Hey guys,
I’ve been lurking here for a while, and I just like to get some oppinions on how I’m going about getting a house.
Thanks to the stickies, I found and enrolled in the HSBC First Time Home Buyers Club. I started in October, and I’m expecting to complete it in July. I’m looking to spend around 100k-130k for a house. Ideally it’d be something in the 1400+ sq ft, big garage, and far enough from expressways and main roads that I can’t hear them, but that’s another matter altogether. To make this happen, I’m planning on using a SONYMA low interest rate loan. I’ve yet to go to the class I need to attend for the first time buyers club, but that’s on my to-do list.
So between now and July, what else should I be doing other than saving up for a down payment and continuing to contribute to the first time buyers club? I’m not in a rush to move into my own home, but would like to do so as soon as it makes sense.
look through the listings and tour several open houses. Narrow your list to must haves and want/donotwant. This will make it easier once you are ready to look for the property that best suits you. I did a ton of research prior to actually shopping for a home and I made an offer on the second home I walked into. I really only had 4 on my list to look at by that point as I was able to weed out properties based on not meeting my must have criteria.
Start saving bank statements, pay down outstanding credit card debt as you can afford it, and deposit as much as you can into your main bank accounts. They look back a few months and want to see history on having your down payment in your accounts, not that you suddenly deposited 50k in cash. Don’t open up any unneeded lines of credit between now and then or change jobs. Make sure you keep your oldest existing accounts open and active.
Also, you should probably start narrowing it down to and familiarizing yourself with a few neighborhoods that interest you. You don’t know what will be available at the time you’re ready, but it’s good to not be starting from scratch. If you know what you like and what they are selling for you start ahead of the game.
Bank statements is a good call. I have a binder with 3 years of tax returns, 3 months of bank statements, pay stubs, utility bills, etc…
Opening lines of credit should be a no brainer, but if it isn’t do not do it. Joe is right, they do not want to see that shit. I was actually told even though I need a new vehicle I had to wait until after close to even think about it. My mortgage broker said it would stop the deal in its tracks.
one thing i found out… is when you dont get the house that you truly love… chances are you’ll find a better home. good luck by the way… almost took us a year to settle into where we are now.
The one thing that’s holding me back right now (as far as saving is concerned) is my credit card debt. I’m expecting to have it payed off by March, but it’s keeping me from putting money into savings. I’ve been getting offers for zero interest cards, and debated opening one of those so I wouldn’t be paying interest in the mean time, but judging by what you guys are saying, that would be a big no-no. I know the amount of credit debt to available credit is also a factor in your credit score, I wonder if increasing my credit limit on my current card would help at all.
As far as saving documentation, I have been, just not on purpose. I don’t throw away pay stubs and have a fair amount of bank statements saved up. I’ll start collecting them and purposely and more neatly keep them from now on.
I’ve been going through zillow.com and trulia.com to get an idea of what $Xs gets you in the areas I’m interested. I’m more interested in Henrietta to be closer to work (which should save money on gas), but am also looking at north chili as I like the area and have some friends that own homes or will soon in that area. I’ll have to go driving some time and see what things look like. Too bad my summer car is off the road…
Another question I had was a money question once I’m actually in the home. I’ve got a spreadsheet budgeting a years worth of income & bills. With my current estimates, I’m looking at around $300/month of “surplus” money that won’t be going towards bills, food, gas, etc. I’ve talked with a friend (a homeowner) and he thinks that should be adequate. I know things are going to break and repairs will need to be made, but would this be a safe buffer of money to have for unscheduled costs?
And as for appliances and other stuff like that, I’m gonna be buying a pre-owned home, and will be looking for one with appliances. Other than that, I have most of the other things needed to start to fill a house, at least enough to get me by for a while. I lived in an 800 sq ft apartment when I was on CO-OP back in the day, which I furnished with a bed, nightstand, folding table, computer, recliner, and 2 lights. It didn’t bother me a bit, I actually kinda liked the space.
I’ve been using Zillow.com to browse around real estate. I don’t think I’m at the point where I need to move forward with the buying a home, but I’m in for the info.
I don’t understand how people who make less than I do, have worse credit than I do, and generally have less money than I do seem to afford houses and apartments like its no problem. Anywho…I had a previous thread that had some good info in it:
