Nervous - meeting with Realtor tonight!!

Re: Nervous - meeting with Realtor tonight!!

• MeaganR12

  

  March 2012

  I'm so jealous of all you lucky ladies buying homes! FI already owns a house (in another state) so it makes zero sense for us to buy one. 

  
  

  Are you two thinking you want everything final and moved in before the wedding?

  

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• bridetobe71412

  

  March 2012

  How exciting! I cannot wait to move out of NYC and into a real house!

  

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• butterflyjumper1

  

  March 2012

  Meagan - in a dream world, we would close on a home in say, late June or early July and get everything moved in then, so after the honeymoon, we will already be settled and in our new home! But whether or not that will actually happen, I have no idea.....we are just going to keep our apt lease going month to month until we purchase!

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• Nati05 member

  

  March 2012

  I second Meagan! I'd kill for a house right now! I'm not sure how our apt with no storage space will hold up with all of my family here for the wedding haha
  
  Good luck!!

  

  

  ~ Planning Bio! (updated 11/30) ~

  

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• lvissers

  

  March 2012

  Enjoy the experience! I'm a realtor part-time and work as a Paralegal in a law firm that specializes in real estate/bank owned foreclosures /evictions. lots of us girls in the legal profession on here! My fiance and I are starting to look at houses too. It is definitely more stressful when it's YOU looking for a home than showing my clients properties. Make sure your budget and must-haves are in check and keep an open mind when looking at properties. Don't get lost in a house just because the paint might be a puke green or is decorated like your grandma's house. You can change all of that for a couple hundred bucks. Also know that there probably won't be one house that has absolutely everything you want and have dreamed of. Pick a few of the most important qualities and be willing to compromise on the others. Good luck and have so much fun!!!

  

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• mekiakoo member

  

  March 2012 edited March 2012

  Good luck!! We went into this process knowing NOTHING about anything. It was so overwhelming. Be sure to ask your realtor questions, none of your questions are stupid.
  
  I also venture over to TN under "Buying a Home" and the ladies over there sure do know a lot and can answer your questions. They may seem scary but you'll get your questions answered!
  
  I also bought "Home buying for Dummies" too.
  
  To be honest I think I still know barely anything haha. Let me know if you have questions!

  

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• BmoreBride311 member

  

  March 2012

  Seriously it seems like every week someone on this board is buying a home! I'm def in the jealous boat, so can't offer any advice other than I don't think you need to be nervous. Just have a good time and let the realtor get to know you guys so he understands what you're looking for. Good luck!

  

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• k8888

  

  March 2012

  YAY Good luck!!!
  
  We got a lot of good advice from family and friends since they've gone through the same process as us and in the same area.  Also, check your local ads for first-time homebuyer seminars... they had a bunch locally here, but we never made it to any... apparently they're chock full of good info.
  
  We met our realtor at an open house by chance and we absolutely LOVE her.  Well actually, we met her son first, who directed us to her at a separate open house.
  
  Some tips from me since we literally just went through this:
  
  BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET... be realistic! Make sure you can live with it and still be able to plan for emergencies (God forbid)
  Always envision YOUR OWN furniture/style and not the current owners' when you start doing house walk-throughs 
  Put your game face on (realtors are salespeople afterall...)
  Don't be afraid to ask questions
  Keep good notes on every house you visit.... the details get so confusing when you start looking at different houses
  And like lvissers said, keep an open mind!!
  
  I haven't slept in days since the seller accepted our offer on the house, but it really is so exciting!
  
  Keep us updated!

  
  
  

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• elizabethmae315

  

  March 2012

  We got very lucky with our realtor, FFIL is looking at buying a cottage, and a friend of his is his realtor, so he's working with both of us right now. 

  In addition to k888's tips, I'd say be realistic. We've looked at 4 or 5 houses already, and I thought they would be perfect, but there is always something thats not great. You have to be willing to compromise on things, so be sure you and FI agree on what that is first, like location, sq. footage or number of bedrooms. We are looking at more houses next week, and we are hoping to have a parent be able to come with us too; since they've been through it before. That would be the other piece of advice, because our realtor is a family friend, he has been super honest about what the house is worth and if its a great fit. If the realtor doesnt do that, bring someone whose already bought a house through too, they'll be able to tell you a lot as well. 

  We are just a little bit ahead of you in the process, but since I am still living in different city for another 6 weeks, our process has been slow. 

  We are hoping to decide in april, and make an offer in early may to be able to close and move in in June too. 

  GL!!!

  

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• mekiakoo member

  

  March 2012

  Oh, one more thing: try to not focus too much on cosemtic stuff. If you don't like the color of the paint, don't worry about that. Focus on the things that you CANNOT change like location, layout (sort of unless you want to spend money), etc.
  
  Our house was a MESS when we first looked at it. It was just a turn off- clothes, stuff strewn everywhere, nothing was put away, the paint in some of the rooms were astounding. One room has black and white polka dots walls- it feels like I'm drunk when I'm in that room! But we knew this was the house for us because of the layout (very open), location, price, etc. We just moved in last week and we're slowly making changes and it looks 500% different from the first day we looked at this house.

  

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• NikkiF731

  

  March 2012

  ditto pp on budget...especially don't discount closing costs and any Home Owner's Association fees. The Everything Home Buyers Book by Piper Nichole was a HUGE confidance booseter for me when FI and I were looking. The other biggest piece of advice I'd offer is to ask any and all questions you have, regardless ofwhether they seem silly or not.

  

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• michelle11988 member

  

  March 2012

  I agree with pps.  Definitely figure out what you can afford for a monthly payment and go from there to figure out how much house you can buy with that loan and your down payment.  I am in the process of closing for hopefully April 25th, but we'll see the buyers are selling so that's the crazyness of it.  Definitely try not to worry about paint colors and furniture and focus on the layout of the house and the location.  

  
  

  The thing I am struggling with now is financing and the loans so be careful on this our loan guy advertised a low closing cost loan with 3.75% and then I got the disclosures for me to start the loan and it said 4% and $10,000 in loan costs! Just have a lot of confidence and I find myself taking a lot of steps back to look at the big picture.  Best of luck!!

  
  
  

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• butterflyjumper1

  

  March 2012

  Thanks everyone!! We loved our realtor and are going out to look at houses next week...yikes! He was super honest and helped us talk through our budget issues so I think we are on the same page....

  
  

  The lending stuff is what makes me nervous....we are going to try to meet with a mortgage broker later this week!  

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