1st Time Home buyers..what to look for?

[onecoolmama]

I know you look at the layout of the house, the price, all the specs you want...but what do you look for behind the features?

For example, we are looking for a traditional stlye house, not older then 7 years, at least 4 beds, 2.5 baths with a basement..and a two story foyer.

Is there underlying things that we need to look out for...or is that all done by the FHA appraiser?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Beauty]

We actually hired our own appraiser so that we would know he was working for us. He went through the house and wrote down everything he found wrong, he wrote down the age of the sewage, air condition units, roof, everything and he was very reasonable. He was also very specific for example one little light didn't work on the stairs and he wrote that down, ummmm the stopper in one of the bathrooms needed replacing and he wrote that down. He was very very thourough and it was the best $500 we spent. Of course I don't know how much they are elsewhere and I tend to live in the worst state in the union so everything is probably cheaper here.

 

[rae519]

BE very careful if, after you find a house to buy, that the house inspector is held accountable/liable for what he finds or doesn't find. Ours slipped out of his very well worded contract and we were stuck for several costly repairs that he "overlooked".

Just be VERY CAREFUL!

Rae

 

[peg2001]

Talk to the neighbors!! First, you want to be sure you don't move in next door to someone you couldn't stand, plus, they can often give you the low down on what problems the previous owner had.

We thought we did everything right before we bought our first house. We looked for a couple years (we weren't in any hurry). When we found one we liked, we had a well respected home inspector look things over and he wrote a very detailed report. We used this report to get a reduction in price.

Here's the problem, that we found out well after we closed and moved in: despite the fact that the land slopes away from the house, water intrudes into the living space during very wet weather. Now we are facing very expensive remedies to correct this problem. The neighbors have since commented on all the water problems the previous owners had. We kick ourselves that we did not talk to them before buying.

Learn from our mistake!
Peggy

 

[DD2Disney]

Never never never buy a house where someone still lives! We learned the hard way 6 months later and atleast 3 court appearances she was still allowed to stay until she wanted to leave. Owners rights (at least in Rhode Island) are horrible. I agree about talking to the neighbors too. Unfortunately we don't have the best but they moved in after us so I don't know what that would have helped.

 

[chager]

I don't know if anything like DD2Disney described can happen here or not becuase it is usually in the contract when the seller has to move by. I know if the house is a rental that is being sold then it can get touchy because of renters rights. I also agree with talking to neighbors and would add visit the area at different times of the day/night.I would suggest paying attention to walls for cracks and such. Also look under sinks for water damage or signs of leaks. (Buckets full of water are a good indicator ) Look at the carpet along the walls for signs of trouble too. Talk to the neighbors. Painted basement walls can be a sign of trouble, and if it is a finished basement with a meter in it..make sure you can get to it. (The person that bought the house we were looking at several years ago had this problem. The meter was completely walled over and the only solution was to tear out a wall!! So glad we didn't buy the house.) Talk to the neighbors. My parents pointed out the fact the chimney was going to need repaired on the house next to theirs. The chimney is seperating from the house and if it falls it will hit mom and dad's house!! Ummm....what else Check for cracks around the windows and in basement walls. Pay attention to patios and outside steps. Are they level? Does it look like they are seperating from the house? Make sure all the doors open and shut smoothly, including closets. Did I mention ..talk to the neighbors? (Another mom and dad story...they told the buyers that the windows had been left open during recent rainstorms and about the dogs doing their business in the house. The previous neighbors were very much well loved, they were elderly and had severe health problems in the last few months of their lives. Their SIL however was selling the house after they passed and he was a ...bleep...!! ) Try to look behind furniture. Big things can hide big issues. Check for the number of outlets and phone jacks too. Can make a difference. Above all if you don't really like the house keep going. I always had fun looking at houses...actually I still do Also check out building new. In our area it actually worked out in our favor to just build vs buying an already built house. Ok I've probably said enough.
Oh one last thing....Talk with the neighbors

 

[elgerber]

All of the above are good tips. I can tell you though, that if you are getting an FHA mortgage, FHA appraisers are very thorough. There is a list of things they must check and the FHA underwriters are very picky to make sure things are up to par. We had a loan last month, where the FHA appraiser required the garbage disposal to be replaced, because he thought it was too noisy.

