c/buying-a-home

Why is nobody comparing closing costs before picking a lender?

I looked at two different lenders for my condo in Austin and one quoted me $8,400 in closing costs while the other was $5,900 for the exact same loan amount and rate. The difference came down to origination fees and a title company they forced me to use, so I asked the cheaper one to match and they actually did. Has anyone else gotten lenders to knock off fees just by showing them a competing estimate?

Learned about property tax appeals at a neighborhood coffee morning

The one realtor who refused to show me houses I found online

I was hunting near Nashville last spring and found 4 homes on Zillow I wanted to tour. This realtor kept pushing me toward her own listings, all $30k over what I wanted to spend. When I asked about the $279k bungalow with the new roof, she said, oh that one likely has foundation trouble, and wouldn't walk me through it. I ended up driving past it myself and saw nothing but a cracked driveway. Has anyone else had a buyer's agent filter out listings for their own commission?

Finally picked the fixer upper over the move-in ready house

After 4 months of looking in the Columbus area, I had two options on the table. One was a clean 2 bedroom condo for $215k, the other was a 3 bedroom house with old wiring and a dated kitchen for $189k. I went with the fixer upper because the lot and neighborhood felt right, plus I budgeted $15k for repairs. So far I've done the electrical myself with a licensed buddy and we're halfway through the kitchen. The condo would have been easier, but I don't regret the extra work. Has anyone else taken on a project house and wished they had hired more help upfront?

Chopped between a fixer upper and a move in ready, picked the wrong one?

Last year I had to choose between this 1970s ranch that needed a new roof and kitchen for $180k or a newer place that was totally done for $230k. I grabbed the cheaper one thinking I could hack it on weekends, but the plumbing issue added 3 months and $11k. Anyone else regret picking the project over the ready house, or did your gamble actually pay off?

A friend's comment about my fixer upper made me stop DIYing everything

I was all in on renovating this 1920s bungalow in Austin, doing the electrical, drywall, even the plumbing. My buddy who flips houses said 'dude, you're not saving money, you're buying a second job' and he was right. I added up my weekends, materials waste, and two failed inspections to about $4,000 more than hiring pros would've cost. Now I only do paint and demo myself, and I ask for contractor quotes before I touch anything else. Has anyone else hit that wall where they finally knew they had to hand off the work?

Changed my mind about hiring a local inspector vs the big franchise

I was dead set on using one of those national inspection companies because of the online dashboard and 24/7 scheduling. But my realtor in Cleveland pushed me toward a solo guy named Mike who's been doing it for 25 years. He found a bad sewer line that two franchise inspectors missed, and the repair cost estimate came out to $8,400. Anyone else have better luck with a local inspector over a big name?

TIL my lender's preapproval letter expired after 60 days, missed out on a house in Austin

I spent a full month looking at places with my preapproval from March 15th. Found the perfect 3 bed 2 bath near Mueller last Tuesday and put in an offer. Seller's agent comes back and says my letter expired on May 15th. I had no clue they had a date on there. I had to redo my whole application with a hard credit pull and lost the house to another buyer. Has anyone else gotten burned by an expiration date they never noticed?

Compared 3 lenders and the local credit union won by a mile

After getting preapproved by two big online lenders and a local credit union here in Columbus, I almost went with the first one that gave me a rate. But the credit union came back with 0.4% lower and no origination fee. The online folks kept asking for more paperwork after I thought I was done. The credit union had everything locked in 2 days. Has anyone else found that smaller lenders are easier to deal with when the closing date gets close?

My inspector's one sentence saved me $9k on the driveway

We were about to close on a house in Columbus back in March, and our home inspector just said 'look at the grading around the back patio.' I didn't think much of it at first, but he showed me how the yard sloped toward the foundation instead of away from it. He figured water would pool right behind the house every big rain, and that would eventually crack the slab or seep into the basement. I called a local contractor for an estimate, and sure enough, regrading and adding a French drain ran about $9,000. We walked away from the deal and found another place with proper drainage a month later. Has anyone else had a small inspector note become a dealbreaker for them?

Offers without contingencies used to be rare, now it's the default here in Denver

Back in 2016 I put in a clean offer with an inspection window and got the house, but last month every single place I looked at wanted waivers before they'd even talk to me. Is this just a Colorado thing now, or are other markets asking buyers to skip everything too?

The inspector said the roof was fine, he missed the rot behind the flashing

I was skeptical about paying for a second opinion after the first inspection on a 1987 rancher in Tacoma came back clean. But my buddy who does siding kept pushing me to have a roofer walk it too. Turned out the flashing around the chimney was hiding rotted decking and the whole back section had to be redone for about $4,200. I mean, the general inspector was nice and thorough on the obvious stuff, but his report didn't even mention the soft spots I could poke with a screwdriver now that I know what to look for. Has anyone else had a second trade-specific inspection save them after the general one missed something big?

Waiving the inspection saved me $4,500, but was it pure luck?

