Re: What would you do differently, or wish you had known...

Our next house needs to have a bathroom on each floor. I only have one on the second floor, and one in the basement. I hate that especially when I was preganant.

Re: What would you do differently, or wish you had known...

There is so much that I would do differently that I seriously feel bad for all parties involved the next time we buy a house!

I faced a very unique set of circumstances, but either way I wish I had not let my emotions and stress take hold of me and stuck to my guns on some items.

I wish I had not put as much faith in the professionals we worked with because they only disappointed me. I will, from now on, need MULTIPLE people to recommend someone to me before I work with them and have NO problem walking away from anyone who is not providing the service I feel he or she should.

Most of all I wish I had taken time to be proud that I bought a house in my desired location at the age I did (older for some but I wasn't sure it would happen for me until later). I wish we had taken pictures of the first night we had pizza sitting on the floor in the new house. I wish we had brought our toasting flutes and champagne over to the house the day we closed.

In the chaos and rush of everything I dealt with at closing I did none of those things, and as a result it took me a long time to sit back and feel HAPPY that I was a homeowner, rather than just relieved that what was a 6-month process from contract to closing for us was finally over.

Good luck!

Re: What would you do differently, or wish you had known...

We bought into a co-op. At the time the only thing we could afford was a 1 bedroom (we were paying 100% for our wedding as well).

I love our apartment & the renovations we did. But since having DS who is 4 months - a 1 bedroom is NOT going cut it for that long. We should have held out & rented until we could have afforded at least a 2 bedroom.

We're going to scuk it up for another couple of years, but I dread having to go through renovations on a new place

Re: What would you do differently, or wish you had known...

We were 27 when we bought our first home and after 7 years of living there, we have learned a lot!

- I wish we bought a house with a basement. I always had one growing up and never realized how much I would miss all that extra space.

- Quality of materials in the home. The house we bought was built in 1991, which is newer than most homes in the neighborhood and the quality of the materials used on the house were pitiful. We have already replaced all the windows, gutters, fencing, countertops, carpeting, etc. Mind you, some of these are changes we wanted to make, but some we were more forced to do because the quality was just terrible.

- While we enjoy living right next to a park, summers are tough b/c of kids hanging out at all hours of the night. It's not too bad, but some times it is. But we use the park alot, so we're 50/50 on whether we would buy a house this close to a park again.

- Our house is on a small, dead-end street and Iwhen we bought, we thought this was the greatest thing in the world, but we hardly ever get plowed and parking is limited for guests.

Overall we are happy with our purchase, but we want very different things for our next home.

Re: What would you do differently, or wish you had known...

I agree with a lot that has been posted and probably agree most with making sure you have money leftover after you buy!

It is inevitable, but you always will wind up with an "unexpected" home expense. With our co-op, we needed to buy a refrigerator within the first week we moved in. That was nothing compared to our house! About 6 months after we moved in, our cesspool collapsed It wound up being a massive job because we needed to add a septic tank, move plumbing, etc. and it cost a fortune!

Also, even if you aren't doing anything major, the cost of painting, refinishing floors, etc. all will add up!

Re: What would you do differently, or wish you had known...

I would have skipped the whole starter home thing and bought something with more bedrooms. Now that the economy went sour we are stuck! Don't settle for anything you don't like!!!!!! You never long how long you will be there for!

Re: What would you do differently, or wish you had known...

This is advice that I followed, that I would offer #1 to others-location location location! No matter if this is your forever, starter, or vacation home-you need to imagine if tomorrow you hit terrible circumstances and must sell. An average houe in a very good neighborhood will sell quicker than an amazing home in a mediocre or iffy neighborhood.

Message edited 1/26/2011 11:34:40 PM.

Re: What would you do differently, or wish you had known...

So glad I used a buyer's broker - best thing we ever did and did not cost us a dime.

I would have been more selective with mortgage companies -- a lot of places don't do everything 'in house' or even in the same state which makes the process take FOREVER. i'm so glad i went with the place i did b/c everything from the broker to the underwriter was all under one roof. we were all done in a matter of weeks vs. the MONTHS it took with wells fargo losing our paperwork every other minute.

Other than that stuff - everything worked out fine. I'm def glad I didn't settle on some of the places I saw before I saw our house - just to be done with it. Because, had I done that, now that I'm living there, I think I would have been unhappy. I'm so happy we got what we did - it's the perfect size and has everything we need. A garage and a basement was one thing that I'm glad we held out for. And an open floor plan! And, of course, location - the town we are in is EXACTLY where i wanted to be.

Message edited 1/19/2011 3:45:02 PM.

Re: What would you do differently, or wish you had known...

Next house will have at least 3BR, basement, 2 bathrooms and hopefully a garage.

Re: What would you do differently, or wish you had known...

We are just about complete with our home buying process. We went with a large, well known lender, but encountered many delays and mistakes on their end, which was incredibly frustrating. If you start the process and start seeing or even having the slightest feeling, that your loan application is not being handled properly, raise a red flag immediately. Don't assume even the most well know lenders know what they're doing, we encountered many incompetent folks along the way. Ask questions, and know what they should be doing with your file on a weekly basis. Don't be afraid to nag them. This is the biggest purchase of your lifetime, it needs to be handled properly.

Good luck!!