First time home buyer advice?

[Tazicket]

I would say to have the title search done before you pay for any inspections or appraisals. We didn't think about it and our lender waited until the appraisal ($325) and inspection ($425) were done before he ordered the title search. The title search ($55 cancellation fee) showed a major problem 2 days before closing, the house had several liens on it and it was currently being foreclosed on . Needless to say, we didn't get the house and are now suing the sellers for the costs we are out plus we can't get our earnest money until everything is settled. We were also advised to turn on the utilities because we were ready to go, thought they were too, (the sellers had turned everything completely off so we couldn't just tranfer service) and it would take a few days for the utility companies to make it out, so we're out the nonrefundable connection fees for those too. They straight up lied, both on the disclosure and throughout the sales process, and had conviniently moved out of state and became very difficult for our agent to get in touch with.

We've learned from our experience, we will definitely be using a lawyer when we do decide to buy. Our buyers agent was great until the problem came up and we decided to walk. Then she started getting really pushy and kept asking us to wait a couple more days and it would be settled. Well we waited about 2 weeks, until the 27th and then walked. We had to be out of our place by the 1st and couldn't wait any longer. She then tried to get my DH to sign a release "to get our earnest money back." Guess she thought I wouldn't read it, but I did and good thing too. It was a release for the money and relieved all parties of any liability (ummm no, I want our $800+ back). She then said it could have all been avoided if we would have just bought the house.

What a nightmare! I hope everything works out for you guys. What a blessing that you read before signing the release!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Use an exclusive BUYER AGENT. You want someone looking out for your interests, not the seller's. You can get a referral here:

http://www.naeba.org/

 

[Nascia]

Use an exclusive BUYER AGENT. You want someone looking out for your interests, not the seller's. You can get a referral here:

http://www.naeba.org/

I would definitely second a buyer's agent. Just make sure to interview a few of them and go with the one that fits you best. I would also have a lawyer look over any and all papers you sign, even if the buyer's agent gives them to you. Most standard forms aren't set up to protect the buyer.

I would also check out the mortgage forum at www.creditboards.com. There are a lot of mortgage professions on there and they provided with us with so much invaluable information. They are a great resource.

**Tazicket - it was bad, talk about stress, urg. I'm am so mad at our agent now. I can't believe she tried to pull that over on us, after I told her who our lawyer was and that we were definitely suing. We're leaning on building a modular house in the next 2 years. We thought about it before, but this failed transaction was icing on the cake.

 

[phillybeth]

If you are a union member, check your benefits. You probably have access to free or low cost legal services. We used a 'union' lawyer (actually a law firm retained by the union)- she reviewed all the documents and contracts and was also there for the walk-through and settlement.

 

[NemoMOm]

Do not expect that your realtor has your best interest at heart. Only you do. No offense to any realtors (and I'm sure there are exceptions but how do you know?) we've have had some PAINFUL experiences( even from some of the big name realtor co's) at the hands of realtors cause we were young and inexperienced. At the end of the day remember they work on commission so they just want you to buy a house.

 

[budbeerlady]

Read the fine print on everything, like others have said! Everything you inital, sign, whatever, read it and then read it again!

 

[lady_hlh]

My friend and her DD bought a 2 bedroom, 1 bath house a few years back because it was just going to be their starter home. I warned her that she was going to regret buying something this small. Of course now they can't afford to buy another house and are stuck in 900 sq. ft. with their toddler. So I would say that you want to make sure that whatever you buy would be OK for your family for a pretty long time. The best thing our buyers agent did was to make us realize that we should spend an extra 20,000 to get a bigger house with another bathroom.