll each be getting life insurance policies prior to the process- just in case.
So my questions to those of you who have bought homes already: Where would you suggest we begin, and what advice would you have for us in this process? Anything you wish you would have done differently, or that you are super glad you did?
Ok, since the government has extended the first-time home-buyers rebate, and because Jessica and I have been saving every penny we can, we're hoping to get into a house between February and May of 2010. We're stuck in our current apartment lease through July, so we wouldn't break even with the rebate unless we bought after February, and the rebate ends at the end of April. We're no longer looking to pay our cars off right away.
Based on our budget, I know how much house we can afford, and Jessica and I have already put together a list of "Must-haves" and "Preferreds" for a home. For instance- a 1 car attached garage is a must, while a 2 car is preferred. We're thinking that our next step would be to meet with several realtors, interview them, choose one, and find out who they recommend for loans. We'll look at banks, credit unions, and other lenders to see if we can get a good rate. (We're hoping to get a rate 5% or less, as we'll be putting down at least 10%, and have good credit scores). We met with an insurance agent the other day, and we'll each be getting life insurance policies prior to the process- just in case.
So my questions to those of you who have bought homes already: Where would you suggest we begin, and what advice would you have for us in this process? Anything you wish you would have done differently, or that you are super glad you did?
2 Comments:
At 9:00 PM,
Kathleen said…
Talk to people you know and trust in the area, and have them recommend a GOOD Realtor. Ours sucked, and when we dumped her to buy For Sale By Owner, we definitely made some mistakes.
Also, I know if I were going to buy a house for the first time again, I would get a basement. However much we didn't think we needed one, with all of Paul's hobbies, OMG, we need a basement. Don't compromise on your must haves.
Once you find the house you love, don't let the inspector scare you with all the things he finds wrong. That's his job, and your house will not be perfect.
Um, other than that, I'll come and help paint sometime! :)
At 1:56 PM,
Sunshine said…
As someone who just finished the home buying process for the 3rd time last week (we're moving this weekend!), here are my tips, having gone through it all again:
#1 I agree with Kathleen; get referrals from people you know and trust on a realtor. Do a walk through with them to see what their style is. I loved my realtor, because I have known her from my networking group for the past year. Her personality totally jived with us. While she was on vacation, she had someone else in her office do a few things for us. Totally different experience and Ryan and I both agreed, we would never have used that person as our agent.
#2 Be flexible on need/preferred. You never know what a compromise could truly bring you. I wanted to be closer in to the city so my commute time would go down. My trade off is an amazing view of downtown Portland and a more relaxed neighborhood with no parking issues. I'll take it :)
#3 Overestimate your storage space needs. You will grow to fit your house and what seems like a lot of space with no furniture or stuff in it will soon be filling up.
#4 Find a good mortgage person. Have them explain everything they do - all the terms they use, forms they have you complete and fees they'll be charging. If they don't want to, find someone else. I'd be a little wary of having the realtor recommend someone. There might be some behind the scenes dealings you don't know about. Better to arrange your own financing.
#4 Stick to your guns when negotiating on the house you decide on. With our new house, we had multiple repair addendums back and forth on issues that needed to be resolved.
#5 Definitely get an inspection - make sure they check for water damage, dry rot, window seal integrity, foundational issues, drainage patterns and the structure being up to code. They should provide you with a full report afterwords, which should help you write out a bid.
#6 Get a home warranty, and preferably, have the seller pay for it. I'm so glad we got one, because when we were moving some boxes on Monday, we discovered that the furnace wouldn't turn it. It had worked fine every other time we had visited the property during the buying process. Our home warranty is covering all the repair expenses ($400+) and all we have to pay is a $60 deductible. It's good for 12mos and covers most major aspects of the home. If your real estate agent doesn't offer one, look into it yourself.
I could go on and on, so if you want more advice, send me an email. I'm excited for your guys to be thinking about this opportunity. It's an amazing time to buy, with the tax credit, interest rates and home availabilities. Start looking at home listings now to get a feel for what's out there, so when you really start your search, you'll already be ahead of the game :) Congrats!
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