First Time Home Buyer advice?

[Wheels]

Started recently looking into purchasing here in Hood River (yikes effin tourist prices)

Havent gone through any loan processes or anything , but found some decent Condo's for sale here for a fairly reasonable price.

Any advice for a n00b? Is there any first time home buyer stuff I should look into?

Thanks in advance my friends!

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

Get pre approved so you know ahead of time what your loan can be.

Put 20% down so you aren't stuck with an escrow account.

Be willing to walk away.

Be prepared to bend over and take it from the mortgage underwriters requesting you to do a million tedious things.

 

[Wheels]

I learned I need to google about 5 different things from your post Fizzle thanks!

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

Also if something is a short sale, be prepared for the process to drag on up to one year.

Foreclosures are usually better bang for your buck and faster.

If it's for sale by owner that's fine and can be very fast.

 

[blue9]

... found some decent Condo's for sale here for a fairly reasonable price.

I'm sure you're already aware of it, but beware HOAs. I get the appeal of condos, but with HOAs it's like you're paying rent on top of your mortgage.

Biggest piece of advice: know what you want and don't compromise. We were looking for a few years and eventually got impatient (after years) and ended up buying a house that wasn't what I wanted - to this day I regret it. But the other week I calculated how much we would have paid in rent since purchasing our house and it was $96K - so I feel good that I didn't just flush that money down the toilet.

 

[Wheels]

being an adult sucks lol

 

[Wheels]

I calculated how much we would have paid in rent since purchasing our house and it was $96K - so I feel good that I didn't just flush that money down the toilet.

thanks! I have friends who live in same complex(?) and said HOA fees werent bad at all.

Also.. that last part alone is motivation not to rent! lol

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

I learned I need to google about 5 different things from your post Fizzle thanks!

I don't usually do this, but if you need a mortgage broker, you should talk to my mom-in-law. She's dilligent, willing to fight on your behalf with underwriters/agents/anyone else involved in the process, and won't screw you over (she left SoCal before the big crash - everyone wanted the shady loans, such as subprime, and she wouldn't do them, so she foresaw the crash and cashed out before getting shat on). The company she works for is both a bank and broker, so she can shop your scenario to everyone to get you the best deal (as opposed to a bank-only that only have their short list of options available, and broker-only, which cannot make offers from their bank but will shop you to all the banks out there).

If nothing else, she's easy to talk to and can give you tons of easy advice up front, even if you choose not to use her for your financing needs. I'd advise you to start with that, as you're going to get far better guidance doing that than listening to us chumps on here.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

It can turn out good for you if you get a good deal too.

I bought my house in early 2011 for 120k as a foreclosure and fixed it up. The house next door to me sold for 200k last month, so I might try to sell my house in the coming months and pocket the cash to apply to my next house. You can think of it as an investment.

Plus I pay substantially less in mortgage and tax payments than I did renting.

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

thanks! I have friends who live in same complex(?) and said HOA fees werent bad at all.

Also.. that last part alone is motivation not to rent! lol

Depends on the cost and what you get for the money. HOA fees lower your purchasing power. Even if water and electricity are included, when buying a home, they factor your HOA dues into your maximum payment. They don't include water and electricity (even though they are necessaties) otherwise when computing your max payment.

Also, if you have a rigid HOA that covers too many exterior things and common areas, when there are issues that arise that could lead to legal issues, it can make things very difficult when you go to sell (there's a complex in Tualatin whose HOA was tied up in legal issues for 2 years, and it made things very near-impossible to sell).

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

It can turn out good for you if you get a good deal too.

I bought my house in early 2011 for 120k as a foreclosure and fixed it up. The house next door to me sold for 200k last month, so I might try to sell my house in the coming months and pocket the cash to apply to my next house. You can think of it as an investment.

Plus I pay substantially less in mortgage and tax payments than I did renting.

And you get the tax benefits of deducting the interest and property taxes.

 

[Wheels]

I don't usually do this, but if you need a mortgage broker, you should talk to my mom-in-law. She's dilligent, willing to fight on your behalf with underwriters/agents/anyone else involved in the process, and won't screw you over (she left SoCal before the big crash - everyone wanted the shady loans, such as subprime, and she wouldn't do them, so she foresaw the crash and cashed out before getting shat on). The company she works for is both a bank and broker, so she can shop your scenario to everyone to get you the best deal (as opposed to a bank-only that only have their short list of options available, and broker-only, which cannot make offers from their bank but will shop you to all the banks out there).

If nothing else, she's easy to talk to and can give you tons of easy advice up front, even if you choose not to use her for your financing needs. I'd advise you to start with that, as you're going to get far better guidance doing that than listening to us chumps on here.

recommending the Mother IN LAW!!!! Must be good! thanks for the advice!

 

[Wheels]

Jesus my head is spinning with all this stuff lolz. Were you guys as lost as I am now, when 27?

I'm a fish out of water here.

 

[Wheels]

well not Fizzle being how he is 27!!! lol

 

[Natebishop3]

We've been thinking about a first time buyer loan as well Wheels. It's a great time to buy, but we find ourselves in between what we can probably afford and what we want. There's about a 30k difference between what we will most likely be approved for, and what we want in a house. It sucks.

