Homeowners, what was the one thing you wished you knew before you bought your first house?

[MilesColtrane]

Or, what would you have done differently in retrospect?

I'm hoping you guys give me some valuable tips.

[rug]

1. The dead bodies in the crawl space.

[MilesColtrane]

4. The head spinning baby dolls and blood weeping walls...

must have put a damper on the housewarming party.

[cbdo2007]

2. In regards to the actual purchasing of the house or to home ownership in general?

[MilesColtrane]

5. Both...either

I'm looking at any advice I can get to make a decision on whether to buy or continue renting.

[cbdo2007]

13. Oh....maybe a few things....

First, it's always going to cost more than you think. Maybe not a lot but owning a home includes a lot of expenses that you don't necessarily think of ahead of time. I can't even tell you waht they are ahead of time because that's the thing...it's the stuff you won't think of, having to re-caulk or buy a new mower or replace shingles or fixing stuff or whatever.

As far as the buying process, yeah make sure you trust your home inspector and your realtor. Find a realtor that won't make you sign a buyer's agreement until you are ready to make an offer. Many realtors will make you sign it before showing you houses but you can find ones that won't make you sign it before hand. What can happen though is that they'll only end up showing you houses that are for sale at their company, or for whatever reason you will end up NOT liking them - you don't want to be under contract with them or you'll have to pay them even if you find a house by other means. This doesn't mean to try to rip them off either, like just because they don't make you sign a buyer's agreement don't go look at a FSBO and buy behind their back.

Make sure when you are looking at how much your monthly loan payments will be you figure in really GOOD examples of taxes and insurance. Many places underestimate both of these things so you may be surprised that your monthly payment is actually a few hundred bucks more per month than you were expecting. Also make sure to factor in the mortgage insurance if you are buying with less than 20% down.

Hmmmm, what else? I hope those tidbits will be helpful to ya...

This is a great time to buy though. Housing prices and interest rates aren't going to get any lower than they are right now.

[MilesColtrane]

30. Thanks for the tips.

[flvegan]

3. To get a home inspection in MY best interest.

The entire home inspection process was completely misrepresented to me by my realtor and my inspector. Fuckers.

[MilesColtrane]

6. Did the mortgage company insist on using their own inspector?

[flvegan]

7. It was a 3-way dance.

The realtor/mortgage company/inspector apparently had a deal going.

I was still the wallflower left out.

[cbdo2007]

17. good advice - don't brush off the inspector and use someone you trust.

It sounds like what happened to you is what happened when I sold my house recently. There was nothing major wrong with it, but there were a lot of little things I knew would be on the inspection report. Their inspector didn't say anything about anything. Literally I expecting a couple of things to use as bargaining because they lowballed me on the price and I needed to sell but their inspector didn't find anything wrong, even though it was all in the sellers disclosure. Turned out the guy who bought was in a relationship with his realtor and she had another friend of hers do the inspection. Too many conflicts of interest there on his side of the table.

[LeftyMom]

23. Maybe they thought you wanted the Hooterville plumbing package.

:shrug: You should have been more specific- "I'd like a house with a large yard and no improvised plumbing involving 55 gallon drums buried under the house like some kind of redneck septic system. Also, I need the fire alarms rigged up to go off if my roommate brings paint cans in the door."

[flvegan]

25. That's about exactly right.

[LeftyMom]

26. Oh, and you should have checked to see if you would want to shoot any of your neighbors.

Actually, next time you should drive around on July 4 or New Year's Eve, and buy a house on whatever street you can find that isn't complete pandemonium.

Or better yet, move out of the third world already. (Oh, and no more tiny kitchens. Your girlfriend HATES tiny kitchens.)

[jmowreader]

43. How the hell can a vegan survive in a house with a tiny kitchen?

Unless you've consigned yourself to a diet of Mock Popk, everything you eat takes a lot of work.

[LeftyMom]

49. He does just fine. I'd go crazy and stab somebody.

But I have a bad habit of making big, complicated dinners for 20+ on short notice. Oh, and of stockpiling enough food for the zombie apacolypse, just because I detest running out of things. I need room for my neatly labeled matching dry goods containers.

[Gormy Cuss]

72. Great advice.

For the OP: a good inspector will want you present for the inspection because they know that showing you the defect saves explaining it twice in writing. You'll also be able to visualize the extent of some problems with systems that aren't familiar to you.

Long before you're ready to put an offer on the house ask your friends and family for recommendations. What's most important here is getting the names of the ones that you do not want to do YOUR inspections.

[westerebus]

8. When the EX was leaving. n/t

[S n o w b a l l]

9. Should have bought a smaller house with a smaller lot...

Maintenance is a bitch...lawn upkeep in the summer...weeding, mowing. But, I live in one of those subdivisions where your lawn has to look pristine. Other than that, I wouldn't trade it for an apt any day.

The tax write off is well enough worth buying.

[laylah]

10. I knew enough to request an inspection...

didn't know enough and allowed the realtor to talk me out of it. GET AN INSPECTION before you sign any papers. I love my little house but it is literally, falling down around me and I have no resources to fix what is wrong.

[MilesColtrane]

31. That seems to be a common suggestion here.

I hope things work out for you.

