Home Buying Advice...

[CosmicCowboy]

How much did you put down?

I can probably save up to around 40k by the end of this year, but houses in the bay area are pretty damn expensive.

There are probably 100k ones in the easy bay, but those are likely to be dumps.

I put down 5% and paid another 200 basic points at closing to buy the interest rate down to 12%.

[Blake]

Worked in my neighborhood.

Without HOA its a free for all. Anyone can do what they want. Another neighbor where I just left......put a ing carport on the front of his house. A carport. They would have never flied where I used to live with HOA.

Holy ! A carport?!?!?!?!? Damn free for allers!

[CuckingFunt]

Worked in my neighborhood.

Without HOA its a free for all. Anyone can do what they want. Another neighbor where I just left......put a ing carport on the front of his house. A carport. They would have never flied where I used to live with HOA.

There are a lot of ty neighborhoods that have HOAs. You want to live in a neighborhood where the homeowners don't want to put up rickety carports or leave fences half painted and falling apart, not a neighborhood in which the threat of HOA fines are the only things keeping the homeowners from doing exactly that.

[reason]

My neighborhood doesn't have an HOA and we all like it that way. Don't need the hassle of an HOA or the damn fees and threat of losing your home over them

[Koolaid_Man]

I am doing my own research and speaking with realtors/lenders and other people I know, but any advice for a first time potential home buyer?

Should DPG buy a home?

Absolutely..

In San Diego there's a town called Midget town they see homes exclusively for short people..below is a link to the article en led:
Hidden San Diego: The Legend of the Munchkin Homes

http://sandiego.about.com/od/uniquel...dget_homes.htm


Check Midget Realty for good deals: http://www.midgettrealty.com/

Best Wishes

[benefactor]

There's upfront cost and there's closing cost. Separate the two in your post.

Yup. I paid $500 in earnest money, a few hundred for the inspection and a few hundred for the appraisal. I was probably a little more than a thousand total but not anymore than 2k. The rest of that he mentioned must have rolled into closing costs because I don't remember paying out of pocket for any of it.

So I stand corrected by the resident expert...have 2k laying around.

[DPG21920]

Well guys, it seems to be getting pretty close...Found the home I want and have my realtor negotiating a few things they hopefully accept. At that point, it would be a new build and then I would have my first home. Meeting with the builder tomorrow to see what they say about our offer.

[benefactor]

Good to hear. Best of luck man.

[Koolaid_Man]

Well guys, it seems to be getting pretty close...Found the home I want and have my realtor negotiating a few things they hopefully accept. At that point, it would be a new build and then I would have my first home. Meeting with the builder tomorrow to see what they say about our offer.

make sure that both you and John's name is on the mortgage contract...

[DPG21920]

Today appears to be the day. Meeting with the builder in a few to review our offer.

[DPG21920]

Well nothing is official until the closing table is done, but it looks like I'm a first time home buyer. Accepted my offer, loan came through. Just have to design the finishing touches as it is a new build.

[Cane]

Godspeed but here's some late advice especially if you're fortunate enough to design your own home:

1. Separate bathrooms in the master bedroom. This is essential for less drama in a long lasting relationship unless you don't give a damn about htat

2. I like both gates and HOA's. Sure a can still be a without that stuff, but it still helps a little bit

3. Save $$$ for hail damage

4. Rock garden. Unless you like to garden and maintain a lawn

5. Keep your garage clean from the start or you'll just regret it later on

6. Sound deadening. If you can build your own home then you can get some nice sound deadening in your house if you like to play instruments or just jam out. Sound deaden the theater room or the man cave if you are going that far

Your mindset is going to change so much going from a renter to a buyer. Prepare to get annoyed by neighbors and things that wouldn't have annoyed you as much before

[CubanMustGo]

Grats. Now the fun begins. May your neighbors be friendly and the neighborhood be kept up as long as you're there, HOA or no HOA.

Don't forget to file your homestead exception as soon as you can (may be next year). Won't save you a fortune on property taxes but everything helps.

[Darius McCrary]

What can someone expect to pay a realtor when getting a house? What's reasonable commission?

[Blake]

What can someone expect to pay a realtor when getting a house? What's reasonable commission?

When buying, you pay 0 on commission. The seller generally pays the commission on the sale to the agents involved.

Google says commission is about 6% where the broker and agent usually split it 3%/3%

[benefactor]

When buying, you pay 0 on commission. The seller generally pays the commission on the sale to the agents involved.

