Anybody with experience as a first time home buyer in this market? (Savannah: real estate) - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum

starhawk18 · 10-04-2011, 04:53 PM

I'm in the process of looking for a home and I was wondering if anybody would like to post their experience as a first time home buyer in this market? I'm working on getting pre-qualified for a FHA loan.

Any reviews on those real estate websites like trulia, zillow, and hotpads to name a few?

MatthewInSavannah · 10-04-2011, 05:19 PM

As a real estate agent who is featured on Zillow and Realtor.com, I have to say the Realtor.com feed is the best, because it comes straight from the Savannah MLS. Zillow has some fancy features and is user-friendly, but it has a lot of old listings, and the Zestimate feature is absolutely inaccurate. The old listings always cause problems when people call or email me and insist they've found some sort of secret listing no one else knows about, and they just don't want to hear that it's not true. There are no secret listings, and the best way to get yourself a good deal on a house is to do exactly what it sounds like you're doing--get pre-qualified, so you're ready to move when the time is right and you find the right house, and to do your research online, so you get a feel for what is on the market and what the price ranges for your target neigbhorhoods are. My advice is to use a real estate agent who can set you up with access to the MLS. That way you will see all the new listings, price changes, etc., when they hit the market. Let me know if you have questions--I may not service the areas you're looking, but I'd be happy to refer you to someone who specializes where you want to be.

One other thing--make sure you are working with a local mortgage company, not a broker who is going to set you up with an out of state loan. More times than not, you will get some unpleasant surprises working with out-of-town people who don't know the local market and whose underwriting standards don't allow for things that we take for granted in Savannah. I've had a lot of clients nearly lose deals because of out-of-town lenders who didn't know the local market. You don't want surprises in your first home-buying experience (or tenth, for that matter).

Matthew Allan
Keller Williams Realty
912.401.4663
Matthew Allan Reviews & Ratings - Zillow

Quote:

Originally Posted by starhawk18

I'm in the process of looking for a home and I was wondering if anybody would like to post their experience as a first time home buyer in this market? I'm working on getting pre-qualified for a FHA loan.

Any reviews on those real estate websites like trulia, zillow, and hotpads to name a few?

breeinmo. · 10-04-2011, 05:57 PM

Starhawk, you should go to the real estate forum here at City data. You'll learn so much, stuff you never even thought of. I love it. Happy house hunting!

starhawk18 · 10-19-2011, 08:34 AM

Thanks so much for the info and the advice.

carmelita189 · 11-10-2011, 02:58 PM

Please remember one thing. If you don't ask the seller a question, they do not have to disclose. So, if you do not say, "does this street get flooded?" they don't have to be up front and tell you. It can be under 3 feet of water every year, but they can just smile their sweet southern biscuit melting in their mouth smile and not say anything. So please, make a list and ASK. And do it in writing.

You could ask how I know this, but I figure that's obvious. Yes, I have had to wade through two feet of water from my car to a house I bought as a first time buyer. My real estate agent laughed all the way to the bank. But you can trust Matthew at Keller Williams, the one who answered earlier. He is good people.

littlelou · 11-16-2011, 10:40 AM

have patience is the best advice I can give. I just closed on an FHA loan on 11/4 and wow that was an experience.

the house I bought needed "TLC" hahahahahaha, someones warped opinion.... severe damage to doors, busted window, living room ceiling with the sheetrock damaged.... rotten doors, more wood rot than I could imagine. These folks (yes the owner and her hubby) spent more time drinking and physically fighting and arguing than anything else.

Ask questions, ask questions. I found out 3 days before the original closing date that the house was to be sold on the courthouse steps.... nothing had been said about possible foreclosure, forclosure, or anything. and while we didn't ask directly, we were told there wasn't anything to delay closing on their end....no they wanted the money to stave off the sale.... ASK ABOUT FORECLOSURE> not knowing caused part of the delay.

It seemed to me everything came down to the last 2-3 days... and that in itself was stressful. At 3:00 the day before I closed, the mortgage company started verifying my employment history.... 20 hours before we were to close.....