Purchasing a house (advice)

[Z33Art]

My wife and I are in the market for a house right now and I was wondering if anyone had advice on specific aspects of a house to look at that that would make you not purchase it.

Examples would be cracks in the walls (direction specific?), furnace brand, window type, age of roof and so on. Obviously we are having a home inspector go through the house we select, but we are still trying to get as much information as possible while veiwing the homes.

Any advice would be appreciated!

[pOrk]

Do not go with advice from the bank when it comes to what you can afford, do your own math and secure your financial future. I know too many ppl that went with bank advice and lost their homes.

Foundation problems are my biggest concern, all the other stuff matters but is easily replaced if the price is right. Short sales are a pain in the ass fyi. Call Barb Miller w shorewest if you need a realtor, she is awesome

[Haulin' Oates]

^ That is great advice. If I had bought the house the bank told me I could afford I would be eating ramen noodles everyday. Idiots.

[jbiscuit]

Look at a lot of homes also. Don't settle for the first one. Tons of great homes out there for sale these days. Buy in a stable neighborhood also. A neighborhood where others on the block care for their homes. One bad seed can ruin your home value. Search Shorewest.com daily for new listings or reduced asking prices. Like Pork said, find a house with a structurally sound, dry basement. Check for mold. Look for cracking/water damage. I would also suggest you wait and look for a house in the spring when the snow melts and we get lots of rain. Go straight to the basement and check for moisture. A house might seem solid in Feb but wait till it rains! Lots of homes flood and you don't want that. Pay attention to the electrical, furnace, roof and kitchen. Big ticket items. You need a furnace that's $4500+. Need to remodel a kitchen? $5000-10000 easy. Roof on a ranch will be more expensive than a colonial 2-story etc. Keep that in mind. Don't offer too much for the house. Lots of homes have been on the market for months and months. Go in with a low offer and let them counter. No reason to pay 2006 prices in this market!

[Flicktitty]

^ That is great advice. If I had bought the house the bank told me I could afford I would be eating ramen noodles everyday. Idiots.

Atleast ramen noodles are jdm...


sorry i have nothing to add.

[WhatsADSM]

I echo both j and pork. Great advice.

Location, Location, Location. And remember this is a buyers market, and if you are first time home buyers you have even more bargaining power (since you will have no home sale contingency)... Don't just "settle" for the first thing.

Best of luck!

[PureSound15]

I do find it a bit entraining to say that a lender is an idiot for estimating what you can afford.

Limits are based on previous spending habits and debt to income ratios. A lender can't control that clients move into their home and then buy a new car, and then remodel.... And then buy this... And no longer have a savings when they lose their job.


In general I agree to figure out what you can afford on your own; but it's strange to put the blame on a lender.


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[Rocket Power]

Yep, do not settle. And also think about when you eventually will be selling it. Things like railroad tracks may not bother you that much but may limit who will buy your house down the line when you decide to move. Check out the neighborhood at different times of the day by the house once you decide on a house too.

Get a GOOD inspector. Unfortunately the one I used past away, he found stuff that the previous owners one didn't because their's had been just a "yep looks good" kinda guy. The lady half of the people we bought from started crying when he told here the things he found because she thought we'd back out. Make sure they actually check out stuff(getting on the roof, in the attic etc.)

[Holeshot]

I do find it a bit entraining to say that a lender is an idiot for estimating what you can afford.

Limits are based on previous spending habits and debt to income ratios. A lender can't control that clients move into their home and then buy a new car, and then remodel.... And then buy this... And no longer have a savings when they lose their job.


In general I agree to figure out what you can afford on your own; but it's strange to put the blame on a lender.


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Agreed. You need to live within your means. You should have 3 to 6 months mortgage in the bank if possible. You never know whats gonna happen.

[Yooformula]

I do find it a bit entraining to say that a lender is an idiot for estimating what you can afford.

Limits are based on previous spending habits and debt to income ratios. A lender can't control that clients move into their home and then buy a new car, and then remodel.... And then buy this... And no longer have a savings when they lose their job.


In general I agree to figure out what you can afford on your own; but it's strange to put the blame on a lender.


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While I agree entirely with your statement, I knew of a lender personally that would sell higher interest rates, arms and get lower income earners into higher mortgages and more expensive homes. He told me that he would be pressured to do so by the realtors for fear of losing his realtor clientel base as the REALTORS would be the driving force and just wanted a sale.

[Lash]

I do find it a bit entraining to say that a lender is an idiot for estimating what you can afford.

Limits are based on previous spending habits and debt to income ratios.

Yes.... but if you spend what they approve you for, that leaves you with next to nothing for extra savings, vacation money, or anything else even if your spending habits don't change.

[Lash]

Don't move near a gas station.

[Prince Valiant]

Be ready, even if moving into a home you can "easily" afford to adjust to new spending patterns. Even if the mortgage is similar to what you spend monthly on rent, cost of heating/electric bills, water bills, etc are all significantly different to what you've been used to, unless perhaps you're renting a house now.

Likewise, significant cost could be incurred without warning, so make sure you have the funds to cover such expenses...so a hot water heater going, or furnance/AC unit, things like that...or suddenly finding that the roof wasn't in as great a shape as you had thought it'd be.