[CharmCity]

11. Ten Things I Wish I Knew Before We Bought This House

1. That my neighbors were racist. And republican.
2. That the owners had removed things like towel racks and toilet paper holders and replaced them with the cheapest versions at Home Depot, which broke within weeks.
3. That I did no insist on a very thorough cleaning of the house before we moved in. On the surface, it was clean enough. But I found trash behind the fridge, ten years of rodent waste under the dishwasher when it died, paint all over the hardwood floors, all nicely covered by throw rugs.
4. That I did not demand more: either a break in the price OR a new fridge, new heater, etc. Bought this at the height of the market.
5. I would make that item number 5. God I wish we had not bought this when you had to compete to buy a decent house in a decent school district.
6. That ants and mice are the real owners of the house.
7. That the previous owners obviously flushed concrete down their toilets because they've never worked right.
8. That a big bathtub and a fairly small water heater is a very stupid combination.
9. That we did not insist they take with them EVERYTHING from the house: the old paint, the ski poles, the strange metal things, tiles that really don't match anything, etc.
10. That we ever did this. Seriously, in this case, we bought the wrong house at the wrong time in the wrong neighborhood for the wrong price from the wrong people. And getting out - selling, renting it out -- very, very hard.

Some of these are silly, annoying points, but others are serious: make sure you have a sense of your neighbors, be picky as hell, and don't put yourself in a position where you have to kill yourself to pay the mortgage and maintain a crumbling mansion. If you're married, buy something each of you can handle alone if something happens... because things do! And good luck.

[MilesColtrane]

33. Thanks.

[we can do it]

71. How Did We Buy the Same House?

Well- almost the same house, my neighbors are mostly ok. And we don't have rodents, but the pigs that used to live here were nearly as bad - I do not know how they hid their filth. and we need a new boiler $8000 instead of hot water tank.

[LynzM]

88. Your #10 encompasses mine.

Bad neighborhood, bad house, too small, poorly maintained and updated, bought it 'cause we needed a place and got a good deal and were living with friends. Should've just gotten an apartment.

Live and learn. We'll do differently next time, and I'm trying to take the lessons without investing too much energy in the "if-I-only-had," as that doesn't get one anywhere... /sigh

[tk2kewl]

95. 3 and 9

gotta get the place empty and clean. you will have enough to do without cleaning up other peoples crap

[Truthiness Inspector]

12. Plumbing and electrical issues

When I bought my first home I remember thinking to myself when I saw dishes drying in a rack beside the sink "that's weird, there's a family of 4 living here and they don't use the dishwasher." But I wrote it off mentally, it was a passing thought. There were no obvious visible issues and I loved the house. After I bought the house with a full inspection, I turned on the dishwasher and it collected water; it was leaking into everything.

I guess I'd say turn on every appliance available and test them out, and pay attention to things that make you wonder but you might be inclined to brush them off.

Listen to your gut, and if something seems "off" pursue it.

[cbdo2007]

15. Did the inspector not turn on the dishwasher??

I don't know if this is standard or not but I've bought two houses and both times the inspector (two different inspectors) tried out all the electrical plugs, all the faucets, toilets, ceiling fans, dishwasher, stove, oven, microwave, lights....they pretty much tried out everything I could think of.

[Truthiness Inspector]

19. I'd like to think he did

But the water damage (leak) was behind the walls. I ended up spending lots of money to gut my kitchen.

[jmowreader]

14. Look at the breaker box

If it says Federal Pacific Electric on it run, don't walk, to your car. The breakers can stick on in an overload condition and burn your home down.

Also do the standard shit like removing the cover plates from the outlets and inspecting the wiring to be sure it's not aluminum, inspect the pipes to be sure they're either copper or CPVC and not polybutylene, make sure all the three-prong outlets have the ground hole hooked up...

I would also find out how much it would take off the price if the house came withOUT a refrigerator. This way you'd have to buy a new one right away, which is good--they wear out.

If you see fresh paint in the home, immediately budget for a complete interior paint job; allow me to introduce the wonderful product "Contractor Paint." That's what it's called. They sell it at Home Depot in great quantity. It costs $45 for a five-gallon bucket and is worth every penny.

[LeftyMom]

24. Aluminum wiring is the devil.

My Dad's house has it. If I have to do anything more complicated than plugging in a toaster over there I call in an expert, because I've seen people get shocked with the breaker off working on that mess.

[jmowreader]

28. Let me tell you how much of the devil it is

When I was still selling lumber I got a mission: go to x address and estimate the building materials for a fire restoration we're doing. I secured my tape measure and headed out.

The contractor gutted the house, so I'm going through it measuring walls, calculating...then I noticed the scorch marks coming out of the junction boxes. The wiring was aluminum. Once I finished the estimate I went back around and looked at all the junction boxes...the cause of the fire was every switch and outlet in the house caught fire at almost exactly the same time, you could tell by the length of the char marks on the studs.

There is ONE good use for aluminum wire--service entrance cable, which is fucking huge and is always aluminum. Everything else must be copper by code. The strange thing is, I would take a house with aluminum wiring, hardboard siding and waterlogged drywall if I could pick it up for next to nothing--gut it and rebuild it the right way...more insulation, better wiring, 5/8" paperless drywall throughout and so on.

