I know nothing about homeownership...Impart your knowledge, please.

I've used a credit union, bank, and mortgage broker. It all depends on the broker, the bank or the credit union you go to. A good one is worth his weight in Miatas. They'll work for you and guide you every step of the way. The trick is to find one with your interests at heart. They may be hard to find, but ask around and see what names come up. A mortgage broker can also "shop" you around to get you the best deal. These days it does take a fair amount down unless you go FHA, which has been mentioned already.

One quick note. Our renters have been trying to buy for a year now, with not much luck. The wife has a credit rating of 780, the husband 590. They cannot get a loan at all right now with his rating. It's tough right now, so save up and get your score up. Your score is VERY important. I even had them go to our broker, who is a friend, and she wan't able to help them either.

racerdave600 wrote: A good one is worth his weight in Miatas.

Magazine worthy, IMHO.

I don't think I saw this advise among the excellent responses -

'Leverage what you can do that others can't or aren't willing to"

My wife and I bought a house in 2000. A small totally berkeleyed house on a very prestigious street in one of the most expensive zip codes in America. We got it because I was willing to shoulder thousands of hours of hard work to make it be worth more and so we'd have a kick-ass house in an awesome neighborhood. To say it was a lot of work would be a preposterous understatement. We persevered on toiled and lived a nice life there for 11 years. Recently we finally couldn't stand the lack of space, and the market was heating up again and we bought a much bigger, 1 year newer (1950) project house one zip code better. Loads of space, open floorplan, huge machine shop and garage, better commute for both of us.

Because it was ugly and a project it had been on the market for about 100 days. We sort of lowball offered - went back and forth and got it. 5 months of hateful work ensued to make it baseline livable - our old place sold for 2-1/2 times what we bought it for.

If you're willing to work for it, deals can be had.

I did not read the comments on the thread yet but let me take you down another road.

I've had two houses (well, one house and one condo that I still can't sell and it is vacant.) I will never buy another house again.

You have no idea the amount of time and money that a house will consume from you, time you will never get back. Then there is the stress that it is all on your back. it is always something with a house. Need a new roof, Oh and the windows and siding are bad. Time for the appliances to die one by one every month this quarter.

Forget the tax credit, for what you pay in interest you get back pennies on the dollar from the tax incentive.

I "made" about $40,000 selling my first house and will give EVERY DIME and then some back trying to get out of my condo. Plus the money I "made" doesn't include what I spent in closing costs, PMI, interest, up keep, insurance, higher bills, renovations. It is NOT worth it to me.

Now my situation is fairly unique, I've moved 8 times in the past 10 years and the flexibility of renting is so worth it. Plus my wife of 11 years and I don't have/want children.

Don't get caught in the trap!

Hey man. I've been looking at Fannie Mae owned stuff in Cherokee county.

http://www.homepath.com/

They'll finance with as little as 3% down. Sue Irwin at Allied Home Mortgage in Canton is awesome, and has helped us with mortgages, refi's, etc. Don't stress dude. You should be excited! Give me a call if you want to chat. PM me and I'll shoot you my # if you don't already have it. Otherwise, we'll discuss it over mind-erasers at the Mitty.

Knowledge, well I'm new at it myself, only lived in my own home for a year now. But atleast its fresh in my head. Just a short list for you.

1. Best bet go to realtor.com and start the search. Once you find something your interested in looking at, find a realtor. There might be one in your family, or you could know someone that liked their realtor, have a good rapport with them, make sure they know your budget and what you want the house for. Search in areas you haven't considered before, maybe an area that is sketchy now will be the hot place to live in ten years.

2. Get a single family home, having a wall connected to a neighbor or two is a pain, you think about being too loud constantly, or wonder what the hell are they yelling at each other about this time.

3. You do NOT want to live in an Home owners association(HOA), they'll tell you what you can and cannot do to your property, house, how many cars you can have, how much noise you can make, and if you violate the rules hand you a fine for non-compliance.

4. Having a garage first thing is nice, but don't let not having a 3 or 4 car garage with room for a lift be a deal breaker for you, all that can come in time.

5. Try to work on the house before you move in, replace carpet, add hard wood floors, etc. Before you move in, you'll learn that once you put all your stuff in the house there isn't much room left, you find yourself moving stuff around to do projects.

6. It really is the little things that you forget, like leaf blower, ladders, caulk, lawn mower, snow blower, trash cans, recycling bin etc. Think about those things now, before you buy, add the extra $10k into your budget of those things that don't come with the house that you will need to buy to do chores and for upkeep on the house itself once you purchase it.

