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House hunting: Who is doing it? Advice from those that have been through it?
Hi everyone, I've been MIA for the past few months b/c it was a very hectic semester. I was just curious who else was currently in house hunting mode? Also, since I know many of you have recently bought houses, I was wondering if you had any advice to share.
We are looking for houses in Buffalo, NY (where DH lives 1/2 the month) and I am currently in Ann Arbor, MI. We put an offer in on a house in November, after checking out some houses while we were in Buffalo for Thanksgiving. It wasn't accepted though. We are back in Buffalo for the holidays and checked out a bunch of houses this past Friday. We were going to put an offer in on one on Sunday but were told on Saturday that they accepted another offer. The market is pretty limited right now, so I think we are going to hold off till spring when we will hopefully have more (and better) options. I just find the whole process an emotional roller coaster as I easily become emotionally attached to houses. I just keep telling myself that the longer we wait the better house we can afford. I've just totally have been in a nesting mode since the wedding, and have been a bit obsessed with house hunting.
Trip to Prague & bring home furbaby when we get back
~ Karen ~
**Wedding/House/Travel Bio **
Re: House hunting: Who is doing it? Advice from those that have been through it?
It can be upsetting when a house you love goes to someone else. That happened to us twice, but third time was the charm and now I can't imagine living anywhere else.
Have you been pre-approved for a mortgage yet? How much do you have for a down payment, will you have 20% down? If not you'll have to look into PMI insurance (that's what we had to do). Do you have an agent helping you? We had a great one and that made the process really easy compared to horror stories I have heard from other couples.
Spring definitely brings more homes on the market for several reasons, so I would hold off through these winter months.
As PP mentioned; step 1 is going to a mortgage broker and getting pre-approved. You need to know what $$$$ you are looking at. (Also, just because they tell you that you guys can afford a $500K home, make sure you BOTH are comfortable with what the payments would be..with taxes, pmi, bills, existing debt payments etc) Step 2, as a buyer, get a realtor! Get someone you trust to work on your behalf. The seller pays your realtor fees, so no worries. Do NOT use a joint realtor (as in the realtor selling the home becomes your realtor) they are to act of the behalf of both parties, but let's face it - they are trying to SELL that house first and foremost, not get you to BUY it! Step 3, look into all the incentive plans available; first time home buyer, etc. Remember that YOUR in control of the sale, so always negotiate everything. Whether it's the price of the home, things to be fixed first, closing costs (you can roll them into the mortgage if the seller allows, which they will since they get a fat check at settlement anyway), settlement date, etc.
I'm fairly recent to the house hunting game, so if you have any specific questions feel free to ask. Also, my husband is amazing at all of the annoying details in purchasing a home, so I can always seek his advice for you as well.
Happy Hunting for Your Home!!
Get a GOOD agent. It won't cost you a dime. We are not all evil.
A good agent will hold your hand and walk you through the entire process. If you get a weird feeling from an agent you are currently working with, find another one. You can't throw a rock in Nashville without hitting one of us, and I doubt your city is any different.
I had a bad agent when I bought my first home, which is what inspired me to become one (a good one, though - haha!). It really does make all the difference.
good luck!!
MARRIED 10.10.10 !!
October 2010 Siggy Challenge - walking down the aisle!
It's called a Facilitator. At that point, the real estate agent defaults to someone who is facilitating the purchase/sale for both parties and does not actually "represent" either party anymore. There is nothing wrong with using a licensed facilitator.
"they are trying to SELL that house first and foremost, not get you to BUY it!" I don't understand this statement, but anyhoo.... If you have worked with a facilitator and felt the person was dishonest, file a complaint with your local real estate commission/licensing office. We are licensed professionals and if we act in a less than professional way, we deserve to have our license revoked. I am working on facilitating a deal right now and I am looking after the best interests of both parties. That is my job.
Not every Real Estate Agent is a "Realtor." One must be a member of their local and state Association of Realtors AND the National Association of Realtors in order to use that trademarked name. They are held to a higher degree of standards and I always recommend using a Realtor, not just an agent.
MARRIED 10.10.10 !!
October 2010 Siggy Challenge - walking down the aisle!
I agree that the market is a lot slower in the winter...we started looking for a house last January, and closed on one in March. The winter actually worked to our benefit in a way though, because the seller really wanted to unload the house before spring (it was an estate sale with a bank as trustee).
Another tip I have to mention that I don't think was mentioned above, is factoring in closing costs...I hadn't even known we had to pay those until I started the house hunt with DH. Those add up to a few thousand dollars that I think most first-time homebuyers forget about. However, you can sometimes get those worked into the contract.