Erika

 

[battricia]

If there is wall paper PLEASE make sure you check it, if it looks like it might be coming down, this could be a bad sign. My boyfriend bought a house in april, and I moved in in september, we wanted to repaint the kitchen, and as soon as we started taking down the wall paper (which was already coming down) the whole wall & drywall just crumbled underneath. Apparently there was a leak where water was coming in through that wall and they must have fixed the leak, but decided to just put up wall paper to cover the wall rather than replace the wall and insulation. A week later, and hours apon hours of work, (remember we were just planning on PAINTING) we had ripped down the wall, removed all the nasty, moldy insulation, and installed a nice new wall and insulation, which was a huge mess. I'd suggest that when you get there, take into consideration all the things you want to DO, such as wall paper removal, new carpeting, etc. Write it down and see how much this would cost you, and see if it's worth it in the long run to spend as much as they are asking for the house, and additionally how much it would cost for you to fix all of the things you feel need to be fixed. I don't mean to give you a horror story, but just be cautious, and make sure it's something you REALLY love. Hope these ideas help.

tricia.

 

[mrsv98]

Make sure you have all the "big" items checked. That includes: furnace/ac, hot water heater, roof, basement for leaks, plumbing, etc. Don't worry too much about the look of the place, you can always, and will probably want to redecorate, but these other things can add up to thousands of dollars quickly.

We bought a 30 yo house 3 yrs ago and since then have replaced all the appliances, 90% of the carpeting (they smoked in the house ) the heating and ac system, the roof and the siding. Now, we have been very lucky in that a friend of my dad's did the heat/ac for a very reasonable price and we are re-couping the cost very quickly in energy bills that are literally 50% lower than before. Also, our area was hit by a massive hail storm last July so insurance paid for the roof/siding/gutters. But still we have put a lot of money in the house in a short period of time. The next big project is new windows and vinyl wrap for the facias and trim...ouch!

DH's sister is an attorney who does a lot of real estate law. She told us to use our own inspector, not one that is recommended by a realtor, but it was fine to use an attorney they suggested. You want the inspector to be looking out for you, and the attorney to get the deal done.

Have fun looking!

 

[rae519]

Originally posted by peg2001
Talk to the neighbors!!
despite the fact that the land slopes away from the house, water intrudes into the living space during very wet weather. Now we are facing very expensive remedies to correct this problem. The neighbors have since commented on all the water problems the previous owners had. We kick ourselves that we did not talk to them before buying.

Learn from our mistake!
Peggy

Ditto here!
Indiana law gives them 30 days to vacate after closing, and they took all 30 days to leave. Two days later when we moved in, there was a storm and we learned that the land behind ours (field) drains through our property - and in fact, took out the gravel driveway and came through the garage where our stuff was stored!!

Unreal the expense involved in rerouting the natural flow of water and getting another driveway put in.

Would you like to know what the previous owners said, "Oh, that never happened to us!" RIGHT!

Yes, find out everything first because the only fool is the one who doesn't ask the questions!!! crazy: )

Rae

 

[onecoolmama]

Thank you so much for all the advice! The house that had all of my features, was a two story foyer, community pool and tennis courts and it was built in 2001 and closer to shopping. However, the realtor told us it was a preforcloser. Apparently, it is good becuase they are desperate, but since DH and I know nothing about fixing anything, (we would have to call a plumber to fix our garbage disposal) we might just buy new. Plus we are relocating (we hope) and the fact that we could buy a brand new vacant house, might be better since DH will more then likely have to live in a furnished extend a stay for a while.