Google says commission is about 6% where the broker and agent usually split it 3%/3%

From what I remember this sounds correct.

[CosmicCowboy]

In a more typical sale there is an agent/broker representing the seller and an agent/broker representing the buyer. Each broker gets the 3% and the agents gets whatever percentage of that was negotiated with their broker.

[Blake]

In a more typical sale there is an agent/broker representing the seller and an agent/broker representing the buyer. Each broker gets the 3% and the agents gets whatever percentage of that was negotiated with their broker.

I wonder how often a broker/agent gets to act on behalf of both buyer/seller, getting the full commission all to themselves. Seems it would have to be extremely rare.

[LkrFan]

Location location location for a myriad of reasons. Stay outside of large counties like Bexar. You'll save a ton on property taxes over the long haul. Also, make a 13th payment every year if you can afford it. You can designate that extra payment to go towards principle. This will help you pay your crib off years earlier (especially if you have a 30-year mortgage). Pay twice a month (if allowed) also helps you pay your crib off faster (i.e. paying $1K every 2 weeks vice $2K/month).

Good luck DPG. Owning a house >>>>>>>> renting. Do it and don't look back.

[Blake]

Living out in the sticks has its pros and cons.

Yeah, you save on taxes, but you may end up paying the difference up in gas/car maintenance, commute time, garbage service, fire/police, septic tanks and well water. etc.

I've heard different people say different things regarding cost of living outside city limits.

[LkrFan]

Living out in the sticks has its pros and cons.

Yeah, you save on taxes, but you may end up paying the difference up in gas/car maintenance, commute time, garbage service, fire/police, septic tanks and well water. etc.

I've heard different people say different things regarding cost of living outside city limits.

Agreed. I guess I should clarify. Look for homes on the outskirts of large counties. As long as you can access the things you need (schools, grocery stores, jobs, etc.) within a reasonable time, you're good.

[CuckingFunt]

I wonder how often a broker/agent gets to act on behalf of both buyer/seller, getting the full commission all to themselves. Seems it would have to be extremely rare.

It's pretty common. It has to be disclosed and is completely above board if the Realtor is worth a damn. The agents in my old office would sometimes drop the commission down to 5% if we were handling both sides of the deal, especially if it was a big apartment building or something, but not always. You typically end up doing far more than double the work, so the bigger commission is pretty well justified.

[Blake]

It's pretty common. It has to be disclosed and is completely above board if the Realtor is worth a damn. The agents in my old office would sometimes drop the commission down to 5% if we were handling both sides of the deal, especially if it was a big apartment building or something, but not always. You typically end up doing far more than double the work, so the bigger commission is pretty well justified.

huh.

I would have also thought it would be slightly less work, much less 'far more than double', since the one agent doesn't have to deal with another outside agent.

[DPG21920]

Location location location for a myriad of reasons. Stay outside of large counties like Bexar. You'll save a ton on property taxes over the long haul. Also, make a 13th payment every year if you can afford it. You can designate that extra payment to go towards principle. This will help you pay your crib off years earlier (especially if you have a 30-year mortgage). Pay twice a month (if allowed) also helps you pay your crib off faster (i.e. paying $1K every 2 weeks vice $2K/month).

Good luck DPG. Owning a house >>>>>>>> renting. Do it and don't look back.

Thanks man. I went with location overall. I'm living in Austin (which I love). Sacrificed a big lawn to get the location that was much better. Definitely need to see if I can do the twice a month payment & I was planning on doing an extra payment every quarter too. Originally I was going to do a 15 year but ultimately decided against bc I likely will only be here for 10 or so years & am disciplined enough to make extra payments.

[LkrFan]

Thanks man. I went with location overall. I'm living in Austin (which I love). Sacrificed a big lawn to get the location that was much better. Definitely need to see if I can do the twice a month payment & I was planning on doing an extra payment every quarter too. Originally I was going to do a 15 year but ultimately decided against bc I likely will only be here for 10 or so years & am disciplined enough to make extra payments.

Anytime man. Being a homeowner is the best. Just wait until you move into your crib. To know you own it - there's not too many other things in life that's better. And Austin is underrated and a nice location in itself tbh. SATX is a little over an hour away. Dallas is about 3 hours away and H-Town is about 2.5 hours away.

Another thing. Do your homework. There are several sites out there that can help you with amortization. An amortization schedule will help you estimate your monthly payments. Here's a pretty good link: http://www.amortization-calc.com/. It's always good to make an informed decision when you're making an investment of this nature.