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- Thread starter jlb1705
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Taosman;2116424; said:
The only time things have really been better is when the $8000 first time home buyer credit was being offered on top of low prices and interests rates. That may even be out the window with the current prices and rates.
As far as inspections go, make sure that your inspection company is reputable and will stand behind their inspection. By that I mean that they will be financially accountable for mistakes that may be made if they miss something. Make sure they will go on the roof, as some won't. Your big price repairs are your water heater, your furnace, your fuse box, and your roof. If it is a crawl space, have them pull the insulation under bathrooms and the kitchen to check for leaks and rot. If it has a basement, check the sump pump and ensure that it has a battery backup. Look for signs of a previously wet basement. Be there at the time of inspection and ask questions as they go. Make sure they take pictures of anything that you want to claim for repairs. A Radon inspection is important as is a termite inspection and normally part of the deal.
Some homes offer a home owner warranty I have found that these aren't worth the paper they are written on and don't really cover much. Check it to see what it actually covers. Does it cover the furnace? They tend to sound nice though during the deal.
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Mac
That's a pain in the buns
One thing I learned, and thought was great. Look at the weather forecast when setting up your inspection. Try and schedule for a rainy day. That way when the inspection is done, they can check for roof leaks, etc while DOING the inspection, and it won't be a surprise later. We were lucky enough to have a downpour just before ours this past summer
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muffler dragon
Bien. Bien chiludo.
buckeyebri;2116426; said:
They're not. Absolutely worthless. Do not buy one.
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buxfan4life
The future's so bright, I've gotta wear... shades.
muffler dragon;2116478; said:
A thousand times this.^^^^ Had a buddy of mine that spent money on one that he thought covered mechanical stuff when he bought his first home, but when his AC compressor went out 2 weeks after closing, he had to pay 100% of the replacement because of some stupid little clause in the warranty he bought. Basically flushed that money down the drain.
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muffler dragon
Bien. Bien chiludo.
buxfan4life;2116480; said:
My last agent (who was trying to Short Sell my house) said that she doesn't see how it's not publicized as a scam. The amount of minutiae in the write-ups makes it pert-near impossible that the buyer will ever get a cent of assistance.
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muffler dragon;2116478; said:
Hell, my seller threw one in to close the deal. (The reason? I think, IIRC, dude was moving into a condo, so, I asked him to throw in his lawn mowers, Snow blower, chipper, and various and sundry yard tools, which he agreed to, but, had forgot he promised his son the chipper, so bought the policy instead, and I was like, "yeah, fine, whatever" -- of course, my response if he had called me back and said, "Hey AKAK, I forgot I promised the chipper to my son." I would have said, "yeah, fine whatever")
Oh, yeah, it was worthless. I wish he had saved his money.
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Our bank owned home forced us to choose no coverage or buy our own.
Despite a dead garage door and dying heat-pump (which probably means replacing the old furnace too), I don't regret passing on one.
Everything we read said that they aren't worth the money (we had to pay for it upfront plus a deductible).
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buckeyebri;2116426; said:
Yeah, we're getting what seems to be a great deal on our loan. As of yesterday, a 30-year fixed rate FHA loan at 3.75%, and we're getting a 1% lender credit that basically cancels out the origination fee.
I'm definitely not passing up the inspection, and we're hiring the same guy we used on the house we tried to buy a year ago. He's extremely thorough, he goes on the roof, in the attic, in any crawlspaces, etc. The house we tried to buy a year ago fell thru due to problems he found with an addition. He moved belongings in the basement, removed plastic sheeting and other coverings just to access the crawl space for the addition, and found that the area had not been excavated. There was no clearance, earth touching the structure, evidence of termite damage, improper structure and possible mold. We backed out right away, and the old folks that were selling the house were either going to put it back on the market as-is at a reduced price or have the work done. It's still on the market at the original asking price, so I'm guessing they had the work done, which was going to involve tearing out the floor, excavating the crawlspace, remediating the mold and shoring up the structure.
For now, it appears that we're lucking out with these sellers. They have kept meticulous records and do not appear to have deffered any maintenence at any point. They've made the receipts available for HVAC, roof, windows, water heater, basement waterproofing, etc - all of it has been replaced in the last nine years. I'm going to have my guy looking at that stuff anyway, but it's a good sign at least.
The inspection is scheduled for Monday, no indication of rain that day unfortunately. However, the grading around the foundation is good and appears to lend itself to proper drainage. Most encouraging though is the fact that the house is still occupied and they are storing valuables along the walls and under the basement windows - usually a good sign since people would tend to move their stuff away from problem areas if they had water coming in.
Finally, it's interesting to see all of the comments about home warranties. That's good to know. That's one of the considerations that we asked for during the negotiations and they agreed to it. At least if it's crap we're not the ones paying for it, and we got pretty much ever consideration we wanted to it's not like we sacrificed something to get it. We'll just have to be aware that it's a potential issue and be prepared to pay for an early repair ourselves should something go wrong.
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southcampus
Go Bucks
30 years @ 3.75%!?!? 
your banker into drugs?
You're going to love bragging about that rate in 5 years or so.
your banker into drugs?You're going to love bragging about that rate in 5 years or so.
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buxfan4life
The future's so bright, I've gotta wear... shades.
southcampus;2116784; said:30 years @ 3.75%!?!?
You're going to love bragging about that rate in 5 years or so.
Actually, that is the going rate for good credit with FHA right now, and the reason I decided to buy a house again (been almost 6 years since I sold the last, so I qualified again
). I think they are trying to kick-start the market.
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southcampus
Go Bucks
buxfan4life;2116905; said:Actually, that is the going rate for good credit with FHA right now, and the reason I decided to buy a house again (been almost 6 years since I sold the last, so I qualified again
That's like free money. Five years from now when the economy is going gangbusters and interest rates are around 6% for highly qualified buyers you'll be pretty pumped about that rate, if you aren't already.
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Park National Bank was offering a first time home buyer's credit when we purchased our home 12 months ago. It basically knocked off about half a percentage point, which got us down around 4% over 30 instead of 4.7ish
As an avid deal hunter, I am never going to be able to buy another home. House dropped $20k the day we visited, after the bank came in and replaced the carpet, paint, small appliances, etc.. We gambled and offered 17k under the asking price, which was already a great deal. Then toss the interest rate in and I am never moving.
As an avid deal hunter, I am never going to be able to buy another home. House dropped $20k the day we visited, after the bank came in and replaced the carpet, paint, small appliances, etc.. We gambled and offered 17k under the asking price, which was already a great deal. Then toss the interest rate in and I am never moving.
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