Advice for First Time Home Buyer!! Please!

[beachdrivegirl]

Very nice bonus! Thanks for the info, not that i qualify since I already own my home, but always good to know the facts!

PSPS… where are you getting your information/news?

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[alki_2008]

So, just took a look at the recent mortgage rates (which I haven’t been paying attention to lately) and noticed that they’ve risen a considerable bit in recent weeks.

For those that focus solely on purchase prices…here’s a quick summary of how rates affect affordability:

$300k purchase price – $60k (20% downpayment)

$240k loan amount

$1250/month (30yr-fixed at 4.75%, $1560/mo at 6.00%)

$260k purchase price – $52k (20% downpayment)

$208k loan amount

$1250/month (30yr-fixed at 6.00%)

If someone is budgeting $1250/mo for a mortgage, a house at $300k with a low rate would have to drop to $260k with higher rates. Right now, mortgage rates are LOW…especially considering what rates were like in the 80’s (yikes!).

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[shihtzu]

I’ve just got to add that the biggest mistake we made when buying our house was using the realtor recommended inspector. Nothing major is wrong, but in hindsight he was totally working with her to push the sale through.

As for location, I know Arbor Heights can be pretty nice, but unwalkable. I live in a slightly more walkable area, but would have maybe looked closer to civilization if I’d have thought about it.

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[lazybeard]

When we were working with our agent and came to choose the inspector, he gave me a couple of cards of people he recommended but I went with the party that I mentioned already.

How did I choose?

Recommendation from a friend. He showed me his report, it was highly informative & useful, with URLs to legit sites on how to fix issues. Where did he find the company? His previous agent, who dealt mostly in business real-estate. I also looked at sample reports online. Both recommendations from my agent had sample reports and they PALES in comparison to this company’s.

At the end of the inspection, my agent took a handful of his cards, he was highly impressed with the work.

PM me if you’d like to see my report, there’s also a sample online to.

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[lazybeard]

Since PMs were just recently disabled anyone can email me at lazybeard_at_gmail_dot_com

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[Ashley]

Yes i am eligible for the 8,000 tax credit which is quite nice!!! I think I am more inclined to go with Reis Pearson from Inside Out because I know her personally, she has all her credentials, BBBureau recommended, and comes highly recommended from others. But thanks everyone for your advice!!

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[homedk]

With regard to the $8000 tax credit, be aware that it expires at the end of November & your transaction will need to have closed by then. To be on the safe side, you should allow 45 to 60 days from mutual acceptance until closing. Other considerations include King County furlough days (when transactions cannot be recorded), the Thanksgiving holiday, & potential backlogs because lots of people will be trying to take advantage of the tax credit.

This afternoon I looked up some data in the NWMLS regarding months of available housing inventory & price per square foot for new construction in West Seattle. Excess inventory has significantly decreased since last December. Here are the May ’09 stats for single family homes (not including condos), broken down by zip code: 98106 = 4.9 months, 98116 = 8.1 months, 98126 = 5.1 months, 98136 = 5.4 months. The average decrease in inventory since December is 38.3% (averaged across these 4 zip codes). With regard to the cost per square foot for new construction, the average cost in May ’09 for single family homes was $243 per square foot; breaking it down by the same zip codes as above, it ranged from $181 per square foot in 98106 to $283 per square foot in 98136. Granted, some builders are selling new construction at very low prices, but $150 per square foot is not the average price of new construction in this area.

Hope this is helpful. Good luck to you, Ashley!

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