Quote:
Originally Posted by TongMan
Hey everyone. I am buying my first home and I am very excited. Just put in an offer for a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, two story home for 185,000. Being a noob to buying a house, what should I look into regarding insurance (flood, earthquake, hail, etc), unexpected or expected fees, property tax, and a whole bunch of whatever it takes to be a home owner. I do not have a family and am not married or have any baby daddy issues. I'm 26 years old. I qualified for a fixed 30 year loan of 4.75%.
I know that I need to swap out all the door locks and knobs with my own because I don't know how many sets of keys are out there. Anything else?
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As others have said, congrats on your first home; I remember mine and it was awesome. First, you do not have to swap out the knobs, just the cores where the keys fit into. To safe some money, see if a locksmith can repin them to prevent other keys from allowing access (depends on the locks for repin). Get a home inspector even if it is not part of the deal; you will need to address his findings one way or another so get it done now so you can start saving if you did not include repairs as part of the contract.
Focus expenses on MUST HAVE items and budget for nice to have stuff like landscaping and paint/window dressings. Watch your debt and do not go house-poor; a home needs care which means money but you do not need to do it all at once so try to stagger so you are not getting into CC debt. Watch your neighborhood and see what others are doing to freshen up their home; do not replace a bunch of stuff or invest in improvements if no one else is doing so.
Upgrade very carefully and cheaply; do not put more into your home than you can get in return even if you REALLY want it such as granite counters. If no one in the area is spending money on it, do not do it or wait until you know the market has turned around.
Just my thoughts for what they are worth. We are on our 6th home now and thrilled with the purchasing power here in SOCA and the low interest rates. Hang in there, 5 years should yield you enough of a downpayment for your next home......