Question for the homeowners...

[IndieQueen001]

Have a question...

The hubby and I have 6 months left in our apartment lease. We want to buy a house but don''t know when to start looking. Do we need to start now or closer to the lease end? Opinions please

 

[sevens one]

start now- it can''t hurt.
It will give you a feel for what''s out there.

You''ll need time to research schools, areas etc.
It''s nice to tour a lot of homes too.
Have fun.

 

[koko]

I''d start now.....I have a friend here in Atlanta that was in your exact situation. She found such a good deal that it was worth it to pay & get out of her lease. The house she bought ended up having 5 back-up contracts on it!! It''s never too soon to start looking for a "steal of a deal" in a sluggish housing market with low interest rates!![$$)]

 

[Mara]

Exactly re: getting out of the lease...if you find something you can always buy your way out of the lease..I''d rather find the house we want to be in long-term and pay a bit to get out of a lease if necessary....chances are it may take a few months to find a house or place to buy and then you''d be near the end anyhow...usually if they can find someone else to take your place, they will not bill you to break the lease, depending on the state. Good luck!

 

[Kaleigh]

Ditto what everyone else said.

 

[IndieQueen001]

We actually went looking at a few homes earlier today... whoa.. we''ve got our work cut out for us! It''s funny how different our tastes are. Of the 6 houses we looked at, I like 2 of them. Of course my husband hated the ones that i liked. I can see that this is gonna be very nerve racking (but hopefully worth it

)

 

[sevens one]

It''s an exciting time in your life. You will need to both compromise to make it work.
so even more reason to start now- you''ve got to find that middle ground.

 

[IndieQueen001]

Sevens... not to get off topic but where is your signature from? I can almost picture the movie it came from and it''s right on the tip of my tongue, but i can''t place it.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 10/16/2005 9:16:30 PM
Author: IndieQueen001
Sevens... not to get off topic but where is your signature from? I can almost picture the movie it came from and it's right on the tip of my tongue, but i can't place it.

I don't believe I ever heard it, but I have always found it fascinating. I think I just let my imagination make the dialogue into a movie scene in my head! I'd like to know, too. Oh..and I agree with everyone who answered you on when to look for a house! Look now. Look early. Look a lot!

Deb

 

[sevens one]

Date: 10/16/2005 9:16:30 PM
Author: IndieQueen001
Sevens... not to get off topic but where is your signature from? I can almost picture the movie it came from and it''s right on the tip of my tongue, but i can''t place it.

here''s a hint

 

[AGBF]

Date: 10/16/2005 10:19:17 PM
Author: sevens one

Date: 10/16/2005 9:16:30 PM

Author: IndieQueen001

Sevens... not to get off topic but where is your signature from? I can almost picture the movie it came from and it''s right on the tip of my tongue, but i can''t place it.

here''s a hint

Darn! I never saw, "Seinfeld"!!!

Deb

 

[flutterby]

I would start looking now! Depending on where you are you need to get pre-approved to even look at places. We are moving to LA in march, and have already been preapproved and put on interest lists on condos. The more time you have the better, but as I said it really depends where you are. We live in Chicago and in January sold our condo (investment property) in 3 weeks, but some new developments take longer to sell. Regardless, it never hurts to get out there and look at what your options are.

deb, you NEVER saw Seinfeld? really?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I think it depends on where you live (how fast the market moves) We had one month of double payments (rent and morgage) but it was worth it because we loved our house. Most closings are 30 days (some people do 45 days but it depends on your seller) some sellers work a certain date into their contract (to make sure THEY don''t have to pay double payments) It''s actually really hard to plan. It''s never too soon though to decide what you like in a house, the area, the cost (and get pre-approved it will make you are more desirable buyer and move things along faster) Many banks (do you have a Wachovia?) give you the first two months w/o payments if you do your morgage through their bank. (sorry if this is all too much information but my FI buys real estate for a living so I have absorbed a lot)

 

[IndieQueen001]

Sevens... now I can place it.. thank you.

Also, we were pre-approved with Bank of America but I wasn''t very happy with their rate. I am a member of a credit union also, so we''re going to get pre-approved there, too.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

call a morgage broker. Their job is to find you the best deal.

 

[flutterby]

Date: 10/16/2005 11:02:51 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
I think it depends on where you live (how fast the market moves) We had one month of double payments (rent and morgage) but it was worth it because we loved our house. Most closings are 30 days (some people do 45 days but it depends on your seller) some sellers work a certain date into their contract (to make sure THEY don''t have to pay double payments) It''s actually really hard to plan. It''s never too soon though to decide what you like in a house, the area, the cost (and get pre-approved it will make you are more desirable buyer and move things along faster) Many banks (do you have a Wachovia?) give you the first two months w/o payments if you do your morgage through their bank. (sorry if this is all too much information but my FI buys real estate for a living so I have absorbed a lot)

Tacori,
you are like my twin.... your from WI, our fiances are in RE (mine is in commercial investments), and of course we have gorgeous rings with colored gemstones

 

[Mara]

That''s another good point re having to wait...when we bought our place it was a new townhouse and it was 4 months from when we signed the deposit to when we moved in...so if you find something that is new then you may have to wait, or go on a waiting list etc.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 10/16/2005 11:28:32 PM
Author: msflutter

Date: 10/16/2005 11:02:51 PM

Author: Tacori E-ring

I think it depends on where you live (how fast the market moves) We had one month of double payments (rent and morgage) but it was worth it because we loved our house. Most closings are 30 days (some people do 45 days but it depends on your seller) some sellers work a certain date into their contract (to make sure THEY don''t have to pay double payments) It''s actually really hard to plan. It''s never too soon though to decide what you like in a house, the area, the cost (and get pre-approved it will make you are more desirable buyer and move things along faster) Many banks (do you have a Wachovia?) give you the first two months w/o payments if you do your morgage through their bank. (sorry if this is all too much information but my FI buys real estate for a living so I have absorbed a lot)

Tacori,

you are like my twin.... your from WI, our fiances are in RE (mine is in commercial investments), and of course we have gorgeous rings with colored gemstones

I don''t live in WI anymore though (are you still there)? We are twins except he does residential. He loves it. We both have brown hair! (from your avator) Did you set a date yet? Ours is 8/12 (we could be dates twins too

)

Back to the subject at hand (sorry) rates are rising so best to lock into something now. Also I prefer fixed rates (I guess I am just not a risk taker) Honestly though being a homeowner is the BEST thing ever. You will love it and remember that during the frustrating times.

 

[Jelly]

You can start right this second. Go to your local newspaper online and start browsing at the listings in your area. There are a lot of virtual home tours on the internet...It''s kinda fun. I''m not househunting, but I do it when I''m bored.

Good luck!

 

[cnspotts]

As so many said, start NOW!!!

You can do sooo much research on the internet once you have a list of priorities such as School districts, shopping, highway access or not etc. Figure out what your daily needs will be first.

How much can you spend?

Will this be a starter house, investment, or do you think/want to be there for some time to come?

If you have children, what are their needs regarding schools, sports, outside activities, etc.?


My first house had a huge list of requirements (you should have seen the checklist) but this last house we found on the internet after several hours cruising the MLS listings in certain zip codes. WE thought it would be an investment house....now that I live in it, I''m not giving it up and we''re selling the other one!

Good luck, it can be a nerve racking experience but it doesn''t have to be if you KNOW what you''re looking for first.