Oh and have Jammer do the inspection, guy is top notch professional and knows his stuff and showed me a ton about my house that I over looked on my initial walk through.
Lots of good info here. I’ll chime in and give my two cents.
Buying a house is not a simple process as some may think.
There’s a few steps that I’d look at before even looking at home. First, you really need to get pre-qualified by a lender/mortgage broker. It’s a simple process that takes 5 minutes on the phone. I have a couple guys that are great if you need a referral. Any Realtor or Agent is typically going to ask that you have a [re qual letter so they know you are serious about buying a home (and can qualify for a mortgage). I can’t tell you how many people I run into who have been looking and cannot actually afford to purchase a home due to credit issues, income etc.
Second. Pick a good Realtor. Realtors get bad names similar to cops as one bad ones ruins the view of them for everyone. They cost you NOTHING as a buyer and can give you their experience and guidance during this process. (They are paid from the sellers agent). There are some shitty ones out there, and honestly… don’t pick someone who is a part time agent. You cannot devote your time to your clients and stay up on the market if you are a part time Realtor. Even if you have questions feel free to PM me. I like to think I learned from the best. No matter who you choose, make sure they are working for you. Be learly working with a listing agent of the home you are interested in. Dual Agency is a tricky thing, and typically they don’t have your best interests in mind.
Home inspectors. These guys are worth their weight in gold. A good home inspector can save you from a potential disaster. Whenever my clients go through their home inspections I always go. I learned more about houses from these guys than anyone else. I have a couple good ones if you need references, also I know Jammer does them as well and is excellent.
Realize what your payment is going to be with taxes, homeowners insurance etc. Also, realize you are going to need to pay closing costs. It’s not just buying the home for the price… there are a lot of other costs people don’t realize about. Closing costs are typically pre payment of taxes, title insurance, title search, attorney fees, etc. Yes you can take out sellers concessions and roll them in, but I don’t reccomend taking the full amount to do that.
This is really just scratching the surface. If you are looking for more info just let me know.
To add to what everybody else has said:
Expect random fixed costs for the first few years to pop up all the time. New home tools, snowblower, shed, lawnmover, more rooms to put furniture in, upgrading existing items, bug sprays/pesticides, shovels, etc etc etc.
That too :tbu
Little shit adds up quick and its at the same time your refrigerator decides to shit out when you’re at work, so 10 hours later you come home and find out you need a new one and have to replace the food inside.
Don’t forget appliances, its always a good thing to set up a separate savings account to put money for appliances, you never know when something will break like a stove, furnace, water heater, fridge etc. They aren’t cheap!
Jammer inspected my house when I bought it and everything mentioned above has already been replaced… jussayin. LOL
LOL ^^^ my hot water heater shit the bed the day we moved in, but he told me it was only a matter of time anyways.
Drive in basement with 2 stalls and detached 2 car garage 
House has been updated, move in ready!!! New hot water heater, new pellet stove, new roof.
:facepalm
:rofl :rofl :rofl
:rofl
Wayne I’ll buy your house if it comes with your camshaft lamp.
What is a typical down payment on a house and how long can a sub $100k house be financed for? I’m going to look into buying a house next year if possible but don’t want to spend more than $75k.
I don’t mind buying one in Schenectady. Houses can be pretty cheap there and I don’t want a huge house since its just me.
I’d much rather own than pay rent, especially if the costs are similar.
It can be anywhere from 0-20% for the most part, on average you are looking at 10% of the house value, obviously the more you put down the lower your payments. And like it was stated earlier you also have to pay closing costs. And if you don’t mind buying in Schenectady be ready to throw down another $5-7K for closing.
General rule of thumb for what you can afford as a mortgage is usually 3 times your annual income.
I’m not a realtor or anything so I can’t give exacts, however I did take a Real World Math course last semester where we spent a lot of time on mortgages and house buying.
NOT FOR SALE.
Find a Realtor you trust. I had some old lady that acted super nice, but managed to hide quite a few things, and turns out was related to the previous owners…
Markus, Jammer’s work partner inspected my house, and was great to deal with.
Be careful buying anything in that price range. It will need work. Unless it’s a rough area.
You could do FHA funding which requires 3.5% down, and you can take up to 6% sellers concessions towards closing costs.
I’m prepared to put work into a house and buy one in not the best area.
My brothers do remodeling.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t FHA loans adhere to a stricter home inspection than a standard mortgage?
Correct.
FHA guidelines for home inspections/issues are much more strict than say a conventional loan.