Recently, Megan and I have talked about house shopping. I would love to get a house, but (as always), our finances stand in our way. And I know almost nothing about mortgages and that kind of thing (and we haven't gone to talk to any kind of mortgage advisor). At this point, we can either save up a couple more years and save enough for a down payment, or try to get a loan without a down payment (or a very minimal one), and I'm not sure what's better. Also, does anyone know whether sites like Lending Tree really work and if they are good ideas to use?
Money is so annoying.
On an unrelated note, I hope Ohio State beats the pants off of Florida in the championship game. Maybe then they'll reconsider the BCS system. But who knows. As long as the Buckeyes win. That'd be flipping sweet.
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House hunting: The joy of long-term debt!
Here are my thoughts on the process. I'm sure you'll get lots of advice from your family as well. More sources are a good thing, but always consider me to be right if anyone else diagrees! Can't trust those Coopers, you know. :-)
I tried Lending Tree when I was house hunting, and my conclusion was that it wasn't worth my time and the hit it makes to your credit score to have a bunch of people looking at your credit history.
I went with a local guy, David Greene (can give you his info if you are interested), and so did Tom and Katie. He's a mortgage broker, so he shops around for you to find the best deal for you. He doesn't work for a lender, and it's free for you. And the cherry on the top is that he's an Eagle Scout. How sweet is that?
I ended up getting different quotes from TCF, about 3 from Lending Tree, and then working with Dave Greene. He could always match or beat any other offer I could find.
My suggestion for a first step is to go to David Greene, Wells Fargo, or TCF and get pre-qualified for a mortgage. It doesn't cost anything, and it will give you an idea of what kind of price range you would qualify for. And just because you qualify for a certain amount doesn't mean it's a good idea to spend that much. The high end they will tell you would require you to eat at the soup kitchen every day, so figure out how much you could comfortably afford, while leaving money for maintenance, repairs, and emergencies.
There are tons of different kinds of mortgages, which a mortgage broker could walk you through, or someone like myself or your house-experienced family could as well.
Once you know how much you can afford, you'll have a starting point for what to look for. My next move was to decide on a general location, which for me was the north-west suburbs so I could be close to work and my church.
And let me make one very important suggestion! When you get to looking for a realtor to show you houses, don't pick one who did an awesome job for Tom and Katie, but then picks up a Meth habit halfway through your house-buying process. That didn't work out so hot for me, so I don't recommend it! :-)
As always, feel free to call if you want to chat about this stuff. I've gone through the process recently, and learned a lot doing it. The only thing I'd do over again was the choice of realtor, but that was a fluke more than anything else. I got a house I really like, so hey, it must not have been so bad after all!
Okay, ending really long post now (longer than the original, huh?)!
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