Home Buying Tips

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akbeck98

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You might want to visit the bank and see what they are going to let you borrow. That way if something would fall into your lap you are pre-approved and you can move much faster and get your bid in.

I thought the comission to the realtor is paid by the seller. If the realtor brings seller and buyer together they get it all. But if there are two different ones they split. I thought this fee came from the seller's cut.

The bank might have some ideas to to help you get your credit on track and how to handle all of that.
 
talon

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Great advice so far! Here are my additions:

Check with the local police department: Any calls, trouble in the area of the house?Police or Animal Control: Laws on animals - inside/outside number limit?
Taxes: What are the annual taxes? You can find a lot of this out by the realtor - but I also suggested going to the website for the county auditor - some have really good information.
Utilties: Well and ceptic - or city?
Utilties: How much per month/year? And keep in mind that your habits may be different.
Since I wasn't familar this last time with the area - I went on a satelite imaging site (like google maps is now) and take a virtual tour around the area - see if you see any suprises.

Definately things like others have said: flat land, busy street, close neighbors, etc.

Once you guys figure out # bedrooms etc - a good place to start is www.realtor.com - I loved that site!
 
AbbysMom

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It's also good to drive by during different weather to see if the yard floods during a rainstorm.
 
coolcat

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Originally Posted by ugaimes

Hi all,
Bradley and I did something VERY exciting this weekend- we started looking for houses!!!
It's really exciting.
Click to expand...
Hello Chick!
....Just recent I see this post yours!
...
I hope you really can found someone that you love it!
...
cheers!
 
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Originally Posted by Kai Bengals

Hmmm -----------------
One thing that *I* think is of paramount importance is this: Once you think you've found the house of your dreams and you're thinking hard of putting a good offer in.....hire your own home inspector. ---------------Realtors have one thing in mind..make the sale happen. They might not always have every aspect of your best interests in mind.
A good home inspector will find those hidden problems that you don't notice in your infatuation with this home you select. This can help you negotiate a better deal or help you steer clear of a big money pit.

Good luck and happy hunting!
Click to expand...
BOY DID YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD!

3 years ago I bought my first home BY MYSELF! I sure found out my realtor was NOT helping me but himself!

NOW check the bottom (underneath) the sinks - ALL SINKS!

Check behind furniture to see if there are any holes or almost holes.

SEE if any of the plumbing (under sinks and outside) leaks.

See if you can turn on the sprinklers and get NEXT to the house REAL WET and check to see if the INSIDE part of the house gets wet.

See if ALL windows have screens

See if the oven works and if the door shuts all the way.

See (if you have an fan above the stove) that it works and check for greese!

See if all knobs are on the stove and ALL working.

Check to see that all door are on all places that are supposed to have doors and that places that are supposed to have shelves HAVE THEM>

If you get a GAS dryer see if there is a place where it will fit!

check to see if you have enough smoke alarms.

IF you have sliding glass doors MAKE SURE they have a GOOD Screen door on them and that the foundation has not sagged! MY screen door keeps falling off!

Make sure you have a GOOD roof

Try to get a newer garage door (one that goes up in parts instead of all at once!)

I am sure I can think of more but that should get you started!


And YES I had/have problems with ALL of these!
 
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ugaimes

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Wow, thanks for all of the great advice everyone!
Tracy, I like your advice a lot and will be checking out that realtor site today.

Heidi - wow, excellent stuff I never thought about. Thanks!!!

Kai Bengals- I'll definitely heed that advice about a home inspector. I wonder, since Bradley's father is a contractor, if he'd know enough about homes to be able to do that?

Originally Posted by zak&rocky

Try and get a house with a basement.
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That's definitely a no-go. I don't think any houses here in Savannah even HAVE basements. Even if we found one that did, I wouldn't buy it b/c we would get completely flooded out should a big tropical storm or hurricane hit (but thank you for the advice
).

Oh, got some good news last night. Bradley's father built the largest house in Savannah for this big-time attorney here. Bradley told me that this attorney has already told us he'd do the legal work for us for free (he loves Bradley), so that is a huge weight off my shoulders!
 
gilly

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Good luck with the house hunting!


I bought my place 2 years ago - and it was the first place that I saw...
I rented a flat on the other side of the road for a year so knew the area then saw this flat and thought, I want it!

I checked the property out 3 times and all looked and seemed okay and because I was short on money, I didn't have a full survey... Anyway, when I started decorating and changing things we found that all the bathroom floorboards were rotten and needed replacing
Even though we found this, a survey would never have found it unless they had ripped the bath tub out!

But... I have learnt from this and would suggest that you get full surveys done before you buy so if there is any major work or repairs you can be prepared for how much it will cost etc. Oh and also this gives you the advantage of knocking the price down a bit to cover the costs!

Another thing too, if you go somewhere and it's a wreck / not decorated how you like etc try and see behind that - picture your own decoration and personal touches and you will see beyond someone elses taste. Most people never find somewhere perfect and will want to change a few things anyway


Good luck
 
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ugaimes

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Thanks Gilly! Eek that must have been a bad surprise to find that you had to replace flooring
.

You're right- I'm not at all worried about the interior decorating/wall color/etc. I already have major plans for how I'd like to faux finish my walls
.

Tracy, I've been looking at the realtor.com site and WOW! I've already bookmarked 5 places that are in our price range in areas that we like. Woo hoo!
 
gilly

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Whats a realtor?
Never heard of that here - unless it's an Estate Agent...
 
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ugaimes

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Originally Posted by Gilly

Whats a realtor?
Never heard of that here - unless it's an Estate Agent...
Click to expand...
Yup, sounds like that's the same thing
 
gailc

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How could me-the gardening queen fail to mention the landscaping!!!
The items to watch-if any trees are planted close to the house-like 3ft or closer. They could cause problems when there are storms or the roots could wreck the foundation.
While not familar with all southern plantings I could give you some general landscaping tips once you have a house (things to cut down, locations of new plantings, etc..)
Lots of people plant stuff WAY TO CLOSE to their house and blocks light from the house and then there are the green meatballs too...
 
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ugaimes

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Originally Posted by GailC

How could me-the gardening queen fail to mention the landscaping!!!
The items to watch-if any trees are planted close to the house-like 3ft or closer. They could cause problems when there are storms or the roots could wreck the foundation.
While not familar with all southern plantings I could give you some general landscaping tips once you have a house (things to cut down, locations of new plantings, etc..)
Lots of people plant stuff WAY TO CLOSE to their house and blocks light from the house and then there are the green meatballs too...
Click to expand...
Gail, I'm glad you mentioned that. Trees with roots are a big deal to me b/c of my mom's backyard. She wanted to redo the floor on the back porch, but was unable to because the roots of a big magnolia tree were messing with the foundation. You bring up a great point!

I know Bradley wants a fenced in backyard so that he can have a garden. I'm not much of a yardwork person, so as long as he's willing to do the mowing, he can have whatever kind of yard he wants!
 
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eatrawfish

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I'm so jealous. I want to buy a house, but here in Sunny SoCal the prices are astronomical! You can't find _anything_ for under $300,000. I'll be waiting for them to go down for a while...

So, I have no advice, but good luck!
 
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