First Home Purchase Advice

[Anonymous No.1361352]

Hi /diy/,

I'm thinking of buying my first home. I have a good budget and I'm being pretty conservative, so I think I'm okay there, but I don't know what mechanically and structurally to look for?

Here is my situation:
-Mostly looking at older homes due to my budget

Plan to check out a house I buy contingent on inspect, which would be:
-General inspection
-Hire an A/C company to review the A/C (have a good one)
-Hire an electrician to review the power (have a good one)
-Hire a plumbing company to specifically look at that
-I have a roofer friend who would check the roof for me

What other things should I look for?

Also any general advice on looking for a home? I found one that had a great layout but it was near a (sorta) busy road so I just took a pass on it. I'm a robot so just living alone and have no visitors so want to convert a second bedroom into a home theater with projector.

[Anonymous No.1361360]

Yeah I live next to a busy road, it sucks. Good for passing on that.

[Anonymous No.1361363]

>>1361360
It was tough because the rest of the house was great, and the road wasn't too bad (30mph zone) but it gets some pretty good traffic and there was a traffic light right on the corner of the property. I picture people sitting at the light with their car stereos blasting while I'm trying to sleep. Or cars with loud exhaust accelerating waking me up.

Also my city is growing so I see it getting worse. :/

[Anonymous No.1361600]

Any decent house inspector will inspect all of those things at once. You should only need to hire a specialist if there's a problem reported there.

Baseline questions:
How old is the house?
>research common problems by date of construction in your area
What's the weather like in your area?
>check for relevant types damage
What's the natural disaster risk in your area?
>check local history of fires/floods/hurricane etc
Who's responsible for utility failures in your area?
>especially sewer. always check the sewer.
How old is the electrical panel? Check for corroded plates.
>watch out for Zinsco panels
Visit the neighborhood at night/morning before you buy and scope it out.
What did nearby houses sell for?
>Zillow is a handy website for this

[Anonymous No.1361652]

I recently bought a house built in the 50s and here are the problems I found

>sewer leak under the foundation
Luckily this was something the mortgage company caught because they required a pressure test after some minor foundation work was done, and this led to them finding the leak before we closed

>water damage
Look around the water heater, furnace (condensation drains can leak out), dish washer, washing machine for mold or bubbling. In my case the furnace is next to a closet and I could have just taken a closer look and seen a fuckload of mold at the edge of the carpet

>fuckin pantyhose in place of a dryer vent exhaust
wut

Bonus advice: get a mortgage credit certificate (MCC). Assuming you do your research and you actually can get one, INSIST that your lender do it. It's free money every year. In my state I get a $2000 tax credit every god damn year, shit is literally so cash.

[Anonymous No.1361686]

>>1361600
Thanks anon.

>>1361652
Thanks. Should I ask for a pressure test on any old house? Was it a big deal to perform? I'm going to do some research...

>Bonus advice: get a mortgage credit certificate (MCC). Assuming you do your research and you actually can get one, INSIST that your lender do it. It's free money every year. In my state I get a $2000 tax credit every god damn year, shit is literally so cash.
I'm not sure what this is, I'll check it out, thank you.

[Anonymous No.1361781]

>>1361352
Old homes.

Lead paint. Most people simply make the claim that they have 'no knowledge' of lead paint being in the house. IE they didn't test anything and the won't because then they would have to tell you. If lead paint is an issue for you (you have kids or you plan on doing a ton of renovation work) then get it tested.

Asbestos. I'll be straight with you; if the house was made before the 1970s it probably has some. As above, most people don't test if they plan on selling that way they can claim they don't know. The big areas you find it are in insulation and paneling/flooring. Get it tested.

Electrical. Old homes have shitty electrical. Just because a house has three prong outlets doesn't mean anything is grounded. Get a simple outlet tester (picture related) and plug it into several different outlets throughout the house. Depending on when it was built some rooms may be grounded and not others. Check any and all breaker boxes in the house. Some breakers are unsafe (Federal Pacific and others) and need to be replaced.

