What do you need to know if you're a first time home buyer?

[Dogmeat]

I think I'm gonna start seriously looking to buy a house. I've never owned a home before ....

All this mortgage crisis stuff has me kinda scared however ...

I think ultimatley where I'm at it would be an investment, if I kept the home for 3 years I'm pretty sure I could get out of it what I bought it for.

Anyways, what advice would you all who have recently bought homes give me?

I'm pretty much looking to get a cheap home, I am not gonna buy one brand new .... I mean even homes built 40 years ago are going for 200k here in Vernal right now.

Any advice?

 

[Ollie]

Get a buyers agent.
It is the same thing as a selling agent, except they work for you.
They split the commision on the house so there is no extra costs to you, but you have someone looking out for you.

A selling agent would be like calling Remax. They are looking out for themselves and the home seller. By getting a buyers agent you got someone in your corner.

You want to be carful when you do it. The selling agents will try to tell you you don't need a buyers agent. Of cource they will say that, they don't want to split their commision.

 

[PCDOC]

Make sure you get a loan with a locked in rate - not the kind that change after two years and your payment doubles Since it is your first home purchase you should be able to get a first time home buyers rate at your bank. Don't tell them it's your first time until after they give you an interest rate. Then tell them and it should knock the rate down a little.

Also, if you are handy and find a fixer upper you can make some pretty good coin when you sell. Just check out the house very well before pulling the trigger. Check the foundation, plumbing, electrical, roof, lot drainage, property taxes. Don't buy one near train tracks unless you are hard of hearing. That 3 AM whistle will wake the dead.

Many things to look at first, but unlike sleds real estate actually APPRECIATES....... well usually.

 

[tc_villain]

Before you do any looking, the first thing I would do is go to a bank or lender, and get pre-approved. Then you will know exactly what your budget is and you can then adjust your search accordingly. Dont let yourself be dissapointed. Have you checked your credit score lately?

 

[Sidehiller]

Another thing, if you have a retirement account you can use it for down money on a first house and pay no taxes on it. While I wouldn't recomend using all of your retirement, an extra 10k will make a big difference in payment, and may put you in a better interest rate.

 

[justadude]

Buy low!!

Sell high!!

Or take the equity out of the 1st house and buy another, renting out the 1st house. Repeat!

 

[Dogmeat]

Before you do any looking, the first thing I would do is go to a bank or lender, and get pre-approved. Then you will know exactly what your budget is and you can then adjust your search accordingly. Dont let yourself be dissapointed. Have you checked your credit score lately?

I got pre-approved for $180,000 last year from Wells Fargo ... I didn't have as much debt then, as now I have a truck and 4 wheeler payment I didn't back then, however, I'm also taking home more pay now than I was back then by a pretty decent amount ... I don't think I'll have any trouble getting pre-approved, my credit score is pretty good.

 

[Dogmeat]

Another thing, if you have a retirement account you can use it for down money on a first house and pay no taxes on it. While I wouldn't recomend using all of your retirement, an extra 10k will make a big difference in payment, and may put you in a better interest rate.

I will look into that. I've only been paying into my 401k for a little over a year now, but I think I have 5 grand in it so far. It would probably make sense if I was gonna take it out now to use that on a down payment for a house.

 

[Dogmeat]

Get a buyers agent.
It is the same thing as a selling agent, except they work for you.
They split the commision on the house so there is no extra costs to you, but you have someone looking out for you.

A selling agent would be like calling Remax. They are looking out for themselves and the home seller. By getting a buyers agent you got someone in your corner.

You want to be carful when you do it. The selling agents will try to tell you you don't need a buyers agent. Of cource they will say that, they don't want to split their commision.

Are buying agents companies or individuals? I've never heard of them, but I'll look into it .... something tells me they might not exist in the likes of Vernal Utah

 

[Blu Du]

Are buying agents companies or individuals? I've never heard of them, but I'll look into it .... something tells me they might not exist in the likes of Vernal Utah

A buyers agent is just a realtor. don't contact the realtor that has the listing that is called dual agent and is no good because what side is he on the buyers or sellers or both. no good

 

[ouch]

If the economy where you live is like it is in MN, make a low offer and stay low.. theres always more houses if they dont take it... its definitly a buyers market here.

 

[Ollie]

Are buying agents companies or individuals? I've never heard of them, but I'll look into it .... something tells me they might not exist in the likes of Vernal Utah

what Blu Du said.
You just have to make sure they arn't showing you homes that THEY have listed.
You can call around and get a lot of info on it.
Any non-involved agent will be more than happy to walk you thru the process because they are pretty much guaranteed a couple grand in commision, whereas the selling agent will be pizzed because he has to give up the couple grand.

 

[Crazy 8]

Just personal opinion, but I would NOT take money out of your 401(k) to buy a house. That 5 grand that's in there now, will be worth the most when you retire. Bust your ace, save for another year or whatever, and do it that way. But, I don't want to tell you what to do!

