Tips on Buying a House

[st.cronin]

Post em here if you please... I've never done this before. We have until about August, but certainly could move earlier if the chance came up.

[Rizon]

1) In New Mexico ?
2) Are you planning on staying in that house until 2013?

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm interested in this as well. Trying to find some good resources to read, and I have a few bookmarked that were mentioned here before. I'll be buying by July and possibly sooner unless something drastic happens.

[st.cronin]

1) In New Mexico ?
2) Are you planning on staying in that house until 2013?

1) Yes
2) Probably not - maybe a 1/5 chance

One specific question I have is: Can you take money out of a traditional IRA for a down payment on a house?

[Rizon]

1) Yes
2) Probably not - maybe a 1/5 chance

One specific question I have is: Can you take money out of a traditional IRA for a down payment on a house?

Ok, keep in mind that if you buy a house for say, $350,000 ... in a year, or two, or more, if you need to sell it, you might get less than $350,000 for it. You could be taking a loss. Depends on how this market continues to slide downwards. Luckily in New Mexico you have some of the cheapest home prices in the country so your loss wouldn't be as great (although that's all relative I guess).

I bought my townhouse in 1997 for $63,000. Just 8 months ago they were selling for $350,000. Now they're being listed for $315,000 and they aren't moving.

As for pulling out of the IRA, I think you can avoid that 10% penalty for withdrawing before diaper age if you put it into a house, but you still have to pay taxes on what you withdrew. Double check with a tax professional on that one.

[Craptacular]

2) Probably not - maybe a 1/5 chance

Just keep in mind that if you think you'll be moving out fairly early into your mortgage (such as moving 5-8 years into a 30-year mortgage), you'll hardly have paid off any principal. I don't know your situation, but if you don't see yourself buying a house that you'll stay in a while, you should consider buying a house at the low end of your price range and getting a shorter mortgage. Try hard to build equity and/or save money towards a larger house if/when you need it down the line. Buying isn't always better than renting.

As Rizon alluded to, the market has cooled off in most places, and people can't count on their home values rising very fast, if at all.

[MrBigglesworth]

I am a real estate agent and real estate investor in PA, so if you have any non-regional questions I can help you out. My Dad is the CPA in the family, so I don't know the IRA question though. If I remember over Christmas I'll ask him about it.

I will say that I would get a fixed rate mortgage right now. With our national debt situation and the huge imbalance in the budget, rates have the potential to go through the roof. If you are diversified you could get away with gambling on a floating rate, but if your house is where most of your money is going to be I would stick to a fixed rate. The Fed has been superheating the housing industry to keep the economy from recession for four or five years now, no telling yet whether it will be a hard or a soft landing.

[flere-imsaho]

The Motley Fool (http://www.fool.com) has some good information on the various mortgage types. My wife & I bought a house just over a year ago with a 5-year ARM. Here are some of my thoughts:

1. Do you plan to stay in the residence for at least 3 years? Generally it seems that three years is the "break-even" point for determining rent vs. buy.

2. Do a budget. Figure out, from this budget, how much you can afford to spend on a monthly mortgage payment. From there you can determine how much of a mortgage you can take out. If you have decent credit, you will find lenders are happy to lend you far more than you actually want to pay, so that usually isn't a problem.

3. When thinking about your monthly payment, don't forget property taxes. For instance, if your property taxes are $6,000/year, that's an extra $500/month you've got to pay. A lot of people get dinged on this.

4. There are many different mortgage types. Do some research and pick one that best fits your situation and your comfort level. Here are some summaries of the main ones (in my opinion):


Fixed-Rate Mortgage: The classic, i.e. a 30-year mortgage. Straightforward to understand, and good if you're planning on staying in one place. Other mortages exist that may cost less, though.
Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM): You lock in a rate for an initial period (3, 5, 7 years) after which your rate starts floating. These are good at the moment because rates are comparitively low, so you can lock in that low rate for a few years. A good mortgage if you're pretty sure you'll be moving before the term is up and if the thought of refinancing in X years, if you don't move, doesn't bother you.
Balloon Mortgage: You pay a pretty low monthly bill for X years (usually 3-7) and then your last payment is for the balance of the mortgage (i.e. the "Balloon"). This is only worthwhile if you're positive you plan to move or refinance before X years are up, and can result in some low monthly payments.
Interest-only: You only pay the interest for X number of years. A spectacularly bad idea unless you're a real estate speculator who knows exactly what he's doing.


