First time home buyer questions

[12RingKing]

Ours was in the business of making money too, and she REALLY brings in the money too. I checked her reviews online and right now, she is averaging 3 houses a month. That equals around $15k a month. If that is not making money then I don't know what is.

You'll never know how those realtors talk to each other behind the scenes.

My realtor never pressured us, but she's in the business to make money. I wouldn't divulge ANYTHING to a realtor. Sorry, but they aren't your friend. My .02

[jme011]

Save and Save !

Save as much as you can! And then save some more cause houses are not cheap !!

I hope the best for ya and your other half.

O and one more thing take or leave it - Pre approval is a joke if you ask me. They over approve IMO.

I purchased a house for 50% less than what I was approved for and I am glad I did because houses and life are not cheap!

Good luck man in all 2017!

[flywise]

did not read the entire thread but one thing you want to check into is insurance rates in that area

[Azzy]

Id look at Insurance. The MUD district- Taxes and going water rates. Taxes for the area.

Just purchased my first house with the wife this year in the 1960/West Lake Houston Area.

We pay mud Taxes, while not being in a mud district and paying City of Houston Water.

The Taxes here are like $6,500

Hoa- $1600.

As far as advice as well. Like noted above, you make get pre approved for a large amount but stay within something you guys can pay off within 15 years. That is what we are going for and hopefully get to sell this house and buy our second home in the Heights.

We put down $60K on a $279,000 Home. Closed at a 4% Rate.

We got pre approved for $475,000... Which we could have definitely not afforded. We would be living check to check if we took that route. Glad we didn't.

Just do homework and set a budget for how much you want to spend. I was looking at Spending only $200 but after seeing houses in this area, we fell in love with the area and a certain house. it also helped our realtor was co worker of my wife that had just gotten her license so she was trying to help us get the most we could get.

We did go with a brand new home, which I did not want but my wife had the downpayment money so she got the last word. lol ( be gentle guys lol)

[Eagle19]

Watching this one as well. Does anyone here have experience doing a piggyback loan to avoid PMI?

Unless you're like $1000 short of the "perfect" house, don't do it. You probably don't come out much better than when you have to pay PMI. Sometimes if you know a banker good enough they'll waive the PMI if you're short a little bit.

[Patton]

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.

If you have to play games with your realtor, you need a new one. I work in Residential Real Estate in Austin and represent both buyers and sellers. One of the first things I tell my clients is that they will never have to 'play poker' with me. Any body who forces you to do so is not on your team 100% and should be replaced.


OP, good luck in your first purchase. Interview for the right realtor, and shop around for the right lender. Find a lender that will service your loan in its entirety and not package up your loan and sell it the minute y'all close. There are also varying percentage of down payments, I'm on the last day of option for a First Time Home Buyer who is only putting 5% down.

[dhillis]

Your payment is going to be a combination of Principal +Interest, Insurance, and Taxes. The principal and Interest will be determined by the bank, but you can get pretty close with online calculators if you know what your interest rate is.
For insurance call a few of the local insurance offices of your choice and they will ask some questions and can send you a quote. That will be an annual price or you can escrow the payment and pay monthly, then the mortgage company sends payment for insurance and taxes.
For Taxes-look on the county appraisal district and find the rate they tax at. Then multiply that by the purchase price to get the taxes on the property. This will give you your house payment.


Have the seller pay for a home warranty. This is more for peace of mind, but with a older home something is probably going to fail, and it is easier to come up with a $200 deductible than maybe $5500 for a new AC.

Buy the smaller house in the neighborhood. You don't want to go in and buy the biggest nicest house in a neighborhood. The houses around it will keep its price down. You want the median to smaller house in a neighborhood and let the bigger nicer houses bring the value of yours up more.

Even though you don't have kids, think of things that you would want if you did. A 3/2 will be easier to resell probably than a 2/1. Also, what are the schools like? Can kids play outside without being run over?

Try to buy a corner lot if in city. They are a little bigger and it paid off when trying to sell my house last year.

[Throwin Darts]

Watching this one as well. Does anyone here have experience doing a piggyback loan to avoid PMI?

I do. When I bought my first house in 2006 I got an 80/15/5. The 15% 2nd lien had a higher rate and I paid it off asap. Figured it was easier to get rid of the loan by paying it off than to get the bank to let loose of that PMI.

[crawdaddct]

In that area, I would say Mount Belleview/ Barbers hill school district.

Unless its the house of your dreams and you are going to live there over 5 years, I would do a 30 year loan. No reason to spend money on it. In most cases you will still make a nice profit when you sell it, unless the market crashes. If you decide to stay, you can refinance or just pay extra. If I recall one extra payment a year takes 10 years off a 30 year note. Something like that.

I did a piggyback loan, because some of my money didn't come through and I was at closing. I didn't want an escrow account, so took out a 15 year loan. Then when I refinanced, rolled into one, but dang HARP loan made me have a escrow for taxes. I hate escrow accounts, just another way banks make money off us.

[12RingKing]

If you have to play games with your realtor, you need a new one. I work in Residential Real Estate in Austin and represent both buyers and sellers. One of the first things I tell my clients is that they will never have to 'play poker' with me. Any body who forces you to do so is not on your team 100% and should be replaced.


OP, good luck in your first purchase. Interview for the right realtor, and shop around for the right lender. Find a lender that will service your loan in its entirety and not package up your loan and sell it the minute y'all close. There are also varying percentage of down payments, I'm on the last day of option for a First Time Home Buyer who is only putting 5% down.

I hear you...

[msmock13]

I do. When I bought my first house in 2006 I got an 80/15/5. The 15% 2nd lien had a higher rate and I paid it off asap. Figured it was easier to get rid of the loan by paying it off than to get the bank to let loose of that PMI.

That is what I was thinking as well. Thanks for the info.