House buying

“Any little secrets to know or watch out for?”

“HELL YES!

Dood, buy a book on house buying in your state and read it cover to cover.

Then always remember that your real estate agent gets a PERCENTAGE of the house you buy, and is therefore better off selling you more than you want.

Jesus, there's so much stuff...”

“Search the web for everything on this topic. I betcha you find over 500 sites with info!”

“Former real estate agent here. One mistake many first time homeowners make is that they assume that the agent represents them. Even if the purchaser contacts an agent, the default is that the all agents represent all sellers. Hence, the agent's duty is to look out for the best interests of the seller, not the purchaser. You can, however, obtain a buyer broker who will look out for your interests.”

“There's going to be a lot of stuff, though, that's specific to Kentucky. Make sure you buy a book. It's too much money not to be well-informed.”

“Yeah I figured all that, but I thought that as with anything else, there are things you only learn person to person.”

“Home inspections are a waste of money. They are not liable if they find anything or miss anything. Just a happy go luck padding for the seller not buyer.”

“Kentucky? First off, they have a thing now that's called "in-door plumbing." Look for that. Also, there's another new-fangled thing called carpet and, get this, you don't just put it directly on the dirt floor - there are all kinds of sub-floors and the like now. Look for that too. There's a few other things, but you can probably read about them in that fancy book Phaedrus recommended.”

“Its not considered a house if it doesnt have curtais and your truck does... and if it has wheels or has the word Double in it...no.”

“Home Inspections are not a waste of money....they let you know if you are getting in over your head...help you plan if you can afford what needs to be done.

You just need to get a reliable home inspector....also if the market is soft or the house isn't selling quikly you can use it to negotiate with. You can try and get the seller to fix things.”

“Negotiate with the seller to supply a Home Warranty.”

“1) Yeah, buy a book.

2) Good luck. Its quite an experience! (I mean that in a good way!)

If I only knew then what I know now about purchasing a home, and what I would look for. Know what you want in a house, and then figure out what you're willing to give up so you can afford a place. Remember, you don't have to have everything you want the first time around. It'll give ya something to look forward to. :)”

“Don't buy a house with plumbing on the second floor. Second floor bathrooms will leak and ruin everthing below it.”

“Home Inspectors can be a waste of money. Some of them are an expensive rubber stamp. But some Home Inspectors are well worth it, like adventurist says. A really good one will give you something like a custom made owners manual for your house. It's a great thing to have to refer to over the years.

It helps if the inspector is ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) certified.

For a web page of some really good inspectors in New England, check out: http://www.probenetwork.org/ I don't know if they are national or just regional.. but I think their website gives you an idea of what to look for. You can always ask them for recommendations of people near you... or ask local home owners about their inspectors.”

“Real estate agency laws are different state-to-state. In Pennsylvania, for instance, a buyer's agent does work for the buyer and a seller's agent works for the seller. We just sold our house, and the buyer contacted our agent (seller's agent in that case), so the agent is working for us, not the buyer. However, our buyer could (should) have had his own agent.

Usefulness of home inspections is also state-specific. When we bought the house we just sold, home inspectors were unregulated, and the one we used was a waste of money. All he did was check to make sure stuff in the house worked - electricity, water, dishwasher, oven, drains drained, faucets didn't leak, etc. All stuff I could have done myself. Now I gather they're certified, and do a better job (our house is being home-inspected as I type this, so I guess I'll know for sure soon).

So make sure you realize any advice you get here may not necessarily apply to wherever you're buying.”

“make your initial offer what might seem ridiculously low to you. you never know what might happen. don't tell the real estate agent that you are just doing that to see if seller will bite. act like that will be your only offer. the seller may counter offer with a much lower price which means they are going to deal. make another offer somewhere lower than the counter offer. also make all offers contingent on any repairs or additions (such as gutters being added) that are deemed necessary by an inspector. find your own inspector. ask around, i'm sure there are some in your area that have helped people you know. go with the inspector while he/she looks the house over. ask any questions you might have. especially if he/she isn't pointing anything out to you. check the foundation for cracks, check doors for ones that don't close properly, windows that don't work properly, etc. if it has masonite type siding, inspect it closely for soft spots. especially around windows and doors (anywhere that should be caulked).

good luck.”

“As for home inspectors, I walked through the inspection with the guy I used, and am glad of it. I was able to budget for a repair that was needed, and get a good percentage of the repair deducted from the cost of the house. If I had been looking on my own, I never would have seen it.”

“talk jerbear into representing you. have him go with the inspector.”

“It's important to consider the age of the horse and to know what to look for in the horse's health.

If you're considering an older horse, remember to check the teeth and the under-side of the hooves.

Is she a mare? How many offspring has she had?

Additionally, consider the feeding and range requirements of your to-be horse. Hay can be kind of pricey these days.

Good luck, cowboy.

;)”

“by the way...get preapproved, shop for mortgages before placing offers...it speeds up the process and helps you know how much you can afford...not so much what the bank will lend you.”

“OH yeah - don't fall in love with a house until after you bought it. When I was home buying, my wife liked one house and I liked another. We agreed on what we thought was a bargain price for each house and decided we would buy the one that came closest to the bargain price.”

“Check out fool.com for the financial side of buying a home, it's easy to get in over your head and then have to struggle with the mortgage payments.”

“Personally, when we were looking, we started looking at houses that were 40k below what we could comfortably afford. We bought about 20k under, and are very happy with our choice.

If you start looking at houses that are AT your price range, you might be disappointed as you move down instead of up.”

“Also look at a house in the frame of mind of what it "could" be.

When we bought our first house I knew what we could afford and and what we could afford to do with a house once we bought it. My main goal was to get a house that had a working septic, well, and wasn't falling down. When we found the log home we purchase my wife did npt see what I saw...but later down the road she told that we made a great decision and its a good thing I talked her into it.

Look past the surface.....”

“Here's a little secret: Owning a home means less time for backpacking.


Get an inspection. My friend bought a house in GA and one of the conditions was the seller had to install a furnace. He put in a broken second hand furnace and vented it into the attic.

My friend's lawyer advised him to collect from the negligent home inspector instead of trying to get the seller to pay.”

“Owning a home means less time for backpacking or many other things.”

“walkingstick, good luck. just go slow and wait for a strike before you swing. this will most likely be a 30 year decision, so make sure it's what you want. it's like when you meet your wife....you'll know”

“but you can probably read about them in that fancy book Phaedrus recommended."
denizen
03:12:18 PM
07/10/03

I can't read. I'm just a bucktoothed hillbilly. I live in an RV so I get home improvement loans to buy new tires.


Really though, my father has been in construction for about 35 years, so I can trust him to look the house over for me. He and my mother also buy alot of real estate to fix up and re-sell or rent out, and they've been helpful, but I want to do as much as I can without relying on them exclusively. You know, oldest son and all that. Don't want to seem dependant on "mommy and daddy" although they're giving lots of advice without my even asking. So I figure ask people like you all from different places/experiences.
I got quoted $400 for attorney's fees, plus $150 separate from that for paperwork. Seems to me that would all be lumped in together.”

“Go to Damascus, see a joint for sale, knock on the door, ask how much, they say 65 grand, I say ok here's 500bucks hold it till Monday. I get the check, pass it over, the joint is mine. Only in America!”