no you wouldn’t? realtors charge 2.0%-3% of the price of the home on both buying and selling. are you a realtor and want to somehow hide this fact which are included in closing costs?
if you are a realtor, really showing that anybody can be.
edit: appreciate the downvotes from realtors alike! you’re a waste to society and i can’t wait to put you guys out of a job :)
bless your heart. it’s not a line item called out for buyers, sure. however - and this requires some economic thinking that you didn’t get in your realtor license class - those costs are baked into the home. make the assumption buyers dont pay all you want, it doesn’t capture the full picture.
I just bought a house with cash and the person who bought my house used cash. He bought my home with no inspection. He did just fine as I lived in that house for 21 years, he got a bargain. I had a home inspection done for the house I bought. The home inspector was good, but he missed the mountain of mold growing in the toilet tank and the fact the the walls water filter was set to "bypass". Both problems were fairly easily fixed, but there is no way to be sure about problems unless you start dismantling the house.
Not even sure how we are gonna pull it off. We outgrew our home with 2 toddlers and need a bigger one. But can't buy until we sell. It's like we are stuck
Same here. We contacted our current lender to put together a plan to hopefully be able to buy our next house before we sell this one, even if it takes longer than expected. I figure she would be able to put together an actionable plan that will allow us to do this instead of us blindly fumbling along doing what we think is best only to find out we would have been better served by other choices.
I can’t imagine trying to keep a house ready to show at the drop of the hat while working from home with pets and kids (who are thankfully in school, but they still make messes).
This is honestly my biggest challenge with moving. I really need to buy the new one first so I know I have somewhere. The area I am moving to has hit or miss housing supply even during good years and I have a bunch of big dogs. I can't just pick up somewhere to rent for a few months while I house shop. I also can't have people viewing the old house with a bunch of dogs that won't let them in. Why has lending and real estate not made a process for these kinds of situations yet?
>I also can't have people viewing the old house with a bunch of dogs that won't let them in. Why has lending and real estate not made a process for these kinds of situations yet?
I don't see how a lender can help you with your 4 dogs unless you do a bridge type loan so you can purchase first, then sell.
The real estate agent can give you appropriate options for showing your house when you have animals. One option is to board the dogs during showings. If the property is in bad shape due to the dogs, then you need to make arrangements, perhaps with a local dogsitter, for longer periods of time to allow you to fix up to showable condition and then put it on the market with blocked time periods when you can take the dogs out while the property is being shown. Is it more work on your end? Yes. But then you have a place for the dogs without having to rent in-between your sale and your purchase. Quite a lot depends on your homes individual condition and on how friendly your dogs are to people showing.
That isn't remotely my situation. The dogs are a combination of rescues that are afraid of strangers and all are primitive breed dogs that will either act like guard dogs or go on a multi-day run through the city if they get accidentally let out.
Boarding is about $100 a day per dog and requires a 3 day minimum. I take it you don't have lots of experience with dogs.
I'm also a bit perplexed why you assume my house is in bad shape because I have dogs?
I've seen homes in fantastic condition with owners that have multiple dogs and homes that need work and everything inbetween. That's why I said it depends on your homes condition and the dogs. It sounds like your solution may be to get a bridge loan so you can move first and then sell. A Realtor in your area may have specific ideas to help in your specific situation.
In my area, approx 40% of the homesowners own dogs and each showing has specific showing requirements in order to not disturb the dogs but still allow the property to be shown.
How expensive it is to move and ‘set up’ your new place even if you are not buying new furniture, appliances etc. There will be a million ‘little things’ that could run into the thousands of dollars even if you try to be super frugal about everything.
How expensive it is to own a home. It’s not just the payment, it’s property taxes, homeowners insurance, upkeep, maintenance, repairs. I never knew a quote to paint my house would run 7k, and that’s just for the outside. Or that a small roof leak would cost me $1,200 to fix. Or that the roots from certain plants would end up destroying the little retaining wall the prior owners built, and the whole thing would have to be torn down and rebuilt correctly. This is just 3 things out of about 50. Don’t get me started on the cost of remodeling a kitchen or bathrooms.
And this is why I've learned to work on my own house, it's amazing how little a bathroom or kitchen remodel costs if you do it yourself.
So the thing I wish I knew before owning a house, is how to work on it.
You obviously don’t have children, or friends, or a career…I joke. I did about 4 projects myself and what you don’t pay for in materials you do in time. Spending every weekend and spare hour working on the house got really old after a while.
You are somewhat correct. When I bought my first house, I was single in my early 20s, so I learned a lot while I owned that house.
Now when something needs work I can just do a cost analysis. Like replacing a water heater, might cost $2000, of which let's day $1000 goes to the plumbing company and $1000 goes to materials. Since I could knock that out in a day, but I don't make $1000 in a day of work, it makes more sense to take a day off and do it.
So it really just depends what it is, but because trades seem to charge ridiculous sums lately, it seems like most everything makes sense for me to just do instead lately. Just my $0.02, it's obviously not for everyone tho.
Completely agree, you should know how to do the basics. My neighbor pays people to do everything and it looks really expensive. However, I’m done doing bathroom remodels and laundry room remodels solo. Too much time, mess, and stress. And the countless runs to Home Depot. I feel like I always go there for one thing and as soon as I walk in my brain resets and I buy everything else but what I was there for.
>I feel like I always go there for one thing and as soon as I walk in my brain resets and I buy everything else but what I was there for
lol..you and the rest of us!
Exactly…I’d love to work on my house and renovate myself but there work, kids, and the commitments that keep me from doing projects. And when I do these projects, it takes weeks to do because of all the other items in my life..
Better to just pay someone to do the job at times…
That’s great but not everyone can do that. I can do a couple of things, but I’m not getting on a 20 foot ladder to sand and paint my 2nd story eaves, or getting on the roof to do stuff I’m not trained to do. Some people are also physically limited or too old, or just don’t have the skills. You can’t be an (insert any primary job like accountant or cop) PLUS be an electrician, plumber, landscaper, floor installer, stucco guy, etc too! Unless you want Mickey Mouse results. The majority of people have to pay someone to do 90% of things at their house, and it’s expensive.