5. Depending on the market, it may be worthwhile to get a buyer's broker. This person acts as your agent and splits the commission with the seller's broker. We were lucky in that we knew someone personally who was able to do this for us. Since she knew the market inside and out, we found our ideal house within 5 hours of looking, and she gave us valuable input on neighborhoods, prices, etc....

6. Always get the house inspected. Make the contract contingent on the inspection. Do a full inspection. If you don't know an inspector, there's a national association of them, and you can easily look one up. Even if the house is new, get it inspected. I cannot stress this enough. I have known far too many people who skip the inspection and end up with houses worth less than their mortgage because some big problem surfaced that an inspector would have caught.

Anyway, good luck! :D

[George]

Just keep in mind that if you think you'll be moving out fairly early into your mortgage (such as moving 5-8 years into a 30-year mortgage), you'll hardly have paid off any principal. I don't know your situation, but if you don't see yourself buying a house that you'll stay in a while, you should consider buying a house at the low end of your price range and getting a shorter mortgage. Try hard to build equity and/or save money towards a larger house if/when you need it down the line. Buying isn't always better than renting.

As Rizon alluded to, the market has cooled off in most places, and people can't count on their home values rising very fast, if at all.

Good comments.

[st.cronin]

I appreciate all the insight ... I'd like to hear more, from anybody. No idea is too stupid to mention. I honestly have no experience whatsoever in this area. I'm trying to educate myself, but it's a lot of work.

[cougarfreak]

Have the house inspected before you buy.

[JonInMiddleGA]

If there's work to be done on the house between the time of purchase & the point you actually feel ready to move in, be SURE that you don't cut things too close on what you can afford to pay vs the estimate of the work. If it's an older house especially, the bare minimum in overrun vs estimate that you should anticipate is Estimate+50%.

(It may not cost that much over but it easily can be that or worse, so don't put yourself in a bind by needing the estimate to be dead on)

[wishbone]

Decide how much you want to spend per month, get your financing inline and then go look at houses. You'll be ready to make an offer and have less chance of missing out while waiting for your lender to get stuff ready. Make sure that your lender and realtor are on the same page at all times. You do not want to be approved for 220k and be looking at 250k houses. You also do not want to be thinking you can borrow 250k for $1000/month.

[Flasch186]

find a friend who has a realtor's license, buy new construction , and get back the realtor commission from your friend - who you used as your realtor :) Money in your pocket usually about 3%

[bob]

Some random things that I would recommend, from my experience and experiences of friends:

- In addition to a normal inspection, get an EIFS inspection if the house is stucco.
- Pay attention to where power, cable, and phone cables plug in. This can really affect the way in which you can lay out a room.
- Make sure you know the age of the roof, heater, AC, and hot water heater. These might need to be replaced soon.
- Ask why the seller is moving - if there is a bullshit answer (you can usually smell these), then there might be something wrong with the house / neighborhood.
- Try to find out things like crime rate, etc, about the neighborhood.
- Visit the neighborhood at several times during the day.
- Pay attention to the health of any large tree in the yard - it isn't cheap to have a dying tree removed.
- If the house has EVER had termite or mold damage in the past, it will be noted in the disclosure. While it might not be a big deal to you, some people will refuse to buy a house that has had these problems before.
- If you are buying the house with the intention of adding on, repainting, etc, make sure it is allowed by the neighborhood covenent.
- I have found that crime is usually higher in neighborhoods that are near apartment complexes. Keep that in mind.

I'll post more if I think of them....

[Grammaticus]

I'm surprised no one has recommended buying in a neighborhood where the schools (especially elementary schools) are rated high based on test scores. Seems to be one of the number one suggestions of realtors. I've bought 4 houses and each time the schools system was pivotal in defining the resale value of the home in relation to other neighborhoods.

This can mean different things in different areas. In Knoxville TN, the market is generally consistent over a broad area, with a few really bad neighborhoods as exceptions. The areas with strong schools, hold value a little better and are easier to move your home when it is time to sell (takes less time to sell without dropping price).

In Atlanta GA, you have a greater differentiation of good versus bad areas. You can live in an area and there can be several bad areas around you. But again schools play a big role in quicker and cost effective resale.

[Radii]

I would also strongly recommend the motley fool's home buying info. Also, you can get a trial membership that allows you to access their message boards for a month, there is a board called "Buying or Selling a Home" that a number of mortgage brokers contribute to. When my roommate bought a home a few years ago and i was in some very very very preliminary stages of beginning to save and learning info, I would scour that board for hours at a time, I learned a ton there and will go back when my wife and i look to buy i'm sure.

