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So right now I'm thinking our target date for home ownership is Spring 2015, and I'm wondering how far in advance we should start looking at home/getting approved for a mortgage/etc. I'd never really thought about it before, but after perusing some of the threads around here, it seems like it takes some people quite awhile to find the right home. So, homeowners, if you don't mind, here's what I'd like to know:
-How long did it take you to find your home?
-When you chose your home, was it your "dream" home, or was it a starter/"good enough for now" home?
-Do you plan to upgrade/downsize/relocate in the future? If so, when? How did that factor into your home choice?
-What was your budget (home price/taxes)?
-Where'd you end up? Are you happy with your choice?
Never too early to start looking, but keep in mind that things like mortgage rates and stuff expire even if you're locked in. But the sooner you have your feet in, the better you are at guageing the market and stuff.
1. It took us close to 12 months from the first viewing with our realtor. Of course, months and months of MLSLI and Redfin lurking even before we signed up with a pro.
2. definitely "good enough" since it was one of the firsts we saw and immediately checked off our list. We came to our senses and got realistic about what we could afford.
3. We don't have kids yet, but we plan on moving to a better district when they get older. Or, could Pat-Med improve? lol
It's different for different people. I have had some clients who buy a home within a month and others who took two years.
Your first step is to meet with a mortgage professional and get a good handle on what you can afford and what your costs and monthly payment might be. Keep in mind that many people qualify for a much larger mortgage then they are comfortable with. So be realistic with yourself.
Next, if you have not already done so, focus on finding the area where you would like to live given your budget. Take the time to investigate it thoroughly and visit several times on different days and at different hours.
Once you have done those things you can start looking at houses. As I said earlier, it takes different people different amounts of time to find the right home. But, keep in mind that once you start looking you may just walk into the house that is perfect for you. So, if that happens you want to be ready to move forward.
I drove in at ll:00 p.m. Friday carefully watching my gps because I hadn't been to Long Island before. Then I found a realtor I really loved Sunday and point blank asked her if she could find me a house in three days because I was spinning my wheels. I made an offer/had it accepted on Tuesday around 5:00.
Wednesday morning was the house inspection. I stuck around until Friday morning to make sure there was nothing else I had to do and drove back to finish packing up my house in SC.
House is ok. Not a dream house but it works for us.
I will stay here as long as I stay on Long Island.
I do love the area. Hindsight -- A lot of time was wasted worrying/stressing because I bought so quick I didn't know much about the area. Once I got here and spent more time it was evident the area is great.
I'm now in Westchester (Ossining), but Long Island was part of my search (had lived there all my life).
We had a targeted Spring 2012 move-in, and started looking toward the end of 2010. We knew the search would take longer, because we ideally wanted to stay under $250,000 for a 2BR+, even if it needed a little fixing up. Criteria: Patchogue to the east, Smithtown to the west, Massapequa to west (unless something really good came up, we didn't really want to live in Nassau), and within a 15-minute walk to the LIRR.
We did see a few houses in that range, but the ones that were close enough to the LIRR needed considerable work or way too small. (We found one in Brightwaters that was going for $175k, but needed a good gutting... the whole second floor was covered in raccoon urine and feces, eww. It found a flipper, surprisingly.) After six months of searching on Long Island, my hubby's job situation changed and we opened the search to Westchester and Connecticut as well.
We then found a short sale in Westchester that was going to be a bit of a steal. It was 5BR, 3B, 2,100 SF Victorian; asking price was $230k. It needed at least $100k worth of work (mostly plumbing, which had been stripped, and electrical), but was a good candidate for a 203k mortgage. We offered $170k given the state of the systems, but the seller's broker hinted we could probably drop it down even further. (That there was probably a good sign that this was going to be a headache and she wanted out.) So we offered $150k, and the sellers immediately accepted. We went into contract, but the bank kept stringing us along. I don't think the seller's broker or lawyer were too happy after doing all that work. A root canal was less painful than trying to extract a status from the bank.
By the eight-month mark we were fidgety, and mortgage rates were beginning to creep up again. We drove up to the house to check on it, and saw another house for sale nearby. It was smaller—4BR, 1B, 1,800 SF—but was also a Victorian. Asking price was a bit above what we originally budgeted, but just had its third drop. In the eight months we'd waited for the short sale to go through, we'd built up some savings, so we decided to place an offer on it, even though it was above our original threshold. The seller accepted, we went into contract, and purchased the property—that, overall, took about four months, because the seller wanted to wait until the school year was over to move.
