Description
This article is from the NewlyWed FAQ,
by Vicky Larmour vicky@jifvik.org with numerous contributions by
others.
3.1.6) Plan ahead and make sure your expectations are realistic
>Make a habit of looking through the housing ads in your Sunday
>newspaper and noting the neighborhoods that meet your price range
>and idea of livability. If what you want is impossible to get, you
>might as well learn sooner than later, so you can readjust your
>plans. You'll also get an idea of how long houses stay on the
>market.
-Wende A. Feller
>Planning ahead - Equity is a cool thing, but think ahead about how
>long you plan to live in the same town. If you'll only stay in this
>house a couple years, I think adjustible rate mortgages can be
>cheaper, depending on exactly what's in store. You might also want
>to check with your lender on what kind of mortgage can build equity
>fast for your next house.
>Necessities - Do you really need a .5 acre lot? Are you sure you
>have to have central air right now? Couldn't you finish the basement
>yourself over the next year or so?
-T
>Ask your friends who have bought homes within the last few years for
>recommendations to realtors. Interview two or three different agents.
>Even if you aren't quite ready to start actively house hunting, an
>agent should be willing to have a preliminary meeting with you to
>help you figure out what your priorities are and what neighborhoods
>in the area provide a good fit with your preferences and budget.
>Realtors can also provide a lot of the information about local tax
>rates and so on.
-Holly Lewis
>Look at tons of houses. New homes were better for us because I am a
>wimp and don't like to go into people's homes if they are there (and
>you'll be surprised at how many people hang around when you do
>eventually go to existing homes forsale). We went to every model
>home that we could find for about 2 years. The thing that is great
>about seeing so many homes is that you will come to find what you
>really like/want in a home - when you start to look seriously, you
>will know right away whether or not it's what you are looking for.
>After you decide what you can afford, I suggest driving around
>looking at neighborhoods to decide what type of neighborhood you
>would like to live in. Decide what part of town (if that matters).
>Make some decisions on what you really want and need in a house.
>Decide on two-story or one-story if it matters. If you don't mind
>two-story, do you mind having the master up or down? There are many
>things to consider. Do you want hard tile in the kitchen? Do you
>like hardwoods or carpet? If you find a house that you will have to
>change the flooring, you will have to factor this into your cost. Do
>you care what the outside is made of (stone, brick, stucco, wood,
>etc...) We were pretty insistent on having at least 3 sides of our
>house masonry of some type. This eliminated many of the houses. Of
>course, decide on the size of the house in square footage and number
>of rooms. Do you want big trees? Do you want a small yard or large
>yard? Would you like to be near a park or pool? Anything you can
>think of that you want or need in a house, write it down. This will
>help your realtor get an idea of what you are looking for exactly.
-Kelli Hughes
>Look at tons of houses. This will help you figure out what you want
>and will give you an idea of what you can realistically expect to
>get for your money. The first 10-15 places we looked at were purely
>for educational purposes; we still didn't feel we knew enough about
>what was out there to seriously consider making a bid on any of
>them. While you're doing this, picture yourself living in each
>place. It may be a lovely house, but can you see yourselves being
>happy there? A house has to suit you and your personality. For
>instance, I found that I'm a stickler for "flow" in a place -- I
>like there to be a logical sense to how the place is laid out and
>room placement is important. I nixed a few places because the
>bedrooms seemed stuck in a weird location or the kitchen wasn't
>as accessible as I'd like. Also consider what the "purpose" of this
>house is -- is this the place where you're going to spend the rest
>of your lives and raise your family and have the grandkids come to
>for holidays? Or is it a starter home where you'll spend a few years,
>build some equity, and then upgrade to a bigger place? In our case,
>we live in the city and we're young and not independently wealthy.
>So buying the family home right now was not an option (neither
>was moving to the suburbs, for job reasons.) So we found a place
>that we like and is big enough for the two of us and one or two small
>HFCs. We plan to spend 5-10 years here and then upgrade to a bigger
>place in the city or move 'way out to the country. Also check
>out the average price of renovations/repairs in your area. that'll
>give you an idea of how much it'll cost to change certain things.
-Geri Clark
>Talk about which things are MUSTS (more than one toilet, more than
>two bedrooms, a dining room that can hold your antique but HUGE
>dining room table and matching china cabinet), which are preferreds
>(dining room away from the kitchen, washer and dryer on main floor),
>which aren't necessary but would be nice (some sort of garage vs.
>street parking), and what you're not willing to pay extra for
>(fireplaces on two floors, wrap-around deck, etc.). Give these items
>to your agent, and she'll print out tons of properties that have
>similar traits in a wide range of prices, styles, and locations.
>Look in the new homes section of your paper and see what the ranges
>are for new construction. Figure out what 80% of that amount would
>be, and run it through the mortgage calculator of the Dummies book
>to see what the monthly payment for Principal and Interest would be.
>(Keep in mind that older properties in the area will sell for less.)
>If you can put down 20%, you won't have to add in Private Mortgage
>Insurance. Figure out how much you would have to save each month to
>reach 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% down on a property. Often, you'll either
>have to change the size of house you want, how quickly you can get a
>house you want, or where the house is located. Figure out which is
>most important.
-Kate the Short
>Quicken also has a great mortgage calculator. You can enter in such
>variable as: years for the loan (ie 30 year mortgage), APR, and
>monthly payment -- leave any two blank and Quicken gives you the
>third number. So, let's say the APR on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage
>is at 8%, you know how much money you want to pay each month, and
>you want to know what is the total amount you can borrow... easy! Or
>you fall in love with a house that costs $X, and want to know what
>your monthly payment would have to be. You get the idea. Remember
>that with most mortages where you've put less than 20% of the value
>of the house as downpayment, PMI kicks in, adding to your monthly
>payment. For details of PMI, call a bank in your area. Of course,
>remember to be realistic, keeping in mind that the lawn won't just
>mow itself - you may have to buy a lawnmower, a leaf blower, a
>cordless drill, a tall ladder, garden hose, heavy duty extension
>cords... it all adds up! And if the hot water heater conks out, you
>have to buy a new one /and/ pay the plumber to install it at $60/hour.
>Stuff like that. Do you have children in your future? They cost a lot
>of money!
-Jeanne Petrangelo
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