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Author
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Topic: buying a house
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DIRTY SALLY
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Member # 7845
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posted
 
 
im looking to buy a house or maybe a townhouse i need to move outa the place im at
what are the steps in looking to do this?
any info in great! and have a happy hump day!
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Savage Habits
instagram @2cheezen
Posts: 9145 | Registered: Aug 2007
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N8
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Member # 6048
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posted
run your own credit (annualcreditreport.com for a free one from all 3 banks)
Talks some banks (plenty of them), but do not let them run your credit. Just show them what you have and talk in general about rates.
Talk to a good real estate agent.
Go in there armed with a credit report will save you hella inquiries that can have a negative effect on your credit. But I can tell you, if your credit is not over a 620 look to have some hassles. And a 620 is cutting it close. I know a very very good loan agent I can put you in touch with. Also be prepared to have some down payment money. Any where from 5-10%.
There is a lot that goes into the process but a good loan agent is key. This is a great time to buy, but banks are stingy with loans.
Posts: 11638 | Registered: Sep 2005
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venomous99
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Member # 1917
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posted
get a realtor, browse homes on the many mls sites, get pre approved, put an offer in on a home u like, buy, go through escrow, keys are handed off to u and start paying mortgagee, propery tax and insurance.
its that simple..it also helps to have good credit a good lump sum of money to put down. 20% down is the rule of thumb unless u get on one of those special programs that reduce the downpayment to single digits. there is also the 8k 1st time home buyers credit that u should be able to take advantage of.
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MKII Q7
89LX
Posts: 4811 | From: dc | Registered: Oct 2002
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SydeWaySix
CAFords OG
Member # 3596
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posted
Here's what I did:
1.SAVE YOUR MONEY for a down payment
2. get your credit checked
3. See how big of a loan you can afford with your monthly income
4. start shopping around
5. if you like wha you see in your price range, then continue to search. But more than likely, your expectations will be higher than you can really afford and you might decide to hold off until you have good enough credit or a big enough down payment
6. If you do conventional loan, you can close on a house fairly quickly...but if you do FHA, its a long ass process (usually).
A few years back i thought it was going to be easy to buy a house. All I thought was, "I can afford a couple thousand a month, no problem!" WRONG! Its not only mortgage that you need to think about. You also have to consider your monthly bills, utilities, hobbies, car payments, property tax, HOA (if applicable) etc...Also are you willing to change your lifestyle, ie: do you like to go out, buy cars, wear nice clothes, etc. All these things add up and you might realize that buying isnt right for you. good luck man ![[patriot]](graemlins/patriot.gif)
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2013 Boss 302 #356. Performance White. Stock.
1965 Fastback GT Restored to stock spec.
Posts: 9882 | From: Bay Area | Registered: Dec 2002
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N8
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Member # 6048
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by SydeWaySix:
Here's what I did:
1.SAVE YOUR MONEY for a down payment
2. get your credit checked
3. See how big of a loan you can afford with your monthly income
4. start shopping around
5. if you like wha you see in your price range, then continue to search. But more than likely, your expectations will be higher than you can really afford and you might decide to hold off until you have good enough credit or a big enough down payment
6. If you do conventional loan, you can close on a house fairly quickly...but if you do FHA, its a long ass process (usually).
A few years back i thought it was going to be easy to buy a house. All I thought was, "I can afford a couple thousand a month, no problem!" WRONG! Its not only mortgage that you need to think about. You also have to consider your monthly bills, utilities, hobbies, car payments, property tax, HOA (if applicable) etc...Also are you willing to change your lifestyle, ie: do you like to go out, buy cars, wear nice clothes, etc. All these things add up and you might realize that buying isnt right for you. good luck man
Gold! ^^
Seriously save money, research, review and prioritize. I have bought a few times and walked on one. Learned a lot each time. But research and knowledge puts you in the drivers seat. It is easy to get caught up in the rapture of the process, then next you know you lose the control. And check your credit at the link I provided. And if it is deemed not cool or low. Sign up for something like myfico.com monitor your credit while paying things off. I use myfico to this day.
Posts: 11638 | Registered: Sep 2005
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SydeWaySix
CAFords OG
Member # 3596
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by N8:
quote:
Originally posted by SydeWaySix:
Here's what I did:
1.SAVE YOUR MONEY for a down payment
2. get your credit checked
3. See how big of a loan you can afford with your monthly income
4. start shopping around
5. if you like wha you see in your price range, then continue to search. But more than likely, your expectations will be higher than you can really afford and you might decide to hold off until you have good enough credit or a big enough down payment
6. If you do conventional loan, you can close on a house fairly quickly...but if you do FHA, its a long ass process (usually).
