I'm an idiot, and I'm buying a house! Please help me with my journey.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
23

Chiming in re the buyers’ agent. You said you have a realtor; but you almost certainly don’t have a realtor. The seller has a realtor; that’s why you’re not the one paying the realtor.

And also chiming in that you need to get a lawyer. Have the lawyer check everything you’re supposed to sign before you sign it.

In some areas requiring a house inspection (for condition and repair of all sorts of things, and for existence of possible hazards) has become quite common. You can make an offer contingent on the results of the home inspection, or for that matter contingent on all sorts of things, which will allow you to back out without penalty or without much penalty if problems are discovered.

Is this place on city water and septic? If not, make any offer contingent on both the well and the septic system passing testing/inspection – and check water supply for quantity and taste as well as safety.

(If anything fails inspection, and it’s something fixable – wells sometimes are fixable and sometimes not – and you like the place enough to fix it, you may be able to get the sellers either to fix it before you close on the property, or to reduce the price by enough to cover your costs to fix it after closing.)

Go talk to the neighbors! You may find out something about the place that the realtors don’t know. And you’ll find out something about the neighbors. Are they all keep-to-yourself types who don’t much even want to talk to you – and if so, are you one yourself, and will fit right in, or would you be better off elsewhere? Does the second house to the south host loud parties every weekend and, if so, will they invite you, and do you want to go, or will the noise just drive you crazy? Is your back yard a well-known and well-used shortcut to the school? (In the first place I bought, it turned out that it was.)

Also check what the zoning is. Check this even if all you want to do is live in what’s obviously a house – that lovely big open field across the way may be zoned commercial, that single-family block may have been re-zoned for high-rise mixed use. This may be fine with you, or it may not, but it’s good to know about it. And it’s useful to know whether or not you can put in an in-law apartment, or set up a home business, or have a few chickens or a third or fourth dog, if you ever might want to do so.

Both zoning and neighbors can change; and neighbors almost certainly will. But there’s no need to move into a situation that’s there already if it’s going to be, for you, a major problem.

24

In my town we needed a permit for our spa. Some towns might have weird requirements. The people who issue them will let you know, and if you use a certified builder or repair person they will know also.

Beware of HOAs also. There is a house near to me that just got bought and needed a new roof. The HOA has some ridiculous roof requirement, in terms of look. The roof is now half done and sitting there, and the new owners are not surprisingly not paying to keep the place they can’t live in up.

As for inspections, do them, and make the purchase contingent on passing or the problems being fixed. People we know bought a house using an (idiot) friend as a real estate agent. She advised them to not worry about inspections. (I think she needed the commission.) They listened to her (they are idiots also) and bought the house and, surprise, surprise, are discovering all sorts of expensive problems.

25

Just adding a cautious note in here that should check how things are done locally. In New York I believe it’s law that all real estate contracts of sale have to be drawn up by the principle or their attorney, so you want a buyer’s attorney to represent your own interests.

In CA this is not the case and as opposed to NY lawyers just aren’t used a lot for standard real estate transactions. Here the paperwork is mostly drawn up and executed by a neutral title company. And the buyer’s agent in CA typically is a realtor, just representing the buyer for that particular transaction and their commission is indeed customarily paid by the seller. Getting an attorney is still perfectly reasonable, but most folks are not interested in shelling out extra cash for what around here is not required unless the transaction is unusually complicated.

All states function a bit differently, so what may be customary in CA or NY may not hold true in Hawaii.

26

Just remember, the global climate is changing. Didn’t used to be you needed A/C in the UK and Europe. People are now dying of heat stroke there because they are getting at least one or two heat waves a summer and almost no one has A/C. What is sufficient now may not be in the not so distant future. (Why yes, I’m paranoid, why do you ask?)

Oh, yeah, given it’s Hawai’i: How close are you to an active volcano, and how far are you from the coast where hurricanes and tsunamis can roll in from?

27

My advice to you: Hundreds of thousands of idiots buy houses every year and they are just fine. I promise you you’re less of an idiot than them. I was a 25 year old single lady when I bought my house and it’s been fine for 15 years now. Not everything will be perfect but you will find a way to overcome the problem. No need to be afraid of what might happen. You got this.

