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I haven’t been posting as much lately for a few reasons. One, I have been super busy at work. It’s a good thing, but not for my writing. Second, we have decided to stay in our current city and buy a house. Phew!
So I am soliciting advice.
What are the best resources you have found on the web to guide us through buying a house?
What are some of the best blog posts you have read about the subject, or about people’s experiences in general?
Your help is greatly appreciated. I’ll put another post with all of the links people send in. Just leave a comment on this post. Seriously. I greatly appreciate it.
Update on Suggestions:
From the comments…
Links:
Suggestions:
Keep ‘em coming!
15 Comments, Comment or Ping
Candice
Lessons I learned when buying my first house:
First, it’s excellent to do your research. I checked out books from the library and of course surfed the web throughout the process. It helped me feel better informed and I asked questions that I wouldn’t have known to ask. I didn’t save titles or links though.
-Since you write about finance topics, you probably don’t need this one, but for others: figure out what you can comfortably afford before you go shopping, don’t rely on the bank’s numbers (they were willing to give me twice what I wanted to spend!). Buy less than your maximum, there are sure to be costs you haven’t considered.
-Find a realtor you like, whose advice you can trust, and who you click with. Interview a couple if you need to. A good realtor makes all the difference. Unfortunately, so does a bad one.
-If you are looking in a neighborhood you don’t know as well, research it carefully. Check crime reports, sexual predator stats, etc. so you don’t have any nasty surprises. Talk to neighbors in the area too. (I came thisclose to buying a house in the wrong neighborhood based on a (bad) realtor’s glowing recommendation, luckily I did the research inthe nick of time).
-Get a house inspection. Also seriously consider getting radon and mold inspections. (my realtor tried to talk me out of the radon inspection, saying none of his clients had ever had one in 20 years. Guess what? Yup, they found high levels of radon.) Better to find these problems before you buy than after.
-Realize that most likely your property taxes will go up after you buy. Sometimes way up! (I was expecting an increase, but geez…)
-Expect repairs early and budget for them.
May 23rd, 2007
Matt
A good resource to start researching neighborhoods is the website Cyberhomes. It’s a fantastic place to begin comparing values of homes in different neighborhoods, as well as charts of home finances, neighborhood demographics, school rankings, and a whole lot more.
http://www.cyberhomes.com/default.aspx?bhcp=1
May 23rd, 2007
Ele
bankrate.com has some great calculators (including a very flexible mortgage payment calculator that lets you figure out the benefit of over-paying on your mortgage).
coldwellbanker.com lists every single property in any MLS database where they have an office (which is probably everywhere in the US). It will probably redirect you to another site which represents your local Coldwell Banker.
May 23rd, 2007
Ele
Please take results from Cyberhomes.com or zillow.com with a big grain of salt. Both sites *over* value my home by about $60,000 (which is 30% more than the home is worth at its very highest possible value).
May 23rd, 2007
grover
There a wealth of advice, insight, and support in the credit boards forums, http://www.creditboards.com/forums .
–
grover
May 23rd, 2007
Dave
Two things are key to getting a good deal. Information & Patience.
Realtors do a good job of controlling the information related to the markets through thier restrictions of the MLS websites. Use the MLS websites. Keep in mind what your realtors motivation is. Not all homes pay the same commission to them, all depends on what the selling broker decides. However, like any service, you are hiring them, find someone you like and be loyal if they will do the same.
Do your own due dillgence by using the county website and locating their GIS page, it is usually under assessor information. This will allow you very vital information related to what the seller paid originally, when they bought and if there are any liens attached to the parcel. This is a great way to identify a ‘flipper’ or someone trying to make a quick buck, or someone about to get in trouble.
May 23rd, 2007
Money Blog
If you are searching for a home yourself, look on all of the realtor websites in your area. Realtor.com is good, but I found one for the Southern Indiana area (sira.org) that is excellent.
Bankrate.com is probably the best for place to find mortgages and mortgage calculators.
