hi ladies... so, DH and i are going to start looking into houses within the next few months and i wanted to know how you got started.. did you go online, go to a real estate agent???
chicky724
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
We went to an agent just bc she was someone we knew... and since she works for us she can tell us things about the house that a sellers agent wouldn't say (like how long the house has been on the market for, etc)
But I don't think you NEED an agent... mlsli.com is the best!
Cacarina
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
Hi Ally...don't know anything about houses, so I'm sorry I am hijacking, but I wanted to say Congrats on the baby!!!
julesrbf
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
MLSLI is a GREAT resource. We found our current home on the website - but we also worked with an agent who arranged for us to see the place.
I firmly suggest working with an agent. Not only will it make your lives easier but they will explain a lot of the legal stuff to you as well as make sure you don't get ripped off. And you have to pay them, but to me it's a payment well earned!
LadyDuda81509
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
My friends boyfriend is a real estate agent, so i randomly asked him, because i knew we would have to start looking before our lease was up...wasnt sure how long the process would take... he set us up with a listingbook account, and i basically just stalked it down and told him which ones we wanted to see..
i can give you his name and information if you want
ps..hows the baby!
pandafish519
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
thanks girls!!! the baby is great.. sleeping at the moment its been an adjustment to say the very least. i had a rough labor that ended in a c-section so my recovery has been a little hard on me. my body went through about 24 + hours of labor and then sliced open!! haha i'm not someone who likes to be physically restricted so its been tough. but with each day i'm getting better... and she couldn't be cuter
FuTuRe MrS MaZz
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
We saw some ones we wanted to see in person on mls.... then hooked up with a fam member who is a REA who made the appts to get us into seeing the houses... he really didnt do much searching work for us... so i dont think you really NEED a REA...
FuTuRe MrS MaZz
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
Posted by julesrbf
MLSLI is a GREAT resource. We found our current home on the website - but we also worked with an agent who arranged for us to see the place.
I firmly suggest working with an agent. Not only will it make your lives easier but they will explain a lot of the legal stuff to you as well as make sure you don't get ripped off. And you have to pay them, but to me it's a payment well earned!
I dont think you pay them anything do you??? Their commission comes from splitting $$ with the sellers agent... As for the legal stuff, thats what you pay have a lawyer for.. i think they would be the most knowledgeable about that
ETA: Its the seller who pays commission to both agents
LadyDuda81509
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
Posted by pandafish519
thanks girls!!! the baby is great.. sleeping at the moment its been an adjustment to say the very least. i had a rough labor that ended in a c-section so my recovery has been a little hard on me. my body went through about 24 + hours of labor and then sliced open!! haha i'm not someone who likes to be physically restricted so its been tough. but with each day i'm getting better... and she couldn't be cuter
She really is adorable!! you will be back to normal before you know it!! Feel better!!
HappyBride22
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
I would say start looking now on MLSLI.com just so you get ideas. (I am addicted.) When you see something you are serious about find an agent, and they will help you and give you even more websites to obsess over! Good Luck, Congrats, and Happy Hunting
Ivyqueenz
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
We started out looking for houses ourselves and calling up the realty associated with the houses. Then got hooked up with an agent from a realty that looked for houses for us and did most of the showings.
We put a bid in for a house (not through the agent) and this realty kept our name and number in mind and when our house when up for sale they called us immediately cause it met our requirments and we put a bid that week and the same day we put in the bid it was accepted. It was a whirwind.
FinallyMrsB18
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
We just started the process too. The first thing we did was go to the bank. We wanted to get pre approved this way we would know that if we saw something we liked we could show the seller we were serious. I would suggest going to a couple of banks to find the best rate, credit unions tend to have the best rates. We live OOS so I don't know the specifics for LI. Basically the bank will run your credit, use your income, and factor in any debt you have like credit card, school loans, car loans. They will use all this to determine how much you will be pre approved for. Most banks will pre approve you for more than you can afford, so you have to be careful. They will also want to see assets like bank statements, etc.. to see where your down payment is coming from. We started looking at houses on line also. It helps you get a better idea of what you can afford, where. You should factor in what you want your mortgage payment to be a month including property taxes, home owners insurance all rolled into one. Defin use a real estate agent. You don't have to pay them they get paid by the seller, split with the selling agent. You want someone on your side b/c the seller's agent just wants to get it sold. Once you see a property you like and have your pre approval you are in the position to make an offer. Then you wait for the bank to give the final approval, and the agents to work out all the details. I suggest having a home inspector come in once you put an offer in. They may find something horrible wrong with the home, and you will want to pull your offer. Or they might find something that are small that can be used to negotiate the asking price. HTH.
Almostawife
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
You don't have to pay for an agent. They get their commission from the seller (they split it with the seller's agent)
We started by ourselves by going to open houses and looking on MLS but I would STRONGLY recommend hooking up with someone you like and trust before you being seeing any house. They know the negotiating process better than you ever will. Agents can be sneaky and trick you into thinking your competiting against someone for a house to get you to bid higher (which is happening to us right now). Your agent will know how to handle all this. They also can help you determine what price you should be paying for a house, not what the seller thinks they should get.
I am working with someone now from Prudential that I would highly recommend. He is like a pitbull and knows how to use his words.
MLAngelo
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
I started with MLSLI and then hit some open houses to meet realtor and see if there were any I hit it off with and start looking into homes, then I contacted a real estate agent. Although I ended up using a friend, which was fun because I did it without DH and only took him to see houses I liked.
KittyGags
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
Ally my mom is an agent in Huntington....I of course used her to buy my house as well as selling my co-op in Queens...
I can send you her info if you want, no pressure!
Like someone else recommended, I'd go get preapproved first, it just saves you an extra step should you find something you like and you're ready to pull the trigger.
Also be aware that you'll be preapproved for a much larger number than you can probably swing (I'm just saying this from personal experience, I think they told us we could afford a million dollar house, lol) so play with mortgage calculators online to figure out realistically, what range you should be looking in.
Hope this helps!
VickiR510
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
Well we own 2 homes. But since we are looking to purchase our 3rd we always watch MLSLI. Then if we see something we are interested in we call & look at it. But we do work with a realtor who calls us when she sees something she thinks we will like & hasnt hit MLS yet.
EmiNoa628
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
great website.. Thanks for the feedback ladies.. Much needed for family members looking to buy.
rebekahlw164
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Re: for all the house hunting girls...
We had it pretty easy bc we weren't looking to buy at all when we did! My parents are realtors so they called me to say I had to see this house bc it was super affordable, roomy, and just needed some love. Well I did, then I brought DH, and we decided to jump in. This was only after about 6 months of dating, yikes! LOL
Anyway, good luck with your search. I think starting with a mortgage broker or bank might be a great idea. Just be sure to stick to a number that's realistic for you- not what they say you can afford!
