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Mrs213
????????
Member since 2/09 18986 total posts
Name:
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Buying a home?
I don't know where to start
DH and I are interested in buying home and the more I read up on here I realize this is way harder than it sounds. We both make a decent income and have a pretty good amount in savings. Where is the best place to start? Should we get pre approved for a mortgage before starting to look? What are the best types of loans and how much is usually required to put down? I've heard that FHA loans are great but I don't know much about them.
Any websites where I can read up on all of this? Or if anyone like to share their experience with me would be great. TIA
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Posted 3/24/10 2:37 PM  |
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Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate
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alli3131
Peanut is here!!!!!!
Member since 5/09 18388 total posts
Name:
Allison
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Re: Buying a home?
there was a thread giving Kim advice......let me see if I can find it cause it had tons of good advice on how to start.
here it is
click me!
Message edited 3/24/2010 3:30:20 PM.
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| Posted 3/24/10 3:28 PM |
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8ternity
<3
Member since 11/08 10586 total posts
Name:
Formally NYPD-Wife
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Re: Buying a home?
I would first get pre-approved so you know how much of a loan you can get.
Just keep in mind whatever your approved of doesnt mean you can afford it. You have to make sure your comfortable with you monthly payments.
You can also play around with mortgage calculators online so you can see an approx monthly payment.
I like this calculator since it has the property taxes on it.
http://www.realestateabc.com/calculators/PITI.htm
Good Luck!
 
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| Posted 3/24/10 3:32 PM |
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MaZz
* Lovin my baby girl!!! *
Member since 2/09 6243 total posts
Name:
Gina
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Re: Buying a home?
Posted by staceyums81
I don't know where to start
DH and I are interested in buying home and the more I read up on here I realize this is way harder than it sounds. We both make a decent income and have a pretty good amount in savings. Where is the best place to start? Should we get pre approved for a mortgage before starting to look? What are the best types of loans and how much is usually required to put down? I've heard that FHA loans are great but I don't know much about them.
Any websites where I can read up on all of this? Or if anyone like to share their experience with me would be great. TIA
Im not sure what "decent" income equates to, but I would never pry so Im assuming its about what we make (well, DH since our mortgage was based off of his salary alone)... As for savings, we had 20k to put down and it was fine! Yes, get preapproved so you have something in writing that says you are able to obtain a mortgage (prequalification means nothing).... We were offered both a traditional loan and an FHA loan... If the bank you're working with (or will be working with) does not even consider an FHA for you, go to a different bank... Some older mortgage reps are still looking down upon FHA's and just refuse to do all the paperwork involved so def find someone who will work in your best interest!!
When we sat down and compared both, FHA just worked out better for us both in the short and long run... We had lower monthly payments and a lower total 30 yr balance... Everyone's situation is diff though so check both loans to see which one fits you better
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| Posted 3/24/10 3:44 PM |
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MaZz
* Lovin my baby girl!!! *
Member since 2/09 6243 total posts
Name:
Gina
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Re: Buying a home?
BUY THE BOOK MORTGAGES 101 BY DAVID REED... It will answer all of your questions re: mortgages.... It helped me tremendously in the beginning and when meetin with my mortgage rep, I actually could UNDERSTAND what the hell she was talking about 
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| Posted 3/24/10 3:47 PM |
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Mrs007
Im obsessed w my lil man!
Member since 3/09 2528 total posts
Name:
K
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Re: Buying a home?
The process is very overwhelming! My advice, take it one step at a time.
Like the others have already said, get a pre approval so you know where you stand. Then, you can start to see what houses are in your price range before you fall in love with something super expensive and you get your heart broken.
Do research. Look on MLS, go to open houses and you will get a better idea of what you want and need. I thought I knew what I wanted before searching but after seeing many houses, my wants and needs changed.
Good luck!
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| Posted 3/24/10 4:17 PM |
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Cpt2007
A new love!
Member since 1/08 5946 total posts
Name:
Liz
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Re: Buying a home?
definitely go speak with someone about being pre-approved for a mortgage before you even start looking at houses. doing that puts things in perspective and gives you an idea of what your monthly costs would be. also remember, just b/c you "qualify" for a particular price range, doesn't mean you should buy in it. working out the finances is the most important part, so make sure you take stock of how much you'd put into savings each month in addition to your utilities, mortgage payment, etc.
once you've done that, i would suggest you find a buyers agent to help you look. i know a lot of people don't like to use them, but for us, we found it so helpful. she walked us through the rest of the way and helped us narrow down the field of possible areas and once we did that, we just jumped in and started looking. we found our house on the first full day out with the realtor, so we were lucky.
good luck! it's really not as scary as it seems. 
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| Posted 3/24/10 4:30 PM |
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Mrs213
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Member since 2/09 18986 total posts
Name:
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Re: Buying a home?
Thank you everyone - can anyone reccomend a good bank that we can go for preapproval - prefererably one that offers FHA as well? Thanks
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| Posted 3/24/10 5:34 PM |
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