How easy is it to buy a house?

[BooLette]

I want to buy a house, my husband wants to buy a house, but we are scared of getting into more than we bargained for. I just want to start off with something cheap and go from there.

Anyone have any good experiences to share and lighten my mood? I am so frustrated with renting, so tired of wasting over twelve grand a year with nothing to show for it....

AND then I would be able to have another luvbun!

 

[BethM]

My husband and I bought our first house last year.
If you and your hubby have a down payment (how much will depend on what the lender wants you to have), good credit history, and a decent combined income, you will have no problem.

There are a lot of steps, and I felt really overwhelmed at first, but if you get a decent realtor, they should be able to walk you through it all.

My husband and I are not overly "handy," so we went with a smaller house in better condition. We could have gotten something bigger that was "cheap," but would have required more work or had some possible hazards down the road. Get an inspection!!!!

I think the first step is to visit a bank and talk with a loan officer. They'll get your mortgage application going (after you're approved, you'll have a few months to use it), and they'll be able to help you with your budgeting so you don't get in over your head. Maybe a good thing to come out of the economy crash, banks are much more conservative with their lending. They do not want to overlend, and put you in a position where you can't pay your mortgage! Once you find out how much you can be approved for, you can start looking for houses in that price range.
Be sure to remember to budget for assorted moving expenses, that you will need cash up front foor. (The inspection, turning on/transferring utilities, buying things you might need like curtains, moving van if you get one, etc.)

With so many houses on the market right now, you should be able to find a good deal. (Get an inspection!!!!!)

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Once you have determined how much you can afford. Stick to your guns, real estate agents will show you really nice houses just a little higher then you want to spend. I've had a couple of real estate agents do that. We were showed some really nice houses, some we loved, then they would try and talk us into it. Don't let them talk you into a house you can't afford. They are not looking out for you, they are looking at the commission check.

 

[Runestonez]

We found our first house by accident...
Hubby was finishing University and I was working full time...I was SUPPOSED to be checking out townhouses since my one bedroom apartment was too small for us.

On the way my sis and I decided to stop at an open house and annoy the realtor...yeah we didn't have much to do at the time...so we were looking through this little 1970's fixer upper and I LOVED it!

When I went to pick up Tony from work I asked him if he wanted to see the house were buying (just jokingly) and he replied, "Oh we're buying a house now?" (again jokingly)...so we drove by the house and the realtor was still there...he had decided to wait just in case we dropped by again.

We looked around the house inside and out and all of a sudden Tony says to the realtor..."So how DO you put an offer on a house? How does this work?"
Really the next 2-3 hours were a blurr...we weren't pre-approved...we'd never planned on a house...we had no money for a down payment...but we were signing sheet after sheet after sheet. It was honestly invigorating at the time and I started to cry and shake once we got back to the apartment...I was sure we had broken about a hundred laws! lol

We got pre-post approved the next day and started the long and eye opening process of getting our home after that...offers, counter offers, lawyers fees, scrambling together a down payment...it was hectic, frustrating and stressful...but it was the best thing we had ever done! :biggrin2:

It changes your whole perspective when you are finally standing together alone in YOUR HOUSE for the first time with the KEY to YOUR HOUSE in your hand and you realize you OWN something. Actually OWN a HOME. There really is no feeling like it!:biggrin2:It makes all the paperwork and planning and moving so totally worth it!

Now I did mention a fixer upper...and there is a whole OTHER story to that! LOL
Funny now...not so funny then! :biggrin2:

Needless to say...I can build a garage, shingle a roof, build a 2 teir deck, build a pond, fix most plumbing issues, do minor electrical repairs, re-wire a stove or dishwasher, solder, I own more power tools than my husband and I garden like the very devil!:biggrin2:

And I wouldn't change a thing!:biggrin2:

Danielle

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

Wabbitdad12 wrote:

Once you have determined how much you can afford. Stick to your guns, real estate agents will show you really nice houses just a little higher then you want to spend. I've had a couple of real estate agents do that. We were showed some really nice houses, some we loved, then they would try and talk us into it. Don't let them talk you into a house you can't afford. They are not looking out for you, they are looking at the commission check.

THIS IS SSSSSOOOOO IMPORTANT!!!!!! When you go for a mortgage they will tell you what you are preapproved for, this would be good if you didnt want electricity, water in your house, cell phone, cable or food to eat,lol. You need to sit down figure out what your bills would be, if you are living in an apartment you can figure out ball park what your bills would be in a house, then you have to remember that you will have property taxes and insurance you will have to pay for. Then when you go to a realtor you tell them this is what we can afford xxxx.000 , and ask them in mortgage terms what you can afford for a mortgage. Just because you are preapproved for a mortgage doesnt mean you can afford it,lol. if you dont have a certain percentage (200 %) to put down you will have to pay PMI insurance (private mortgage insurance) . The trick to the PMI insurance is most people will pay for the life of the loan ,30 years, but once you get 20% of your mortgage paid off you can call them and get the PMI taken off your mortgage, which in a lot of instnances will take off 100.00 or more. I believe it comes out to be about 100.00 for every 100,000.00 you take out.

other things to take into consideration when buying a house is if it is going to need work and , if you are going to have the money to do it. There are programs out there for first time home buyers too that you can take advantage of!!!! Dont let a realator talk you into a home above your price range, because it will only be "abc" more a month, stick to your guns !!!!!!

good luck with i know buying a house can be soooooo stressful but it can be so worth it too