Buying a house?

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Min
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Buying a house?

Post by Min »

Has anyone here bought a house or are planning to? I'm currently saving up for one right now and feel pretty lost. I don't know what I'll need when I move in, what I should be wary of, etc. x_x it's a bit overwhelming.

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loopyloo
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Re: Buying a house?

Post by loopyloo »

Min wrote:Has anyone here bought a house or are planning to? I'm currently saving up for one right now and feel pretty lost. I don't know what I'll need when I move in, what I should be wary of, etc. x_x it's a bit overwhelming.
I will be buying my first house this year. If I were you I would buy a book and find a property forum relevant to the country you live in. There are so many things to think about and rules that are specific to where you want to buy that you need to really teach yourself about it all. The legal aspects are the worse.

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Morena_p
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Re: Buying a house?

Post by Morena_p »

I'll be looking for my own place pretty soon, graduating in October and I have to save up for a better car and pay off some student loans. But i'll most likely move into a condo first.

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Re: Buying a house?

Post by Kleineganz »

I've been through the house buying process a couple of times now (neither time was I the actual person buying the house though). First time was with my now ex-BF (and he bought the house, I only co-signed on the mortgage). Next time was on a townhouse that my husband (then BF) bought me ... the plan was for him to buy it for me, and I was going to buy it from him (at the time we had no intentions of living together, we both liked our own separate spaces). Long story short, I got laid off and was forced to move in with him and we turned the townhouse into a rental property.

So now we're going to be looking for a 2nd rental property, move into that property temporarily, stage and sell the current house we're in now, and then take the proceeds of this house as a down payment on a bigger house (seriously, we're so cramped in this place). So I'll be going through the process of all this house buying again this year.

Anyway my advice:
  • Make sure you have at least 20% down payment (seriously, the more down payment, the lower your monthly mortgage payments will be).
  • Talk to your bank/credit union about a mortgage pre-qualification so you have a clear idea of how much house you can afford, and what your range is.
  • Do some research on Zillow.com before engaging with a realtor to get a good idea of the types of homes within your budget range.
  • Do *not* let a realtor talk you into buying a house at the top of your budget range. In fact, don't even tell them the true max of your budget, because they love to get you to buy at your max.
  • Try not to "fall in love" with a place. You'll be setting yourself up for heartbreak.
  • Make a list of your must-haves and nice-to-haves in a house. Be realistic with the must-haves.
  • If you do make an offer, *always* make sure to get the house inspected before the final deal goes through. An inspection allows you to back out of your offer if there are any serious issues with the house.
Good luck! :)

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KareBare
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Re: Buying a house?

Post by KareBare »

It's a good idea to buy a newer home rather than an old home if you can. You can save a lot of money on repairs over time and they're just much nicer in general! :tu:

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