Tips on buying a house

[alphabassettgrrl]

Originally Posted by Betty

Can I expect them to do repairs that come up in the inspection? Is that a pretty normal thing to have happen? (that is the house needing repairs that the owner wasn't already aware of and them agreeing to fix them)

You'll get a reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally long list of things that are wrong with the house. Every house. Spots of dry-rot, areas of termite damage, slight problems with the plumbing that in real use, you'll never notice. Some might be worth fixing, but that will depend on what's wrong, and how bad it is. We got a slight reduction in the price because the chimney has some slight damage that we probably should get fixed but haven't.

Your question about HOAs- I despise them. I asked the universe to send me a home that didn't have one, and I got it. Sure, you risk redneck neighbors, but for the most part, I'll take the risk, over the certainty that the HOA will annoy me and make me pay for the priviledge.

Things to do: You'll need to show 3 months of bank statements to show you have the down payment, and make sure nothing shows up as an unusual deposit (have the money before you apply). They want to make sure you have the money free and clear, that it's not a loan from somewhere.

Get a second loan going. Our first one had something odd happen, and eventually they rejected us. Had we had a second application, we would have closed a bit sooner.

Never accept any variable-rate loan. Fixed rate, fixed payment.

I second the suggestion to visit the neighborhood at different times. See what it's like. Especially on a Friday night.

Good luck! May you find your dream house!