Don't forget property taxes, renters are lucky in that regard.

Pretty much everything that digdug18 said...

When I bought my house in the UK I didn't really put enough cash aside for repairs. That blew when I ended up having to get the shower redone because it was both leaking into the adjacent bedroom and the downstairs living room...

Carguy:

I don't know if Maroon is getting much out of this, but I am.

Thank you.

Racerdave600 has a point I forgot to mention, a single source lender is limited in loan options. Nowadays there's not an across the board industry standard for qualifying & processing.

The same ultimate source of loans (like Frannie or HUD or whoever) will actually apply slightly different standards to the entity supplying the loans depending upon the history of their loans and quality of processing.

A multisource lender will have more loan options and more sources of money which means they can send the buyer to the secondary market source that will be the easiest for their situation.

fasted58 wrote: Don't forget property taxes, renters are lucky in that regard.

You're paying it one way or the other. That may even have something to do with the increase in rent. Fortunately, property taxes in GA are pretty low, especially on a $70,000 or less piece of property.

digdug18 wrote: 1. Best bet go to realtor.com and start the search. Once you find something your interested in looking at, find a realtor. There might be one in your family, or you could know someone that liked their realtor, have a good rapport with them, make sure they know your budget and what you want the house for. Search in areas you haven't considered before, maybe an area that is sketchy now will be the hot place to live in ten years. 3. IF THE HOUSE YOU ARE BUYING IS IN THE CITY LIMITS You do NOT want to live in an Home owners association(HOA), they'll tell you what you can and cannot do to your property, house, how many cars you can have, how much noise you can make, and if you violate the rules hand you a fine for non-compliance.

1. The Realtor.com site is set up to drive you to a Realtor and doesn't allow you to freely search all listings. Recently I was helping a customer get familiar with the market and using THEIR search parameters got us over 1,000 homes with few that really matched what we'd entered. By using a RE company's portal to the same info our search parameters gave us only about 30 homes and all matched. The site's designed to frustrate you enough to make you get face to face with a person, which isn't a bad idea anyway. Also the public portal to Realtor.com won't list the more current listings whereas if you enter thru a Real estate office's portal you not only get a working search but you also get the most current listings. Go to a real estate office's website and they will give you a way to search listings. With that said some Realtor's offices add even more restrictions so you may have to go thru several sites to find one you like.

2. I fixed it for you. Very few people "appreciate" HOAs. Most will do anything not to live in an area with an HOA. That's the #1 complaint I hear from people looking at homes. BUT when you live outside the city limits HOAs do serve a purpose.

The HOA rules take the place of all those little rules the cities have in place like your neighbor has to cut their grass once it's as high as an elephant's eye and you can only have 3 cars up on blocks in your front yard at one time, etc., etc.

SVreX wrote: Carguy: I don't know if Maroon is getting much out of this, but I am. Thank you.

I certainly am. I thank everyone who has responded. I really am uneducated on these topics, so any help is great!

digdug18 wrote: 3. You do NOT want to live in an Home owners association(HOA), they'll tell you what you can and cannot do to your property, house, how many cars you can have, how much noise you can make, and if you violate the rules hand you a fine for non-compliance.

I actually will say that.. There are times when living in a good HOA community is worth its weight in gold. I was able to sell my house in 2009 for a fair price partly because I was in a good neighborhood with strong rules. There are many parts of the country where folks don't exactly take pride in home ownership.

Sure they are a pain, but they keep property values up and make for faster sales. Research the rules before you go in, talk to some neighbors etc.. If they are nazi's walk, usually you'll find some reasonable rules etc..

< I actually will say that.. There are times when living in a good HOA community is worth its weight in gold. I was able to sell my house in 2009 for a fair price partly because I was in a good neighborhood with strong rules. There are many parts of the country where folks don't exactly take pride in home ownership. Sure they are a pain, but they keep property values up and make for faster sales. Research the rules before you go in, talk to some neighbors etc.. If they are nazi's walk, usually you'll find some reasonable rules etc..

History has shown that to be the exception to the rule and I note that you said "There are times when" The HOA needs to be adding something to the mix before they become worthwhile. I have an HOA and we get a neighborhood park, pool, gates and and attractive common area. AND since we are out in the country we get those No Pig rules that the city normally has. But we have those dumb I can't even consider a fence unless it is OK'd by the architectural committee plus there was the fight I had to go thru to get my metal building at a 14" sole plate height when clearly my building was over 1,000 feet from the road and sheltered from sight and therefore allowed under the rules. No matter what the rules say if the HOA wants to be involved they can be and you have to take your valuable time and sometimes money to fight them.

