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Old 11-15-2013, 02:28 PM
 
169 posts, read 180,490 times
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First post here. Just found these forums and they will be a wealth of information.

I anticipate buying my first home some time in the next 3-5 years, maybe sooner. This is all unchartered territory for me.

How do I go about educating myself on the home buying process? Are there books I should read? Websites I should go to? Other forums?

I need to learn EVERYTHING! Mortgages and financing, selecting a community, selecting a home, appraisals, bidding and offers and lots more I probably don't even know about.

I grew up in the Greater Boston area (just north of Boston) and live in the comunity in which I grew up. I am a single woman and will probably be looking at condos or townhouses - looking for maintenance free living. I would be looking either north shore to NH border within 128, west within 128 and possibly south shore towards the Cape off Rte 3 as I have family in the area.

So my question to all you wise folks is - where do I begin? I am starting to look at the real estate section on boston.com just to get a feel for what's out there. What about zillow, trulia and similar websites? Are they helpful? I seem to have seen that there information is not always accurate. How so?

I have a friend who is a realtor but I don't want to pick her brain as I don't know if I will use her services or not (the old mixing business with pleasure). I don't want to enlist any realtor just yet as I am a ways away from making a purchase and don't want to waste anyone's time or have anyone hound me.

So I am hopeful you folks can point me in the right direction.

Thanks so much!
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Old 11-15-2013, 03:06 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts & Hilton Head, SC
9,945 posts, read 15,531,205 times
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Welcome. You can ask the members here for information about various communities.

I use Trulia for scanning properties for sale.
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Old 11-15-2013, 03:09 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
6,301 posts, read 9,601,509 times
Reputation: 4797
This forum is a wealth of insider experiences of various towns you will not find elsewhere. I learn from hearing from others as well as answering other people's questions.

I recommend you do what I have been doing. Start visiting some towns you are interested in, go to some open houses, buy a small item at the local grocery stores, go to the coffee shops, places to eat, walk around the green spaces. If the natives look friendly, strike up some conversations. Keep an open mind, especially in the beginning, because you never know what you may like.
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Old 11-15-2013, 03:14 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts & Hilton Head, SC
9,945 posts, read 15,531,205 times
Reputation: 8551
I should also add that we have a forum on this site entitled "Real Estate" where you can ask your questions about the actual buying process, in addition to this local forum.
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Old 11-16-2013, 07:57 AM
 
Location: Needham, MA
8,530 posts, read 13,935,652 times
Reputation: 7913
Quote:
Originally Posted by 495neighbor View Post
This forum is a wealth of insider experiences of various towns you will not find elsewhere. I learn from hearing from others as well as answering other people's questions.

I recommend you do what I have been doing. Start visiting some towns you are interested in, go to some open houses, buy a small item at the local grocery stores, go to the coffee shops, places to eat, walk around the green spaces. If the natives look friendly, strike up some conversations. Keep an open mind, especially in the beginning, because you never know what you may like.
Excellent advice. Asking questions about specific towns here on the forum (and searching for old threads about them as well) will get you TONS of information often from people who currently or have previously lived there. Granted this will be mixed with people's personal opinions which may or may not apply to your own situation. So, it's best to combine this with a in person examination of the town. Spend a day looking at one or two towns at a time and you'll get a good feel for them.

Quote:
Originally Posted by CaseyB View Post
I should also add that we have a forum on this site entitled "Real Estate" where you can ask your questions about the actual buying process, in addition to this local forum.
The real estate forum is great, but real estate laws and norms vary greatly from state to state and often from town to town. So, keeping it local in this forum might be best.

