House Buying Tips?

[BPRoberts]

Fingers crossed, my wife and I will be buying a house in the next couple months. I'm betting some of you have forgotten more than I'll ever know about home buying/maintenance, so I figured I'd ask for some tips.

[Alan K.]

1. Hire a home inspector to check out any house before you buy it. If the inspector finds significant problems you can pass on that house and if the inspector finds easily fixed but expensive problems you can negotiate the estimated cost of those repairs off the price.  Find an inspector yourself on Angie's list or through the Better Business Bureau rather than taking a recommendation from the realtor or your insurance company or your mortgage lender because if they work for the realtor or the insurance companies or the lender they may not have your best interests in mind.
 
2. Look for a house where the roof and major appliances are all relatively new.

3. Make sure any additions or modifications to the house were done with proper permits and that the work was inspected and approved by the municipality and that there are no open permits remaining and any work meets current building code requirements.

4. Get a title company to make sure there are no leans on the house or existing unpaid taxes or fines that you will be liable for.

5. If you want to make improvements such as new windows and doors, new HVAC, or even gutters, get estimates before you close and have those costs factored into your mortgage so you can have those improvements done right away and they'll just be part of your monthly mortgage payment and you won't have to finance them separately.

6. Get preapproved for a mortgage so you know exactly what price range you're looking for.

7. The incidentals.  Check local crime rates, school ratings, people your age in the neighborhood, children, stray dogs running around?  Find out if the neighborhood is prone to power failures or is near train tracks where the trains sound their horns at 3AM, and if there is a lot of traffic on that street.   What is the elevation above flood plain.  What is the response time for emergency services to the neighborhood, do people regularly host loud parties?  A strong cell phone signal in every part of the house so you don't have to go out to the corner of your back yard every time you want to make a call.  Avoid having to deal with HOAs.  Do you have ownership or the right to use water, minerals or other natural resources on the property?  Is the property historical or have any development and use restrictions?  I don't know what else, but if it's important to you, ask about it.  This all is just what was important to me.  Good luck.

[AzteCypher]

I second all of the above especially the home inspector. They are definitely worth the price.

We worked with a mortgage broker to get us the best interest rates on a home loan. We wouldn't do it any other way now.

I'd also recommend driving through the neighborhood at night, a week day, a weekend and during inclement weather if possible. We did this with our previous house and our current one, just to see if they're were any gotchas that we didn't catch the first time.

[powernoodle]

See if its in the flood plain.  What AZ said - drive there at different times of the day and week to check out traffic, etc.  Get title insurance.  It saved us thousands of $ when local gov't tried to collect the seller's back taxes that the title company missed.  Talk to the neighbors so they can tell you what Jesse Pinkman did in the basement.

[Old Boy]

Know and budget for more than your monthly mortgage. You’ll end up spending on repairs, maintenance,etc. every month.

[gregozedobe]

Know and budget for more than your monthly mortgage. You’ll end up spending on repairs, maintenance,etc. every month.

Some good advice here.  I'll add some more:

Consider current & likely future needs before buying.  Kitchen, storage, workshop/sheds, maintenance, fencing.

Are the available internet connections good enough for your current and future needs ?

Check out commute/s if applicable.  Distances/traffic to regular recreation spots can vary at different times.

Investigate the local shops, services etc that you will be using regularly.

Don't be in too much of a hurry to change everything to suit your current tastes, live there for a while before doing expensive changes/renovations.

Be very wary of HOA's.  Some are quite OK, others can be (or turn into) a nightmare.

Make sure you can afford all costs, mortgage repayments, connection fees, maintenance,  rates etc.  And have a decent cushion for unexpected costs.

Check the contract carefully, especially nasty stuff hidden in the fine print towards the back.


Happy house hunting   

[Grant Lamontagne]

As others have said, get a home inspection.

However, don't count on your home inspection.

It's just a job to an inspector, and they have a million little things in their contracts that protect them in case they miss anything- there's really no way to go back on them if they did.

Follow the home inspector around and make notes on everything they make note of.  Make your own notes as well, on anything you are uncomfortable with, even if they seem fine with it.

It's your money, now and in the future, so spend it wisely and don't just go with what the broker, inspector or realtor tell you is "standard" or "normal."

Ask questions, and get answers or don't give them a dime.  They all work for you- don't let them bully you into doing what is convenient for them and costs you money.

Think of a house not as a static object, but a convenient (and waterproof) wrapper for a reasonably complex device that encompasses systems that move hot air, cold air, hot and cold water, wastewater and electricity.

Make notes of where the water and electrical systems come in and go out from the house, because you will likely need to know where these things are at some point.  Make sure they aren't blocked by trees, shrubs etc, as roots can damage them as well as making them awkward to access.

Some of these things you may be able to change, some may get you some $$ off the asking price, some you will just have to work around. 

In the end, there's no perfect houses, you just have to get to a point you can live with.

I know that doesn't sound positive, but it's worth it to have your own space and a place you can call your own.

Congratulations on your first home!

Def

[Old Boy]

Forgot to also say. Enjoy it! Too easy to worry about the money and repairs. It’s more a home than a house unless you plan to flip it.  Lots of life events will happen and you will look back with fondness.

I initially thought I had no attachment to our house until we almost decided to move. Saying goodbye to people and places actually made me cry. My son’s entire childhood is tied into our house and neighborhood. Our neighbors are practically his honorary Aunt and Uncles.

Oh yeah, make friends with the neighbors. Even the renters. Our last neighbor who rented had a very generous soul. We were sorry to see them go.

[pfrsantos]

Hope it works out well for you, bro!

Check for any industrial plants around that could be a nuisance (smell, dust, noise, pollution). Also high-voltage electrical power lines.

Is there any roads/trains/airports close that cause loud noise.

Check if all the permits are in order, if there's any debts pending.

Look for future projects in city hall that might impact your surroundings in a few years.

Look at the last years trends in terms of increase/decrease of services/shops/schools/hospitals/etc. It might give you an idea of what the place will look like in a few years. Is property there increasing or decreasing in value?

It's a big step, so don't be embarrassed to ask a lot of questions and talk to friends/family/weird guys in the interwebs...

 

[BPRoberts]

Appreciate all the good advise so far. Going out with the inspector this afternoon and we'll see how it goes.