Homebuying Questions

[Malthus]

Reminds me of my in-hindsight-hilarious series of house viewings before we bought ours. Each one was a different horror show, with retrospective nicknames to match.

There was cigarette house, the cliff house, the Boo Radley house (that one was just effing wierd) ...

Every time we found a place that wasn't horrible, we would put in a bid ... and get hammered in a bidding war by someone bidding a tens of thousands more than us. It was very discouraging. 

That was buying in Toronto, notoriously a tough market for buyers. Hopefully your experience won't be as painful!

[merithyn]

The area I'm looking at isn't anywhere near that kind of "hot market".

[ulmont]

Don't buy in Santa Cruz.  That is my advice.

[Hamilcar]

Buy all cash.

[katmai]

Buy all cash.

even in tornado alley?

[Barrister]

Of course go in with an agent.

Why of course?  What are you getting for 6% of the sale price?

Commission is paid by the seller, not the purchaser.

[Barrister]

For the record, I'm looking at moving to a place I know with friends in the city. So I'm not going into a place blind. I know the area well enough, so while I could rent for a year, I'd rather not. It may be stupid, but I've wanted my own house for a very long time. I just want to see what my options are. I didn't know if the pre-approval process is a good indicator, or if it would be a mark against my credit, making things harder later.

Friends in the city are not you.  They may well have different interests than you do.

One year from now will happen very soon.  I well appreciate you'd rather not rent for a year.  Nevertheless, it's the smarter decision.

[Richard Hakluyt]

How much time are you likely to live in the house? If it is a long time then really liking the house is a high priority; if it is for a short time then the ability to sell it on quickly is important.

[Hamilcar]

Buy all cash.

even in tornado alley?

sure how much can a house be there? $10k?

[Maladict]

Where in Spain are you looking to buy a house?

[Malthus]

The area I'm looking at isn't anywhere near that kind of "hot market".

Be thankful. That was a very unpleasant experience.  Renting an apartment without clothes washing facilities, about to have a baby in the family, and trying to buy a house before the baby shows up ... in a market where ferocious bidding wars were the norm ... did not make for serenity. 😄

[merithyn]

Where in Spain are you looking to buy a house?

That's opened up a little. I was looking near Barcelona - and that's still my preferred area - but I've also looked further north, up on the coast north of Madrid. But that's a second house. For later. Right now, I'm looking in the US for a permanent home here.

[merithyn]

Buy all cash.

even in tornado alley?

sure how much can a house be there? $10k?

Yeah, okay. 

[merithyn]

For the record, I'm looking at moving to a place I know with friends in the city. So I'm not going into a place blind. I know the area well enough, so while I could rent for a year, I'd rather not. It may be stupid, but I've wanted my own house for a very long time. I just want to see what my options are. I didn't know if the pre-approval process is a good indicator, or if it would be a mark against my credit, making things harder later.

Friends in the city are not you.  They may well have different interests than you do.

One year from now will happen very soon.  I well appreciate you'd rather not rent for a year.  Nevertheless, it's the smarter decision.

Again, I'm looking at my options. It may well be that a lender suggests that, too, for other reasons. I just wanted to know what impact asking for a pre-approval might have.

[Sheilbh]

So weird to see estate agents talked about as a valued professional

I assume they are different in North America.

I've never bought so have nothing of value to offer, but one thing I know from friends and family is always insist on a full survey