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Posted: Jan 04 2011 11:28 am

So I'm starting to look at buying a house, I just got my Pay raise for E-6, and I honestly could afford up to about $1000-$1100 a month. I'm renting right now for $885 and everyone around me is saying I could get a nice house, especially the way the market is for that.

My deal is, I just don't really know where to start. I've obviously never done this before, and I'm looking for some of your experence/wisdom.

I know there are VA loans, and things along that path with the Military, and VA grants that will completely cover the closing costs.

Just any tips or advice you have would be greatly appreciated.

Posted: Jan 04 2011 11:44 am

VA loans are great, especially if you're looking to lock one in now while the rates are relatively low. If possible, still try and put money down on the property instead of going 100% financing, because you'll be able to get a lower rate. Foreclosure properties (especially if you're looking to buy in FL where the market got destroyed) are good, provided you're going to be able to put money out for repairs. My question to you is, do you know specifically what area(s) you're looking to buy in, and what amenities that you think are necessities? That'll help you narrow down what you're looking for and your price range, which'll help in the long run.

Posted: Jan 04 2011 11:47 am

For my "area" Jacksonville, Orange Park, somewhere close to the NAS Jacksonville base, preferable in between the NAS Jax base and the Mayport base.

Really more than anything, I want 3brs, 2baths, and would be nice if it came with wood/tiled floors and a fenced in back yard due to the dogs.

I'd like to go talk to a realitor, but I sort of picture them as sharks just after their commision, and just want me to sign papers.

Posted: Jan 04 2011 01:01 pm

Especially as a first-time home buyer, I'd honestly advise working with a realtor, but shop around. Try to find someone who's familiar with the area that you're looking in, and more importantly, someone that you can feel comfortable with. Some people, like it or not, are just worried about getting you in a place fast, and you'll be able to tell from the vibe that you get. It never hurts to set up meetings with a few different ones in your area until you find the one that feels right for you. After all, you don't have to sign anything until you're actually making the offer on the house, and if they tell you otherwise, they're probably trying to trick you.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

I bought my first house in September 2009.

Here is my best advice once you think you found a good house:

Hire a good home inspector.
Find out the age of everything in the house. If any work was done, ask who the contractors were.
Find out as much about the home's efficiency as you can. Is it properly insulated? Is it drafty? Some things you can fix, others you can't. You really can't add insulation to the walls, but you can fix up an open attic. My largest monthly expenses are heating and cooling, I imagine in Florida the electricity cost is going to be the highest one due to the AC running.
How long before you need to replace the Driveway, Roof, Siding, Furnace, Oil Heater and other appliances? I was told that I had 5-8 years left on my siding... turned into 12 months.
Can you handle the land if you are on a military schedule? Mowing, weeding, and other landscaping? I imagine it is easier than New England because you don't have snow, but still, it is work and time.
Would a condo be a better choice?

Posted: Jan 04 2011 01:56 pm

GPFontaine wrote:

Hire a good home inspector.

To get a VA loan, we HAVE to have it inspected by the VA inspectors. And apparently from what I've heard, they are very strict.

Quote:

Can you handle the land if you are on a military schedule? Mowing, weeding, and other landscaping? I imagine it is easier than New England because you don't have snow, but still, it is work and time.

I have the wife, and also, it cost approx. $25-40 a visit to hire landscapers. Only during the rainy season does it become a problem, where you need to mow twice a week or so. During the winter, the grass basicly dries up and dies off.

Quote:

Would a condo be a better choice?

No. Really want the yard for the Dogs.

Thanks though for the other stuff, added some questions to my list I wasn't thinking about.

Posted: Jan 04 2011 02:23 pm

It doesn't have to be inspected by a VA inspector. It does have to be appraised by a VA appraiser. This was good for us because they appraised the house at slightly less than our offer.

Be advised with a VA loan that there are closing costs that are required by law to be paid by the seller. This could be a thorn in any negotiations. We were fortunate that we got the first house we wanted. Some friends of ours went VA also and they had four offers rejected on different houses because they were financing with VA versus a conventional loan.

And find a good realtor. Ours has been in the biz for 35+ years. He knew all the tricks, knew when to give ultimatums, and had all of what we needed lined up and ready to go so we could get a quick offer in.

Best of luck to you!

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Have you been preapproved yet?

Getting your credit in order is really helpful before you start this process.

