I just went under contract on a house and I'm pretty excited about it and my fiero's future . My fiero's moving from a claustrophobic 1 car garage to a spacious 3 car garage with an air distribution system and 220v compressor. Now I can take the cradle out and not have to worry about space! Any tips for a first time homebuyer?

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"Don't get cocky, kid." - Solo

If possible, save up a several year money cushion in case you lose your job...

I just bought my first home in 2008. Its the best thing I have ever done. I love owning my home, even the minor repairs are something I enjoy. However expect to be broke for a few years. I didn't think that would apply to me, but sure enough it did. I was broke, and still am.

Congrats!!

Congrats! I'll be doing that tomorrow!

My house payments are lower than rent so its saving me money buying a house.

Gratz on the new house, Party at your place?

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: My house payments are lower than rent so its saving me money buying a house.

Until the first major repair!

Pay all the additional principal that you can. You'll be amazed how quickly your loan will melt away.

Congrats on the new abode.
Your gonna need a bigger garage though. Seems spacious now, but they fill up quick!

Congrats

quote Originally posted by JamesCurtis: I just went under contract on a house and I'm pretty excited about it and my fiero's future . My fiero's moving from a claustrophobic 1 car garage to a spacious 3 car garage with an air distribution system and 220v compressor. Now I can take the cradle out and not have to worry about space! Any tips for a first time homebuyer?

Yes... two things:

1 - Before you move all your crap into the garage... SEAL IT... do whatever floor coating you intend to put down. First clean it really, really, really well... and then seal it immediately using your floor coating of choice. Trust me on this... once you start moving stuff into the garage, You'll NEVER end up doing it.

2 - Save your money. Now that you have the home, your first instinct is going to be that you want to start buying stuff and outfitting your home... getting more tools, etc, etc... DON'T!!! You survived without all that extra stuff for this long, and you can do without it for a few more months, maybe even another year. Don't go out and spend thousands of dollars on 'crap'... save your money now. You're making a huge investment, and the last thing you want to do is get into any kind of debt other than your mortgage. When we bougth our house, my wife went nuts... we got new bedroom furniture, new family room furniture, a new TV, curtains... all that crap. We were in debt for like 2 years from all that crap...

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Yes... two things: 1 - Before you move all your crap into the garage... SEAL IT... do whatever floor coating you intend to put down. First clean it really, really, really well... and then seal it immediately using your floor coating of choice. Trust me on this... once you start moving stuff into the garage, You'll NEVER end up doing it. 2 - Save your money. Now that you have the home, your first instinct is going to be that you want to start buying stuff and outfitting your home... getting more tools, etc, etc... DON'T!!! You survived without all that extra stuff for this long, and you can do without it for a few more months, maybe even another year. Don't go out and spend thousands of dollars on 'crap'... save your money now. You're making a huge investment, and the last thing you want to do is get into any kind of debt other than your mortgage. When we bougth our house, my wife went nuts... we got new bedroom furniture, new family room furniture, a new TV, curtains... all that crap. We were in debt for like 2 years from all that crap...

This is good advice!

Thanks everyone, I hadn't even thought of putting a floor coat down that quickly - great advice! It's going to be a tough battle to not go into interest free debt on furniture, me and my new Wife may come to blows on that one, I'll sure give it a shot though. It's weird how much of a "new thing" craze you get into when you're moving into a new house. I'm going to try to tame it.

We put our bid in on a home last week, it really seems like it is the time to buy. Right now it seems like the listing agent is being shady (and from my experiences with a certain realtor, I shouldn't be surprised by the level of slime in that "profession", but it is stressfull.) It is a huge house, hopefully room renters can make up the more then $1000 that our mortgage will be over the current rent.

Anyway, congrats on the home.

quote Originally posted by 8Ball: Until the first major repair!

Figure I saved about $500 a month buying over renting.

After taxes and insurance, this actually comes out around $300 more expensive per month than our current renting situation.

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: Figure I saved about $500 a month buying over renting.

Wow!! I would hate to pay your rent!!
My rent is $750 a month. Something major has broken every quarter. By being smart and NOT leasing to own this hunk of crap with a purty coat of paint.... I am saving a fortune
However, Lou is prompt with repairs... But he hires the cheapest sob's he can find. And the work looks like it too.