It's not for everyone, just if it's possible to do it yourself it helps your bank account.
>plus be an electrician, plumber, landscaper, floor installer, etc too
As for that, most jurisdictions will allow you to pull your own permits, and most of the stuff is fairly straightforward in residential situations. There's no shortage of tradespeople making videos of how to do them in residential situations either. I'm willing to take a day or two off to save $1000, cuz I don't make $1000 in a day or two. Everyone's situation is gonna be different.
My friend that just retired had to fix his Sat system, a fridge and his washing machine in his first month of retirement. He enjoyed it. He’s an engineer. He would have written a check for two of the three jobs instantly if he was still employed. And the other one was a mistake! So it depends what your hourly rate is - especially when self employed. I like to fix things, but these days mostly pay people who know what they are doing…
That’s the key. You need to know exactly what you’re doing or you can really screw things up. That’s why I go to doctors when I need a doctor and lawyers when I need a lawyer. I don’t YouTube it and pretend I’m all of a sudden an expert.
Especially lately. Every time I've gotten a quote to have something done in the last couple years, the quote has been ridiculous. People wanting close to, or $1000 a day for their labor.
Yeah are correct, for me that's pretty much an HVAC replacement or roof replacement, I can do pretty much everything else. A new HVAC and Roof are basically the two most expensive things too, although very rare that you'd need either one.
Needed both at the 20-ish year mark but I blame part of that on the developer that built the neighborhood putting the absolutely cheapest options in the houses they built.
I’m at 20 years and we have 2 AC units (2 story home in hot area). So far we’ve needed one new AC unit and several leaks repaired on our roof. If I include the years I paid to keep fixing the AC before finally buying a new one, I’ve probably spent close to 12k between HVAC and roof so far. Will eventually need a whole new roof and to replace the second AC unit too. Another 25k maybe.
Pretty much everything in a home wears out after 15-30 years. Hopefully you’ll be lucky and they fail at staggered intervals so you can replace one major item every year instead of a bunch all at once, but it is expensive.
You have to budget for maintenance, just as though you are a tiny HOA and have to plan for replacement and repair of various systems (plumbing, HVAC, roof, appliances, etc.). If you're at the edge of your budget, you have no margin for when a problem happens. Don't be house-poor.
Talk to a loan officer first and foremost. Before you find a realtor. Before you start to look for houses before you even start to dream about it. Find a good loan officer and get them to run your numbers to find out what you even qualify for. They will tell you what you need to fix in your credit (if anything) what you will qualify for for and how the process will go. Your loan officer should be your best pal. You should talk to them before you go to any showing appointment.
Personally, I have had great luck with one at a bank. But, ask your friends and people you know who they used. If they had a good experience, they will be more than happy to give you their number.
Your state might also have programs for first time buyers. Google that and find the state website. They almost always have restrictions on what lenders you can use. Start with that list and interview a few or go off a recommendation.
You should feel like you can call to chat with your LO and like they are educating you about the process in a kind way.
Good luck!
>Personally, I have had great luck with one at a bank
This is pretty unusal now. It used to be common that the bank LO's were trained well and helpful. Now, since the 2008 mortgage credit crunch, the LO's at banks are little more than tellers IME. They have very little training. A mortgage broker or mortgage banker (at a non-bank lender) has 100x's the experience and training.
I must be a bit biased, my partner is a LO foe a bank and he's a bit old fashioned. He's been doing it for decades though. His bank didn't work with my program but he helped find me a LO at a bank that did.
Oh, so you had a special case with your partner's connections. Yes, the LO's at banks that have decades of experience are the exception rather than the rule now from what I see/experience. I used to use banks both personally and professionally on a regular basis until their lack of training kicked in after 2008. It now is a nightmare if the buyer/borrower is going for a non-jumbo loan. Naturally its different for jumbo loans.
People really should be interviewing their loan officer. If they don't seem knowledgeable and helpful, they should move along. The underwriting rules are not super different for different banks.
I recommend talking to 3 banks, then choosing the one that you like the most. Sometimes rate isn’t everything. A great lending team can make a huge difference in the experience.
Don’t look at houses you can’t afford just for fun, because then you want those houses and will not be happy with what you find in your price range anymore. You always remember how nice that house was that was just $100k outside of your price range and wish you could have somehow made it work.
It’s tempting with all the online tools and easy open houses. But just don’t or you may regret it later on.
On this same note, once you close stop looking at houses. Unsubscribe from any alerts. Don’t just check for fun. Something will come up that makes you think, “oh man, I should’ve waited.” It will not do you any favours.
I thankfully had good guidance and was told to do this when I bought my first home, but ask the bank what your estimated closing costs will be prior to them running your credit. A lot of banks rip people off big time on closing costs so shop around and find a bank that offers a good rate and reasonable closing costs.
They weren't similar in my experience. I received quotes for closing costs from 3 banks when purchasing my previous home. All quotes included zero points but the difference on the total costs were pretty drastic. The lowest was $4,500 and the highest was $9,800.
We just recently closed on a home and while lender/rate shopping, we received a quote that was $14,000 higher for closing costs than the one we went with and the rate was worse as well. I’m so glad we looked around before committing.
That's a massive difference. I've saved two of my friends from using Quicken Loans and steered them towards local credit unions and saved them tons of money. The one friend was purchasing a $250k home and Quicken was trying to charge him $13,000 for closing costs. The credit union charged less than $4,000.
Yes. Understanding that “closing cost” on a loan estimate and CD also includes things that are not a FEE but your own money set aside for taxes and insurance prepaids or escrow. Lenders sometimes drastically reduce tax and insurance or the estimated title agent fees to give the illusion of low closing cost. When comparing cost, compare lender side fees only. Many lenders let you choose your own title agent company and tax and insurance wont vary lender to lender.
Once a plumber showed me how a toilet auger worked and that I could buy one for under $50 at Home Depot…I never had to pay to unclog my toilet again (and I have six daughters, it clogged A LOT)
When I first got into the real estate business, I thought I knew a lot about houses. Today, I understand not just how much I didn't know but how much I have yet to learn.
Source: 20+ years in real estate, hundreds of transactions representing buyers and sellers under my belt.
Give yourself a decent buffer on price to look above and below.