Talking to neighbors is a great idea...plus that will help me see if I am interested in living in that neighborhood. I am looking for a neighborhood full of kids. I never had that growing up and I really want my kids to have that. In my neighborhood now..all the parents are about 15 years older then me and the kids are about 10 years older then mine. So I am looking for a younger community I guess.

I am going to make a list from this board and go down with it so I remember everything. If I can pick your brains one more time (better then picking other body parts ) what do I look for in an attic? All of the homes that I have seen have them and a couple had two...so what is it I should look for in those?

One final question...I am a pretty invovled mom. I take my kids to My Gym, Gymboree, I am the room mom for my son's preschool, I go to the gym...all of these cost money. I really would like to have a community pool. Do you think the HOA is worth it, if I do all these other activites?

Thanks for all the advice thus far...it is really informative!

 

[bananiem]

Check out the schools in the area. You can cross some areas off your list just by doing that. When you do find a house make sure that it's in a district that you want your children to be attending. I'm surprised how many people don't do that and then complain about their child's schooling.

 

[Robinrs]

Originally posted by bananiem
Check out the schools in the area. You can cross some areas off your list just by doing that. When you do find a house make sure that it's in a district that you want your children to be attending. I'm surprised how many people don't do that and then complain about their child's schooling.

I couldn't agree more!! My son was 3 when I bought my house and it was such a deal I didn't even consider it. A few years later I checked the schools and they were abysmal! I sold the house and moved to the best area in my county but couldn't afford the housing because it was near a half million. I moved into an apartment in the area and it was a great move to get him into this excellent district.

Great advice on this thread. Take your time, this is a major investment in your life! Everyone here is telling you about the mistakes they made because they don't want you to make the same ones.

 

[onecoolmama]

Schools was my first concern. I had to be in an school that had test scores of 90% or higher. So the realtor printed out all the schools and there ranks. I found houses based on that. I am using a buyers agent..becuase the idea that the Realtor is solely looking out for me appeals to me.

Again, thanks for all the help...and if others or yourselves think of anything else..all advice is welcomed!

 

[iamsorcerermickey]

Make sure you check the water pressure in each area that has sinks/showers. Try to inspect the house on windy/cold days so that you can see if any of the windows/doors leak. Just because they are fairly new does not mean a thing, we were told that the windows/doors were under warranty--NOT. Be careful of any paneling that is up. When we took the paneling down in various rooms there were holes galore in the walls along with beer bottles. Also, if there is any type of drop ceilings, be sure to check up there. We had a slow leak which we did not find out about until after the coffee can they had placed up there overflowed and ruined the ceiling tiles/electrical. Also, for your own protection--even if they claim they never flooded, be sure to get an ace in the hole for back-up. They assured us they never had any problems--we flooded.

Oh--and by the way--we had a house inspector come out. This is the stuff he did not catch.

Also, check out the neighborhood, are there kids playing together outside. Talk with neighbors, get a feel for the area, ask about the schools too.

The schools are very important if there are kids involved. We have only 14 houses on our street. Of which 4 houses have kids which go to the grade school in our area. Believe it or not the school has 3 kids out of the 4 houses on Ritalin (sp?) would have been 4 but we refused.

 

[rae519]

Good point, aimsorcerermickey, and we found out that their addition to the house was NOT insulated, only covered with the cedar siding! It was not only cold in the winter, but brought a strong breeze through into the family room. When we finally to replace the windows (they leaked!) and siding, we found out that there was minimal insulation around the entire house. We remedied that!!

You'd think a house that was under 10 years old would be better constructed, but again, buyer beware.

One of the points my DH made was that when you look at a house, you tend to look at the floor plan and not the construction - and often you get "rushed" by your realtor to get through your look-see - but don't be pressured, he will get his commission regardless of how long it takes you to make your decision and he will take no responsibility if anything is wrong later - so take your time!

It took a lot of us a lot of money and pain to get this "wisdom", so please know we are on your side in this and we want the best for you and your family!

Rae