thinking of buying a house- please give me your advice!

Mimisinger

Mon, May 12 2008, 7:21 pm

best movers - Avi's movers. We've used them 3 times so far! It's prob. about $1000 to move a 2 bedroom that far. It also depends if you're on the ground floor, or if they're packing for you. It really depends on how many guys you want.

But call them and they'll suggest to you what they think you should take and they'll tell you how much. But get them early, they're very good and so they get booked up.

sunshine!

Mon, May 12 2008, 7:31 pm

Make sure any work done in the house was done with permits... Have an inspection done on the property. Find out how much the taxes are...as far as I know they are quite high in Monsey... Add at least $8-10,000 for closing costs.... Are you looking for new construction? Make sure the developer can absolutely get a CO before contract.

square_peg

Tue, May 13 2008, 2:34 pm

dillie wrote:

yes, we're already pre-approved for a mtg. I hope we can afford as much as we think we can- I'm a little concerned about all the stories I'm hearing, I.e. 'we bought the house and three months late the roof and the wiring went, and dh lost his job'- but we're not stretching ourselves to the nth degree, so let's just hope for the best!

It is very important to have the electric, gas, plumbing - any wiring checked out before you close on the house!

A secure job is obviously important to committ to a mortgage.

in Monsey, taxes can be a killer, so make sure to factor it in.

Rutabaga

Tue, May 13 2008, 3:05 pm

Dh and I bought a house last August. Here are some things we found helpful.

When you are looking at multiple houses makes sure to ask how old the roof, boiler, hot water system, etc are. Find out if there are problems with flooding or termites in the area.

If you can't decide between 2 houses that you like, bring in people you trust for a second opinion. They might notice things that you didn't. Dh and I brought both sets of our parents to look at 3 houses with us.

Once you've settled on a house that you like, definitely bring in an engineer to check it out for you. It's worth spending the money to do this so that there are no surprises after you move.

You should decide on a price range before you go looking at houses so that you don't fall in love with something you can't afford. Also, you should figure out whether it's worth it for you to spend a little more money on a house that's been fixed up more recently (even if it's not quite to your taste) or spend less on a fixer-upper that you will have to invest money in to make it liveable.