First time buying a home.. advice, tips, etc.?

It all depends on what you want. Are you buying a new home to have built or are you looking for an existing house? If buying new the need for an agent is overrated. If looking for existing then absolutely going to want to find a good agent. Depending on the type of loan you are seeking the may ask for any where between 3.5% to 20% down. In most cases 15% is a good start. Typically 20% will get you out of having to pay PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) and can save you a good amount on a monthly payment so if you have 15% can you come up with the other 5% to save any where between 150-250 dollars per month. That a little start ask any questions you have and I will try to help. Also keep in mind things vary by state I am in Missouri so what is the case here may not be the same where you are but its a good start.

Have a fenced yard, and 2 car garage. Have area to grow a garden. Have 2 full baths. Can't help you about the financing, ours was 17 years ago and I'm sure things have changed.

Dont do it.

Best advice I can give. Unless you can pay for the house outright.

Agree

Just curious why? If you have to pay rent you might as well own and actually get something back out of it as opposed to pissing away money paying rent.

I'd wait about 8 more days, then decide.

If the house actually appreciates.... but I have serious doubts about where our economy is going. We work/live in a fiat system. Eventually the cards will crash down.

Summary: I doubt you will gain money on this. And most likely end up paying in the end.

Take a good look at the neighborhood (are other houses vacant/ taken care off). Drive around it at different times to see what is happening there (loud music/people).

Don't get an ARM mortgage, this will hurt you in the long run. Get a fixed rate, may be a bit higher but the rate won't change like an ARM will.

Get a copy of your amortization schedule. Make your monthly mortgage payment THEN make just the principle payment for the following month. You can turn a 30 year mortgage into 15 years.

Fenced in yard is a must, preferably a privacy fence.

Make sure you have a usable basement. Some place to go when its ridiculously hot outside & a place to go if a tornado comes your way.

Unless this is a short term deal then you will always get something back out of a house rather than renting and just walking away. I agree if you want to buy and flip it in a year or two then you will end up paying but thats not how buying a house is supposed to work. Buying a house is a LONG TERM investment.

The other positive is at the end of the year you will get money back on your taxes just for owning a house. I have owned my house for 8 years now. Every year I get between 700-900 dollars back for the interest paid on my loan. my house payment is 780 a month. I get one free month every year. Not going to happen renting.

I`m a contractor ,so make sure plumbing and electric is up to date!

Mostly good advise but if the ARM has a cap of say a max 2% increase there are things beneficial about doing an ARM. typically can do less money down and get out of paying PMI. I sell at a condo project, we do a 5 year ARM option, and can get you in a condo with a starting price of 116,000 for only $525 a month with 5% down. worst case the rate would be 5.99% after year 5 but it would actually adjust down based on today's market, and your payment would be much cheaper than a 30 year fixed rate because of PMI. What got a lot of people in trouble were the balloon ARM that would jump really high regardless of where the current market is. Avoid these and you should be safe. if the market starts to jump you can always re-finance. The average life of a home loan is only 7 years anyway people do it all the time.

First contact a lender. Do not use a bank directly but get a mortgage broker who can first assess what is best for your goals and objectives and then can search for the program that is tailored to give you that from all kinds of sources. Then ask that lender for five names of established brokers or agents so that you can interview them , particularly those who specialize in your desired locations in which you would like to locate.

Very good point. If you buy existing make sure you get a very thorough home inspection and make the purchase contingent on getting this done and any repairs to be addressed or credited off the sales price. Your agent will know how to set this up.

I don't understand why some people have a PMI. We have a fixed rate mortgage & we don't have PMI.

Stay away from ARMS.

Hello

definiely check out who made the house. We had a Dan Ryan home and he makes wonderful works of shiit. So many things we had to replace in it and still counting.

God Bless

The markets are about to go belly up big time. And don't forget that you can be bang up to date with all your payments, but if your neighbours are walking away then you will be one of the few houses in a ghost town. Thats not a good situation. Id say find a nice rental, at least for a while longer.

How much did you put down on the house? 20% or more?

50% down bought on contract, then got financing 6 months later.

We've refinanced again in 03 & we're on our 5th mortgage holder since 03.

Can't wait to pay off the mortgage next month.

That is why you have no PMI if you can put down 20% or more you can get out of paying it. with an ARM you can get out of paying it for as little as 5% down. so it all just depends what you need out of the loan but the way they do ARM's now is not they same as they were even 5 years ago. Much safer but I agree if you have the money to put down get a 30 year with no PMI is the way to go, just not a lot of people have that money.

Buying a house is the most stupid thing you can do right now. Only buy a house if you can pay it in cash. Ah well if you want live in debt it's your choice?

Do you have a girlfriend/wife,kids?

Do know that buying a house is oldschool.I hope you have a decent job. cause company's ask for people that are flexible at work.

Double post,arggg

to break it down a little easier its all about the equity you have in the home, more so than the down payment. The bank basically want reassurance that if you foreclose they can make money on the house.

If your a prepper, owning your home is a must!
Think about how each home will be if emergency strikes...
A water well and barn/chickens etc.
Basement idea is good...I'm a Houston Realtor..
so sadly no basements..but lots of land and good water here.
Always meet your potential neighbors FIRST.
Take your time and shop for a real bargain.

Make sure your mortgage payment would be cheaper than rent. And that you would be able to sell the house if you needed to.

Forgot about the neighbors. VERY important. Be very picky.

DO NOT BUY A HOUSE right now... It's a sucker's move.

Renting is the smart way to go. Despite what realtor propaganda might tell you, it IS NOT 'throwing money away'. That's rubbish!

Buying a house right now IS throwing money away. Housing values still have at least 20% to fall in most areas of the country.

Do you see wages increasing? No? Well until you do housing pricing can't naturally rise.

Do you think wages are going to be rising soon?

Of course not. Why would they?

Buying a house now is trying to catch a falling knife.

DON'T DO IT!

Don't do it