No idea where to start! (Phoenix: houses, neighborhood, new construction)

[TiredOfyycCold]

I would also look at Stetson Hills / N. Deem Hills parkway (zip 85083).... beautiful neighborhood, great schools, you can walk to great hiking trails and it's close to your SO's work and lots of amenities at Norterra/Happy Valley Towne Centre.

[Bondurant]

Good luck in the house search. A budget of $500k should open a lot of doors for you. You'll find something that meets your needs and desires, for sure.

[crystalys]

As others have mentioned, it depends on if you want newer cookie cutter houses, or older custom homes. I have bought new built and older homes in my life and I very much prefer the older homes. I have lived in Moon Valley for almost 10 years and I love the character and uniqueness of the homes plus the huge lots. It is a great place to live and very convenient to travel from for work or play.

You definitely should pull all three of your own credit reports. Then you should get information about a mortgage and your qualifications from several banks (starting with your own bank is a good thing) and mortgage brokers/lenders. You will find that a lot of them provide the same mortgage products but their fees may be quite different so really pay attention to the fine print and ask a lot of questions. You have been given great advice to search for information on the internet first where you can find advice on what important questions to ask. You can even hire at no cost to you a real estate agent (sellers pay the commission for both the sellers' agent and the buyers' agent) who can help you with your home search. Just remember that unless a real estate agent is also a licensed mortgage broker, it is unethical for them to give you financing advice about a mortgage. They should be referring you to an expert. Although they can look at the mortgage information you receive and tell you if the fees or the rates look "normal" or "reasonable" before you commit based on their experience with their other clients.

Also, after you pull your credit reports, when you talk to a mortgage professional ask them if they will waive pulling your credit report and charging a fee if you provide them with the current report you already have. Some will and some won't. If they won't then ask if they will only do a "soft" inquiry to start. As mentioned before, a full "hard" inquiry takes points off your credit score and too many of those can put you in a different credit bracket. A "soft" inquiry, like when you pull your own report or when a credit card company wants to send you an offer in the mail and does a credit inquiry, does not take points off your credit score.

As first time homebuyers you are entering a very uncertain and scary situation, so as everyone has already advised you, go in with your eyes wide open and do your homework before taking the leap. Much good luck to you, and a permanent welcome to Phoenix!

[eWizard]

How would these three compare?

Fireside at Norterra area
Cave Creek area
Fireside at Desert Ridge area

Which of these areas are best for resale and schools?

[AZgarden]

Gee eWizard, I wouldn't go through all of this stuff myself. Why don't you just get a realtor in the north area and let them do all the legwork ? Get a buyer's agent who will have ALOT of info and save yourself some grief. JMHO

[TiredOfyycCold]

Originally Posted by PhxBarb

Gee eWizard, I wouldn't go through all of this stuff myself. Why don't you just get a realtor in the north area and let them do all the legwork ? Get a buyer's agent who will have ALOT of info and save yourself some grief. JMHO

^^^^+1

Our agent was outstanding - provided excellent service and we ended up with a home (and price) that we were extremely happy with. All of that at no cost to us... the fees, in the VAST majority of cases, are covered by the seller.

[eWizard]

But I like doing the research. Is there no need to?

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by eWizard

How would these three compare?

Fireside at Norterra area
Cave Creek area
Fireside at Desert Ridge area

Which of these areas are best for resale and schools?

Originally Posted by PhxBarb

Gee eWizard, I wouldn't go through all of this stuff myself. Why don't you just get a realtor in the north area and let them do all the legwork ? Get a buyer's agent who will have ALOT of info and save yourself some grief. JMHO

PhxBarb is spot on. And have you pre-qualified yet? Useless to look at this stuff until you KNOW you can qualify for a mortgage, and how much you can afford.

Originally Posted by eWizard

But I like doing the research. Is there no need to?

Not unless you want to run the higher than you realize risk of looking at houses you won't be able to buy. And that, IMHO, is a heartbreak that you shouldn't have to go through.

Once you are educated about the numbers, THEN you can research and look at houses on the internet. And get a realtor to keep you on track and help you find the perfect home for you and your family.

STOP, take a breath, take a step back, and start over at step one.

[eWizard]

Yeah. We got pre-approved earlier this week. Got approved for 500K.

We are planning to see a few open houses this weekend at various price points starting from 250K and find the cheapest price-point/house combination we like. Then we will narrow our search to this price point +- 20K. Is that a good idea?

[TiredOfyycCold]

Originally Posted by eWizard

Yeah. We got pre-approved earlier this week. Got approved for 500K.

We are planning to see a few open houses this weekend at various price points starting from 250K and find the cheapest price-point/house combination we like. Then we will narrow our search to this price point +- 20K. Is that a good idea?

That's fine - but since you have admitted that you are new to this whole house shopping thing why not enlist the assistance of a professional that will guide you through it? I too like doing my own research - but I have experienced the benefit of a good realtor first hand on more than a few occasions.

Realtors make a career out of looking for houses - I know that's obvious - but they may help you to see attributes or flaws that you never even knew could exist. A good realtor can also give you a list of "comps" in the area in terms of past listing and sale price. Some realtors have access to listings "before" they hit the market. They can access "live" MLS meaning they will get the listings as soon as they are listed, not time delayed like some 3rd party sites. In short they offer EXPERT advice.... at no cost.