House Buying: Questions and Info You Need to Know Right Now
House buying is super exciting and easy to get caught up in. We’ve gathered a list of questions to ask and resources to utilize so that you are an informed buyer and don’t get tangled up and overwhelmed down the road!
House Buying may be one of the most important investments you ever make, for sure the most expensive! It is absolutely exciting and, once the shopping is done, the stress gets real! The absolute first thing to do is fix your credit. That link, by the way, is to another post on this site and has free ways to repair your credit! We’ve also got a post with more tips for preparing to buy a home, it focuses financial side.
Once you get the credit stuff navigated, it’s time to research the types of mortgages that are available. Generally, when you apply for a mortgage the company will help find the best fit for you. However, I highly recommend researching those companies before you settle with one. Remember, if one company will approve you, another will too. They aren’t opposed to being picky, and we don’t have to be either! You can find free mortgage calculators to get an idea of payment in various price ranges.
House Hunting Begins
Now that you have done all of your homework of house buying, it’s time for the fun part! While you totally should find a great realtor, we began our hunt by cruising around town. It was so much fun and not at all stressful! We discussed what we wanted, liked and didn’t like for a while. That came in handy when we contacted a realtor, because honestly there was no work for them to do. We found the house we wanted all on our own.
Looking back, that wasn’t the best of ideas. It would have been better off if we had gathered our list of what we wanted and let them do the house hunting. As it stands, we’ve done a ton of work on our lower-priced home. It’s worth more than we’ve paid for it, but I often wish we’d found one that was already what we wanted. It’s been quite a few years and we still don’t have it where we want it!
Essential House Buying Questions
So many things we should have asked, so I’ve added some things that I wish I’d have known and been more picky about, but this list will help you not have to deal with sudden financial hits as much! It’s expensive when things break and such! House buying is a long term thing, cover your bases as much as you can so that you know what you are getting into!
- Why is it being sold? Has it been sitting empty?
- Are there any problems with the house?
- Ask for the utility bills for the last year.
- Talk to the neighbors about the area.
- Take notes when you look at the house.
- Does the yard slope towards the house (drainage problem)?
- How many years does the roofing have left?
- Do all the windows open?
- Does the wiring look normal and up-to-date?
- Are there any cracks in the foundation?
- Are the fences in good shape?
- Are there any problems with the driveway?
- Is the garage floor cracked?
- Does the garage door work fine?
- What interior fixtures are included?
- Are there sufficient outlets in every room?
- Flush the toilet and try all of the faucets.
- Test all lights and ceiling fans.
- Test the stove and other appliances if they are included (and you intend to keep them).
- Look in the attic for evidence of animals and leakage.
- Is there sufficient insulation?
- Is the roof sagging?
- Are any of the walls cracked or sagging?
- Are the ceilings in good shape?
- Are there fuses or breakers (the latter are preferable)?
- Does the furnace look okay?
- Does the water heater look okay?
- Is there any moisture in the basement?
- Do the floor beams look good?
- Do the supports look okay? The beams shouldn’t have any dark spots, indicative of water leakage.
- Does the sump pump work? Ask when the sewage pipes were last replaced. Ours crumbled and ended up costing around $30k to repair all of the damage!
- Are there any cracks in the basement floor?
- Do the stairs sag when stepped on?
- Does the air conditioner work?
- What does your intuition tell you? Never underestimate what your gut is telling you. Even when we are convinced everything is right, that voice knows and shouldn’t be ignored!
I found these in an article House Buying Tips, you can read the full article here! I would love to hear your tips and suggestions on the topic!!! We can use all we can get!!! Prayers are also always welcome and greatly needed!!! Hope you all had a great Wednesday!!!
This is such a informative and helpful post, thank you so much for sharing! I never thought about electricity until I went to my dad’s older house and blew out the breaker with my air fryer. Apparently those things are very high voltage and his older wiring couldn’t handle it running the same time as other appliances.
Oh, wow! I don’t think I’d have thought about taking one to mine either, right up until things got dark. LOL. Hope the list helps ya save money, that last one about the inner voice, I think, is the absolute most important one of all!
Right now would be a great time to invest in a house. We have been saving a couple of years for a down payment.
That’s awesome! If you need them, be sure and check out the ways to fix your credit for free on My Crafty Zoo! I am legitimately not selling anything, but that’s how I fixed my credit!
One problem I never thought of was having enough electric for the house. Those electrical boxes have limited capacities and old houses might not have nearly enough. There are times I know if I turn on one more appliance, the switch is going to flip on a few rooms.
My best advice is don’t buy more house than you can afford. We bought our little house in 1989 & it was less than what the Realtor suggested we could afford. Twenty yrs later we’re glad we bought small.
By the way, my house wouldn’t pass your inspection but I’ll keep it anyway. ;o)