A few years back i thought it was going to be easy to buy a house. All I thought was, "I can afford a couple thousand a month, no problem!" WRONG! Its not only mortgage that you need to think about. You also have to consider your monthly bills, utilities, hobbies, car payments, property tax, HOA (if applicable) etc...Also are you willing to change your lifestyle, ie: do you like to go out, buy cars, wear nice clothes, etc. All these things add up and you might realize that buying isnt right for you. good luck man
Gold! ^^
Seriously save money, research, review and prioritize. I have bought a few times and walked on one. Learned a lot each time. But research and knowledge puts you in the drivers seat. It is easy to get caught up in the rapture of the process, then next you know you lose the control. And check your credit at the link I provided. And if it is deemed not cool or low. Sign up for something like myfico.com monitor your credit while paying things off. I use myfico to this day.
Yes, DO NOT LOSE CONTROL! Dont let agents get to you and what my agent once told me is "dont fall in love with any house you put an offer on..." With this economy, there are always going to be people with a bigger down payment than you and/or people paying cash, so the house that you "really want" can be sold to a "better" buyer very quickly. My wife got her heart broken several times because she "fell in love" with some of the houses we wanted, but I stuck to the saying and I'm very happy with what we ended up with. Just dont give up! It took us over a year of hunting and putting offers in to finally close in on a place that we wanted. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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2013 Boss 302 #356. Performance White. Stock.
1965 Fastback GT Restored to stock spec.
Posts: 9882 | From: Bay Area | Registered: Dec 2002
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Yaterstang
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Member # 7659
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posted
Get pre approved, you dont really need a down payment anymore. HUD has a list of homes that comes out every friday where you can put 100 down.
Posts: 2968 | From: Natomas | Registered: May 2007
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liftedF150
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Member # 868
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by SydeWaySix:
Here's what I did:
1.SAVE YOUR MONEY for a down payment
2. get your credit checked
3. See how big of a loan you can afford with your monthly income
4. start shopping around
5. if you like wha you see in your price range, then continue to search. But more than likely, your expectations will be higher than you can really afford and you might decide to hold off until you have good enough credit or a big enough down payment
6. If you do conventional loan, you can close on a house fairly quickly...but if you do FHA, its a long ass process (usually).
A few years back i thought it was going to be easy to buy a house. All I thought was, "I can afford a couple thousand a month, no problem!" WRONG! Its not only mortgage that you need to think about. You also have to consider your monthly bills, utilities, hobbies, car payments, property tax, HOA (if applicable) etc...Also are you willing to change your lifestyle, ie: do you like to go out, buy cars, wear nice clothes, etc. All these things add up and you might realize that buying isnt right for you. good luck man
![[worship]](graemlins/worship.gif)
you just saved me a whole lot of typing
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GO SHARKS!
Posts: 3259 | From: Discovery Bay | Registered: Feb 2002
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NiftyWhiteFifty
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Member # 4320
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posted
While we're on the topic, I was wondering if there is any way to get around paying PMI if you put down less than 20%?
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'05 F150 4x4
Posts: 2056 | From: San Jose | Registered: Mar 2004
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N8
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Member # 6048
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posted
Just to add, we bought a townhouse in Stockton for 19k. 1300 sq ft 3 br 1ba upstairs downstairs. Not the best area. But living area for less than a car is good. Check out Stockton Quail Lakes or Bianchi area.
Posts: 11638 | Registered: Sep 2005
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Wildfire532FB
CAFords OG
Member # 1482
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posted
I got a realtor doing the footwork looking for a house with what I am looking for in mind. Its also fun to look in newspapers and on the internet. I got pre-approved and my credit checked out at the same time. Shop around
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68 Fastback
84 CJ7
94 HMMWV
95 GT
03 F350
17 Fusion Hybrid
Posts: 17578 | From: 530 | Registered: Jun 2002
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wilit
Mustang Messiah
Member # 3367
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posted
Figure on at least needing $5k-$10k for closing costs alone. That is in addition to whatever you save for the down payment.
Taxes: You can do either an impound account or pay the property taxes out of your own pocket every November and February. Property tax is 1.1% of the assessed value. So for every $100k of the assessed value, you will pay $1100 every year. If you live in the valley also figure in Mello-Roos tax. If you do the impound account, you will need to pad it with your own cash for the first year, so they'll guestimate what you'll need to pay and tell you you need to cut a check to cover what won't be in there when you start paying your mortgage.
Section 1 & Section 2 issues: When you buy a place, you will get a home inspection. Section 1 is everything that the home owner NEEDS to repair before selling the home. Section 2 is negotiable. In this market, you need to tell them that all section 2 stuff needs to be repaired too or at least knock the repair costs off the selling price of the house. In my experience, have them fix it because it's usually small stuff that you probably will never get around to fixing anyway.
