The Do's and Dont's when searching for a home (questions????)


BulldogM.Ed.23

BulldogM.Ed.23

Bulldog Fan/Supporter
I have been looking for a house for about 6 months now. This will be of my first home so all this is new to me. The more I learn about this business, I began to feel as though a lot of people (real estage agents, lenders) are shady, manipulative, loan sharkers. I don't know maybe thats just the way the game is played. I have been able to establish good credit, I have attended 2 homeowners expos. I am considering buying some land, using it as collatoral and then find a company that would build the home I want instead of dealing with an agent. What are your suggestions, expriences? Thanks in advance for your help...,
 
It all depends on what you want...

I bought my first home 3 years ago. I looked around and weighed my options.

First there are plenty of options available, but your task is to choose what is best for you. For me age 27 (now 31), I only desired a starter home. I call it that because it was a simple 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage, track style home. I took a class on homebuying, then looked in several neighborhoods. I chose at that time to just get "a house"... I wasn't big on design because I knew I'd either sell it later when starting my family or rent it out.

I don't know your age or your family status, etc...but consider things like if you're single, married, engaged, kids, etc. Consider school districts, property value history, tax history. If I sold my house today, I'd get approximately $xx,000 minus the realtor fees, etc.

How long do you plan to live in the house? Is this for your family? Have you established a family? Does school district matter? Tax rate? Consider the neighbors. Consider flood zones? (Well you may not need to in Alabama. I don't know.)

As far as realtors, I did not use a realtor per se. I found a neighborhood filled with track homes. This was the best route for me as I did not want to add in a realtor fee. At that time, I was single and qualified for a first time buyer's grant. Consider that.

Ummm, also think about 5 years from now, 10 years from now, 15 years from now, is that the location you want to be.

I hope I helped. Is this what you're looking for.
 

Dude this is my second home not counting my time share in Vegas. Your first rule is to get pre-approved for a loan. That way you can negotiate. Never and I mean never look for a home then try to get approved for a loan. For example, I bought this home because I had already sold my townhome in DC and I the down payment and I used the same mortgage company, Bank of America, to approve my loan. On that note I knew exactly how much I could spend and I could bargain.

Rule #1
GET PRE-APPROVED FIRST THEN SEARCH!!!!!!
GET PRE-APPROVED FIRST THEN SEARCH!!!!!!


Rule #2
When you find a home......always underbid.


Rule #3
Once your home is under contract pay to have it inspected. These people inspect your perspective new home to make sure everything is working. It can cost between $200 and $500.


Rule #4
Never accept second hand appliances. Alway buy new and get extended warrenties.


Rule #5
Always get the builders information. If you ever want an addition or a change these people built the house. They know more about the house that you will ever know.

Rule #6
On a new home you have 1 years warrenty on everything.

Rule #7
Never tell a realtor how much your loan is for. Give them a $15 to $20k less that what your loan really is.

Rule#8
Never over budget yourself. If you want your note about the same as your rent.....tell your realtor what your rent is.

Rule #9
Develop a inter-personal relationship with your realtor. Remember if she sold you your home......you might want her/him to sell it to someone else.

Rule #10
Tell people exactly what you want. Do beat around the bush. You know what you want and need.

Rule #11
Keep good credit. Never get a credit card that you can't pay off with one pay check. Why have a high limit. Most things can be financed in the store anyway. Plus if you secured a home loan for $120,000 and your house cost only $80,000 you have $40,000 to buy appliances and other things.

Rule #12
Make sure you insure your home loan. Meaning if you die the loan will be paid off. White people have been doing this for years.

Rule #13
After purchasing your home contact the builder and ask him if you could purchase 5 floorplans. These floorplans not only tell you the diminsens of your home......they give the aproximate acre of your land.

Rule #14
Don't have too many realtors.....these people work together. They are friends. and they do TALK. I had one realtor and she was friends with another. Both worked together and found what I was looking for.

Rule #15
Never bring people with you to see a home if they are not going to live there. People will sway your opinion of a home.
 
Sweets,

On your Rule#7, don't the realtors know what you're approved for anyway?

Just asking, because I thought they had all this information.
 
I didn't use a realtor...

Ummm, after you're qualified for the loan, do NOT make any purchases that require credit! If anything continue paying out current debt.

This could change your loan status... Some friends of mine bought a house....well qualified for it... then went out and bought an entire living room set on credit... the bank called them faster than the furniture could get loaded on the truck...They had to do some rig-a-ma-row to show that the purchase would not hinder their mortgage payments....
 
