You're gonna do WHAT?

[soldiergrrrl]

Eeeeeeeek.  Looking at houses.  Someone come give me oxygen, please.

Comments

[times-suspended.livejournal.com]

When we were searching for "our" home, it was exhausting on so many levels. Hang in there!

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

Get up, go get a snack. Maybe a drink, maybe nibbles, maybe just looking out a window for a few minutes as kind of a visual snack.

Seriously.

[justinian565.livejournal.com]

The consolation is that this is a great time time to buy. Inflated prices are down, but so is acsess to credit. Have fun.

[soldiergrrrl.livejournal.com]

Luckily, VA loans are still pretty doable.

You and I have two totally different ideas of fun, lemme tell ya.....

[justinian565.livejournal.com]

"You and I have two totally different ideas of fun, lemme tell ya....." That coudl be a TMI post darling.

[soldiergrrrl.livejournal.com]

LOL! That it could!!!

[silverstah.livejournal.com]

Congrats!!!

[soldiergrrrl.livejournal.com]

Just starting the process. We'll see what they say when we go for the approval. EEEEEEEEEEE!

Part of me is going "Wooo hoooo!" The other part of me is going "OMG that's a LOT OF MONEY!!!"

[silverstah.livejournal.com]

HEE! Yeah, but its' totally worth it, and it's a buyer's market right now. I'm excited for you!

[missbabyblue.livejournal.com]

Do you guys still have/intend to build on the land eventually?

[soldiergrrrl.livejournal.com]

Yep. That's our retirement/dream house.

if you're gonna pay

[redc1c4.livejournal.com]

it's better to pay your mortgage than someone else's mortgage with your rent.

sure you don't wanna buy a house near me? %-)

Re: if you're gonna pay

[soldiergrrrl.livejournal.com]

Honey, I'd have to sell body parts to afford that, and the commute would KILL us. ;-)

Re: if you're gonna pay

[redc1c4.livejournal.com]

but you have such *nice* body parts...... %-)

[revchewie.livejournal.com]

We're working on that same little project right now. Waiting oh-so-impatiently to hear if the bank will accept our offer. Three weeks and counting... (Short sales can take a long time, I've been warned.)

Three pieces of advice:
1. If you haven't yet, go ahead and get your Letter of Eligibility from the VA so you have it on hand when the lender asks for it.
2. Home Buying for Dummies! Buy it, read it! It's been invaluable to me. It isn't going to make you a complete expert but it gives a good idea of things like what questions to ask and what to look for when viewing the house. (And no, of course not, this isn't supposed to be any sort of derogatory comment on your IQ. The for Dummies series of books are, IMNSHO, some of the best primer-type books ever written.)
3. When you submit your first offer (there's a decent chance you'll have to submit offers on a few different houses before one's accepted), just keep breathing. Apparently I turned a bit green when submitting our first offer. I know that inside I kept thinking something along the lines of, "Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!!! A quarter of a friggin' million dollars?!?!?!" *chuckle*

Good luck on climbing out of the Rent Pit of Despair!!!

[soldiergrrrl.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I ADORE the Dummies books. They are fantastic.

I'm turning slightly green about the whole process.

[shonao.livejournal.com]

of course, you also have Amy and myself to happily help since we've both been there, done that.

Us, a little after we refinance and spiff up the house with some cosmetic work we're gonna sell this bitch and find a better house. Aah, the stupidity and pit-falls of a first-time home O_o

[ladytwnks.livejournal.com]

we're sorta-looking. once mr panicky decides to pre-approve for a loan, we really start looking.

we looked at one place, a 3/2 townhouse, 58k. totally unsuitable for our needs, but it was a begining look-see. it'll happen for you, sugarpops!

[piroshki.livejournal.com]

The first house I looked at was wholly unsuitable for me and my, ahh, ever expanding hobbies. (Why yes, you can craft a twelve-seat dining room table out of eight treadle machines, why do you ask?)

Still to this day, I can remember the sound of the key scraping into the lock, the smell of the oil they'd washed the hardwood with, the sight and size of the rooms.

I think if I were to offer any recommendation at all, it would be to outline what precisely you absolutely cannot live without in a house, what you absolutely and wholly refuse to tolerate in a house, and what you are willing to fudge or compromise on.

Look next at (available) construction. Make sure, if the house has been vacant for more than a year, that you have washers for all faucets. (Trust me on this one, oh dear God trust me on this.)

Get a full termite panel done, especially now that they're active. I know someone who didn't (because it's "just an added expense that stuff never really happens"), and half their house fell in on them.

Decide on a cost early, see if you can get approval for that. If you're looking to buy within the next sixty days, try for an overall loan agreement, so you can lock in an interest rate.

Oh, and when you go in to sign the final papers? Do NOT look at the last figure in the Truth In Lending column, the one that tells you what you will be paying if you pay no more than the minimum requirement over the term of the loan.

Check the paperwork as you sign. Make sure you know what the terms on your loan actually mean, and that they are all present and accounted for.

Oh, and if they try to make you sign paperwork in a pub and offer you free drinks? Run away. No I'm not kidding. Run.

[deafelis.livejournal.com]

What she said. And if you have found your ideal neighborhood, but can't find your ideal house... if you have time, be patient.

We just found our ideal house (we thought), put in a bid after the second viewing, and *THEN* found things about the house that would have made us think really hard about putting a bid in. Don't bid after only two looks. :)

A friend just pointed out the resale concept - being in a good school district will help resell the house. I'm guessing you guys are buying near post? Kinda the same thing, imo. :p But it's a good thing to keep in mind when choosing the area to search in.

Piroshki: you have another good point. I'll add "room for woodworking hobbies?" to our list of concerns. ;) Thanks.

(hehe - I'm sure I have all kinds of advice now... some that applies and some that won't... but I'll refrain from throwing it at you all at once. ;) I do know that I'd be much less scared of it myself if we were in the military market areas, because living in the wrong house for 3 years is much less scary than living there for 10.)

Houses are nice..

[auxdarastrix.livejournal.com]

But when are the kids coming?

Re: Houses are nice..

[soldiergrrrl.livejournal.com]

I don't know. When are you having some?

Re: Houses are nice..

[auxdarastrix.livejournal.com]

John's older. And married. He should go first so I'm off the hook.