First Time Home Buyer

[Kruel]

Originally Posted by Shannacore [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I know a couple of people who have purchased homes with no down payments, which blows my godamn mind.

a good rule of thumb is a 10% downpayment.. look into FHA loans - generally they have better rates. There are ton of sites that have a listing of all banks and the interest rates they are running that day. But again you cant get shit if you dont have good credit..

[Shannacore]

Originally Posted by Kruel [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

look into FHA loans - generally they have better rates. .

I've heard this from quite a few people.

[Hasbinbad]

Originally Posted by Shannacore [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

'historic district'

This is code for "everything will be more expensive if you need shit fixed."

[Hasbinbad]

OH ALSO

Definitely check into neighborhood associations. They can force you to pay them to tell you what you can and can not do. In many areas, they have court/police enforceable powers over certain things in their neighborhoods, and if you refuse, you can be fined (in addition to the forced dues you have to pay). The classic example is growing food in your front yard. Some neighborhood associations have standards that do not allow a homeowner to use their visible property to produce food. I'm not saying that particular battle is one you'd want to fight, but DEFINITELY find out exactly what the rules are in a given area before you buy there.

[Hailto]

This thread is fucking dumb on a lot of levels.

[Hasbinbad]

Have all exposed wood and any decking or other auxiliary structures inspected for termites / dryrot / safety / code adherence. Basically: don't buy a house where you have to replace or demolish things unless you include that in your budget.

[Stinkum]

Tralina is the female version of Hasbinbad.

[Hasbinbad]

Stinkum is the female version of ... who are you again?

[Allizia]

Just be careful about counting the inheretance money and the side checks you get, since they artificially inflate what you think you can afford long term. Also be careful about realistically budgeting (I put $60,000 down, pay less than $800/month for mortgage, own all of our vehicles, don't buy much junk and I still have $3000-$5000 in monthly expenses). Even though things look good now, it doesn't seem like you have settled into a stable role long enough to have a good grasp of your finances. Save up for another year, mark your actual realistic monthly expenses and see if you are coming out on top and by how much.

[katrik]

Originally Posted by Shannacore [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I know a couple of people who have purchased homes with no down payments, which blows my godamn mind.

Those are called HUD homes, or HUD loans. They're generally for first time home buyers, and lower income buyers. While there usually is zero down payment, there are a ton of upfront costs as far as general fees and whatnot, you usually get some of it back though at the closing. The sucky thing about HUD homes is you usually dont get to pick what district you want your home to be in, and the qualified districts usually include slummy/ghetto-ish areas. It is possible to find a good HUD home in a good neighborhood, but you'll be searching quite a bit. Be picky IMO.. go with 15.