Same-Sex Households
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
House???
My wife and I are beginning the process of buying a home...where do we start??? I am usually pretty capable of figuring things out but this is all very confusing and overwhelming. Right now we are in getting the credit cards paid off and save mode but what happens after that? Any help in the right direction would be great. My family has always been renters and hers are very small town and dont understand how housing can cost so much here. I know we are looking in the 300K range for anything not attached to another home around here.
We had three BFN in the Fall of 2011. It is back on to some baby making come June. Swim little fellas, SWIM!!!!
Re: House???
1. Pay off debt, not including car payment and student loan payments (mine are still deferred as I'm in school).
2. Take a local real estate workshop. Here in Seattle they're offered frequently often by agents/brokers with a short plug, but the basic info is good generally tailored to you local market. I also know that there are also non-profit groups that will do one-on-one planning if you qualify based on income.
3. Pull your credit reports. You can generally get it online for free or cheap. It's good to know for yourself what's all on there and your exact scores.
4. Figure out how much you can/want to spend per month. Depending on income, other expenses, lifestyle/spending etc this can be different from what you qualify for. Once you know a monthly amount that will work, you can figure out how much of a mortgage you feel comfortable with.
4. Get financed. Choose a lender and see what they will loan you. Become familiar with all the terms including APR, PMI etc before hand. Compare with at least a few companies before you decide. Get a pre-approval letter.
5. Find an agent/broker and start looking.
I'm sure that there is more than this, but these are the basics. Hopefully others that have done this already can share their experience and knowledge.
I also lurk on the real estate board sometimes ; )
Good Luck!
thats a really fantastic list!
I would also go onto realtor.com and set up an account where they email you new listings of houses that meet your certain criteria (price, bedrooms, ect) - that way you can keep your eye on the market and really get a feel for how much house your $ will buy you. That way you'll also be prepared to make an educated offer when the time comes.
Also, dont be afraid to pop into open houses - we did this months before we were actually ready to move on a house and it helped us figure out exactly what we wanted with no pressure.
Blogs: Our Growing Family - CT Working Moms
