Mr. P and I are looking. Not sure yet how serious we are, but definitely serious enough to do some follow up. This causes some awful nerves in my tummy...I don't know how you all got through it!
I've been searching online for YEARS now. But we're finally in a position to be a little more realistic, and have a pretty good idea of what we want and need in a home - and know the difference between the two.
So, questions...
Did you get prequalified before getting preapproved just to give yourself a ballpark range?
Who do you recommend lender-wise? (Or, who did you use?)
Did the first-time buyer process scare the bejesus out of you?
What would you do differently if you went (or when you decide to go) through the process of home buying again?
Did you search based on location, school district, any other specifications? What was important to you?
Any advice, suggestions, or calming strategies would be much appreciated!
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i have an email out to the hubs about you first questions since he is really the main one who handles that but i can answer your last question.
location was a HUGE factor. my family lives somewhat far out so that didn't really matter too much but his family lives pretty close together and we wanted to be near them. also, we took our work locations into consideration- he only works 3 miles from our home and i work downtown so living in st. charles didn't make much sense for us based on that criteria.
we are also close to DH's grade school where his mom and SIL frequently sub and our kids will be able to walk to his parents' house if we send them there.
we also took highway 40 construction into consideration. if this house is a home that we will live in for about 5 years and we have to deal with 40 everyday, we would have gone NUTS! we love our location because it is exactly in between 40 and 44. what good is a perfect home if you're never in it because you're stuck in traffic for multiple hours a day?
1. Yes, but in the end they weren't sure anymore! Just know what you can afford. I would still advise getting prequalified.
2. Honestly, we went with a family friend who found us the best rate. A month after we closed, they sold our loan to someone else. I don't think it matters that much...
3. Absolutely! I was scared to death!
4. Nothing! I am pleased with how everything went. Granted I would have liked to have had a bigger down payment, that really wasn't possible. I loved building, though.
5. We happened across something that was too good a deal to pass up (long story) and it happened to be in the area we were looking.
Good luck!
Oh good luck. You are in for a roller coaster experience but it is so worth it IMO.
We did not get prequalified. We sat down and figured out what we spend each month. Everything from bills, to shopping, to food. Then we subtracted that from our income. We also subtracted the amount we wanted to be able to save each month. That gave us the maximum we could spend on a mortgage without changing our lifestyle. Then out of that amount we wanted to spend on the mortgage for the next few months we paid rent out of and put the extra aside as if it was already spent to make sure we would be fine. We also did research to figure out a ballpark as to what lenders would give us with our income and credit scores. We found out that we would be able to significantly more than we were wanting to spend so we knew we were safe.
We went with pulaski bank and couldn't be happier. They were extremely easy to work with and were always happy to take our insane amount of phone calls with our millions of questions.
The first-time buyer processes was scary but it was exciting and so informative at the same time. I think a huge key is to work with a great realtor. Someone who enjoys working with first time homebuyers is a must. Our realtor was amazing and is probably the only person that we will ever use to buy another house. His name was John Besmer. I can get you his info if you are interested.
There is honestly nothing I would do differently. The whole process could not have been smoother or more enjoyable.
Our search was absolutely based on location. We loved our location in our apartment and knew that we were only willing to go about 2 to 3 miles in any direction from that location. The school system is great, DH is 10 min from work, great park right down the street, ease of getting to 64 270 and 44, and the closeness to everyday locations that we go to. The other important thing for us was size. We knew exactly the house size, lot size, layout, amenities and condition of what we were looking for. We looked at a TON of houses that just didn't meet the criteria and we were unwilling to compromise on them. In the end we did compromise on some small things that would have been nice to have but we also gained others that we didn't even think about having.
The advice I would give is to do your research before jumping in. Figure out what you can afford and what you have to have in a house. Then figure out your target neighborhood(s). Take some weekends and go to all the open houses in your price range in those neighborhoods and see what you can get. Finally, work with a realtor that you feel comfortable and confident with. He or she will be a key part of your housebuying experience.
Good luck!
I agree with Mindy!
Do your research, go to a lot of open houses to figure out what you like or don't like about houses.
We went with USA mortgage, it's a mortgage broker, what they do is check all the lender everyday and they can give you the best rate.
I was very lucky because our real estate agent also works for USA Mortgage, so she was a 2-in-1 type of person and she was EXTREMELY helpful! You need to click with your realtor, once they get to know you, they can tell what you might or might not like in a house and tailor the search to your specific needs
In case you are interested, my relator is Joy Montes. Look her up at www.joymontes.com...all her info is on there, tell her Yara sent you...she'll take extra good care of you!
It's so exciting...you are going to love the process and learn so many things!
Well, we're not buying anymore, but I can tell you what we went through up to making that decision.
We had a ballpark of what we thought we could afford and started looking at houses in that price range. Then we got the actual preapproval through Lending Tree. We weren't actually going to use them for our loan, so it doesn't matter who you use for preapproval.
I would ask your RA for referrals on lenders when the time comes.
Buying scared the bejesus out of me even as a second time homebuyer.
Location was the most important for us. I didn't really think about school districts all that much because I didn't think our next house would be our forever home anyway.
