re: Buying a house, and I need advice...

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Buying a house, and I need advice...

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Put as much down as you possibly can. You'll save thousands in the long run on interest. Biggest regret of mine was not saving for another 6mos-year.

Also, absolutely shop mortgages. Going thru the home buying process for a 2nd time and I shopped. I found a broker who works for himself and waves alot of the petty fees.

Lastly, to best guess your monthly payment, pull the taxes from assessors office and contact a home insurance broker and get 2-3 quotes for home insurance. A lot of mortgage lenders are conservative on this line item and you can hurt yourself. Also, on the insurance side, read into what the deductibles cover. A lot of policies are going 2% insured value for deductible. Make sure you can swing that too.

Best of luck


ETA: Roof and A/C systems are the 2 common expenditures that can hurt. If sellers don't want to work with you and roof/AC are aging, get a few quotes to see if you can swing it.