NWR: homebuying advice

Hi ladies,

figured i'd post on here to those that have or are going through the homebuying process. I've been looking at a few open houses recently...
1- do i have to contact a mortgage company to get pre-approved before i put an offer in
2- do i need a real estate agent in this process
3- what is the whole 1st time homebuyer 8k thing i've been hearing about?

sorry just SO clueless when it comes to this stuff!

You have FM.

we are going through the same process (we actually close in 2wks...finally...lol) i def suggest getting a pre-approval first b/c it'll help you determine what you are eligible for and when you put in a bid, if they accept, you need an approval. the real estate agent is def helpful and can answer a lot of questions for you
and the 1st time homebuyer credit....if you buy between jan 1 and nov 30, 2009...you'll get an $8000 non-returnable check....thats the best part!!!

good luck on your search!!!

From everything I have researched, it is not an $8000 check and it does not have to be paid back. It is an $8000 tax credit and it does not have to be paid back. It comes off your taxes at the end of the year.

It doesn't make much sense for people in NY. First off, you have to make under $75k as an individual or $150K as a couple. Both have to be first time home buyers.

This may help

First Time Home Owner Tax Credit -- 6 things to know

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Posted by Almostawife

From everything I have researched, it is not an $8000 check and it does not have to be paid back. It is an $8000 tax credit and it does not have to be paid back. It comes off your taxes at the end of the year.

It doesn't make much sense for people in NY. First off, you have to make under $75k as an individual or $150K as a couple. Both have to be first time home buyers.

This may help

First Time Home Owner Tax Credit -- 6 things to know

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Thats what I was gonna say! If you make good money you won't qualify for the tax break! Speak to your accountant...mine was pretty cut and dry that we weren't going to qualify...

As far as getting prequalified, run a mortgage calculator with what kinda prices you're looking at, it will give you a ballpark on what you can afford. The ratio for your monthly payment should be like 30%ish of your incomes...many are higher or lower but thats the IDEAL range, esp now.

As far as a real estate agent, up to you but it sure eases the process and as a buyer there is no downfall to using because the seller pays the commission off the selling price.

Hope this helps!

Here are my thoughts -- all based on buying a house last year and making some stupid mistakes

- Get pre-approved first

- Have your own real estate agent. Dont just work through the seller's agent. They have the sellers best interest at heart.

- Hire your own mortgage person and lawyer. Dont take recommendations from any of the people involved. My lawyer was a recommendation from the mortgage broker. And the mortgage broker was very shady in the end...and i think i got screwed b/c he and the lawyer were friends.

- Hire a very reputable home inspector. And dont let them cut corners. Make sure the termite inspection is done thoroughly Ours
wasnt...and we found termites 2 days after moving in!!

- Bid very low. You never know what they might bite on. And I recommend calling the town and finding out what the current owner purchased the house for. Just gives you an idea on how much they need to sell it for to make a profit. Not that it means they will budge on price...but it's just good info to have

- Pass the house at all hours of the day to see the neighbors etc.

Just my opinion : )

just another tid bit on homebuying...a friend just got notification that if you buy a house, co-op or condo within the towns in the Town of Babylon they will match up to $15,000. This doesn't include the greatest towns, but it's worth a try. So $15,000 plus the $8,000 you get back as well, you have $23,000 to work with, plus whatever you put down on the house!

Just wanted to throw that out there!

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Posted by FallBride2010

Here are my thoughts -- all based on buying a house last year and making some stupid mistakes

- Get pre-approved first

- Have your own real estate agent. Dont just work through the seller's agent. They have the sellers best interest at heart.

- Hire your own mortgage person and lawyer. Dont take recommendations from any of the people involved. My lawyer was a recommendation from the mortgage broker. And the mortgage broker was very shady in the end...and i think i got screwed b/c he and the lawyer were friends.

- Hire a very reputable home inspector. And dont let them cut corners. Make sure the termite inspection is done thoroughly Ours
wasnt...and we found termites 2 days after moving in!!

- Bid very low. You never know what they might bite on. And I recommend calling the town and finding out what the current owner purchased the house for. Just gives you an idea on how much they need to sell it for to make a profit. Not that it means they will budge on price...but it's just good info to have

- Pass the house at all hours of the day to see the neighbors etc.

Just my opinion : )

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I agree with all of these! I have referrals for ALL of these if you need!

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Posted by bigrd37

just another tid bit on homebuying...a friend just got notification that if you buy a house, co-op or condo within the towns in the Town of Babylon they will match up to $15,000. This doesn't include the greatest towns, but it's worth a try. So $15,000 plus the $8,000 you get back as well, you have $23,000 to work with, plus whatever you put down on the house!

Just wanted to throw that out there!

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Just be aware that there is an income limit on the Babylon deal too, and the house cannot cost more than $396,150. I believe the income limit for a family of 2 is under $100,000.

1. Getting a pre-approval definitely hurts your credit rating because they have to run a credit check.

2. You should get your own real estate agent and tell him/her what you're looking for. If you need the name and number of one, I can give you the name of the woman FH and I used (we close in 2 months!!!). She was so patient with us. We looked at close to 100 houses over almost 5 months. Every weekend we had her looking at a million houses...she was very helpful and had our best interests in mind.

3. You should get pre-approved because some homeowners don't want to even listen to offers if you don't have a pre-approval. They do this because if they accept your offer and it falls through b/c you can't get a mortgage, the other bidders may have already moved on, etc. You should have a written pre-approval (give it to your real estate agent). It's best to work with someone you know (i.e. the mortgage person at the bank you use or someone your parents have used), but you can always count on the person your real estate agent recommends because your agent wants you to get a house so s/he won't put you in the hands of shady people.

4. The 8,000 is a tax credit that does not have to be paid back if you live in the house for a certain number of years (3-5 I think). It is credited to your taxes at the end of this year. You must be a first time home buyer to qualify and you must make under a certain amount of money. Ask your tax guy...mine is working out details for us.

5. If you have ANY questions about the buying experience (CO, inspection, appraisal, offers, etc) FM me...I just went through the same thing and it was nice when anyone could offer a little help!

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Posted by iHeartMoogle

1. Getting a pre-approval definitely hurts your credit rating because they have to run a credit check.

2. You should get your own real estate agent and tell him/her what you're looking for. If you need the name and number of one, I can give you the name of the woman FH and I used (we close in 2 months!!!). She was so patient with us. We looked at close to 100 houses over almost 5 months. Every weekend we had her looking at a million houses...she was very helpful and had our best interests in mind.

3. You should get pre-approved because some homeowners don't want to even listen to offers if you don't have a pre-approval. They do this because if they accept your offer and it falls through b/c you can't get a mortgage, the other bidders may have already moved on, etc. You should have a written pre-approval (give it to your real estate agent). It's best to work with someone you know (i.e. the mortgage person at the bank you use or someone your parents have used), but you can always count on the person your real estate agent recommends because your agent wants you to get a house so s/he won't put you in the hands of shady people.

4. The 8,000 is a tax credit that does not have to be paid back if you live in the house for a certain number of years (3-5 I think). It is credited to your taxes at the end of this year. You must be a first time home buyer to qualify and you must make under a certain amount of money. Ask your tax guy...mine is working out details for us.

5. If you have ANY questions about the buying experience (CO, inspection, appraisal, offers, etc) FM me...I just went through the same thing and it was nice when anyone could offer a little help!

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Wow thanks for all the helpful info.!!!!!!!

Thanks to the OP for posing this question! This has all been extremely helpful!!!!