3787Diaryland Survey - housebuying by Neko_Carre

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15 Nov. 7:38 am

 

 

housebuying
created by neko-carre
read other people's answers


description: I'm about to delve into the terrifying realm of first-
time Home Buying. I'm slowly becoming edu-ma-cated about the process,
but I'd like to get as much advice as possible from people who have
done it. So HELP PLEASE!

Here are eekyfreeky's answers:

1. What city do you live in? Oh, and how old were you when you bought
your first house? (all)
Austin TX, 30
2. What year is your home and what the style of your house? Also,
what size is it (bedrooms, bathrooms, etc)? (all)
1970, 1 story, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths
3. What year did you buy it? How much did you pay? What is your
interest rate? (all)
2000, 105K, 7.5%
4. What is your monthly mortgage (including taxes, insurance, etc)?
Was it within your price range? Was it what you expected to pay, or
was it a surprise? (all)
995. Our agent told us we could afford more, but we wanted to keep it
around a grand, so we could afford to do other stuff besides just
make a house payment.
5. What type of loan did you get? What financial institution did you
use? How much was your down payment? What about your closing costs?
(all)
30 year fixed. 10K, closing costs rolled into mortgage (Ithink)
6. How did you choose your agent? Did you use more than one at the
same time? Did you like or dislike him/her? Why? (all)
we went to a 'first time buyers' class and the guy teaching it became
our agent. We liked him. He drove us around and really explained
things to us as we went along.
7. How many houses did you look at? How long did it take for you to
find the right house? Did you get that "this is THE ONE" feeling?
(all)
We looked at a bunch...maybe 20 or 30, the market was really tight
and when we'd stop to think about it, the house we were thinking
about would get bid on and sold. We got tricked into bidding when the
seller's agent had already accepted a bid and knew we weren't going
to get it, and then we were just like 'bla' and the next house was
the one. We saw the front,went 'bla' then came in and saw how light
and spacious it was, and that was that.
8. Tell me about your offer. Was it high? Low? Did it have
stipulations? Was there a lot of back-&-forth? Any problems? (all)
We offered what they were asking; the market was VERY tight at that
time, very much a seller's market. No problems.
9. How was the whole home buying process in general? How long did it
take from deciding on a house til you were moving in? (all)
We started looking in april, closed in july,moved in August. Not too
bad.
10. Okay, so you're in your house. What happened next? How did you
feel? Did you love it? Find things wrong? Wish you'd waited? Feel
gidy with happiness? (all)
we were giddy. I have never doubted the choice. When part of our yard
fell into the creek, Sweetie started getting down about everything.
He wants to sell it and move, but now it's a buyer's market, of
course
11. How did it affect your marriage/relationship? Was it better or
worse? Did you still have sex? Did you fight about house stuff? (all)
So far it's been fine. He knows I like the house, I know he'd be
happier elsewhere, and we just go along with life.
12. How did it affect your social life? Did you stop doing things
with friends? Or did you see no difference? (all)
I don't think it made any difference. We had a great housewarming
party :)
13. How was your financial situation afterward? Did you go overboard
with home design? Did you have to stop buying personal things that
you'd purchased in the past (like clothes, haircuts, alcohol)? Did
you no longer take trips? (all)
There are a lot of things I want to do to the house, but since he's
not interested I don't really feel like being the one hand clapping,
ya know? So I've paid for a few repairs that needed doing, he's done
a few things that needed doing, but life has mostly continued as
usual for both of us as far as spending money on our own interests.
14. Did you have to do any construction, remodeling, or repairs on
your house right away? (all)
nope
15. Have you had to do any emergency repairs on your house? If so,
what? How did you afford them? (all)
the flashing on the roof around the chimney. I think I wrote a check.
16. Did you regret your decision to buy a house? Or was it the best
decision you ever made? (all)
I don't regret the house. Sometimes I regret the Sweetie. Most of the
time I think the house and the Sweetie were both good decisions.
17. Give me what you think is the single most important piece of
advice about buying your first house (more advice questions below -
this is the spot for the *most* important). (all)
don't let them talk you into spending more money than you want to
spend. Make sure you'll still have $ for going out, buying clothes,
paying bills, etc.
18. Can you recommend me a lender you've had luck with? Or which
lender should I totally steer clear of? (all)
we are with GMAC. They're OK. MBNA sucks. Bank of America sucks.
Never had a house thing with them, but in general.
19. I don't have a down payment. I know there are types of loans you
can get with zero down. Do you know anything about that? (Disregard
if you've already answered this in Question No. 5.) (all)
nope.
20. Give me advice on choosing a lender/loan. What "under-the-
surface" things should I watch out for? (all)
the balloon payment thing is a rip, and a variable interest rate can
be, too.
21. Give me advice on selecting a house. Obviously "pick one you
like," but what other stuff would a first-time home buyer not know
about? (all)
never buy one that's had foundation work. Look for new roof, AC and
heat, that's something you dont' want to bother paying for right
after you buy a house.
22. How did buying a house affect your life, in the big picture
sense? (all)
I am happy to have a place to belong.
23. Do you feel really tied down? Does the responsibility of owning a
house weigh on your mind and your pocketbook? (all)
Sometimes I feel tied down, but most of the time I feel like it's an
investment; eventually the market will get better, and we can sell or
whatever.
24. What am I missing? What should I be asking you? What are the
answers to the things I should be asking? (all)
I can't think of anything.
25. I've said this before but, I'm BROKE! Should I not be doing this?
(all)
it's really a buyer's market right now. Mortgage companies are
falling all over themselves to sell to people who have enough for a
monthly payment but nothing for a big down payment. I'd take
advantage of that.
26. If you think owning a home is the best thing ever, and you
totally think I'm doing the right thing, convince me of that. (all)
Renting is throwing your money down a rat hole. Might as well be
spending your money on something that has a return, you get a tax
write-off, and eventually you can sell it if you want to.
27. Tell me anything here. (all)
I can't think of anything.