[alasam]

I am seriously looking into purchasing a home this year; in large part this is due to the $8k rebate for 1st time buyers and the interest rates are favorable.

Initially I was certain I would get a condo because I don't relish dealing with issues like busted boilers or other such household headaches. The maintenance cost was a worthwhile exchange in my opinion for the peace of mind you get with an on hand super. However a friend who has a condo is really suffering now because her maintenance fee has dramatically increased in the last year due to the fact that several people in her builiding were foreclosed on and so their fees have been redistibuted over the remaining condo owners. I would hate to get into a place I thought I could afford only to lose it later due to a change in maintenance fees which I have no control over.

So now I've expanded my search to include homes and am specifically looking at foreclosed properties on the sites for different banks with REO properties.

I just wanted to know if anyone else is doing something similar. Let's share information and questions here.

[questions987]

Get a realtor, they can usually help you better than just having an internet search. Get approved for a dollar amount before you start looking so you don't look into homes that you can't afford. if you're buying in California (other states too, but mostly cali) be careful of Mello-Roos, they are just as bad as HOAs and some places have both.

If you have time, consider a short sale because those are just as good of a deal, only it's a pinkberry to deal with the banks and the approval process. if it's a short sale with two banks - RUN if it's a short with one bank you should be okay.

Becareful of foreclosures with Excel they like to purposly start low and create a bidding war so that the home is purchased for more than it should be.

[somegirl]

My sister bought a house recently. She's also a first time home buyer. She bought a lake front property (5 acres) for around 50k . It was a foreclosed house. We had a realtor involved in the process. It is so much easier since he fills out most of the paperwork. BTW find a realtor you can trust. Not just a random person. The realtor we have is a close friend of my dads.

[sasuke-kun]

i was originally looking to buy a townhouse in a new community but ended up buying a similar home that was built two years ago that was put up for short sale. i ended up "saving" about 50k. it was a very, very long wait for the bank to finally approve my offer.

[taiji.]

i'm also looking to buy a house.. what's the minimum percentage of the total price does the down payment have to be? and for those of you who already have bought a house, how old were you when you bought your first house?

[sasuke-kun]

i'm also looking to buy a house.. what's the minimum percentage of the total price does the down payment have to be? and for those of you who already have bought a house, how old were you when you bought your first house?

well, you have to put down 20% if you want to avoid private mortgage insurance (PMI). i think PMI is a scam. they make you pay this if you dont put down 20%. it can be anywhere from 0.5% to 1% of your mortgage. according to the law, banks are technically supposed to remove this once you reach 22% equity but i've been reading stories online where people are getting screwed by the banks. banks make you pay additional fees to try to remove them and end up denying your request. i didn't want to deal with this so i actually borrowed money from my parents which i will pay back immediately when i get my 8000 credit. there really isnt a minimum that you have to put. you can put as low as 3% with an FHA loan, a government assisted loan. but youd be paying PMI the rest of your life.

i just turned 25

[alasam]

Finding a realtor I feel comfortable with has been a bit difficult.

@ sasuke-kun: that is actually a really smart idea to borrow from your parents. It never even crossed my mind to do that and I just reconciled myself to being stuck with PMI until I have enough equity in my home for them to stop.

[zeram]

I'm planning to seriously look this year due to that rebate.
I met with a realtor last year who sort of put me off the whole prospect. We met. We talked about what I was looking for and where I was looking. She then proceeded to send me listings that were not even in the towns I had mentioned to her. The listings she was sending me were for towns where there were large populations of what she perceived as my ethnicity ("perceived" since I am mixed). Never mind the fact that these places were not what I was going for at all.
Too crowded, no outdoor space, no parking etc. <---if I wanted that I would just stay living in NYC
I am gearing myself up to approach another realtor but first comes getting preapproval on a mortgage.

alasam something I discovered. Not all lenders cover coops which is a big market in the NYC/Northern NJ area.

[1336.5]

a couple words of advice from someone who's been through it.

i'd recommend you not only have a good realtor picked up but also a contractor (if it needs fixing up), mortgage broker, inspector, and lawyer. the process moves so much faster and smoother that way instead of you having to find someone new as you move onto the next stage of closing.

before you even get a realtor (if you're serious about buying) get a preapproval letter from your mortgage broker so your realtor and everyone downstream of the process knows what you're looking for and are capable of buying. shop around because some brokers are better than others.

also believe it or not, you can even negotiate on realtor rates. typically the seller pays the realtor commissions so the buyer doesn't even care, but some buyer's realtors will offer their clients a rebate. mine was 1% back (on the closing price of the property)

once you've picked out a place (and in this marking i'm willing to bet it's going to be a short sale or foreclosure), you'll put down an offer to the bank with earnest money which is a couple thousand probably. the bank is going to take months to respond back. fast forward. once you get approval from the bank then you need to lock down your mortgage rate and start the closing process. this includes appraisals, inspections, attorney reviews and getting your money ready. once all the paper work is done and ready for the closing table, you'll bring your cashiers check for the downpayment and sit down with your attorney at the closing table with the title company signing a whole bunch of paperwork. When you leave, you should have keys and you'll be a homeowner!

come tax time 2010, just make sure you remember to claim that $8000 on the 1040!

[ladyatakari]

I haven't bought a house myself personally, but this is what I learned from one of my accounting classes when we did a housing project. Watch out for closing costs because those can really add up depending on what bank you go with. Also avoid adjustable mortgage interest rates and be sure to get a fixed one. Even if the adjustable rates seem lower, they can increase later making your mortgage payments unaffordable. When you're signing the papers, if you're in California and they go through some company named "Emory" or something like that (I forget what it's called exactly), make sure you read all the writing because the professor was saying how they spelled names wrong and such which makes it a huge hassle down the line if you ever need the papers for something. You can also deduct mortgage interest from your taxes so the earlier in the year you get the house the more you can deduct. That's if your itemized deductions together are larger than then standard deduction though (which is like 5500 or something).

[zeram]

As far as closing costs since its a buyers market right now I've been reading that buyers are getting the sellers to foot the bill for them or at least pay half.

[1336.5]

As far as closing costs since its a buyers market right now I've been reading that buyers are getting the sellers to foot the bill for them or at least pay half.

it's true for sellers who are private parties.....good luck trying to get a bank to accept your offer within a month, let alone bother to pay for your closing costs