[st.cronin]

I'm going tomorrow to look at a house built on an Indian Reservation. One quirk of this development is that the land is not actually for sale - only the building is. The land is made available on a 99 year lease. Anybody have any insight into this? How it might affect depreciation, etc.

[Flasch186]

scary...IMO down here, the only thing guaranteed is the land, it'l be there no matter if your home burns down...you can rebuild. that I dont know anything about but it sounds scary.

[Rizon]

Use this site to check up on your real estate agent (in New Mexico)
hxxp://rld.state.nm.us/b&c/recom/Licensee%20Search/licensee_search.asp

See if they have any violations or anything.

Also keep in mind that a real estate agent is not necessarily a Realtor.

This is the Home Buyers/Sellers section of the National Association of Realtors website:
hxxp://realtor.org/home_buyers_and_sellers/index.html

[st.cronin]

scary...IMO down here, the only thing guaranteed is the land, it'l be there no matter if your home burns down...you can rebuild. that I dont know anything about but it sounds scary.

The lease is 300 dollars a quarter (three months) for sixty some odd more years. The house I'm looking at tomorrow is priced at 112,000 - if the land were included it would probably go for 800,000 at least.

[MrBigglesworth]

I'm going tomorrow to look at a house built on an Indian Reservation. One quirk of this development is that the land is not actually for sale - only the building is. The land is made available on a 99 year lease. Anybody have any insight into this? How it might affect depreciation, etc.
How far into the lease it is? What are the terms of the lease (i.e., can you build and change the land however you want, landscape, etc, or must all changes be run past the owner?)?

[Dutch]

And when the lease is up, do they get your house?

[st.cronin]

How far into the lease it is? What are the terms of the lease (i.e., can you build and change the land however you want, landscape, etc, or must all changes be run past the owner?)?

I don't know all the details, but it's got about 60 years left on the lease (no way we keep the house THAT long). The development, conceived in the 70s, was originally intended to be much grander, including a hospital, but was limited by a lack of investors to just a few hundred homes. It's about 20-30 miles from anything other than a gas station/minimart, but has spectacular mountain views and is just a short jog from a huge lake. My girlfriend and I know one person who lives there, and she loves it, but just driving around today, there are a lot of houses for sale - maybe 1 in 10.

Real estate taxes are 60 dollars a year!

[st.cronin]

bump for the new year

[miked]

I'm interested in this as well, as I am closing on a house in Atlanta in about a month and a half. Anyone recommend any good mortgage peeps? My agent (old landlord, semi-retired) set me up with some MetroBrokers agent and it seems fairly ok, quoted me a rate at 6% (for the big loan) and they offer a one time float down free of charge if it changes in the next 3 weeks. Closing fees are pretty normal.

[WSUCougar]

Decide in advance what are real priorities for you and what are not. Then don't get worked up about things that are not priorities. It's hard to find a perfect house, so figure out in advance what matters most.

Examples of things that might matter:
Location (obviously, but break it down - stores, restaurants, interstate access, surface roads, speed limits)
Parking (street? garage? carport?)
Emergency proximity (police/fire/hospital
Schools
Airport proximity
Active train track proximity

Features:
kitchen (size, appliances, etc.)
bathrooms (is 2 a must, or will 1.5 work?)
interior layout
exterior layout
yard, plants, landscaping
fence
hardwood floors vs. carpet
prior pets in house?
bedroom size
fireplace
electrical wiring and fixtures
windows (type)
water pressure
drainage (exterior and possibly interior)

Don't sweat paint colors too much. You an always drop a line in the offer that says, "X dollars to repaint" or whatever. And that goes for a lot of things. If you really like a house for whatever reason, but there is something that is problematic, add it as a part of the offer. Unless it's a seller's market and your fearful of the house getting sold out from under you, give the seller the opportunity to hear what your concerns are. In the scheme of things, negotiating over a few hundred or even thousand dollars is a relative drop in the bucket if you are trying to sell a house.

[Eaglesfan27]

Had some very recent events that are rapidly moving up the time that we will be buying a house. Any thoughts on whether it is better to get a loan through my personal bank vs one of the on-line mortgage brokers? Any thoughts on which are the best?

[digamma]

Had some very recent events that are rapidly moving up the time that we will be buying a house. Any thoughts on whether it is better to get a loan through my personal bank vs one of the on-line mortgage brokers? Any thoughts on which are the best?
Shop around--don't limit yourself to your personal bank.

