Thursday, August 13, 2009

Adventures in Home Buying Continued...

Our house buying adventure continues. In this episode: first meetings with a realtor; getting pre-approved for a mortgage; realizing that compromises are a part of the deal.

First Meeting with a Realtor - good friends of ours recently bought their first house and were so enamoured with their realtor that they convinced us to use her as well. Turns out the same realtor also helped a couple of other friends, so supposedly she knows what she's doing.

We met with her in person last Thursday and I have to say, I am not THAT impressed. Clearly she is informed and energetic, but she spoke to us as if we were unprepared and uneducated children. Lady, I already explained I am a lawyer and an MBA by training and before setting an appointment with you we read a couple of books on purchasing a house and did our homework on what it is that we want to buy. Give some respect. After that initial meeting though, she aggressively threw herself into the project and while I am traveling on business, she has been going out with my wife to see some houses. Some interesting prospects at this point, but nothing that blew my wife away. I'll get to see some of the better prospects this weekend.

Getting Pre-approved for a Mortgage - our realtor recommended a mortgage broker and I spoke with her and went through the pre-approval process. As I twittered a couple of days ago, the broker thinks that we should have no problem getting the mortgage we are looking for. Another nice piece of information, our FICO score: 799. Identical for both of us. Sweet. Maybe paying our bills on time all these years and having no debt will pay some dividends.

Compromise is Part of the Plan - here's an axiom: no matter what your budget, the house you really want is only $100K more expensive than your budget... urghh... The budget will hold. We are made of iron. We shall not fall prey to temptation. Not, I say. Not.

But it's not just the budget. Every house has something a little off. Maybe it's too close to the freeway or too far from the park. Maybe the kitchen is old or the lay-out is crappy. It's actually upsetting, but it appears that compromise is required when looking for a house. I guess the important thing is to be patient and to not compromise on those things that are REALLY important to you.

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2 comments:

MW said...

I am a big fan of real estate and am following your home search with interest. Good Luck!

CoachingByPeter said...

Rent-to-own home is another good option in purchasing a house especially if your funds is not that sufficient for a downpayment and monthly mortgage. Just be open with the seller on some conditions on your contract so that both will have the advantage on the set-up.