Help!!!! First time home buyer in Cali

[macpappy]

The VA loan is still a good thing. You do your paperwork with the VA, get the form back from them saying that your loan is guaranteed and pre-approved up to a set amount and you shouldn't have a problem with the mortgage company. At least that's how it was when I used it to start buying my house back in 1993.

I had my VA paperwork in hand before we started house hunting. That gave me a better idea of what we could afford to buy and helped me dodge what would have been a big mistake. One of the houses we really liked was in a waterfront community but it was more than what the VA would guarantee so we passed on it. It was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.

Sorry you have to buy in California though.

[RGD.]

One note is to get a home inspection done and make any offers contingent on it. Don't accept a sellers home inspection - get your own done. Check the qualifications of the home inspector.
If you find a home that does need repairs either have the current owners repair it and provide documentation that a licensed company/individual did so. If money is to be held back for the repair - get estimates and don't accept and arbitrary amount.

I'm in the structural repair business and see new home owners burned on this constantly. For example one customer I'm working with just bought a home - the seller told him it needed waterproofing and held back $8000. Problem is the home not only needs $7000 in waterproofing - it also needs another $16 grand in structural repairs.

Don't skip the home inspection!

Best of luck to you and your wife -


Ron

[Smokin Gator]

That is about the best advice you will get.

I would also add... don't get your heart set on anything. It is only a house. Make the offer you want to make. If they don't take it don't hesitate to walk away.

[chippewastud79]

Have a pre-approval ready to go. It gets your offers taken a lot more serious.

Always know what you can afford and don't get roped into anything other than a standard loan, never an ARM.

Always have a home inspection and by the most respected inspector you can find. Should take them hours to do everything, not minutes.

Look at as many properties as you have time for, don't keep yourself restricted and settle on the first house you see. Don't force it, if you can't find the perfect house, don't worry about it.

Always bargain, especially in this market. There is no such thing as a low offer, offer $10-20K less than what they are asking. There are plenty of motivated sellers out there, negotiate everything. Ask for closing concessions, a home warranty, repairs, everything. The worst they can say is "no".

Get a good realtor. You are the buyer so they get paid by the seller, don't go with any realtors that charge any kind of consulting fees or anything but their standard commision.

Good luck with the purchase of a home

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by chippewastud79

Have a pre-approval ready to go. It gets your offers taken a lot more serious.

Always know what you can afford and don't get roped into anything other than a standard loan, never an ARM.

Always have a home inspection and by the most respected inspector you can find. Should take them hours to do everything, not minutes.

Look at as many properties as you have time for, don't keep yourself restricted and settle on the first house you see. Don't force it, if you can't find the perfect house, don't worry about it.

Always bargain, especially in this market. There is no such thing as a low offer, offer $10-20K less than what they are asking. There are plenty of motivated sellers out there, negotiate everything. Ask for closing concessions, a home warranty, repairs, everything. The worst they can say is "no".

Get a good realtor. You are the buyer so they get paid by the seller, don't go with any realtors that charge any kind of consulting fees or anything but their standard commision.

Good luck with the purchase of a home

Lots of good advice here but I would disagree with what I bolded. In a "normal" market, you would be correct but in today's market, it is very common for there to be dozen(s) of offers on a home - many of which are well above the asking price. Yes. It is a buyers market but there are so many buyers, many are getting more than their asking price. I just went thru this helpiing my daughter buy her first home. Virtually impossible to find something nice and get it for less than the asking price. (Note: This perspective is based on the market here in southern California. Other areas of the country may be different.)

[chippewastud79]

The inspection is made after an accepted offer. There is a timeline for all of these things. I believe you have 30 days after an accepted offer to get an inspection and there are many results that can void a contract if there are any blaring problems that the seller will not fix. Inspections can also reveal problems that can be deducted from the price if the seller doesn't agree to fix them.

