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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

House Hunting

My sister is looking for some advice for first time home buyers. What kind of things should they look for, what should they avoid? If you are or have been a homeowner, what did you learn through the experience? Did you have any good resources that helped you navigate the process?

2 comments:

Becky R. said...

I would say don't be scared off by bank repos. They can take longer to get, and they may need a lot of work, but we turned ours around and made quite a bit of money on it-totally worth it! Also, you can shop around for mortgages, I didn't realized that when we bought our first condo, but when we bought our house, we didn't feel right about what the mortgage company we were using had told us, so we went someplace else and got a much better deal!

LINSY said...

ooooo - so fun! What an adventure!
1 - If possible - find something ASAP. The first time home buyer tax credit expires Apr 30 (sales contract must be signed by Apr 30 and must close on house by June 30). The credit is $8,000 and it is refundable - meaning, even if you don't owe tax you still receive the cold hard cash.
However, there is a case to be made that house prices in the first time homebuyer range may be artificially inflated right now because of the credit. So, if you are waiting a bit before you buy - its a possibility that home prices come down a bit after April.
2 - Do not buy a house in an HOA. Communism in America and the rise of HOAs................but thats another story.
3 - Compare lenders. There is a wide range in closing fees.
4 - I read "Mortgages for Dummies" and it was helpful - just to understand all the lingo and what all the different fees are.