Interested in buying a house any advice?

Question

Hi I'm interested in buying my first home. I'm a full time student and single father. I want to buy a house as cheap as possible but i want to live in a terrible nieghborhood. I don't mind having to get a little- bit of a fixer upper but not an overwhelming project. does anyone have any advice for me

Answer 1

First, contact a lender or mortgage broker to get prequalified for a loan. You will then know exactly what your price range is, how much you need to put down, etc. Also, most sellers won't accept an offer from a buyer unless they're prequalified (or it's a cash offer).

Second, start looking at property listings in the area you're interested in. You can go to www.realtor.com and either do a zip code search or map search for the desired area.

Third, get ahold of a real estate agent, preferably in the area you're looking in. When you find an interesting property contact him and have him look it up on the MLS. This service is only available to real estate professionals and includes lots of confidential and supplemental information that is not available to the general public.

Remember, a buyer's agent is paid for by the seller. If the buyer has no agent, that commission is kicked back to the buyer at close of escrow. But, a real estate agent can be an invaluable asset when viewing properties and determining how much to offer on one. Not to mention the negotiating and actually drawing up all the paperwork.

Answer 2

If you're a full time student, how are you going to make your mortgage payments? The bank is going to want to see a reliable source of income -- do you have one? Do you have any money for a down payment? (10 percent is usually the minimum required, and most lenders prefer 20 percent).

If you think you meet the financial requirements, then your next step is to talk to a Realtor in your area. They can give you advice and answer any questions you might have about the whole process.

Answer 3

Hi, my advice is to find a rundown house in a good area.

Because you can pay cheap for a house and do a little work to it to bring it to the condition it needs to be in, and it will be worth a whole lot more if you want to sell it.

hope this helps

Also, here is a good place to get a home loan :

http://www.merchantlinker.com

Answer 4

Research! A lot of people are surprised by fees etc that they don't expect when buying a house. This page has a few articles on buying a house - http://www.quickdirect.com.au/Content/Ed...

If you look online you'll find a whole heap more information on the process.