First Time Homebuyer

[skinsguy]

• Look for cracks in the foundation, evidence of leaks such as stains on the ceiling, etc... if the house leaks when it rains and if you have noticeable cracks in the foundation, you're going to run into a huge cost of repair right off the top and chances are, the sellers don't have the money to fix it, otherwise they probably would have already done so. When looking at the landscape, think about how much time and effort you're willing to put into keeping it up. Do you have the equipment necessary to keep a large lawn looking nice. Also, take notice of the other houses in the neighborhood.
• What I love about my house is that it's at the end of a dead end road in a very quiet neighborhood. It's all one level so we don't have to worry about going up and down steps. We have a two car garage that is attached and a second attached garage that we can utilize. What I hate is that there is no basement to turn into a man cave.
• Most likely it will be unavoidable, but stay away from HOAs if necessary. I live in a neighborhood that is HOA free, and the neighborhood looks nice. Everybody takes pride in their homes and landscape. Yes, we don't have side walks and street lights, and we don't have neighborhood pools, but we have freedom with our houses.
• Only buy a "fixer upper" if you have the time and money it takes to put into the reno. It sounds like you want to avoid that as much as possible, and since it sounds like you're not a handy man (neither am I) I would avoid any home that is going to need immediate renov, unless the savings outweigh the cost of reno. If you're going to have a lengthy commute to work every day, you're not going to have the time and energy to put into a huge reno, and you're probably not going to want to spend each and every weekend working on the house. Even houses that appear to be move in ready can fool you, so you have to look at these homes and details very closely.
• Also, NEVER EVER finance a home with a variable interest rate. Rates are still low enough where you can lock in a decent fixed rate. If you're a member of a credit union, I'd talk to them first. NEVER finance your house with the same company you bank with. I don't have time to get into all of that, but it's not good practice.

Lastly, I would personally caution you on buying a home with someone you're just dating. I understand it sounds like you guys are getting married within the next little bit, but it's taking a big chance. Just my opinion though. If you're buying the home based on both yours and your girlfriend's salary, you don't need to be buying the home. You need to base it on one income - either yours or hers. That might cut down on home options for you, but believe me, this is the best way to go. Again, it's just my opinion, but I know you asked because you truly do want our opinion, and I'm sure there will be others who will disagree, but I'd think about all of these points long and hard before jumping into home ownership.

[Daseal]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

• Look for cracks in the foundation, evidence of leaks such as stains on the ceiling, etc... if the house leaks when it rains and if you have noticeable cracks in the foundation, you're going to run into a huge cost of repair right off the top and chances are, the sellers don't have the money to fix it, otherwise they probably would have already done so. When looking at the landscape, think about how much time and effort you're willing to put into keeping it up. Do you have the equipment necessary to keep a large lawn looking nice. Also, take notice of the other houses in the neighborhood.
• What I love about my house is that it's at the end of a dead end road in a very quiet neighborhood. It's all one level so we don't have to worry about going up and down steps. We have a two car garage that is attached and a second attached garage that we can utilize. What I hate is that there is no basement to turn into a man cave.
• Most likely it will be unavoidable, but stay away from HOAs if necessary. I live in a neighborhood that is HOA free, and the neighborhood looks nice. Everybody takes pride in their homes and landscape. Yes, we don't have side walks and street lights, and we don't have neighborhood pools, but we have freedom with our houses.
• Only buy a "fixer upper" if you have the time and money it takes to put into the reno. It sounds like you want to avoid that as much as possible, and since it sounds like you're not a handy man (neither am I) I would avoid any home that is going to need immediate renov, unless the savings outweigh the cost of reno. If you're going to have a lengthy commute to work every day, you're not going to have the time and energy to put into a huge reno, and you're probably not going to want to spend each and every weekend working on the house. Even houses that appear to be move in ready can fool you, so you have to look at these homes and details very closely.
• Also, NEVER EVER finance a home with a variable interest rate. Rates are still low enough where you can lock in a decent fixed rate. If you're a member of a credit union, I'd talk to them first. NEVER finance your house with the same company you bank with. I don't have time to get into all of that, but it's not good practice.

Lastly, I would personally caution you on buying a home with someone you're just dating. I understand it sounds like you guys are getting married within the next little bit, but it's taking a big chance. Just my opinion though. If you're buying the home based on both yours and your girlfriend's salary, you don't need to be buying the home. You need to base it on one income - either yours or hers. That might cut down on home options for you, but believe me, this is the best way to go. Again, it's just my opinion, but I know you asked because you truly do want our opinion, and I'm sure there will be others who will disagree, but I'd think about all of these points long and hard before jumping into home ownership.

Skinsguy,

Great advice. Thanks a lot. I'm hoping the home inspection would do a deep dive on the foundation, but I'll definitely look into that when looking at homes. What I want to avoid is a major construction project. When it comes to renovations we only want to deal with renovations that wouldn't displace us from the property, even if it's annoying for a while.

I'm definitely looking at fixed-rate only. But that's a good piece of advice and helped solidify my decision.

As far as buying a house with my girlfriend. I do realize it's risky, but our price range is something that could be absorbed by either one of our salaries if necessary. We could afford a more expensive home, but I want to keep our payment relatively low so we can get a decent amount of equity in the home by paying over our mortgage a bit. If I did end up with the house solo, I'd be more comfortable with a roommate, but wouldn't require one.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by Daseal

Skinsguy,

Great advice. Thanks a lot. I'm hoping the home inspection would do a deep dive on the foundation, but I'll definitely look into that when looking at homes. What I want to avoid is a major construction project. When it comes to renovations we only want to deal with renovations that wouldn't displace us from the property, even if it's annoying for a while.

I'm definitely looking at fixed-rate only. But that's a good piece of advice and helped solidify my decision.

As far as buying a house with my girlfriend. I do realize it's risky, but our price range is something that could be absorbed by either one of our salaries if necessary. We could afford a more expensive home, but I want to keep our payment relatively low so we can get a decent amount of equity in the home by paying over our mortgage a bit. If I did end up with the house solo, I'd be more comfortable with a roommate, but wouldn't require one.

Yeah, small jobs like painting, staining the deck (although that wasn't a small job for me this past weekend, lol), things, like you said, that don't displace you from your home is definitely something that you can deal with. I would say if it was an expensive issue like having to replace the HVAC system right away, I'd either get the seller to knock off the amount of that cost or get them to fix it. And like you said, hopefully the inspection will be detailed enough - it will at least show you if there is anything majorly wrong.

Even if you are under the "due diligence" part of buying a particular home, you still have time to back out if you wind up finding something else that better suits you. My wife and I were under contract with a house, but our realtor had mentioned another house that was close to where her parents lived. We loved that house so much more, we wound up backing out of the first contract and buying this house.

Sounds like you got a good head on your shoulders with this! I like that you're thinking in terms of building equity. I know a lot of young couples start off just wanting to get the most they can get by stretching themselves the most they can stretch. It can get pretty stressful!