Also...DH and I watched a LOT of HGTV...lol House Hunters and especially Property Virgins became our best friends!
Dx w/PCOS 3/2011 | BFP 7/25/11 | EDD 4/3/12
Dx w/IUGR 1/31/12 | C-section 2/7/12 @ 32 weeks
We were really into house hunting the month after the wedding, I think it kind of gave us both a project to do.
Like pp's said, the best starting point is knowing what you're approved for (since you've put on an offer, I'd assume you know this). After one mortgage broker ran the details, we found out we were approved for what we wanted, but that our monthly payments would be $600 higher than we want. (Thus we've decided to save another year).
The biggest thing is know what you want, what you don't want and what your priorities are.
Make a list of everything you and DH want and each assign a rank to each and then discuss and combine your ranking so that together you have a priority list. Know what you're willing to settle on/give up - could you manage a single sink instead of 2 in a master bath, can you handle a balcony instead of a deck in a condo, etc?
Luckily we know what we want and we have a family friend that's a realtor and he's really helpful. He has said he's really impressed with how well defined our wants and needs are.
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This is all great advice, thanks! We are actually pre-approved for more than we want to spend on a home as we figured out our budget based on Bill's full time job and not his consulting income (inconsistent) and my grad student stipend (won't have as I'm trying to start my own business). We don't want to be house-poor as we want to be able to travel a lot and have money to support our businesses. Though I must admit it is tempting to look at the houses we could afford according to the bank as they are super nice ;-) Buying in our comfort range also means we can put 20% down which cuts out PMI and we can waive the escrow account.
My Mom's cousin is our realtor, which is great because I feel comfortable telling her things I wouldn't another realtor.
Since both of our families live in the Buffalo area we also have the advantage to take our time in buying something as we can always put our stuff in storage and crash with family for a couple of months. I just have to keep telling myself that being patient will pay off in the long run.
Trip to Prague & bring home furbaby when we get back
~ Karen ~
**Wedding/House/Travel Bio **
I am going to echo a little what PP have said. Don't forget closing costs, those can be a smack in the face when you go to sign the papers if you aren't prepared. My SIL was on the phone to us crying when she heard what hers would be.
Also prepare yourself for the finances other than the mortage. Think about how your utlity bills will change when you are in the new house. Also really consider the expenses if you have to fix something up. Our house was an absolute steal, but we had to get it rewired, put in a new furnance and put on a new roof in the first year. If your new house needs any major repairs just have a realistic expectation of what they will cost and a plan for how you will pay for them. Also keep in mind what you will need for your new house, are you going to want to get new furniture for the bare rooms right away?
I guess the moral is think of other expenses besides the mortage. The mortage can seem so doable when you are doing all of the financing. It is the art of working all of the day to day expenses in with it that makes things harder.
40/112
DH and I bought a house about a yr. 1/2 ago because I was so sick of renting and in Syracuse its way cheaper to buy then rent. Our area never had a housing climax or bottom out. Plus we wanted to get the 8K rebate.
Anyhoo... I was IN LOVE with this one house in a pretty good area of the city and it was a good price. Well we went to an open house on a sunday and it was sold that night grr barely enough time to get ahold of our realtor to work up a bid.
About a month or 2 later, 10 or so more houses down we found one in an even better neighborhood at the same price and grabbed it. I think it worked out for the best but I dont know that we will be here forever. Its an AWFUL process and I hope to avoid it for a long time but once you find the first nest move in and get settles its an awesome feeling and worth all the sweat and tears! GL!
I don't have anything new to add that hasn't already been said, but I just wanted to wish you luck!
DH and I bought our first home the month before the wedding. The process was crazy and emotional for me; several times I almost needed to leave work early because I'd worked myself up so much over this or that. And normally I'm a pretty level-headed person, it was just such a big purchase and such a huge step in our lives right at an already emotion-crazy time (the wedding).
Just remember to relax as much as you can. You'll fall in love with houses and "lose" them, but it all works out in the end for the best. We missed our chance at a great big fixer-upper that I thought I really, really wanted. Then we found our little home and fell in love, especially with the fact that it had just been renovated and the rehab-ers had done everything I would have done! I know that if we had gone for the bigger house we would be swimming in to-dos and this past couple of months would have been hell. As it is, we love our house and have only had to do minor, every-day household type things.
Chrissy & David -- 10/10/10
This is my "OMG-Don't-Drop-Me" face
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