Also, aluminum wire can be a concern. While not a problem in itself it was used in residential construction in the US when the price of copper wire spiked. So, contractors switched to save a buck but they often didn't change their switches and outlets to match the wire (again to save a buck). The copper contacts in the switches/outlets cause corrosion when mated with aluminum wire, which increases resistance and ultimately causes fires. Keep an eye out for badly done installs of it.

Insulation. Old homes have none and adding more can be a huge pain. Something to consider.

Single pane windows. They last forever but they suck. Something else to consider.

The two biggest repairs for a home are the roof and the foundation. Not only do they cost a mint to repair in and of themselves, they tend to cause knock-on problems like water damage (leaky roof) or cracks in walls (bad foundation), etc. If either is bad just walk away.

[Anonymous No.1361967]

>>1361781
Thank you, this is so helpful. Ordering a tester now. Would the inspector also look for this stuff? I'm going to make a list of specific things to look for and do extra checking on my own, but, just curious. I certainly won't take it for granted that an inspector would check for all of this. I remember seeing one when I was a kid just checking the dishwashers and shit.

[Anonymous No.1361998]

>>1361967
A good inspector will due all of this. You just need to ask for a 4pt inspection in the report. If they don't offer this find a different one.

[Anonymous No.1362001]

>>1361967
One of the most important things is that everything is negotiable. Typically when I purchased homes in the past I always looked for homes sitting on the market for more than 20days. The sellers typically tend to get desperate the longer it sits and are willing to hear an offer below asking. Once they accept your offer you can use the inspection report as a negotiating tool to further reduce the price if there are larger issues with the house instead of asking for them to repair it. The appraisal may also be used contingent on the difference of value you and the sellers are at. Best endeavors.

[Anonymous No.1362002]

>>1361967
Where is the house located. Depending on the location a wdo inspection might be prudent.

[Anonymous No.1362030]

>>1361998
Thank you. I'll make sure I get that type.

>>1362001
Thanks. I've been watching the local market and there seem to be a couple scenarios:
1. House gets put on market at market value, sells pretty quick or goes to "pending sale" (I think this generally means it is contingent on the buyer getting a mortgage and the inspection)
2. House gets put on market at a high price and stays on for months and months, even a few over a year. I think sometimes that is because someone bought it speculating that the prices would continue to go up, and they haven't, they have gone down a bit, so now they don't want to sell for less than they paid or even worse they can't afford to sell for less (they would have to come up with money to sell below and they don't have the money even to take a loss and get out of it). Other times it is just people putting it on the market seeing if someone will overpay.

I have a few advantages:
1. I'm a cash buyer and buying within my means
2. I'm a robot with no family/kids so a small house is fine, houses that would be too small for a family.
3. I have time. I'm living above my dads garage, no emergency to buy something...

I'm intending to live in this house for a 3-4 years and then knock it down a build a custom one eventually.

>>1362002
Miami Beach. What's WDO?

[Anonymous No.1362052]

>>1362002
>wdo
>>1362030
Oh for termites? Absolutely I'll need that. Basically everything has termites here, I was basically assuming to tent whatever I buy while I have no stuff in it.

[Anonymous No.1362053]

>>1362030
Wdo is wood destroying organism. Florida (lived in ft Lauderdale to Orlando) is chalk full of termites and it would be prudent to see if there is any activity. South Florida is nice in that most homes are block construction so you don't have to worry about maintenance issues as with wood.

From a sellers point of view, cash is not necessarily an advantage. In the past I have accepted an FHA loan over cash because the difference in the offer.
It is generally a worth while investment to obtain a wind mitigation report.

[Anonymous No.1362055]

>>1362030
Cash can be a great offer for a foreclosure or a property at auction where the bank won't accept financing.