I had very good success refinancing through Lending Tree. I also got a quote through eLoan. Both online places beat the refinance quotes from the mortgage broker who set us up with our purchase money mortgage and our own bank, but that isn't always the case.

[Marc Vaughan]

Random things which come to mind:

1. Haggle (at least in the UK this can save you a fortune)
2. Visit the house at various times of the day outside of the actual viewing (ie. ensure its not in the middle of a pub run so you have a constant stream of drunks coming past the door at 11.30pm or whenever pubs kick out in your region)
3. Get a darn good inspection/valuation done by a professional person, if there's an option for an intensive inspection then unless its a very cheap place use it - better to fork out a few hundred £/$ more up front than find your new house is falling down around your ears imho.
4. Shop around for a mortgage deal - you can do online comparisons very easily these days and it beats going to a broker who adds a percentage into the cost (either up front or monthly).
5. DONT over-extend yourself on your payments hoping that things go well, you need to know you can make those payments. If things go great in the future then you can always buy a new place - if things go awry then you need to know you can pay the mortgage regardless.

[Flasch186]

Had some very recent events that are rapidly moving up the time that we will be buying a house. Any thoughts on whether it is better to get a loan through my personal bank vs one of the on-line mortgage brokers? Any thoughts on which are the best?

lower fees and usually better rates online BUT BF used Eloan and it was a nightmare regarding customer service, and closing of the loan was 3 months late due to this. Gotta be careful and be ready to be on the phone....a lot.

[Mustang]

Had some very recent events that are rapidly moving up the time that we will be buying a house. Any thoughts on whether it is better to get a loan through my personal bank vs one of the on-line mortgage brokers? Any thoughts on which are the best?

Shop around. Get terms that you are comfortable with. I personally wouldn't factor too much more than that into the equation because whomever you get a mortgage with they are probably just going to sell it to another company. Although with online you are going to be on the phone alot. Plus, if you have never done this before, you might want personal in person attention.

Oh, and if they didn't include certain things with the house (like appliances or drapes), you can always ask for those things to be included. No appliances were to come with my house when I bought it but, I included the fridge/stove in my offer)

Check the plumbing! flush toilets, turn the sink on, turn the shower on...

[Eaglesfan27]

A follow-up question:

Is it crazy of me to think we can find financing, find a good house, close the deal, and move in during the next 2 months? I have good (not excellent - due to some cash flow problems from back when I was in medical school in 97-98) credit and I have about 20% down (depends upon the final price of the house we finally settle on.) Of course, I want to buy from a position of strength and don't want to tell anyone in the process that we need things expedited.

[Mustang]

A follow-up question:

Is it crazy of me to think we can find financing, find a good house, close the deal, and move in during the next 2 months?

Took 1 1/2 months for me and I had a relatively clean path from offer to closing. It took me 4 months to find a house I wanted.

You put a timeline on you'll possibly start stressing out and compromising on things you really want and then you'll be miserable.

[digamma]

A follow-up question:

Is it crazy of me to think we can find financing, find a good house, close the deal, and move in during the next 2 months? I have good (not excellent - due to some cash flow problems from back when I was in medical school in 97-98) credit and I have about 20% down (depends upon the final price of the house we finally settle on.) Of course, I want to buy from a position of strength and don't want to tell anyone in the process that we need things expedited.
That's ambitious. Escrow is usually a 30 day period at most, so that leaves you a month to basically find a house. You don't have to have your financing absolutely squared away until you close, but you don't want to enter into a contract without some assurance you're going to be able to get a good loan. In today's market, most purchase contracts do not have a financing contingency provision, so you can't back out if you don't get your loan. Being pre-qualified also makes you much more attractive to a seller.

[Eaglesfan27]

Took 1 1/2 months for me and I had a relatively clean path from offer to closing. It took me 4 months to find a house I wanted.

You put a timeline on you'll possibly start stressing out and compromising on things you really want and then you'll be miserable.

One positive is that we have a really good real estate agent in the area where we will likely be moving. She has helped several of my friends who are also docs find a place very quickly that met all of their needs and almost all of my friends love their place. Anyway, we are going to start looking this upcoming week. It is both exciting and petrifying. I had a semi-sleepless night last night.

[Eaglesfan27]

That's ambitious. Escrow is usually a 30 day period at most, so that leaves you a month to basically find a house. You don't have to have your financing absolutely squared away until you close, but you don't want to enter into a contract without some assurance you're going to be able to get a good loan. In today's market, most purchase contracts do not have a financing contingency provision, so you can't back out if you don't get your loan. Being pre-qualified also makes you much more attractive to a seller.

