Need Advise on Buying a Home & Some Questions

Hi Ladies! I'm pretty new to this site. I'm Jen!

Wel my DH said we could start looking for a house. and I figure I should get some advise from ladies that have already bought or in the process of buying. Any words of advise? Things to look out for?

When getting a preapproval from your bank, how long is that preapproval good for? Also should we close out any credit cards that we don't use before we get the preapproval?

Sorry so many questions, but i want to jump on this while he still wants to look.

Thanks!

Re: Need Advise on Buying a Home & Some Questions

Well first Congrats & welcome!!

As for pre-approval, it depends. Some banks its 90 days, with HSBC it was 120 days.

I wouldn't close those credit cards, jmo.

Best of luck!

Re: Need Advise on Buying a Home & Some Questions

From what I heard from my friends accountant, it is better to leave the credit cards open.

The Prequal I believe lasts 6 months, I could be wrong so dont quote me on that.

It is important to do that first. Get pre qualified. So you know what you can truly afford.

Goto Open Houses, in a few areas unless you already know what towns you want to live in.

Ask plenty of questions

How old is the roof? Siding? Windows?

Where is the oil tank? If its under ground, I wouldnt buy the house.

You will learn a lot by going to open houses, and after a few you will know what to look for. You will also be scared at how some people live. Danielle and I couldnt believe the condition of some of the houses we looked at.

Oh big thing to remember. When you goto Open houses, do not put your real name and number. Real estate agents will call you non stop and bother you. What I usually do is put my email down. SO then they can email me listings if they want.

Hope this helped
Scott

Re: Need Advise on Buying a Home & Some Questions

Welcome and good luck with the house search!

DH and I went through our wallets before we started searching/pre-approval and any credit card we hadn't used in over a year, we closed - esp those store credit cards.

So, we were left with 2 major credit cards, some store credit we use often, but secondary's we closed to avoid any issues with pre-approval.

We met with HSBC and WAMU and went with HSBC and got pre-approved - I HIGHLY recommend Scott Finger from HSBC - he will travel to meet with you, or can meet you at HSBC bank as he is mortgage/financial person who works for HSBC, but for many different branches.

I would get pre-approved and then start looking for homes in your price range!

Re: Need Advise on Buying a Home & Some Questions

Thanks for all the advise! We are going to check out both of our banks and my credit union and see who has the best rate right now.

Hi Kerry! So I see the closing is going to be very soon. Congrats!!!

Scott, thanks for all the info. That's great.

Re: Need Advise on Buying a Home & Some Questions

Re: Need Advise on Buying a Home & Some Questions

First congrats!

Second, get your credit reports and see what your scores are. There may be things to work on or fix before you start with a pre-approval with a bank.

Re: Need Advise on Buying a Home & Some Questions

Just one advise. Do not close out your credit cards, your credit score will drop. Other than that good luck.

Re: Need Advise on Buying a Home & Some Questions

don't apply for any credit cards, car loans, etc. Don't make any really huge purchases. Make sure you're paying all of your bills on time.

Congrats, welcome, and happy hunting!

Re: Need Advise on Buying a Home & Some Questions

Posted by JldDolphin

Posted by PotofLuck06

Welcome and good luck with the house search!

DH and I went through our wallets before we started searching/pre-approval and any credit card we hadn't used in over a year, we closed - esp those store credit cards.

So, we were left with 2 major credit cards, some store credit we use often, but secondary's we closed to avoid any issues with pre-approval.

We met with HSBC and WAMU and went with HSBC and got pre-approved - I HIGHLY recommend Scott Finger from HSBC - he will travel to meet with you, or can meet you at HSBC bank as he is mortgage/financial person who works for HSBC, but for many different branches.

I would get pre-approved and then start looking for homes in your price range!

Thanks Betsy! My bank is HSBC, so I will check that out.

Re: Need Advise on Buying a Home & Some Questions

Posted by JldDolphin

Thanks for all the advise! We are going to check out both of our banks and my credit union and see who has the best rate right now.

Hi Kerry! So I see the closing is going to be very soon. Congrats!!!
.

Re: Need Advise on Buying a Home & Some Questions

Posted by kerrycec03

Posted by JldDolphin

Thanks for all the advise! We are going to check out both of our banks and my credit union and see who has the best rate right now.

Hi Kerry! So I see the closing is going to be very soon. Congrats!!!
.

Thanks!! I'm so happy you came over to this board. Its fairly helpful and some of these folks have been so useful its not even funnY!!