Tanner ... I got a ton to do this morning but will PM you tonight after GC goes to work. (If I don't then PM me and remind me ... duh!! LOL)
And jeez ... do we have a "date" yet??
And jeez ... do we have a "date" yet??
I JUST bought and moved into a new home and this is the best advice yet. I searched for 9 months.
My futher suggestions are....
Get on Zillow.com.... learn the website in and out. It will allow you to see rough comps and houses for sale or lease. You will also be able to see about what kind of property taxes you'll be paying.
To clarify something Mr Ed said, PMI is tacked on until 20% of the value of the house is gone. Not 10%. If you have 20% then put it down but most people don't. Now having a big down payment is cool and all but in my case it made no sense since money is so cheap right now. I was very surprised at how little it knocks down the payment, so I opted to keep my money liquid.
One thing I can't stress enough is SHOP AROUND AND GET FEEDBACK!! I mean for everything. Lender, home owner's insurance, closing company. DO NOT automatically go with who your realtor suggests.
Whatever you do..... stay the heck away from Bank of America. My parents refi'ed through them in the fall (even though I told them not to) and it was a total nightmare. Several people I talked to that had BOA loans had some problem or another.
My wife and I bought our first house in June of 2009. To keep things user-friendly I'll make a list of suggestions or comments:
1) Location, Location, Location. The location of a house can make a huge difference in your satisfaction. Quality of neighborhood is huge and if you plan to have kids the quality of the schools is even more important. Also, we got a lot with common areas on three sides of our house, including a large pond just outside our backyard. Not many people in our subdivision have this and it was the selling point for our purchase.
2) Our building company (Ideal Homes) offered financing thru their own mortgage company. I've always heard horror stories about mortgage paperwork but it was as easy as buying a car. Our interest rate was ridiculously low and they paid all closing costs they could legally pay.
3) We got an HUD loan and only put down 2.5% of total cost. This resulted in an $68/month mortgage insurance payment on a $150,000 house. We simply did not have 20% to put down and we needed to buy all major appliances and yard tools/machinery with the rest of our saved money.
4) We budgeted our mortgage/home insurance, mortgage insurance, and property tax payment to be less than 25% of our NET income. Even then, money can be tight as homeowner expenses are mind-boggling.
5) Once you've closed on the house start fortifying it. This may sound strange but someone kicked in our front door two weeks ago while we slept. It sounds like you will have a police cruiser in the driveway some of the time but it's likely your wife will be home alone as well. One of our posters (HKCHEF) has posted an awesome thread on this very subject: http://www.okshooters.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108195
6) When looking at houses, think ahead. I now wish I had held out for a tandem, 3-car garage. Also, I would like to build a sun room/hot tub room onto the house but the design of our house won't make it easy. It's doable but had we picked a house with that future renovation in mind it would probably save a lot of money and end in a better result.
1) Location, Location, Location. The location of a house can make a huge difference in your satisfaction. Quality of neighborhood is huge and if you plan to have kids the quality of the schools is even more important. Also, we got a lot with common areas on three sides of our house, including a large pond just outside our backyard. Not many people in our subdivision have this and it was the selling point for our purchase.
2) Our building company (Ideal Homes) offered financing thru their own mortgage company. I've always heard horror stories about mortgage paperwork but it was as easy as buying a car. Our interest rate was ridiculously low and they paid all closing costs they could legally pay.
3) We got an HUD loan and only put down 2.5% of total cost. This resulted in an $68/month mortgage insurance payment on a $150,000 house. We simply did not have 20% to put down and we needed to buy all major appliances and yard tools/machinery with the rest of our saved money.
4) We budgeted our mortgage/home insurance, mortgage insurance, and property tax payment to be less than 25% of our NET income. Even then, money can be tight as homeowner expenses are mind-boggling.
5) Once you've closed on the house start fortifying it. This may sound strange but someone kicked in our front door two weeks ago while we slept. It sounds like you will have a police cruiser in the driveway some of the time but it's likely your wife will be home alone as well. One of our posters (HKCHEF) has posted an awesome thread on this very subject: http://www.okshooters.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108195
6) When looking at houses, think ahead. I now wish I had held out for a tandem, 3-car garage. Also, I would like to build a sun room/hot tub room onto the house but the design of our house won't make it easy. It's doable but had we picked a house with that future renovation in mind it would probably save a lot of money and end in a better result.
I would advise that you create a really good monthly budget. Ask folks that own homes about their monthly expenses, (electricity, gas, trash, water, upkeep) and make sure to budget everything in. Also make sure to budget things like entertainment, clothes, food, etc. I'm sure you can find some good examples online. A lot of folks will get themselves into a house and end up being "house poor." Meaning they can afford a mortgage, but can't afford to go anywhere or do anything fun. Life's not a lot of fun if all you do is work and sleep. Sounds like your on the right track, by thinking about things well in advance. Wish you the best!