I put an offer on a fixer in Columbus with no inspection to beat five other bids, and no major issues popped up in two years, but my buddy just got burned doing the same thing in Cleveland, so who's actually right on this gamble?

FHA loan or conventional on a 1960s bungalow in Austin, I picked wrong

I put an offer on a 2-bed fixer in the Crestview area last month and had to choose between an FHA loan at 3.5% down or a conventional with 5% down and PMI that drops after 10 years. I went with FHA because the cash savings seemed huge at the time, but then the appraisal flagged some wiring issues the seller refused to fix, and the FHA inspection rules killed the deal. Now I'm stuck with a $400 inspection fee and no house, while my buddy with the same budget closed on a similar place using the conventional route. Has anyone else had FHA appraisal nitpicks sink a sale, or was I just unlucky with this specific house?

The home inspector missed what my agent caught in 5 minutes

We walked through a 1960s ranch in Portland and both the inspector and I missed it. My agent pointed at the slight bow in the living room wall and said that's the header over the slider failing. Turns out the last owner had a roof leak that rotted the framing, and the inspector's report just said 'minor settling'. That fix cost me $4,800 before we even moved a box in. Anyone else had a listing agent save them more than the inspection fee?

Closing costs hit me harder than the down payment did

Ngl, I thought I had it all figured out after saving for 2 years for a 20% down payment on a condo in Columbus, but nobody warned me about the extra $9,800 in fees at the closing table. That number stung way more than the big check I wrote for the down payment because it came out of nowhere. Did anyone else get blindsided by closing costs, or was I just the only one who skipped that section of the paperwork?

Warning: My home inspector missed a $9,000 sewer line issue in Phoenix

Honestly, I almost skipped the sewer scope because my inspector said it was 'overkill for a 1998 build.' I went with it anyway, paid $150 extra, and he found roots and a huge belly in the line. The seller refused to budge on price, so I walked and lost $400 in appraisal fees. My buddy closed on a house last month without the scope and now he's staring at a $9,000 repair quote. That $150 saved me way more than I expected. Has anyone else had an inspector downplay a specific test that ended up being critical?

Pro tip: Don't skip the home inspection on a flip house

I paid $450 for a full inspection on a 3-bedroom flip in Phoenix, and it saved me $12,000 in hidden foundation cracks and bad wiring. The seller tried to rush me but the inspector found code violations in every room. Has anyone else dodged a bullet with a thorough inspection?

My realtor told me to skip the home inspection and I almost bought a money pit

My cousin's friend is a realtor and he kept saying inspections are a waste in this market. He said I could use the $500 towards closing costs instead. I went against his advice and paid for one anyway. They found termite damage in the basement joists and a roof that needed replacing within 2 years. Anyone else had a realtor push them to skip something that saved them money in the long run?

My realtor told me to skip the home inspection on a flip

She said the flipper had a great reputation and it would speed up the offer. Found knob and tube wiring in the attic after closing. Anyone else get burned by trusting a seller's reputation too much?

Inspected a house where the previous owner had painted over black mold

I was looking at a place in Portland that seemed perfect until I popped open a basement closet. The paint was bubbling in one corner and when I peeled it back, there was a whole patch of black mold behind it. The inspector said the owner must have just slapped Kilz over it before listing. Anyone else found hidden stuff like this behind walls?

Just finished a home inspection in Austin and the seller had hidden a crack in the foundation with carpet

I was looking at a cute 3 bedroom in South Austin last week and everything seemed fine until I pulled up a corner of the living room carpet. There was a massive 4 foot crack running right across the slab, and the seller had just shoved some throw rugs over it. Has anyone else dealt with sellers trying to hide big problems like this?

The moment I figured out I was saving for the wrong thing

I had been putting every spare dollar into a big down payment fund for like 3 years, thinking that was the only way to get a house. Then my realtor, Sarah, casually asked about my credit score and debt-to-income ratio last month, and I realized I hadn't even checked my credit. I had a $200 medical bill from 2 years ago in collections that I totally forgot about, and it was killing my chances. Anybody else focus on the wrong piece of the puzzle and then get blindsided at the last minute?

My realtor told me to stop looking at kitchens and start looking at water heaters

I was touring this house last weekend that had these gorgeous quartz countertops and brand new cabinets. I was ready to put in an offer. My realtor pulled me aside and said 'look at the water heater first, then the furnace, then the roof. Kitchens are just paint.' She walked me over to the basement and pointed out the water heater was from 2008 with rust on the bottom. Pipes looked old too. Said I'd be out $4,000 in the first year just on that stuff. Made me realize I was focused on all the wrong things. Anyone else ever had a realtor steer you away from a pretty house for practical reasons?

Inspector missed a roof leak and now I'm out $4,700

Bought a house in Phoenix last month and the inspector gave it a clean bill of health, but after the first monsoon hit I found water dripping through the ceiling in the guest room. Had to tear out drywall and replace a whole section of the roof decking - has anyone else had luck getting their inspector to pay for stuff they missed?