Desirability is a big factor in home and area values, unfortunately HOAs typically lower desirability which causes value problems, and more to the point for the individual, they can cost you sales, add sales time &/or decrease values.

Fortunately there are new laws in the mix that might eliminate the HOA's right to foreclose on you if you don't follow the rules.

I'm not a huge fan of HOAs because I have seen thousands and the issues they create, but you know what, I willingly bought in an HOA neighborhood. OK, there was a little reticence to go along with some kicking and screaming but the alternative could have created issues for us down the line.

SVreX wrote: Carguy: I don't know if Maroon is getting much out of this, but I am. Thank you.

+1. That is some very valuable and well presented info. Thanks!

Gotsol wrote: I did not read the comments on the thread yet but let me take you down another road. I've had two houses (well, one house and one condo that I still can't sell and it is vacant.) I will never buy another house again. You have no idea the amount of time and money that a house will consume from you, time you will never get back. Then there is the stress that it is all on your back. it is always something with a house. Need a new roof, Oh and the windows and siding are bad. Time for the appliances to die one by one every month this quarter. Forget the tax credit, for what you pay in interest you get back pennies on the dollar from the tax incentive. I "made" about $40,000 selling my first house and will give EVERY DIME and then some back trying to get out of my condo. Plus the money I "made" doesn't include what I spent in closing costs, PMI, interest, up keep, insurance, higher bills, renovations. It is NOT worth it to me. Now my situation is fairly unique, I've moved 8 times in the past 10 years and the flexibility of renting is so worth it. Plus my wife of 11 years and I don't have/want children. Don't get caught in the trap!

It depends on how well you buy and sell. We bought the sh1ttiest house on the nicest block before the boom, worked hard on it, and sold it for 2-1/2 times what we paid for it. The down payment on house #2 was taken out of equity in house #1. Buying a house and working hard on it has totally transformed our financial position to one where I can seriously consider being able to make sweeping changes in how I work and for whom. Serious life changing stuff. Buying well was the best thing we ever did.

Studies have shown that people who own homes have many times more personal wealth than people who don't. A lot of that is the equity build up, but here are a few other things as well.

From NAR, WHY HOME OWNERSHIP MATTERS

TO PEOPLE… Home owners are happier and healthier and enjoy a greater feeling of control over their lives.

Owning a home is one of the best ways to build long-term wealth. Historically, a home owner’s net worth has ranged from 31 to 46 times that of a renter.

Home owners are free to redecorate, renovate, and modify their homes as they wish.

Most home owners enjoy stable housing costs—a fixed-rate mortgage payment might not change for 15 to 30 years while rent typically increases 3 % a year.

Home owners can typically deduct mortgage interest and property taxes on their federal individual income tax return.

TO COMMUNITIES… People who own homes vote more, volunteer more and contribute more to their neighborhoods.

Home owners do not move as frequently as renters, providing more neighborhood stability. In turn, this stability helps reduce crime and supports neighborhood upkeep.

Children of home owners do better in school, stay in school longer, are more likely to participate in organized activities and spend less time in front of the television.

TO AMERICA... 67% of American households are owner-occupied. America is a nation of home owners.

Home owners pay 80 to 90% of federal individual income taxes, contributing to federal programs that benefit all Americans.

Every home purchased pumps $60,000 into the economy for furniture, home improvements and related items.

Housing accounts for more than 15% of the national Gross Domestic Product, a key driver of our national economy.

For these reasons and more, home ownership is the American Dream!

Ok, I should say if you want to work on your house or car when YOU want to, don't move into an HOA.

Good reason why......

racerdave600 wrote: I've used a credit union, bank, and mortgage broker. It all depends on the broker, the bank or the credit union you go to. A good one is worth his weight in Miatas. They'll work for you and guide you every step of the way. The trick is to find one with your interests at heart. They may be hard to find, but ask around and see what names come up.

Definitely. The broker I used for my first US house was recommended by my realtor. Turns out it was a "last chance before I never give your name out again" recommendation, and the guy was a lying crook. The realtor screwed herself, I'll tell anyone to run away from her thanks to that. Not every realtor is an incompetent housewife, not every broker is a crook. But I can give you some names if you want either.

There's been a certain amount of hate for Wells Fargo in this discussion, but I have a very good, professional guy I work with at Wells Fargo. He can meet or beat any quotes I've brought in from elsewhere, he's professional and he's good. He's also been there for at least four years, definitely not a minimum wage slave. It might help that I live in a fairly small town.

