anyone with house buying experience

[chargerman68]

needing advice and knowledge on purchasing a house....how what why and all the things between

i am looking to buy a foreclosed house from a bank....with my VA loan is 100% with no money down..the house was org 500,000 how they are selling for under 200,000.is there any hidden costs...

also is there yearly fees,taxes and such that i would have to pay for every year.......

looking for any help...never done this before....

thanks

later


any ex-military or active guys have every done this please share the info....

[Todd Wilson]

Theres the usual closing costs on a house. Got to pay the bank and the mortgage insurance and title work. Inspections have to be done on the house. Insurance will most likely want to come out and look at it.

You will have to pay your property tax every year. You will have to pay for your home owners insurance every year. You can get a loan and only pay principle and interest to the bank for the house but you got to save all thru the year to pay your taxes and insurance.   Or you can get a loan that has all this rolled into one big payment and the bank takes care of paying your tax and insurance every year. Your monthly payment will be a lot more but you wont get into trouble later.  I have had so many friends go out and buy a big fancy house and make a principle and interest only payment  and then at the end of the year they got to cough up thousands for taxes and insurance. Sometimes getting themselves in a jam over it because they didnt save and had no means to come up with the $$$$$.


Get a fixed rate loan so you dont get a surprise later when interest rates go up. Lots of people buy too much house on a variable rate loan and suddenly their payment gets out of hand as the interest rates go up.

Your house payment will fluctuate every year as your escrow account changes. If your taxes or insurance goes up and down your monthly payment is gonna change on you a few dollars if you cant make an escrow payment.


Todd

[chargerman68]

i will be getting a fixed rate....is that good

[PocketThunder]

I am on house #4.  Be sure to check and make sure there are no second or third mortages on the property that might come up.  Otherwise its pretty simple like Todd said.  Its nice to escrow the taxes and insurance that way you dont have to worry about coughing up the extra money twice a year.
Good luck and more importantly........... how big is the garage?...? !!!   

Paul
in Minnetonka

[chargerman68]

Good luck and more importantly........... how big is the garage?...? !!!   

Paul
in Minnetonka

3 CAR.......

[chargerman68]

is there a house buying for dummies book

im totally off my head on this

i dont just want to trust the realtor    its like the recruiters  they say what u want to hear and not what u need to hear...

[Todd Wilson]

is there a house buying for dummies book

im totally off my head on this

i dont just want to trust the realtor    its like the recruiters  they say what u want to hear and not what u need to hear...

If you dont trust the realtor then you should find another one. They should be your best friend through all this.


Todd

[chargerman68]

is there a house buying for dummies book

im totally off my head on this

i dont just want to trust the realtor    its like the recruiters  they say what u want to hear and not what u need to hear...

If you dont trust the realtor then you should find another one. They should be your best friend through all this.


Todd

i just want to know all the facts and hidden things

[ITSA426]

You should have you own real estate agent, representing your interests. 

The agent for the house is the seller's agent and is obligated to represent the seller's interests.  They are bound by ethical codes and law but if there is only one agent he or she gets the entire commission and really only wants to close the sale.  A term like "dual agency" means one agent represents the seller and the buyer.

If you have your own agent they split the selling commission and you have your own advocate.  Don't be afraid to interview several agents to find one you're comfortable with. 

All this is true only if you haven't yet signed a purchase agreement.  You can also use a lawyer to represent your interests.  You should probably consult one to answer most of the questions you're gonna have.

[PocketThunder]

One thing the realtors never tell you about is the state deed tax.  You dont see this fee show up until you get the settlement statement, so make sure you get a copy of the settlement statement from your closer before the day you close so that you can go thru it and make sure every number is right and all the fee's are correct.

[440AirForce]

needing advice and knowledge on purchasing a house....how what why and all the things between

i am looking to buy a foreclosed house from a bank....with my VA loan is 100% with no money down..the house was org 500,000 how they are selling for under 200,000.is there any hidden costs...

also is there yearly fees,taxes and such that i would have to pay for every year.......

looking for any help...never done this before....

thanks

later


any ex-military or active guys have every done this please share the info....

Also remember there are differences in VA financing than with civilian lenders (in most cases in the  veteran's favor).  I'm buying a house now, and am stressed as hell.  Did you have to pay out of pocket for your earnest money, or did the VA put the money up front?

[NHCharger]

You should have you own real estate agent, representing your interests.  They are bound by ethical codes

I built houses for twenty years. One thing I quickly learned, real estate agents have no ethics. Real estate laws will differ from state to state. Here in NH the buyer and seller are supposed to get the closing statement 24 hours before closing. I had a couple of closings delayed because the buyers realtor had not given their clients (the buyers) the closing statement until the closing and the buyers were shocked at all the closing costs they were responsible for.
If you already have zeroed in on a house you don't need a realtor who's looking for 2 or 3 %. Contact a couple of real estate attorney's, get some prices from them for their services.
As mentioned above besides your monthly mortgage payment you will have insurance and property taxes to pay for. If you live in the city on municipal water and sewer you will have a water and sewer bill, usually billed quarterly.
Make sure you have a title search done. It will show any liens, attachments, easements, etc. When I bought my land in 1998 a title search reveled an easement for the farmers to herd their cows and livestock down the cow path to the pond two miles behind my land. The cow path went directly through the spot I was planning on building my house. The farmers, cows and livestock have been gone for 50 years but I couldn't get title insurance until I cleared the easement.
Also, make sure you get title insurance. it's a one shot cost, mine was around $400. If there are any problems after you buy the house regarding prior ownership, property line setbacks, etc., the title insurance will pay all the costs.