You might want to check out the "buying a home" board on the Nest-I learned a lot there.
Exciting times! Good luck!
1)Prequalifying --> This one’s kind of interesting, when we were living in SD we prequalified for more than $500,000, once we got to STL we didn’t go through that process… I think it’s VERY important to know that even when banks or other institutions pre-qualify you for a certain amount, only YOU know what you can afford, what you’re comfortable spending, and what your other expenses are. Yeah, we could afford a 500K house, but we would’ve been house poor, because some banks WILL pre-qualify you for more than you can really afford (and that’s how this economic mess started), so don’t “trust” your pre-qualification, and don’t get pressured into buying a house closer to what you were prequalified for just because of that.
2)Lender --> We used CTX, which is the builder’s sister company because it presented some incentives for us and the rate was competitive. But something I learned is that, like anything else, it’s important to shop around and compare rates, points and other expenses (closing costs, etc.), to make an educated decision. I checked the rates on Bankrate.com for several weeks and I’m happy we did because I learned how the interest rate could make our monthly payment so different (i.e. at 7% our monthly payment would be $200/month than at 5%).
3)Scared --> I can honestly say, that no. We were excited, not scared. But I think it was also in part because we came from a higher cost of living market, we thought the prices here are reasonable and we were comfortable with our monthly payments (heck, it’s going to be only around $100 more a month than what we were paying for rent in SD for a 1 bedroom apartment!!!).
4)Do differently --> This one is general advise, not something that I would do different since we didn’t go that route: you should go to see the houses in person if you really think you like them, photos can be deceiving and most of the times they don’t really show the layout or the flow of the house. Don’t “fall in love” with the pictures, go and see the house first!!! Speaking about our experience, if I could change something it would probably be to take a little bit more time choosing the area where we bought until I knew the city a little better, and maybe buy something a little bit closer to the city (although at this time my work is close, and the only “inconvenience” is being far away from the GNO); and also, taking a bit more time selecting my options, but I guess there’s always the possibility of screwing up, since you really don’t know how something like will look all together and when there’s more of it.
5)Search criteria --> This will probably not help you a lot… But we started looking in the St. Charles area because that’s what our only friend in the city, at the time, recommended, and it was going to be close to my current job. When I first came out here I really liked it, and it seems very safe and it’s clean. I think safety of the area, and my DH feeling comfortable living me alone at the house or me coming back home at night without him being worried was our main goal. The school district was important, but I didn’t think we could go wrong being in St. Charles (I hope I’m right). And the particular sub-division where we bought is easily accessible to the freeway, but not super close either, and close to some shopping so we liked that too.
1. We did not get prequalified. We honestly didn't expect to find a house that was perfect for us so quickly, and there just wasn't time. I highly recommend getting preapproved, though!
2. We initially used Neighbor's Credit Union and had an absolutely awful experience. We're in the middle of refinancing and have talked with several people. We decided to go through US Bank because we're getting a great rate and a big chunk o' change back at closing because we use US Bank for almost all of our banking.
3. I would get preapproved! At the time, I was still a full-time student and part-time intern, and because we found our house so quickly it didn't make sense to wait to be preapproved.
4. We knew we wanted something with 2-3 bedrooms, and we were open to anything in West County, as far out as Pacific (where Matt is from and most of his family lives). We ended up in Pacific. Our jobs are in North County which is quite a drive, but we are very lucky to be able to carpool and work from home on Fridays.
5. It's not as scary as it seems, I promise! I think the hardest part is a lot of it is based on estimates that aren't locked down until the end. Matt and I both work in finance, so having that basic understanding I think calmed our nerves. So, my advice would be to learn as much as possible about the process.
Good luck!
#1. We did not get prequalified but we did get preapproved.
#2. We used the lender in our real estate office. Oh crap...I don't remember who...
#3. Being a first time buyer was stressful as hell! I don't understand most about finances, loans, interest rates, etc. We just worked with an agent that we truly trusted (and talked to our parents A LOT)
#4. I wouldn't do anything differently. We took our time, we did not go out of our budget, and found a home that we love! Maybe I would have gotten a house with 3 bedrooms instead of 2.
#5. As a teacher, school district was important (but mostly for resell purposes). I don't think we will be staying in Kirkwood throughout our children's educational careers. I don't mind staying here during their elementary school years. We will see. We did only search houses in a few areas (Kirkwood, Webster, Maplewood, South City) but focused on Kirkwood and Webster.
#6. You really have to be patient. Figure out the things that are truly important to you and you won't budge...no matter how much you LOVE the house. I HAD to have a house with a deck, fence, garage, and basement. We found ones that we loved but didn't have those things so we said goodbye.
Good luck!
We got preapproved- I wanted to be able to jump in with a contract when we found "the one." The market was a lot more competitive back then tho.
It did not scare me to be a first time home buyer (J and I are actually on our 2nd home, I bought the first one by myself). I loved the whole process. Selling a house, however, was pure hell.
Location was most important for us. We chose based on commute then which neighborhoods offered the type of house we liked that was in our budget and commuting range.
My best advice is to get a realtor that is sweet to you but viscous with the seller/competition. I needed that b/c I have NO powers of negotiation.
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