Im thinking about buying my first house and i really have no clue where to even begin. I look at and price houses on the internet, but don't know what the nest step is. And is there any good formula to figure out just how much of a house you can afford.
2007-01-01 14:29:20 · 8 answers · asked by MelJ 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
make sure you know who are your neighbors going to be.
chin
2007-01-01 14:31:59 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Your house payments should be no more then 25% of your gross income. A good Realtor will help find out what you qualify for and the price range you should be looking at. Be safe go for a 30year fixed rate mortgage. You can always take off a year or two here and there by sending in an extra thousand or so to take off the principle. You would be amazed how fast that can drop the life of your mortgage and save interest in the long run and you still have the security of smaller payments if times are hard.
2007-01-01 14:38:27 · answer #2 · answered by JAN 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Since you're just at the "thinking" stage, step back and take your time. I didn't start actually looking at houses with a realtor until I was ready to buy. I was afraid I'd fall in love w/ something and just jump into it blind.
The thing that helped me the most was a book by Suze Orman. It was an older one (I let my cousin borrow it and can't remember the name) that I got at a bookstore for $12. It takes you step by step through the home buying process. It even tells you about what to look for during the final walk through. Research your area. Research the interest rates when you get closer to buying. Have a serious talk w/ yourself about your finances. Everyone will tell you that owning your own home is more expensive than you think. Well, it's even more expensive than that!
Also, start setting aside the amount of money (minus rent you currently pay) that you think you will be able to afford. Put it into a savings account. Once you're able to do that for 4-6 months w/o getting into it, you know you're going to be okay. And you'll have a nice emergency fund or down payment saved up!
Good luck!
Happy New Year!
2007-01-01 14:50:02 · answer #3 · answered by Josi 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Lenders will ring your phone off. But they can be full of
helpful information. there are plenty of online calculators to
help figure out how much you can qualify to borrow.
My advice..go for a 30 yr fixed rate mortgage that you
can pay off earlier if you have spare money, without
any prepayment penalty. see how much they will
let you borrow and then take 75% of that as a good place
to shoot under for the house. There will always be lots
of expenses in decorating, buying yard equipment, landscaping....
Talk to some of the internet bankers and a few local bankers,
but they all will have about the same deal. Save your money
for the down payment and moving expenses.
2007-01-01 14:36:26 · answer #4 · answered by farmer 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
i suggest asking friends & family about a realtor they have used & reccomend. having a GREAT realtor is a BIG key to finding the right house for you along with getting the deal in place.
our realtor who sold us our current home travelled to our house at midnight just to get everything done. she busted her butt to get us our house before anyone else. she did not have to do that. the sellers realtor was just going to let everything wait until the next day because he didn't want to be out late. my inlaws had the worst realtor... it really set them back... that is actually how we got our realtor... because they fell in love with the seller's realtor... she was so great... she got it done & fast.
what you need to decide is what you are looking for in a house. i suggest browsing every category of houses in your area via the net. look at their features & learn all that you can. you can never look to much. you need to realize what is necessary for you to have in a house & also consider the future.
oh... you MUST get a great house inspector... that is REALLY IMPORTANT... don't just go with the one your realtor suggests either. they sometimes work together with house inspectors... so i have heard. so, be safe & hire your own inspector.
your realtor can help you figure out the detail, but mortgage calculators will help you figure out the basics....
here is a mortgage calculator below....
2007-01-01 14:31:06 · answer #5 · answered by christy 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Get a Realtor to help, give them a price line and area that you would like to live and they will help you look.
2007-01-01 14:31:52 · answer #6 · answered by Backwoods Barbie 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Absolute first thing when looking at a house is the foundation. If you see any flaws, if the floors creak and don't appear level, keep looking.
2007-01-01 14:38:18 · answer #7 · answered by da_hammerhead 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Find a good realtor.
2007-01-01 15:19:09 · answer #8 · answered by sm4125 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