Originally Posted by pnoon

Lots of good advice here but I would disagree with what I bolded. In a "normal" market, you would be correct but in today's market, it is very common for there to be dozen(s) of offers on a home - many of which are well above the asking price. Yes. It is a buyers market but there are so many buyers, many are getting more than their asking price. I just went thru this helpiing my daughter buy her first home. Virtually impossible to find something nice and get it for less than the asking price. (Note: This perspective is based on the market here in southern California. Other areas of the country may be different.)

Being unfamiliar with the Southern California market, you may have gotten me on that one.

I would still hestitate to say making any offer close to the asking price is a good move. There are always room for negotiations and if there are a number of offers that drive the price over what he is willing to pay, it would be easy to walk away.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by chippewastud79

Being unfamiliar with the Southern California market, you may have gotten me on that one.

I would still hestitate to say making any offer close to the asking price is a good move. There are always room for negotiations and if there are a number of offers that drive the price over what he is willing to pay, it would be easy to walk away.

No doubt. But my point is that you will be "walking away" for a looooong time. It took us about 5 months of looking/offering before we closed the deal. Many people don't have that kind of time or are unwilling to play the waiting game.

[chippewastud79]

Originally Posted by pnoon

No doubt. But my point is that you will be "walking away" for a looooong time. It took us about 5 months of looking/offering before we closed the deal. Many people don't have that kind of time or are unwilling to play the waiting game.

I agree, buying a house is never something to be rushed. Walking away can be frustrating, but you have to do what is best for you and not settle for something as a compromise.

I wish you the best of luck. This is a very exciting time in your life, for sure, so just keep a level head and heed a lof of this good advice.

Originally Posted by bvilchez

But say for example my wife and I like a house, do we get the inspection before the offer or after?

Already working on an agent. California is FULL of them.

You do the inspection after the offer. If something pops up that concerns you, you can always get out.

We have used the same realtor for the past ten years and owe our getting into our first home to her. She is amazing and an incredibly hard worker. Seriously, we wouldn't have been able to get our first house if it wasn't for her. That won us over from the start and she's never faltered. She doesn't take a commission if you're a buyer unlike some others I've heard about. If you want her number, PM me. She works all over Southern CA.

Originally Posted by RGD.

I'm in the structural repair business and see new home owners burned on this constantly. For example one customer I'm working with just bought a home - the seller told him it needed waterproofing and held back $8000. Problem is the home not only needs $7000 in waterproofing - it also needs another $16 grand in structural repairs.

Hey Ron - We had this very same thing happen to us....because we wanted a particular house, we agreed to get some money from the sellers to fix a problem that cost WAY more to fix ($17k) than the $1,500 we got off the pricetag. So bvilchez, be careful!

Originally Posted by Smokin Gator

I would also add... don't get your heart set on anything. It is only a house. Make the offer you want to make. If they don't take it don't hesitate to walk away.

Very good advice. Tough to stick to but stick to it!

Originally Posted by chippewastud79

Have a pre-approval ready to go. It gets your offers taken a lot more serious.

Always know what you can afford and don't get roped into anything other than a standard loan, never an ARM.

Always have a home inspection and by the most respected inspector you can find. Should take them hours to do everything, not minutes. Oftentimes, your realtor (and ours did) will provide you with a very reputable inspector.

Look at as many properties as you have time for, don't keep yourself restricted and settle on the first house you see. Don't force it, if you can't find the perfect house, don't worry about it.

Always bargain, especially in this market. There is no such thing as a low offer, offer $10-20K less than what they are asking. There are plenty of motivated sellers out there, negotiate everything. Ask for closing concessions, a home warranty, repairs, everything. The worst they can say is "no".

Get a good realtor. You are the buyer so they get paid by the seller, don't go with any realtors that charge any kind of consulting fees or anything but their standard commision.

I agree with Peter that this is a buyer's market with some exceptions. Everybody is thinking that since home prices have come down some, that now is time to buy. You're not the only one thinking this, so yeah, you're right, you might enter into a bidding war. Especially if you think the home you're considering is a good one. If you think it, then it's likely somebody else out there will think so too.

But don't let that discourage you. You have the power and the choice whether or not to enter into the bidding war. We did on our first house in 2001 and won out because we didn't make demands like the other couple (they wanted the washer/dryer, fridge, etc.). Try not to make too many demands like that. Let your bid do the talking.