That is not to say I do not want to buy. just that in this case.... Worked out in my favor However, I plan to own within 18 months of going back to work. Sooner if possible.

[This message has been edited by 8Ball (edited 06-29-2011).]

quote Originally posted by 8Ball: Wow!! I would hate to pay your rent!! My rent is $750 a month. Something major has broken every quarter. By being smart and NOT leasing to own this hunk of crap with a purty coat of paint.... I am saving a fortune However, Lou is prompt with repairs... But he hires the cheapest sob's he can find. And the work looks like it too.

Don't move to Florida

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: Don't move to Florida

I do hope the pay scale there at least makes up for it?

quote Originally posted by 8Ball: I do hope the pay scale there at least makes up for it?

LOL ok you got me, when we purchased our house we got an insane deal. But if you can get the loan buying is cheaper than rent down here.
I haven't been hit with any large repairs yet so keeping my fingers crossed.

I'm 27 and bought my second house this past weekend. Going from a 3br 2bth with 2 car garage in the city where neighbors suck and the city will fine you if you don't take your trash cans out, to the country where I have 4 acres, a huge pole barn with a concrete floor, and a house that's exactly the same sq footage for the same monthly payment.

Now I just gotta sell my piece of s@#t house in the city....

Congrats and smart move (pun intended).

quote Originally posted by JamesCurtis: After taxes and insurance, this actually comes out around $300 more expensive per month than our current renting situation.

In three years it can be $300.00 cheaper than renting, . I can't rent what I have for at least $500.00 more. We bought in 04.
Plus, a house usually increases in value and will again. You are actually living rent free, as it should sell for at least what you paid for it .
Three car garage , !

quote Originally posted by Raydar: Pay all the additional principal that you can. You'll be amazed how quickly your loan will melt away.

Ding ding ding ... you can be a winner too, .

Ugh, the deal fell through when the FHA appraiser found that the crawl space was a pond and the house was appraised at $10,000 less than we were under contract at. Last year it was appraised at the current contract price. Oh well, $600 down the drain, guess we'll try again and see how the cookie crumbles.

quote Originally posted by JamesCurtis: Ugh, the deal fell through when the FHA appraiser found that the crawl space was a pond and the house was appraised at $10,000 less than we were under contract at. Last year it was appraised at the current contract price. Oh well, $600 down the drain, guess we'll try again and see how the cookie crumbles.

Why 600 down the drain?



Brad

FHA loans require an appraisal. We ordered a few inspections before the appraisal to speed up the process. The appraisal costs $425. The money spent on appraisals and inspections was our liability. Now we know not to do anything before the appraisal comes through. I could've done some fun stuff to my l67 with that money!

I'd say that's $600 well spent. Well, at least $425 of it. $10,000 is probably lowballing the extent of the issues....

[This message has been edited by ryan.hess (edited 07-25-2011).]

The $10,000 lower appraisal was assuming that all of the repairs had been made to satisfy the FHA appraiser. It didn't help that it was less than a mile away from a river that was at flood stage which the last time that happened was somewhere around 50 years ago. I'm not upset very much at all, if it was meant to be we would've been able to close on the house. I guess my fiero project will be on hold though as I don't have enough room at my current rental to remove the engine to do what I want to it. That's the worst part!

So it looks like 400 bucks saved you 10 grand. Though you lost out on a house I'd say it was money very well spent.

Brad

my advice.....
put 20% down to avoid PMI insurance.
and check how much a payment would be on a 15 year VS 30 year, the extra 150 or so per month with a 15 year will save tens of thousands in the long run.

stay away from Wells Fargo.
do they have Cortrust in NE?
that is who ours is through, and they are one of the few banks that do NOT sell there home loans

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quote Originally posted by JamesCurtis: Ugh, the deal fell through when the FHA appraiser found that the crawl space was a pond and the house was appraised at $10,000 less than we were under contract at. Last year it was appraised at the current contract price. Oh well, $600 down the drain, guess we'll try again and see how the cookie crumbles.

We had the house appraised and it was lower. The homeowner agreed to the lower price and we got it. We don't have the pond under us but a 60 year old house does have it's issues. We'll face them one by one. Guess the party is at our place.