House hunting in a different state? (Realtor, houses, neighborhood, city)

[Rakin]

Most people don't understand how spread out Houston & DFW are. You would be wise to not plan on buying a home till you've been there 6-12 months and figured out the city.

The main thing that will determine where you live is where you'll be working. I would try to find a 6 month apartment lease, find jobs, then start to search for locations that will be semi-convenient to work.

[PG2005]

I moved from Maryland to South Carolina this past year. I understand your hesitation with renting and "throwing money away," but now that I've rented for 7 months I see it as an investment. (As as side note, we owned a house in Maryland.) Why? Because now I know exactly where I want to live, what type of house (as styles vary greatly by state), etc. Now, I don't recommend longterm renting but in 6 months to a years time you will learn a ton about a city.

[BVitamin]

I wasn't sure where to post this or whether I should start a new thread.

I'm planning on moving to a different state and buy a house. With the money I make now I can afford it, with all the extra costs if any that would need to purchase one and also update the house to code if need be. What I had originally plan was to buy and move there right away and using my reserve money for any updates, extra costs but it seems like it would eat into much of my reserve money if I did that after having crunching some numbers. Also I would still have a part time job from my current job, in California, but my pay would also be cut in half and would need to look for a job in the new state, Iowa.

After having crunching those numbers and being dreadfully worrisome of cash flow to sustain a house I was thinking of a second plan. The second plan is to buy the house but continue to live here in California so that I can buffer all the extra expense for the house and then move out afterwards when all the initial costs are dealt with. No, I'm not paying rent in California at the moment, living with family, still :\

Any realtors or people who has had a similar experience, please chime in. I'm sure I'm missing something that I haven't covered being a first time home buyer.

Also note, I have yet to visit the area, though moving out of state is a sure thing if not finite within the year, hopefully.

[rjrcm]

Originally Posted by BVitamin

...The second plan is to buy the house but continue to live here in California so that I can buffer all the extra expense for the house and then move out afterwards when all the initial costs are dealt with. No, I'm not paying rent in California at the moment, living with family, still :\...

You will still have ongoing expenses for the home such as taxes, insurance, maintenance, and mortgage payments if financing.

Unless you think home values in the new location will increase significantly between now and when you move, there does not appear to be any reason to buy until you get much closer to moving. In the meantime, save your money.

[BVitamin]

Yes, I'm aware of the ongoing expenses. Just all the little extra costs in the initial buy is what I'm worried about.

[Ringo1]

We bought a house 3 1/2 hours away. We started just by calling a realtor and telling her honestly that we just wanted to see the area; not sure if we were buying right away. She tooks us to several towns in one day and saw about 15-20 houses.

This gave us an idea which town we liked the best; so we began the 'narrowing down' process. It also made us realize that we really liked the town and started thinking seriously about moving.

We searched the area schools and picked the school district we wanted; which narrowed things down even further.

Our agent sent us on line listings all the time so that we could see what houses were out there; see all the interior/exterior photos, etc.

All in all- we went up four times before we found our house. And the first time - we had no intention of buying at that point; just wanted to see the town and surrounding towns.

It did help that I had a friend up there who could steer me to what was close to the school I was looking at; how far from the office, etc.

[Ebartrum]

Thank you for this post. I have no clue about anything to do with this process, I'm living in Michigan and I want to move to north Carolina within the next couple years. How much money do you need for a down payment on a house? I see houses are worth $100,000 and $200,000. I know you have a bank loan and mortgage and all that but how much do you need at the start?

[GotHereQuickAsICould]

I would recommend several visits to narrow down the neighborhoods you would want to live in and get an idea of what you will need to spend to get the type of home you want.

I would also recommend staying in B&Bs during your visit. Many innkeepers are just a fountain of knowledge about a community. Where the new beltline freeway is going in, what areas are known for this, that or the other.

Check out schools, parks, grocery stores, community centers, distance from work...

[BoBromhal]

you can speak to a mortgage lender wherever you live to determine what you're pre-qualified for, or the steps that you need to take to improve your credit score, save for downpayment, etc. so that you CAN qualify to purchase a home.

Mortgage brokers aren't necessarily licensed to do business across states, but (almost) all mortgages are homogenous across the nation.

Home prices vary wildly across NC, and most states, depending on where exactly you are buying in the state

[CapnTrips]

We are in a similar situation, but have opted to rent after we move so that we have ample time to get to know the area and don't feel rushed to pick a house. Its a big purchase, and our day to day comfort depends on it, so we feel that spending a few extra dollars and moving twice will pay back in the long run.