[MilesColtrane]

36. Looking out for a "Stab-Lok" definitely goes on the list.

Thanks

[conscious evolution]

45. I agree about Federal Pacific

Run.
As an electrician I can tell horror stories about FP panels and breakers.
FP is so bad that Underwriters Labratories pulled their UL listing.FP is so bad that homeowners insurance companies will cut your rates if you replace FP panels.

If you see Federal Pacific RUN from the house.

[Common Sense Party]

86. The breaker box has to say "Square D" in my opinion

But my dad worked there his whole adult life, I may be a bit biased.

They do make great circuit breakers, though.

[hedgehog]

87. Look past the breaker box - we bought a house from a widow who thougth she'd had the

place re-wired. it turned out that a breaker box had been installed, but up in the attic we found knowt and tube wiring like this:

[hunter]

16. Our first house cost less than my first (and hopefully last) new car.

It was a quirky old house, but we loved it. We bought it cash, no mortgage. We sold it for more than we put into it, and I still miss it.

The thing I most worried about was lead paint. Our kids were small and I was always very careful not to make dust when I was patching and painting the walls.

I also had to replace a lot of plumbing. The water heater died shortly after we bought the house and I had a pretty rotten day replacing it because the old galvanized pipes were rotten too. I replaced about 60 feet of pipe with CPVC, not copper, because that was pretty much all we could afford. These days I suppose I'd have used PEX.

If you can't do this kind of work yourself, or you don't have the time, these kinds of repairs are EXPENSIVE and you would be wise to have a very thorough home inspection before you buy the house.

[S n o w b a l l]

18. Hire your own inspector...

or maybe hire two.

We spent 5 long yrs in a lawsuit because the foundation of our house was shot and falling down a canyon.

The inspector and realtor were in on it. It was an REO and I guess they thought the statue of limitations would run out before something happened. It didn't. The house started falling down the canyon in a yr. We later found out the house was propped up & leveled by 2x4s.

We sued the realtor, the bank and we won but were in a lawsuit for 5 yrs but no money in the world was worth 5 yrs of living hell for me and my then husband.

So as others have said, a very thorough inspection that you hire independently.

[beyurslf]

20. You should either know the inspector or have a friend or family member who has used the

inspector. Do not use someone off a list from the realtor.

I bought a house this summer. It is small repair things that get me. I always had a landlord to call for those things and now I have to do it. Make sure you have basic tools. Use home improvement stores for small work. They often have pamphlets that tell you how to do things.
Less than a month after I moved in, my garbage disposal stopped working. I called the home warranty place. It cost me $75.00 for the service call. The guy stuck this little tool down in that clamped on the blades and twisted it once. It worked perfect. Later, I saw a thing at Lowes that showed how to do that very easily. It hadn't been used in awhile and just had some rust build up.

[MilesColtrane]

40. I've got some tools, and am prepared to handle some basic maintenance.

For the larger stuff, I'd still try it myself, but I'd bring in someone who knows what they were doing to get me started.

[EndersDame]

21. Show up to a first time meeting with your agent in contractor-esque clothes

I dont own a home myself but my old boss from Americorps (we were building a lowincome house) met his realestate agent straight from work (in his carpenter jeans with paint, tape measure and Leatherman clipped to pocket and Carhart) and not knowing who he was she divulged some faults about the house to him and asked if they were covered up or needed more work

[davsand]

22. Stuff I'm looking for in our next house:

One crapper per permanent resident. Period. Not negotiable. Doesn't have to be a full bath for everyone, but ONE crapper per. I am SO freaking tired of doing the potty dance while hubby reads or my daughter re-does her hair.

If it isn't finished or done when we move in it never will be. I will insist that there are no little projects hanging out there.

I will NEVER let my husband's views on the kitchen rule the day. I do 99.9% of the cooking anyway, and he doesn't mind walking all over creation to make a meal. Screw that. I want an island or a galley next time.

-----

Now, for practical advice to you as a buyer:

Talk to an attorney BEFORE you go house shopping. That buyer's agreement you sign when you make an offer becomes a purchase CONTRACT on down the road. I don't care if the realtor tells you there are 100 other people trying to buy that house and you need to be the first to offer on it, you get a lawyer to look that offer over first.

Realtors are NOT your friend and they never will be. They are your employee, and you are paying them. In fact, how much they make depends on how much they can talk you into paying for that property. If you stop thinking of your realtor as anything more than a parasite you are probably gonna get screwed in the long run.

Realtors can help you make your purchase, but you have got to be honest with them. Get pre-qualified BEFORE you find a realtor, and when you start to work with one, make sure you tell them EXACTLY what you are able to pay. Even if you do that you better expect to see a few houses that are just beyond your price range. Don't be afraid to tell them "don't bother" if they want to show you something outside your range.

Right now this is very much a "buyers market." There is a very high level of inventory out there, and do not be afraid to keep looking if you are not happy with what you are seeing. Real estate purchases are very emotional in nature, and I realize buyers are not always rational, but you have to live there when it is all done.

Having SAID that, I will tell you that if you are buying right now (winter months) ad you are in the midwest, you can potentially save yourself a lot of money by offering a lower amount than what your realtor suggests. You can also ask your realtor to focus on houses in your price rage that have been on the market for over 120 days. The sellers are getting a bit worried by that point, and longer is even better.

NEVER believe what they tell you about the real estate taxes on any given property. Almost always they are gonna be under reported.


