Buying a House Advice Thread

[vismund b]

Hello all,

Pretty cool forum you humans have here. Thanks for allowing me to participate

Quick question.

Are you or have you been a homeowner?

Any advice for a first time home buyer you wish you knew, besides don’t do it. I already know that one lol.

What are some things to look for during inspections?

Any tips or hacks at all, really.

I am currently the closest to purchasing a home than I’ve ever been before. I am excited and terrified.

Wish I could just go for a bike ride right now.

Thanks.

 

[Vewlix]

My advice would be to wait as the economy is going to crash and house prices will drop.

 

[dodgeman]

If you don’t like it the way it is, what does it cost to make it right. For example kitchens are expensive to remodel, the bathrooms are next expensive. Paint is cheap. The last two houses we bought we had to put windows in, that’s expensive. What’s the roof and siding look like? Does everything work, such as furnace, water heater, dishwasher etc. sometimes you can get a short warranty from the seller on that stuff.

Last but not least, does it meet your needs. Enough bedrooms and bathrooms. Is the location where you need it? Close to work, schools etc.

 

[AHicks]

I've never been forced to rent a home. I'm 71 and bought my first home when I was 19. That said, if I were considering buying a home right now, I'd check out some of these rent to own leases. I don't know a lot about them, but I've heard that you have the option to buy or move at the end of the lease.

Bottom line, thinking in the immediate/near term, I'd rent until things settle down a bit. I think what going on right now is absolutely nuts. Would hate to be making payments on a home 5 years from now that I paid WAY to much for, or be forced te sell at a price way below what I owed (for any reason)....

 

[JES2020]

Hello all,

Pretty cool forum you humans have here. Thanks for allowing me to participate

Quick question.

Are you or have you been a homeowner?

Any advice for a first time home buyer you wish you knew, besides don’t do it. I already know that one lol.

What are some things to look for during inspections?

Any tips or hacks at all, really.

I am currently the closest to purchasing a home than I’ve ever been before. I am excited and terrified.

Wish I could just go for a bike ride right now.

Thanks.

Visit the home several times, how is the neighborhood? Loud music, basketball hoops, dogs, road noise, window bars (YIKES) etc.

100% get a prepurchase inspection AND make your offer contingent on your approval of it.
Keep you mind open to walking away, don't get emotionally involved.
I have owned over 18 homes and only two that I wish I didn't .

 

[sc00ter]

My main advice is watch out for home inspections. Here's what I learned the hard way. Home inspections seem to be required here in order to purchase a house, if your doing a loan to buy it. So say the home inspection is $300. Someone comes out, walks around the outside, goes in the attic, flushes the pooper and checks wall sockets and under the house if on a crawl space. They write up a dumb list of little things the seller needs to fix, everything gets done and you now own a house. You later discover a serious issue with the roof. It cost you $2000 to fix. How did the home inspector miss it? But they did. No recourse for you if you go after the home inspector for missing it. They are only liable up to the amount of the home inspection, so I got my whopping $300 back. What a waste of money. Next time I'm calling out a plumber, roofer and a crawl space company out of my pocket to do the next inspections. My wifes sister is an electrician. I discovered the average specialist inspection is around $100.

And if you have to carry PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) that will nag at you every month. I'll buy points and/or put down more to avoid that nonsense next time, or just go thru my credit union as they don't charge that if your credit is good.

Go thru the area of the house your'e interested in around midnight during the week to see what parking is like, and Saturday night to see what the neighborhood is like at night. The market is starting to cool off and prices will return to normal soon.

Overall being a homeowner is a good thing. My house will be paid off in a few more years.

