[jsarno]

Originally Posted by SkinEmAll

Secondly, agents are a trying to get the sale done, and the good ones will do what ever they need too to look after your best interest. Yes they work on commision, but the difference between the asking price and the accepted offer/selling price is only going to be a few hundred dollars in or out of their pocket.

I've been a home owner since I was 22, I will tell you, agents are just sales people out for THEIR best interest. They will act like you are their best interest...don't be fooled. Go in confident, and offer low. Meaning...let's say the house is on the market for 200k, offer 180k. You never know who is desperate to get out. If they don't like it, they will make a counteroffer, or you make a counteroffer. My first house was a HUD repo, and they wanted 79k for it...I offered 53k and they took it without negotiating. I fixed up every room and redid the kitchen myself and I sold it for 110k 7 years later.

Fourth, the percentage that lenders are looking at has narrowed alot recently, do to it being a buyers market and all the forclosers, sorry but i dont know what that percentage range is right at the moment. but my motto is dont bite off more than you can chew comfortably right now. lots and lots of people get more house than they can afford with these 2,3,5 year arms or interest only loans and when that 2,3 or 5 years comes up they cant afford the payment. get what you can afford comfortably right now, and if you make more money 2-3 years later you can sell and get more house, or add a nice pool or addition or whatever.

That is great advice. Beware of ARM loans...I hate them, and never recommend them. Take the fixed rate, and if the market offers a great interest rate in the future, refinance. I went from 9.25% to 5.99% after I refinanced. ARM loans will kill you if you aren't paying attention and preparing for a hike.
A $400,000 loan at 7.5% interest over 30 years is $2,796.86 a month.
A $400,000 loan at 8.0% interest over 30 years will add $138.20 a month to your mortgage. Don't think that .5% matters? Think again.

Lastly, your closing attorney or title/mortagage company can give you every fee your gonna pay, itemized. this is something you need to really shop around on. alot of these companys charge alot of bogus fees. get total itemized quotes from several companies and compare. hope that was somewhat helpfull, and again congrats on your purchase. oh yeah, unless its a new or newer house get a home warranty, about 200-300 for a year to cover major repairs of appliances, hvac, electrical and so on. sometimes the sellers offer it or will if it means they have a deal or not. good luck.

One thing you need to look out for is PMI insurance. AKA Mortgage Insurance. I never have gotten a straight answer for what this is really all about...but it's the companies way of getting as much money from you as possible before you can't afford the payment anymore. (assuming they will need to foreclose on you) You can avoid PMI insurance by putting a down payment down that will make your loan to value under 80%. PMI insurance can cost you anywhere from $50 to $200 a month extra, and it's calculated right into the mortgage so you forget it's there. It's a scam if you ask me, but most everyone does it, so it's impossible to avoid it.

Congrats on the new home...I assume you are already approved for a certain amount at this point? If not, you need to find a lender that will give you a figure of how much they will lend you with how much you make. They have specific calculators that will calculate your debt to income ratio and then figure how much you can afford from there.
Nothing sucks more than looking at a house that you KNOW you want, then the financing takes MONTHS and then they tell you you don't make enough, or whatever. Get approved first!