Hi,

I want me a nice little place for my first property. I would like to know what would be the best route to go if I am seeking to buy a 1 or 2 (or 3) bedroom townhouse with a garage. I have googled, but too much info comes back, and I think going by word-of-mouth on this matter will be more efficient and effective in my search. Is it reasonable to think that I can get a nice townhouse in a nice neighborhood with these specs for ~115K? DO i need to speak with an agent on person about this, or can I do a search on my own and come out just as good - if you suggest that I use and agent, do you have an recommendations? Also, I really would like it in the Raleigh/Cary area. These are a few preliminary questions that I have at the moment, so feel free to share any info/experiences that you may have with this type of purchase.

Thanks.

[Edited on February 28, 2007 at 12:00 PM. Reason : asdf]

2/28/2007 11:56:58 AM

I would at least get a 2 bedroom place for resale purposes.
I would def get an agent since it is free for the buyer.
I'm currently using Dave Peterson with HPW.
Just be aware the Cary area is very expensive, so it may be hard to find something in your pricerange.

2/28/2007 12:10:35 PM

You won't find much for 115.

2/28/2007 12:56:52 PM

Yeah, 115k is a bit of a stretch. I just thought that would ask though. So, I figure that I am looking at 150-160k probably.

2/28/2007 1:04:22 PM

there's a couple threads in the lounge you could read through too

2/28/2007 1:07:46 PM

Thanks. In the meanwhile add more helpful information please.

2/28/2007 1:18:08 PM

My friend just bought a 3br 2ba house off Lineberry for 150k, why would a townhouse cost the same as/more than a house?

[Edited on February 28, 2007 at 1:33 PM. Reason : -has a one car garage as well]

2/28/2007 1:31:27 PM

Location?
Upgrades?
Size?
Year built?

2/28/2007 1:39:01 PM

actually, if you are ok without a garage (but maybe not) 115k is not too bad. especially if you get in on a neighborhood that is in the process of being built. you can get some very good deals. my parents own 5 townhouses (1 in raleigh, 2 in cary, 2 in apex), all of which they have purchased in neighborhoods that were in the beginning stages of building, and i am fairly sure that all were under 130k (however, none have garages, which is why i mentioned it in the first sentence).

my parent's buyers agent is tina hackett (http://www.tinahackett.com/RemaxCAR/index.asp?acc=79600). she's kind of a nutball, but she's done good by them for a good while now....

2/28/2007 2:19:02 PM

Ah, I will browse her website. But, I am afraid I (think that I) must have a garage. I just want me a hang-out spot besides in the house all the time. Maybe I can do without it. I will just have to see. Also, what if I try to get one with no down payment, will this be drastic on payments, interest, etc...?

2/28/2007 2:51:20 PM

if you want a good realtor

email randy collins - randy@randycollinsrealestate.com and tell him chris moody referred you

he's awesome and helped me find two houses

2/28/2007 3:03:53 PM

no downpayment? errr...

2/28/2007 3:12:19 PM

Well, you don't always need a down payment, I just thought I would throw this out there and see what feedback that I can get.

2/28/2007 3:23:46 PM

You will pay more each month since your loan will be larger.
You will most likely get a higher rate so you will pay more.
You will have to pay private mortgage insurance or get a piggyback loan which will add more costs.

2/28/2007 3:25:21 PM

there are really good first time home buyer options where you won't need a down payment...you will need $1000-$2000 for your earnest money though. some options pay your closing costs and all that too.

2/28/2007 3:26:11 PM

I have looked at first-time buyers info and it looks good without a down payment. Moody what do you mean 1000-2000 for my earnest money?

2/28/2007 3:42:33 PM

Money you put down to show you are serious. If you back out the seller usually gets to keep this.

2/28/2007 3:46:06 PM

Oh, ok.

I was just looking at this, and I can qualify for the first 2 special offers.

http://www.ncsecu.org/Products.aspx?page=1&item=4&Name=cntlHomeEquity

Click 'Special Mortgage Programs to the right.

