House hunting in the 95835 area (Davis, August: for sale, foreclosed, lease)

[aaa12345]

I'm doing house hunting in the 95835 area to move in in august...I was wondering if it's too soon to do that. I'm looking for 3 to 4 bedrooms with a 230-240k budget...

Thanks for any advice..

[dantucci]

NO, believe me its never too early to look. I know a great Realtor in that area who helped me out alot, contact me if your interested.
Dan

[volleyballer]

You need to get started now. You're going to have a hard time actually getting one for 230-240 in 95835 with the size you want. Most likely it'll be a foreclosed home which takes over a month to close or a short sale which can take indefinitely. So go!

[Robert Patrick]

I live in that area.. I'd start now. No idea what the market's going to be like here in 4 months; and the area as it is doesn't have that many homes for sale.. of course depending what part but I would start ASAP.

[DyaneRiemer]

aaa12345,

I agree with everyone who has posted so far. Since about November, I've yet to have a buyer get into escrow without making offers on at least four different properties, and it takes time to go through that process. That said, you need to be financially ready, in case you get an offer accepted. If you need to be in a home by August, is it because you are waiting on credit scores to come up, expecting a large chunk of money which hasn't come in yet, or because that is when you are moving to the area, (or a different reason altogether)? If you are truly ready to buy, then I would start now. If you aren't, don't get yourself in a position where you are expected to perform, and can't.

Lastly, since homes under about $350k to $400k are difficult to get into, I would recommend looking at homes that are about $20k under your price range, so you can offer a higher price if needed in order to actually get the home.

I wish you luck on your homebuying process!

DR

[aaa12345]

Thanks for all the advise. I need to be in at the beginning of August because my lease in Davis ends in August so the ideal would be August but it's flexible.

One more question, how much are realtor's fee and property tax, and other fees. I'm a first time buyer so thanks for all the help.

[DyaneRiemer]

Realtor's fees are paid for by the Seller, so that is one less worry you will have to take on! Property taxes are one percent of the purchase price, plus any bonds and/or assessments. You may encounter Mello Roos as well, but if you are looking at older homes, you won't have to pay those. Other fees include closing costs, but often times you can get the Seller to pay those for you... not always, though. You will also have to pay for homeowner's insurance, and if you don't have at least 20 percent down, there will be Private Mortgage Insurance, as well. Additionally, you will have to pay for a home inspection. I hope I am not scaring you with all this, because even with all these fees, etc., buying a first home is still do-able because there are some great first-time homebuyer assistance programs out there which can help you!

[aaa12345]

I'm still in the very early stage of the planning. Since the seller will pay the Realtor's fee, what if I'm working with a realtor and decided not to buy a house just because I found out that my budget isn't big enough to buy a house that I wanted; do I have to pay the realtor's fee?

[DyaneRiemer]

Nope! It doesn't cost you anything unless you have a previous written agreement with your Realtor!

[Luke9686]

I would never offer more than the asking price in today's market. I have to disagree with you big time on that. If you have time, are on a limited budget, and don't fall in love with a specific house, you can get a serious deal in this market. Just do your research, get a realtor that will get you what you want, and doesn't have a problem submitting a realistic (low) offer.

Why would you offer more than list price when prices are falling so fast?