What should I be looking for when buying my first house?

Question

I currently live in a 2 bdrm apartment with my bf, we don't have any pets or kids. I want to know from other homeowners what i should be looking for in my first house purchase.

Answer 1

Sound structure, cosmetic things are cheap to fix, new paint, faucets etc. It is a good idea to pay the extra money and have it inspected by a professional, you will have piece of mind, they will check things you wouldn't think of such as plumbing, wiring, roof, foundation, chimmneys etc....it will save you headaches in the long run

Answer 2

Biyingyour first home can be fun - exciting - and scary - BUT it does not need to be scary or frustrating - One thing you will want to do is read some of the enclosed information.....

Decide on how much you want to spend, if you want to escrow the taxes and insurance. Say the taxes are 1200 a YR and insurance 800 a year (just an estimate, ok) That is 2,000 a year divided by 12 = 166.66 If you paid 1,000 a month now - (166.66) your P/I Principle and Interest would be 833.34. Now you decided on the price range you are looking into. If you have great credit, a 1 loan at 130,000 at a rate of 7 percent over a 30 year time would be 864.89 - This is just a estimate - ok -

It greatly depends if you need help with closing cost, (The seller could do Seller Help toward your closing cost). If that is the case, I normally tell my clients NOT to hackle over the price, since you are asking for closing cost help - especially if the home is thru a realitor, and the seller has to pay the realitor their fee which runs from 3-6 percent of the selling price, and you ask for 3-5 percent toward closing cost -assistance) Follow me so far??

Talk with a broker, a broker underwrites for many company's (I underwrite for 150 companies) so I only have to pull credit 1 time, and they look at my credit. A single lender (not a broker) has programs available, but they may not be able to help you and your situation, so you go elsewhere, and than that person pulls your credit (see what I mean.) If you shop, your credit is pulled and that is considered a soft pull, for a 30 day period. Just like shopping for a auto, it is good for 30 days. If you apply for a credit card, that is considered a "hard" pull and it drags down your credit score. When looking for a home, please do not apply for a credit card, Department Charge Card, Gasoline Card or make any major purchases, like a auto, etc. This will pull your credit down.


Try to find someone (broker) that will pull your credit one time, and submit your loan application to company's that will go off his credit report. By the way, a loan application is called a 1003, and they will issue you a GFE (Good Faith estimate, with-in 3 days, that is per the RESPA laws, and the TIL (Truth in Lending). The GFE will tell you the up-front closing cost associated with your loan. The TIL will tell you the terms, rate associated with your loan. This is a estimate only - not the final - but it does help you figure things out.

Good Luck, and if I can help in any way check out my web site, for links to all the credit reporting agency's and other useful information. This is not an advertisement - just helpful information for you.

Lenders look at the middle score...of the 3 scores. If you only have 1 score or 2 scores (have seen it), it is still workable....but unless a lender sees the whole picture - credit - income - job time, etc - than you will not have a "true" picture of what you can afford - Hope this helps - There are also Government programs out there, but they too are looking for job time, etc.....They are not so much looking a credit - but the other factors are taken into consideration. With a government loan - collections and judgements will have to be paid (most ppl do not know that) but for FHA it is true.

Decided on the type of program (loan ) you are wanting. A 30 yr fix is still roughly at a 6.5 rate right now - but if you are needing a 90 percent ltv the rate is around 7 percent and a 95 ltv is 7.375 and a 100 percent rate is 7.5 ( This is a estimate only, since I do not know what your credit score's are....There are also, interest only loans - adjustable loans, option arms (where you pick the payment, from 4 payments, including interest only). Interest only are lower payments, but nothing is being paid on your home. Some self-employed ppl like the payment options, in a lean month when money is tight., they can pay a lesser amount

Visit these web sites - For Information that will help you be better informed. There are First Time homebuyer guides on most of them.

1. http://www.nehemiahcorp.org/

http://www.fanniemaefoundation.org/...

http://www.fha-home-loans.com/

http://www.freddiemac.com/

Answer 3

#1. Acquire financing approval. That will tell you the price range you need to be looking in.
#2. Hopefully that price range will be homes AND neigborhood of where you'd like to live.
3. Look until you find something that is both affordable, and feels right. Do NOT settle for something, thinking that it will be ok, once you move in.
4. Do NOT accept the asking price. Make a reasonable offer.
Do NOT feel at a loss, if your offer is not accepted. You can always counter offer. If owner is adamant about something you're uncomfortable with. You have rights as a buyer. As well as your own gut intuition.
5. Do NOT be pressured into unreasonable deadline dates.
6. Hire a good inspector, who will acquaint you with any pitfalls the home may have. Ask around, get referrals. If someone is good the name will come up more than once!
7. Hold on tight to your common sense. You're emotions will run the gamut. And remember that things done in haste can prompt a poor decision, and regretable mistakes. Take your time for good judgement. NEVER feel pressured to do something you may not feel comfortable with. Ask ALL the questions to completely understand anything in the contract. Disregard any verbals. If it aint in writing, it aint valid!
8. Attend a local First Time Homebuyer's class!
Good Luck!