I agree 100% with the folks telling you to get a good inspection from somebody that you trust, and frankly, I'd also suggest an appraisal done by somebody you trust BEFORE you make the offer. Yeah I know what they cost, but I also know how many times the appraiser gets a call to do an appraisal and the first question is "what is the contract price?"

Yep, I'm jaded.



Laura

[MilesColtrane]

37. Thank you.

[tblue]

27. Do not buy a house with a shared driveway!

Or a flag lot or an easement over your ingress/egress.

No matter how much you like the neighbor you will share it with, there's no guarantee that they will not move one day and you could be stuck with some paranoid couple with serious anger management issues and a persecution complex. I won't go into details about our neighbors from hell. Suffice it to say you want your driveway and your parking area to be yours and only yours. It was si bad, we actually had to move. And we were there first!

Good luck and feel free to shoot me any other questions. We built our current house and remodeled another one.

[MilesColtrane]

38. Living in a duplex, I've had to deal with a shared driveway for years.

I've been pretty lucky with most of my neighbors, but I have been blocked in and late for work a few times.

I definitely want my own driveway, and access to it.

[NNadir]

29. How much, forgive me, I would love being here with my family.

In retrospect, I'd try to be a better father and a better husband.

[MilesColtrane]

39. .

:thumbsup:

[WinkyDink]

91. {{NNadir}}

[Phentex]

32. Make the former owners responsible for damages THEY

cause by moving out!

They made the floors worse, they took the microwave (which was basically built into a custom cabinet), they left trash and their kids' science projects, about a thousand hangers, AND they replaced the draperies with cheap lace panels. The microwave clause was in writing so they returned it. We had asked that the window treatments remain but we didn't specifically say LEAVE THE EXACT treatments. You wouldn't think you'd have to! The trash was rude but not the end of the world. The floor damage was very annoying.

We had our own home inspector, a cranky guy with a huge ego. He was excellent! :)

[704wipes]

34. that spmeone I respected opinions from

Had told me NEVER EVER buy a house with a FLAT roof.
Trust me IT WILL LEAK.

I can't help but think all the people who have grand
Frank Lloyd Wright homes all have one other thing in
common. A leaking flat roof at one time or another.

[Phentex]

35. I see that on HGTV all the time...

they always warn about flat roofs and having a proper inspection.

[jmowreader]

44. That's one thing I never understood about the Frank Lloyd Wright fetish

He's considered the greatest American architect of all time, but his big thing was to build houses with flat roofs in the snow belt? WTF? You wouldn't build a cow shed that way.

Here's a humorous one: the Westcott House in Ohio. Burton Westcott was a car manufacturer in Ohio, so in his Frank Lloyd Wright house he would obviously want a garage. Westcott's cars couldn't back up under power because Reverse hadn't been invented yet so to get the car out you had to either push it out or turn it around. Wright designed an innovative turntable to turn the car around in the garage because he was the greatest American architect of all time. Someone who WASN'T the greatest American architect of all time might have thought, "let's just put another door in the back of the garage."

Frank Lloyd Wright made pretty houses, but some of the shit he came up with was on the level of...

"Mr. Wright, my next-door neighbor is the head of one of the Five Families. Is there anything you can design into my home to help keep their employees out?"
'Why yes, Mr. Giannini; I can dig a 20-foot-wide moat and stock it with alligators.'

[dugaresa]

96. Wright's homes aren't even cozy

Fallingwater was supposedly designed to force people into the outdoors. I would believe that because the furniture is uncomfortable and some of the rooms are tiny.

Another home I visited was dark and gloomy with very narrow hallways.

Now the design elements were cool but it felt as if he was kind of stingy about space.

[davsand]

47. Yeah, any architect that shows me plans for a residence with a flat roof would be fired.

I cannot think of a place where that flat roof isn't gonna present problems sooner or later. What makes those such a bear is that not only do they have so MANY problems with leakage, but they are a real bitch to repair. Think "EXPENSIVE" and then say it real loud in your best Darth Vader voice. Any flat roof is to be avoided.

I work in a converted school building that was a classic flat roof design from the late 60's-70's and every time it rains you can walk down the hallways and see a bucket sitting someplace catching a leak. The added fun with a lot of commercial buildings is that they like to put all the HVAC stuff up there on those flat roofs. Not only do you have issues with regular wear on the roof, but you have people up there walking around doing your regular service on the heat and AC.


Laura

[Tikki]

51. Really..We have lived in a flat roof craftsman bungalow...

for over 31 years...'Course it doesn't rain a lot here..
but never have had a problem there.

Can't put canned lights in the ceiling is the only prob
we have ever come across....


The Tikkis

[davsand]

53. Here in the midwest we get snow, rain, and all stuff in between.

Rain, by itself, is tough enough on a flat roof, but when you get snow or ice added into the weight of it, it breaks down that membrane and potentially even your roof supports.

I am very glad to hear you have been lucky with your flat roof. You are the ONLY person I have ever known of who is.

:hi:



Laura

[XemaSab]

58. The only flat roof here is in the carport

and yes, it leaks like hell. x(

[kwassa]

75. Yes, the flat roof in a climate with snow caused us big problems

It is not a big deal in places that get only rain.

We has a contemporary home designed by an architect from the Netherlands. I don't think they get much snow there. We lived in Ohio, however.

