First Time Home Buyer Advice Request

#51
#51
Housing in South Florida is booming right now. We bought our first home in 14 when the market was still low. Luckely found a "turn key" that was move in ready besides the terrible paint in the bedrooms.

As of November we already have 96K in equity just from the market rise and small improvements around the house. We couldn't put down 20% either (it wasn't realistic and we weren't going to rent anymore) , every month put down a little more than the payment just to help get the # lower. Got rid of the PMI in October and am very happy about that.

Our family is getting bigger so we plan on moving in the next few years and fingers crossed the market doesn't bottom out before then! Good Luck!!
 
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#52
#52
I don't know where you live, but my advice as a homeowner in a flood-prone region, as a geographer, and an ex-surveyor, would be ...

... to look very closely at the topography around the property, where do you think the surface runoff water would be channeled as it flows downhill by your house ... and where it would go if the downstream water started backing up toward you.

DON'T trust a realty agent or previous owner who says, oh, it's never flooded so far.
 
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#53
#53
superdave1984 said:
This is really great advice. I would add to look at school districts if you have or plan to have kids AND you plan on living there a while.

Also, take lots of tours of the neighborhood at random days and times. Where our old house is, at rush hour it's nearly impossible to get out of the subdivision.

Talk to the potential neighbors of the house you like. Great source of info that NO realtor will tell you.

Don't be afraid to offer a price you don't think they will take. Unless the market is on fire in your area. We looked at one house that was priced about 40k more than our budget so we didn't even try. It sold a month later for the exact same price we paid for the one we bought and had nearly twice the square footage, better neighborhood, etc.


One other thing, if you are handy, look at foreclosed houses. The buying process takes a good bit longer sometimes, but you can usually get a lot more house for your money. But they do usually need some work.
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I agree with your advice as well. I should have included school system in my resale paragraph.....for me when I think resale, school systems are number #1 on my list. And a person can find the good, bad, and ugly by talking with neighbors.....a realtor friend had clients who, after looking at a house, went back for just a drive-by and ended up talking with a "neighbor" who told the buyers how long the house had been for sale, why the home owners were selling, (approximately) how much was owed on the house, and most importantly how bad all the neighbors disliked the home owner and wanted them gone.

I actually was into what is now known as "flipping" homes. Back then, there wasn't a home flipping show on every channel.....you bought a house, "fixed it up," and sold it.....and usually the sale was because of either a death or divorce. With that said, foreclosures are what I like looking at.
 
#55
#55
Lot's of good info here, guys. Thanks for all of the feedback. It looks like there are different avenues for everyone. One poster said everyone's situation is different, which is very true. We'll likely do a combination of lowering our budget and still taking the 30yr. We'll split the savings between investments and paying additional towards the principal. I'll look into paying the PMI off upfront.

We're officially 1 month into the process and have submitted one offer on a house. We lost out to a cash buyer that came in at full ask when we offered 93% of asking price.

I'll try to continue with updates so maybe some folks can reference this thread down the road.

Thanks again for your help. As mentioned - there's some very good information here.
 
#56
#56
As tight as the market is for starter homes and as many cash buyers are out there I don’t think you’re going to have much luck offering that low.
 
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