A total noob to buying a first home! MEGA Questions:

[rh71]

Why do you say that?

Because when they slack or just not working out in finding properties quickly or may be too busy with other clients, you can't be honest with them or want to hurt their feelings. You can't fire them. You're looking out for your relationship's best interest rather than just focusing on the only important task.

 

[Phoenix86]

Because when they slack or just not working out in finding properties quickly or may be too busy with other clients, you can't be honest with them or want to hurt their feelings. You can't fire them. You're looking out for your relationship's best interest rather than just focusing on the only important task.

Every bit of this. Unless your friend/family are superior realtors you shouldn't be doing business with them. You may think they will work harder for you, but it's often the opposite. You're an "easy sell" to them.

Don't shit where you eat.

 

[Ferzerp]

Avoid business with friends, family, and neighbors. That's just a good guideline for everything.

It will work for some, but you're risking an awful lot on it.

 

[Zeze]

Big update bump

 

[ImpulsE69]

Not sure what your 'income bracket' is, but whatever the bank tells you (which is usually 3X your income). Ignore it. Go lower.

 

[cabri]

Your Con list outweighs the Pro list.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

As a general rule of thumb, it is NEVER a good thing to have the most expensive house in the area.

The value of a home is determined by whats around it. If everything is shittier than yours... guess what? Your value is never going up.

 

[squirrel dog]

500k for your 1st house ? You and your wife must make 1.5~2 million a year , right ?

 

[purbeast0]

#10 is a good enough reason that i would pass were it me. imo, when paying 1/2 a million for something, you really shouldn't settle on something that you aren't happy with.

when we bought our first house, we ended up seeing like 20 or so probably, and the minute we stepped into the one we bought, we just knew it was "the one". we both had a feeling that we hadn't gotten in any other house. it just seemed perfect and we both had no issues with it at all.

every other house, we could always pick out some kind of flaws and stuff.

 

[LegendKiller]

I'd never buy a house in a crappy school district. You either have to move when your kids start going to school, or pay for private. Might as well accept another compromise, such as moving further out, smaller house, older house...etc

You can fix your living situation but you can't fix a poor education.

 

[dullard]

The school rating is given too much emphasis. Your kid's educational success is linked closely to the parents and not so much to the school that they go to. Put a good kid in a bad school and they still excel. Put a kid with parents who say "who cares about homework" in a good school and they will still fail.

That said, you don't want the most expensive home AND bad schools. You'll never be able to sell it (take hints from the existing owner's trouble selling it). If you really want that neighborhood due to all of your Pros, buy one of the $350k homes, put $50k into it and have a better house for $100k less.

The vast majority of those improvements are not very expensive unless you overdo it. Don't get fooled just because the list is long.

 

[LegendKiller]

The school rating is given too much emphasis. Your kid's educational success is linked closely to the parents and not so much to the school that they go to. Put a good kid in a bad school and they still excel. Put a kid with parents who say "who cares about homework" in a good school and they will still fail.

That said, you don't want the most expensive home AND bad schools. You'll never be able to sell it (take hints from the existing owner's trouble selling it). If you really want that neighborhood due to all of your Pros, buy one of the $350k homes, put $50k into it and have a better house for $100k less.

The vast majority of those improvements are not very expensive unless you overdo it. Don't get fooled just because the list is long.

While I agree that parental engagement matters significantly it is far more difficult to overcome a crappy school with disruptive kids, frustrated teachers, crowded classrooms, access to activities, and poor access to funds than you are giving cedit for.

If you are an engaged patent it makes your job far easier to have a good school with good teachers and tons of resources. It is a tool for leveraging success. A disengaged parent will also find it much easier, although you are relying on your district as a crutch in that case.

 

[dullard]

While I agree that parental engagement matters significantly it is far more difficult to overcome a crappy school with disruptive kids, frustrated teachers, crowded classrooms, access to activities, and poor access to funds than you are giving cedit for.

If you are an engaged patent it makes your job far easier to have a good school with good teachers and tons of resources. It is a tool for leveraging success. A disengaged parent will also find it much easier, although you are relying on your district as a crutch in that case.

I don't want to derail the thread. Don't purposely put kids in a known terrible school or a school with known major problems. But, search "study success school vs family" and you'll quickly see that actual studies show that the parents matter far more than the school. Not that the school doesn't matter, the school does matter, but my point is that people put far too much emphasis on the school. The real emphasis should be on being a supportive parent who engages with their kids.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I'd never buy a house in a crappy school district. You either have to move when your kids start going to school, or pay for private. Might as well accept another compromise, such as moving further out, smaller house, older house...etc

You can fix your living situation but you can't fix a poor education.

I think we (as americans) in the middle class highly overrate "top grade" schools and such.

What it really means is that the dumbass kids are more abundant in that area - as well as parents that are horrible at managing their kids. That doesn't necessarily mean that your kid is destined to be a dumbass too. I survived just fine at my public schools, and they were pretty damn ghetto. Regardless of the school - they tend to always have AP classes to help distinguish any student above the rest. Keep the kids busy and they won't get in trouble.

