I need advice on buying a home

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-03-2006
I need advice on buying a home
16
Mon, 05-11-2009 - 2:04pm

Okay, I have asked questions regarding buying a home in the past but this time I am serious, lol. We were planning on buying a home in Spring 2010-by that time our debt would be paid off and we would have time to save up , too. However, we are now going to try to buy a home by the end of this year for the following reasons:

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
Mon, 05-11-2009 - 4:45pm

First you need to get your application together. 3 months of bank checking account statement, saving account statements 401k statements, two years of tax returns. List of bills and account numbers

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-04-2008
Mon, 05-11-2009 - 6:10pm

I think you know when the time to start would be:


By September our debt will be cut in half


I guess that means September, right?




iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-2007
Mon, 05-11-2009 - 7:40pm
If you are looking to buy a house, I would have all of your debt pretty much paid off, it will increase your chances of getting a better rate and maybe not having to pay PMI. As far as closing costs go, I would have the seller pay the closing costs, put that right into the agreement you sign when placing an offer.
Good luck. It's alot of work and very stressful, but it is sooo sooo worth it in the end.
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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-03-2006
Mon, 05-11-2009 - 8:19pm

Thank you for your quick response. So we do not have any store cards. I have 1 visa and 1 mc and DH has 1 mc. When you say that debt has to be

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-03-2006
Mon, 05-11-2009 - 8:24pm

Thank you for responding.


Well, yes, September would be the best time for us financially but I worry that it wouldn't give us enough time to close by December 1st which is the cut off. I figured sellers would be motivated period because most have had their house listed for a good year. Nobody wants to buy in my town right now because it is so expensive. So I do think that sellers will be eager to negotiate. I know someone who just bought a house in the area for $72,000 less then the asking price.


With regards to 3-6 months of living expenses that is why I want to get that $8000 tax credit-it would be an instant

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-03-2006
Mon, 05-11-2009 - 8:27pm

Thanks for your reply.


I didn't realize that you could have the seller pay the closing costs. ( I worked for real estate attorneys in college and I obviously didn't retain much!) Maryanne mentioned that you have to pay a years worth of property taxes upfront. Did you have to do that? I don't remember ever hearing that before.


Avatar for 2locachicas
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-2003
Mon, 05-11-2009 - 8:29pm

I would start looking mid to late august and put in for a closing in mid october. That way if there are any problems you have a 6 week window to work them out.


We qualify on November 13th for the rebate so we are going to look to close on the 18th. But we can put a contract in before then we just can't close so we are keeping a loose eye out on the housing market now. We will start looking in September and go from there....


iVillage Member
Registered: 06-03-2006
Mon, 05-11-2009 - 8:33pm

I figured that i would probably be better off starting the process in the beginning of August. The only reason I was thinking September is because in August I will have a large amount to put towards to the credit cards thus making the ratio more favorable.


Why don't you qualify until November 13th, if you don't mind me asking?

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
Mon, 05-11-2009 - 9:03pm

tax bill come out around the first of November. So lets say that you buy your house in September you need to have a whole years taxes in your escrow account for the bank to pay them when the bill comes in.


Now the homeowner/seller has to give you tax money

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Mon, 05-11-2009 - 10:45pm

I would strongly recommend you identify 2-3 realtors that you would like to meet with to choose one you would like to work with. The thing you want to do is figure out who you trust and start to build the relationship so they can understand what you are looking for and will be keeping their eye open for unique properties or great deals. Ask friends and family for recommendations and meet with more than one.

You can also begin the process of getting a pre-qualified for a mortgage. This will be a good opportunity to find out what kinds of costs you will be paying and they will also be able to tell you if there are ways you could qualify for a better rate. You might not see any difference w/half your debt paid off vs. 30% paid off. If you are concerned about the hard pulls on your credit, you could provide one of your own free credit reports to help them come up with a meaningful estimate.

Real estate is substantially different across the country. A good example is the years property tax. That is not a requirement here in CO. Also, I would meet with a mortgage person before I spent a lot of time getting a bunch of paperwork together. I just did a mortgage last year and literally only provided one years tax return and 2 pay stubs. She pulled virtually everything else electronically.

Finally, at least in CO, it is very common to close on a home in 30 days after going under contract so September should be easily early enough to meet your December deadline if you are fairly decisive and have a good idea where you want to buy. The problem I found in this market was there was a LOT I wanted to look at and that took a lot of time. If you feel like you are going to want to look at everything available, etc., you might want to start earlier.

HTH!

Peg

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