Tips on buying a house

[Betty]

We're buying a house! Okay - that's jumping the gun a bit. We've been pre-approved. We're to the point of getting a realtor and going to look.

I'd love some tips on looking on buying a home. (You know how once you've done something, there are all those little things that you get from the experience but no one ever seems to tell you beforehand.)

I know we should get a home inspection done before buying.

What else do I need to know?

We're looking in the low cost area of Perris, Hemet and surrounding communities which put us closer to my work. Staying clear of Moreno Valley.

[Snowflake]

I think you should buy this one

[3894]

Originally Posted by Snowflake

I think you should buy this one

The "Ferris Buehler's Day Off" house in Highland Park, Illinois was recently listed for $2.3 million. With a Ferrari, that could be fun.

Betty, go to as many open houses as you can stand. You'll get a really strong idea of the market. After that, contact a realtor to take you around.

When you see the realtor, have a list of non-negotiable deal breakers. Of course, the realtor will not take your list seriously. You say "no stairs" and you even have a good reason for that, let's say. Your realtor will try to "educate" you that you don't really mean it. Same thing with price range. You tell the realtor X is your limit and next thing you know, you're being shown a Y or two "just for fun". Stand your ground.

Edited to add: I'm sure this isn't you but on those HGTV shows about buying property so many react to the paint, carpet, and drapes. They say something like, "Those walls go better with my sofa than the ones in the other house." Paint, carpet, and drapes can easily be changed out.

[Moonliner]

Get LESS house than you are approved for (cost wise).

Don't even think of getting anything other than a fixed rate.

Realtors work for the seller not for you.

[Morrigoon]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

Realtors work for the seller not for you.

That's a misconception. Yes, we're paid out of the commission that the seller agreed to pay when they listed the house with a listing agent, but make no mistake, your realtor is there to represent YOU.

However, this makes one very good point - don't use the listing agent to double-side the deal thinking that somehow you'll get a better deal out of it. Use your own agent that you chose for yourself, because you want someone who can fight your battle for you. An agent double-siding a deal is less of a negotiator and more of a mediator/facilitator, because they have to treat both sides equally.

There are some very good prices out that way, so you shouldn't have too hard a time finding something you like.

The inspection is written into the standard CAR forms, it's one of the standard contingencies of the deal (eg: your offer is contingent upon satisfactory results from the inspection). When you do the inspection, the inspector will come back to you with a report on the things he found wrong. This becomes a 2nd point for negotiation, where you negotiate on things the seller will or will not fix, or amount they might be willing to negotiate on price in lieu of fixing. Sellers will not fix everything, pick your battles. Decide what's important.

Do not be afraid to walk away from a deal.

Here's something that is an option on the standard CAR form, but not many agents use: be sure your agent checks off the box that says, "The loan contingency will remain in effect until loan is funded". That is a huge out for you, should anything go wrong with your lender.

Definitely ask seller to pay for a home warranty, with the air conditioning upgrade. It's a small concession for them to make, and gives both you and the seller some peace of mind. We even renewed our home warranty up until this year, and only dropped it because they've already had to come and fix all the major stuff that we were worried about fixing (got a new heater and garbage disposal, stuff you'd rather not pay for out of pocket!)

You'll get more concessions out of a regular seller than you will out of a bank. That's not to say don't buy bank-owned properties, because let's face it, those are some of the better deals out there right now, just set your expectations of negotiation accordingly. For example, banks probably won't fix much, if anything, following the inspection. So if you don't like the results of the inspection, be mentally prepared that you might have to walk from the deal.

[Betty]

Originally Posted by Morrigoon

Here's something that is an option on the standard CAR form, but not many agents use: be sure your agent checks off the box that says, "The loan contingency will remain in effect until loan is funded". That is a huge out for you, should anything go wrong with your lender.

What does this mean?

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Morrigoon

That's a misconception. Yes, we're paid out of the commission that the seller agreed to pay when they listed the house with a listing agent, but make no mistake, your realtor is there to represent YOU.

So if the buyer was to make a comment like, 'Gee I like this house, I'm going to offer 5k less than asking but I'd pay asking price if I need to"

Would you or would you not be legally obligated to pass that info onto the seller?

[Betty]

Originally Posted by 3894

The "Ferris Buehler's Day Off" house in Highland Park, Illinois was recently listed for $2.3 million. With a Ferrari, that could be fun.

Betty, go to as many open houses as you can stand. You'll get a really strong idea of the market. After that, contact a realtor to take you around.

When you see the realtor, have a list of non-negotiable deal breakers. Of course, the realtor will not take your list seriously. You say "no stairs" and you even have a good reason for that, let's say. Your realtor will try to "educate" you that you don't really mean it. Same thing with price range. You tell the realtor X is your limit and next thing you know, you're being shown a Y or two "just for fun". Stand your ground.

Edited to add: I'm sure this isn't you but on those HGTV shows about buying property so many react to the paint, carpet, and drapes. They say something like, "Those walls go better with my sofa than the ones in the other house." Paint, carpet, and drapes can easily be changed out.

So - open houses I can just show up for... but most listings I need to have the realtor make an appt. and stuff?

And it won't do any good for them to show me more then I'm approved for so that's no problem and I'm not afraid to tell them so. I'm not looking at houses "just for fun".

It's hard to see a house and not compare the flooring and paint to others - but it bears repeating that that's not a good reason to buy this house over that one.

Thanks!

[3894]

Originally Posted by Betty

So - open houses I can just show up for... but most listings I need to have the realtor make an appt. and stuff?

Exactly.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Betty

It's hard to see a house and not compare the flooring and paint to others - but it bears repeating that that's not a good reason to buy this house over that one.

Thanks!

Sometimes it is. It shouldn't be the highest priority reason, for sure, but if you're looking at two otherwise comparable houses, if house A is $5K cheaper than house B but would require spending $10K to change out floors/paint/cabinets that you hate, then if you buy house A you're either going to end up spending more, or end up living in a house you hate because you can't bring yourself to spend the $.