Just saying, as someone that has been to both private and public school, we as Americans are placing too much emphasis on private education when the public education is just fine. The same opportunities are there if you place your kids in them (AP Class).

Just looked on Zillow. My schools are rated @ 5.

 

[Aharami]

bad school district means that you're going to need to move in 5-7 yrs (provided you plan on having a kid). 50K above comp means that you'll never be able to sell at a profit.

I would not buy this house.

 

[rcpratt]

I'm with everyone else. Between the bad schools and over-renovated home for the area, I don't think it makes much sense.

 

[NutBucket]

500k for your 1st house ? You and your wife must make 1.5~2 million a year , right ?

Wrong, he doesn't live in the sticks.

First house we bought was $550k. Wife and I make under $200k.

EDIT: For the OP, this just doesn't sound like the right house for you. Poor schools are usually a decent indication of the area in general. Plus, if you have kids you'll have to figure out how to either get them into better schools or afford private schools.

It does sound like the house is still overpriced. You should definitely get comps from the agent and take that into account when making an offer. Even though there are many upgrades the appraisal may not come through given what other properties are selling for. Adjustments can be made to account for condition. Without knowing the area $450k sounds like a decent offer to start. Given its been on the market so long they'll likely counter. Either that or they don't really want to sell.

 

[Stopsignhank]

Z, One thing to keep in mind is that when people renovate and then move, they generally don't use the best materials. There are instances where someone renovates a house and then has to move. But if people are fixing up a house to sell it they will put in the cheap stuff. Sure it may be a new dishwasher, but is it a $300 loud POS or is it a $1,000 quiet Bosch dishwasher.

Don't want to rain on your parade, but just something to think about.

 

[Compddd]

Wrong, he doesn't live in the sticks.

First house we bought was $550k. Wife and I make under $200k.

600k for me and her first house. We make combined under 200k as well.

 

[isucktoes]

If you bought an empty lot, you could use it as collateral for a new construction loan and hire a builder of your choice to build a house, your plans your specs your money. Or use the builder's plans, but get bids from different builders don't settle on a specific floor plan. Get everything in writing, everything has to be in the contract, everything, like the brands of toilets, the door hinges, everything. You can hire a lawyer to draw it up.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

600k for me and her first house. We make combined under 200k as well.

Wrong, he doesn't live in the sticks.

First house we bought was $550k. Wife and I make under $200k.

EDIT: For the OP, this just doesn't sound like the right house for you. Poor schools are usually a decent indication of the area in general. Plus, if you have kids you'll have to figure out how to either get them into better schools or afford private schools.

It does sound like the house is still overpriced. You should definitely get comps from the agent and take that into account when making an offer. Even though there are many upgrades the appraisal may not come through given what other properties are selling for. Adjustments can be made to account for condition. Without knowing the area $450k sounds like a decent offer to start. Given its been on the market so long they'll likely counter. Either that or they don't really want to sell.

First (and current) house for us was $140k. Not the greatest of areas, but certainly not bad. We haven't had any issues outside of douchebags that don't understand what a garage is for (hence lots of parking on the streets).

Our income total is ~$160k. Hoping to have our house paid off in the coming 4 years or so, currently ~$90k. Basically using it as throttle for our first major house with desired upgrades (nicer neighborhood, good schools, and better quality).

 

[rcpratt]

First (and current) house for us was $140k. Not the greatest of areas, but certainly not bad. We haven't had any issues outside of douchebags that don't understand what a garage is for (hence lots of parking on the streets).

Our income total is ~$160k. Hoping to have our house paid off in the coming 4 years or so, currently ~$90k. Basically using it as throttle for our first major house with desired upgrades (nicer neighborhood, good schools, and better quality).

Which is great, if you can make it work, but since the OP is in NYC suburbs, I'm guessing a $140k house would be a 500 sqft studio condo.

 

[dullard]

500k for your 1st house ? You and your wife must make 1.5~2 million a year , right ?

As a good rule-of-thumb, you can comfortably own a home that costs up to 3x your salary. Thus, this home would need at least a $166k salary to live there comfortably. Sure, you may be able to buy it with less salary, but you wouldn't have much left to actually enjoy life.

You went the wrong way, you multiplied by 3 not divided by 3.

As of last month, the median existing home sold for $234k. If we all multiplied by 3, the median family with a house would have to earn $702k/year. That is just rediculously high in 2015.

 

[ImpulsE69]

As a good rule-of-thumb, you can comfortably own a home that costs up to 3x your salary. Thus, this home would need at least a $166k salary to live there comfortably. Sure, you may be able to buy it with less salary, but you wouldn't have much left to actually enjoy life.

You went the wrong way, you multiplied by 3 not divided by 3.

As of last month, the median existing home sold for $234k. If we all multiplied by 3, the median family with a house would have to earn $702k/year. That is just rediculously high in 2015.

As I stated above, that is horrible advice. I'm not sure how many people actually follow it, but it is just setting yourself up for failure. That's banker advice to get more money out of you.

 

[NutBucket]

Again, that works fine in some parts of the country. In a major metropolitan area it doesn't happen.

Here in SoCal average rent for a 2BR apartment is about $2500. If you want to pay less you'll be guarding the door with a .357 all night long.