Be aware that Zillow gives you a rough idea but is not always accurate.

Again, if you'd like our realtor's number, just PM me. Lots of our friends have used her and have been extremely happy. Best of luck to 'ya!

[RGD.]

Originally Posted by mrreindeer

Hey Ron - We had this very same thing happen to us....because we wanted a particular house, we agreed to get some money from the sellers to fix a problem that cost WAY more to fix ($17k) than the $1,500 we got off the pricetag. So bvilchez, be careful!

Sorry to hear that happened to you. Just reinforces my point on how important it is. In the case I referenced above - guy was trying to move in before Christmas - first child is due anytime now - and when I got there the gas company was there fixing various gas leaks - a waterproofing company had started and stopped work on a sump pump system (which he didn't need) and the guy was just plain upset as one would expect. He didn't have a clue he should have had a home inspection.

Worst one few years ago - and now this couple both have Phd's so you think they would of had a clue at least - anyway, the Realtor tells them it's not bad and will only run them about $2 grand to fix. $126 thousand later after replacing three basement walls . . . .

I have a ton of stories - none of them pretty . . .

Always get a home inspection -


Ron

[yourchoice]

Originally Posted by pnoon

...it is very common for there to be dozen(s) of offers on a home - many of which are well above the asking price. Yes. It is a buyers market but there are so many buyers, many are getting more than their asking price.

Well good for you guys! In these parts, I've seen (and received) offers 10, 20 even as much as 50K less than asking (on a 350K +/- home). Firsthand, I don't remember seeing anything above asking for a long while. I'm not a realtor, but in the real estate business (new home builder).

Good luck in finding the home you want...there should be plenty from which to choose.

[MikeyC]

Originally Posted by yourchoice

Well good for you guys! In these parts, I've seen (and received) offers 10, 20 even as much as 50K less than asking (on a 350K +/- home). Firsthand, I don't remember seeing anything above asking for a long while. I'm not a realtor, but in the real estate business (new home builder).

Good luck in finding the home you want...there should be plenty from which to choose.

It really does vary quite a bit from state to state and even town to town. In the area I work there are still multiple offer situations on occassion. Most of the towns I work in are the most desired towns in the state. Many people would sell their 1st born so to speak to live in some of these locations. So, they've held their value quite well. Some of these towns until quite recently were experiencing increases in value while values in the rest of the country were declining steadily.

Always remember the top 3 rules in real estate:

1. Location
2. LOCATION
3. LOCATION!!!!

Always buy in the most desirable town you can afford (buy a smaller home if you have to). Never buy near power lines, on a busy street, near a highway, or generally in what would be considered a "bad" location. As I mentioned, real estate should be considered an investment and if you buy in a "good" location your home will sell faster and retain more value in a down market and appreciate faster in an up market.

Originally Posted by MikeyC

Always remember the top 3 rules in real estate:

1. Location
2. LOCATION
3. LOCATION!!!!

Seems obvious but don't be fooled by that 'great deal' beside the railroad tracks.

[bvilchez]

Originally Posted by pnoon

In a "normal" market, you would be correct but in today's market, it is very common for there to be dozen(s) of offers on a home - many of which are well above the asking price. Yes. It is a buyers market but there are so many buyers, many are getting more than their asking price. I just went thru this helpiing my daughter buy her first home. Virtually impossible to find something nice and get it for less than the asking price. (Note: This perspective is based on the market here in southern California. Other areas of the country may be different.)

Funny thing happened. I called to inquire about a house that my wife wanted to go and see. The asking price is $250k but one of the first things the listing agent stated was that they have offers as high as $308.

So then a question I ask myself is why have they not closed on this deal yet? Are you trying to talk me out of making an offer or trying to get me to bid higher? I may have never bought a house before but I wasn't born yesterday either.

My next question to everyone (especially the realtor BOTLs) will be military help with ta VA loan in today's economy? I'm not gettting laid off or will be losing my job until I retire (which is no time soon). Shouldn't the sellers and the banks see that as a solid individual?