Help for a home buying newb.... LONG

[Couver]

Cliff notes at top due to a beer laden ramble... Older ranch house with low ceilings or newer that you have to heat/cool more

I am ready to jump into the home owner vs renting world. I am at the end of my military life and am looking to settle down here after years of renting. May I get some opinions from the experts? I am shit scared about making this jump but the time is now. Long post to follow.

USAA is our first stop. Real Estate Nate the second if he will have us. I have my VA loan in my pocket but will try another way first to get lower interest/ wrap closing into the loan if needed. I am looking at a ton of places in the 76169 area code. All we want is between 17 to 2000 sq ft and space to park both our cars in a garage. Hardwood/tile floors are a must but if the floor plan is right that can be added later.

My questions are having lived in older and newer houses down here are these.

What do the vaulted ceilings provide? In my mind that is that much more space to heat or cool depending on the season. I don't need to look up at a 20 ft ceiling to feel my house is big. I would rather have low ceilings with a ton of insulation and fans in the attic to keep it cool. Are the newer houses built that much better you can have those high ceilings and not get butt probed on power bills? Why not have low ones with good windows and insulation? My dream is a house cut into a hill so I can have a partial basement. An igloo cooler is the goal as far as heating and cooling go.

Older houses have had time to settle. If I get one that has been around awhile settling will I have less problems later? Or shall I trust new construcion to have figured it a new slab? Sorry for such a long post but being a partial transplant here I don't know what to look for the most.. I have been stationed here now 6 years over the last 13 but things change. When I got here in 99 it seemed rural compared to now.


Thank you for any help I just want to make the best choice when it comes to my "retirement home"

[Lone Sailor]

Send a PM to SVT Lurch here on the board. He can answer all your mortgage/lending questions and has done VA loans. He is doing my VA loan.

Nate is my recommendation for your realtor. He will hook you up.

[jakesford]

When I started shopping for a house I had already narrowed down the area, and knew that I wanted an older home in an established neighborhood. In my mind the advantages were that you have larger established lots, you know there will be low turnover, and the area will be a more stable. I found a home in the area that I wanted that was a short sale and made an offer that was accepted. During the inspection some major issues came up and the bank said that I was on my own to get them fixed so I walked.

A couple of months later I ended up buying a newer home built in 2007, and I do not regret it one bit. I have had zero issues to deal with besides just normal maintenance. My utilities are less than my last apartment that was brand new and half the size of my house. Both all electric, in my apartment my electric bill would run $150 - $225 and the highest bill I have had during my first year at my house was $161 during this past cold snap.

Compared to the older home I know my utilities are less, even though they are nearly identical in size. Even with 10+ foot ceilings compared to 8 foot ceilings it is just much more energy efficient. A coworker lives 2 blocks from the original house I looked at so I kinda knew what to expect. It is just that 2007 vs 1978 has seen a lot of changes, and having proper insulation, double pain low-e windows, efficient hvac all add up. Also my home owners policy for my current house is nearly half of what the old house was quoted at so keep that in mind. My sacrifice was location to stay within my price range, but looking back I am so happy that I walked away from the original house.

Good luck and take your time, don't rush into anything. Ask for utilities bills if your concerned about it. I had several owners at homes that I looked at that volunteered them. Also I wouldn't even consider a house without doing an inspection, I paid for 3 of them before I was all set and done and it was worth every penny

[Couver]

Also I wouldn't even consider a house without doing an inspection, I paid for 3 of them before I was all set and done and it was worth every penny

Just the kind of info I was looking for thank you!! I didn't know the utilities were that much cheaper in a new house. I guess technology in the HVAC world has come a long way.


I plan to tell an inspector to tear it up. I will pay for one everytime we are interested. In fact I think its part of the VA loan anyway if I go that route.

[AdamLX]

USAA is our first stop. Real Estate Nate the second if he will have us. I have my VA loan in my pocket but will try another way first to get lower interest/ wrap closing into the loan if needed.

VA Loan: 100% financing, no pmi. If the VA has you listed as basically any percentage disbled you can get around the VA Funding Fee, otherwise it's 2.15% of your loan amount tacked on top of your purchase price.

FHA Loan: Minimum 3.5% down, will require PMI on a monthly basis. Most cost can be rolled into loan.