28

I imagine it will be ok to stay where you are right now during any work that’s needed in the new house before moving in, but still, that needs to be considered.
Also, your stuff needs to be moved but also whittled down (of anything which doesn’t work well with the new house or which you don’t want any more) and completed/replaced; there may be things currently in your new house that you just don’t want there, as well. The good news is, after several international moves this part should be a hitch; also, the replacement part doesn’t need to be done yesterday.

I just finally was able to take down that closet which completely enveloped the radiator in my bathroom. I only bought the house in 2007! Mind you, there have been calendar years I only set foot here to empty the mailbox and change the position of the blinds, but still…

29

Lots of good advice given, and absolutely, about NOT using an inspector the realtor recommends. Lots of people on the good ole boy network here.

Get a homeowners declarations page. Find out about insurance costs, past claims, any known issues about the home in terms of repairs that has been done, any flooding issues, mold, easements, etc, etc. They can still hide stuff, but in the event it was proven that something was not declared and was a known issue, this is something that can make them liable, and if serious enough, gives you the option to back out, and preferably you find this out before closing, but still protects you, just may cost you more if you discover it after closing.

Check and double check that survey. Look for utilities, other easements and right of ways.

My friend and his wife has been trying to buy a house in Arkansas or Missouri for the last two years, he doesn’t miss anything. The realtor, as usual had plenty of recommendations for inspection, but he just says to her, “ma’am, I’m not trying to be rude or arrogant, but I just prefer to do my own inspections and think I can do a better job.” She just smiled and say good luck then.

Many times, from his experience, he found some realtors trying to downplay it, or they have somebody that can fix that problem quite easily. At times, some of this stuff is minor, but usually homes can have some serious issues. One of these he found was another easement problem, and she said her friends said he can have that fixed in a day or two. He says back to her," if your friend thinks this can be fixed in a day or two, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about." Sure enough, with this particular easement issue he found, and not being on the declaration page (often they plead ignorance) and after being promised it would be corrected quite easily, two months later it still wasn’t resolved, so realtor finally said homeowner agreed to sell it to them $25,000 less without having fixed the easement problem. Naturally they walked.

After you’ve done most of the work, or had someone you can trust help do a lot of it for you, then run it buy a lawyer, see if he still sees anything that still may have been overlooked.

If everything still looks good, and if you haven’t already done so, it is time to meet the neighbors. They can be a wealth of information. Some neighbors are heaven sent, others destined for hell.

30

I would add for the buyer’s agent: I had a fantastic experience with Redfin several years ago, in which I got a rebate for the fees for the buyer’s agent that the agent didn’t charge.

What happens is this: the seller hires an agent and agrees to pay the two agents involved a particular percentage of the sales price. Seems like these percentages have gotten lower over time, but let’s say this contract provides for 2% commission to the buyer’s agent (again, coming out of the seller’s proceeds).

The agent I had worked under a policy that he would only accept 1%. So the buyer paid my agent 2%, and my agent turned around and wrote me a check for like $15,000 or something, and he kept the rest for himself.

Long way of saying this: I’m not endorsing any particular agent or service, but asking about your agent’s commission could save you a handsome sum.

31

I worked in real estate for 26 years. I agree with checking with the local police department about the area. And spend a few nights in the area and take note of how any police cars patrol around, particularly on weekends.

What about local schools, parks, stores, churches, and even laudromats. You might be using all of them.

My two tips for dealing with the government: Do it as little as possible, and do what they say. Do not fight them, you rarely win such battles.

32

Take a drive along the street which is *behind *the property you’re looking at. How does the house look which is just behind your potential property? Like a burned-out drug den or frat party pad? Strewn with lots of those giant plastic kids’ toys? (Might be a clandestine day care center, like what happened to us once when we rented a home.)

33

Near a school? After school and night time events can be noisy.

Near a church? Expect noise and parking issues Sundays and during church events.

Check the town’s laws regarding snow removal: when and how much. The big front yard ain’t so great when you have to shovel two feet of snow off the sidewalk in front of it.

34

Adding to the chorus on hiring your own lawyer.