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"If a man hasn't found something worth dying for, he isn't fit to live." - Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 4793 | From: 37.78514° North 122.40100° West | Registered: Oct 2003
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BIGBALLFACTOR
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Member # 7277
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by CHUGGABREW:
im looking to buy a house or maybe a townhouse i need to move outa the place im at
what are the steps in looking to do this?
any info in great! and have a happy hump day!
kenny you got my number i know on of the highest producers out in the area he can help you with any ? you may have
Posts: 6908 | From: okc | Registered: Dec 2006
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92stangLX
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Member # 3252
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posted
1) goto your bank and get "prequalified" for a loan to see how much u can afford
2) hire a realtor and have them help u figure out what areas you can afford on ur budget
3) go house hunting!
4) get preapproved so you can place offers when u find the place u want
remember the three most important things to look for in a house... "location location location"
Posts: 5302 | From: San Francisco | Registered: Sep 2003
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Zeke34
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Member # 9432
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posted
I don't think I can add much else to what everyone just suggested other than just be patient. This past November, my wife and I bought our very first home in Arizona using an FHA loan. I've never had someone in my business as much as the everyone who had something to do with us purchasing our house. In addition to getting our credit scores (which were both upwards of 720)they wanted to know the balance of our checking & savings accounts, and they also wanted to see monthly bank statements. Although I understand their reasoning behind wanting all this information, this actually got me pretty angry because I felt like as if they were envading my privacy, plus my wife and I didn't get our credit scores by mistake. We worked our asses off and made sure we had a handle on whatever debt we currently have or have ever had. Also, because I'm in the Military and my term will be up in June, they wanted a written and signed letter from me stating that I intend on re-enlisting ![[BS flag]](graemlins/bs_flag.gif) . Oh yeah another thing, we have friends who are currently waiting to hear back about a short-sale home and they've been waiting since about late November/ early December of last year. If you have the patience to wait that long then go for it but my wife and I choose to look at Bank owned homes and closed on our house about a month after our offer was accepted (which took if I'm not mistaking only took about a week or two). Good luck with house hunting...
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Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming that Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
Posts: 209 | Registered: Aug 2009
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88DroptopGT
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Member # 2535
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posted
Everyone pretty much said it all mortgage wise but:
Don't jump on a house because it's a great deal. Some short-sales and walk-outs are in pretty bad shape mostly because they haven't been taken care of in years. Look closer because that 50-100k you might save could cost you long-term in repairs.
Make sure you get a GOOD inspector. Check for mold, water damage, foundation issues, etc.
My friend was scoping a short-sale in American Canyon and a tree had to be removed. Low and behold yanking that tree revealed a nest of termites and bugs that went inside the house.
Just buyer beware out there..
Posts: 3978 | From: 707 | Registered: Mar 2003
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stanger50
20yr club
Member # 1665
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posted
im waiting till my score hits 750. The wifes score is at 773. I see good things in near future.
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1998 Cobra SVT convertible
Bright Atlantic Blue (1 of 247)
20 year club.
Posts: 1318 | Registered: Aug 2002
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t top freak
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Member # 6269
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by stanger50:
im waiting till my score hits 750. The wifes score is at 773. I see good things in near future.
yep, thats my plan. well, no wife but im trying to get my score to or above 750 before i go start looking to buy.
i wouldnt mind buying a cheaper condo, then buying some local land and building a house
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1994 cobra - sold!
1986 t top gt - parted out and sold!
on the hunt for another
Posts: 1023 | From: sacramento | Registered: Dec 2005
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Luke87GT
Lay'n more stripes
than Caltrans
Member # 21
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posted
There is some good advice within this thread.
First, do you have 20% downpayment and steady income that you can show proof of? When I was buying two years ago, the general rule of thumb was that the bank will pre-approve you for a monthly payment amount of about 45% of your gross monthly income (property tax included).
As was said above, you can buy for under 20% down, but it becomes exponentially harder. Banks are a lot more careful with who they provide loans to now than they were 3 years ago.
Begin by doing your own research on real estate prices in the area you are interested in buying along with keeping daily tabs on the rates. Once you feel comfortable, get a good real estate agent and begin shopping around. Don't get too attached to any one house and make sure you see plenty of houses before making any decisions.
I will say this. If you don't have downpayment or proof of steady income, don't waste your own time or your agents.
Rates are low and prices are very attractive right now. I would like to pull the trigger on a second home in the next couple years myself.
Best of luck.
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Stangless
Posts: 7802 | From: San Mateo | Registered: Jul 2000
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Luke87GT
Lay'n more stripes
than Caltrans
Member # 21
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posted
And always remember this!
Your agent wants you to buy regardless if it is in your best interest or not. That is how they get paid. Protect yourself. Makes no difference to them whether you are getting a great deal or not. Don't fail to recognize this.
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Stangless
Posts: 7802 | From: San Mateo | Registered: Jul 2000
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Zeke34
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Member # 9432
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posted
As cliche as it may sound, treat all the houses that you look at like buses (miss one next 15 one comin') if someone swoops the house from under you that's all right, there are more houses out there to be bought.
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Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming that Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
Posts: 209 | Registered: Aug 2009
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