any basic advice/books to learn about buying a house
Well as some of you might know, it is impossible that I will be looking into buying a house right now because I am very much a novice in terms of savings and financial planning.
However, it can't hurt to start learning and looking around beforehand, right? That way when I'll know when I am ready for sure, and I'll be more prepared than not.
Are there any good books or websites for beginners?
Any advice on the American housing market in general?
I also considered California or New York, but I live in Rhode Island right now and I feel like housing near the Brown campus will always valuable and in demand because of the constant rotating supply of wealthy students. Is this wrong?
Thanks again for everything.
Re: any basic advice/books to learn about buying a house
I thought " Buying Solo, a womans guide to buying a home " was good. I'll look it up on Amazon to make sure I'm telling you the exact name.
Re: any basic advice/books to learn about buying a house
Housing immediately around the Brown Campus is a good idea, and yes it should certainly stay in demand. However, you would really need to be practically on campus.
As I'm sure you are seeing there are tons of empty houses flooding the market in the Providence area, and the condo market was way over built and has come to a halt as well.
IMHO Providence in general is not an ideal market. It does not have the same financial base as other major cities in New England. Also the employment base is over 40% concentrated in the public sector.
Granted Providence has made enormous strides over the past 15 years, but it still remains a very volitile market.
If you do plan on looking in the Providence market, I would not pay a market price. I'd definitely look into forclosure auctions. It may cost a bit more in rennovation costs, but the savings on price will hopefully out weigh that. Especially if you have some skilled labor friends, or can do some work yourself.
Best of luck!
Re: any basic advice/books to learn about buying a house
I would also hold out long enough to see what sort of government backed 'first time homeowner' assistance programs will stick. At the moment, I believe that a first time homeowner with a well documented income can apply for something like $8,000 in one time federal tax credit in conjunction with the purchase of a home. This may get better in the near future as the nationwide housing market gets worse (even if the housing market in a particular city has already bottomed).
Also, while some real estate outfits are claiming that they have found a legal way to apply the $8,000 'first time homebuyer' tax credit toward a down payment, it's a virtual certainty that any new home buyer is still going to have to pony up a large amount of (previously documented) cash towards a 20% down payment plus additional closing costs. On a $250k home purchase, you're talking about having $50k available in a bank account plus enough IRS tax returns to show how you were able to save up that $50k in addition to paying for ordinary living expenses, college tuition, the purchase of a car etc. over the past few years.
Re: any basic advice/books to learn about buying a house
I dunno if it works differently in the US to the UK, but Estate Agents (Realtors or Real Estate Agents in American-speak) don't check background when showing people around houses for sale.
Nothing stopping you inventing a fictitious background and being shown round a few houses. A useful skill you can then pick up to to estimate the condition of the house and how much money it'll take to put any problems right.
For example, if the walls are wallpapered, rapping them gently with your knuckles will give an indication if the backing plaster is coming away from the walls. Freshly whitewashed ceilings might be an indication that the owner is covering cracks, etc.
I'd match up your tours with reading a few books on DIY so you know how basic repairs are carried out. That'll help you spot the problems in the first place, and estimate the cost of putting them right.
Phil.
Re: any basic advice/books to learn about buying a house
Phil ... this is also technically true in the USA ... PROVIDING that the would-be homebuyer is prepared to pay cash for the property or is willing to make independent arrangements for mortgage financing. However, once the issue of financing arises, all sorts of questions are going to be asked regarding the would-be buyer's profession, past (reported) income level, etc. The would-be seller is also 'entitled' to ask for such information about the would-be buyer. Thus the attempted use of a ficticious identity is not a workable concept in the USA at least, even if it is just during the 'shopping' phase.
Another addition ... early info on the 'first time home buyer' tax credit would appear to require that the buyer actually reside in the newly purchased home for some period of time. This provision was specifically included to avoid the use of taxpayer money to help subsidize real estate 'speculator' profits.