Need help for home buying (Point: for sale, mortgage, good credit) - City-Data Forum

apies1819 · 07-01-2008, 09:06 AM

Ok so aside from tying to plan for a December wedding we thought, hey lets buy a house too. I am beyond stressed. Well we are far from knowledgeable in this area. Can anyone offer any advise? Point us in a direction of a good realtor? anything will help.

Chaka · 07-01-2008, 09:22 AM

First thing I did was to research everything I could about loan types.

We looked at our budget to determine a reasonable range, which included only one income. We both worked but didn't want to get stuck with a mortgage requiring both of us to always work. Then we decided if the upper end of our range is one we'd really consider - and that depended on how much work needed to be done on the house.

At the same time, my husband and I went through all the things we considered 'must haves' and what was negotiable (location, status of disrepair, # bedrooms, # of bathrooms, garage/storage capacity, etc). We considered a number of different neighborhoods (either historic/in town or 1+ acre outside 1604) and focused on searches accordingly. I didn't work directly with a realtor at the beginning, but waited til we had a firmer idea of location, after looking at a number of places - once we decided to stick with the historic/in town, we found a realtor who specialized in this area.

Most important: be flexible, be willing to negotiate on some of the must haves (or rather, decide what is absolutely truly a must have and what is a 'really want but can live without for now'), and stay well under your upper limit. Don't forget to factor in taxes in that budget!

in the end we were about to make an offer on a house that had been on the market for some time, only to miss it by a few days. We made another low-ball offer on a house we were lukewarm about, which was fortunately rejected (and subsequently sold, a year later, for less than our offer). Then we sat and waited. We decided we weren't desperate, but kept looking whenever something seemed appealing. In the meantime we saw a house in our 'hood and said "If that ever goes on sale, we want it!" Well, about 10 months after we started looking, a for sale sign popped up on that house, I called our realtor and said "We're going to make an offer on this house." It had been on the market a couple of days by the time we saw the inside, and already had 2 offers when we made ours a few days later. But we got it!

mtdave2 · 07-01-2008, 11:51 AM

we need some more info on what you are wanting, where you will be working.. ect. lots of great deals in sa right now... i sent you pm on my home as well.

RecovringKrspyKremeAddict · 07-01-2008, 02:11 PM

Aww shux! Just save yourself a whole lotta trouble and come buy MY house! We're in the right school district and on the right side of town and very affordable! (Have to relocate later this month!) ok...so it's a shameless beg...but I gotta SELL this house!

banker · 07-01-2008, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chaka

First thing I did was to research everything I could about loan types.

We looked at our budget to determine a reasonable range, which included only one income. We both worked but didn't want to get stuck with a mortgage requiring both of us to always work. Then we decided if the upper end of our range is one we'd really consider - and that depended on how much work needed to be done on the house.

At the same time, my husband and I went through all the things we considered 'must haves' and what was negotiable (location, status of disrepair, # bedrooms, # of bathrooms, garage/storage capacity, etc). We considered a number of different neighborhoods (either historic/in town or 1+ acre outside 1604) and focused on searches accordingly. I didn't work directly with a realtor at the beginning, but waited til we had a firmer idea of location, after looking at a number of places - once we decided to stick with the historic/in town, we found a realtor who specialized in this area.

Most important: be flexible, be willing to negotiate on some of the must haves (or rather, decide what is absolutely truly a must have and what is a 'really want but can live without for now'), and stay well under your upper limit. Don't forget to factor in taxes in that budget!

in the end we were about to make an offer on a house that had been on the market for some time, only to miss it by a few days. We made another low-ball offer on a house we were lukewarm about, which was fortunately rejected (and subsequently sold, a year later, for less than our offer). Then we sat and waited. We decided we weren't desperate, but kept looking whenever something seemed appealing. In the meantime we saw a house in our 'hood and said "If that ever goes on sale, we want it!" Well, about 10 months after we started looking, a for sale sign popped up on that house, I called our realtor and said "We're going to make an offer on this house." It had been on the market a couple of days by the time we saw the inside, and already had 2 offers when we made ours a few days later. But we got it!

Excellent advice. Make sure you get a fixed rate - even if you don't think you will be there long term. You never know. Also - banks will often approve you for a mortgage that (depending on credit) will range between 3 and 4 times your income. This is too much. I recommend getting a mortgage that represents just 2 to 2.5X your income. If you did have to take a pay cut it will make life much more manageable.

sinsativ · 07-01-2008, 05:30 PM

yep, its a buyers market, lots of great deals, and if you got good credit. bargains are there. All you got to do is know how to negotiate.

Chaka · 07-01-2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banker

Excellent advice. Make sure you get a fixed rate - even if you don't think you will be there long term. You never know. Also - banks will often approve you for a mortgage that (depending on credit) will range between 3 and 4 times your income. This is too much. I recommend getting a mortgage that represents just 2 to 2.5X your income. If you did have to take a pay cut it will make life much more manageable.

Agreed. We didn't even go to the lender first, we looked at our budget and said 'how much can we pay per month?' and compared that to the going rate in the areas we were looking. I was pretty confident of our credit, and knew our down payment amount. Then we went to the bank - they actually offered more, but we said no thanks.

ryneone · 07-01-2008, 07:15 PM

A definite is to make sure it is located in a KB community. Or at least in Stone Oak! They are about the only except able areas left in this city!

Sweetie Pie · 07-01-2008, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryneone

A definite is to make sure it is located in a KB community. Or at least in Stone Oak! They are about the only except able areas left in this city!

KB? Stone Oak? I can't believe you used them in the same paragraph!!!

Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaa

USAF-24 · 07-01-2008, 09:41 PM

Get an exclusive home buyer. They work on your side, cost you $100 which is refundable. Their fee is paid by the seller. But, be sure you interview several before making a choice.