The Hunt Begins!

So we got pre-approved for a $130k home loan last week. We are meeting with a realtor tomorrow and the search will begin. Well actually it already has to a degree. We've been looking online for the past few days. There are a lot of house out there way bigger than our apartment for the same monthly payment or close enough to it to not matter.

And thank God for my parents who will be helping with the down payment!

Wish us luck!

God bless.

Thats AWESOME bud!

I know you and chanin have been talking about and wanting some more room for awhile now. Im happy for you. Sending positive thoughts your way to make the process as painless as possible. Also have fun moving all your critters haha!:rolleyes:

EDIT: i just noticed this... Why is chanin listed as 1.0 in your sig? Shouldnt she be 0.1...:confusd:

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

EDIT: i just noticed this... Why is chanin listed as 1.0 in your sig? Shouldnt she be 0.1...:confusd:

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:rofl:


Congrats Mason! Such a HUGE step forward :gj:!

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

EDIT: i just noticed this... Why is chanin listed as 1.0 in your sig? Shouldnt she be 0.1...:confusd:

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LOL! Now that's an epic typo. It's been like than forever I guess. I'ts fiexed now tho.

Best of luck to you on the house hunt. Even though you are working with an agent, Zillow.com is a great resource to search for comparable sold properties and homes for sale. Check it out and it will help you know what has been sold, when, and for how much, in and around where ever you are looking.

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Originally Posted by MasonC2K

LOL! Now that's an epic typo. It's been like than forever I guess. I'ts fiexed now tho.

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Lmao!! Even if it was a 1.0 I still got mad love for ya Chris!

Congrats on the awesome news! It must be so exciting to go house hunting. I've never got to experience that, since Chad bought this house years before I met him. Good luck on the endeavor, and take a bunch of pics when you find one :)

Don't be afraid to make a lowball offer either. Your agent will pretend to be your pal, but the bottom line is they make more if you spend more. I used to do this for a living and got out because the people were so duplicitous. Also, inspections inspections inspections. Don't skimp there or take anyone's word for anything. Licensed and bonded inspected is the way to go.

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Originally Posted by MasonC2K

LOL! Now that's an epic typo. It's been like than forever I guess. I'ts fiexed now tho.

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Haha i cant believe no one ever noticed. The only reason i noticed it was bc i went to look to check her names spelling to make sure i didnt misspell it. I was very confused for a little bit there bc i knew i had seen her in one of your videos lol.

Regardless, as heather said, take pics of whatever you get! I love watching shows like house hunters, one of my guilty pleasures haha.

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Originally Posted by wilomn

Don't be afraid to make a lowball offer either. Your agent will pretend to be your pal, but the bottom line is they make more if you spend more. I used to do this for a living and got out because the people were so duplicitous. Also, inspections inspections inspections. Don't skimp there or take anyone's word for anything. Licensed and bonded inspected is the way to go.

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Whats bonded mean?

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Whats bonded mean?

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There is a place to collect monetary damages if they mess up an inspection. If they're not bonded, you can sue and win, but may never collect anything. Getting bonded is what the guys who are really good do both to insure themselves from predatory buyers and to assure prospective customers that they know their stuff enough to back it up. They may be more than just an ordinary inspector, but for something like this skimping is not the way to go.

An don't count a house as bought until you sign the final papers. That way lies heartbreak. I've had more than one friend buying a house think it was a done-deal and suddenly something happens and the sale is off. Then everyone is upset and gets dejected about not getting it and then you're more likely to "settle" on a house you might not like as much, just because of the discouragement from the failed sale.

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

An don't count a house as bought until you sign the final papers. That way lies heartbreak. I've had more than one friend buying a house think it was a done-deal and suddenly something happens and the sale is off. Then everyone is upset and gets dejected about not getting it and then you're more likely to "settle" on a house you might not like as much, just because of the discouragement from the failed sale.

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This is good advice here. :gj:

Congrats, Chris! Make sure to keep us updated and we demand lots of pics! My wife and I love house hunting!

Good luck! We bought our house almost exactly a year ago and it's great to know you can do or change whatever you want with it. DEFINITELY don't skimp on the inspection.

Thanks everyone! We are working with a guy at out church that we've known for a while. He doesn't sell houses. He's a buyer's agent so it's his job to look out for our best interest instead of the sellers.

Chanin is uber excited about it. She's already favorited 10 houses we say on a web site. LOL! We pray everything turns out right.

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Originally Posted by MasonC2K

Chanin is uber excited about it. She's already favorited 10 houses we say on a web site. LOL! We pray everything turns out right.

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Sounds like my wife. :D

I like this one. And I like this one. Oooh! This one is nice. Lets buy this one. No, lets buy this one. I like this one too... :rolleyes:

Any particular style yall looking for?

Good luck. You've got some good advice in this thread. When you start to visit the houses, take notes so you remember which house had which features. We looked at so many houses when we were looking for our third home that I got them confused and had to have a second round of visits to remember which houses had what I thought they had.

It is an exciting (and scary) time to buy that first house. But, once you move in, you will love having your own place.

Gratz! Bring an camera when you go house hunting, if you see one you really like take pictures so you can look back and remember how everything was laid out after. As mentioned try not to set your heart on a house until your signing the final papers, we got outbid on a house we really fell in love with in the first month and ended up taking it very hard. Finally be patient, we looked for 7 months before we finally found our house, and I have talked to friends who looked for 2 years. When your looking at 3-6 houses almost every week that is a long time. Don't get discouraged if you don't see it right away and don't settle.

wow that is awesome! I am super jealous. I am so tired of paying someone else's mortgage.
Also a little jealous that you can find a house for $130k up here in Toronto even a 1bdrm shack is $500k minimum. you'd have to drive at least an hour out of the city before you could find anything even in the $300k range.

congrats, hope you guys find the perfect house!:gj:

Do your own homework. A buyers agent is the guy who will show you lots of houses that WILL make him money when they sell, but not necessarily a house you might like that isn't paying a full commission or is less than you've been approved for. Don't be afraid to talk to the seller yourself either.

Seen 6 houses so far. We have 2 in mind right now but still gonna look at some more tomorrow. It's really exciting. The prospect of getting almost 1000 sq ft more than our apartment for only a few dollars more per month is even more exciting.

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Originally Posted by MasonC2K

Seen 6 houses so far. We have 2 in mind right now but still gonna look at some more tomorrow. It's really exciting. The prospect of getting almost 1000 sq ft more than our apartment for only a few dollars more per month is even more exciting.

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Just wait until those tax breaks kick in and you get a nice refund on top of it! That is like icing on a cake.