[chargerman68]

thanks all


as far as the va they will pay 100% and a fixed rate of 6.9 for 30yrs....with no money down

[JPL]

Just a few real estate investment pointers:

1) Get a lawyer
2) Do a title search
3) Fixed mortgage
4) Location, location, location
5) Buy low, sell high
6) Cash is king

Other major house factors:
Age, sq ft, acreage, furnace, shingles, foundation, water leakage, don't buy the smallest house on the block, but don't buy the biggest either, and try to find out how many owners the house has had, ie 2 owners in 25 years = good, 7 owners in 10 years = bad.
Just my $0.02

[BMOTOXSTAR]

Make sure there are no liens on the house. From work they could have done and not paid for. We were going to buy one at Sherif's Sale but it had like $60,000 in liens owed on the house from various contarctors that did not get paid.

[JPL]

Make sure there are no liens on the house. From work they could have done and not paid for. We were going to buy one at Sherif's Sale but it had like $60,000 in liens owed on the house from various contarctors that did not get paid.

A good title search will flush that out.

[derailed]

thanks all


as far as the va they will pay 100% and a fixed rate of 6.9 for 30yrs....with no money down

6.9 seems pretty high for right now. Im still seeing low 5s in my area in NY even with the housing market crash. You may want to shop around a bit.

[68charger383]

Anthony, if you have the time, at least 30 days before you need to close, check out the Pentagon Federal FCU. They have the best rates, do loans all over US and are geared for the military. Plus you have 90 days to lock in your rate, so if rates get better during the process time.....

https://www.penfed.org

[chargerman68]

Anthony, if you have the time, at least 30 days before you need to close, check out the Pentagon Federal FCU. They have the best rates, do loans all over US and are geared for the military. Plus you have 90 days to lock in your rate, so if rates get better during the process time.....

https://www.penfed.org

oh i will look into that.....

[Lifsgrt]

That's a pretty significant drop from $500k to <$200k...what's up with that?  Be sure and check the area...is it in the flood plane? Sink holes in the area?

[chargerman68]

That's a pretty significant drop from $500k to <$200k...what's up with that?  Be sure and check the area...is it in the flood plane? Sink holes in the area?

well its a foreclosed home that is the list price i will try to talk down some more....there are over 100 listing just in this area.the bank wants these gone....

[chargerman68]

heres a pic of the one we are looking at...

[chargerman68]

are main issues are the taxes,fees,closing costs,and all the other hidden things i know nothing about....


the Realtor states that there are no closing costs but there is at least something i would have to pay for (am i right or does it mean no closing costs i dont have to pay for anything)

[NHCharger]

the Realtor states that there are no closing costs but there is at least something i would have to pay for (am i right or does it mean no closing costs i dont have to pay for anything)

If it's a bank foreclosure it is possible that the bank will cover all the closing costs. Anything the realtor tells you, you should get in writing with the realtors signature on the bottom.
Find out from the realtor if a title search is being done and make sure to ask about title insurance. If the realtor says you don't need either then that shows the realtor is only interested in their commission, not your best interests.
This is the biggest investment you'll probably ever make. Don't let some "salesperson" tell you what you want to hear.
In case you haven't noticed, I don't trust realtors.

[twenty mike mike]

The realtor might not know whether or not there are any closing costs, unless they're in tight with the bank...but you need to hear that from the bank directly.

Do you have your VA Certificate of Eligibility? You'll need a statement of service from your CO to get that.

There will probably be points on the loan, which is essentially an up-front interest charge.

For example, NFCU has 6.5% loans with .5 (one half of one percent) point, and a 6.999% APR. Because your loan amount is around $200 Grand, it's "conforming" rather than "jumbo." So around San Diego, 6.9 APR isn't all that bad. Make sure the rate quoted is APR, not just the basic rate.

You need to talk to a rep from the bank, who will cover all this in detail. Have you been qualified for the loan? You might even try to get a 100% loan without using your VA...sounds like they're desperate to dump the house, so be sure to float that idea. Unless every house on the block is being sold at fire sale prices, the comparables in the area should give you excess equity to make the bank feel good. Find out if the house has recently been appraised and at what price, so you'll know what your equity will be, if any.

CA requires all property sales to have a title search, so don't sweat that other to find out whether you pay for that or the seller does. As part of your price negotiations, make sure the seller pays for all fees, title, loan, appraisal, closing costs, whatever.

How much longer will you be in the San Diego area? Given the market, you don't want to get saddled with a house that you can't sell in a couple of years.

What part of town is that, Chula Vista? Since you have children, you need to take the quality of schools into account, as well. Their reputation is not impressive south of I-8.

You don't need a frikkin lawyer to handle this deal. CA has very rigid consumer protection laws and no real estate maggot or lender wants to lose his/her license. In a typical real estate office, one person holds the license and there are a bunch of agents drumming up business. Whatever the agent writes up will be reviewed by the boss.