I don't cover the north shore, but if the OP ever wants to have a chat with me about the real estate process I'm happy to offer up some of my time.
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Old 11-16-2013, 02:09 PM
 
1,768 posts, read 3,224,964 times
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Take some time. Do not rush in before you can understand the process, and who will have your back, who doesn't. Also talk to people, check some books on mortgage and home buying in local library. You can never know too much. Get referrals for realtors, mortgage brokers, inspectors, lawyers, etc..If you can line up some of these folks before you leap, it will be much less stress for you.
Also, stick to your guns as much as possible, as well as your budget, and do not trust anyone 100%. In the end, it is quite enjoyable and exciting to be picking your first home, and you will know when you are ready.
Good luck.
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Old 11-17-2013, 02:16 PM
 
Location: Cape Cod
24,297 posts, read 17,014,286 times
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Since you plan on buying in the next 3-5 years you are a long way out and have plenty of time to learn the areas, prices and process. It seems like you have already decided on a condo or townhouse so that really limits your search. DO check out Zillow and Trulia but remember that their price estimates are estimates and not written in stone. What is wrong with tapping your friends experience? It doesn't take much time to send you some helpful links and get you signed up for a email campaign where you can watch the latest properties to hit the market and get a feel for trends.
Since you are far out from actually buying you wouldn't want to get preapproved or anything like that but what is wrong with talking with a bank rep or mortgage writer. They will give you tips to increase your credit score and tell you what not to do, like buy a new car, when you are getting ready to apply for a mortgage.
There is also nothing wrong with going to open houses, just let the agent know that you are not buying yet.
Buying a house is a big step so the better educated you are the better decision you will make.
Good luck.
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Old 11-17-2013, 04:20 PM
 
Location: Funkotron, MA
1,203 posts, read 4,065,012 times
Reputation: 1821
Use the search function on this site. There is a TON of useful info on here. Especially when it comes to what areas are desirable or have some problems. Google will be helpful too. Break up the process into smaller chunks and learn about it that way. It's difficult to really answer your questions right now, since they're so general. But, for example, do some research on how mortgages work and then come back with a somewhat more specific question on that and people will easily be able to help you out.

A few useful links:

Mortgage Rates Credit Cards Refinance Home CD Rates by Bankrate.com gives you an idea of what the mortgage rates are.

Real Estate, Homes for Sale, MLS Listings, Agents | Redfin I really like this site when it comes to finding places for sale. Being able to search using the map is great, and is a lot easier than just looking at a list.
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Old 11-18-2013, 12:09 AM
 
288 posts, read 632,201 times
Reputation: 550
I would recommend Redfin. My real estate agent said Zillow or Trulia sometimes lags, so you might get disappointed to learn that a house that was listed as for sale on the website, has actually sold already. We've also used the Redfin mobile app when exploring a neighborhood, and the map feature is great at showing us all the open houses nearby.

I also recommend signing up for a free Mortgage 101 class. I went to a free Mortgage 101 class offered by the city of Boston which was very good because they actually gave us a big fat book that showed example documents and explained line by line what they meant (e.g. various fees in the mortgage / sale docs). They also told us what to look out for (e.g. always get an inspector), be wary of ARM loans, etc. Redfin might offer free classes. I had a friend who went to a Redfin class and she thought it was helpful.
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Old 11-18-2013, 03:17 AM
 
18,656 posts, read 33,247,800 times
Reputation: 37042
When I first wanted to consider buying (I knew I wanted Cambridge but had no idea how the process worked), I was looking in the window of a real estate office. A realtor came out and asked if she could help me and I explained I was just starting the process and was not in a position to buy and had no idea how things worked. She took me in and explained a lot about the financing process and suggested I buy a mortgage amortization book (in the reference section of any bookstore, and now of course online). It listed interest rates of 8 percent to 18 percent with graphs of amounts and time periods- listed the principle and interest payments for each permutation. It was very helpful.

Regarding condos, there's a whole bunch of other stuff to consider besides whether you like the place or location and that's a whole education that I didn't get and would strongly advise you to have (financial records, reserve funds, assessments).

Buying, at worst, engages a lot of fantasy and lack of self-knowledge. At best, you really ask yourself some core questions and get very real with the answers. Best wishes.
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