[Z33Art]

Do not go with advice from the bank when it comes to what you can afford, do your own math and secure your financial future. I know too many ppl that went with bank advice and lost their homes.

Foundation problems are my biggest concern, all the other stuff matters but is easily replaced if the price is right. Short sales are a pain in the ass fyi. Call Barb Miller w shorewest if you need a realtor, she is awesome

Very good advice. The first thing we did was calculate our payments and we have chosen to go a couple hundred lower than what the bank recommends. We are also paying off two car loans to accommodate for property taxes.

[Z33Art]

Look at a lot of homes also. Don't settle for the first one. Tons of great homes out there for sale these days. Buy in a stable neighborhood also. A neighborhood where others on the block care for their homes. One bad seed can ruin your home value. Search Shorewest.com daily for new listings or reduced asking prices. Like Pork said, find a house with a structurally sound, dry basement. Check for mold. Look for cracking/water damage. I would also suggest you wait and look for a house in the spring when the snow melts and we get lots of rain. Go straight to the basement and check for moisture. A house might seem solid in Feb but wait till it rains! Lots of homes flood and you don't want that. Pay attention to the electrical, furnace, roof and kitchen. Big ticket items. You need a furnace that's $4500+. Need to remodel a kitchen? $5000-10000 easy. Roof on a ranch will be more expensive than a colonial 2-story etc. Keep that in mind. Don't offer too much for the house. Lots of homes have been on the market for months and months. Go in with a low offer and let them counter. No reason to pay 2006 prices in this market!

I agree about waiting till spring. We started looking now so we can narrow down the houses we don't even want to waste time with in spring. We both feel that this will also give us the necessary time to put in a fair but lower offer than the asking price.

[Z33Art]

I echo both j and pork. Great advice.

Location, Location, Location. And remember this is a buyers market, and if you are first time home buyers you have even more bargaining power (since you will have no home sale contingency)... Don't just "settle" for the first thing.

Best of luck!

I never even thought of the fact that we have an advantage as first time home buyers.

[Z33Art]

Yep, do not settle. And also think about when you eventually will be selling it. Things like railroad tracks may not bother you that much but may limit who will buy your house down the line when you decide to move. Check out the neighborhood at different times of the day by the house once you decide on a house too.

Get a GOOD inspector. Unfortunately the one I used past away, he found stuff that the previous owners one didn't because their's had been just a "yep looks good" kinda guy. The lady half of the people we bought from started crying when he told here the things he found because she thought we'd back out. Make sure they actually check out stuff(getting on the roof, in the attic etc.)

Related to home inspectors, does anyone have someone they would highly recommend?

[Russ Jerome]

Short sales are a pain in the ass fyi.

I will second the short sale issue, if you have lots of time to wait the finacial savings can be rewarding at the same time. After 8 months of work by me "I" was able to push a short sale thru over the phone and thru e-mails via Texas on my present home, I came out WAY ahead.

Had a great buyer in Collen Cutchka at Shorewest, on the opposite end of the spectrum within Shoreswest is Nicole Morn....oh my god if you read her rap sheet she should be in jail!

There are some good threads in this forum if you dig back:
http://brewcitymuscle.com/forum/show...ight=shorewest

[jbiscuit]

One thing that can be a plus about buying during the winter is pretty much every home on the market today was also on the market back in October. This has been a snowy/cold winter so nobody wants to move with 20" of snow on the ground. I would in a second if it meant saving $20k. SO if you are willing to gamble with the basement water issue in spring, you might be able to lowball an offer on a home this time of year. Be advised though that a lot of the homes for sale right now probably were bought at or near the height of the bubble and all those homeowners THINK their properties are worth much more than they potentially are. We looked at several homes in the fall right before the first snow, threw out some low numbers and the builder laughed at me.....4 months later his house is still on the market and he is paying to heat it every month. Maybe should have thought twice about my offer?

[awsomeears]

Ive said this in a few past home threads....

" When you find a home you really LOVE get a Licensed inspector more or less for the legality of things, then hire a Roofer, Structure Mason, Carpenter, Plumber and Electrician "

For instance my work charges $89.95 for a Furnace inspection with no strings attached, meaning we will point out EVERYTHING that is wrong and that is Right !!!

I'd guess any of the other trades I listed would charge the same, well worth $400 out of your pocket to get guys in there that have been doing it for Years then some inspector that has General Experience. I'm not knocking inspectors because there are a few Smarts ones out there its that you investing you hard earned $$$$ shit better be taken serious

I know furnaces & A/C systems pretty dam well, I also know how to do plumbing pretty dam good but I wouldn't offer my " Plumbing Knowledge " based off someone purchasing a home.

Get a Pro in there !!!

Ive said this before in many other threads....

When you think you found the home of your Wet Dreams hire 5 or so contractors to inspect the Basement,HVAC,Plumbing,Carpenter,Electrician and hell a Good inspector that has Legal Insurance on his ass........

I used to say no Inspector but my tune has changed because of the Legal Stand point.....

Also inspect the home right after a Wicked Storm !!!!!! You will beable to see lots of different situations pop up. If not SWEEEET !

I feel so Naughty quoting myself !!!!