First time home buyers

[WannaFly]

Originally posted by: SampSon

Originally posted by: WannaFly

Originally posted by: SampSon

Originally posted by: WannaFly

Originally posted by: SampSon
How much did you pay for that?

very low 200's

What is low 200s? It's about to be public record at closing, so you can tell us.
Were talking sub 210?

I know its public record 215, but the seller is paying all closing costs.

Wow, almost 200/sqft, but that's your Florida market.
Sellers concessions are nice. Have fun with the new house.

Yup - but its the lowest priced in the neighborhood, its a graet deal, just hope the market doesntcontinue to go down!

 

[PingSpike]

Man, I don't want anything built earlier then 1970 myself. Some people say old houses have character...I think they just have bad wiring, crummy foundations and draft problems. I suppose it depends on how much the owner has done with it though.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Man, I don't want anything built earlier then 1970 myself. Some people say old houses have character...I think they just have bad wiring, crummy foundations and draft problems. I suppose it depends on how much the owner has done with it though.

I have had a few old houses. i found them better built (they used actual 2X4's). yes the wiring is a pain.

last one we had was a 1890 farmhouse (complete with "servants courters"). only bad part is the house had NO CLOSETS. man that sucked.

 

[amdskip]

SuperNaruto, what's the trick to repairing the drywall after you ran the wiring? The place I'm buying has a serious lack of overhead lights and I want to add lights/ceiling fans throughout while there isn't any floor covers down. I want to rip up flooring where needed and snake wires and maybe do cat 5 throughout too.

 

[SampSon]

Originally posted by: WannaFly

Originally posted by: SampSon

Originally posted by: WannaFly

Originally posted by: SampSon

Originally posted by: WannaFly

Originally posted by: SampSon
How much did you pay for that?

very low 200's

What is low 200s? It's about to be public record at closing, so you can tell us.
Were talking sub 210?

I know its public record 215, but the seller is paying all closing costs.

Wow, almost 200/sqft, but that's your Florida market.
Sellers concessions are nice. Have fun with the new house.

Yup - but its the lowest priced in the neighborhood, its a graet deal, just hope the market doesntcontinue to go down!

Oh don't worry, it will.

 

[LordSnailz]

Originally posted by: SuperNaruto
Closed mine 3/29.. 40x100 in nyc.. too much for my blood.. 1950 home..

Cleaning up is the biggest.. throwing out old stuff..

junks in the basement

backyard - cut all the old branches down

power - did a little electricial work.. snake power for new lights.. removing that wall ac unit
power
power
power

adding cat5 - Adding 4 cat5e per room and 2 rg6 per room.
adding cat5
adding cat5
adding coax
adding coax
adding coax

insulation - Sound proof the room for the "inlaw" so she can't hear jack.. hahah

family room - remove all the junk...

front - removed the trees out front.. need to get a new door

Done - electricial, all new lights using energy efficient CF bulbs..

Other things to be done, refinish the wood floor, need new door, new storm door, more yard work, finish the cat5e wires, install the relay rack, install the server rack, etc.. wont be moving in for another 2-3 months

nice! I was thinking about putting insulation in my walls as well ... any tips on what's the least painful way w/o having to rip the drywall away?

 

[TheSiege]

ok so this is my house but this was before i bought it, some color and things have changed
http://cjweber.com/house2/

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: LordSnailz

Originally posted by: SuperNaruto
Closed mine 3/29.. 40x100 in nyc.. too much for my blood.. 1950 home..

Cleaning up is the biggest.. throwing out old stuff..

junks in the basement

backyard - cut all the old branches down

power - did a little electricial work.. snake power for new lights.. removing that wall ac unit
power
power
power

adding cat5 - Adding 4 cat5e per room and 2 rg6 per room.
adding cat5
adding cat5
adding coax
adding coax
adding coax

insulation - Sound proof the room for the "inlaw" so she can't hear jack.. hahah

family room - remove all the junk...

front - removed the trees out front.. need to get a new door

Done - electricial, all new lights using energy efficient CF bulbs..

Other things to be done, refinish the wood floor, need new door, new storm door, more yard work, finish the cat5e wires, install the relay rack, install the server rack, etc.. wont be moving in for another 2-3 months

nice! I was thinking about putting insulation in my walls as well ... any tips on what's the least painful way w/o having to rip the drywall away?

couldnt you have it blown in? cut a hole in the top and have it blown? seems like that would cut down on tearing it away.

 

[CorCentral]

My wife and I purchased our first home about 1 year ago..... Moved from a 12x60mobile home to this! I don't know what to do with the space!

Paid 119k/60k down.......1,980sq ft. built in 1971. 3bedroom/2 full bath w/ a 20x20 2 car garage and a 10x20 screened in porch. It sits on .52 of an acre.

Here are some pics
Front
Back edit: The big tree you see is now gone. I did'nt want it removed but had to because it started cracking the porch concrete slab. Only an idiot would plant a tree like this so close to the house!

As for Down payment info mentioned 2 posts below....... How much you put down also means how much you "can" put down at the time. I'm not going to be paying 30+ years on this is all I can say.

 

[KK]

looks good other than that tree?? in the front yard. It blocks too much of front of the house. Chop it down and plant something else.

 

[realEZE]

Homebuying was quite exciting for us as well.
We just moved into our first new house last year, and we've been very happy.

How much DP to put down depends more on how much debt-to-income ratio you are carrying.

Ideally, this should be less than 36%. Take your total debt obligations (ie monthly payments) and divide by your total gross income.

 

[SuperNaruto]

Originally posted by: waggy

nice! I was thinking about putting insulation in my walls as well ... any tips on what's the least painful way w/o having to rip the drywall away?

couldnt you have it blown in? cut a hole in the top and have it blown? seems like that would cut down on tearing it away.
[/quote]

Don't know... just take a hammer and hammer away... if anyone knows, theres another wall I like to do.. just takes so much work and garbage after...

