House hunting-suggestions, ideas and tips-help!!!?

I am going house hunting..how do you detect something like termites!! etc where can i find out about history of the house-previous owner/any bad incidents etc.


how can i find out if the house if fairly priced? can i do buy without an agent. Any website with good advice for buyer .. any and all suggestion are welcome:-)House hunting-suggestions, ideas and tips-help!!!?
You find a real estate agent. He/she will show you homes that meet your criteria. The agent gets paid a commission by the listing agent, who gets paid a commission by the seller. They will also tell you what the house is worth. Once you find a home, you make an offer based on a positive home inspection and termite inspection (along with other things, like financing).





If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.





RegardsHouse hunting-suggestions, ideas and tips-help!!!?
Before going house hunting you need to be ';Pre-approved'; to purchase a house. That is before you contact a real estate agent, talk about termites and the history of the house.





Why is the history of the house important. What you are looking for is a good solid house that you can use for as long as you want and either keep as a rental or sell when you are prepared to move on.





So the first thing you should do is contact a ';Mortgage Broker' you may find this animal in your local telephone book. Tell him you plan to purchase a home in the next 6 months or so and want to get ';PRE-APPROVED';





Now this person is gonna want to see lots of documents to prove certain things about you and anyone else trying to buy this home with you.





So to get you started I am gonna give you a few of the things you will need





#1 Fed income taxes for 2 yrs as well as W-2 for the same period





#2 Pay stubs covering one complete month.





#3 6 months from bank statements from all the banks you use to include any 401k plans at your place of employment.





This will get you started during your first interview. Now don't plan on a short trip to the mortgage broker's office or telephone to fill out the application. There are lots of questions as well as lots of forms to sign that are required by state and local authorities. He will even fax them to you. Make sure they are accurate as possible before returning them.





Once he has the documents signed and back in his hands, he will run a credit check thus finding out your credit score. With this credit score he can now tell you what loan programs you are qualified for. The appropriate monthly payment, how much the lender will allow you to borrow to purchase your home as well as tell you about the interest rate of your mortgage.





Once this has been discussed with you and whom ever is gonna purchase this home with you, now you are able to find a real estate agent or the mortgage broker can recommend one. At any rate you now have your ';PRE-APPROVAL LETTER'; and now you can look for this home you want to purchase.





Once found you go back to the mortgage broker to complete the transaction. He will order an appraisal to prove the value of the home you have selected. The real estate agent will draw up a sales contract for you and the seller to sign. He will give copies to the mortgage broker, and escrow closing agent.





Before you sign this sales contract you might want to put in there a statement about this is agreed upon only if a licensed termite inspection report is gotten and approved by me.





You may hire, and it is recommended, a licensed house inspector to inspect the house for any defaults not visable to the untrained eye, of course you will have to pay for this inspector. The cost is about $350.-$500 depending state and cost of the house you are purchasing.





Your mortgage broker might want additional items from you this is normal just find what he needs he is working on your behalf and acting as go between you and the lender.





Shortly thereafter the mortgage broker will call and set up a date for you to sign your loan docs, again plan on being there for a time. This is not hurry up process.





I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.





';FIGHT ON';
First get pre-qualified to find out what you can afford. Then get a Buyer Agent. In most places you can't get a home inspection until you have an offer accepted. In the offer it is usual to base the sale on the inspections. Failing inspections the money goes back to you. Get an Agent.


www.jackosullivan.net for info on Buyer Agents
Have a home inspected for mold, termites, etc





Visit the neighborhood different times of the day to see what kind of activity is there. Cops, traffic, etc





Talk to the neighbors





You can buy without an agent but you shouldnt buy w/o an attorney.





good luck
Since you are house hunting check out this web site first.


http://www.breakingbubble.com/index.htm
I would hire an inspector before I put an offer in on the house. They check for EVERYTHING!!! Termites, mold, lead paint, etc. To find out if the house is priced fairly, try zillow.com. You can see what the house is appraised at by the assessor's office and what other houses in the area are being sold for. You can buy a house with any real estate agent. The seller pays all the fees to the agents. To get an idea of houses that you may want to look at, try realtor.com and homeseekers.com. They have house listings. You might also try looking at the website of your local newspaper.
Generally speaking, a licensed and insured broker is the best way to buy, you have to be pretty sharp and extremely lucky to do a private sale/purchase and get a good deal, often the con artists like to deal that way. There are licensed appraisers and property inspectors who can help you in regard to meeting all legal paperwork, title, building codes, etc. You can always look for buildings seized for back taxes or condemned by municipalities, but they often need a lot of work or even demolition. The best thing you can do is shop around, compare prices, house size, lot location, etc. I would suggest you make a list of priorities, such as what you need in the house and for location (such as commute to work, schools, hospital, stores, etc.), and see what restrictions are on the property, such as if you can add a bedroom or garage, etc. if it's in a flood zone, etc.