Buying my first house...
 

well this weekend i put in a bid on a house and they have accepted... i am a total n00b as this is the first house i am buying... can anyone give me pointers on what i need to do???

so far i am trying to track down an attorney that does closings, and a home inspector...

the mortgage i will try to get through my job as we own a mortgage company... but i did take a look at ING Direct's mortgage and the rate seems good... anyone have experience with that???

Where is the house? The lawyer that did mine was really good, but she's down in Freehold. I pmed you her number. Your realtor will be able to recommend a good inspector if you trust him/her. Definately shop for mortgages if you can. And be very critical of the home. This is your chance to get things right. Remember once you fork out the cash, there is really no going back. Maybe see if the current owners will do a warranty.

didn't go through a realtor... i didn't give them a chance to put the house on the market... their parents have passed and the four children have inherited the house and are trying to push it for cash... my uncle lives across the street and knew the youngest son and told me about it... so i was the first to see the house and make an offer...

i asked a few friends about inspectors...

but thanks ravi, ill give your lawyer a call to see if she can do Essex county... house is in Belleville, current town i live in now...

Congrats....It should be pretty easy since you are not selling as well....

Welcome to the club :cheers:

ill have a meet once the house is ready... ;-)

Congrats!! Though it can be a head ache sometimes owning a home is so wonderful. Call if you need any help.

Sweet. I can see who we used as an inspector, but again, it's was in Somerset County.

Congrats Drew!!!!

Having a place for yourself is great,:thumbsup: and since you are able to do most if not all repairs yourself you are up on most people.

Find an independent inspector- not via a realtor. Expect to pay $500 and get a super detailed list so you can include in the price negotiation or get fixed before move in.

should i get the inspection before i sign the contract???

uhm why the hell is an attorney so damn expensive???? 950?!?! wow...

A realtor would be 3% or more to you- $6,000+ on a $200,000 house.

And check w/the attorney about the inspection. In CA, sales/purchase agreements are generally signed "contingent upon" property passing inspections-- i.e. discovery of need for new roofs, furnaces, etc. can result in re-negotiation or cancellation of the transaction if the problem is material/expensive enough.

Get preapproved for the mortgage first.

Wrong. You pay the realtor when you are selling. Not when you are buying.

Lawyers are pretty expensive man. I think ours was a bit less. And make sure you remember all the recording fees, title insurance and all the other junk charges they tack on. Hence the high closing cost.

I think we signed out contract contingent upon an inspection.

yeah i figure that there is a difference in price with the lawyer if you are buying vs selling because it was the first question i was asked every place i called...

:ugh: they said title insurance is about $2k... wow...

yeap i won't sign anything until i have it inspected or with that contingency...

yeap the bank i work for offered me a great rate...

5 yr arm for 5.125%
7 yr arm for 5.25%
30 yr fixed for 5.625%

i think i will go for the 7 yr arm because that rate is equivalent to ING's 5 yr arm...

You might want to consider the 30 year fixed if you plan to be there for a while. Right now is a good time to lock in a 30 year fixed if you can get approved for a good rate.

bahhh the dang 7-yr and 30 yr rate went up an eight since yesterday... should have locked in yesterday....

It's gonna move everyday, when is your closing?
HSBC normally has good rates.

prob within 30 days all going smoothly...

i will check hsbc...

No- the buyer pays the money, whether it's financed or all cash.
On settlement, the money is distributed to various parties, including the realtor(s). A buyer's broker or agent would be paid from the settlement. In the end- it's the buyer paying all the money.
In a FSBO, the price is often adjusted to deal with the absence of agent commissions for one or both parties. :2cents:

What you talking bout Willis? The buyer doesn't pay the realtor's commission. It's paid by the seller.

How long you plan on staying in that house/area?

Kamlung - look into no closing cost or fixed closing cost loans. It usually means a slightly higher rate, but less or no money out of pocket on closing.

I think his point is that the buyer gives the seller all the money, so in essence, the buyer pays for everything. It just comes out of the seller's bottom line.

:nod:

Not sure how they do things in your state, but in NJ it is NOT done that way.

I bought a condo in Jersey less than 2 years ago and sold it a year later. When I purchased it 3% of the sale price went to the buyer's agent and 3% to the seller's agent. But all 6% came from the seller.

Same thing happened when I sold it. It is on my HUD1 form. All 6% commission comes from the seller. NOTHING from the buyer.

Moe may be right that all the cash is coming from the buyer. But it doesn't mean that if you agree that the purchase price is $300K, that the buyer also have to pay a 6% commission on top of that.

The key point is that the seller never actually gets the money in their hands. All the money from the buyer is distibuted between all parties, so each person get their piece of the pie at the same time. The seller does not get all the money and pay off the agents.

If you don't have a ton of money to handle a good down payment and closing costs, see if the seller will do sellers consession. We did that went we bought our condo.

We settled on a price and wrote the contract up for about $7000 more and this went towards closing costs. This allowed us to put 10% down instead of 5%. We got a better rate because of it.

not exactly sure on that yet... i could see myself moving out of the country in the future also...

i guess i am more pissed the rate went up since yesterday and i didn't lock... maybe gamble and see how it goes tomorrow???

In CA, if you're dealing with a FSBO property (like OP KaMLuNg) in which the seller does not say "will cooperate with agents," the buyer is likely responsible for the 3% commission for buyer's agent under the contract with the agent.
If the FSBO seller says "will cooperate with agents," then the agent's commission is deducted from the seller's proceeds.

Unless youre sure about what youre doing, Id go fixed.

And I wouldnt try and play the market, either. Either you want the place or you dont, I wouldnt buy just because its a good deal. You can always refinance later if intrest rates drop considerably.

^^^ :agree:

you are right... i have to stop looking at it day by day and not kick myself over 1/8th... in the end, i am still getting a great rate with the way the market is today...

Just so you know....This is fraud

well people do 20/80 loans all the time, is this considered fraud also?

Not unless you lie about the sales price. I was not passing judgment just providing accurate information.

Every loan officer or realtor on this board can verify what I said. Just suggesting people consider what information they post.

Not in PA its not :dunno: Both my realtor and loan agent suggested this option for me if I could get the seller to agree. The seller is allowed by law to give you 3% towards closing costs. Its all on paper so you raise your loan amount and the money just goes towards closing instead of the seller. Granted your property must appraise high enough for the mortgage company to approve this as well.

Same with what I did. It went through the lawyers and was on mu HUD 1 form. Seller's consession is not fraud the way it was explained to me but my realtor, lawyer and loan agent.

I don't see how it is fraud if it's amicable by both parties.

I've heard of that done all the time - especially in the current market. The only real downside to it is that you cannot accurately guage the market when people do this. If two houses sell for $300,000 with one having concessions and the other not, no one except the parties involved would know the difference. That said, I don't think it is fraud. But IANAL or a RE.

In CA, it is fraud on the lender[s] not aware of the arrangement.

The lender is funding based upon representations as to the price of the home and the risk it is taking- the lender's risk is increased if it is NOT aware that the parties and agents are agreeing that the loan for the principal is also going to pay part of the closing costs. Also, the purported sale price of the property may also inflate the comps for other properties, leading to various effects down the line.

The 80/20 loans are fine IF the lenders are aware of the arrangement. The problem comes when the parties try to conceal a minimal down payment or tell the holder of the 80% that the 20% [or insert other percentage here] is from some other source other than another lender.