 

[Ex-Member]

Just went through this late last year. Get hooked up with a good realtor, you'll be spending a lot of time with them. Make sure they're working for you as a buyers' agent, and that there's no conflict of interest with the seller's agent. They should let you know if there is.

As mentioned above, before you start looking at homes get preapproved and start the loan paperwork. Some of that can take quite a bit of time. Shop around, don't just go through one and expect them to be the cheapest. Ther'es a lot of first-time home buyer programs, I got a 0%-interest 10-year down payment loan through . I went through Wells Fargo with my loan, but it was transferred to CHFA after all was said and done... that's the way they work; let a big bank handle all the loan financing, then once it's done they service the loan.

Oh, and GET TITLE INSURANCE. I have a loan from the person that owned my property before my sellers did that's being foreclosed on.... because I have title insurance, I'm not liable for the $60k the lawyers office handling that foreclosure wants...

Now is a good time to buy though; and sellers have been holding onto their houses for longer than they want, so they'll cut you a lot of slack (and pay for a lot of things) that they normally wouldn't consider.

 

[JSCC]

As far as pulling money out of retirement accounts. If your retirement account pays higher yields than your mortgage interest, leave it be. If its lower, pull it all out and put on the mortgage. Simple math.

Do get yourself a buyers agent, great advice there. Also get yourself an inspection on the home prior to signing. Right now prices are still high in Utah. However, there are some that are starting to hurt and selling low.
In my opinion, prices will continue to decline until next year. If you can, keep shopping until you find a sweet deal. They will be out there, just dont get in a hurry.

Homes built from the 80's till now will have far better equipment, unless someone has upgraded. So you will be paying less for utilities normally.

Simple things to looks for.
Full brick or stone is a huge plus.
Hard flooring is a huge plus.
Fireplaces are a plus.
Of course, good cabinets will be one of the first things people look at when you go to sell this again. So the kitchen should be high priority.
Tile showers are a plus.

For 180,000, you should still be able to land a very nice home. Dont go off of prices from the last couple years. If they have not dropped yet, they will.

 

[lucky13]

one thing to do is get a copy of everything they want you to sign 2 weeks before you close on the house, and read them very carefully, they get you in the office and your so mad youll sign anything just to get out of there, a lot of the stuff you sign is total b.s. and you give away a lot of rights by signing.

 

[XC700116]

I'll second the Title Insurance it's an absolute must if your in an area that's having some of the forclosure woes that many are. Look in your local papers at the forclosure notices and see how many there are.

Don't do your mortgage through one of those shady little offices that are shutting down left and right, stick with the bigger well known ones. STAY AWAY from Arms and interest only gimicks they'll screw you in the locng run. Interest rates on 30 yr fixed mortgages are at near all time lows and there isn't hardly any money to be save the other way and there's no telling what will happen to the rate in 3 or 5 years. If at all possible pay your closing costs out of pocket or borrow it from a family member and don't tell the mortgage company you borrowed it. Rolling it into your mortgage only lowers your initial equity and your gonna pay interest on that amount for however long you own the home.

Most mortgage companies now require an inspection. But do it anyway even if they don't.

One thing I found and this isn't for every one is use a woman for your buying agent if possible. I know it sounds stupid but a woman that knows the business is a great allie, they look at things differently especially when it comes to resale and what kind of things appeal to women, and we all know how that factors into buying a home if your married. Also I found that they seam to look out for you a little more than guys do when it comes to negotiation time instead of just trying to get you to close on anything. Keep in mind Agents on both sides work on percentage of sale price.

 

[Dogmeat]

I did find an agent tonite, and she's a woman

A guy who I lift weights with at the gym's wife is a real estate agent, so she said go talk to her about it sometime this week and she would act as a buying agent for me.

I was playing around on Wells Fargo's loan calculator and I don't know if they'll approve me right now. I did just get a pay raise, but I also have about that much more in payments now than I did a year ago when they first approved me.

I don't know, but I'll check it out.

Their loan calculated 6.25% interest for me but that seems high, I'll try to find something lower.

 

[Ollie]

Those loan calculators are a joke.
If it says 6.25, you can prob. get one for 5.5.
That being said, 6.25 for a first time buyer isn't that bad.

 

[GODEEP]

Get online and search whats out there. Dont worry about the realestate agent, other than to make sure they are willing to open the doors. Find someone young, that needs money, someone that wont push you to buy that bigger house. Most ***gin agents annoy the hell out of me, they got too damn lazy the past few years. def. dont rely on them to find what you want.

Make your decision, more on the location and property the house is on, rather than the house itself. Your property is what is going to appreciate if you pick a good location and pretty property.


edit: so when did F - U - G become a bad word?? lol.. ***