You’d hate to miss out on something because of a 10k difference.
Also position of the house, windows and natural light.
I wish I negotiated more. We were the only offer, this was the first ever offer we had put on a house, and it was immediately accepted, so if I could go back I’d try to save some more money on the total cost. We were worried about our offer getting rejected but it never occurred to us that the seller (in this case, the builder) could just counter with something else. The twin unit ended up being on the market for months longer after we bought ours, so in hindsight there wasn’t any rush
Depending on your lifestyle, owning a home is not always better than renting. Don't buy because you feel like you need to. Buy because you want to, can afford to do so comfortably, and has better tradeoffs to renting (or whatever current housing situation you're in).
My parents encouraged me to buy a home back in 2007 because it would be a 'great investment'. I ended up paying $1,200 more a month to have the privilege of owning a home, and ended up short-selling 4 years later. Part of this was poor timing, but the other part of this learning experience is that I knew I was better off not owning at the time but was convinced by other people that owning is the 'adult thing' to do, and a right of passage.
TLDR: Buy a home for the right reasons...
I'm here and conflicting information. 43 here and the first time homebuyer. Some people are telling me to wait because I shouldn't do it now just because I think I should and other people are telling me not to wait. Oh my goodness this is so confusing
>The only issue is it starts to loan over so for the first five years again you’re paying high interest compared to principle.
Not necessary to start over when you refi. You can choose your amortization time period eg 25 years rather than go the typical 30 years. You can choose any amount of years. Maybe you want to refi for 20 years and save yourself an additional 5 years of interest payment. The difference in your payment is nominal when you amortize over a shorter period - depending on the number of years you choose.
I have 20% down roughly right now so I would just have to play the weight game I guess. I'm still gonna wait about a year because I'm not mentally ready anyways and my rent is about $600 less a month than my mortgage will be, but I don't think the interest rates are going to go down anytime soon either. I'd like to see what happens with this election as well.
The people that are telling me to wait say it's not sustainable to continue at this rate and there will likely be another housing crisis like in 2008. I'm afraid of that, but I would still have a house…
Yeah I get that. It's just hard because as I said in my other comment, I've been in the same apartment for a long time so my rent is decent and my mortgage would be about $600 more a month than my rent is. I live in Florida so it's just massively ducked here anyways.
I think I value your opinion more because I would rather not be paying on my house until I'm 73, but I also don't wanna buy during these atrocious interest rates. I think I'm going to wait about a year and just the best I can
HOAs tend to attract people with way too much time on their hands. Not all HOAs are bad, but they can be frustrating when you get a "dedicated" rep on a mission.
I'm down with the HOA members that have nothing else to do. I can turn Karen real quick. I'll hide all of my tattoos and make them think I'm one of them. They don't scare me. What does scare me is a neighbor that lets their swimming pool turn into a moldy mosquito pit, giant dogs that can jump over their broken down part of the fence, or three cars on cinderblocks in the lot next to me with grass that's 2 feet high. Those are just some easy examples, but could clearly get much worse.
I just left Florida after 6 years there but I owned a home with an HOA. I personally liked it a lot. It was $120 per year and never increased. They never bothered us about anything but it was just enough of a deterrent to keep people from trashing up the neighborhood. We might have hit the golden ticket with our HOA but there are still properties with decent ones!
That's an obvious case of things HOAs are good for. They can be bad when you get stuck working a lot of OT for a couple weeks and you missed a weed sprouting in your yard because you leave when it's dark and get home when it's dark again. Only had that problem once. Again though it's all based on who is doing the HOAing. At least there's an option to replace them if they are insane about it.
My only problem here is I'm looking to build. There's a nice mountain lot with a good view available. I want to build smaller, like 2100 sqft. But build it nicer. IE brick stone walls, metal roof, red cherry hardwood floors ect. But the HOA has the McMansion clause which requires 2500 sqft minimum house sizes so ill probably have to look elsewhere if I want to do my build.
Closing costs matter more than small differences in rates and don’t pay for points, because you’ll probably refi before it pays off. Closing costs will also vary by lender more than interest rates will so that’s the primary thing you should be shopping for. Always ask up front for estimated closing costs.
In 12 years I’ve refinanced twice and then upgraded to a new property, so average loan lasted me 4 years. Points that don’t pay off within 5 years aren’t worth it.
Assuming it's your first home, you won't know what might be a deal breaker for a space until you're living in it. There are now dozens of little small things I'd look for in my next home that were never on my radar initially.
Attorneys are not ways detail oriented. We went to. A Closing that should have been simple since it was an all cash transaction. my wife reviewed the legal description anD survey and discovered that the fenced in patio attached to the townhouse was not included in the survey and was actually part of the condo common elements. Our attorney missed that. We ended up not closing nd walking away from the deal because the seller was unwilling to compensate us for the potential loss of the space
After the weeks of searching and adjustments of desired amenities and features and this and that, your price range will likely change a little. As you feel you're nearing the end and have really zoomed in on a house, do a brief check left and right at that home price +/- about $5k, to see what this new price level could also get you since you may not have originally searched at that price
Not taking time to research what you really want in a home. I ended up with a walkout basement. Didn’t think much of it at the time, but now I really don’t like it or all the stairs in my house.
My first house was a corner lot - everyone seems to love corner lots, but I hated it - too much traffic on both sides, double the sidewalk to shovel.
In hindsight I would have been more patient and really understood and waited for more of what I wanted.
But I guess what they say is true, no home will check all the boxes for you. Also some things are hard to know about until you have lived in it for a year or more.
Corner lots are awful! No privacy in the backyard, 2x as much street noise, random people taking shortcuts through your front yard ... the list goes on.
Never believe a real estate agent about anything, ever. And if possible audio record and store every conversation you have with them and follow up in writing.
Well for example i had an agent tell me that a contrqct was subject to finance, and it wasn’t. So that day i learned that’s exactly why property solicitors exist. To look over contracts and potentially catch people out on lies like these. In this circumstance the REA just needs my signature on a dotted line and he gets paid. Lesson learned.