[Anonymous No.1362057]

>>1362053
Yeah, basically every 4-5 years in Miami Beach you have to tent. I'm expecting to have to do that.

Wind mitigation is a good idea, also flood plane too right? For insurance?

>From a sellers point of view, cash is not necessarily an advantage. In the past I have accepted an FHA loan over cash because the difference in the offer.
It is generally a worth while investment to obtain a wind mitigation report.
Yeah I just mean my offer wouldn't be contingent on financing. So if someone offered the same as me but their offer was contingent on getting a mortgage approved, maybe I'd get pushed in front. I donno.

>>1362055
I wish I would have had some money in 2008-9. :/

[Anonymous No.1362059]

>>1362057
whoops, bit of a copy and paste error in there. ignore the extra "It is generally a worth while investment to obtain a wind mitigation report."

[Anonymous No.1362061]

>>1362057
If you can get flood get it. My past dealing with insurance companies is they don't offer it.

[Anonymous No.1362065]

>>1362061
Yeah. I read it is kinda of strange too, like what covers what. There is windstorm insurance, and there is flood insurance. If the water gets in because a window breaks though, your windstorm is what would cover it. If there is no broken window, then your flood has to cover it.

So if they don't write flood I guess people just break a window? (hurricane glass is a motherfucker to break I imagine...)

[Anonymous No.1362066]

>>1361352
Have a professionals check:

>Roof
Foundation
>Water lines
Gas lines
>Electrical lines
Land elevation & water handling in regard to downpour flooding

You missed, "foundation, gas, and land elevation for downpours" check assuming there is some form of gas service(?) After all that usual crap make the seller have the property surveyed. No arguments. If they won't pay for it, don't buy it. If they say, "we had it surveyed last month," or other recent date, you call the person who did the survey up and get all the records so you can walk the property line yourself. If they stall and/or don't want to do it, don't buy it. Because something is fishy. Call up the EPA and HUD to make sure the "EPA and HUD Real Estate Notification and Disclosure Rule," is properly being applied. If it has a basement, have it checked for radon. If it has paint anywhere, have it checked for lead. Same goes for asbestos. No excuses. Do not buy the house if the seller won't pay for the test.

Things like insulation and weatherization are not much of a concern when it comes to a house purchase. This is because it is rarely up to modern specs and you should always assume the worst and factor the cost of upgrading into your purchase price. If it is up to modern standards that really great, but it shouldn't be a deal breaker. That includes single pane vs double pane windows.

Also, find out the insurance company the seller is using and what type of coverages are on it. That will help you determine how easy it will be to get the same coverage for yourself. Talk directly to the insurance company rep about it. Especially, for flood insurance. All it takes is one big downpour, that never happened while the last owner owned it, to cost you thousands of dollars in repair.

[Anonymous No.1362090]

>>1362066
Thank you. I'm making a spreadsheet of all these mentioned in this thread.

Absolutely, I'm leaving some room in my budget for upgrades like hurricane glass (which is expensive), tenting for termites, and roof work.

[Anonymous No.1362095]

Another question, maybe not /diy/ on topic, is since I don't have a real estate agent can that help me negotiate? I've just been using the apps to find places to look at. Every time I call someone tries to be my real estate agent but I never take them up on that. I read real estate commission is like 6% (?) and so I figured if I have a real estate broker they'll split it with the sellers real estate agent, so maybe I can get some money back if I just go direct? Or they'll be more likely to sell to me because they pay less commission?

[Anonymous No.1362101]

>>1361998
you literally cannot know.
>carpet underlays
yes a good building inspector will pull up all the carpets to inspect a house
>painted drywall
>inside house
yes a good building inspector will also tear out all the drywall to inspect it or drill out cores from every drywall/ceiling/soffit panel to have every part tested.


look a building inspectors job is to just say if the house is likely to collapse or its generally life threateningly dangerous to live in. it's not a major job.

also lead paint is pretty safe so long as you're not licking flecks off the walls or drinking tank water that collects from lead painted roofing or lead roofing nails.

