The bank did their appraisal a week ago, and I got the results Wednesday. I had to submit a few more bank statements, and they have submitted my application to SONYMA on Friday. As far as I can tell, that's the last step - now I'm just waiting for SONYMA to approve it.
SONYMA is a program that NY State does for first-time home buyers. They will pay 3% of the closing costs (minimum $3,000) and you'll get a low interest rate (currently 5.75%). I was very glad my bank told me about this program - I went to a local credit union last year, and they don't participate in the program, so they did not tell me about it. I was very glad that I did not go with them this year!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Tips on Buying Your First Home
I am going through the process of purchasing my first house, and I have learned first-hand several do and do not's.
1. Look at several houses before you bid. Unless there is a house that you've been eyeing for weeks and months, and it's suddenly come up for sale, it's probably not the best idea to look at one house and then put in a bid. I know with myself I was very desperate to get out of my parent's house, and so I bid on the first house I looked at. I had not looked at any other houses before and so I really had nothing to compare it with. Well, the house was was private and had lots of room (a perfect spot for my library) but it had some major structural issues and many minor problems. I bid on it, and I had it inspected and it was then I realized just how bad it was. The inspector even told me that he would not even pay a fraction of the price for the house. In hindsight, I wouldn't have been happy there even if there were not any problems with the house.
2. Look at every part of the house. In the first house there was one room in the basement that I was not able to look at the first two times I looked at the house - it was filled with trash. While that should have been a red flag (if these people are so dirty that they use a room in the basement for trash - there were probably 30 bags in it - what else did they do?), I didn't think too much of it. We made them remove the trash for the inspection, and found a huge structural problem in that part of the basement - in fact, if I had seen that to begin with, I would never have put in my bid. Total cost for that lesson: $300 for the inspection, plus a lot of wasted time.
3. Don't only use Realtor.com. I've found that website to be very innaccurate. I don't know how many properties I got all excited about, gave them to my realtor to find out, that one sold a week ago, or that one closed yesterday, or that one already has an accepted offer. That site is not updated very often. I've had lots of luck using Zillow.com, which also puts them on a map so you can quickly see general locations (very helpful if you are looking for a specific area - I was looking for something rural). If you find a property you're interested in, google the address - you'll probably find other sites with that listing with more info. I know many listings on Realtor.com had a few pictures, but on another site (often Zillow) there were more pictures.
4. Don't say no becuase of one picture. Several houses I looked at online didn't look like anything I would want, but they were in my price range so I went and looked anyway. One of them I actually really liked, but I never would have thought so from the picture. Unfortunately, it was a bad neighborhood.
5. Take your neighborhood into account. Is this someplace you want to live? I like my privacy, and I can't stand hearing the neighbor's radio blaring when I'm outside relaxing. I also don't like constant traffic. One house I found looked nice, but it was on the corner of a busy intersection - that would drive me crazy. Someone else might not care.
6. Talk to others about the area. A friend of my dad lived down the road from the house in #4 above, and said he'd all the time he'd wake up in the middle of the night to find a bunch of people swimming in his pool! Several other people told me that area was a bad place to live as well.
1. Look at several houses before you bid. Unless there is a house that you've been eyeing for weeks and months, and it's suddenly come up for sale, it's probably not the best idea to look at one house and then put in a bid. I know with myself I was very desperate to get out of my parent's house, and so I bid on the first house I looked at. I had not looked at any other houses before and so I really had nothing to compare it with. Well, the house was was private and had lots of room (a perfect spot for my library) but it had some major structural issues and many minor problems. I bid on it, and I had it inspected and it was then I realized just how bad it was. The inspector even told me that he would not even pay a fraction of the price for the house. In hindsight, I wouldn't have been happy there even if there were not any problems with the house.
2. Look at every part of the house. In the first house there was one room in the basement that I was not able to look at the first two times I looked at the house - it was filled with trash. While that should have been a red flag (if these people are so dirty that they use a room in the basement for trash - there were probably 30 bags in it - what else did they do?), I didn't think too much of it. We made them remove the trash for the inspection, and found a huge structural problem in that part of the basement - in fact, if I had seen that to begin with, I would never have put in my bid. Total cost for that lesson: $300 for the inspection, plus a lot of wasted time.
3. Don't only use Realtor.com. I've found that website to be very innaccurate. I don't know how many properties I got all excited about, gave them to my realtor to find out, that one sold a week ago, or that one closed yesterday, or that one already has an accepted offer. That site is not updated very often. I've had lots of luck using Zillow.com, which also puts them on a map so you can quickly see general locations (very helpful if you are looking for a specific area - I was looking for something rural). If you find a property you're interested in, google the address - you'll probably find other sites with that listing with more info. I know many listings on Realtor.com had a few pictures, but on another site (often Zillow) there were more pictures.
4. Don't say no becuase of one picture. Several houses I looked at online didn't look like anything I would want, but they were in my price range so I went and looked anyway. One of them I actually really liked, but I never would have thought so from the picture. Unfortunately, it was a bad neighborhood.
5. Take your neighborhood into account. Is this someplace you want to live? I like my privacy, and I can't stand hearing the neighbor's radio blaring when I'm outside relaxing. I also don't like constant traffic. One house I found looked nice, but it was on the corner of a busy intersection - that would drive me crazy. Someone else might not care.
6. Talk to others about the area. A friend of my dad lived down the road from the house in #4 above, and said he'd all the time he'd wake up in the middle of the night to find a bunch of people swimming in his pool! Several other people told me that area was a bad place to live as well.
Rummage Sale
It's time for the annual rummage sale. I've always made out very well at these - the last two years I've gotten over $200 each year! (I always have tons of junk). This year I did not have as much to put out as I previously did, but I still put out quite a bit. I made $27.50 in the first 1/2 hour, hopefully the rest of the day goes just as well. I moving into my own home in about a month, so the less junk I have the better.
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