 

[indianajo]

I grew up in Houston, that had a great economy and cheap college education but horrible transportation problems after I graduated from college. My parents were spending 2 hours a day commuting 7 miles. There are also hurricanes. My supervisor at Aerospace lost all the carpet appliances & drywall in his house twice in 5 years due to hurricane floods. He was spending $1200 a month in water district fees. I was offered a 50% raise to transfer to Huntington Beach CA (LA) but viewed LA as a disaster in 1977 even though the big earthquake hasn't happened yet. That salary wouldn't have paid for an efficiency apartment.
I moved a place that has plenty of cheap city water, no transportation problems, earthquake hazards limited to forcel 5, floods limited to 1937 but they built a floodwall along the Ohio afterwards. There are no hurricanes but tornadoes of force 2 every 10 years and force 4 every 30. I have a concrete basement to hide in case of tornado. It is too wet for forest fires, rains 220 days a year. There are city sewers city water & natural gas. I live 3 blocks from a grocery and bank, 8 blocks from a dollar store, a mile from a hospital & doctor's offices, 3 blocks from a bus stop. I've been able to park my car and stop driving. My real estate taxes are 2 1/2% SSI payment a year and income tax is 3.5% excluding SSI. I paid 2.5 years salary for my house, which I bought in a market crash after a nearby nuclear plant closed in mid construction. I paid it off by 1989. Wiring roof & plumbing were renewed before purchase in 1982, insulation was blown in the walls, & owens corning composite roofing lasts 30 years. The one thing I regret, I bought a wood house and mice & raccoons cannot be excluded. They chew their way right through the walls. When I kept a cat the mouse problem was solved but I'm too old for that now. They tell me Great Pyrenese dogs are great on raccoons but I hate barking & I could expire before one of those too.
The neighborhood does include 3 races & illegal immigrants, but they are all employed and working hard. Some car boom noise evenings, but I have a 300 watt stereo & plaster walls. There is a factory across one street; I find the constant whirr from the air compressor soothing. Malemute dogs barking at UPS planes at midnight was a problem for 8 years but that neighbor moved away. I'm 50' from the nearest neighbor's wall and can play my piano or stereo at 3 AM without complaints. There is no bossy neighborhood association and I can exchange engines or transmissions, paint roof or remodel, without complaint.

 

[Cowlitz]

I've bought 5 houses in my lifetime.

I use this method. When having to get a loan, I figured out what I wanted the payments to be and based my house search on that amount. The amount was low enough so if I wasn't working, I could still afford it, or if I was working, I could play a bit, and I usually added additional money to my payments. Then do all the above mentioned things.

But right now I think I would not buy a house, especially on the west coast. Prices are outrageous.

 

[Handlebars]

Hello all,

Pretty cool forum you humans have here. Thanks for allowing me to participate

Quick question.

Are you or have you been a homeowner?

Any advice for a first time home buyer you wish you knew, besides don’t do it. I already know that one lol.

What are some things to look for during inspections?

Any tips or hacks at all, really.

I am currently the closest to purchasing a home than I’ve ever been before. I am excited and terrified.

Wish I could just go for a bike ride right now.

Thanks.

Visit the area in late evening friday night to see if it's safe or if sketchy people come out.

 

[AHicks]

I've bought 5 houses in my lifetime.

I use this method. When having to get a loan, I figured out what I wanted the payments to be and based my house search on that amount. The amount was low enough so if I wasn't working, I could still afford it, or if I was working, I could play a bit, and I usually added additional money to my payments. Then do all the above mentioned things.

But right now I think I would not buy a house, especially on the west coast. Prices are outrageous.

I can assure you the problem is not just the west coast. Check out either of Florida's coasts for instance. Tampa is just stupid! There are a LOT of really hot markets right now.

 

[JES2020]

My main advice is watch out for home inspections

Pre purchase inspections are much more involved than bank required home inspections.
The bank is just concerned that the value is there and that it isn't going to have major repairs needing to be done.
I say again , after 18 home purchases, a pre purchase inspection, is an absolute necessity.

Getting a Home Inspection Before a Real Estate Purchase

Before you finalize your house purchase, be sure the house is in good condition. The best way is to have a professional inspection.

www.nolo.com

 

[AHicks]

Pre purchase inspections are much more involved than bank required home inspections.
The bank is just concerned that the value is there and that it isn't going to have major repairs needing to be done.
I say again , after 18 home purchases, a pre purchase inspection, is an absolute necessity.