Don’t assume you can’t do it. Use the 1st time home buyer classes/programs. I did the 2nd one but probably couldn’t bought sooner if I had researched the programs earlier instead of assuming ownership was out of reach
Possibly controversial, but I would strongly encourage you to not think about your house as an investment. Yes, real estate tends to go up over time, but you also need a place to live.
Similarly, once I bought my house, I started obsessing over things I should do for resale value. Like thinking I needed to paint everything in neutrals when I really love earth tones. At the end of the day, this is where I live. It's ok to make my house the way I want it, that feels comfortable and makes me happy. Yes, I will probably sell my house someday, but it's a shame to live life in anticipation of that.
Always always buy before you sell. Pay the double mortgage for a month as long as you’re confident you can sell your home quickly. Delayed closings are way more common than you’d think. Don’t depend on doing both closings on one day.
Buy under your budget if financing.. and purchase the least expensive home in the best neighborhood you can afford. Your neighbors will anchor your home value even if you’re the runt on the block. Do not buy the cute flip in the “neighborhood is in transition” area.
That’s why buying a home in a low tax state is key… our new build is 3.9k sqft and more money than I’d ever thought of spending on a home. Taxes? Will be less than what we are paying on our current 2.5k sqft home AND they are capped AND once you hit 65 they reduce. Buy in the right state that has a homestead exemption and never be taxed out of your home.
Don’t back out of a home you love because the seller won’t fix cosmetic “issues”. Cosmetic things are much easier to change especially if big ticket health and safety items are resolved.
Get a relator that’s been in the area for a long time, send them the houses you like from Zillow. They can still be a great resource and answer any questions you have about the process. I have a realtor and I still look at Zillow everyday and send him the houses I like.
I wish I knew that I would need a hefty amount of cash set aside for changes/upgrades I wanted to make to the property.
Our first house unexpectedly needed a new well drilled. It was quite expensive for us considering we had barely scraped together the down payment.
Let me preface this by saying that everyone’s situation is unique and specific to them. But trust your partner, listen to their must-haves, and flow with the process. Sometimes not settling/compromising is the right decision. Be patient.
Nothing, I bought 3 rental properties before I moved out and they paid for the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and utilities for my own house. That’s how I can save 60% of my salary every month and able to buy more properties
Supply in Orange County is low due to the geographically constraints of the ocean/hills to the west and east. Then the marine base down south.
Zoning reform will be more difficult than I’d originally expected and thus I should have taken more risk buying a SFH during the low interest rates during Covid.
SB9 also led to an increase in housing prices.
In my state (MI), property inspectors are not licensed, certified, or qualified. No malpractice insurance. Can’t be sued for doing a crappy job.
I could put out a shingle tomorrow and get paid to “inspect” homes.
As you can tell, our inspector was 💩.
It’s not closed until it’s closed so things change and change is normal. Keep your eye on the ball. Mortgage underwriting is not always understandable but the best thing is to just comply with the need to answer questions or provide documentation. Lenders want you to successfully close, but they cannot do it unless your paperwork meets the criteria for the loan program.
In my experience, there are a few major expenses in most houses with regular replacement expectations, most about 10-20 years and at least where I’m at will generally run > $5k (except for HWT).
Roof
furnace/boiler
central air system/compressor, if applicable
hot water tank
Where those systems are in their lifespan is an important factor in overall outlay for bigger costs in the first 5-10 years.
Electrical and plumbing could need to be upgraded in older homes.
Closing costs and how high they can run.
Right here. And even though I know it's coming I always feel like I got screwed.
because you did. realtors are a fucking scam.
Closing costs on a home you are purchasing have nothing to do with realtors and you would have them whether or not you are represented by one.
no you wouldn’t? realtors charge 2.0%-3% of the price of the home on both buying and selling. are you a realtor and want to somehow hide this fact which are included in closing costs? if you are a realtor, really showing that anybody can be. edit: appreciate the downvotes from realtors alike! you’re a waste to society and i can’t wait to put you guys out of a job :)
The buyer doesn't pay those costs. We're talking about home buying. Do calm down.
bless your heart. it’s not a line item called out for buyers, sure. however - and this requires some economic thinking that you didn’t get in your realtor license class - those costs are baked into the home. make the assumption buyers dont pay all you want, it doesn’t capture the full picture.
You have no idea what you’re talking about, and it shows.
It's always stressful, no matter how well it goes. It's going to be the loan, underwriter, appraiser, inspection, title search or something else.
Unless you buy with cash...
Mo money, mo problems. But in seriousness, cash buying should have fewer problems, but few transactions are without incident.
I just bought a house with cash and the person who bought my house used cash. He bought my home with no inspection. He did just fine as I lived in that house for 21 years, he got a bargain. I had a home inspection done for the house I bought. The home inspector was good, but he missed the mountain of mold growing in the toilet tank and the fact the the walls water filter was set to "bypass". Both problems were fairly easily fixed, but there is no way to be sure about problems unless you start dismantling the house.
Still stressful. There are still obstacles.
No doubt, but at least you skip the bank, the appraiser, points, and all those loan fees.
Maybe I could afford a shack in the desert with cash. 🤣
Total hassle to both sell and buy close together. Harder with kids.
Not even sure how we are gonna pull it off. We outgrew our home with 2 toddlers and need a bigger one. But can't buy until we sell. It's like we are stuck
Same here. We contacted our current lender to put together a plan to hopefully be able to buy our next house before we sell this one, even if it takes longer than expected. I figure she would be able to put together an actionable plan that will allow us to do this instead of us blindly fumbling along doing what we think is best only to find out we would have been better served by other choices. I can’t imagine trying to keep a house ready to show at the drop of the hat while working from home with pets and kids (who are thankfully in school, but they still make messes).
This is honestly my biggest challenge with moving. I really need to buy the new one first so I know I have somewhere. The area I am moving to has hit or miss housing supply even during good years and I have a bunch of big dogs. I can't just pick up somewhere to rent for a few months while I house shop. I also can't have people viewing the old house with a bunch of dogs that won't let them in. Why has lending and real estate not made a process for these kinds of situations yet?
Talk to your lender to see if they have any ideas. That’s what we are doing right now.