 

[Wheels]

There's about a 30k difference between what we will most likely be approved for, and what we want in a house. It sucks.

how do you figure that? Is that just best guess on what type of loan you would get? or have you already gone through application process?

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

well not Fizzle being how he is 27!!! lol

BG and I are accountants, we literally sit around and think of this Shit all day lol

 

[Wheels]

BG and I are accountants, we literally sit around and think of this Shit all day lol

I hate math with a passion so this is the worst for me

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

BG and I are accountants, we literally sit around and think of this Shit all day lol

This.

And I bought my first place at 23 with no guidance or help from anyone, and I while my place was rad and I made money when I sold it 2 years later (even though we were in the crash), I had some regrets because I got hosed on a couple of items because nobody gave me advice.

My wife started in the industry working for her parents at like 15, and she worked in the industry until 2 years ago. My mother-in-law has been in the industry at least 25 years, so she's up on her game. She has a realtor's license too. She doesn't practice, but it keeps her up-to-date on the other side of thigns, as well.

 

[Wheels]

so the moral of the story is this... "Get the Frak on it Wheels, you are way behind in investing in your future!!!!"

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

[video=youtube;hPIxrzmatq0]

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Get pre approved so you know ahead of time what your loan can be.

Put 20% down so you aren't stuck with an escrow account.

Be willing to walk away.

Be prepared to bend over and take it from the mortgage underwriters requesting you to do a million tedious things.

All of this. We only put 5% down and it created a ton of pain with the fourth item on JFizz's list. Make sure you have a very recent 401K statement.

I'd also recommend buying something for as much less than you're qualified for as humanly possible. When you get your pre-qualified letters, get them in 10-25k increments so that the seller doesn't know how much you have "in reserve" for negotiation purposes. They'll play hardball with post-inspection negotiation if they know you have room to breathe.

Always get a sewer scope. If you have to pick between a radon test and a sewer scope, get the scope.

 

[OSUBlazerfan]

Location, Location, Location...make sure you are ok with the location!

Also what Fizzle said, try to make sure you have 20% down, you dont wanna pay PMI.

 

[magnifier661]

20% down will save you a ton of money. You won't have to get mortgage insurance; which accounts for about $50 per month for each $100,000 borrowed.

Agree with getting a smaller house for the pre approval. The limit is your max; meaning it will be harder to keep up with.

Location is the absolute! A good location and smaller house will work out so much better for you!

 

[Wheels]

I'm repping the hell out of everyone in this thread!

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

These guys are right on avoiding PMI, but there is another way to avoid PMI without paying 20% down.

Hence, why I suggest you talk to someone who actually has a clue, instead of us clowns.

Not sure where the program stands today, but there was a USDA program that offered some of the best interest rates and required no more than 3% down (and sometimes 0% down) with no PMI. The one caveat is you had to live somewhere considered "rural". As of 2 years ago, Wilsonville, most of Tualatin, and a lot of suburbs that we all would not consider "rural" fell under this program. Hood River is quite likely to still fit into this program (assuming this program still exists).

These guys probably had no idea such programs existed. So, I highly advise that you stop listening to us, and talk to someone who knows what they're actually talking about, and are up on all the currently available special programs.

 

[Denny Crane]

My strategy has been to buy a beat up house in a good neighborhood. You get a discount, and you get to fix it up to your tastes. More upside.

I particularly like neighborhoods where all the homes are custom. That way, you can remodel or upgrade as much as you like, without overbuilding for the neighborhood. That is, you don't want to be the only $500K house on a block where all the (nearly identical) houses are $200K.

 

[Eastoff]

BG and I are accountants, we literally sit around and think of this Shit all day lol

This.

And I bought my first place at 23 with no guidance or help from anyone, and I while my place was rad and I made money when I sold it 2 years later (even though we were in the crash), I had some regrets because I got hosed on a couple of items because nobody gave me advice.

My wife started in the industry working for her parents at like 15, and she worked in the industry until 2 years ago. My mother-in-law has been in the industry at least 25 years, so she's up on her game. She has a realtor's license too. She doesn't practice, but it keeps her up-to-date on the other side of thigns, as well.

So i started a new thread the other day about the subject, but basically my work is going to give me an ultimatum and I don't want to move. I've thought about going back to school as an option. I have a BS in Physics, and I've always been good at math. I considered trying to be a CPA or something that uses a lot of math and makes good money. As it stands I don't think I would mind an extremely boring job if it required a good amount of thinking. Do you two have some suggestions on the subject of career choices perhaps similar to yours? Perhaps a required education necessary?

 

[Eastoff]

We've been thinking about a first time buyer loan as well Wheels. It's a great time to buy, but we find ourselves in between what we can probably afford and what we want. There's about a 30k difference between what we will most likely be approved for, and what we want in a house. It sucks.

Where are you guys looking?

 

[SlyPokerDog]

My advice is to buy a duplex, triplex our 4plex. You can use your FHA first time buyers to purchase it but they will only debt load you for your part of the mortgage. Meaning if you buy a 4 plex they will only debt load you for 1/4 of the mortgage because you have 3 other units to get rent from.

You may say, "but I don't want to live in a plex!" But after a couple of years the bank we look at this as investment property. Your rents will cover your mortgage so you are a good to get a regular home mortgage for a home you want to live in. Then you'll end up with investment property and a home.