Some advice on Homes

[mike-susieq1]

Well looking to buy a house in the futur here and have been looking at some here and there (yeah right thats what i do most of the day lol). I found some out in the country here well its rural areas i live in so its the country i always thought they would be pricey but apperantly not.
What are some things to look for/look out in houses when buying? thought it would be a good topic to get some good info and advice from you guys that have bought before.

I think i will post some links to some:
http://www.joslinrealestate.idxco.co...ingID=12043129
http://www.joslinrealestate.idxco.co...ingID=12055902
http://www.joslinrealestate.idxco.co...ingID=12041788
http://www.joslinrealestate.idxco.co...ingID=12033889
this one if i could see some pics of it.
http://www.joslinrealestate.idxco.co...ingID=12038240

Now the last one was the highest i would go and not too much interested in it as we like and want privacy. the first one is what i liked.

Any advice given will be taken and noted down for reference to be used when out buying. Thanks everyone.

[johnzillia54]

I say alway get an inspection and a good one because you don't want to buy a home that looks nice but then have it be a mess

[ReaperGN]

Make sure to have it inspected by someone with no ties to the seller. The last thing you want to do is buy a house you have to sink a ton of money into.

[mike-susieq1]

ok i have that listed down. I know alot about houses as i have family that builds them for a living also designs them so i learned from them helping and working with them. best thing is i get alot of stuff like windows, doors, plumbing pipes, flooring, sinks and all kinds of stuff from my grandmother most all brand new to semi used only. i will be doing most if not all the work that needs to be done on the place even the roofing lol.
we missed a great deal this month on a house but I believe we will see and find the right house when the time comes to make our decision.

Question also: anybody dealt with Home Owners Assocations? i ask because those houses you are required to be with them, anybody know how they work what are the down falls and i mean major anything that would make it not worth living in or getting into them?

[ReaperGN]

Here you go.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeowner_association

And the reason for having it inspected is assurance everything is good or known and if something is wrong it gives you bargaining strength since its not just you complaining about the house. There are also tons of small things that can cost you large amounts of money to fix such as mold and termites.

[mike-susieq1]

thanks for finding that info for me tons of good stuff i needed to know about.

[rjm2519]

HOAs can be good if there is a lot of community involvement and their isn't a lot ofd restrictions. But it can also be a pain if their are a lot of people that just like to complain.

One thing you may want to check on is crimes and rates of crimes for the area. The local PD should be able to help you there. It would probably not be a bad idea to stop and knock on a few doors in the neighborhood as well. You will possibly live next to these people you will want to have an idea of who they are and what they are like.
The last thing that comes to my mind is finding out if there are rental houses in the neighborhood and seeing how they are taken care of, my worst neighbors live in a rental and you can tell its not their house. Owner doesn't care enough to make sure it is taken care of.

I vote on the fourth one! Rock crawler country there! Seems spacious, no hoa and public utiliities.

[mike-susieq1]

I was reading about that and fees could go up and all. I don't mind if the water runs on a well, sewer, propane its OK to me as I would buy an electric stove instead. We have used well water before and filter our water with a under sink system we have brand new never used yet.
I agree I like 4th one as well maybe if I can contact them for pics since the house is an hour away from here and gas is not cheap you know!

[westoakmech]

A home inspection can be well worth the investment. I had one done before we bought our house, that guy took like three hours and found everything. They also know what to look for based on your type of financing. I also looked at the cost per square foot, compared to what it would cost to build a new one. I don't know how far you have to drive to work, that could also be a determining factor. Then age, age of roof, type of construction, age and type of siding, that can all be factors for insurance. Good luck, to you.

[rjm2519]

From my home owning experience, the utilities are nice because their is no maintenance (well pumps, water softeners, septic tanks filling up) and the added value to the home for having them. Then there are the what-ifs: if the power goes out then you have no water, the ground get saturated then your septic wont drain or the drains on the septic get plugged then you get sewage backed up.

When the hurricanes hit our state, my sister who has a well, was out of power for a week so also out of water for that long. Also in my experience the quality of well water leaves a lot to be desired and that goes for laundry, showers, and everyday uses like washing hands and doing dishes. Rust stains in the sinks, toilets, washers. And the sulfury smell (that may be specific to this region, i dont know) but they are all things to consider. Also consider if the well goes dry or something fails on it. That cost is all yours to replace/repair.

Home inspection- definitely get at least one and try to schedule it so you can be there maybe with one other person that you can trust ( perhaps that relative that is into construction ) my sister paid out of pocket for a home inspector and the house passed with no issues. And then after all was mortgaged and signed, the insurance told her they were going to assess a surcharge because the roof was slate shingles with asbestos in them. It doubled the cost of their insurance because of that alone, then the hvac system went out to the tune of $6k to replace, also their cost. So get as many inspections as you feel comfortable with, if the inspector knows the seller or realtor fire him and get another one, lol!

Also understand that their is a difference between an appraisal and an inspection, they both are fairly thorough and do a good job of going over the home, but the appraisal is all about home value not how safe or livable the house is unless it is for an HUD/FHA loan. That is a lot more strict on what flies and what doesn't.

