Rookie homebuyer needs help!

DH & I are starting to look for houses( We have a two bedroom apt now). We are hoping to buy in the next year/ year & 1/2. What do we need to know? I know the question is vague but basically what I'm asking is what does a 1st time homeowner need to know? How does the whole process of buying a house work? Where do we begin?


Is there real estate for dummies bc I know NADA

Message edited 8/19/2010 3:50:03 PM.

Re: Rookie homebuyer needs help!

i would say first, you have to figure out how much you can afford... there are mortgage calculators online that you can play with, figure out the percentage you can put down and you can figure out how much your monthly payments will be (make sure to add estimated taxes to that though)... when DH and I were ready to start looking we went to a few open houses in the high and low end of our price range, to get a feel for what we wanted/didn't want.

Re: Rookie homebuyer needs help!

ha! patience


Honestly it was like looking for a job.. lots of possible candiates, some were dream jobs but had too many issues I wasn't willing to compromise on, others I thought were a perfect fit but I was rejected (beat out) and finally I got the one that was best all around for me in my position right now. Not the best, better than most, with some compromise at a price I could afford.

So don't 'settle' for anything but also realize what you may go in wanting in your head will change as you see whats really out there, some things will become MORE important to you than others and some things you thought were a 'must have' become more of an optional want instead of a 'need'. Don't give up, stick with it. It will be worth it in the long run!

Good Luck!

Re: Rookie homebuyer needs help!

Know what you can afford comfortable first. I think the next thing would be to make a list of things you want in your house - CAC, sq. ft., style of house, EIK, # of bdrms, finished basement, etc. then start browsing areas you both like on MLS to see if what you want in a home are in your price range. You have to decide what would be an automatic deal breaker. One for us was we needed a basement tall enough so we could stand in and not be close to the ceiling. (You wouldn't believe how many homes have basements with 6' ceilings! Ours has an 8' ceiling )

Message edited 8/19/2010 4:11:43 PM.

Re: Rookie homebuyer needs help!

i would HIGHLY recommend getting pre-approved for a morgage first! do this BEFORE you start hunting because then you have a direction to go in. we started going to a bunch of open houses to see what was out there, and then narrowed it down. then we dealt with a broker to get us into more houses. we LIVED on mlsli.com and zillow.com for months! make a list with your dh of what you definately must have, and then what you would like to have. its a process but you will get there.
good luck!!!!

Re: Rookie homebuyer needs help!

I know there was a thread on here from sometime during the spring I think that gave great advice on home buying from start to finish.

Re: Rookie homebuyer needs help!

here it is

home buying thread