[Anonymous No.1362110]

>>1362095
Unknown since those things are different between companies and sellers.

>>1362101
The problem with lead is that it will eventually migrate via a myriad of vectors and eventually end up inside your body. It just takes time. The best thing to do is to avoid places that are known to contain it. Removing it costs a lot of money to do correctly. Something as simple as a single old sharkbite connector might be pouring lead into your water system or there may be years worth of lead build up in the soil in the yard where you decided to grow some vegetables; due to lead in roofing materials.

[Anonymous No.1362298]

>>1361686
If you're to the point where you've made an offer and they've accepted, you then move into this phase where you're basically sitting there doing jackshit while the bank analyses everything to make sure you're good to go financially. During this time you can pay (or negotiate to have the owners pay) for any kind of additional inspection you want beyond the usual home inspection. If the houses in that era/area use cast iron sewer lines, then those start to corrode or break down from tree roots, or foundations shifting, so it's not a bad idea. In my case it saved me a ton of heartache down the road. If I ever buy another old house I'll probably have it done again.

I think the pressure test was $125-150? I ended up having to pay for a much more expensive fiber optic camera inspection after the pressure test failed so they could narrow down where the sewer leak was, which in my case was right in the middle of the fuckin house. But I didn't have to pay for the repair which was $$$$.

[Anonymous No.1362399]

>>1362298
Thanks. I guess I also need to really decide what kinds of things in an inspection would make it a no-go for me. I mean, any old house is going to have stuff wrong with it.... I'm trying to figure out where I should draw the line.

[Anonymous No.1362689]

>>1362095
It is 6%total... Normmaly 3%goes to overhead for buyer and seller's agent. The other goes to both the agents1. 5% each...(not always the case). My advice to you is get an agent and have seller pays all buyer and seller fees in your offer. This is normally the case because selling a home leaves one party broke, in debt, with a house and the ither with a large amount of money. A second piece of advice would be to take a real estate class before purchasing a home. They cost about 100 bucks, adds a nice bit of resume fluff to your shit, and most of it is good to know information.

[Anonymous No.1362690]

>>1362689
I don't follow the commission breakdown. buyer and sellers agents get 1.5% and then you said the rest goes to both agents (again?) at 1.5% each... so that's 3% split right?

If I don't have an agent then there is only one agent in the mix and maybe I can negotiate 2-3% off?

[Anonymous No.1362718]

>>1362690
3percent to selling agents party and 3percent to buyers agents party. If you do not use one you can utilize the potential credit towards lowering the cost of the phone see or applying it towards closing.

In addition real estate agents are a dime a dozen. There is no skill involved for this profession. If you have a friendly demeanor and are organized you could be one too. Because there is no skill set the market is saturated with agents with first to the plate takes the chicken dinner. If you proceed without one expect many interactions requesting you hire them.

[Anonymous No.1362721]

I do not understand why people by horses with cash, seems like you're always better off with a 20% down loan. Sure you pay interest on the loan, but only around four percent, so putting your cash in a mutual fund will easily outpace the interest on the mortgage. Am I missing something, is there some financial advantage to paying cash?

[Anonymous No.1362731]

>>1362721
It depends on the interest rates. Currently they are around 4.65 with no points. However if they start pushing higher paying it off sooner will be warranted.

[Anonymous No.1362742]

>>1362721
>Sure you pay interest on the loan, but only around four percent, so putting your cash in a mutual fund will easily outpace the interest on the mortgage. Am I missing something, is there some financial advantage to paying cash?
OP here. Mutual funds can go down and I'm bearish on the market in a span of like 5 years (I have no crystal ball of course, but, my bet is that sometime between now and the next few years we are going to get a good correction). I was also raised by my grandfather, who was a depression era guy, and wasn't big on loans. He's always in the back of my head. I also graduated college in 2008, so that market dip left a mark on me (I had no money in the market, but, I was worried about getting a job!)

