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Lizardlean
HastaIguanaPianoman
last online: 05/19, 18:07
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Anyone have wisdom to share on home buying?

It'll be another six months or so before we can actually buy a house, but I'm anxious to learn all I can about it in the mean time. The market in Salt Lake City is rough - expensive and houses fly off the shelves like hotcakes.

Any advice about what to look into and what to ignore? What did you regret later on? I want to be choosy but not picky and I'm curious what others wish they were more choosy about and wish they were less picky about in hindsight.

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Since writing this post HastaIguanaPianoman may have helped people, but has not within the last four (4) days.
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advice, picky, choosy, hindsight, house shopping
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Roccoflip
Rockster160
last online: <time class="timeago" datetime="1728142596" title="Oct 5, 2024 15:36">Oct 5, 2024 15:36</time>
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Bought a house in Sandy nearly 2 years ago. ๐Ÿ˜„

Home buying is generally a pick 2 of 3:
* Location
* Price
* Quality

If you want a nice house in a great location- itโ€™s going to be REALLY pricey.
If you want to save money, you either settle for a crappy house or a crappy location.

My tip: start shopping now. Start looking at houses and playing the market. Figure out your price range. Start putting your paperwork together. (Youโ€™ll need proof of income for everybody on the loan, down payment, etc.)

I also highly recommend Homie. Itโ€™s a KSL app/service thatโ€™s free to use for buyers. Sellers can list their houses on there for a relatively small fee- and it takes care of all of the appointments and paperwork. We bought our house without a selling or buying agent- which can usually cost you 3-6% of your house, so you save a good amount.
I also know of a really cool mortgage agent, but heโ€™s in the South Jordan area.

Lizardlean
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HastaIguanaPianoman
last online: 05/19, 18:07
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Valuable information from someone in the same market!

Homie used to work downstairs from me and came to talk to us about it! I'm honestly fairly wary about using it for my very first home, though, since I don't trust that I know everything I need to without an agent. I've had friends use it, though.

As far as shopping goes, I've been looking at Trulia and Zillow religiously for over a year to assist me in day-dreaming haha but the good news is I think I'm fairly realistic because of it. I also know relatively my price range, but I just keep getting raises, darnit! lol

That's a good breakdown of the main 3 elements to look at. It totally rings true to me

Roccoflip
Rockster160
last online: <time class="timeago" datetime="1728142596" title="Oct 5, 2024 15:36">Oct 5, 2024 15:36</time>
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I think we found our house on Trulia, but we actually still went through Homie to handle all of the paperwork. Our first house and they were incredibly helpful. The house we bought wasnโ€™t even listed on Homie but they still ran all the paperwork and worked after-hours on a weekend to make sure we had he documents we needed. (We were closing in a rush.)
I canโ€™t speak higher praises of Homie. Incredibly useful compared to all of the alternatives.

Have you actually gone to see the houses yet? Looking around on the inside and planned where youโ€™d fit all of your stuff is a good way to see how youโ€™d be in the house.

Yorick
Yorick
last online: 02/28, 23:53
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I always wondered how much of a hassle homebuying is. especially for first time homebuyers.

Roccoflip
Rockster160
last online: <time class="timeago" datetime="1728142596" title="Oct 5, 2024 15:36">Oct 5, 2024 15:36</time>
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Itโ€™s pretty annoying. But honestly the hardest part is finding a place you can afford thatโ€™s acceptable quality. Thereโ€™s a lot of paperwork, but if youโ€™ve got a decent agent itโ€™s really not that bad.

Sherlock by olga tereshenko d9qdidc
Sherlock
last online: 07/08, 10:43
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Check disclosure laws and get a home inspection before you buy. Some houses have problems that will make them into money pits. Find out what previous owners are required to disclose. Ask pointed questions. And if you get evasive answers, move on!

Lizardlean
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HastaIguanaPianoman
last online: 05/19, 18:07
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All great advice! I appreciate everything I can get, buying a home certainly is intimidating!

Roccoflip
Rockster160
last online: <time class="timeago" datetime="1728142596" title="Oct 5, 2024 15:36">Oct 5, 2024 15:36</time>
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@HastaIguanaPianoman - Did you ever wind up buying that house? ๐Ÿ˜

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