[mnhtnbb]

41. Lots of good advice here. Realtors dress up houses to look

pretty and you want to look beneath the surface. Check the age/condition of roof, HVAC, plumbing, electrical systems which are all very costly to repair/replace and you don't get classy looks from redoing them! AVOID FLAT ROOFS!!!

Look for good bones in a house. Have enough space in the entryway to welcome guests and put away
coats. If you are looking at older houses with lots of little rooms, think about how you could
open them up to create a master suite or larger kitchen area. Be sure to talk to a trusted contractor/friend/relative to get an idea what you need to spend to accomplish any remodeling.

If you suspect there have been pets in a house with carpets, get down and sniff! Replacing carpets
will add to your expense and owners have been known to let pets destroy carpets after the house is under
contract but before ownership transfers.

Look for quality details in a house rather than square footage. Think about using rooms for multiple
purposes. BUY THE LEAST EXPENSIVE HOUSE IN A TERRIFIC NEIGHBORHOOD rather than a bigger house
in a more marginal area. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!!

Good luck and happy house hunting. You'll know when you walk in when you've found the right house!

[MorningGlow]

42. Don't shortchange yourself

If you have a choice between a low-priced house that "needs a little work" (which always turns out to be a LOT of work) and a higher-priced one that's "move-in condition" (truly so, not just prettied up to appear that way), go for the higher-priced one. You can better afford spreading out the additional cost over 30 years instead of dropping tens of thousands of dollars within the first year to make the cheaper house functional, safe, and attractive.

Mr. MG and I have owned three houses, all "dogs", and we have dropped major coin each time to fix up each damned place. Mr. MG is a bit short-sighted and thinks we can "only" spend a certain amount of money (a very small amount) to buy each house, and never remembers that we then break the bank for remodeling and repairs. I have informed him that if we ever move again, I will not, repeat NOT, move into another shithole fixer-upper. I'm tired!

[femmocrat]

46. Put up a fence while the property stakes are still there.

Once they "disappear", you'll never know where your property begins without a new survey.

[WinkyDink]

92. AMEN! AND I've had the surveyor place the flags THREE X in so many years; neighbors

find ways to "mow over them" and remove them somehow.

[jmowreader]

48. There's one we all forgot: Chinese drywall

If you see a newish home on the market, take a switch plate off, undo the switch, pull it out and look at the ground wire. If it's black, lean down and sniff the hole it was in. If you smell rotten eggs, you're looking at a home with Chinese drywall in it. Unless you can get the price low enough to enable you to gut the place, tear out the drywall and wiring and replace everything with new, this is not the home for you.

[Tikki]

50. Not our first, but second and last.....

We bought cheap on the first...lots of sweat equity and sold in under two years to make a
substantial profit (for the time).

We wanted to move and live in a certain town, in a certain neighborhood...and 31 years ago we
bought in our target area and have been here since.

So we would say...location, location, location...

The Tikkis

[LiberalEsto]

52. Take your time

Don't be in a rush -- look at a lot of places so you can develop a feel for what you want.

And when you go through a house that interests you, really take your time and don't let an agent rush you through it. Flip the electric switches, flush the toilets, try the faucets both inside and out. Make sure that all the doors and windows open and close properly. Look under throw rugs to see if they're hiding stains or damage.

Definitely hire a home inspector. Agents will do anything to keep you from going back to take another look at the house after you've made an offer, so take a thorough look the first time, and take a good hard second look with the home inspector.

We once bought a non-air-conditioned house in New Jersey where the idiot sellers had cut the window sash cords and sealed the windows shut. When we moved in, it was late May and the place was hotter than an oven. We couldn't get the windows open. It took weeks for me to repair the windows, one at a time.

[Broken_Hero]

54. What I would have done differently

was not buy a house in SW MO, but we did.

[Broken_Hero]

60. To be serious,

to have a better inspector, the issues that our inspector hit us on were all cosmetic and we paid about 10k to get it up to snuff before we got the house. Come to find out, the more serious parts of our house(electric/well house/breaker box) were damn near fubar.

So, we paid 10k to repaint, and fix vanities, meanwhile our house was at a very high risk of burning down. We paid 2k to get the electric/well house taken care of, but after getting your own home cash is a luxury. With paying for inspectors, water/land/gas inspection, surveyors and other surprises having cash on hand to deal with issues that needed to be fixed was quite a strain.

Another thing, build up on your tools, if you are planning on buying a home, start building up on your tool supplies big time, because starting from scratch can be very damn expensive. Also do some research on your power/phone companies as well, I had some big difficulties with our phone company.

Also, be sure to check on your neighbors, don't be afraid to ask around, and be sure you can meet the mortgage cost, don't bite off more than you can chew(my wife and I are guilty of that, but we made it through the rough time).

[TrogL]

55. it's nearly impossible to find reliable tradespeople

I've had incompetent roofers, plumbers, painters, electricians and furnace people. I've done a lot of work myself then gotten somebody in when I've gotten over my head. When I've gotten inspected he said my stuff was right and the contractors wrong. If you bring them baqck to fix it they make it worse. Others will do half the job then disappear for six months.