But we were still in contract for the short sale, and would lose money if we cut out of the short sale contract early. So we crossed our fingers that the 12-month mark would go by without incident. But it did, we were released from the contract, and got our money back. We moved in last summer, and a few months after we moved in, the short sale house's price was dropped to $150k cash only. Now, it's off the market, and we're wondering if they're finally taking foreclosure action on it. It's still as vacant as ever.
This is a good long-term home, but we went for a 15-year anyway. We'll likely stay here unless job situations change or we grow out of the house. In a way, it is like a dream home—I grew up in a late 1880s house with all these nooks and crannies, around the same age of the house we just bought. It certainly has character. Needs some fixing, but we were able to move in right away. I'm glad we didn't go for the larger house, because just keeping up with this one has been enough for me!
So right now I'm thinking our target date for home ownership is Spring 2015, and I'm wondering how far in advance we should start looking at home/getting approved for a mortgage/etc. I'd never really thought about it before, but after perusing some of the threads around here, it seems like it takes some people quite awhile to find the right home. So, homeowners, if you don't mind, here's what I'd like to know:
-How long did it take you to find your home?
-When you chose your home, was it your "dream" home, or was it a starter/"good enough for now" home?
-Do you plan to upgrade/downsize/relocate in the future? If so, when? How did that factor into your home choice?
-What was your budget (home price/taxes)?
-Where'd you end up? Are you happy with your choice?
Thanks!
About 10 minutes. Seriously, it was the first house we looked at in person. If you add in the time it took to setup with the realtor, read and sign the buyer's agency agreement, look at links she sent online, etc. then it was a several hours. And we did spend 2 full days looking at houses to make sure it was right, and we had another in mind if it failed inspection. Since we were moving from out of state we only had 3 days to find a house and make an offer. We did spend a few weeks on mlsli to get a feel for the market and select the towns we were interested in before arriving in person.
Unless you have won the lottery, your home will most likely be a compromise. Unless you lose/change jobs, you may be in longer than you planned. We knew what we were willing to settle on and what was necessary. Our house is definitely not a starter, also not what I would build with a chunk of land and extensive funding.
We plan to relocate back out west to the Rockies after the kids are grown. Unless they settle here with grandchildren, but hopefully they won't. Homebuying - searching, negotiating, inspecting, mortgage rectal exams, closing - stinks. Homeselling - editing belongings, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, leaving the house for showings, paying realtor commission that exceeds capital gains - also stinks. I do it as little as possible, so will not be relocating locally by choice.
Budget was what we could afford and not be completely house poor. It is always more expensive than you think to own a home, so don't budget too close to the wire. We put down a little more than 20%. Once you've closed, think of it as sunk cost and stop watching the market. A home is a long term investment so it doesn't matter if your mortgage is upside down in year 4 if you are going to be there for 20.
We ended up in Suffolk county. Yes, we are happy with our choice. We bought the cheapest house in a nice neighborhood, one we couldn't have afforded had it not been 2010 and the house vacant for 3 years.
Both purchases took about two months to find the right house. First house was a starter but we are definately in the dream house category now (minus one or two little things) . First budget was under 2k a month and second house was 2500. Had a lot of equity to put down the second time.
Don't plan on leaving for at least 20 more years but downsizing after the kids are out would be practical. Both homes are in Smithtown and we could not be any happier with the house, neighborhood and everything Smithtown has to offer.
I started looking in Fall 2012. Put an offer for a house in Great Neck, didn't get it. Put another offer for a house in Port Washington spring 2013, didn't get it.
I was in no rush to move, and my kid is only 18months old so no need for school yet. It allowed me to browse casually, but jump on any good houses.
However, since Deblasio got elected mayor, I want to get the hell out of Brooklyn while my property values are still high, and before he taxes the hell out of the "rich" people. So I'm looking again at houses in the North Shore, but with a little more urgency, but at the same time I don't want to settle for just any house.
As someone noted above, 1st thing to do is get pre-qualified for a mortgage so you know what you can afford, and it will allow you to jump on house in case a good one comes.
I have owned 4 homes and it varies based on your needs.
Basically know your budget, what you want in a home and your desired location. If you don't need to be near public transportation etc that will simplify your search as well. Short Sales can take up to 4 months so if in a rush stay away from those.
Good luck with your search, it's usually a lot of fun.
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