First time House Buyer

[renogaw]

that's a little misleading.
don't have the same realtor. if you go to a remax store, you can still shop at other houses (century 21 for example). the seller pays a commision, usually of 6%. if there are two realtors they split it.
a realtor will obviously try to sell a house that their office is representing. just have that office assign a second realtor from that office to the house. happens all the tim.e

 

[fender]

Remember it is a buyers market and that alot of people/banks are looking to get out from under loans they never should have gotten/loaned. Try not to look at too many houses on a given day - hard to keep track - take a notebook and write down details about every house you look at. Get pre-approved by a bank before you look - this gives you negotiating power.
Bid low and try not to get emotionally attached to a house before you close a deal.

 

[threed240]

Originally Posted by shogun323
Another great tool is zillow.com !!!!!
Yes, this is an awesome website. You can seel property tax prices, plus the values of your future neighbors.

 

[bronco300]

what do you guys think about building a house?

 

[nigerbang]

Thats what I would do..See how much you can get a Home Build loan for and check out some House plan books...Dont know how much there but in GA it usually works out to about $100 per Sq Foot , of living space...Building instead of buying saves money in the fact that you can have a larger house built instead of having to buy it from a builder..think about it..A builder builds a house for $150,000 he will prolly sell it at around $200,000
I do surveying so I know lots of builders and how that all works, trust me...Building is cheaper than buying..unless you can find a wicked deal on a Foreclosure

 

[bronco300]

well by building i meant those new "communities" that pop up everywhere and give you certain plans to choose from and what not

 

[nigerbang]

most of that works as in(Pay a huge lot prem, and pick from around 6-13 house plans) if you can buy the lot and bring in your own builder that would still say some money

 

[renogaw]

and you could have more choices of what goes into it.
before building though, i would ask yourself: is this the house you're going to spend the rest of your life in. if it is, go through the headaches and make it your dream home. if not, don't bother building yourself.

 

[bronco300]

i highly doubt itll be a lifetime home, but it will be quite a while till we would move..at least 10 i would think

 

[bronco300]

Check for child predators (registered)
i know there is a site for these things and rapists,etc...but can someone tell me what site it is please?

 

[rad]

a site that will help you ball park neighborhood figures is zillow dot com. Type in your address and you can see what your own house is worth as well as all your neighbors.

 

[renogaw]

Originally Posted by Bronco300
i know there is a site for these things and rapists,etc...but can someone tell me what site it is please?
should be something in your state's website i'd think. may want to google --- offender registration

 

[scotts]

If you are considering a new house here are some things to keep in mind (at least here in CA)
Homeowners fees, Most new tracts have at least one homeowners fee associated with it.
Landscaping (up to 10% of the cost of the house) This is hard cash, not money financed into the house. Also may need to have a landscape architect design it.
Everything you like in the model house is an extra. I know someone that bought a new house and it cost them 2K just to have the choice of 4 more colors, not an upgrade in carpet quality, just a choice of more colors.
There are no window coverings in a new house, you have to buy them.
With all of this said there is obviously nothing like being the first person to own a house, but just want to warn you of some pitfalls that come with buying a new house. Like I said at least here in So Cal. It may be entirely different where you live.
Also know what your property taxes are. Here it is about 1.2% of the purchase price of the house.

 

[bronco300]

thanks guys for all t he help, any other advice? my cousin and her soon to be husband are moving down here, and wanted to share rent with us, well we figure why share rent when we can just buy a house and have them live with and pay us rent since we want a house anyways, and that will help with mortage payments, etc.

 

[phixer]

Radon level
Fixed rate

[hr]

 

[renogaw]

it may sound harsh... but once someone moves in and has their mailing address changed to your house, if they don't want to leave you'll have to legally evict them if you ever don't want them there. get something in writing that you are renting them space.
also, now you may have a different

[hr]
now that you're thinking of it as a rental property. if you were planning on going for a FHA (fannie mae?)

[hr]
(which is an awesome program btw if its still around) you won't be able to because now these people's income may put the household income over the limit. and don't forget your taxes from the extra income from the rent are going to be changed.
personally i'd say if you cannot afford the house on your own, and expect the extra income from the rent, you are looking at trouble. What happens when they move out and that extra income isnt there?

 

[bronco300]

we fully understand that already and would have a contract for them...and we could afford a house i think this is just a nice push to get us going...if not now we would get one in a year...the main concern right now is making sure someone comes in this apartment after us...if no one does that then we won't do it because we'd still pay the rent, if they do then we just pay a little bit each month.

 

[1knight164]

Don't forget the homeowners warranty and make the seller pay for it...

 

[rykna]

Originally Posted by 1knight164
Don't forget the homeowners warranty and make the seller pay for it...
Ya!!!!

 

[seasalt101]

bronco be careful, living with family always sounds nice but problems come up and always do, then somebody comes away hurt,financially ,emotionally or both