Who can tell me about buying a home?

 here are the lessons i learned from buying our first house:

1. get you OWN attorney. we tried to save money by using the seller's attorney. not good. unless you are paying the attorney, he is not looking out for your best interest.

2. get the property surveyed by a land surveyor you hire. the co. i work for charges $450 for the average lot survey. this will be the cheapest thing you do when buying a house, and the surveyor will usually uncover encumberances on the land before you ever consult with an attorney.

3. get your own real estate agent.... for the same reasons you get your own attorney.

4. i think some people were talking about HOA's before.... they can be great or they can SUCK. right now we live in a small community with no amenities (ie. pool, tennis courts, etc). our HOA sucks. our dues have went up, up , up since we moved in. why? one family was refusing to pay their dues and decided it was better to sue the HOA instead. our HOA dues mainly consist of legal fees. i hope our next house is not in a neighborhood with an HOA. 

we bought our house new, and our loan is for the entire amount of the house. (no down payment). not sure how that worked. my wife did all the research for our mortgage. it is fixed rate. however, we do have to pay PMI. that does not mean our overall house payment is fixed though. since we have lived here, our county has reassessed our property value each year. and of course they assess the property at a higher value which means higher taxes. our house payment takes care of our taxes and insurance. so when either goes up, so does our payment.

cyclefiend2000

 here are the lessons i learned from buying our first house:

1. get you OWN attorney. we tried to save money by using the seller's attorney. not good. unless you are paying the attorney, he is not looking out for your best interest.

2. get the property surveyed by a land surveyor you hire. the co. i work for charges $450 for the average lot survey. this will be the cheapest thing you do when buying a house, and the surveyor will usually uncover encumberances on the land before you ever consult with an attorney.

3. get your own real estate agent.... for the same reasons you get your own attorney.

4. i think some people were talking about HOA's before.... they can be great or they can SUCK. right now we live in a small community with no amenities (ie. pool, tennis courts, etc). our HOA sucks. our dues have went up, up , up since we moved in. why? one family was refusing to pay their dues and decided it was better to sue the HOA instead. our HOA dues mainly consist of legal fees. i hope our next house is not in a neighborhood with an HOA. 

we bought our house new, and our loan is for the entire amount of the house. (no down payment). not sure how that worked. my wife did all the research for our mortgage. it is fixed rate. however, we do have to pay PMI. that does not mean our overall house payment is fixed though. since we have lived here, our county has reassessed our property value each year. and of course they assess the property at a higher value which means higher taxes. our house payment takes care of our taxes and insurance. so when either goes up, so does our payment.

I've seen the reference to hiring an attorney a few times now and I'm not disputing it but I'm surprised. I've bought and sold a couple of homes and never used an attorney.  Are they required in some states? I know my friend (she lives in Florida) said that the attorney for the buyer and seller has to be at the closing, but I've never experienced that. I definitely agree that having your own RE agent is a must and definitely have a qualified person do the inspections.

I think the attny thing is most useful when buyer's don't really know what's going on past the basics. My dh did mortgage lending and knew quite a bit about that side of things....the side that counts...money lol. So we were fine w/out one. BUT I have the opinion that you could do worse than consult with one if you are "new" don't have a handle on the forms/jargon...feel pressured or are doing the new home thing. It seems those builders reaaaallly are into scamming folks.

HOA's are a no-no here and always have been. I did not buy a home to be "told' what color to paint it...how high my fences can be....if I can even HAVE fences, etc. I no likee them...they are useless to me. We buy old homes....old meaning 1950-70's (this is older for TX I know other states have even older homes). New homes...IMO are never going to last half as long as old ones already have.

There's some more input LOL.

rwbeagles

pressured or are doing the new home thing. It seems those builders reaaaallly are into scamming folks.

This one is a must.  My sister and BIL and still dealing with issues when they built their home.  If they would have gotten an attorney from the get go they would have avoided a ton of issues.

I think in some states you have to get an attorney.  I believe my friend in NJ had to have one before anyone would even show him a house.

cakana

cyclefiend2000

 here are the lessons i learned from buying our first house:

1. get you OWN attorney. we tried to save money by using the seller's attorney. not good. unless you are paying the attorney, he is not looking out for your best interest.

2. get the property surveyed by a land surveyor you hire. the co. i work for charges $450 for the average lot survey. this will be the cheapest thing you do when buying a house, and the surveyor will usually uncover encumberances on the land before you ever consult with an attorney.

3. get your own real estate agent.... for the same reasons you get your own attorney.

4. i think some people were talking about HOA's before.... they can be great or they can SUCK. right now we live in a small community with no amenities (ie. pool, tennis courts, etc). our HOA sucks. our dues have went up, up , up since we moved in. why? one family was refusing to pay their dues and decided it was better to sue the HOA instead. our HOA dues mainly consist of legal fees. i hope our next house is not in a neighborhood with an HOA. 

we bought our house new, and our loan is for the entire amount of the house. (no down payment). not sure how that worked. my wife did all the research for our mortgage. it is fixed rate. however, we do have to pay PMI. that does not mean our overall house payment is fixed though. since we have lived here, our county has reassessed our property value each year. and of course they assess the property at a higher value which means higher taxes. our house payment takes care of our taxes and insurance. so when either goes up, so does our payment.

I've seen the reference to hiring an attorney a few times now and I'm not disputing it but I'm surprised. I've bought and sold a couple of homes and never used an attorney.  Are they required in some states? I know my friend (she lives in Florida) said that the attorney for the buyer and seller has to be at the closing, but I've never experienced that. I definitely agree that having your own RE agent is a must and definitely have a qualified person do the inspections.