Answer 4

The first step you need to take is to find out what you can afford. Make an appointment to meet with the mortgage officer at your bank and he'll assess your financial situation. He'll take into consideration all your bills and let you know what you can afford in monthly payments at today's interest rates. Then you'll know what price property you can look at.
Next you have to figure out WHERE you want to live. Do you want to live in a certain area of the city or countryside? Within a certain commuting distance to work, shopping etc? And do you want a condo? single family detached home? rowhouse? semi-detached? do want a garden? garage? basement? are u willing to do any handyman work? or do you need a place in perfect condition? These are all things to discuss.
Now you can do a search on http://www.mls.com and see whats available in your price range, and desired location. It will ask for # of bedrooms...you probably only need to have 2 to start with. Doing a search like this will give you an idea of market values today, and you can keep an eye on things for a while to get a feel for it. You can check every day or every few days for new listings. Its a great way to inform yourself and prepare yourself. When you feel you are ready to get serious you can call a Real Estate Agent and ask them some questions...or ask them to show you some of the places you have seen on the MLS that you like. But before that...its a great idea to drive around areas where these homes are for sale and see if you like the neighborhood, and if the house appeals to you from the curb. No sense making appointments for places you wouldn't want to set foot in anyway. The drive-by is always a great tool to educate yourself. Anyway, make sure your Agent is working hard for you to locate places that meet your criteria. If they keep showing you places that are out of your financial ability or your taste, don't waste your time and their time. Clarify what it is you are looking for and if they still don't show you what you like, find another Agent. Hope all this helps you. Best of luck, and don't be in a rush. All good things come to those who wait. But if all the qualities are there, hesitation can cost you the perfect house. Think very carefully and consider your options.

Answer 5

My husband and I got into the real estate market to purchase our first home last year, unfortunately we had a really bad experience and have since chosen to build exactly what we want, either way- we learned a lot about being first time home buyers and where to start off. My reccomendation is this:

First off schedule and appointment with a loan officer at a bank you think you would consider borrowing from. Discuss with him or her what you are looking to do, they will ask you some basic income questions and some other questions to understand and have a rough idea where you are at and then they will be able to tell you about the different programs that are available to you and your bf. Especially the ones for first time home buyers, when you go in don't be afraid to ask questions, it's their job to answer you and to be sure that you fully understand what you're looking to get into.

Secondly I would reccomend taking a home buyer education class. We took one and it was for about 4 hours on a Saturday morning, it sounds wretched but it was so worth it. We had been having people tell us this and that and it was helpful but to actually go and learn it for ourselves and be able to ask questions we had as they came up was VERY helpful. They also give you tons of hand outs that you can keep for reference so you don't need to memorize it all in one class.

The next thing as someone mentioned before is to get a good realtor. Get one you feel comfortable with not one that makes you feel inadequate- they are working FOR YOU not against you. You'll need to get preapproved before most realtors will start showing you homes but it's a pretty easy process once you know what you want. We actually liked our realtor so much that we got her a gift card because we felt so bad about not buying the house in the end.

Just be sure that when you're looking at homes you have an idea of things like # of bedrooms you want, distance from your jobs, do you plan on being there long, do you plan on eventually having a family there, etc. etc.

Having never had a home it's very intimidating but the people are there FOR you, don't settle with something because you feel like you have to. Good luck with the process!

Answer 6

I found a great free report at:
http://www.first-time-homebuyers-loans.com

It will answer a lot of questions and help point you in the right direction.

Even if you buy a condo, just owning a place is so much better for you than renting. If you can't afford a bigger house yet, just buy what you can now and start building equity. Then you will be able to upgrade much easier when the time comes.

Good luck,
Greg S.

Answer 7

A lot is going to depend on what you can afford. You should talk to your bank or financial adviser to see what you are approved for. Please keep in mind that if you need your boyfriend to buy with you to afford a house that is a legal issue, and you should consult an attorney as well. After you know what your approved for you can call a Realtor. Tell them what you are approved for and where you want to look. If you want to stay close to work tell them where you work, if you want to be in a specific town tell them that as well. The number of rooms is going to be determined by what you can afford. If you can only afford $200,000 chances are you are not going to find a 5 bedroom 4 bath house. You can also ask about Condos or Town homes if you are not ready to take on yard work or snow removal.

Answer 8

you first of all need a FIRST RATE real estate agent....mine was excellent....here are some things he had us do:
1. some agents want you to sign a contract with them...don't, what if you don't like them?? then you're stuck with them
2. visit the house you want to buy at least three times before you place an offer
3. speak to the neighbors, ALL the neighbors to see what the neighborhood is like: they should be able to offer an unbiased opinion
4. in my situation, i was moving into an area where jet noise from the local navy base was an issue: he MADE us listen to the jet noise on very heavy flight days so we wouldn't be surprised later on

good luck and happy hunting!!!!!

Answer 9

something big enough so that you can live in it for a few years and consider kids because you may have them one day. look at the neighborhoods that you would like to live in.