re: First time home buying process

If you can’t put 20% down, you shouldn’t be buying a house.

Find a good lender/broker. One that uses UWM for the loan. Their system is so streamlined and easy for a lender to get you to a fast closing.

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Im going to say nobody will loan you money with just a 3-5% down payment. I know things have changed alot since 2006 but most are requiring at least a 10-20% down payment.

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Dude, you can buy a house with 100% financing if you qualify.

We used Red River Bank, but also have family who worked there. They had the best rates and don't charge origination fees. Only reason not to go through a bank is if you are worried about qualifying.

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If you can’t put 20% down, you shouldn’t be buying a house.

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Boo this man. Boo his overplayed shtick!

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good advice on the gift, if your parents or other family members are giving you cash for DP, line that up at least 2 months in advance or the bank will ask questions about the deposit

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So much bad information in this thread. You don’t need to hide a gift. Just document it properly. The mortgage broker can guide you through the steps and it’s fairly simple documentation.

Make sure during the process, after an offer is made and accepted, that an inspection is done on the house. The inspector writes a report for you and can be a lifesaver from a deal that looked good but wasn’t because of problems with the house or a way to negotiate a little if there are some other issues that need repair. Make sure any purchase agreement you sign is contingent on an inspection.

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580

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Yeeeesh

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Get some references or do some research and use a good agent.

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By good agent, look at their reviews, if they sound alike, it’s probably the agent or their assistant writing them.

I say that as an agent who knew agents who did and probably still are.

Interview them, ask them when they’re doing a showing what are things they look for, if roof age/condition isn’t one of the answers, IMO it should be. My wife (and assistant) now comments on houses we pass driving by about their roofs I have talked about them so much. It’ll be a potential significant expense early on in your ownership so take heed.

Pull up a house in your range and ask the agent “if visually it looks good, what would be a good offer on this one”

If they can’t take a few minutes and look at some recent sales in the area and have an opinion, might want to consider a different one.

If you do go the real estate agent route, don’t call the one on the sign in the yard. When buying my first house I did this in my inexperience. She was a good agent, but being both the buyer and seller’s agent, she obviously wanted it to sell for as high as she could and would shoot me down during the offering period saying she knows the buyer wouldn’t accept lower. Lesson learned on my part, I’ll bring my own agent if I go that route on my next home purchase.

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First time homebuyer here. Totally green on this. Is there a good guide for how to work through this? I really would like to avoid getting ripped off as best I can. Looking for a loan in the $350k range with around 3-5% down payment.

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You need to talk to your bank. Tell them you are buying a house. You can save a little money by not getting an agent. Call the house you like and ask if you can see it.

If you find a house you like, youll get a contract with pending inspections, meaning yall can back out. Youll need to either see or get a termite inspection and a house inspection. If there are issues with the house, you can negotiate that off the price. If the area is hot with lots of buyers, it may be harder to negotiate price.