ptquilts

I am also looking to buy a house (currently renting). My tip, when you find a listing you like, Google the address and switch to satellite or aerial view. You get to see what the neighborhood looks like. The listing is not going to tell you if the house backs up to a junkyard or the sewage treatment plant, but the satellite doesn't lie!! Some places you can even do Street View and it is like you are driving up and down the street. I can't tell you how many I have looked at that looked great, until I did that and find they back right up to the interstate!! Not interested in road noise 24/7!!

My other theory (and I may be wrong about this) is, when I see a listing I like, I contact the listing agent and work with them. I figure, if they know they don't have to split the commission with a buyer's agent, they will be more inclined to persuade the seller that mine is a good offer.

duckydo

Make sure you have the roof checked out, and the furnace/ac. Have a good mechanical and by all means have the sellers sign a disclosure statement. Also might want to find out if the neighbors have barking dogs. We moved in to our new home 2 years ago. Nice neighborhood. Next door neighbors had two barking dogs. We could not even sit on our deck, every time they came out the barked viciously. The neighbors introduced their selves and explained that they were going to get bark collars. After 6 months, no bark collars. I had had it and went over one day after 15 mins of barking and asked what they were going to do about the dogs.. They were highly insulted and got very nasty. They no longer speak to us (no big loss). but when we came back from our winter stay in TX they had gotten bark collars, much nicer. Point being you just never know what kind of neighbors you are going to get...

Material Witness

Also, park nearby at a time when the school bus lets off the kids to see what the neighborhood is like.

I once found an H shape house - common kitchen/dining, but each leg had it's own bedrooms & living rooms. Probably important to have separate TVs!

tessagin

These are all good tips. Being a Realtor myself contact one in your town or you know who is also associated with the MLS in the area. An hour away usually the Realtor you contact will be able to find that property for you. ANd just so you know the commission comes out of the sale of the property, period unless otherwise stated on your buyer rep agreement with your Realtor. I say Realtor because they are member of the local association of realtors, State and National associations of Realtors. Most realtors will give you a list of inspectors and are usually licensed. you can usually go to the website for the list in that area. I strongly suggest as I'm sure the Realtor you choose is to definitely have it inspected. First things first make sure you are pre-approved if taking out a mortgage or are able to show proof of funds if paying cash. Make a list of what your needs and a list of your wants. Good luck!

cashs_mom

When we were looking for our house, I had my realtor give me a listing of all the houses in my neighborhood within our price range and parameters. Now you can probably do that yourself on the real estate listing site for your area. (In Houston it's HAR.com). Then I drove by all of them to see if they fit our needs. I narrowed it down and then looked at the ones I liked. It saved some time and effort for everyone.

If you don't mind remodeling, you can sometimes get a bargain on a house that needs work. We bought our house 16 years ago for about $40,000 under market because it was UGLY inside and needed a lot of work. I don't know if people just couldn't visualize how it would look with different paint and no ugly 80's wallpaper or what, but I saw the beautiful old wood panelling (not the cheap kind so many houses have now) and the double crown moldings and knew it could be beautiful. I usually want different colors than are in houses anyway (I seem to be allergic to white walls) so the idea of redoing the walls was normal for me. Of course, 16 years later we are still remodeling here and there but I paid it off in 12 years and can afford to update it when I want to.

bearisgray

Not having bought or sold a house -

If two realtors are involved - how do they both get paid?

ptquilts

They split the commission.

ibex94

Take a look at the police report for your neighborhood and the school district stats. Even though your daughter won't be in the high school, you can tell a lot about the neighborhood based on the ACT/SAT scores of the local high school. Make sure your roof, foundation, underhouse plumbing and HVAC are in good shape via professional appraisals. If something is wrong and you love the layout of the house, negotiate appropriately -- those repairs need to be made ASAP or your house will degrade quickly. Ask how much insurance is for home owners and flood insurance for the property. You may be in a flood zone and not recognize it. Get that flood insurance no matter what!

Do the three of you have a "must have" list for the new place? Sewing room? Garage? Near river? Large yard? Attic? Basement? etc. Make sure you know one another's dream list for the house.

And have fun while picking it out!

Prism99

Wow, lots of good tips here. Glad I asked!

My dd and I found an agent in the area that we like at an open house, so we took her up on her offer to have her dh (who got his real estate license after he retired) take us through several homes I picked out in different neighborhoods. It really helped having all three of us look at these homes together as we were able to come to a much better consensus. I will be revising some of our search criteria as a result. My hope is to narrow our focus so that next year, when the time comes, we are able to act fast when we find the right house.

ILoveToQuilt

This may be a "dumb" suggestion, but don't get hung up on the way folks decorate their homes. You need to envision your things in the home. So many times I've heard..."what an awful color", "I hate the carpets". You can change all these things. You really need to focus on the "bones" of the house. Yes, definitely hire an independent inspector - can save headaches down the line. Found the house you really want? If items found by inspector, negotiate the seller fix them or give you an allowance on the price so you can have them fixed.

One last thing...don't let on how much you "love" the house in front of the seller's agent. You have just jacked the selling price up.

Good luck with your search! It's never too early to start looking.