[Digit]

56. General tips from a RE broker

If you are asking for the appliances, write down the serial numbers...some unethical sellers will actually switch them on you.
Don't spend the amount you necessarily qualify for...that is how many people get in trouble down the road. Spend what you are comfortable with instead. Don't even LOOK at properties above your price range.
If in a homeowners association or if a condo, get a copy of the rules and regulations. Many restrict RV parking, clotheslines, play equipment, what color of window treatments, etc. Ck also to see how solid their financial situation is or if any special assessments are coming up.
Ck with the county to find out if the property you are interested in might be in a flood plain, have radon issues, or problematic clay which may cause homes to crack. It also would be wise to check the master plan for the area to make sure no super highway is planned, etc. Also check easements.
Make sure the land slopes AWAY from the foundation. Water around foundations causes problems.
When you settle on a home, write down things you want repaired (especially cosmetic items) in the offer to purchase. In many regions of the country a home inspection repair clause will not address cosmetic issues. (cracked windows and such)
On repairs, make sure you stipulate that repairs will be done by a professional.
Ck to see if there are any registered sex offenders closeby. You can do this online.
If there are dead trees, ask the seller to have them removed in your offer to purchase.
If it is a resale, ck to see if there is painted over wallpaper. I can't tell you how many people do this and it drives me crazy. Also beware that many people put up wallpaper without preparing the walls properly and the only thing you can do is drywall over it. Very costly. Oh, and even builders will do this. :thumbsdown:
Ask the seller to provide you with a warranty in your initial offer. In some areas of the country they DO pay out if you have later issues with appliances, etc, but don't count on it.
I almost forgot a HUGE one...ck with your insurance company to find out what it will cost to insure. There are properties which have had problems (too many claims) and they will price the insurance accordingly. Not your fault, but you LOSE!
I hope I didn't scare you.
Best of luck!

Yes, I am a buyers agent...could you tell?

[MilesColtrane]

57. Thoughtful tips there, thanks.

[Capn Sunshine]

66. I'd add one thing

get a mold inspection/disclosure. Insurance companies have a computer list that lists any claims for mold damage and many will refuse to insure that property ever again. PS They will deny the existence of this list.

[XemaSab]

59. If you can, rent the house first

My mom rented the house before she bought it, so she knew about all the potential problems.

The one thing that she wished she had done is INSIST that fixing a few things be in the contract. Baseboards, a funky area in the bathroom, a leaky carport roof, messed up gutters, and a few other things should have been dealt with, but my mom didn't want to play hardball. :P

[rainbow4321]

61. would have not gotten on that faced East-West

Not so bad in the winter but summer time we get the sun's heat in the morning AND the evening, even with a good set of blinds.
Wouldn't have gotten:
a 2 story house-rising heat makes upstairs unit work twice as hard since there is no door between up and down, just a short staircase
a house with a heat pump unit (ac/heat)cuz it seems to be a crappy, needs-frequent-repair system. Especially in the summer.

[BlueCollar]

62. Lots of good suggestions in this thread...here's my $.02

Take some time to crawl up and around the attic.

Is the insulation adequate for your area? The rising cost of energy will eat you up if you don't have enough insulation in the attic.

By the same token, is the attic adequately ventilated? There are a number of websites that will give you an idea of what kind of airflow you need.

If there are trees/brush near the roof they offer an expressway for squirrels/mice and rats to a warm cozy place for them...Look for evidence of animal waste....mice droppings etc.

Wear a respirator and take a strong flashlight with you. Look at the sheathing for evidence of water stains/leaks.

While you're up there look at the wiring in the attic and any air-conditioning/heating vents.

Do an external inspection personally...Get up on the roof and take a look at the condition of the shingles/flashing. Ask how old the roof is, when it was last replaced if ever, and if done recently was it a complete tear-off or did they just shingle over the existing shingles. A double tear-off is very expensive.

Are there rain gutters and are they in good condition and functioning as advertised...

How old is the a/c unit/boiler/heat pump?

Just a few thoughts based upon my experiences.


If the foundation is a slab foundation....be aware of the costs to repair the foundation. Usually this is indicated by cracks in sheet rock and sticking doors and windows. Make sure they all open and close freely. If the foundation has been repaired, make sure the repair work is guaranteed and transferable to you as the new owner.

Floors should be level...All of them...You can check level by dropping some marbles on the floor....if all or most of them roll in the same direction there is an issue which will ending up costing you a hell of a lot of money.


Finally, I'd agree with everyone who has suggested getting an independent inspection of the property. It may be a few hundred bucks but it will make your life a lot easier as you negotiate.

Tell both your realtor and the seller that you might have some tradesmen come by to give some estimates on doing work...if they balk....walk away....the property is suspect.

Realtors work on commission...they get a percentage of what you pay....the more you pay, the higher their commission.

[dugaresa]

70. your "floors level" comment prompted me to add this

If you are looking at a fixer upper, get estimates on how much it is going to cost to rehab/renovate the home in question.

Many years ago my husband and I fell in love with a balloon Victorian. Gorgeous house and lots of land around it. The problem? It was unlivable, the copper pipes had been stolen and the floors were not level, etc. It was a gut job, however in spite of that it would have been a beauty if restored properly. We had a contractor come out and give us a price on renovation (we were going to live in our small house while the majority of this would be going on).

The house was selling for $100K.

The contractor, a good friend and a very honest businessman, told us that it would take at least $250K to fix it and put it in mint condition and that he recommended that we not touch it. He felt it would never sell for $350K even in the best of markets.

