Home Buying Advice

[jwibbity]

Well the time has come for my family to buy a home. The place I'm currently renting is going up ~5.5% on rent, putting the rent out of my "comfortable" payment. After doing weeks of research on the housing market, interest rates, and possible other rental properties, we have come to the decision that buying a house would be a better choice. My lease is up the first week of November and would like to close on a house mid to late October at the very latest. And for this reason I will not be able to attend MV this year. Have to keep a tight squeeze on the finances till I've closed on a home.

I'll be looking at around 15 houses this week alone, not including the 4 I've already seen.

So my question to you guys (and gals) are what tips do you guys have for a first time home buyer??

I don't care if you just bought your own home, been living in one for 50 years, or you currently rent, all advice will be read and taken to heart. This is one of the biggest financial decisions a person can make, so I would like to go into it with full clips and extra grenades!!

For those interested I will be using a VA home loan with 100% financing and no requirement for mortgage insurance!!

Please leave the "I think your too young" comments at home. I've done and seen alot more than people twice my age.

Thanks for looking peeps!!!!

I do have 2 children, 4&5, which is the reason alot of homes got kicked to the curb. The schools sucked ass!!

[Mebot]

Congrats on the 1st home! My only advice is to interview your realtor or get a good referral before hiring them

[JBFTech]

+1 on get to know the realtor before hand. Also, IMO, these are 7 of the many things that I recommend to pay close attention to , and ask, before you buy. 1 - check the foundation very closely, also look at the foundations of the neighboring homes and the topography of the area. Foundation issues are the most expensive repair. 2 - check the roof, ask if it has been replaced, if so then when was it done, and to what extent. 3 - take a look at the breaker box, all outlets and switches, etc. That will give you a good idea on the shape of the electrical system in the house. 4 - look at all of the plumbing that you can see.....check the date on the water heater, look at the drain lines and water lines, etc. If it all looks good, no worries. 5 - look at the rest of the homes in the area, get an idea of how much you think they all value at, to make sure you don't overpay. No matter how many upgrades and updates you do, if you ever sell, it will not sell for much over what the neighboring homes are worth. 6 - make sure you aren't in a flood plain, if so, ask if the home has ever flooded, and if so, when. 7 - ask the realtor a ton of questions, the only stupid question is the question not asked!


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[cat in the hat]

+1 on get to know the realtor before hand. Also, IMO, these are 7 of the many things that I recommend to pay close attention to , and ask, before you buy. 1 - check the foundation very closely, also look at the foundations of the neighboring homes and the topography of the area. Foundation issues are the most expensive repair. 2 - check the roof, ask if it has been replaced, if so then when was it done, and to what extent. 3 - take a look at the breaker box, all outlets and switches, etc. That will give you a good idea on the shape of the electrical system in the house. 4 - look at all of the plumbing that you can see.....check the date on the water heater, look at the drain lines and water lines, etc. If it all looks good, no worries. 5 - look at the rest of the homes in the area, get an idea of how much you think they all value at, to make sure you don't overpay. No matter how many upgrades and updates you do, if you ever sell, it will not sell for much over what the neighboring homes are worth. 6 - make sure you aren't in a flood plain, if so, ask if the home has ever flooded, and if so, when. 7 - ask the realtor a ton of questions, the only stupid question is the question not asked!

Be on the lookout for all this stuff while you're shopping, but when you finally make an offer make sure that the sale is contingent on an engineering report.
This is absolutely worth the money; these guys are experts and they will check for stuff that you would never dream of.

[jwibbity]

Congrats on the 1st home! My only advice is to interview your realtor or get a good referral before hiring them

Our current realtor is pretty legit to me. No and tells me about the houses and neighborhoods straight up. He actually helped me narrow down the houses because of schooling for the kids. They were pretty *****y schools.

+1 on get to know the realtor before hand. Also, IMO, these are 7 of the many things that I recommend to pay close attention to , and ask, before you buy. 1 - check the foundation very closely, also look at the foundations of the neighboring homes and the topography of the area. Foundation issues are the most expensive repair. 2 - check the roof, ask if it has been replaced, if so then when was it done, and to what extent. 3 - take a look at the breaker box, all outlets and switches, etc. That will give you a good idea on the shape of the electrical system in the house. 4 - look at all of the plumbing that you can see.....check the date on the water heater, look at the drain lines and water lines, etc. If it all looks good, no worries. 5 - look at the rest of the homes in the area, get an idea of how much you think they all value at, to make sure you don't overpay. No matter how many upgrades and updates you do, if you ever sell, it will not sell for much over what the neighboring homes are worth. 6 - make sure you aren't in a flood plain, if so, ask if the home has ever flooded, and if so, when. 7 - ask the realtor a ton of questions, the only stupid question is the question not asked!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Be on the lookout for all this stuff while you're shopping, but when you finally make an offer make sure that the sale is contingent on an engineering report.
This is absolutely worth the money; these guys are experts and they will check for stuff that you would never dream of.