I can still get a mortgage if I want after paying for the house.

In the short run, I also think I'm not buying at an great great time (I think the housing market is going to correct a bit too), but the location I'm looking in is so good that I think it is a pretty safe bet if I normalize it over time. And, in the meantime, I want a place to live and don't want to live in a condo.

>>1362731
>Currently they are around 4.65 with no points.
I've been seeing like 3.8

[Anonymous No.1362749]

>>1362721
You are missing something. This isn't the [insert decade] any more where you get risk-free 7% returns on fixed income mutual funds.
Find a mutual fund, right now, and post the symbol/fund here, that gives you higher return % than your mortgage debt. I bet it doesn't exist.
If you're thinking of equity funds, well, those have risk and sure some people might want to take on the risk and invest their cash instead of paying off the mortgage.

[Anonymous No.1362751]

>>1362749
Sorry, meant to say:
>Find a fixed income mutual fund ...

[Anonymous No.1362754]

>>1362721
cash gives you more muscle if the home needs some work. a house with a fucked roof won't finance with only 20% down.

[Anonymous No.1362769]

>>1362749
>>1362751
Not that anon, but trying to learn as long as we are on subject: I have some money in VOO which over the last year is up like 12.5%. But it was up much more before, I think maybe the top has been hit in the stock market. I certainly wouldn't want to get upside in my house because of it. Anyways, use VOO for your example if you want.

[Anonymous No.1362777]

>>1362769

Yeah so VOO is an equity fund, meaning it invests in stock hoping that the value of that stock will increase. Fixed income funds rely more heavily on bonds (as well as high-dividend stocks). Generally speaking, fixed income mutual funds are a low-risk, low-reward investment which will give a steady return. Equity funds are a moderate-risk, moderate-reward investment which will have a much greater fluctuation in return as the market changes. So if you have faith in the stable long-term growth of the market, an equity fund will give you great returns (as you've seen with VOO). On the other hand, if you're worried about the possibility of another recession/depression, a fixed income fund is the best choice since it will lose a lot less value in such an event.

[Anonymous No.1362790]

>>1362777
Thanks. I'm going to look into those mutual funds. I got a really bad feeling about the market now even though the last few years I've made a bunch of money in it.

[Anonymous No.1362791]

I got my house last April. here are a few things to consider when purchasing. if some points are repeated in the thread then that only presses it's importance.
My house was built in the 1930's, it has the GUDBONES meme.

>electrical
Check what kind it is and if it has been updated, this is a big ticket consideration.

>roof
A new roof costs ~10k. Ensure it is new or in good condition and has 8yrs left in it.

>furnace,water heater,ac
Are they leased or owned? Gas or electric? I prefer gas cause cheaper in my parts and efficiency.

>foundation
You can look past a number of issues with a house but a shitty foundation is a deal killer. Water seepage from hydrostatic pressure is one thing and can be solved by a sump pump and weeping tile system which isn't exactly cheap but wouldn't exactly makee write off the house. Cracks or shifty foundation GTFO.

>plumbing
Is it updated throughout the house? Cast iron in the walls is okay, cast iron return to the street would make me uneasy and you would want to have it examined for life left. Clay return line GTFO or budget to replace right away. Fortunately cause of new tech replacing the return line under the house no longer needs trenching or digging.

>home renos
Ask owners for receipt of work or material. Any issues you can claim warranty with company. Check town to ensure they filed blueprints for any major renos like additions. Shit can bite you on the ass if they didn't.

[Anonymous No.1362836]

Here's a stupid, easy one that many people forget: Open and close/lock all the windows to make sure they fucking work
Also ,the Inpector you hire should have one of those temperature guns so that he can tell you if there's moisture in the walls.

[Anonymous No.1362844]

>>1362791
>>1362836
Thanks anons, this is very helpful.