Turns out, he was right. The house still sits vacant and is rotting because the seller doesn't realize the house should either be:

1. sold cheap to someone who has the cash to bring it back to its original beauty
2. scrapped and sold in pieces, our contractor friend said the lumber in the attic alone (oak) was worth a fortune in a specialty market, however that doesn't affect a house's value on the market sadly.

[BlueCollar]

74. The marbles on the floor

was a habit my wife and I picked up living in San Francisco. We were renting and looking for a place to buy. Lots of old Victorians, but not a level one amongst them...

Victorians are beautiful, but not inexpensive to renovate or maintain.

[crispini]

77. Another follow-up on floors...

IMO the foundation issue is one issue that I think is potentially "fixable" depending on the type of foundation of the house. If a house has a pier-and-beam foundation, the repairs can potentially not be too pricey. I bought a house with a foundation issue, but it had been on the market for a long time and I asked the seller to split the cost of the foundation repair with me. Then I got a legitimate foundation engineer to make some recommendations, and got a good contractor to do the work, and the house hasn't moved an inch since. Just my experience. :D

Now, if it's a slab, never mind.

[dugaresa]

81. it was entirely possible to fix the floors in the victorian we were looking at

and the house had jacks (lots of old victorians have them to maintain the "level-ness" of the house)
but the house had been let go for so long that the floors were really out of level. (gorgeous mahoghany floors by the way).
the contractor basically said to get the floors level we would need to gut the house of all the plaster first (which made sense) and then level the house when it was devoid of the plaster because then they could level it more quickly because the house would be "lighter" and put in more more jacks if need be. then when the new wallboard and insulation went up the floors, etc would be level.

To level it without removing the plaster would result in plaster repair work everywhere.

One of the reasons for the high remodel costs for the house we were looking at was the fact that it had no insulation and we wanted to save the woodwork and the beautiful features but modernize the home with energy efficient updates like insulation, new plaster, new windows, new roof, etc

[crispini]

93. Whoa, yeah.

Wow. That would be quite the repair.

One more thing about floors I didn't know -- I was getting rid of the carpet in a room that was an add-on and I called around EVERYWHERE trying to find matching floors. De nada. I finally found a guy that used salvaged floors from the scrap yard! Perfect match. It's amazing what you learn about this stuff when you buy a house, haha.

[BlueIris]

63. I started a great thread on this last fall that got some awesome responses.

Wish I could find it.

[tigereye]

64. how high the school tax millage was going to be

whoops! We had no kid at the time, and really didn't think it through the whole way.


check house values around you and see how often the house/s next door were sold. If I had it to do again, I would never have bought a house next to a duplex that ended up being rented multiple times. Some rental properties can mean that the LL isn't so great on maintenance or vetting tenants and you may have to deal with wacky, loud tenants, changing tenants, people with unleashed dogs, LL who don't clean up their repairs and throw the detritus onto your property, don't have their trees trimmed and don't shovel the walk often enough. Every time the duplex next door comes on the market, we joke about buying it so that we could have control over who lives there.


Otherwise, I think we did ok from the house inspection info.

[dugaresa]

65. The only thing I regretted was not having 2 car garage in the suburbs with our first house

it became a problem with a number of the folks when we tried to sell it and was an inconvenience while we owned it.

It was a well built solid brick home and we had updated it and taken very good care of it, however the lack of a second garage stall was a big problem with a majority of buyers.

I have to say that you should buy a home that has a mortgage that is well below what you can afford. That means a bigger downpayment or being realistic about what you want. The house should have a solid foundation and no major problems with the roof, windows, furnace, etc because it will take you about 2 years to get "settled" and the last thing you want are a lot of bills. I have seen many home owners of previously owned homes who found themselves living on tight budgets or just throwing in the towel because the home with all the charm had a lot of not so charming problems.

Another tip, carpets, wall colors, light fixtures, draperies and stupid furnishing and even trim in a house can all be replaced over time. Don't overlook that gem in the rough because it isn't move in ready. You can slowly transform a house into a gem if the only problems are that the previous owner loved purple carpet and teal walls and that isn't your style. I have witnessed how people didn't look at a house but looked at how it was decorated and turned away from a good deal.

[Blue_In_AK]

67. I wish I had known that the roof was shot.

I bought a HUD house, a duplex, in 1990. HUD covered up the fact that the roof was defective, and two months after I moved in my living room and the living room of the apartment were literally leaking like seives.

I brought a lawsuit against HUD and the property managers. Fortunately, the property managers felt bad enough about it that they settled up with me for $15,000 rather quickly and I was able to put a new roof on. I decided to continue on with HUD though. I did a FOIA request for the file they maintained on this property and found a letter from a roofer who had worked on the house while it was empty stating that he had stopped the leaks for now but that he wouldn't warranty his work. Several subsequent inspections by HUD checked off that the roof was in good condition.

I was ultimately shot down by the Federal Tort Claims Act, although the Ninth Circuit did send my case back up here for review. I think probably the federal court here didn't want to open any floodgates so they gave me no relief.

So, long story short, have an INDEPENDENT inspection done of any potential purchase and make sure that all is as it seems. My house looked beautiful when I bought it. Three months later the ceiling was a soggy mess and I feared my roof would cave in.