Nope not until you give them the information. The only time the realtor knows how much you are approved is when they are part of the finance process.

A realtor just helps you look for a home......they have no say in the financing. For instance when I purchased this home, I didn't tell my realtor what I was approved. I just told her what I wanted and the price range. Nothing more.

We as black people tend to give out more information than what's needed. Sometimes we have to learn to keep our mouth shut.


Originally posted by Dtown Jag
Sweets,

On your Rule#7, don't the realtors know what you're approved for anyway?

Just asking, because I thought they had all this information.
Click to expand...
 
Rule #15
Never bring people with you to see a home if they are not going to live there. People will sway your opinion of a home.



I like this one!
 
More Info

Ummm, after you're qualified for the loan, do NOT make any purchases that require credit! If anything continue paying out current debt.
Click to expand...

This is a good one. I have a friend that wants to buy a townhouse but he is running into problems becuase he just went out and bought a 35,000 SUV. You will run into problems with getting financed for the house you want if you are tied to a new car loan. I drove my bucket until I bought my house. You can always buy that new car after you get the house. The same goes with furniture and appliances. Buy all of this AFTER you have closed the deal on the house.

If buying an old home, flush the toilets, go into the actic and talk to the neighbors about the last time it flooded in the neighborhood.

Make sure you have the money for your downpayment in your savings account NOW. Although withdrawing from a 401K is allowed for a home purchase, this is frowned upon by lenders.
 
This is some good info. Allot of this stuff I didn't know. I will be looking into buying or building my first home in the next year or two. I will greatly take this stuff under consideration when looking.
 
After 6 months of looking and searching, you can now call me a homeowner. I got exactly what I wanted and then some. I think this is one of the best investments a Black family can make. Every post that was contributed to this thread was helpful. May God bless you all.........,
 
Congrats on the acquisition BulldogMed!

But (and this probably VERY, VERY, VERY premature of me), is this the "dream" home that you'll be spending your retirement in or is this just a "starter" home? I've had to rethink quite a bit of stuff since purchasing this first a while ago. I think it's borderline greed/can afford so why not syndrome/insatiable material apetite/desire to constantly improve on improvement/.... We've been rethinking some things lately as they pertain to space and land as well as location.
 

Sweets great information.

When I was looking for a home, I told the realtor that I didn't have very much money. The realtor took me to the worst neighborhood and broken down homes. He was trying to get rid of me. Well he did not seem to care.

I called another realtor told her the same thing. She took me to the most expensive homes. Never paid what I said any attention. When I purchased the home from this realtor, the other one found out. He called and asked me why didn't I tell him I could spend that type of money. The poor fellow was upset. some people know the business and some are just out to make a dollar.

I have been lucky, because the two home I bought it was a buyer's market.

The current administration will definite create a buyer's market. I would give them a few months.
 
Congrats!

While this IS a buyer's market, it is BEST to have ALL monies in hand when searching for a home. In other words, have your earnest money, some money in the savings, some downpayment money, some moving money, some deposit money for lights,etc., some money to cover windows with blinds/drapes...if buying a brand new home, money for neighborhood associate fees...etc.
 
When homes are not selling it is a buyer's market.

Where homes are selling like hotcakes it is a seller's market.

In a buyer's markets the seller's will take a lost to get rid of a home to include builders.
 
One fact that I see missing is the maintenance. Make sure that you have the income to maintain the home.

New credit can only have an impact if the percentage of your free income goes below 50%. Most home creditors like you to have at least 50% of your income free after paying your monthly expenses. If you purchase a new car and still have at least 50% of your income free you should not have any problems.

Also, try to project what your neighborhood will be like in 5 years, this is key because you don't want to buy in a neighborhood on the decline.
 
When me and my fiancee (now wife) began searching, we did have a certain price range that we wanted to stay in, keeping in mind that our salaries would higher than they are now. The neighborhood and what it would be like years from now, and the standard features. All of the things we wanted we got and then some.

It was a blessing because, we almost got a house for just as much but we would have missed out on a lot of other things. I know some real estate agents/brokers are only doing their jobs, but its good to do your research. Some as MD suggested will not pay attention to what you want and if you are not knowledgeble will not look out for your best interests. Talk to people, get as much info as you can, set goals for what you want, and ask God for direction, and you will be fine.
 
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