The Hunt Begins!

[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.

[AK907]

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.

This is good advice here.

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

[m00kfu]

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.

[MasonC2K]

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.

[AK907]

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.

Sounds like my wife.

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...

Any particular style yall looking for?

[Don]

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.

[Sama]

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.

[jason_ladouceur]

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!

[wilomn]

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.

[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.