I may be looking into finally buying a house

[Pallidrone]

Anyone have any tips or anything I should be looking for?

I have read a lot of things online, but I know that sometimes the best source of information is first hand from people that have already gone through this process.

[|IB|NieN]

Congrats man. I just got my first house and I didnt really go through the normal channels to get it. So, Im not sure I can offer much information other than the obvious stuff.

Like, go over the house with a fine toothed comb and make sure you use every imperfection to get the price down. Its a huge investment and even shit that you would normally let go, you should bring to their attention. One small imperfection somewhere can turn into a huge problem later.

Anyway, like I said... all common sense shit. I wish I could help ya out more.

[FADES]

I've built the only two houses I have lived in; so buying pre-existing is something I know nothing about. Nien is right though. I have even done that with my builders.

One thing that you may want to ask about is getting a second mortgage so you avoid paying the PMI insurance. I forget what that is all about; but ask about it. Our bank told us about doing that.

[KegRun]

I dont know shit yet about house buying, but congrats palli! I'm hoping to be in the same situation in 2008. Hope to buy a house before I hit 30!

[POWERhouse]

Basically, You are suppose to have 20% of the price of the house to put as a down payment. Back in the day, I don't think you could even buy a house unless you had that. Well, in todays wide world of credit cards and $30,000 cars, not many people have that amount of money to put down, so companies started offering 100% financing for houses, but you have to pay PMI if you do that. Its basically an insurance for the mortgage company incase you decide not to pay for your house, they don't want to be stuck trying to sell your house at 100% of the value. So, you can either pay PMI which might be as small as $40 a month included into your house payment, or you can get two seperate mortgages like Fades mentioned. When you finally get the amount you owe on your house to less than 80% of its value most mortgage companies will let you drop the PMI (you have to call and request it). You can get it to less than 80% by doing home improvements, by your area's market value going up, or simply making the payments and watching for that day.

Get a good realtor and make them work for their money, they should pretty much take care of all the paperwork and everything else for you, until closing day when you get to practice signing your name.

Good luck with your purchase, buying a house is a smart investment, you can almost never go wrong. Unlike buying cars, which is one of the worst investments you can make, or renting an apartment or house which is like flushing money down the toilet.

[POWERhouse]

Another thing I would do if I were you, is decide how much you would be comfortable paying, and go online and find a mortgage calculator to see what price range you should be looking in. Don't let the mortgage company tell you what you can get approved for, it might be more than what you want to handle.

Thats what I did, I could have got financed for more, but it would have been hard as hell to make the payments every month.

When you do the calculator, don't forget about closing cost. I thought I was going to have a small down payment on my house, come to find out it barely covered the closing cost.

[Pallidrone]

ahh thanks for the responses guys.

I am currently renting at a rediculous amount per month (which is why I want to buy a house). The amount that I pay in rent a month (around $2000) could be put towards something I own instead. If I can get a payment (with insurance and taxes) at around $2600 a month I will be a happy guy.

The mortgage I am not as worried about. My wife is a manager for Bank of America, so we can get a good rate and loan through them. I guess what I am looking for is any pitfalls that may come with buying a house.

Like there was a person that I know that bought a house. They loved the house and got it in the summer. Well when winter came, they came to find out that there was a lot of heat that escaped from there, and to keep it warm there bill for heat in december came at a tune of $600. They had to get a pellet stove just to try and keep the costs down. I am wondering if there is anything like that I should be totally aware of.

[FADES]

That's what inspectors are for. Also, you can request billing from the house for the past year. $2,600 a month is a shitload of house here in Indiana! Perhaps you should consider moving here, Palli! You can see my house in my car thread. We pay close to $1,500 a month. Of course, we have a 5% interest rate since we bought over 4 years ago.

Thanks for explaining that, Power. It all came back to me when you said the 20% down part. That was a killer! Took all the money we made off our old house to do that.

[Pallidrone]

It is just a cost of living difference. NJ is one of the most friggin expensive states to live in but the pay is also a lot higher here then most states as well.

Yet we have some of the cheapest gas prices in the US. Go figure.

We are looking at the $300-350k range for a house. That is the average for a moderate house here. On top of that we are looking at anywhere from $4000-6000 a year in property taxes. That is where I get the $2600 or so a month. That is on the high end of what we can swing, but we can do it.

So do I shop for a ruthelss inspector? Is that someone I can find in the Yellow Pages?

[SpazTheProphet]

make sure you check ever nook in the house when you are interested in it. open EVERY window, turn on EVERY faucet. make SURE the water comes out hot. check EVERY switch and outlet. be as anal as you can be. we had money knocked off my house because the painters decided to paint over the bottoms of the windows so that they were stuck down. all you had to do was take a knife and slit it so it can open, but it still WAS an issue.

also realize now that real estate is horrifying in nj. selling houses is a big problem. i got a friend in marlboro whose mom is trying to sell the house and man they are going crazy over it. and its a 5 bedroom (1 master) 2 1/2 bath (1 master) with a connected balcony between 1 bedroom and the master bedroom. a deck in the back, jacuzzi, corner lot with a good amount of land (especially for marlboro) and 2 car garage. and they have had it up for over a month with NO ONE interested.

take your time, act like you have OCD like crazy when you look. and always try to look at the increase in tax rates over the years. youd be suprised how much sometimes they can rise in 5-10 years

[|IB|NieN]

Yeah, damn... that is a high house payment.

I pay $1,200 a month at 6 1/4 percent. House is $300,000. Its not a mansion or anything, but it is on a very large piece of land so I figured it would be worth it. Not like these big ass houses you see that are on a 1/4 acre. Mine is a nice house on an acre.

Definetely have to get a good inspector. Just make sure you communicate with them that you want to know EVERYTHING wrong with the house.

[LightBringer]

omg, $2600 a month!! /me deflates the dream of owning a house

[FADES]

Yup, all houses cost $2600 per month or more, LB. Forget it. lol

Yeah, Palli, listen to Spaz. Be completely anal about everything. Think the whole time, 'Is there a reason they are selling the house other than getting divorced/relocated/whatever?'

Getting a realtor is a HUGE key. Make sure they are experienced and have a good reputation. Have them take you to a lot of homes so you can get a good feel for what is available in your price range. Keep in mind that if you buy pre-existing that you may want to leave a little spending room for renovations like painting, appliances, etc. if needed. Remember that if you like something in the house a lot of sellers will sell things right along with the house. Home entertainment systems, pool tables, appliances, furniture. Never hurts to ask if something can be included.

[Pallidrone]

hmm - I will definitly do that Spaz, that is a good idea.

I know it is definitly a buyers market right now in Jersey, which is why I am trying to look now. That and I am tired of paying so much rent and not getting any ROI on it.

Spaz, what do you think of the Hazlet/Matawan/Old Bridge area? My wife really wants to move to Matawan, mainly because her family is there, and we have seen a couple of interesting houses and a few over the friggin top house.

I personally dont care where we live as long as it is a decent house where I am not dumping a crap load of money into it each and every month. I guess that is my biggest concern. I can deal with painting and putting up sheetrock and shit like that, but I dont want to pay electricians and plumbers all the time because that shit is fucked up.

[Pallidrone]

omg, $2600 a month!! /me deflates the dream of owning a house

Its just this area man. If you live anywhere besides the Northeast (New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Mass) or California, the housing and property taxes are a hell of a lot less. Property taxes are killer around here.