So my lease for my apartment is up toward the end of this year, and now that I can work remote, I’m thinking of moving somewhere less expensive and finally buying a home. Can anyone with experience give me advice on the process or resources I can use? Not only am I a total noob, but I don’t talk to my family and my friends aren’t homeowners either, so I’m not sure where to start. Googling presents me with so much info that I’m a bit overwhelmed.
Never trust anyone that your realtor recommends. They are more likely to ignore problems in order to push the deal through. Don’t trust your realtor, they are more likely to push you into a quick closing so they can get paid sooner. If they’re getting 3% of the sale then they don’t want you to negotiate that much. $10k off the sale means they lost $300.
Hire an attorney, even if your state doesn’t require one. Have them look over everything to make sure it’s good.
Like another commentor stated, if the inspection comes back with issues ask for a credit at closing. Don’t let the seller “fix” them. They will hire their cousins buddy to do a hackjob for cheap.
Another word of advice. Do not close until the property is vacant.
Never do a rent back. That’s where you close but rent the house back to the seller for a short amount of time. If they aren’t ready to move, don’t close unless you want to risk them having to stay indefinitely.
As close to the closing as possible do a walkthrough. If they still have boxes in the garage that they “will be back for” don’t close. They need to have the property empty and ready to move into when you close.
Make sure you have homeowners insurance when you close. I’ve seen stories where some jilted third party destroyed the place during closing.
Just to agree… our realtor recommended inspector was not very good. Not that we are unhappy buying the house but the inspection was crap.