 

In some (many?) states, real estate transactions are not completed through an escrow company, as they are in CA, but instead are done through an attorney. :) 

Cita

In some (many?) states, real estate transactions are not completed through an escrow company, as they are in CA, but instead are done through an attorney. :) 

So, would you consider it safe to buy a home in Calif. without a RE attorney?  Does the escrow company handle the legal aspect of the sale/purchase?

both times my Mom bought houses there it was attorney-less, this was a while back of course tho. I found a good link on when you need one...lemme go re find.

Ahh....here it is!

ARTICLE

Certainly - I think it is very rare in CA to have an actual real estate attorney for typical purchases/sales. If you have a good, experienced real estate agent whom you trust, and the other party seems to have a decent agent as well, and the escrow company has been helpful/responsible/responsive, I don't see why you'd want or need an attorney. IMO the most important part is having an agent who's really honestly looking out for you, and isn't afraid to recommend extra inspections or such if they feel they might be warranted.

In the last year I've sold 2 houses in CA, and there's not been an attorney involved in either. Both went very smoothly, and all parties were very happy. (Well, except for me, given the current state of the real estate market and the resulting low prices, lol!) No one I know in CA has used an attorney when buying a house, either.

I've never heard of someone here hiring an attorney, I certainly didn't.  I'm sure it wouldn't hurt though.

ottoluv

I've never heard of someone here hiring an attorney, I certainly didn't.  I'm sure it wouldn't hurt though.

It is the law in CT, you must have an attorney.  I sold a house CHFA (Connecticut housing finance authority), and I HAD TO PAY for the buyers attorney fee as well as my own.  Only thing worse than that is selling to a buyer obtaining a VA loan.

I think the need for an attorney is something you see when you've been shafted! 

In FL it's not a requirement -- you can close with a title company.  But they DO NOT CARE.  All they want is their fee.  They don't want ANYTHING to complicate the closing.  That includes anyone reading anything or questioning anything.  So what if things are overlooked.

We've got a closing this week and I spoke with the title company this morning -- it's not a 'new' home ... and the current owners bought in '93.  The title company just plain didn't BOTHER to check anything prior to '93. 

There could be a cloud on the title, there could be a 3rd owner out there somewhere no one thot about, there could be all sorts of encumbrances prior to '93.  But who cares?  They get away with it constantly and try to make the buyer feel like a heel if they want something.

When I bought this house I closed without an attorney -- lo and behold I discovered days after I moved in the house had been tented for termites and NO ONE TOLD ME.  I have wood damage throughout the house -- the guy who inspected just ignored it.  The realtors didn't want me to see it because it might make me not want to close. 

 Had I an attorney he would have seen in the public record that they had to pull a permit to tent the house.  *I* didn't know to look.

It's not a a matter of having to -- it's a matter of having someone looking out for your best interests.

Again, I'm not disputing anything but it seemed to me that in the environment of "full disclosure" that something like termite treatment would have been mentioned. I've never bought an older home, so I can especially understand where there could be some serious issues to consider, such as termites or plumbing problems.

 i dont know if you have to use an attorney to close on a house here. all the people i know have either used their own attorney or the seller's attorney though. they draw up all the paper work, explain the documents at closing, and record the deed with the RMC office.

 honestly, i wouldnt know how to go about doing the transaction legally. so i feel safer using an attorney. i mean it is the biggest expense of our lives after all.

real estate agents... believe me they are sure to be at the closing w/ their hand out. apparently, two agents got a commission off of our house closing. we had never even met the other one until that day. so i am not sure why she was there with her hand out, but she got a hefty check.

edit: title commitments are only as good as the person doing the title search. if said person does give a crap, you get crap. on home loans we (the land surveying co. i work for) usually uncovers more about the title than the title company. the only time title commitments are worth a crap is when you have to have an ALTA (http://www.acsm.net/alta.html) survey. these are usually done for commercial property. home owners never (at least that i have seen) have to have anything that expensive or detailed though.
 

edit2: i did a google search about having an attorney at closing in SC. here is what i found...

Conducting a real estate closing is the practice of law, which only an attorney can do. In South Carolina, any reputable mortgage lender will require that an attorney be selected to conduct the closing. Also, South Carolina real estate law is quite complex and you need an attorney to examine the title records for prior conveyances, liens, encumbrances, and errors in the deeds in the chain of title. Your attorney then negotiates with the title insurance company for insurance coverage insuring your title against adverse claims of ownership, liens, and easements. Unlike other states, the closing attorney in South Carolina is a totally separate party from the title insurance company. The actual 45 minute closing, where the closing documents are signed, represents only about one-fifth to one-tenth of the services your attorney is providing you for your real estate transaction. The use of a CLOSING AGENT rather than an attorney to close your loan is not only dangerous to you, but it is illegal, even if the transaction is "only" a refinance. DEMAND to use your own attorney.

http://library.findlaw.com/2000/May/1/128818.html

i am sure this is different for every state. this is just for SC. 

cyclefiend2000

real estate agents... believe me they are sure to be at the closing w/ their hand out. apparently, two agents got a commission off of our house closing. we had never even met the other one until that day. so i am not sure why she was there with her hand out, but she got a hefty check.

We've never had a RE agent at our closing either. It's always just been the mortgage company (broker?) and you simply sit and go thru the mounds of documents and initial here, sign there, etc., etc. I guess I should be glad it's always worked out okay for us.