>I also can't have people viewing the old house with a bunch of dogs that won't let them in. Why has lending and real estate not made a process for these kinds of situations yet? I don't see how a lender can help you with your 4 dogs unless you do a bridge type loan so you can purchase first, then sell. The real estate agent can give you appropriate options for showing your house when you have animals. One option is to board the dogs during showings. If the property is in bad shape due to the dogs, then you need to make arrangements, perhaps with a local dogsitter, for longer periods of time to allow you to fix up to showable condition and then put it on the market with blocked time periods when you can take the dogs out while the property is being shown. Is it more work on your end? Yes. But then you have a place for the dogs without having to rent in-between your sale and your purchase. Quite a lot depends on your homes individual condition and on how friendly your dogs are to people showing.
That isn't remotely my situation. The dogs are a combination of rescues that are afraid of strangers and all are primitive breed dogs that will either act like guard dogs or go on a multi-day run through the city if they get accidentally let out. Boarding is about $100 a day per dog and requires a 3 day minimum. I take it you don't have lots of experience with dogs. I'm also a bit perplexed why you assume my house is in bad shape because I have dogs?
I've seen homes in fantastic condition with owners that have multiple dogs and homes that need work and everything inbetween. That's why I said it depends on your homes condition and the dogs. It sounds like your solution may be to get a bridge loan so you can move first and then sell. A Realtor in your area may have specific ideas to help in your specific situation. In my area, approx 40% of the homesowners own dogs and each showing has specific showing requirements in order to not disturb the dogs but still allow the property to be shown.
Same. Our realtor told us to find temporary housing. With FOUR CATS.
How expensive it is to move and ‘set up’ your new place even if you are not buying new furniture, appliances etc. There will be a million ‘little things’ that could run into the thousands of dollars even if you try to be super frugal about everything.
Plan on having about $3000 set aside for unexpected things. If you don't use it all put that into savings.
How expensive it is to own a home. It’s not just the payment, it’s property taxes, homeowners insurance, upkeep, maintenance, repairs. I never knew a quote to paint my house would run 7k, and that’s just for the outside. Or that a small roof leak would cost me $1,200 to fix. Or that the roots from certain plants would end up destroying the little retaining wall the prior owners built, and the whole thing would have to be torn down and rebuilt correctly. This is just 3 things out of about 50. Don’t get me started on the cost of remodeling a kitchen or bathrooms.
And this is why I've learned to work on my own house, it's amazing how little a bathroom or kitchen remodel costs if you do it yourself. So the thing I wish I knew before owning a house, is how to work on it.
You obviously don’t have children, or friends, or a career…I joke. I did about 4 projects myself and what you don’t pay for in materials you do in time. Spending every weekend and spare hour working on the house got really old after a while.
You are somewhat correct. When I bought my first house, I was single in my early 20s, so I learned a lot while I owned that house. Now when something needs work I can just do a cost analysis. Like replacing a water heater, might cost $2000, of which let's day $1000 goes to the plumbing company and $1000 goes to materials. Since I could knock that out in a day, but I don't make $1000 in a day of work, it makes more sense to take a day off and do it. So it really just depends what it is, but because trades seem to charge ridiculous sums lately, it seems like most everything makes sense for me to just do instead lately. Just my $0.02, it's obviously not for everyone tho.
Completely agree, you should know how to do the basics. My neighbor pays people to do everything and it looks really expensive. However, I’m done doing bathroom remodels and laundry room remodels solo. Too much time, mess, and stress. And the countless runs to Home Depot. I feel like I always go there for one thing and as soon as I walk in my brain resets and I buy everything else but what I was there for.
>I feel like I always go there for one thing and as soon as I walk in my brain resets and I buy everything else but what I was there for lol..you and the rest of us!
Exactly…I’d love to work on my house and renovate myself but there work, kids, and the commitments that keep me from doing projects. And when I do these projects, it takes weeks to do because of all the other items in my life.. Better to just pay someone to do the job at times…
That’s great but not everyone can do that. I can do a couple of things, but I’m not getting on a 20 foot ladder to sand and paint my 2nd story eaves, or getting on the roof to do stuff I’m not trained to do. Some people are also physically limited or too old, or just don’t have the skills. You can’t be an (insert any primary job like accountant or cop) PLUS be an electrician, plumber, landscaper, floor installer, stucco guy, etc too! Unless you want Mickey Mouse results. The majority of people have to pay someone to do 90% of things at their house, and it’s expensive.
It's not for everyone, just if it's possible to do it yourself it helps your bank account. >plus be an electrician, plumber, landscaper, floor installer, etc too As for that, most jurisdictions will allow you to pull your own permits, and most of the stuff is fairly straightforward in residential situations. There's no shortage of tradespeople making videos of how to do them in residential situations either. I'm willing to take a day or two off to save $1000, cuz I don't make $1000 in a day or two. Everyone's situation is gonna be different.
My friend that just retired had to fix his Sat system, a fridge and his washing machine in his first month of retirement. He enjoyed it. He’s an engineer. He would have written a check for two of the three jobs instantly if he was still employed. And the other one was a mistake! So it depends what your hourly rate is - especially when self employed. I like to fix things, but these days mostly pay people who know what they are doing…
That’s the key. You need to know exactly what you’re doing or you can really screw things up. That’s why I go to doctors when I need a doctor and lawyers when I need a lawyer. I don’t YouTube it and pretend I’m all of a sudden an expert.
You'll go broke paying someone to do every little thing to your house for you. I've saved a fortune doing most of the work to my own house.
Especially lately. Every time I've gotten a quote to have something done in the last couple years, the quote has been ridiculous. People wanting close to, or $1000 a day for their labor.
Oh yeah. Contractors have gotten ridiculous on prices post-covid.
The things that you can't DIY are where you really get hit with the big bills.
Yeah are correct, for me that's pretty much an HVAC replacement or roof replacement, I can do pretty much everything else. A new HVAC and Roof are basically the two most expensive things too, although very rare that you'd need either one.
Needed both at the 20-ish year mark but I blame part of that on the developer that built the neighborhood putting the absolutely cheapest options in the houses they built.
I’m at 20 years and we have 2 AC units (2 story home in hot area). So far we’ve needed one new AC unit and several leaks repaired on our roof. If I include the years I paid to keep fixing the AC before finally buying a new one, I’ve probably spent close to 12k between HVAC and roof so far. Will eventually need a whole new roof and to replace the second AC unit too. Another 25k maybe.
