Buying Your First House » nap

What’s In Buying A House For You?

nap — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:49:37 +0000

What is in buying a house for you? Our basic needs are housing, food and transportation. Notice, housing is number 1. Under housing, we have rentals, owning and other forms of providing housing such as sleeping in your car or the street. The last two have some severe obstacles.

Renting is a great alternative to buying except in our current economy environment. Once you pay your rent, the money is gone, spent! As a general rule, personal privacy falls to the wayside when renting. Your rent will probably not buy as much as your mortgage payments will.

On the other side, the status of our economy couldn’t be better to consider buying your own house. “Homes For Sale” inventories are high, interest rates at an all-time low, government assistance is available and sellers are anxious to sell their homes.

I feel really strong about buying your first house when you are young. At first, you may find that home ownership is a struggle but this struggle will lessen as time goes on. This assumes you will have a fixed rate mortgage and wages will increase over time). When you get to retirement, you will probably will have your home paid for which will enhance your financial position as you try to make it on your retirement income. Retirement income tends to be fixed and does not keep up with the rate of inflation (rises in costs of living).

Just keeping a roof over your head is one of the many reasons buying your first house satisfies, what’s in buying a house for you!

Your First House Has An Old Furnace

nap — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:26:53 +0000

Should you replace it? In today’s times, everything is energy efficient. So let’s take a look at options.

When money is in short supply, obviously, it would be imprudent to replace your furnace. Or is it imprudent?

It depends on your circumstances for the most part. Yes, the investment in a new furnace is a costly expenditure but the savings may be greater than the cost of heating your home with your present obsolete furnace. With gas and oil utility rates ever increasing, a calculation of present cost versus cost with a new furnace or heating system should be carefully analyzed.

Deciding on replacement, you will need estimates from heating contractors. The recommendation in this area, is to obtain 3 estimates. When you are requesting your estimate, check the efficiency rate of each unit you are considering. Another suggestion, ask the contractor to quote a price on one size larger heating and cooling unit he/she recommends you will need.

The thing to remember about heating and cooling units is that the recommendations from a contractor will be for the smallest unit for the cubic feet of your home. If you choose the recommended option, after the installation, you will find that it takes forever for your home to heat or cool. If you have your thermostat set at night for 60 degrees, and say, at 5:30 AM for 72 degrees, before the next time interval your furnace may not even reach 72 degrees. When you shower or bath in the morning before going to your job, your teeth may be chattering because your home is cold.

Here is a resource to assist you with comparitive calculations you will need in considering a new heating/cooling system: Calculate

Buyer beware when considering new heating/air conditioner systems. Knowledge will be your best friend!

The American Dream

nap — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:10:21 +0000

The first time you fulfill the “American Dream” in buying your first house is a real adventure. Terms like title, title company, escrow, mortgage, fha requirements, inspection all seem pretty foreign. In this case, “learn from experience” is not the best way to go. You can buy smart with a little training.

Your investment is too large to just “learn by experience”. For example, you will have to decide which type mortgage suits your needs the best. Your investment meaning downpayment. If you are considering purchasing a home priced at $100,000, then you would need $10,000 to $20,000 as a downpayment. Would you just hand that kind of money over to someone you didn’t know and have yet to trust? I am sure you would not without considering many things prior to doing it. A “learning curve” would not be the best approach.

The best approach would be to seek some training on the issues of every home. The realtor will show you a flowery picture and will try to cover up or pass over the imperfections with their profit in mind. You and you alone are responsible for discovering the imperfections and if you don’t, you are buying a house “as is”. Training will give you some creative ideas on negotiation for seller concessions.

Here is the guide that will best help you figure out some of the necessities in buying your “American Dream” or your first house smartly: Guide to Buying Your First House

Mortgage Escrow

nap — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:43:34 +0000

What is mortgage escrow? The amount you must pay each month to cover your property tax liability and property insurance annually.

Not many people are aware that your mortgage lender may allow you to control your own escrow account. This has certain advantages.

A self-managed escrow account can be located at the financial institution of your choice. You can shop for the best deal. If it is interest bearing, you will make a little money as the balance increases. It may not be a lot but “something is better than nothing.”

Another advantage is you would be allowed to make adjustments based on your property tax bill almost immediately. Many municipalities allow you to meet your property tax liability in installments. This means that you do not have to lay out the whole amount due in one lump sum.

The disadvantage of required (forced) mortgage lender controlled escrow accounts is that they always automatically increase the amount you should pay annually, and thus, monthly. Whether your property tax liability actually increased or not, the mortgage lender will require you to pay more. This is your money the lender is using for their own purposes.

Another disadvantage is when the property tax bill is submitted to the lender, a check for the full amount is made payable to you and the municipality. Because of this, it excludes you from the installment feature.

Some mortgage lenders do pay interest on a required escrow but most do not. This means the mortgage lender is using your money for free!

The issue of escrow should be carefully checked out as you are arranging your mortgage loan, especially in light of the high property tax rates of today!

Houses Have Character

nap — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:49:23 +0000

Your new house is waiting for you. Waiting for what, you ask? Waiting for you to make the changes that will give the house character and make it “Your House”.