Hmm, I didn't know that about the financing contingency provision. I thought those were standard. I plan on trying to start the process to get pre-qualified this week. I also might be able to buy myself an extra month or two on the process, although that is sub-optimal from a professional standpoint (but obviously might be worth it, if doing the whole process in 2 months is going to be too stressful or lead to a bad result.)

[digamma]

Hmm, I didn't know that about the financing contingency provision. I thought those were standard. I plan on trying to start the process to get pre-qualified this week. I also might be able to buy myself an extra month or two on the process, although that is sub-optimal from a professional standpoint (but obviously might be worth it, if doing the whole process in 2 months is going to be too stressful or lead to a bad result.)It may be more market dependent, but in CA, at least, if you put a financing contingency in your offer, you're likely going to get laughed out of the process. In cooler markets, they may still be viable options.

[flere-imsaho]

When we recently bought our house we had everything squared away in about a month. We did give them a few months to find a place and move themselves, but everything was signed and sealed within a month of starting.

I think these things helped:

1. Very good mortgage broker, who got us a good rate but, more importantly, got the paperwork turned around very, very fast (like, within 5 days).

2. Very good broker (a family friend), who took our description of what we were looking for, showed us 8 houses on the first day, 3 of which we liked a lot, including one we put an offer on the next day, and subsequently bought for below market price. Essentially the house had come on the market that day (a Thursday) and since we got in so fast, they went with us, instead of waiting to see if they'd get better offers.

3. We had no contingencies. Financing was already squared away, and it helped that we had already sold, and were living in a rental. We did stipulate an inspection contingency, and that went just fine.

[Mustang]

It may be more market dependent, but in CA, at least, if you put a financing contingency in your offer, you're likely going to get laughed out of the process. In cooler markets, they may still be viable options.

Must be market dependent. My offer was contingent on financing being available and seemed pretty standard here.

[Franklinnoble]

Just a few points from my own experience:

1. Insist upon a thorough home inspection and bug report. Do NOT buy a house without one.
2. If you're on a well/septic system, have the well tested and the septic tank checked. Assume that water output in dry months will be less than that during wet months, and adjust test results accordingly.

[miked]

I just closed on monday in the ATL. We shopped around in December (a great time to buy) and put an offer in on a house below asking, requested a few thousand in closing costs, and asked for a March 1 closing date. He said no, no and no. Then 2 weeks later agreed to most of our terms.

We could've closed in a month if need be, in fact he wanted us to close Feb 1 initially. You need a prequal letter within a few days to show you can afford the house, but most deals I saw were based on getting a loan (i.e. no loan, no contract). But we had to put down some earnest money we would've lost most likely if financing fell through.

Shop around, there are always better deals, but with 20% down, you shouldn't have a problem (so long as the monthly payments won't be more than 30-50% of your income). Don't think of anything in terms of the price of the house, just think of it as monthly payments, you'd be amazed at what you can afford. The most important thing is, you're in control. Don't let the banks set the terms. If the deal isn't good, walk away. They'll always try and tell you it will be the same everywhere, but it's a lie. Each underwriter we spoke to had a different opinion on just about everything. It's stressful, but when all is said and done, well worth it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

A follow-up question:

Is it crazy of me to think we can find financing, find a good house, close the deal, and move in during the next 2 months? I have good (not excellent - due to some cash flow problems from back when I was in medical school in 97-98) credit and I have about 20% down (depends upon the final price of the house we finally settle on.) Of course, I want to buy from a position of strength and don't want to tell anyone in the process that we need things expedited.

Hardest part of that scenario IMO is finding the right house.

While I'm posting though, I'll offer at least one suggestion -- try to get to 25% down if you can. Again, this might be market dependent, but we're finding that makes a pretty nice difference in the number of hoops you jump through at financing.

One other bit of more general advice is that, if you find a house that requires some renovation/remodeling to make it the right fit for you, make the purchase contingent on getting approval for those changes. Otherwise, you might end up with too strict covenants/zoning that leaves you buying a house you aren't happy with.

[rjolley]

Since we have a house buying thread active, I have a question. If you can't get to 20% down, does it matter how much you have? I'll have between 5% and 10% when I get to buying does it matter outside of the payment whether I put 5% towards the house and the rest towards furnishings, or put the whole 10% towards the house?

