Buying a home in TX

[lippy 918]

So hopefully I'll be in Ft. Worth by the end of the month and I'm thinking of buying a home. I was initially thinking of renting an apartment for the first 6 months so that I wouldn't feel any rush to buy, which I still might do, but the market seems pretty good right now and I'm not sure how that might change in 6 months.

To date the most expensive thing I've ever owned is a truck that I bought for 7K cash, so the prospect of buying a house is pretty scary. Has anybody else been here recently? Any tips, hints, things I should be looking out for? A few of my co-workers in TX have wives who work as realtors, and I'm hoping to consult them as soon as I get down there, but I figure I'll try to cover all angles (and I am doing some research outside of dz.com)

I got nuthin

[PhreeZone 20]

Only buy if you know you will be in the same spot for more then 5 years. Less then that and its usually better to rent and invest the difference. I have been in my place for 4 years and with the market falling out I'm unable to sell it for what I bought it at before the market peaked. With foreclosures happening right and left there are a lot of cheap properties on the market and it will remain that way for a while so all property will be cheaper then it used to be so its harder to sell something at full price when something a block over is being sold for what ever the bank can get as an offer.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Quote

So hopefully I'll be in Ft. Worth by the end of the month and I'm thinking of buying a home.

I would not buy another home until I'd lived for a while (years) in a place as an adult and had a good feel that I wanted to stay there which would mean both things to do and a good concentrated job market so I wouldn't want to move to shorten my commute when things changed.

I only lost $15,000 the last time ($15K of appreciation since I bought, no selling agent's commission from doing a FSBO all helped) I bought a home and sold it within the year although it could have been a lot worse.

>I was initially thinking of renting an apartment for the first 6 months so that I wouldn't feel any rush to buy, which I still might do, but the market seems pretty good right now and I'm not sure how that might change in 6 months.

That would be a fine idea.

[robskydiv 0]

I'm so glad that my place is paid off!

[JohnDeere 0]

I say rent. You can get a feel for the area and find a town you like. I can help you figure out if you'd want to live in a certain area. I know most around here. But if you do want to buy i would check out the are very well!

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[JohnMitchell 16]

This is a good market to be a renter. I just cut the rent on my rental house with the newest tenants. Pretty competitive. However, if you can get a smoking hot deal on a repo or desperate seller, you could come out ahead if you stayed long enough. I think the market has bottomed in most of the country.

Would you want to get a 3 bdrm, 2 bath, 2 car garage and rent a room or two to room mates? That might be a good way to go. When I was single, though, seemed an apartment had all I needed. As soon as you get that first house, there's never a single day when there's not something you should be doing to the house.

[lippy 918]

Thanks for the input. I lived there 5 years ago and know/like the area. I'm planning on staying for at least 3 years, but not sure about anything longer-term. In this industry I never know.

I got nuthin

[BIGUN 1,409]

In this kind of economy, I like to go to the banks and see what kind of non-performing assets they have available. Find one that has some decent equity, then offer 30-40% less than the amount owed.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[mx757 4]

I'm in north fort Worth..advoid home onwer assc they suck

know who water company is Aqua texas rates are expensive stay away from them

I'd suggest you get an apartment get pre approved and take your time finding a house.. there are lots of them on market here.

[karenmeal 0]

As a first-time home buyer you've got a month and a half left to get a free $8,000. (Deadline = November 30) With that program you have to live in the home for 3 years to keep the money.

Interest rates are still super lower too. I just got 5.00%. This is also a great time to get an affordable home. We got our dream home when we purchased a couple weeks ago. The seller was desperate, interest rates were low and we almost have 20% equity in the house starting out!

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

[Remster 30]

Quote

This is a good market to be a renter.

Depends where. In many markets, there is a major shortage of appaertments.`

Lippy: I would say know that you will be where you are going for a while before buying. If you know now you'll be there 4-10 years. its probably worth it. Sometimes, short investments pay off, but sometimes they dont. We broke even on one property we lived in for 3 years, and in another, we made close to $200k for living in it 3 years also.

make sure the area, and neibourhood you are lookinf into fit what you want. May take a little while to find that out.

Remster

[Misternatural 0]

Dude,
I think you're making a good move with this project, indications are that the housing market will bounce in the next five years, if you follow the advice here about looking for pre foreclosure or non performing assets and get the best deal you can with a good home inspector whittling the price down some more....you will be top cat in a few years financially and you will get a relatively inexpensive pad in the process.

>I'm planning on staying for at least 3 years,

-Hopefully you can shoot for five.

I myself am tempted to get into the market, but in Florida instead.......I've seen nice properties there for $30,000
-buy it, fix it, rent it, wait, then sell when the market rebounds.


Use Google street view to scan the places right from your computer, as invasive as that technology is.......it's a great tool for scoping out neighborhoods, which is important for resale.

Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires.
D S #3.1415

[TKE_440 0]

I don't know much about the home market here in Fort Worth, but there are some pretty areas for apts while you continue the search for a house. I just moved here in July and very happy with where I am at - Off I30 and Camp Bowie area!