Help!!!! First time home buyer in Cali

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!