Posted: Jan 04 2011 03:54 pm

My lady and I just bought a house in Florida in March and I'll tell you what we found out:

-Everything costs a lot more than you think it will. We had saved up for a 20% down payment because that's the standard number but when we went to the bank it wasn't enough. In addition to the 20% down payment, the bank wanted us to have the funds to pay for all the closing costs plus enough for 6 months worth of mortgage payments. It makes sense but we never thought about it and we were thousands of dollars short. Although those requirements could be different with a VA loan??

-We were told that if you have less than a 20% down payment you have to pay for mortgage insurance (also called PMI) which is a fricking scam. If you're not familiar with it, PMI protects the mortgage lender in case you can't make payments. So they make you pay for insurance that has absolutely no benefit to you. Its roughly $80-90/month for every 100k of the loan. Again, maybe things are different with a VA loan.

-Having 20% down will also lower your interest rate. Combine that with no PMI and putting 20% down can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the years. So if you can get 20% down it really pays off but having a bunch of cash on hand is easier said than done Smile

-Like other people said, get a good realtor. If you know people just start asking around and you'll find someone who knows a good realtor. We went with a friend's suggestion and it worked well for us.

Posted: Jan 04 2011 04:27 pm

The VA guarantees a portion of the loan that is greater than 20%, so no PMI is necessary and you're able to do 100% financing if you choose. As Rogue Hippo and others have stated, putting something down will lower the rate.

Posted: Jan 04 2011 06:26 pm

I just bought my house this May. Pennsylvania may be different especially since I got an FHA loan. We needed 10% down, we didn't use a realtor since we knew the owner. He was responsible for the inspections and appraisal, we needed to pay for the Radon test and pest inspection.
We didn't need any additional money and we were able to get sellers assistance which helped with closing costs. Our closing costs and down payment went from $12,000 down to $8000.
Can't wait to get that $8000 back in my taxes, I got a wedding coming up Smile

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Douche,

I am not 100% sure about this, but when I got my tax credit I went and had an accountant go and re-do my taxes from the year before to include it.

Why bother? Because of 2 reasons:

1) The interest the government pays you back for the credit is around $150.
2) The money is given to you earlier.

I know we are in 2011, but if you can push it back to the year you did the purchase in (2010) you might be able to get back that interest and gain an extra ~$150.

Also, wedding??? More details please.

Posted: Jan 05 2011 12:46 am

I'm a little hazy on the subject, but I think paying off a house involves doing a ton of work for Tom Nook.

Posted: Jan 05 2011 01:38 am

Well we bought it in May this year so I'm not sure I could re do my taxes when I havent done them yet.

Posted: Jan 05 2011 03:25 am

Must be nice, in Edmonton AB homes go for around $200K.... I pay $675 a month for a downtown bachelor suite and there is no way... I could get a mortgage, not a chance...

Title: Hugh Joined: Sep 23 2007 Posts: 1591

Did you know there's an Edmonton in Kentucky? :O

Posted: Jan 05 2011 06:53 am

My only advice is similar to Hippo's: make sure you have a sizable down payment sitting in the bank and ready to go or the bank simply won't give you a loan. When we were selling our house last year, we had a couple who loved it but couldn't get a loan because they didn't have a big enough down payment ready to go up front. No bank would lend to them when they could only put down 10-15%.

Posted: Jan 05 2011 08:44 am

Related link: http://www.thecoverproject.net/forums/index.php?topic=4817.0

Posted: Jan 05 2011 01:34 pm

Pandajuice wrote:

My only advice is similar to Hippo's: make sure you have a sizable down payment sitting in the bank and ready to go or the bank simply won't give you a loan. When we were selling our house last year, we had a couple who loved it but couldn't get a loan because they didn't have a big enough down payment ready to go up front. No bank would lend to them when they could only put down 10-15%.

I have some money saved up, but with a VA loan, I can go 0%.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Douche, I bought mine in 2009, I had my 2008 taxes redone and got the cash early. Don't know why or how it works, but your tax people will.

Posted: Jan 05 2011 05:55 pm

Banks typically won't give you laons if you don't have enough cash on hand. I went to a mortgage company and the only stipulation was having 10% down. They basically only cared about my current debts and my credit score. They checked to make sure I could afford a mortgage payment and approved me for a $100,000 loan. That loan basically equated to me living paycheck to paycheck. So when me and my fiance went in we could have gotten a 200K+ mortgage. Definitely get preapproved like GPF said. That way you know what you can afford. I would typically go with a home that is atleast 75% of or below your approved amount.