Getting a Home Inspection Before a Real Estate Purchase

Before you finalize your house purchase, be sure the house is in good condition. The best way is to have a professional inspection.

www.nolo.com

I say if you are going to do one, get your own inspector, and don't cheap out. The less you feel qualified to do your own, the more you want to know what's REALLY going on, the more you should feel justified in taking this as more than just a bank demanded formality....

Ask if there is a chance you can be present when the home is being inspected.

 

[sc00ter]

No one told me there was a difference between a pre-purchase and a regular home inspection. All I know is the bank wanted a "home inspection" and my lazy realtor sure didn't speak up on any difference. I didn't do enough research I guess but everything worked out in the end. So hopefully the OP learned something about home inspections, I know I did. Better late than never.

 

[AHicks]

No one told me there was a difference between a pre-purchase and a regular home inspection. All I know is the bank wanted a "home inspection" and my lazy realtor sure didn't speak up on any difference. I didn't do enough research I guess but everything worked out in the end. So hopefully the OP learned something about home inspections, I know I did. Better late than never.

That's a big part of the issue right there. The bank and realtor could give a damn. They just need a form filled out to proceed. Depend on either of those for a quality inspection at your own risk.....

 

[ChezCheese:)]

I built my house. Never bought one. So I have no real standing to give advice. But I would say, do not buy if there is a HOA and binding rules of that sort.

 

[WattsUpDude]

We live in the San Francisco Bay Area. For a long time it felt like an impossibility. But my wife and I had the same goal and really changed our spending habits for a good 3-4 years before we seriously looked around. We got rid of our debt and saved up a decent down payment. We were looking at houses as far as a two hour commute away. Despite our excellent credit and sizable down payment, we still got about 25 rejected offers. Our realtor did everything he could really do until he advised us to go with another agent. So we went with an agent that really knew the area and had a lot of connections. With her help, we scored a house in a really great town that we thought we were priced out of.

So do everything you can to make your credit score excellent, take care of that debt to income ratio, find a hard working and well-connected agent and just have faith. It’ll happen eventually.

 

[vismund b]

Thanks for all the responses everyone! Really appreciate it. Lots of good advice. I also did not know the difference between the 2 inspections.

 

[JES2020]

We live in the San Francisco Bay Area. For a long time it felt like an impossibility. But my wife and I had the same goal and really changed our spending habits for a good 3-4 years before we seriously looked around. We got rid of our debt and saved up a decent down payment. We were looking at houses as far as a two hour commute away. Despite our excellent credit and sizable down payment, we still got about 25 rejected offers. Our realtor did everything he could really do until he advised us to go with another agent. So we went with an agent that really knew the area and had a lot of connections. With her help, we scored a house in a really great town that we thought we were priced out of.

So do everything you can to make your credit score excellent, take care of that debt to income ratio, find a hard working and well-connected agent and just have faith. It’ll happen eventually.

Yes, I found it hard to believe but, they let just about anyone be a licensed Real Estate agent! It got to the point for me that, I couldn't find one that knew more than I did about the whole process ! There out there , but you have to do your due dilligence before signing with one.
Generally large firms will protect their name by hiring competent agents, but the small firms can be no better than used car salesmen.

 

[JohnWiddick]

Hey there! Congrats on being so close to purchasing your first home! As a fellow first-time home buyer, I completely understand the excitement and terror you were feeling. One thing I wish I had known before buying my home was the importance of getting multiple inspections done, not just the standard home inspection. It can save you a lot of money and headaches down the line.
I'm actually house hunting right now and have one option in mind, but it requires a slight makeover. I'm considering UPVC french doors instead of a traditional front door. I recently discovered them, and they seem like a great option for both security and aesthetics. Any feedback or suggestions on them?

 

[kiyar]

Great topic and advice here! Thanks! We are going to buy our first house but are clueless about many things. It is great to learn from the experiences of others.