[Edited on February 28, 2007 at 3:49 PM. Reason : sdf]

2/28/2007 3:48:01 PM

make sure you're a member at SECU before you look at their rates (some people forget that). i was going to use SECU, but Beazer had a 6% discount if you use Beazer Mortgage and they had a very comparable progam that saves me money in the long run.

you can get your earnest money back if something falls through that isn't due to your negligance. the first house i signed for had a really bad inspection, so i got my $1000 back and put $2000 in earnest on the townhouse i eventually bought.

2/28/2007 6:18:48 PM

yeah, just drop the garage

that's gonna keep you out of your price range.

2/28/2007 11:30:12 PM

Quote :

"there are really good first time home buyer options where you won't need a down payment...you will need $1000-$2000 for your earnest money though. some options pay your closing costs and all that too. "

just a heads up that its all relative. if you are competing with someone else for purchasing the house, putting up more earnest money can be a good thing. we ended up putting $5000 for our earnest money, but that was when the market was hot, so that amount probably isnt necessary now.

3/1/2007 9:12:25 AM

the offer i had on a houes in a competitive market, i had a prequalification letter and earnest of $1000.

once that fell through i found a townhouse that i really liked and they're starting building there...it was a bigger company though and they require $2000 in earnest and you can get the cash back at closing, deduct it from closing, or apply it to purchase price.

[Edited on March 1, 2007 at 10:11 AM. Reason : .]

3/1/2007 10:11:19 AM

I had a prequalification letter and earnest of $1500.

3/1/2007 10:13:13 AM

our house had a few bids already in, so we wanted to make sure we were noticed. i dont really see a downside to putting up a lot for earnest if you are serious about the house.

a prequal letter is good stuff too.

3/1/2007 10:31:04 AM

Prequalification - how did you get prequalified? What credit standing (obviously it needs to be good, but how good)?

3/1/2007 10:42:36 AM

You go to a bank or mortage company and ask for it.

680 or higher should be fine

3/1/2007 10:44:41 AM

go talk with some lenders....thats the first thing we did (before we even started looknig at houses). they will be able to tell you what you can afford and what you can't, and they can write a prequal letter based on that.

i cant answer the credit question, because there are so many different options. the better the credit you have, the better options that are going to be available to you....but there are still options available for people with not-so-great credit.

its free to talk with a lender, so theres really no reason not to.

[Edited on March 1, 2007 at 10:48 AM. Reason : d]

3/1/2007 10:45:21 AM

What are some good lenders to make an inquiry?

3/1/2007 11:07:43 AM

NCSECU
Country Wide
Daylight Discount Mortgages

It doesn't really matter where. You aren't obligated to use them for a loan, you just need the damn letter.

3/1/2007 11:10:38 AM

i dont live in the raleigh area anymore, so ill let someone else answer that.

[Edited on March 1, 2007 at 11:11 AM. Reason : already answered.]

3/1/2007 11:11:18 AM

beazer mortgage was awesome...they are extremely open and honest with you.

Avoid Country Wide...my mom and stepdad are real estate attorneys and no longer close Country Wide properties because of their shady practices and problems they've had with them. It came up again when talking with some people regarding KB Homes...they force you to use Country Wide to have any discount off their marked up prices and I ran into some really shady stuff.

I advise avoiding KB Homes and Country Wide altogether if at all possible.

3/1/2007 11:26:14 AM

What was your average time on the job when you got prequalified? Obviously salary is a factor - so do they take like 3x your salary, in gross or net, to make a possible range for you?

3/1/2007 1:17:30 PM

there are many factors: income, savings, expenses, assets etc

when i talked with them, they basically just said "here is the most we can approve you for, so stay under this number" ...its up to you if you can actually afford it.

i had been working for about a year.

3/1/2007 1:23:16 PM

Ah, I may need to work savings for a little while. Is 3k in savings impressive? Oh and if you don't mind, how much did you get approved for?

[Edited on March 1, 2007 at 1:26 PM. Reason : asdf]

3/1/2007 1:25:55 PM

i would work on saving some more.

