Buying my first home UPDATE: offer accepted, now what?

Re: Buying my first home in a buyer's market

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/autos/1004/gallery.Costly_homebuying_mistakes/index.html

 

Re: Buying my first home in a buyer's market



The advice given on this thread is solid.

Folks who have posted here helped me in both, big and small, ways get this deed in my name. (Inky, you da man!)

It took more than a year. I set my sights high early on. The places I liked were too expensive, too big for a single fella in the South (yes, this one-bed needs a little testosterone in terms of color, but that's small stuff).

A. Check what you want with what you need.
B. You can find plenty of places on your own by getting on an email 'listserv' from the biggest agent in the city, then hire an agent just for you. My agent spent about 1/4 of her fee on a bottle of Scotch as a "Congrats" gift.
C. The inspection is crucial. I wish I would have paid more attention to the results and cross-referenced with pros and factored that into the adjusted offer.
D. Trust folks you trust with your life.
E. Trust your gut even more!
F. Know you're going to be intimidated by words and financial phrases you've never heard (revert to 'E')
G. We, as a collection of mostly newspaper folks, have little income. My loan is basically a state loan, so check into local and state HUD loans... and I didn't have to move into a crappy hood-on-the-rise place for it. G2-sometimes being low-income helps!
H. Enjoy the process. The end result is amazing! I'm lucky enough to have a few weeks before my apt lease ends. So I can sand-and-shine the floors and upgrade what I want before moving in. But every time I pop in to get the mail and check the place, I just smile and consider how I'm going to make this house, MY HOME.

Good luck!
Hwy

PS: Drop a line if you want more info!
Edit PPS: Yes, the deck, "Had me at, 'Hello!"

 

Re: Buying my first home in a buyer's market

It's amazing to me that home buyers check and double-check every aspect of their deal, watching the process super-closely to make sure every last penny is accounted for and any problems with the house are caught by a Grade A home inspector. We're careful to buy in the right ZIP codes, at the right price, at the right size (3bd/2ba or better), near the right schools.

And yet there is no real way of knowing anything about the neighbors immediately adjacent, left, right, front, rear. Believe me, that makes a big difference. You don't know if you're moving in next to John Cusack or John Wayne Gacy. You can see how they care for their homes and lot, I guess, or what sort and how many vehicles they have. But you'd better drive by late on a Friday or Saturday to see whether they value peace and quiet. Maybe you meet Mom and Dad Next Door, only to learn after you've moved in that their kids are druggies or punks.

Neighbors can spoil a home experience whether it's an apartment or a single-family house, and once you live with that for a few years, your only hope is that they move, die or remain enough of a secret when you try to stick the next buyer with them.

Hire an inspector? Maybe we should hire a P.I. to investigate the folks next door.

 

Re: Buying my first home in a buyer's market

As someone who can attest to this (see the 'What to do about drug-dealing neighbors thread), I totally agree.

There are some sites where, for a fee, you can do background checks. I didn't do it at first when I bought my home because, with everything else in buying a home, I was worried about spending a few extra hundred bucks. But for the first seven years, I was lucky. Except for a property line dispute with one of my neighbors, where we went a couple of years without speaking, it was great.

(And that's another thing. Make sure you get a good survey done on the property.)

Then, the aforementioned druggies moved in across the street, and nearly ruined the home owning experience. It was getting stressful just to pull up in my driveway. Luckily, those a-holes finally moved after code enforcement was coming in. The place has now been vacant for two months, and the owner has vowed to get a good tenant in there after firing the property manager.

So try to learn as much about the neighborhood as possible, and keep in mind that it can always change with people moving in and out.

 

Re: Buying my first home in a buyer's market

So, is the first time you are buying a home, and it just happens to be occuring in a buyer-friendly market?
Or have you bought homes previously, but this happens to be the first time you've done it in a buyer-friendly market?

 

Re: Buying my first home in a buyer's market

This would be the first time I'm buying a home, period.

Thanks for all of the advice everyone. I'm still looking around, trying to be very picky. I may have one possibility, but the place needs some work (old windows, central air and furnace). None of those keep the place from being livable now, but we'll see if the seller is willing to make some replacements or come down off the price. Nice houses around it and I like the neighborhood.

 

Re: Buying my first home in a buyer's market

I was looking at homes for a while, but didn't see anything (that I could reasonably afford) that blew me away.

The thing that scares me more than anything about buying a house is the potential for shitty, loud neighbors with dogs that bark all the time. The thought really terrifies me because of how miserable they can make your life.

I don't dislike people or dogs, but I really don't want either withing 100 yards of where I live. That's not always possible, of course, but at least as a renter I can (and do) choose to live in no-pets places.

 

Re: Buying my first home in a buyer's market

we were lucky with the neighborhood. rented a house in an neighborhood of mostly elderly folks. after a year, the man in the house next to ours died and his wife had to go into assisted living, so we had first crack when they decided to put the house up for sale. got it for a good price and been there ever since. It's like three minutes from work if i catch all the traffic lights, so i can go home for lunch and dinner. neighborhood has changed somewhat in the last few years and it's not as good as it was, but we still like it.

 

Re: Buying my first home in a buyer's market

So, I've got an accepted offer on a place and we are moving forward towards closing, which won't happen for 45 days or so.

I'm in the process of getting an inspection done, getting homeowner's insurance, etc. I bought a foreclosure, so I'll have to find appliances because they took everything when they left. (And when I say everything, that includes some light fixtures, shelves from the closets, etc.).

Anyone who's gone through a similar process have any suggestions for crucial steps between now and closing?

 

Don't skimp on appliances, HP. Having a refrigerator, stove, etc., malfunction is an unhappy and expensive occasion. Plan like you're going to spend the next 20 years in your home, because you never know.

 

Congrats. Have you hired an attorney to review the sales contract?

 

Get a lawyer to represent you through the closing.
The taking of the fixtures and closet shelves, unless specified in the contract is illegal and you can get some money for that.
The lawyer can also negotiate money back to you for things the inspection finds wrong.