[katkat]

68. get names

Get the names/phone numbers of good plumbers, electricians, roofers, etc. Get them now, so you won't be looking for someone in a panic when something happens.

Have the house inspected by a good inspector before purchase, not just someone working with the real estate agent, and go around with him or her during the inspection. A good inspector will want you to do this.

Hang around the neighborhood at various hours and see if you have a neighbor who likes to have loud parties until 3 am. Or if there is a commute traffic problem. Or if you're near a train tracks.

Some people have posted about nasty last minute surprises. Have something in your contract about a walk through you can do just before you sign at the closing; also the contract should specify whether things like the appliances, light fixtures, drapes, etc. are included. If they've violated the terms, you don't sign.

Flat roofs are common on Eichlers in CA. I have never heard of them causing unusual problems. Snow areas are a different matter.

Sun - my Mom built this house with a bank of windows facing South. Holy Moley. Do not do that.

[FunkyLeprechaun]

69. What the estimated price of our house was

I found out several months after we bought the house that I could check out what our estimated price of the house was. We paid 102,000 for it, and the estimated price was 97,000.

[MilesColtrane]

73. Thanks for everyone taking the time to reply to my post.

I've written down just about all of your suggestions in a little notebook.

I'm still running the numbers to see if I'll be able to buy.

I'll see how much I can pre-qualify for, and then look around to see if there's anything decent for that amount.

Unfortunately, (for me at least) home prices in this area didn't fall as far as in some other areas. I don't think I'll be able to find anything I can afford that is in a stable neighborhood, or that isn't a total shit-box.

I'm getting tossed out of the place I'm renting in five weeks, so I don't know if it's smart to get into something that quickly without taking more time.

Thanks again.

[raccoon]

76. Check out the water pressure. nt

[Iggo]

79. Oh good god yes, please do that.

Go in the bathroom and turn on the shower. The shower, I tell you.

[cleveramerican]

78. check the neighborhood thoroughly yourself

go and sit on the street in your car for a while at different times of the day.. rush hour, Saturday night etc...
you will learn more than anyone will ever tell you

[raccoon]

83. Great suggestion. I've also heard to check with the police department

to find out about the neighborhood.

[snooper2]

80. Make sure all the doors shut without a problem

and look square in the frames. And see if anybody has been jacking around with the jams recently...

[raccoon]

82. Check on what the utility bills are like. I bought a house and found out it was a barn.

Granted, different folks use different amounts of power, but if previous residents have real high bills, that could be a red flag.

[wysimdnwyg]

84. A few tips when thinking about buying a "new" house

As in, one that has just been built.

1. Crawl spaces are FAR superior to a slab. Some might argue with this, but if you have a plumbing problem in a slab (I will admit it is less likely), you're fubar.

2. Siding is important. Sure, you're willing to forego the extra cost for brick and get the vinyl siding that comes standard. That's fine. But what does the builder use for the base siding? USB is good. With a moisture barrier put on top is better (and likely code in some areas). Be careful if the builder uses USB only around the corners and foam sheet insulation for the rest. It saves them money, but you won't really enjoy the ability to punch a hole all the way through your wall with a long screwdriver.

3. Check EVERYTHING multiple times during construction (if you can). A short list of the issues I found: Uneven floors, bulging walls due to bent nails under the drywall, a hole in the subfloor going to the crawlspace, an open doorway that should have been flat that was anything but, electrical outlets that did not work, and paint on seemingly everything (doorknobs, outlet and switch covers, etc)

4. Try to negotiate. While many builders may be reticent to negotiate anything, you won't get it if you just take their list price. If nothing else, you have a good chance of getting some amenities, like upgraded plumbing fixtures or doorknobs with handles. Don't expect to get something like a free floor covering upgrade.


And a few general tips:

5. A big selling point these days is having the master suite on the first floor. If the multi-story home you're looking at does not have at least one bedroom on the first floor, the resale value might suffer a bit.

6. Location, location, location. This is something everyone has heard, but I'll repeat is because it really can be that important. Don't make the mistake of buying a house in a part of town in which you don't really want to live. Just because the house seems like a steal and has everything else you want is no reason to get that 5,000 sq ft mansion for $100,000. There's a reason why it's so cheap, and if the problem is not with the house, it's with the location.

7. If you have the opportunity, meet your potential neighbors. If you're driving by your prospective house and see one of the neighbors out, stop and say hello. You'd be amazed at how much you can learn from a five minute conversation.

[dysfunctional press]

89. the winning lottery numbers.

[Locrian]

85. inspections

Do NOT go with a "whole house" inspection. Its a gimmick.

Find a good plumber, electrician, and roofer and have them take a look. They can actually give you an estimate, and they are a hell of a lot better than the "check sheet" inspectors bullshit. They also know their shit (I said get a good one) vs whatever a "whole house" inspector knows - jack shit.

Disclaimer - Im sure that there are SOME super great one. I sure didnt find any.

[WinkyDink]

90. I'd re-do LOTS. Bottom line: Not to deal with Italian-American salesmen with guns in the car trunks.

Yeah, not a joke.
And I'm half Sicilian.

[Wapsie B]

94. Use a buyer's agent who's looking out for your interests.

I could never quite understand why that part of the home-buying process isn't made crystal clear to people? Unless you specifically have a buyer's agent the realtor is obligated to look out for the seller's interests.