What does a first time home buyer need to know?

>>1321690

That the entire process is full of middle men and bullshit

>>1321690
/thread

>>1321690
>What does a first time home buyer need to know?

To never buy a house in any first world nation

>>1321694

How much do I need for a down payment+bullshit fees?

>>1321889
Get an FHA loan first off, lower down payment and mortgage. Usually 10~20% is required for DP, and maybe 1-3k for fees.

>>1321889

Downpayment will depend on the lender.

Some of the fee you can expect are title fees, inspection fees, realtor fees, closing fees, appraisal fees, deed/survey fees.

>>1322100
But the extra PMI though.

>>1321690
Check it for issues from top to bottom, beyond what the home inspector does.
The previous owners (if there were any) will have every reason to hide that shit from you.

buy from an italian family, because italians take good care of their homes

>when banks want you to put up 50% for a mortgage

do a lot of shopping for a competent, cheap mortgage lender. there is an enormous difference in bullshit fees and charges from different lenders.

collect all of the documentation you need for a mortgage - pay stubs, bank records, tax records, W-2s, etc.

a half decent realtor will be honest and warn you to stay away from certain houses.

do lots of homework on the neighborhood to understand what kind of place you are buying into - don't rely on crime maps, look at the actual crime reports. visit the area at night (esp friday/saturday if there's any bars in the area).

the garage door's tracks should be cleaned periodically - you can use a standard degreasing solution to do it. the garage door gets really fucking loud if you don't clean them.

spend a lot of time writing down questions about the house when you are looking at it - the inspector or owner should be able to answer it. i've lived in my house for almost 2 years and there's a mystery switch in the kitchen i can't figure out.

and change the locks after you move in.

File: n725075089_288918_2774.jpg (42KB, 600x669px) Image search: [Google]

42KB, 600x669px

>>1322505
>mystery switch

Is it an old house, previously occupied by Italians?

I had one in my bedroom growing up as a kid. It wasn't a switch but an outlet. It never worked and was in a strange spot sort of behind where the door opens.

I tried fixing it when I was 17 and took a screw driver to take the face plate off.

>mfw it's a false outlet
>mfw there's a little plastic bucket attached to it that pulls out of the wall
>mfw I learn my great grandfather was a low-level bookie mobsterfag
>mfw he used to hide money and gambling slips in that shit
>mfw there's no money in there

>>1321749
What kind of bullshit answer is that