Approved to buy my first home!

[Jspradley]

+100000000 on buying what you NEED, not what you want, what someone convinces you to buy or what society tells you you need.

The only person looking out for your interests in this transaction is YOU, everyone else is out to get something from you.

[TxBowHntr]

I highly recommend hiring your own home inspector, not one the realtor(s) suggest. Vet them through, and make sure they are working for you. I speak from experience when I bought my first home. Lots of stupid things on the house that should have been caught by the inspector. Unfortunately I didn't find them until after the 1 year period was up

[S-3 Ranch]

Budget in maintenance/ upkeep, and never forget about property tax
Pools are actually a liability, not a asset to a home

[Rubi513]

I highly recommend hiring your own home inspector, not one the realtor(s) suggest. Vet them through, and make sure they are working for you. I speak from experience when I bought my first home. Lots of stupid things on the house that should have been caught by the inspector. Unfortunately I didn't find them until after the 1 year period was up

This for sure.
Inspectors and realtors work together.
The realtor wants to make a sale, and the inspector wants to be recommended by that realtor again.

[fbchunter]

As mentioned don’t overextend your pocketbook, and definitely make sure you are in a good school district.

[ruger41]

Here is something that I didn't think about until after I moved in. If you like to entertain in the back yard, make sure it doesn't face west with no trees!

[DedDuk]

Garage / Workshop is more important than the house. My next one will be a small apartment inside the shop.

[TexasArchery_27]

Congrats Steffanie!

[MLank]

Here is something that I didn't think about until after I moved in. If you like to entertain in the back yard, make sure it doesn't face west with no trees!

I'd take a crap house facing the right direction over a much nicer house that doesn't.

[sierracharlie338]

Oh.......and get a DARN GOOD HOME INSPECTOR!

Besides the financial aspect, THIS IMO is the next most important. My wife and I bought a brand new house for our first house thinking we would have less issues. WRONG! We had more issues than the two older houses we lived in after that house. We had an inspector (3rd party) come in and he found a lot of issues but not all of them. A lot of it depends on the builder and how much they try to cut corners. But with that being said you will have some issues no matter what. Find one that makes you happy and that you can afford.

Congrats!!



Sierracharlie out…

[NannySlayer]

My ex brother in law is an inspector so I’m not worried about finding someone there.


The house I’m interested in is in my sons school district. It’s not a new home. I’m going to look at it with my realtor on Saturday.


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[Twipper333]

Can I PM someone what the lender sent me so we can break it down what this all means?

Thanks for all the help.


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You can PM me, if you would like - my wife and I are 35, have had (3) houses built and bought and sold (4) - we are currently having one built in the DFW area and we have learned a lot of what to do and not do.

We have gotten pretty good at playing the markets.

[Texas8point]

My ex brother in law is an inspector so I’m not worried about finding someone there.


The house I’m interested in is in my sons school district. It’s not a new home. I’m going to look at it with my realtor on Saturday.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

some real life things to think about are...… whatever your house payment is, double it. Your taxes and stuff will make your payment double.

Be sure and look at your MUD taxes and your neighborhood dues, they can get expensive.

Last but not least, don't become a slave to your house by not considering all of the monthly costs involved. House note, insurance, gas, etc

[TildenHunter]

First off, congratulations!

Second, I close on a house on Friday. I elected to do the 10 year ARM. It was a great rate and it is locked at that rate for 10 years. Why is that a bad idea for people? You can always refinance after 9.99 years and not have to deal with the giant jack up in price. I know it cost money to refinance but what am I missing????

[deerplanter]

Remember as your house appreciates your mortgage goes up to. Make sure to give yourself some breathing room on your mortgage.

Mortgage doesn't increase but your escrow may go up, if you have one. I personally prefer to pay my own escrow but it's not for everyone. Be sure and get a good faith estimate a few days before signing any mortgage papers and go over them to make sure it fit's in your budget.
It's best to put 20% down so you don't have PMI.