Just Married!! What do we do now?

lizandlearn · June 2014

So we got married a month ago!! WOOHOO! and now we are thinking about starting the process of buying a house!

I have googled, and searched Pinterest but am having some trouble figuring this out....

1) how long does the process take from start to finish? We just resigned our lease, so we have exactly 1 year to get our ducks in a row.

2) which comes first pre-approval or realtor?

3) how do you recommend selecting a realtor?

4) tips/advice on choosing a home?

Thanks for the help!

Sisugal · June 2014

Step 1 - get your finances in order, pay off consumer debt, build an emergency fund of 6 month's EXPENSES before you even think about buying a house.
Make sure you have your closing costs saved, moving costs, start up costs, repair/renovation costs, decorating/furniture/appliances/ yard items and tools.
Now before you get pre approved - look at your budget and see how much of your monthly income do you want to spend on housing. The recommended amount is 25-28% of your TAKEHOME pay (to cover mortgage+PMI+insurance+taxes+HOA (HCOL area 30-35%). More than that amount you can easily find yourself house poor.

Next - make a list of NEEDS that the house must meet. - no compromising on them - you need then.
Then - a list of wants (this is where you will need to compromise and you will not get them all)

Read 2 Books - Home Buying for Dummies and Mortgages for Dummies. Great information.
Take your time, become financially prepared, know your area - then act.
Good luck.

musictchr25 · June 2014

Take this time to start researching neighborhoods and cutting back on unnecessary costs to help you save a little more in the next year. Here is a full run-down on how to go about purchasing a home:

http://www.rhodylife.com/2013/10/how-to-buy-house.html

Also, here is a list of items to have checked during your home inspection, after you agree with the seller on a price:

http://www.rhodylife.com/2013/07/home-inspection-checklist.html

Lastly, once you have the house, here's a great list of items that you'll need to think about purchasing:

http://www.rhodylife.com/2013/06/new-home-survival-list.html

Bubblegum5586 · June 2014

All great advice above, just wanted to share that it took us 45 days from our offer to our closing. Everyone I know was SHOCKED how fast it all happened.

megaugust3 · July 2014

Congrats on your marriage and your decision to buy a home together!

Everyone here has given you GREAT advice so I can only just elaborate a little further...

1. Sisugal is correct in that your biggest step is getting your finances in order. This can be a difficult step, so taking time to see what you feel comfortable spending out of pocket and what you feel comfortable spending monthly on your new home is something you will need to figure out for yourself first. Don't base this on "well I plan to make more in the future". Base these figures on your current ability to pay and purchase. If possible, start saving so you can put as much money down as possible.

One thing most first-time buyers don't know is that on-top of the down payment you have to make for your mortgage, there are a lot of closing costs associated with the home purchase you will also have to pay for upfront. Most of these are taxes - transfer tax (look up your local transfer tax rates - here in Philadelphia it is 2% of the sales price for the buyer), real estate taxes escrowed for the entire next year and taxes owed back to the seller along with a lot of fees paid to the mortgage and title company. So ask your Realtor or mortgage rep for estimated costs on a few properties to get a better sense of your purchasing ability. Remember annual taxes will greatly change what you can afford where.

2. When you buy a home, you are assembling a team to support you through the process - a Realtor, a mortgage representative and a title services team (and perhaps a real estate attorney depending on your state). The best way to do this is by finding professionals through referral. Ask a friend or family member who went through a similar home purchase (similar neighborhood and price point) who they used and if they were happy with them. If your friend purchased a Million-dollar home and you are looking to buy around $250,000, while their real estate agent may be versed in luxury homes, they may not be so in your range - as a heads up.

Now I suggest getting a conversation going with a mortgage representative first unless you don't have any good recommendations coming your way, then turn to a recommended real estate agent and just tell him or her that you are looking a year out and need a referred lender. While you don't want to be pre-approved at this point, it will be helpful to know where your credit stands in case you need to do any credit repair. Remember to make sure you are keeping perfect credit before your home purchase in order to get the best rate on your mortgage. Talking with a lender/mortgage representative will be able to steer you in the right direction on what you can afford and what you need to do to get your finances in order.

3. It might take you a while to find the right home, so start looking now to get a better feel for neighborhoods, school districts and to get an idea of what areas offer over a year's worth of market data. The best place to look online is Realtor.com because they have the most accurate listing data.

4. If you do talk with a real estate agent, just be upfront about your time schedule and your plans - they will still be happy to help.

Best of luck!

- Meg Augustin, Realtor

Berkshire Hathaway Fox and Roach

216 E Lancaster Ave

Wayne, PA 19087

meg.augustin@foxroach.com

lizandlearn · July 2014

Thanks for the help! It sounds like research is the key. What else do I need to know??

Xstatic3333 · July 2014

I'm in the middle of the home buying process right now (scheduled close is 7/25) and PPs have great advice!

Another recommendation I have is to think long and hard with your H about what level of a fixer-upper you are comfortable with. We were initially entranced by the idea of a total fixer upper, then thought a little more and realized it just wouldn't fit in our lifestyle right now. We ended up going for a home that needs only cosmetic updates that we can do slowly, and largely ourselves.

Another thing we did, even though we are a couple of years from TTC, is figure out a rough "baby budget." I really didn't want to end up too house-poor for kids, and putting this on paper helped H get realistic about the budget. We used our current salaries to build in a good buffer. In general, I'd figure out your max budget before getting preapproved. Many lenders will preapprove you for a level of home that would destroy your lifestyle, and we really wanted to avoid that. GL!

BlueBirdMB · July 2014

lizandlearn said:

So we got married a month ago!! WOOHOO! and now we are thinking about starting the process of buying a house!

I have googled, and searched Pinterest but am having some trouble figuring this out....

1) how long does the process take from start to finish? We just resigned our lease, so we have exactly 1 year to get our ducks in a row.
2) which comes first pre-approval or realtor?
3) how do you recommend selecting a realtor?
4) tips/advice on choosing a home?

Thanks for the help!

1. 4 weeks minimums but otherwise it depends on circumstances and negotiations. Ours was 7 weeks, which was pretty short because we actually closed on the original closing date, which some people can't do.

2. Pre-approval. A lot of realtors won't work with you if you aren't pre-approved because they may simply be wasting their time.

3. I have no idea. We went with a woman who was one of my clients- I like the keep things "in the family" if I can.

4. I highly recommend not being "house poor". Seriously, if I had a dime for everyone I knew that maxed out their budget and then didn't have a dollar left for anything after. You should also keep an emergency reserve fund and some extra money for any repairs, improvements, or furnishing/decorations. It's important to understand that you may not be able to have EVERYTHING you want. Living within your means is whats most important. Buying a house you can easily afford also helps with a quick, easy, buying process.

My other advice is to pay the extra money to have other professionals inspect the house, not just the inspector. Inspectors have restrictions on what exactly they can look at, while say, a plumber or heating guy doesn't have those restrictions. It's worth it in the long run.

JoanE2012 · July 2014

To further reiterate what others said about budget, keep in mind that a fixed mortgage rate doesn't mean a fixed mortgage payment for the life of the loan. It probably will adjust each year as taxes rise. Depending on the area you live in, this can be significant. Our monthly payment just went up by almost $300 to adjust for escrow.

Just Married!! What do we do now?

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