what are some mistakes you made in your first real estate deal? (Greenville: hardwood floors, sales)

[sojones]

what are some mistakes you made in your first real estate deal?


would love to hear answers to this and things buyers should watch out for

[Whippet]

None, I made my partners 600% (after carrying costs, etc.) in 5 years on my first deal. Just follow the development and get ahead of it.

[happyfeet888]

We have bought 4 houses due to moves with jobs. The worst mistake we made was going with the realtor's mortgage company. It took forever to get the loan and the interest rate was higher than others in the area. We should have shopped around.

[myrc60]

I'm embarassed to say...not hiring a home inspector. I don't care what you think you know...spend the $300-400 to make sure.

[sojones]

a great inspector:
Greenville SC Home Inspector - Serving Upstate SC area - High Tech Inspections

[myrc60]

And one more thing I just thought of...

don't hurry your search! We did on our first and it cost us a ton of money we didn't have.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by myrc60

And one more thing I just thought of...

don't hurry your search! We did on our first and it cost us a ton of money we didn't have.

Since you are being so honest here, I guess I should admit I made some very bad mistakes that followed me around for many years. I was in a real hurry and in an extreme emotional state due to my circumstances, so I bought a fixer-upper (only thing I could afford in the area) and it turned out to be a fixer-upper for 6 years!! I also didn't do my homework and wasn't watching the market which began a downward spiral in 1987. It had depreciated so much that I not only lost my downpayment when I had to move in 1993, I lost the money I put into landscaping, a new furnace, fixing the roof, etc.

Hiring a real estate attorney and making sure the title search is done properly is a good idea and asking for a list of recent sales in the neighborhood helps too. Also, make sure the mortgage broker, the inspector and the seller aren't all related, especially if you're an outsider.

[Ceezer]

I, too, rushed into buying a house when we got this one. We had been renting for 5 years in the other towns we lived in so when we got to Sumter I was tired of it. I watched a couple houses that got sold before we could get a good offer in so I settled for a house in a good neighborhood that not only had a garage, but a 2-car. Of course that garage has problems of it's own. So did the kitchen floor, but we couldn't tell because it was covered in 3 layers of cement board and linoleum. That's just one issue but that's another thread...

If you've been in an apartment up till now, I would highly suggest renting a house for a year so you can get a feel for what you like. For instance:

I don't want to be in the middle of another hill. Not only does it make mowing a pain in the butt and make it hard for my daughter to play, but when it rains I worry about the foundation and soil getting shifted around. My sidewalk and driveway - both concrete - are cracked and uneven because the ground beneath them gets washed around from run-off.

I know that next time I want a dedicated laundry & mud room as a transition between the home and the outdoors. For one thing, our laundry room is currently a closet off the kitchen. The noise isn't *too* bad but there's nowhere to put the clothes until it's time to wash them so they sit there visible from the kitchen. The entrance from the garage also comes directly into the kitchen so anything that gets tracked in is then strewn throughout the house and then again anytime someone walks through there.

We put hardwood floors in the main traffic areas of the house and our living room has a vaulted ceiling. That turned out to be an acoustic no-no. It distorts the words/dialogue when my wife watches TV out there so that she has to turn it up more to hear what they're saying. Well that bounces around and carries all the way down the hall to my office, where I then can't hear my own tv over hers.

I found that even though I used to want a big house to have room for everything, that space costs money and requires cleaning. It also increases the likeliness that something will break or go bad or just need replaced. I think for our family of 3 that 1250-1400sqft is good enough. We have a lot of crap but I think building up (in the way of shelving) is more efficient than building out (in the way of floor space). Floor space has to be heated/cooled. It's also going to be cheaper in the way of initial purchase and also to insure.

Pay attention to the layout. Is precious space being wasted (do people really need a dining room, a family room, AND a great room?)? Are you going to be able to get your big bed all the way to the back room? Sacrifice where you can (i.e. bedroom, extra bathrooms) to be comfortable in the rooms you'll spend time in (living room, kitchen, office) to save money.

If you have kids, pay attention to the neighborhood. Ours is good and safe, but there's no other kids around close by for my daughter to play with and that makes her miserable.

Renovations are going to take more time and money than you think. So if you're looking at two houses and one needs an immediate kitchen redo but is $5000 cheaper than one that's similar but has a kitchen in need of an update but that you could live with for a year or two, then it may turn out to be more financially efficient to go with the latter just so you don't have an immediate huge expense while you're still learning the ropes of ownership.

That's all I can think of right now but I hope it helps and hope that others can learn from my mistakes.

[myrc60]

Originally Posted by justNancy

Since you are being so honest here, I guess I should admit I made some very bad mistakes that followed me around for many years. I was in a real hurry and in an extreme emotional state due to my circumstances, so I bought a fixer-upper (only thing I could afford in the area) and it turned out to be a fixer-upper for 6 years!! I also didn't do my homework and wasn't watching the market which began a downward spiral in 1987. It had depreciated so much that I not only lost my downpayment when I had to move in 1993, I lost the money I put into landscaping, a new furnace, fixing the roof, etc.

Except for the years involved, sounds like we owned the same house, justNancy! We made so many mistakes with that house that we decided we would only look at newer houses this time around. We are happy where we are albeit a few minor annoyances that are not structure related. I realize sometimes a new house can be a nightmare...just be careful and take your time; I wish we had the first time around the block!

After we moved into that nightmare house, I called the gas company when I got to work because I could smell gas in the kitchen from the stove. I'd also smelled something I couldn't put my finger on and when the gas company showed up at the house we had CO fumes 4X normal levels. We were lucky to be alive. You'd like to think someone wouldn't leave their house to you in such a state, but they did and we had no recourse as this was before they had to disclose stuff like that.

[sojones]

Originally Posted by happyfeet888

We have bought 4 houses due to moves with jobs. The worst mistake we made was going with the realtor's mortgage company. It took forever to get the loan and the interest rate was higher than others in the area. We should have shopped around.

my mistake was going with the realtor's lawyer

and as I read the contract.. I noticed it said 'we did not force you to use this attorney' or what not but they SURELY did. Lol

But hey, kidna bites back when companies screw over a member of a national press network

VP's do not like to see their name out there!