The VA requires that their own inspector comes out to go to whichever house you put a contract on and from what I've read and heard the VA inspection is one of the most thorough home inspections since they back part of the loan.

[gdsqdcr]

When my wife and I bought we looked at school districts. We knew we wanted a family so a home within a good public school district was big for us.

Also, as we visited homes I took digital pictures of everything! After a while they all started to look alike so be pics helped us identify the pro/cons of each house.

[jwibbity]

When my wife and I bought we looked at school districts. We knew we wanted a family so a home within a good public school district was big for us.

Also, as we visited homes I took digital pictures of everything! After a while they all started to look alike so be pics helped us identify the pro/cons of each house.

The camera is a pretty good idea actually. So that way you can take pictures of the stuff not shown on the listings

[cat in the hat]

The VA requires that their own inpsector comes out to go to whichever house you put a contract on and from what I've read and heard the VA inspection is one of the most thouroguh home inspections since they back part of the loan.

Good deal, and saves you some money, too - home inspections here cost about $300.

[Mebot]

There's a ton of different factors that will apply to each and every home-buyer.

Are you in a good school district (if you have kids)

What's the resell market? Any forecloses in the neighborhood?

How's the commute? Traffic?

Near to any shopping malls, theaters, or grocery stores for convenience? Or do you like to be far and away from everyone?

What side is the house facing? Kinda dumb question, but for me I hate the morning sun, so I wanted a master bedroom facing west.

I also read somewhere that it's a good idea to check your house out at different times of day ( and seasons too if possible). This will help to determine the commute around your new house at different times, the lighting, the neighborhood, etc....


Various things to consider, but above all, ask yourself what you want in a new house

[Mebot]

Also I don't know what your timeline is, but when Michelle and I bought our first place in Virginia, we both knew it wasn't the "forever" home. It fit us at our stage in life.

Looking back, it was the smart decision. We knew what we liked and what we didn't. So moral is, give yourself a timeline. If this is the be-all, end-all, retiring here after 30+ years, then maybe scrutinize a little more

If, on the other hand, you're looking at this as a 3-5 yr house, keep my comments above in consideration, as well as everyone else who posts in this thread.

[jwibbity]

There's a ton of different factors that will apply to each and every home-buyer.

Are you in a good school district (if you have kids)

What's the resell market? Any forecloses in the neighborhood?

How's the commute? Traffic?

Near to any shopping malls, theaters, or grocery stores for convenience? Or do you like to be far and away from everyone?

What side is the house facing? Kinda dumb question, but for me I hate the morning sun, so I wanted a master bedroom facing west.

I also read somewhere that it's a good idea to check your house out at different times of day ( and seasons too if possible). This will help to determine the commute around your new house at different times, the lighting, the neighborhood, etc....


Various things to consider, but above all, ask yourself what you want in a new house

Will keep all in mind, thanks!

Also I don't know what your timeline is, but when Michelle and I bought our first place in Virginia, we both knew it wasn't the "forever" home. It fit us at our stage in life.

Looking back, it was the smart decision. We knew what we liked and what we didn't. So moral is, give yourself a timeline. If this is the be-all, end-all, retiring here after 30+ years, then maybe scrutinize a little more

If, on the other hand, you're looking at this as a 3-5 yr house, keep my comments above in consideration, as well as everyone else who posts in this thread.

My wife and I both agree this wont be our "retirement" house but I would like to keep it as long as I can. hopefully close to 10 yrs. or until the kids gets to high school. Thats when I'll consider buying another home.

[sailsmen]

Commute to / from the house same as you will when you live there. Also drive around at night around your bedtime/wake up time weekday and weekend with the windows in your car rolled down.

If your cash flow is tite look into a home warranty, but there are warranties and there are warrantless.

Also get a quote on home owners and Flood insurance.

[Mebot]

Will keep all in mind, thanks!



My wife and I both agree this wont be our "retirement" house but I would like to keep it as long as I can. hopefully close to 10 yrs. or until the kids gets to high school. Thats when I'll consider buying another home.

You have kids. Good to know. Suggest looking into school districts for them and if it's not good, send them to Catholic school.

[Bigdogjim]

You and the wife should first sit down and make a list of you are each looking for in a house. Then compare notes and go from there. You need a plan of attack. Don't just start looking at houses. Know what you want, you are going to live there for a while.

[sailsmen]

You can obtain a lot of data from the US Census.