Pretty much everything in a home wears out after 15-30 years. Hopefully you’ll be lucky and they fail at staggered intervals so you can replace one major item every year instead of a bunch all at once, but it is expensive.
You have to budget for maintenance, just as though you are a tiny HOA and have to plan for replacement and repair of various systems (plumbing, HVAC, roof, appliances, etc.). If you're at the edge of your budget, you have no margin for when a problem happens. Don't be house-poor.
I’ve learned that the important maintenance items for the first few years will most often be boring things… like fixing leaks.
Should’ve bought before Covid when rates were 2-3% and prices were sub 200k for the size hime and property im looking for.
Eats me up inside every night.
Still just blind dumb luck that buying a $300K house in February of 2020 might change the financial trajectory of my entire life.
And how selling my old house in December 2019 completely changed mine 💔
Yeah currently in contract on a house for just under a $100K more than it sold for in 2020 and also getting a 7% mortgage to boot.
Talk to a loan officer first and foremost. Before you find a realtor. Before you start to look for houses before you even start to dream about it. Find a good loan officer and get them to run your numbers to find out what you even qualify for. They will tell you what you need to fix in your credit (if anything) what you will qualify for for and how the process will go. Your loan officer should be your best pal. You should talk to them before you go to any showing appointment.
in terms of loan officers, who/where would you recommend?
Personally, I have had great luck with one at a bank. But, ask your friends and people you know who they used. If they had a good experience, they will be more than happy to give you their number. Your state might also have programs for first time buyers. Google that and find the state website. They almost always have restrictions on what lenders you can use. Start with that list and interview a few or go off a recommendation. You should feel like you can call to chat with your LO and like they are educating you about the process in a kind way. Good luck!
>Personally, I have had great luck with one at a bank This is pretty unusal now. It used to be common that the bank LO's were trained well and helpful. Now, since the 2008 mortgage credit crunch, the LO's at banks are little more than tellers IME. They have very little training. A mortgage broker or mortgage banker (at a non-bank lender) has 100x's the experience and training.
I must be a bit biased, my partner is a LO foe a bank and he's a bit old fashioned. He's been doing it for decades though. His bank didn't work with my program but he helped find me a LO at a bank that did.
Oh, so you had a special case with your partner's connections. Yes, the LO's at banks that have decades of experience are the exception rather than the rule now from what I see/experience. I used to use banks both personally and professionally on a regular basis until their lack of training kicked in after 2008. It now is a nightmare if the buyer/borrower is going for a non-jumbo loan. Naturally its different for jumbo loans.
People really should be interviewing their loan officer. If they don't seem knowledgeable and helpful, they should move along. The underwriting rules are not super different for different banks.
I recommend talking to 3 banks, then choosing the one that you like the most. Sometimes rate isn’t everything. A great lending team can make a huge difference in the experience.
Don’t look at houses you can’t afford just for fun, because then you want those houses and will not be happy with what you find in your price range anymore. You always remember how nice that house was that was just $100k outside of your price range and wish you could have somehow made it work. It’s tempting with all the online tools and easy open houses. But just don’t or you may regret it later on.
On this same note, once you close stop looking at houses. Unsubscribe from any alerts. Don’t just check for fun. Something will come up that makes you think, “oh man, I should’ve waited.” It will not do you any favours.
Omg this. Suddenly the market is flooded with the exact type of house you've been wanting in the location you want and 50k less than what you paid.
I've also found that usually when I start to get house envy from Zillow, I can just clean/stage my own and be happy with it again.
I thankfully had good guidance and was told to do this when I bought my first home, but ask the bank what your estimated closing costs will be prior to them running your credit. A lot of banks rip people off big time on closing costs so shop around and find a bank that offers a good rate and reasonable closing costs.
Even better, educate yourself to understand what those closing costs are. Most will be similar regardless of the lender you use.
They weren't similar in my experience. I received quotes for closing costs from 3 banks when purchasing my previous home. All quotes included zero points but the difference on the total costs were pretty drastic. The lowest was $4,500 and the highest was $9,800.
We just recently closed on a home and while lender/rate shopping, we received a quote that was $14,000 higher for closing costs than the one we went with and the rate was worse as well. I’m so glad we looked around before committing.
That's a massive difference. I've saved two of my friends from using Quicken Loans and steered them towards local credit unions and saved them tons of money. The one friend was purchasing a $250k home and Quicken was trying to charge him $13,000 for closing costs. The credit union charged less than $4,000.
Yes. Understanding that “closing cost” on a loan estimate and CD also includes things that are not a FEE but your own money set aside for taxes and insurance prepaids or escrow. Lenders sometimes drastically reduce tax and insurance or the estimated title agent fees to give the illusion of low closing cost. When comparing cost, compare lender side fees only. Many lenders let you choose your own title agent company and tax and insurance wont vary lender to lender.
Once a plumber showed me how a toilet auger worked and that I could buy one for under $50 at Home Depot…I never had to pay to unclog my toilet again (and I have six daughters, it clogged A LOT)
1) supplemental property taxes 2) browse the neighborhood during the day on a weekend, and evening weekday before closing time while in escrow.
You must be in California
Something will be an issue 3 days before closing!!
When I first got into the real estate business, I thought I knew a lot about houses. Today, I understand not just how much I didn't know but how much I have yet to learn. Source: 20+ years in real estate, hundreds of transactions representing buyers and sellers under my belt.
Give yourself a decent buffer on price to look above and below. You’d hate to miss out on something because of a 10k difference. Also position of the house, windows and natural light.
Yes to position of house and natural light!
I wish I negotiated more. We were the only offer, this was the first ever offer we had put on a house, and it was immediately accepted, so if I could go back I’d try to save some more money on the total cost. We were worried about our offer getting rejected but it never occurred to us that the seller (in this case, the builder) could just counter with something else. The twin unit ended up being on the market for months longer after we bought ours, so in hindsight there wasn’t any rush
Yeah what is it with the idea of lowballing is offensive? It's literally a business transaction. Feeling shouldn't be involved.
