I need advice/tips about purchasing a new home!!!?

Okay, my spouse and I have been talking about purchasing a home for our fam not now but mayB within the nxt year or so? We have been renting for 3 yrs now, started out with living in aprmts and just recently a house just so we can get an idea of what it would B like financialy and C were we stand. We are renting a 4 bdrm 21/2 bath and discovered that, that is too big of a house for us we are a fam. of 3.


Any advice you can give me? Like how much $ we should have on hand (saved up) b4 we even consider buying? What type of research I should do b4 hand? advice about getting a loan? ANYTHING that you think I should know b4 we REALLY get searious about buying! Personal experience is preffered if you have already bought a home for your fam. I would greatly appreciate your feedback.


I have started researching home builders were I live (I live in TX) that's a start right?


I am 21 and my fam. thinks it is great that I am young and able to this no prob. After all age is not a factor right?I need advice/tips about purchasing a new home!!!?
first tip---it's never cheaper to build a house. save as much $$ as you can for a down payment. a good general rule of thumb is to make sure that your house payment is not more than 50% of your combined take home pay every month. remember--all other expenses will be on you instead of a landlord--property taxes, maintenance, insurance, general upkeep and those cost add up to a lot! make sure you don't have a bunch of other debt. look for a mortage company that does manual underwriting---they are much more flexible on rates and make sure you get a fixed interest rate---never a flexible int. rate. and if you can afford it--do a 15 yr.not a 30 yr. don't be in a hurry to get into the house of your dreams---you guys are young. you can buy a ';starter'; house that isn't that expensive and pay it off in no time. then, you can start saving to build your dream home. hope that helps a little.I need advice/tips about purchasing a new home!!!?
With so much new construction not selling... you can get an inventory homes for thousands off the list price right now.





But, there are also so many foreclosures that you can get a great deal on a foreclosed home. HUD is offering a $100 Down payment initiative for owner occupants purchasing a HUD Home with FHA financing.





I suggest you talk to a loan officer that does FHA loans also in case the conventional products they have do not meet your needs. It's wise to prepare.. what if there is something on your credit that needs to be fixed? Why wait? Start looking into it now.





I've bought used and new and I don't really prefer one over the other. Chose and area you like, a subdivision, school district, etc and go from there. The area you chose may not have new construction... or there may be so much new construction that a resale home may not be a better deal.





If I can help you ... let me know, I am an agent in the Houston (and surrounding areas).





Best wishes!





www.har.com/rocio
Actually, age is a factor, but we'll let you slide on that...





You will need roughly 10 - 20% of the home price for a down payment. $200,000 house is a $20,000 down payment. And don't forget closing costs!





I don't know if you heard, but there is a credit crunch, housing slump, etc going on so since there is plenty of homes to choose from (stay away from new homes!) it is a LOT tougher to get a good loan on good terms. Good credit is also a plus, and you'll need to prove your net worth AND income. There are guidelines that must be followed, so your mortgage payment can't be more than X% of your income.
The first step in buying a house is to monitor your credit report in case anyone has tried obtaining credit in your name. Freecreditreport.com is a good place to start. They'll give you a free report, and you can sign up there for continuous monitoring. You'll want to see an average trimerged report score of approximately 620 before you even apply for a mortgage.





Applying for a preapproval (NOT a prequalification, there is a huge difference) and getting a preapproval letter indicating the amount of mortgage they are offering you and the RATE at which they are offering it are the biggest thing to obtain initially.





Once you have that preapproval letter in your hand, it's time to figure out whether or not you want an attorney or a realtor to represent you in the transaction. You'll find at least one person in your family knows a guy. Interview them and find out what they'll charge you, whether you'll get a discount since you came to them and they didn't have to find you. (can never hurt to ask for a discount - EVER!).





As far as research goes, you can have a realtor do most of it for you if you find the right one. There are millions of details that go into finding the perfect home.





You will want to know about the local home price trends (Are prices going up/down/not moving at all?),





whether or not a large percentage of the homes for sale were actually sold in the prior 3 months and how long the homes that sold were on the market. This will help you figure out whether or not this area is in a buyer's or a seller's market.





You'll also want to know the average percentage of listing price to settled sales price. This will give you an idea of how low you can go on your offer and still remain competitive with other buyers if there are any.





You'll want to see school stats, crime stats, neighborhood demographics, etc. Your realtor should be able to pull this info for you, or at least tell you where to look.








While I agree with some of what Ho Chi Min posted, new home builders are *dying* for people to move into their developments, and some builders are offering crazy good incentives right now. If you do go to a construction site, bring either an attorney or a real estate agent with you. The selling agent who works for the builder is NOT there to represent you or to protect you in **ANY** way.
S and d e It never cheaper to build a house? How do builders make a living. I am not recommending building your first home but, depending on the area, current home prices and wages it can be cheaper to build. We have a builder in my area offering to pay the first 6 payments.





Much of depends on your credit rating and job history. You are talking about buying in a year or so. DO NOT create any new debt for you self, no new cars, furniture etc. Save, move back to an apt if that is cheaper for you. Shop at garage sales do what ever it takes to lessen your dept and save money. Eat at home, back a lunch etc. Get your credit report, make sure everything is correct.





Interest rates and home prices are low now, if possible I would start looking now.