[mike-susieq1]

A home inspection can be well worth the investment. I had one done before we bought our house, that guy took like three hours and found everything. They also know what to look for based on your type of financing. I also looked at the cost per square foot, compared to what it would cost to build a new one. I don't know how far you have to drive to work, that could also be a determining factor. Then age, age of roof, type of construction, age and type of siding, that can all be factors for insurance. Good luck, to you.

dont drive to work just to help friends and family. I will be there when the inspector does the inspection.

From my home owning experience, the utilities are nice because their is no maintenance (well pumps, water softeners, septic tanks filling up) and the added value to the home for having them. Then there are the what-ifs: if the power goes out then you have no water, the ground get saturated then your septic wont drain or the drains on the septic get plugged then you get sewage backed up.

When the hurricanes hit our state, my sister who has a well, was out of power for a week so also out of water for that long. Also in my experience the quality of well water leaves a lot to be desired and that goes for laundry, showers, and everyday uses like washing hands and doing dishes. Rust stains in the sinks, toilets, washers. And the sulfury smell (that may be specific to this region, i dont know) but they are all things to consider. Also consider if the well goes dry or something fails on it. That cost is all yours to replace/repair.

Home inspection- definitely get at least one and try to schedule it so you can be there maybe with one other person that you can trust ( perhaps that relative that is into construction ) my sister paid out of pocket for a home inspector and the house passed with no issues. And then after all was mortgaged and signed, the insurance told her they were going to assess a surcharge because the roof was slate shingles with asbestos in them. It doubled the cost of their insurance because of that alone, then the hvac system went out to the tune of $6k to replace, also their cost. So get as many inspections as you feel comfortable with, if the inspector knows the seller or realtor fire him and get another one, lol!

Also understand that their is a difference between an appraisal and an inspection, they both are fairly thorough and do a good job of going over the home, but the appraisal is all about home value not how safe or livable the house is unless it is for an HUD/FHA loan. That is a lot more strict on what flies and what doesn't.

that is true about the pump for the well and all. Thinking later on i would hook up some solar panels to run off to reduce cost and maybe if i end up with a well to run the pump off the solar panel and some of the house maybe.
I know about the asbestos for sure and lead in paint so i will be checking about that more so if the house was built before 1980 as the paint had it before then more. I may use the FHA loan or the USDA Home Loan which works a little better than FHA does.

[jcjhl69]

Dont forget to check out the school systems if you are planning on raising kids there.

[1979chevy.]

Was looking for AC but I realized that you live in CA haha, here in MS with the humidity we have to run AC a good bit.

[mike-susieq1]

Was looking for AC but I realized that you live in CA haha, here in MS with the humidity we have to run AC a good bit.

LOL we have to run it in the summer alot from June-Oct ending of the month. winter time heater. I'm hoping to have an ac system if not then i can get a few smaller ac units in each room to use. in winter i'm hoping alot of houses use a woodstove and i can get tons of wood if needed with so many orchards here and friends have it too when they take out trees.
I get a 73.1% off my electric rate price and gas 25%.

[1979chevy.]

LOL we have to run it in the summer alot from June-Oct ending of the month. winter time heater. I'm hoping to have an ac system if not then i can get a few smaller ac units in each room to use. in winter i'm hoping alot of houses use a woodstove and i can get tons of wood if needed with so many orchards here and friends have it too when they take out trees.
I get a 73.1% off my electric rate price and gas 25%.

Wow very nice, in my new home used that spray in foam insulation that helps extremely to keep the temps down in the 100 degree summer temps we get down here. Still have to run the AC from time to time, and yes I've heard wood heat is very efficient if you have a supply of wood. My grandparents had one.

[mike-susieq1]

see living in an apartment you cant do anything to stop the heat leaks in winter or the cool air leaks in summer time because your not allowed to to anything to the apartment so your forking out alot of wasted money both winter and summer time and with very old water heaters and poor ducts in the system adds on top it. yes they did remodel but its getting very strict here, some good like no smoking on the entire property including your car, apartment at all which we dont mind since we dont smoke. but there are other rules and you have to supply papers and sign papers and be home when they inspect and they always cancel that day most if not all the time without telling people which is so annoying for us.
Having our own home will be a tremendous blessing for us. think i'm going to go in to talk to a mortgage broker next month and to another place the loan we are looking at.

[mike-susieq1]

well i have a long list of places that we are considering moving too and a few lenders around here. there are 2 different loans that we can get one is the main one we are looking at its called: USDA Home Loan requires no money down and is only for homes located in rural areas with less than 20K population so where we live now and other places around here are just right for it. There is also a grant that helps with the closing costs which is not much because there is no cash down just only the lender fees and we can ask the seller to pitch in on those costs if we want. That loan is easier to get than our second choice of a FHA with the same grant covers the down+closing costs we would need for that. 3rd choice would be HomePath Loan which may look into or not at getting.

Now the thing that stinks is the Govt is slacking on the Social Security trust funds. They need to fix the issues going on with it and stop taking from it. alot of people have put into it and they use it to fund stuff that shouldnt be funded with retirement/disablity money if anyone follows. My wife and my income we get each month could end 2016 i found out atleast our disablity payment which is most of our income while we would still get Social security which isnt much each month till 2033. The govt needs to fix that mess and stop blaming thats how the national debt came to be that program pays for its self thats why after all its running out of money not to mention the govt taking from it for other uses like a wallet full of cash (no one has that to spare right!!!???)

well i'll see later on in the year to come how things end up. My grandmother said she would help buy the house and move with us if we do decide to buy one.