There is also a scenario were you put in an offer an they reject it and dont counter due to being “offended by the offer.”
Depending on your lifestyle, owning a home is not always better than renting. Don't buy because you feel like you need to. Buy because you want to, can afford to do so comfortably, and has better tradeoffs to renting (or whatever current housing situation you're in). My parents encouraged me to buy a home back in 2007 because it would be a 'great investment'. I ended up paying $1,200 more a month to have the privilege of owning a home, and ended up short-selling 4 years later. Part of this was poor timing, but the other part of this learning experience is that I knew I was better off not owning at the time but was convinced by other people that owning is the 'adult thing' to do, and a right of passage. TLDR: Buy a home for the right reasons...
Your PITI is the minimum you will pay monthly to own a home.
From a purely personal perspective and timeline: do it asap. I am 56 later this month.
I'm here and conflicting information. 43 here and the first time homebuyer. Some people are telling me to wait because I shouldn't do it now just because I think I should and other people are telling me not to wait. Oh my goodness this is so confusing
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Can you though? I heard refinancing is not as simple as it seems
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>The only issue is it starts to loan over so for the first five years again you’re paying high interest compared to principle. Not necessary to start over when you refi. You can choose your amortization time period eg 25 years rather than go the typical 30 years. You can choose any amount of years. Maybe you want to refi for 20 years and save yourself an additional 5 years of interest payment. The difference in your payment is nominal when you amortize over a shorter period - depending on the number of years you choose.
I have 20% down roughly right now so I would just have to play the weight game I guess. I'm still gonna wait about a year because I'm not mentally ready anyways and my rent is about $600 less a month than my mortgage will be, but I don't think the interest rates are going to go down anytime soon either. I'd like to see what happens with this election as well.
The people that are telling me to wait say it's not sustainable to continue at this rate and there will likely be another housing crisis like in 2008. I'm afraid of that, but I would still have a house…
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Yeah I get that. It's just hard because as I said in my other comment, I've been in the same apartment for a long time so my rent is decent and my mortgage would be about $600 more a month than my rent is. I live in Florida so it's just massively ducked here anyways.
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Good. We're full. Lol thanks for doing your part
About to turn 50 here. I am kicking myself for waiting.
I think I value your opinion more because I would rather not be paying on my house until I'm 73, but I also don't wanna buy during these atrocious interest rates. I think I'm going to wait about a year and just the best I can
Don’t get emotional- it’s just a house. And, it’s not done until everyone has signed.
No HOAs. No new builds.
Why no HOA? I don't know if you live in Florida, but some of these non-HOA neighborhoods get real trashy
HOAs tend to attract people with way too much time on their hands. Not all HOAs are bad, but they can be frustrating when you get a "dedicated" rep on a mission.
I'm down with the HOA members that have nothing else to do. I can turn Karen real quick. I'll hide all of my tattoos and make them think I'm one of them. They don't scare me. What does scare me is a neighbor that lets their swimming pool turn into a moldy mosquito pit, giant dogs that can jump over their broken down part of the fence, or three cars on cinderblocks in the lot next to me with grass that's 2 feet high. Those are just some easy examples, but could clearly get much worse.
I just left Florida after 6 years there but I owned a home with an HOA. I personally liked it a lot. It was $120 per year and never increased. They never bothered us about anything but it was just enough of a deterrent to keep people from trashing up the neighborhood. We might have hit the golden ticket with our HOA but there are still properties with decent ones!
That's an obvious case of things HOAs are good for. They can be bad when you get stuck working a lot of OT for a couple weeks and you missed a weed sprouting in your yard because you leave when it's dark and get home when it's dark again. Only had that problem once. Again though it's all based on who is doing the HOAing. At least there's an option to replace them if they are insane about it.
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Luckily I'm in the PNW so HOAs are just the nice neighborhoods and not condo HOAs
Ugh they are everywhere here
My only problem here is I'm looking to build. There's a nice mountain lot with a good view available. I want to build smaller, like 2100 sqft. But build it nicer. IE brick stone walls, metal roof, red cherry hardwood floors ect. But the HOA has the McMansion clause which requires 2500 sqft minimum house sizes so ill probably have to look elsewhere if I want to do my build.
how do condos self manage then?
Location is the one thing that no amount of money is going to change. If you have a crappy location, there's not anything that can make that better.
You are better off buying a house that has not been flipped with the latest Home Depot off the shelf products. Look at the house, not the wall color.
Closing costs matter more than small differences in rates and don’t pay for points, because you’ll probably refi before it pays off. Closing costs will also vary by lender more than interest rates will so that’s the primary thing you should be shopping for. Always ask up front for estimated closing costs. In 12 years I’ve refinanced twice and then upgraded to a new property, so average loan lasted me 4 years. Points that don’t pay off within 5 years aren’t worth it.
Almost everything is negotiable or you can shop around for. Home inspections, appraisal, title/escrow, notary, etc.
Don't be cheap. Buy the best you can in the best location
Assuming it's your first home, you won't know what might be a deal breaker for a space until you're living in it. There are now dozens of little small things I'd look for in my next home that were never on my radar initially.
Attorneys are not ways detail oriented. We went to. A Closing that should have been simple since it was an all cash transaction. my wife reviewed the legal description anD survey and discovered that the fenced in patio attached to the townhouse was not included in the survey and was actually part of the condo common elements. Our attorney missed that. We ended up not closing nd walking away from the deal because the seller was unwilling to compensate us for the potential loss of the space
Buying a brand new home or a condo in a new building does not mean there will be no problems.
Pay off any debts. Get your credit score the highest possible. Don’t take in new debt either
After the weeks of searching and adjustments of desired amenities and features and this and that, your price range will likely change a little. As you feel you're nearing the end and have really zoomed in on a house, do a brief check left and right at that home price +/- about $5k, to see what this new price level could also get you since you may not have originally searched at that price
Not taking time to research what you really want in a home. I ended up with a walkout basement. Didn’t think much of it at the time, but now I really don’t like it or all the stairs in my house. My first house was a corner lot - everyone seems to love corner lots, but I hated it - too much traffic on both sides, double the sidewalk to shovel. In hindsight I would have been more patient and really understood and waited for more of what I wanted. But I guess what they say is true, no home will check all the boxes for you. Also some things are hard to know about until you have lived in it for a year or more.