 

[slsmnaz]

On May 1st it will be 1 year since I bought my first house (Picture). Built in 1934 with 2bed/1ba and a completely unfinished attic. I have added a 1/2 bath off the kitchen and we are about to finish the attic into a master suite. When finished it will be 3bed/2.5 bath around 1700sq ft.

I knew it was the one I wanted as soon as I walked in the door and couldn't be happier!

 

[rky60]

Originally posted by: jmcoreymv

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
I've been a homeowner for just about two years... 1600sq ft, built in 1890. Yard is a decent size, but the back yard isn't quite as level as I'd like

Woah

Place I bought last August, according to county records was built in 1800. From talking to locals who know the history of the area, it's been a bar, voting place, horse and buggy pit stop and who knows what else.

Completly gutted it from top to bottom. Finding bark on the "studs" was a real eye opener when thinking about putting it all back together. But them guys knew how to handle an axe

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

If you're paying PMI you're getting scammed. I put nothing down on my house, don't pay PMI and my monthly payment on a $110K house is $690 a month. There is no law that says you have to get PMI. That is a lendor requirement. If a lender you are looking at requires it, it's time to find a new lender. Don't use these online sites to find a lender. I used HMS in Dallas and they were great at finding my a lender. I had to close in 15 days, and we did.

 

[MrBond]

Quick question. If I want to move into a house in mid July-early August, should I be seriously looking now? Does it take a long time to close on a property?

I found a nice looking condo online and while I really don't want to live in a condo, it's a good price, location, and it's practically new. The monthly mortgage will be well under what an equivalent rent payment would be, and that NYTimes rent vs buy calculator said I'd break even after two years, which is perfect.

I requested more info and have already had two realtors call me. I hope I don't regret giving them my cell phone number.

 

[Svnla]

I am looking for a brand new home, about 2000 sq. ft., 3 to 4 beds, 2 full baths, nice back yard and good neighborhood. It will cost around 200K to 250K around here.

<<<------- still not sure if I want to settle down here yet. I will have to make up my mind for sure within the next 5 years or less.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: cHeeZeFacTory
I'm considering buying in the near future.

Is there a rule of thumb on what % of your savings should be spent on the downpayment & closing costs?

There is no rule.

Most people do not have the 20% to put down on a property that was considered typical in the past though.

The rule of thumb if any is to shop who provides the services/stuff and to get the seller to cover as much as you can.

 

[Entity]

The wife and I bought a place about 1.5 years ago in Seattle. ~400k, 1500sqft condo in Ballard. Market still seems good here, and it's in a neighborhood we love.

 

[iRONic]

Originally posted by: MrBond
Quick question. If I want to move into a house in mid July-early August, should I be seriously looking now? Does it take a long time to close on a property?

Pre-qualify yourself for a mortgage and you could knock 3-6 weeks off the whole process.

 

[iRONic]

Originally posted by: slsmnaz
On May 1st it will be 1 year since I bought my first house (Picture). Built in 1934 with 2bed/1ba and a completely unfinished attic. I have added a 1/2 bath off the kitchen and we are about to finish the attic into a master suite. When finished it will be 3bed/2.5 bath around 1700sq ft.

I knew it was the one I wanted as soon as I walked in the door and couldn't be happier!

Sweet corner lot house! Congrats.

 

[Chadder007]

Lots of new houses going up around me, but its looking like freaking VinylVille with all of the Vinyl siding the cheap arse contractors are using.

 

[MrBond]

Originally posted by: iRONic

Originally posted by: MrBond
Quick question. If I want to move into a house in mid July-early August, should I be seriously looking now? Does it take a long time to close on a property?

Pre-qualify yourself for a mortgage and you could knock 3-6 weeks off the whole process.

Pre-qualify - you mean talk to my bank and get them to tell me just how much they'll loan me? So if I get pre-qualified for a loan, what am I looking at as far as timeframe?

Should I go see a bank as soon as possible? I don't start my new job until 5/13.

I have a ballpark estimate of how much I'll be approved for, which is what I'm using to look right now. My younger sister is also house-hunting and she was approved for $150,000. I'll be making $7,000/yr more than she does, so I will probably be pre-approved for more. I'd like to keep it under $150,000 and this condo is just about perfect, other than the fact that it's a condo.

My other worry with buying a house right now is I'm buying in Michigan. It's not a sellers market right now, and I'm worried it will still be that way when I try to sell it in a few years.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: cHeeZeFacTory

Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
bought our condo, pretty cheap closed 2 days ago.

still in the process of moving in .

edit :

Originally posted by: cHeeZeFacTory
I'm considering buying in the near future.

Is there a rule of thumb on what % of your savings should be spent on the downpayment & closing costs?

20% for the downpayment, so you dont have to pay PMI insurance. closing depends...

i understand the 20% and pmi part. I'm just wondering if how much of my own savings should be spent.

i just went and got prequal for a new house. i already own one, so im not a first time buyer. i asked the same question when the loan occifer told me to not tap into my reserves for a down payment just yet. she said that lenders would rather see a smaller down and a bit of reserves in your savings than a huge down and no reserves in savings. makes sense to me. im not really in that hard of a spot, my savings wont even play into my down payment, i bought my house 9 years ago for 81k and its worth about 215k now. refinanced once with no cash out of equity, so i will stand to earn about 110k when everything is said and done. not a bad down for a house =P

 

[mikej007]

where are all you guys buying that it's so cheap? I live in NY and all the houses are so overpriced it's scary. $250k for a 40 year old 1000 sq ft place that needs a ton of work....