First time home buyer questions

[mooch]

If you can not afford a 15 year note it is too much house. Paying off our second house this year.........

This, for the most part. Coming from a guy with a 30 year note.

How long are you planning on being in the house?


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[GARY]

All good (albeit slightly different advice), based on personal preferences, financial drivers, family history, etc... 15 years or 30 years, no agent or an agent is liking asking for advise on buying a bow. You will get passionate (personal preferences, financial drivers, family history), on why you MUST buy Mathews, hoyt, bowtech, pse, etc...

Seek all the advice you can get, but saddle up next to someone you ACTUALLY know an trust in the end, so the advice you are utilizing comes from someone that truly knows your situation (personal preferences, financial drivers, family history, etc..).

[ColinR]

But old dude up top says if you cant do a 15 you can afford the home? Im confused, as one of you dont know what you're talking about.

That being said, I dont know your financial status and dont claim to. Buy what makes you happy, and if you want a 30 year mortgage more power to you.

Kinda depends on your plan. Your young so if you are planning to buy a house you want to be in a long time and raise your kids in get all the house you can now with a 30 year note...chances are your income is going to go up a lot in the next few years. On the other hand if your looking for a starter home and plan to upgrade in a few years then definitely go with a 15 year note.

[Part Timer]

Stick with crosby out of those 3 choices. Schools are better. Resale will be better. Huffman is right up the road with a great school district as well so don't count that out. 130k will get you a nice starter house in newport/lake shadows/indian shores. Land is on the rise out here. For 130k I would not expect anything with any amount of land unless the house needs a lot of work. So if you find a good deal with potential jump on it. Good luck on the search!

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[JMR]

In Texas both realtors work for the seller. Ask questions here......

Not sure if your joking or serious? I am a real estate agent and SOLELY represent buyers. I HAVE ZERO LISTINGS.

I would advise you to find a trusted real estate agent. Not necessarily the most popular, but someone you connect with and YOU TRUST. As a buyer agent, I act as if I were buying the property myself and point out all flaws. As mentioned above, get an inspection, and try to find an inspector with a construction background.

[Samson]

Not sure if your joking or serious? I am a real estate agent and SOLELY represent buyers. I HAVE ZERO LISTINGS.

I would advise you to find a trusted real estate agent. Not necessarily the most popular, but someone you connect with and YOU TRUST. As a buyer agent, I act as if I were buying the property myself and point out all flaws. As mentioned above, get an inspection, and try to find an inspector with a construction background.

And who exactly do you get your commission checks from after closing? [emoji6]

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[JMR]

And who exactly do you get your commission checks from after closing? [emoji6]

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The broker I work for, whether they have the listing or not.

[firemanjj82]

Myself and my other half will be looking to purchase our first home together in the next few months. I currently live in Laporte and have been looking at highlands/Crosby and Baytown area. Already been preapproved just looking for any advice we can get as well as what areas to look at and where to stay away from. If it matters I'm 23 with no kids

Be mindful on what EXACTLY you can afford. I am in my third house, and every time I've been "pre-approved", the amount has been so astronomical. For example, my first home, they said I was pre-approved for a 250,000 house. But...that was calculating principle alone. They did not factor in taxes, interest, HOA, insurance, etc. All those things definitely add up. If I was just paying principal, it would been around $700 a month, which would've been about $200 away from what we could do at the time (in 2005). Instead, we bought a house for $105,000, which put our payments at around $950/month with the other items added in. I really think that's why the housing market plummeted, because people were being told they could buy more of a house than they could, then got screwed over once they were in.

What I've learned is that .8% of the purchase price on a 30 year mortgage is around what your monthly payment would be if you didn't put anything down on a first time buyer program. That's been pretty much across the board for me. I use 1% as a rule of thumb just to be safe.

[Eagle19]

So my wife and I are 23 and have no kids, we bought a house a year ago so we can relate. What we did was bought a house that we could rent out if the market tanked. We don't plan to live here forever, we'll probably actually move in the next 1-1.5 years. The best thing to do is determine your long term goal whether you think you'll want to stay in the house a long time or if it's just your first house. I recommend a 30 year and pay double each month, that's what we do. I work in construction and the industry has its ups and downs, so we want to have the ability to not pay as much as a 15 year in case something with work happens. Good luck, buying a home can sometimes be a stressful process.

Edit: also make sure you have 20% down or else you have to pay private mortgage insurance which is throwing money out the window.

[UTnumber1]

* Try to get a USDA loan. If ex-military, use your VA loan.

Me personally, I dont like having my neighbors knowing my business. If I want to step outside and take a leak...I can. * So stay away from homes in neighborhoods or that has a HOA.

* If its a long term family home...get the place you want and love. Dont settle.

* Dont fall in love with the first house!

* Get an inspector that has some construction background. And go over everything with him. Last thing you want is for things to start popping up after you made the purchase.

* I recommend getting a home warranty also-if its an older home with original appliances & HVAC

[12RingKing]

The broker I work for, whether they have the listing or not.

Is it still not commission based?

Would it not be in your best interest to get the buyer to pay more for the property?

I think that's what they are referring to. I've been through it first hand. I had to play games with my realtor.

[91cavgt]

Is it still not commission based?

Would it not be in your best interest to get the buyer to pay more for the property?

I think that's what they are referring to. I've been through it first hand. I had to play games with my realtor.

Then it sounds like you got a bad realtor. Our realtor bent over backwards to help us and she explained everything. A few months earlier my mother-in-law used her so we already knew her and how good she was. Yes, between us and my mil our realtor did make about $9k for 2 months worth of work, but make no mistake, she represented us even though we did not pay her directly.

[12RingKing]

Then it sounds like you got a bad realtor. Our realtor bent over backwards to help us and she explained everything. A few months earlier my mother-in-law used her so we already knew her and how good she was. Yes, between us and my mil our realtor did make about $9k for 2 months worth of work, but make no mistake, she represented us even though we did not pay her directly.

I got a realtor that was in the business of making a living.

I think that's fairly common

[Texastaxi]

In Texas both realtors work for the seller. Ask questions here......

I do agree that both agents want to close the deal, but I don't agree that both work for the seller ... if the buyer's agent isn't doing their job, you've picked the wrong agent.

[HogHunter34]

I second the advice on good school district whether you plan to be there awhile or not. Certainly can't hurt you even if future buyers don't have kids but those with kids will certainly factor school district & houses in our area tend to move quick because of our local school district & every realtor in the area knows it