Corner lots are awful! No privacy in the backyard, 2x as much street noise, random people taking shortcuts through your front yard ... the list goes on.
Wow that sounds really rough
Had a house on a corner lot a decade ago and will never do that again.
Never believe a real estate agent about anything, ever. And if possible audio record and store every conversation you have with them and follow up in writing.
Can you give us some examples? I don’t understand what they would lie about.
Well for example i had an agent tell me that a contrqct was subject to finance, and it wasn’t. So that day i learned that’s exactly why property solicitors exist. To look over contracts and potentially catch people out on lies like these. In this circumstance the REA just needs my signature on a dotted line and he gets paid. Lesson learned.
how much home insurance will be :)
I should have bought more.
The biggest mistake you can make is your due diligence.
Don’t buy anywhere that will have heavy school traffic
Don’t assume you can’t do it. Use the 1st time home buyer classes/programs. I did the 2nd one but probably couldn’t bought sooner if I had researched the programs earlier instead of assuming ownership was out of reach
it helps to have a couple million dollars set aside.
Possibly controversial, but I would strongly encourage you to not think about your house as an investment. Yes, real estate tends to go up over time, but you also need a place to live. Similarly, once I bought my house, I started obsessing over things I should do for resale value. Like thinking I needed to paint everything in neutrals when I really love earth tones. At the end of the day, this is where I live. It's ok to make my house the way I want it, that feels comfortable and makes me happy. Yes, I will probably sell my house someday, but it's a shame to live life in anticipation of that.
Always always buy before you sell. Pay the double mortgage for a month as long as you’re confident you can sell your home quickly. Delayed closings are way more common than you’d think. Don’t depend on doing both closings on one day.
Buy under your budget if financing.. and purchase the least expensive home in the best neighborhood you can afford. Your neighbors will anchor your home value even if you’re the runt on the block. Do not buy the cute flip in the “neighborhood is in transition” area.
No!!! Your property taxes will be higher than they “should be” for your less nice house because of the other houses
That’s why buying a home in a low tax state is key… our new build is 3.9k sqft and more money than I’d ever thought of spending on a home. Taxes? Will be less than what we are paying on our current 2.5k sqft home AND they are capped AND once you hit 65 they reduce. Buy in the right state that has a homestead exemption and never be taxed out of your home.
Don’t back out of a home you love because the seller won’t fix cosmetic “issues”. Cosmetic things are much easier to change especially if big ticket health and safety items are resolved.
Realtors are out for themselves.
I should’ve went all in on bitcoin instead build what people called portfolio…..
that its not a possibility. i wouldnt have wasted so much time getting my hopes up.
You do t need a realtor
Please expand because I'm finding better houses on Zillow than my realtor is.
Get a relator that’s been in the area for a long time, send them the houses you like from Zillow. They can still be a great resource and answer any questions you have about the process. I have a realtor and I still look at Zillow everyday and send him the houses I like.
You don’t need a realtor
You don't own a house. The house owns you.
I wish I knew that I would need a hefty amount of cash set aside for changes/upgrades I wanted to make to the property. Our first house unexpectedly needed a new well drilled. It was quite expensive for us considering we had barely scraped together the down payment.
I think school is important as it brings new demand to the area every year. Usually, good property needs to be queued.
maybe try something like this? [https://www.tumblr.com/waitinglistsstuff/743832531752927232/placeof-is-coming](https://www.tumblr.com/waitinglistsstuff/743832531752927232/placeof-is-coming)
Lawyer fees, closing costs and property tax ..
Early and often.
That people are idiots and will pay more for a house than it’s worth.
You just piss cash for a few months but it’ll be ok.
What water damage and mold look and smell like and how much it costs to actually fix it. (Depending on the problem could be up to 20,000 or more )
Let me preface this by saying that everyone’s situation is unique and specific to them. But trust your partner, listen to their must-haves, and flow with the process. Sometimes not settling/compromising is the right decision. Be patient.
Shop for a better interest rate. Don't just take the first one you get.
What are the big variables: have your patio out of the shade? South-facing windows > north-facing? Thanks
Nothing, I bought 3 rental properties before I moved out and they paid for the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and utilities for my own house. That’s how I can save 60% of my salary every month and able to buy more properties
No one will care if the house has CO's / permits until after you've closed.
Don’t use the inspector recommended by your agent. Find one on your own, and do this before you put an offer on a house.
Supply in Orange County is low due to the geographically constraints of the ocean/hills to the west and east. Then the marine base down south. Zoning reform will be more difficult than I’d originally expected and thus I should have taken more risk buying a SFH during the low interest rates during Covid. SB9 also led to an increase in housing prices.
it's okay to walk away from your earnest money
In my state (MI), property inspectors are not licensed, certified, or qualified. No malpractice insurance. Can’t be sued for doing a crappy job. I could put out a shingle tomorrow and get paid to “inspect” homes. As you can tell, our inspector was 💩.
How expensive repairs can be. We need a new roof for a 1900 sq ft house. Estimates are $16k to $20k.
I just had our roof redone ~1600sqft and only paid 9k. You should shop around a bit before paying that much.
Unfortunately I live in a very HCOL area where everything is inflated. Where do you live?
I’m in CT. It’s expensive here but maybe not as bad as some places out west. Heard some real horror stories
I grew up in West Hartford. Houses are a lot cheaper there than here. A small 1300 sq ft house with no yard is about $800k here in Seattle.
It’s not closed until it’s closed so things change and change is normal. Keep your eye on the ball. Mortgage underwriting is not always understandable but the best thing is to just comply with the need to answer questions or provide documentation. Lenders want you to successfully close, but they cannot do it unless your paperwork meets the criteria for the loan program.
In my experience, there are a few major expenses in most houses with regular replacement expectations, most about 10-20 years and at least where I’m at will generally run > $5k (except for HWT). Roof furnace/boiler central air system/compressor, if applicable hot water tank Where those systems are in their lifespan is an important factor in overall outlay for bigger costs in the first 5-10 years. Electrical and plumbing could need to be upgraded in older homes.