[Craptacular]

The lower amount you put down, your private mortgage insurance will cost more, and it will take you longer to reach 20% and stop paying PMI altogether. You may also get a worse interest rate.

[Eaglesfan27]

Well, I talked to the real estate agent that my friends recommended. We are going to look at the first batch of houses this Tuesday. I'll be interested in seeing how well she matches the criteria we talked about over the phone.

[Edward64]

For what is worth, here's my thoughts. Think of a house as an investment. Even if you won't live there for the rest of your life, think resale value. This includes alot of the stuff already mentioned above.

(1) Think Location. It may be a great house, but if the location sucks it'll be hard to resell.
(2) If in suburbia, my preference is get in 'early' in a 'new' subdivision with amenities. Then get a house on the lower end of the range ... as the subdivision appreciates, so will your house. Amenities like pool is important ... big attraction for newer families with kids.
(3) Spend the money to upgrade the kitchen (ex. granite counters).
(4) Check the outside and have the builder handle possilbe drainage problem areas (ex. lowspots, pcv pipes leading away from house) before closing.

... (optional/paranoia) I would not want to get a house east of any major cities. The winds blow that way ...

[Grammaticus]

Not sure if anyone has line itemed this yet or not, but get an agent to represent you versus just calling and dealing only with the listing agent. It is a somewhat small thing, but the agent representing you should be able to assist you greatly and place your interest first. Of course they may try to stear you towards their listings.

[GrantDawg]

A follow-up question:

Is it crazy of me to think we can find financing, find a good house, close the deal, and move in during the next 2 months? I have good (not excellent - due to some cash flow problems from back when I was in medical school in 97-98) credit and I have about 20% down (depends upon the final price of the house we finally settle on.) Of course, I want to buy from a position of strength and don't want to tell anyone in the process that we need things expedited.Others have given different answers, but for me it took two weeks from contract to close, and that was a zero down HUD loan on decent credit. It depends more on your broker and who you are purchasing from than anything else. I bought new from a builder, and I think that would go much faster than from a private sale.

[flere-imsaho]

The lower amount you put down, your private mortgage insurance will cost more, and it will take you longer to reach 20% and stop paying PMI altogether. You may also get a worse interest rate.

If you have good credit, you should never have to pay PMI. There are a number of mortgage options available to those with good credit. For instance, you could do a 10/10/80 loan. Ten percent down. Another ten percent down is actually from a home equity line taken out of the mortgage. And then financing on the other 80 percent.

A word of caution, however: although a lot of permutations exist with regard to financing, the more tricky you become the more you can delude yourself that you can afford more than you really can. This is how a lot of people get sucked into, for instance, "interest-only" mortgages, which are the spawn of the devil. :)

Make sure you know exactly what you're comfortable paying, per month, and if you have good credit a good mortgage broker should be able to sort out the rest so that you don't have to pay PMI.

[flere-imsaho]

1. Insist upon a thorough home inspection and bug report. Do NOT buy a house without one.

Even though I don't agree on much with FN, I'm going to quote what he said for emphasis. Having an inspection, even though it does cost money, should be a mandatory part of your process. Do not buy a house without an inspection.

[Eaglesfan27]

Even though I don't agree on much with FN, I'm going to quote what he said for emphasis. Having an inspection, even though it does cost money, should be a mandatory part of your process. Do not buy a house without an inspection.

I've read this in multiple places, and I will be insisting on an inspection as part of the process.

[Eaglesfan27]

Delayed Dola -

Real estate agent sent us about 30 listings that she thought met the criteria we specified..

Saw about 5 that just look amazing from the pics and specs mentioned (which of course can be misleading.) We are going to look at as many of the 5 as possible Tuesday. This is so exciting and scary.

[Craptacular]

If you have good credit, you should never have to pay PMI. There are a number of mortgage options available to those with good credit. For instance, you could do a 10/10/80 loan. Ten percent down. Another ten percent down is actually from a home equity line taken out of the mortgage. And then financing on the other 80 percent.

A word of caution, however: although a lot of permutations exist with regard to financing, the more tricky you become the more you can delude yourself that you can afford more than you really can. This is how a lot of people get sucked into, for instance, "interest-only" mortgages, which are the spawn of the devil. :)

Make sure you know exactly what you're comfortable paying, per month, and if you have good credit a good mortgage broker should be able to sort out the rest so that you don't have to pay PMI.You basically responded to your own post for me. ;) There are other options than paying PMI, but they're not always better.