You've got some great advice here so I won't add to it. When you don't have a lot of cash it's hard to imagine making a purchase as large as a house. When I was young I would eat a lunch at home or bring a lunch and put the cash I would have spent in savings. That can be about $100 a month in additional savings. I know that doesn't sound like a lot but every dollar you save is very important. The best advice I ever got about money was from my grandfather. He always said "a dollar saved is a dollar earned" and I've always tried to follow it.
The figures the bank throws out don't mean anything. True loan approval is up to a guy at the very end of the lending chain called the "underwriter." And I've seen him turn down a lot of people who were already "approved" by the bank for X amount of dollars. And I've seen the underwriter reject such a loan the day of the supposed closing.
To the OP, you've got some time (~2.5 years?). You need to be getting your ducks in a row. High personal loans are bad for your mortgage credit. A lot of credit card debt or expensive automobile payments, for example. You need to be getting out of debt.
Also, the days of no money down are probably gone, thanx to the housing/mortgage crisis. You need to have a hefty (20%?) down payment to calm nervous lenders.
Finally, in 2.5 years, hopefully the housing market will have settled down. You'll be able to know what you're buying.
we bought our second house in sept of 2010. the market is perfect right now to buy if you have good credit and money down. i heard last week that interest rates on long term notes jumped about .5 % from 4.2 to around 4.8.. we got our locked at 4.2.
we used bank of oklahoma and the lady we delt with was very helpful. she told us exactly what we needed for closing. the amount we would need down. made sure all our paper work was in correct. so when we showed up all we had to do is put our down payment,and sign the dotted line. very easy. i think we were there less than 30 minutes.
but when looking. decide budget. how much of a payment do you REALLY think you can afford. no need to talk to the bank if you are two years away.
look at the neighborhoods,school district, stores. highway.. we even checked rush hour traffic near the area we bought,
but do not over extend. you do not want a fix it. unless you get a steal and a handyman. but understand no matter what you buy,it will probally require work you never expected once you get into it.
get your credit report and make sure everything is paid and there are no issues, get them resolved. the bank will.
it can be a fun experience if you go into it prepared. zillow.com is how we found our house. it is a great tool. it will show you monthly payments based on money down. can show you property taxes. and even show you totals if you want to add property tax and insurance to your monthly.
we went in with 15% down. actually bought a house for about 50,000 less than if we would have bought it 3 years ago. we still owed 3 years on old home. but it was no issue. just save,save,save it will make it easier in the long run
we used bank of oklahoma and the lady we delt with was very helpful. she told us exactly what we needed for closing. the amount we would need down. made sure all our paper work was in correct. so when we showed up all we had to do is put our down payment,and sign the dotted line. very easy. i think we were there less than 30 minutes.
but when looking. decide budget. how much of a payment do you REALLY think you can afford. no need to talk to the bank if you are two years away.
look at the neighborhoods,school district, stores. highway.. we even checked rush hour traffic near the area we bought,
but do not over extend. you do not want a fix it. unless you get a steal and a handyman. but understand no matter what you buy,it will probally require work you never expected once you get into it.
get your credit report and make sure everything is paid and there are no issues, get them resolved. the bank will.
it can be a fun experience if you go into it prepared. zillow.com is how we found our house. it is a great tool. it will show you monthly payments based on money down. can show you property taxes. and even show you totals if you want to add property tax and insurance to your monthly.
we went in with 15% down. actually bought a house for about 50,000 less than if we would have bought it 3 years ago. we still owed 3 years on old home. but it was no issue. just save,save,save it will make it easier in the long run
Lots of good info! Basiclly what I'm gathering is start my piggy bank for my downpayment, keep trying to build credit, and further learn the art of the budget.
ive never heard of zillow.com. that in itself was extremely helpful
Keep the info comming! thanks guys
ive never heard of zillow.com. that in itself was extremely helpful
Keep the info comming! thanks guys
You will need to have 20% down to get a conventional mortgage, but only 3.5% for an FHA mortgage. We had the 20% down, but new employment caused us to fail underwriting the week of close and we converted to an FHA with 10% down and used the other down payment money on higher interest debt.
Think energy efficient as well. If your looking for a new house really research what was done to save on energy. If you are buying a older home budget your self for blowing insulation, new windows, new doors or weather striping, caulking everything, filling gaps with foam, maybe adding fans and maybe a wood stove or fireplace insert with blower. I have greatly reduced my energy costs with the above suggestions and save 100+ every month.
