Whats it like to buy a house?

I want to own a home eventually but honestly I don’t really know what the process is and everything that goes into buying a house.

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It’s a lot of work. Loans. Paying mortgage. Paying down payment right away. Then every month until you pay it off whenever usually is the case. And you can’t have apartment people take care of every problem you have you have to hire someone or do it yourself. Don’t get me wrong I’m sure there’s many advantages of owning a house ;). I’m sick of life myself. Can’t think of taking care of a house myself but I wish u luck.

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I would visit some real estate agents selling houses, they tell you all about it.

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Here (Belgium) you check online real estate websites and enter an area and price range. You look at the pictures and make appointments to visit. If you really like something before making an offer you do your homework: what are the monthly costs, does something need to be replaced or renovated and what will that cost.

If it’s an apartment you will want to check if the co-ownership has made any decisions. Also what are the neighbors like, what is the neighborhood like, what is the insulation of the building like (both sound and heat/cold),…

If your target checks all boxes you make an offer just below the max you’re willing to offer so you can improve your offer just a bit to close a deal.

Than you go to a notary to sign a temporary agreement and pay a down payment. The notary checks everything and you have 4 months to make the final payment and become officially owner and get the keys.

If you need it you need to go to banks to get a mortgage. They will ask for proof of your income. It’s best to compare interest rates of several banks and negotiate the best possible deal by showing the offer of their competitor.

This is how it’s like when you purchase property in Belgium. It’s also possible to have a celebration dinner with the person you bought the property from. They should pay :smile:

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The down payment is my biggest thing right now. I guess they say the ideal down payment is 20% but that most people cant do that so the average is around 5-6%. We have a good chunk saved up right now but we would certainly need to save more before being able to really even start looking at houses

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Basically you owe money every month. Forever lol

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Yeah. And don’t forget the upkeep. The very large tree in front of one of our properties is near death and has become a safety and fire hazard. Over $1,000 to have it removed. Damn expensive firewood. Don’t want it falling and killing anyone, though.

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You also have to pay taxes twice a year if you’re in the US. You have to pay a mortgage, taxes, insurance, and sometimes also funds for certain neighborhoods and communities. You have to also fix everything yourself, like a new roof etc as needed

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I bought 2 houses in my lifetime. I personally think that it’s best to buy a house while you are young so there is a possibility of paying it off and enjoying the benefits of doing so in your lifetime. I probably would not consider buying one at this point in my life(unless I paid with cash, no loan), but I am going to inherit from parents anyway so…

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Don’t forget to inspect the house by an approved house inspector!

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Please explain that to my wife. She look at house ads constantly. Every time we buy one we have such a hard time selling it that it turns into a rental.

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Yeah, the only thing that I can think that maybe might be an advantage at this stage in your life is if maybe you wanted to invest in one for the sake of your child? Could be an investment in her future I guess.

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Oops, you already own one that is a rental. Not really applicable I guess.

I think you should want to live in the same place for a while if you want to buy a house. Probably not worth it to buy a house for a short amount of time unless you can remodel and flip it. I think they appreciate on average 3.5% a year in the us. They have appreciated more in recent years.

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But thats basically like renting too.

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Thats a huge reason why I want a house is my husband and I want kids in the future

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The only benefit of buying a house is you can possibly get some of your money back from equity if you sell. With renting you walk away with nothing but if you saved while you were renting it could possibly be very comparable

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If you are a veteran it’s pretty easy. No money down. I don’t pay taxes either.

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Not a veteran. As nice as that would be I dont think I have it in me to be able to serve. So I commend you.

Same here. VA home loan. No money down. Easy process. :bear::bear::bear:

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