...and id rather not talk about my finances. we (it wasnt just me alone) got approved for enough money to buy the type of house we wanted in the area we wanted.

3/1/2007 1:40:05 PM

Moody, what problems did they have with countrywide?

3/1/2007 1:49:11 PM

i had them on a variable interest rate for 2 years, they didn't give me any trouble. like any mortgage you just need to read the terms closly. switched to secu

3/1/2007 2:20:18 PM

^^my mom didn't go into the details, but said that i wasn't getting a house if it was with country wide...not that it was her decision, but she felt pretty strongly about it.

in hot communities i know of potential buyers waiting to get the pen to sign and a countrywide mortgage broker answers the phone and comes back with "we just received an offer $10,000 more than purchase price, would you like to counter or walk away"

it's total bs, but i had a similar experience looking at washington square at amberley in cary. i was ready to buy, but was treated like crap and the guy showing me the house steps away with a phone call...walks out and says "we just received a verbal on the house...that was my associate (before he told me that only two people worked there and they were both within eye sight). would you like to make a counter offer?"

i left and ended up finding the house i bought 3 days later. every time i've shown real interest in a house, i've been contacted promptly by the seller. i took my mom with me to look at the kb property and she's a real estate attorney...once the seller found this out (kb/countrywide)...my call was never returned.

i called him last week and said "i just wanted to call and thank you for your time. since there were verbals coming in left and right, i felt like it wasn't a good opportunity for me and went elsewhere. i bought a house with beazer and wanted to keep you informed so you could continue to evaluate the offers you've received. thanks again."

i've heard my mom say that countrywide tries to sneak ridiculous terms into their mortgages hoping that people don't review them in detail. i can call her and get more info if you need it.

3/1/2007 2:32:33 PM

Yes, I would be interested in more information.

I just signed with kb and I am thinking of going with countrywide. The home sites were offered first come first serve, so as soon as the lots were released I faxed in my earnest money check and I instantly got a lot reserved for me. I spent that entire day reading the kb contract and later on the coutry wide contract inside and out.

3/1/2007 2:41:31 PM

i think it depends on the property more than the lender. these were cases in extremely competitive markets, but when i talk to her i'll ask her. if a major discount is dependent on using countrywide...do a NPV analysis of their rate with the promotion and of paying full price with a lower rate.

3/1/2007 2:46:40 PM

I'm not in their Cary location. This is in one of their Durham locations (Stone Hill) also buddy of mine got his in Durham too (Ridgefield) and he was quite pleased.

Quote :

"if a major discount is dependent on using countrywide...do a NPV analysis of their rate with the promotion and of paying full price with a lower rate."

They are throwing about $1500 towards the closing costs. This is enough to buy a point to have a rate competitive to some other places I looked at. I'll have to analyse it again in several months when I actually get a lock.

3/1/2007 2:49:37 PM

if your going to move soon or refi, its pretty dumb to pay points to get a lower interest rate.

3/1/2007 5:40:19 PM

I would like to thank everyone for taking your time to post all of these informative responses. They are really helpful.

3/2/2007 8:27:57 AM

Yet nobody pointed out the irony of someone named Default looking for mortgage and home-buying information.

3/4/2007 12:55:37 PM

How is that ironic?

3/4/2007 1:17:07 PM

As Default, I can default on a loan easily!

3/4/2007 2:57:14 PM

I still don't see the irony.

3/4/2007 2:59:22 PM

Oh, OK.

3/4/2007 3:02:07 PM

If you dont see the irony...well...i dunno what to say about you.

Did you just start working? It seems like you don't really have a clue about this process. What are your financials?

3/4/2007 4:21:02 PM

You're not going to find a townhouse in Raleigh/Cary for 115k with a garage. I've been looking for the past month for the same thing and all the ones I've found with a garage were 140K or above. If you can live without the garage you can find plenty of good townhouses for around 100-120k with no problem.

3/31/2007 5:58:12 PM