Also, your house and your property are a canvas that someone already painted on, but you can paint over what they’ve done. When picking a house think about how it could look some day. And keep in mind the seller has made the house as clean and shiny as possible, it’s not always going to look like that no matter what you do.

35

She’s in Hawaii. Probably as much an issue as it is for me in the Bay Area.
Location, location, location.

36

If she’s far enough up the slopes of a volcano, she could get snow. Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa both get snow. Not often, and not deep, but it happens. (And you cannot *imagine *how surprised I was to learn that, too.)

37

Along with the buy with your head not you heart: Be willing to walk after the inspection. It might be the best $3-500 you spend, and end up saving you thousands in the long run. The inspection is likely to find a few problems, and maybe they’re things you ask to be fixed, or just accept that you’ll deal with yourself. At some point the number of problems might get long enough that it’s just time to move on. It might not even be the expense, as $15-25k for repairs might be in your budget. It can be not wanting to spend the next few years moving from one home project to the next trying to get everything in shape.

38

I am in my second home, this one is a condo. I was looking to downsize and there wasn’t a lot on the market. This condo came with a 6-months warranty that my realtor extended to one year as a housewarming present from her (she is a personal friend too). The unit was built in 1988 and still had the original HVAC and appliances. I had forgotten about the warranty but knew I wanted to replace the appliances anyway so I went ahead and did that on my own and am happy with the result. However, I kept having problems with the ancient air conditioner once spring rolled around. Hmm.

In the mail comes a letter asking if I want to renew the home warranty. Wow! I had completely forgotten it, so I call to report an HVAC problem. After several trials and failures at fixes (because problems were many), I end up with a new system and the cost to me is small (for things not covered by the warranty). I am amazed and thrilled that this worked out in my favor. Consider asking for a home warranty if the home was built in the 80s or early 90s. Not saying you will need it, but what a relief it was there for me when I had been laid off my job.

39

Or be willing to say “Look, the inspection found $15,000 of things that’ll need fixing now (or in the next few years). Either fix those things, reduce the price by fifteen thousand, or I’m going to rent that trailer down the road til I can find the perfect house”.

40

Thank you all for the continued comments - even though it isn’t realistic to individually address everyone as the thread goes on, rest assured I appreciate and am taking to heart everything.

Perhaps I should give a little background on the neighborhood so everyone knows whether snow removal is likely to be a problem :slight_smile:

The house is in Mountain View, Hawaii on a one-acre lot in a very quiet neighborhood. Houses on either side, empty field across the street, and the property abuts on a vacant, privately owned 15-acre plot. It’s a 10-15 minute drive to the nearest “civilization,” by which I mean gas station, post office, grocery store, etc. Population is increasing and it is most likely an “up and coming” area, in that as Hilo grows there is greater demand for nice housing in the adjacent towns.

Volcanoes, snow, and tsunamis are not a risk in Mountain View; its location is safe from all of those things. But it is absolutely relevant to point them out, as they do affect certain locations on island. (Well, maybe not the snow. There is only snow at the summit of Mauna Kea, and there are no residential areas up there, just telescopes.)

Morgyn’s point about global warming is well taken! I just read the paper and it said we had record heat this weekend - 86 or even 90 degrees in some places! I think the house is structured in a way that would allow installation of an AC unit in a bedroom or two, but I’ll certainly verify that at the same time I am going through a checklist that includes many good suggestions y’all are giving me.

41

The OP’s in Hawaii.

Quoted for truth.

You are definitely less of an idiot than a lot of people, because instead of assuming you know how to do everything you realize that you don’t, so you’re asking.

42

Smallish update, which you should all skip unless you have some weird interest in these very boring details:

I’m still legally married (mostly because I dread the divorce paperwork and no one is holding a gun to my head to complete it) and spoke to my not-quite-ex husband about buying a house before the divorce is done, which means he’d end up signing some stuff to release funds from our joint assets. He’s okay with it, sort of, but wants to be sure he has no legal liability/interest in any property I acquire. I’ve contacted my divorce attorney to discuss it but so far just left a message.

I did have a long chat with my financial advisor today, who thinks all the numbers work and that most likely I can structure the purchase so that it doesn’t involve my husband in any way.

So, small steps forward.