If you have a family (and if you don’t): http://www.familywatchdog.us/
It is a National Sexual Predator List.
My best advice for Mortgages is to shop around. I found 2 guys who played off of each other and saved about $200 a month. Also, I have heard of some banks that say if they don’t have the best deal, they will pay money towards your closing costs. I have not found one yet, but I have heard of places that do that.
Any other info you might need, let me know. Good Luck!
May 23rd, 2007
tehnyit
Hey,
I am going through the similar process where I am migrating my house. I have just sold it and am now on the path to finding our new house to move into.
I have posted some articles about it, and will be adding more as we move through the process.
http://cheap-as-chips.blogspot.com/search/label/house%20selling
Let me know if you find these of any help.
Good Luck!
May 23rd, 2007
Celina
Something that goes completely counter to advice I had ever been given, was given to us by our realtors. “It is OK to buy a house you love”. And we did. We bought a house because my husband started hyperventilating after we walked in. It was cheap, it is in a great neighborhood, and it is 5 minutes on foot from our local library, coffee shops, city hall, the school, etc. It was not at all what we thought we wanted. We had done all the homework, but he was in love, the neighborhood was right. It is not perfect, we have little closet space, and the kitchen is old. But we are so happy.
I always like sidewalks, because it means people can walk. And a neighborhood where people are out, walking their dogs, kids, husbands, is safer.
And it seemed to me that we needed about $30,000 for each $100,000 we bought. We had a cushion for repairs, extra taxes, etc.
Good luck. I used Realtor.com, and this house popped up on Sunday morning, because they had lowered the price that night. Our realtor had done her search the night before, and hadn’t seen it.
May 23rd, 2007
grover
I forgot to add The Mortgage Professor - http://www.mtgprofessor.com/Default.htm
Lot’s of tips and answers as well as a multitude of calculators.
May 24th, 2007
Brad
Once you find a Realtor that is knowledgeable and one that you trust, let him do his job. I know the industry doesn’t have a great reputation and that there are some bad apples, but the ones that are doing well, do well because they know what they’re doing. And contrary to what Dave says, the fact that not all homes pay the same commission is not an issue with the good agents. The desperate ones, the ones that are living paycheck to paycheck are the ones that look at the commission.
Finally, remember that your first home is your “stepping stone” and you’ll most likely live in it 2-6 years. Even though it’s tempting, don’t buy your dream home right away. Think about your “target market buyer” when you go to sell it down the road. Will they spend top dollar to have all the bells and whistles?
Good luck!
May 24th, 2007
Christopher Smith
You seem like a savvy consumer. This advice isn’t suitable for everyone but it might be suitable for you: you should consider using a discount broker.
When I moved from overseas in 2002 I essentially found my house online. I did the research, looked at trends, compared prices, evaluated neighborhoods, and considerably narrowed my search all from the comfort of my desktop a thousand miles away. When I actually I looked at a very carefully selected shortlist. I had a #1 choice, looked at it first, checked out several others afterwards, then went back to #1 and bought it.
Moral is: the basic Realtor value proposition is a knowledgeable, courteous, customer oriented expert to help homebuyers find their dream house. That’s a time consuming business model and I’d argue that when they provide all of this handholding and custom attention the 6% commission is warranted.
Problem is: I didn’t want any of this. I didn’t want help finding my dream home; I found it on my own just fine. Don’t be fooled by the argument that “the buyer doesn’t pay a commission”. That’s nonsense – that 6% commission that the seller has to pay comes straight out of his or her pocket, which means that the price needs to be set higher than it otherwise would be in a more efficient transaction. Yes buyer: you’re paying that commission.
So…if you’re a do-it-yourself guy then consider a company like Redfin that pays you back part of the buyer’s commission, or try a site like http://www.hungryagents.com that caters to Realtors w/ a similar business model. Beware – there are both frogs and princesses out there, but I don’t buy the “you get what you pay for” mantra – a lot of folks going with full service, full commission Realtors are paying for a bunch of stuff that they neither want nor need.
May 30th, 2007
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