school me on buying a house
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King Erauno
Members Posts: 6,754 ✭✭✭✭✭
I need to chill throwing my money away by renting and get a house. what is the process? any tips? much appreciated
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get your credit score up, keep a good job, go to the bank and get pre-approved for a mortgage, then shop around.
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learn how loan amortization is calculated
you should be able to calculate a 360 month mortgage being paid off with a fixed interest rate
like the other poster said, get your credit score up
research and see what type of loan you qualify for ie. VA loan, FHA loan, etc
if you don't qualify for a loan that allows you to ignore a down payment............then save at least 20% of the value of the loan you are trying to borrow
have saving for your 1st year of home repairs
if you can, buy a new home by having it built and make sure the builder gives you a warranty
and lastly location is everything.............research if a home is in a potential flood zone, look up property tax rates, look up how many natural disasters happened in the area in the last 10-15 years
finally, try to get a feel for what the neighborhood surrounding the property will look like by the time you pay off your loan -
i appreciate the responses in here so far
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? a house
what you need to do is spend that money on a nice chain
Way better investment -
Camaro is also a good alternative to a chain
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Get a home inspection or two. They dont tell everything about a house but they help. Spending $600 for inspection before buying beats paying $5000 down the road because you didnt know about an issue..
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When buying a house never buy the biggest and most expensive house on the block because your property value will never rise unless you are on some acreage. You always want to look for a house that has some equity in it
Buy a house in a top ranked school district. This is for resale purposes and property value
The location of the property is very important. Buy a house that has easy access to common areas like, schools, hospitals, malls, ect.
Pay attention to how your neighbors keep there yard. If they have broken down cars, car parts, and other random junk this can affect your property value
All house prices can be negotiated. Make sure your realtor does a recent sales history within a 10 mile radius of comparable houses to the one you are looking to buy
Make sure you have money for closing. All sellers are not willing to pay closing cost
Do not hire an appraiser that is automatically included when purchasing a house and the cost is paid by the seller. You can go the city or county website and look up the value of the property. The purpose of an appraiser is to ensure that you are not buying at a rate that is more than what the house is worth.
When making an offer on a house put in the contract that the sale is contingent upon a home inspection with more than X amount of dollars in repairs. Certain repairs to a home can be fixed by the seller if negotiated accordingly.
Upgrades to cosmetic items such as appliances, light fixtures etc. can be negotiated if the seller is desperate to sell or if the upgrades are inexpensive
That's all I can think of for now!
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Also make you have atleast $500-$1000 for an earnest deposit when you have found the right property for you. It just shows your intent and willingness to buy the property. Once you receive an accepted offer, that money will go towards your closing cost.
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FHA loans require a minimum credit score of 620with 3.5% of the purchase price as a down payment
If you see a home that you might be interested in but is currently not on sale, contact the owner via a letter / postcard stating that you know of a potential buyer that is interested in purchasing properties in that neighborhood -
Buy your house cash. Real ? ball hard
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Khan academy has a video series about this titled "renting vs buying a home". I was going to create a thread for it but I'll just post it in here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8GjDRT2MI0
(The above is part 1.) -
T/S if you have a family member that has a VA loan that could help you a lot. You can get a house with no money down up to $240,000 no money down... And yes you can be listed as an owner.. its just paperwork.. I'm currently studying for my real estate license...
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Renting is cheaper than buying a house in todays market. When you rent, you dont have to worry about repairs or property taxes. Thats the landlords responsibility. Plus the housing market isnt getting better compared to the early 2000s so your taking a gamble on whether or not your investment will appreciate. I see no point in buying a home if their is no equity in it or has the potential to gain value. Unless you plan to live there for the rest of you life and give that house to your future kids or some ? .
If price in an issue, look for short sales or REOs (Foreclosures). -
can anyone explain what is a short sale? i see bargain deals all the time for condos and houses but they're usually listed on short sale. i heard you don't want to go about buying a house that way or its extra major hassle is that true?