So in my case, it's come down to the individuals. My credit union actually told me not to bother, they simply weren't competitive on mortgages. This was about 12 years ago, things may have changed.

carguy123 wrote: I'm not a huge fan of HOAs because I have seen thousands and the issues they create, but you know what, I willingly bought in an HOA neighborhood. OK, there was a little reticence to go along with some kicking and screaming but the alternative could have created issues for us down the line.

Yeah HOA's can be a total pain, but I moved to an area where storing your boat in your front yard is common. So I found a place where they couldn't... Helped me out a ton.

Keith wrote: There's been a certain amount of hate for Wells Fargo in this discussion, but I have a very good, professional guy I work with at Wells Fargo. He can meet or beat any quotes I've brought in from elsewhere, he's professional and he's good. He's also been there for at least four years, definitely not a minimum wage slave. It might help that I live in a fairly small town. So in my case, it's come down to the individuals. My credit union actually told me not to bother, they simply weren't competitive on mortgages. This was about 12 years ago, things may have changed.

Keith, that was then, this is now.

The rules, nay the LAWS have changed since you bought. The Too Big To Fail Banks now have a completely different set of rules and laws to live by than do the rest of the lenders. The Feds have helped (which is to be expected since the banks are the shareholders of the Feds) with some of their rules.

Wells has very few old time LOs anymore, they have been replacing them with hourly employees. Get used to it, the Feds are making it the law April 1st that the LOs HAVE TO BE hourly wage employees except for the principles of the companies. So you will need to get the owner of the company to work with you.

So after April 1st the only way a LO can be anything other than an hourly wage employee or salaried is if they only do loans at an above market interest rate and pay your closing costs for you. Basically that means you are rolling your closing costs into the rate. Under those circumstances neither the buyer nor the seller can pay costs.

carguy123 wrote: Studies have shown that people who own homes have many times more personal wealth than people who don't. A lot of that is the equity build up, but here are a few other things as well. From NAR, WHY HOME OWNERSHIP MATTERS

I understand how these are all correlated to home ownership, but it's hard to believe the causation. Perhaps the National Association of Realtors has some sort of benefit from spreading this message; I can't imagine what, though. I would guess that individuals capable of buying a home have a much larger net worth than those who are not capable of purchasing a house.

carguy123 wrote: Keith, that was then, this is now. The rules, nay the LAWS have changed since you bought. The Too Big To Fail Banks now have a completely different set of rules and laws to live by than do the rest of the lenders. The Feds have helped (which is to be expected since the banks are the shareholders of the Feds) with some of their rules. Wells has very few old time LOs anymore, they have been replacing them with hourly employees. Get used to it, the Feds are making it the law April 1st that the LOs HAVE TO BE hourly wage employees except for the principles of the companies. So you will need to get the owner of the company to work with you.

That's a lot of changes in the last couple of months My credit union experience was 12 years ago, but my most recent refi (to take advantage of lower rates and our aggressive payment schedule) closed in November. I pay my closing costs in cash, don't roll them in - I don't want to pay interest on them for 15 years. Still dealing with the same professional guy. We'll see what happens with him as time goes on.

I'm going to be a voice of dissent here. You don't want to be a homeowner (YET).

Buying a house to save $70 a month on a rent increase is a losing proposition. I GUARANTEE you will spend double that in small stuff on the house, EVERY month. New appliance or yard implement, painting walls, HVAC problems, etc.

I bought a foreclosure 3 years ago with 10% down and with what I thought was a reasonable money cushion (~$20K). I blew through that in the first 6 months without trying, and I'm pretty frugal (hell I didn't have furniture for almost the first year while I was painting, doing electrical work, etc.). I am now trying to get out of my house because I am exhausted, I pour all my time and spare $$ into improving it, and I realized that's not how I want to spend my 20s. I'm going back to a simple, small apartment and couldn't be happier.

So, that being said, and with no offense intended, I would whole-heartedly recommend waiting. Pay off your CC debt and build up a solid cash savings ($10,000+). THEN go looking for a house. Maybe you'll have married the girl by then, which'll be one thing off the list.

If you don't care for your current living situation, by all means, find another apartment or try and rent a house to see if its for you. Even if its more expensive than your current place it'll be cheaper than home ownership. Also, if you really want a garage, you can typically rent those too! I rented one for ~$200/month that was large enough for 2 cars with 6ft of work space around both, and had power, lights, my tool box, desk for laptop, etc. It was great, and I was far more productive on my cars when my free time didn't go to home maintenance.

Your mileage may vary, and I am certainly biased, my basement's flooded twice this week and I had to shut the furnace down to protect it, so its been a cold, damp couple of days. But that's my $0.02.