A house has style and character. The style will be pretty well set and dictated by when the house was built. Some people have remodeled their homes so that the style is almost invisible. This is a choice every new owner will make. Older homes generally have a volume of history, not only style history but, also, owner history. If the style is not acceptable to you, you have purchased the wrong house. In otherwards, go with the flow!

The character will reflect your preferences. Changing light fixtures, paint colors, flooring, visual effects, furniture, storage, outdoor amenities and additions are some of the ways to change character. Some of the changes will be for functional reasons and some for beauty. Make a list of priorities and then complete them one at a time as your financial resources allow. Do not forget the items that bring the best resale value because some day, you will probably be in a position to sell.

Guide To Buying Your First House

Circumstances Are In Your Favor

nap — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:34:56 +0000

If I were looking to buy my first house, I would do it NOW!

1. House prices have decreased considerably making a purchase for a buyer a bargain.

2. Interest rates are low, low and, if the buyer thinks the offered rate is too high, can probably negotiate for a lower rate. This is true particularly if the buyer is looking at foreclosed property and has excellent credit plus a more than ample down payment.

3. Sellers who are looking to unload their expensive properties will be willing to negotiate with the buyer so as to shorten the sellers market time. Currently, inventories are extremely high (in otherwards, existing housing sales are almost standing still).

I reiterate, it is a buyer’s market. Maybe not for investment purposes but for purchasing your very first property to use as your residence (live in).
The one, especially, important fact to remember is that we all have to live somewhere, somehow and I happen to believe owning is now more of a bargain than renting.

Guide To Buying Your First House

Free Information How To Buy Your First House

nap — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:00:03 +0000

There is a lot of free information in respect to buying your first house available on the internet. The problem with the “Free” is that a lot of the information is slanted, someone has their best interests in mind. Where can you get the best information to assist you when you are looking for your first house? Since information providers have profit in mind when they provide information, the best place is from a neutral source which is not involved in real estate at all. This information would only be available from a buyer’s perspective. A person who has previously, but recently, purchased their first home has the experience needed for the prospective first time home buyer.

These experiences are shared in Guide To Buying Your First House. Even following my guide, you may still encounter a few problems after your purchase.

One, I encountered, was I requested that the furnace be serviced (inspected) prior to my purchase. It was done, but less than one year into my residency, I found a heat exchanger was cracked. Then I was told by a heating contractor that heat exchangers generally only have a life of 5 years. Faulty heat exchangers give off carbon monoxide, a deadly gas!

Do yourself a big favor and get this very valuable guide.

Downpayment Is Necessary

nap — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:40:45 +0000

Where do you go for your downpayment? Retirement funds are one source but only if you are very young, let’s say 20′s to 30′s. From my experience, I personally feel it is a mistake to take retirement funds to make a downpayment. Much better to use an inheritance, save yourself or win a lottery (laugh!). Some borrowers have taken a second mortgage to fund their downpayment. This can really put a lot of stress on your budget. However, if you are serious about owning, you may be willing to struggle for a while. Providing you have a fixed rate mortgage, as your income grows, your monthly mortgage payments become more affordable since they are fixed.

Something to remember as the loan numbers are put together is that the more downpayment, the smaller the mortgage loan, resulting in smaller monthly payments.

Note: If you are refinancing a mortgage loan, instead of another 30 year term, you can negotiate with the lending institution for the number of years left on your original loan. Example: You are into the 5th year of your mortgage loan and want to refinance. You can request a refinance for the term of 25 years..ie, 30 years minus 5 years. This is just one of the choices you have.

Is Real Estate Moving ? First Time Home Buyers Take Heed!

nap — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:03:59 +0000

According to my source, real estate is not moving. My contention is that it is a buyer’s market. This post is particularly targeted at young people paying too much rent.

How much rent do you pay? I will use $700.00/month as an example. In 10 years, you will have paid out $84,000 for rent and when you walk away, you will have nothing. Wouldn’t it be nice to walk away with some money?

The housing market has so much current opportunity. By opportunity, I mean a surplus of available for purchase homes, available money and great interest rates. This is a buyer’s market!

My advice is young people get started with home ownership while you are young. In future years, you will be able to upgrade to another house or walk away with some real money and will have provided yourself a place to live.

A realtor, I am acquainted with, has some wonderful statistics about the current housing market trends. Here is the url:
Current Market Statistics

In conclusion, first time home buyer’s take heed and get started before current conditions change! You have all the leverage, negotiating power.

You will need a great guide to assist you with your first house buying adventure: It is available by clicking here.

Buy Your First House With Possibilities

nap — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:09:31 +0000

When buying your first house, it is difficult to know what to look for as you visit the housing market.

Does the house you are looking at have possibilities? What I mean about “possibilities” are, could you add storage or lighting somewhere or add an addition to support a larger family?

Some homes have possibilities. When reviewing, you will need to get some ideas how you can improve the living quarters to meet your standards. When I purchased my home, it was devoid of a linen closet. I asked the previous owner, “where did you store your linens”. Turns out he had a chest of drawers where he stored them. Wasn’t good enough for me, so in my bathroom, over a protruding heat vent, I had a linen closet put in. I am sure that some of my improvements have increased the value of my home. My standards required a linen closet and I found a way to do it.

In conclusion, as you look to buy your first house, check out the “possibilities”.

Happy House Hunting !

What To Look For When Buying Your First House

Norine Peardon