Looking at houses.. any suggestions, comments, etc

[flounder]

So here's the deal. Ive started looking at houses and would hopefully like to find something before the April 30 tax credit expires.

Since Ive never been through this before, any suggestions, or things you homeowners have experienced that you think would be helpful would be greatly appreciated.

As far as finding the right lender, things to consider besides the loan, etc. Anything you can think of.

Right now, Im looking at getting about place about 20 min or so outside columbus so that I can have some land around to hunt/shoot on as well as get some additional storage space like a stand alone outbuilding or extra gargage. Im not looking for any home suggestions, just looking for input on things to consider when buying.

[redkow97]

GET A HOME INSPECTION.

it's usually around $300, but the knowledge is worth way more than that. The home inspector gets info that you (as a buyer) would sound crazy for wanting to check yourself, and the inspector has insurance that makes the seller feel better.

Asking price on my house was $125k when we looked at it. We paid $105, due in large part to things the inspector pointed out.

lack of insulation here and there, the fact that the roof was missing shingles in a couple places, and had 2 layers of shingles (more expensive to tear-off when we replace it), an older main circuit breaker, the fact that the garage door wasn't mounted right, etc.

Not only did it drive down the price, but we knew exactly what we needed to fix in short order, and what could wait. The roof is still fine almost 2 years after our inspection, but it's something we check on regularly because of what we know.

[KhaoticRebel]

HUD house FTW! I picked up my house a good $60,000 less than what my neighbors paid for theirs. I had to replace carpet, paint everything floor to ceiling with KILZ, and buy appliances. That's it. It was more than worth it. If you want to win the house/bid in time to get the rebate, then just bid near the full price. Don't mess around. Here's the link to check houses, it updates every Friday I think: http://hud1.towerauction.net/OH.htm

[Artmageddon]

Buy mine, please No land, but that's why you have a car.

As far as lending goes, try Fearon Financial, ask for Jarvis. He's a friend of my boss, I've talked to him about refinancing as well, stand up guy. If your credit is good and you have a down payment, you'll be in good shape.

http://www.fearonfinancial.com/

I have a friend that is a realtor, I've used him to buy and sell, and about 10 of my friends have used him as well. He's great. Steve Cochern, Century 21, 614-209-3319. Tell him Art sent you.

http://www.c21joewalker.com/Steve.Cochern/

[yotaman88210]

I have a great Realtor if you want to use him. He does track days and is cool as shit. He wont bullshit you and thats important. If he thinks something isnt right he will tell ya straight up. Let me know flat one

[AOW]

GET A HOME INSPECTION.

it's usually around $300, but the knowledge is worth way more than that. The home inspector gets info that you (as a buyer) would sound crazy for wanting to check yourself, and the inspector has insurance that makes the seller feel better.

You would be better served getting a friend that has construction and or maintenance background to do the inspection with you. In the state of Ohio, and a few states, the Home inspector has ZERO liability for anything missed during the inspection. Majority of home inspectes have NO building or maintenance experience at all, unless you include the 1 hour of video their company makes them watch. Save your $300 or more and have a friend in the industry (Moose perhaps) that has building & maintenance experience do the walk through with you.

Do NOT hire a real estate agent or broker, per Ohio law they are forbidden from disclosing anything to you that the buyer has not disclosed via the disclosure paperwork. Ohio is a "Buyer Beware" state, so there is no legal recourse for anything the seller or the sellers' agents hide from you.

DO hire a buyer's agent. Buyer's agent is a registered Realtor, but because they are hired as your agent, they are now permitted to disclose any and everything they know about the potential property, location, and can legally offer their opinions. Ohio state registered Realtors are not permitted to offer their opinions on neighborhoods or properties or risk being sued by the seller

[cmoosego]

You would be better served getting a friend that has construction and or maintenance background to do the inspection with you. In the state of Ohio, and a few states, the Home inspector has ZERO liability for anything missed during the inspection. Majority of home inspectes have NO building or maintenance experience at all, unless you include the 1 hour of video their company makes them watch. Save your $300 or more and have a friend in the industry (Moose perhaps) that has building & maintenance experience do the walk through with you.

Do NOT hire a real estate agent or broker, per Ohio law they are forbidden from disclosing anything to you that the buyer has not disclosed via the disclosure paperwork. Ohio is a "Buyer Beware" state, so there is no legal recourse for anything the seller or the sellers' agents hide from you.

DO hire a buyer's agent. Buyer's agent is a registered Realtor, but because they are hired as your agent, they are now permitted to disclose any and everything they know about the potential property, location, and can legally offer their opinions. Ohio state registered Realtors are not permitted to offer their opinions on neighborhoods or properties or risk being sued by the seller

THANKS BRO.... I'd be willing to walk thru with anyone, and I know everything that inspectors look for... (i should prolly go take the test and get the licence)

[max power]

I am a certified home inspector (yes, there are college courses for it and I took them) and have 20 years in various construction fields. Let me know if I can help.

[jagr]

Be your own realtor and buy a foreclosure.

Also see what your bank has. Prolly score a sweet deal.

I looked last week and there were a dozen or so in Westerville between 60K-160K.

[flounder]

No decent Hud's in the areas im looking. Found a decent forclosure but its already in contract.

Moose, once I find something im considering putting an offer on, I may be getting in touch with you.

[justin0469]

What area are you looking in?

[redkow97]

You would be better served getting a friend that has construction and or maintenance background to do the inspection with you. In the state of Ohio, and a few states, the Home inspector has ZERO liability for anything missed during the inspection. Majority of home inspectes have NO building or maintenance experience at all, unless you include the 1 hour of video their company makes them watch. Save your $300 or more and have a friend in the industry (Moose perhaps) that has building & maintenance experience do the walk through with you.

You sure about that 'zero liability' claim? Any respectable Inspector (including those my company franchises) will require half a million in E&O insurance. That would be pointless if there were no liability. Besides, inspectors live primarily off referrals from realtors and buyers - they're certainly going to do their best not to miss anything.

if you have a FRIEND in construction, that's not terrible advice, but it's a huge conflict of interest for a contractor to walk through and tell you how much shit they would let you pay them to fix - and not all 'warning signs' are structural. A contractor may know if the framing is bad, but have absolutely no experience with mold, "wood destroying insects," etc.

home inspectors are trained to evaluate problems, not repair them, not quote you a cost, not suggest a solution, etc. - the EVALUATION is their product, so they remain objective.

anyone ASHI or NACHI certified should be able to provide satisfactory credentials.

[MidgetTodd]

Plenty of forclosures out here by me with plenty of land for long range shooting, One right up the lane from me laid out the same as mine can easily accomodate 1000yrds or better. But its 45min to an hour to Cbus

[flounder]

Plenty of forclosures out here by me with plenty of land for long range shooting, One right up the lane from me laid out the same as mine can easily accomodate 1000yrds or better. But its 45min to an hour to Cbus

I said 20 min outside cbus... not 1:20+

[MidgetTodd]

You wanna shoot dont ya? I can be at Nationwide arena in an hour thats not that bad of a drive and you can walk outside and shoot whenever you want.

[BornSinner]

I love your Avatar....^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[MidgetTodd]

I gotta give credit for that one to Justin.

[Disclaimer]

And I found it on a post on Digg.com about the Garbage Pail Kids.

[ReconRat]

realtytrac.com

I found this website last weekend. Yeah, I'm looking also.

It has a great map that shows what is listed for sale, foreclosed, bank owned, etc.

The website wants a sign-in (money probably), for details, but a little work on other websites will find the details of the same areas for free. I would search by county first, and then zip code, as you narrow in on where you would like to be. Click on the "See Map" at any time, and scroll around the countryside. Zoom in for the details.

There are also government websites listing the VA, HUD, USMarshall auctions, etc.

The real estate teachers at school like the realestate.com website.

There are also websites that specialize in farm properties, multi-acre. But not cheap.

edit: Btw, in almost any area of the city you will see some for sale, 10 times as many in foreclosure, and nearly that many bank-owned. In the country side there are a greater percentage for sale, but still a lot of foreclosures and bank-owned. And you don't want to live inside the outer belt. Maybe a suburb, but not the city. +1 for outside town in a small city or near one.

Edited February 10, 2010 by ReconRat

[20thGix]

If you can speak with the homeowner dont be afraid to ask them questions also. Like thier average wintertime heating bill. (fuel oil, propane, natural gas) That would also give you an idea if the house needs more insulation and what not.

[that dude]

buy one that has a roof and indoor plumbing

[AOW]

You sure about that 'zero liability' claim? Any respectable Inspector (including those my company franchises) will require half a million in E&O insurance. That would be pointless if there were no liability. Besides, inspectors live primarily off referrals from realtors and buyers - they're certainly going to do their best not to miss anything.

if you have a FRIEND in construction, that's not terrible advice, but it's a huge conflict of interest for a contractor to walk through and tell you how much shit they would let you pay them to fix - and not all 'warning signs' are structural. A contractor may know if the framing is bad, but have absolutely no experience with mold, "wood destroying insects," etc.

home inspectors are trained to evaluate problems, not repair them, not quote you a cost, not suggest a solution, etc. - the EVALUATION is their product, so they remain objective.

anyone ASHI or NACHI certified should be able to provide satisfactory credentials.

yeah they're required to carry the liability insurance, but their standard contract and the fact that Ohio is a buyer beware state, means that if they miss something and it costs you to correct, you're shit out of luck. You don't have to take my word for it though, just contact any real estate attorney and let them know you want to sue a home inspector.

As for wood destroying insects, get a pest inspection from Terminix. If you are a current customer they will usually do it for free. In addition to being experts in their field, they can actually give you real numbers about treatment and aren't afraid to climb into the attic, crawl spaces, or move stuff out of the way to look for varmits.

As Chris Farley so eloquently stated in Tommy Boy, "I can take a crap in a box and stamp it guaranteed..."

[cmoosego]

You sure about that 'zero liability' claim? Any respectable Inspector (including those my company franchises) will require half a million in E&O insurance. That would be pointless if there were no liability. Besides, inspectors live primarily off referrals from realtors and buyers - they're certainly going to do their best not to miss anything.

if you have a FRIEND in construction, that's not terrible advice, but it's a huge conflict of interest for a contractor to walk through and tell you how much shit they would let you pay them to fix - and not all 'warning signs' are structural. A contractor may know if the framing is bad, but have absolutely no experience with mold, "wood destroying insects," etc.

home inspectors are trained to evaluate problems, not repair them, not quote you a cost, not suggest a solution, etc. - the EVALUATION is their product, so they remain objective.

anyone ASHI or NACHI certified should be able to provide satisfactory credentials.

true, but I can tell you what it "should" cost to repair certain things, and give you ideas for changing things to better suit your needs as a homeowner... I would still have a certified Inspector to look over the house just to cover your ass.. but as far as things he might miss you may want someone like me along to point things out as well before you sign the line...

[justin0469]

Zillow is a cool website with alot of good info on just about any house. Their house values can be a little off though, so take that with a grain of salt. Also, look at the county auditor's site to see how much taxes are on a particular house once you narrow it down.

[Disclaimer]

+1 for zillow. Thats what I used to bid on my house.