Conventional Loan: To avoid PMI you need 20% down. Most cost can be rolled into loan. Minimum 5% down usually.

VA is the way to go FYI. Once you are on a VA loan you have the option to do a VAIRRL (VA Interest Rate Reduction Loan) which lets you easily refi if rates are lower down the road.

[SVT Lurch]

I plan to tell an inspector to tear it up. I will pay for one everytime we are interested. In fact I think its part of the VA loan anyway if I go that route.

Only the pest inspection, you're on your own for the home inspection.

Send a PM to SVT Lurch here on the board. He can answer all your mortgage/lending questions and has done VA loans. He is doing my VA loan.

Thanks!

[red95gts]

USAA is our first stop.

I'm in the same boat, although this will be the 2nd VA purchase for me.

I'm normally the first to recommend USAA's services to anyone and I was just looking last night at mortgage info on USAA.com. Do yourself a favor and read the user reviews for USAA mortgages - click on the drop down menu and sort by date posted. Not sure what happened in Oct 2010, but nearly every review since then has been a 1star review. There are enough awful reviews from longtime members that I'll be looking elsewhere for a mortgage. The MoversAdvantage program looks to be solid but it looks like it would be best to finance elsewhere.

Not to hijack, but if anyone here does mortgages/real estate in the OKC area please PM me. Thanks

Good Luck!

[SVT Lurch]

I'm in the same boat, although this will be the 2nd VA purchase for me.

I'm normally the first to recommend USAA's services to anyone and I was just looking last night at mortgage info on USAA.com. Do yourself a favor and read the user reviews for USAA mortgages - click on the drop down menu and sort by date posted. Not sure what happened in Oct 2010, but nearly every review since then has been a 1star review. There are enough awful reviews from longtime members that I'll be looking elsewhere for a mortgage. The MoversAdvantage program looks to be solid but it looks like it would be best to finance elsewhere.

Not to hijack, but if anyone here does mortgages/real estate in the OKC area please PM me. Thanks

Good Luck!

I don't either, but we've "stolen" a lot of previous USAA clients without realizing it (clients tell us later they shopped us against USAA). They seem to be losing a lot of insurance customers as well. And PM sent.

[Couver]

Thanks again guys.. I am on travel this week when I get back looks like I will be sending to pm's to Nate and Lurch...

[Real Estate Nate]

Thanks again guys.. I am on travel this week when I get back looks like I will be sending to pm's to Nate and Lurch...

I'll be waiting!

~Nate

[Special K]

My questions are having lived in older and newer houses down here are these.

What do the vaulted ceilings provide? In my mind that is that much more space to heat or cool depending on the season. I don't need to look up at a 20 ft ceiling to feel my house is big. I would rather have low ceilings with a ton of insulation and fans in the attic to keep it cool. Are the newer houses built that much better you can have those high ceilings and not get butt probed on power bills? Why not have low ones with good windows and insulation? My dream is a house cut into a hill so I can have a partial basement. An igloo cooler is the goal as far as heating and cooling go.

Older houses have had time to settle. If I get one that has been around awhile settling will I have less problems later? Or shall I trust new construcion to have figured it a new slab? Sorry for such a long post but being a partial transplant here I don't know what to look for the most.. I have been stationed here now 6 years over the last 13 but things change. When I got here in 99 it seemed rural compared to now.

I have yet to be able to understand utilities here in TX. If you geta preowned home you should be able to get an average billing for the previous year.

Our house is an older typical ranch, 2000 sqft with extra insulation, new ductwork and all new thermal windows. This past month our bill was $350..... My sisters house is 1000 sqft larger, has 10-12ft celings througout, built a few years ago and their bill last month was $80.

Our utilities were reduced with all of the upgrades but are still higher than most newer homes that are designed for conservation. For example, our house is rectangle in shape and the units are located on the west side of the house forcing all air the length of the house where the thermostat is located. The temp at the therm and in the master bedroom (which is closest to the units) is significantly different.

[Roscoe]

I have yet to be able to understand utilities here in TX. If you geta preowned home you should be able to get an average billing for the previous year.

Our house is an older typical ranch, 2000 sqft with extra insulation, new ductwork and all new thermal windows. This past month our bill was $350..... My sisters house is 1000 sqft larger, has 10-12ft celings througout, built a few years ago and their bill last month was $80.

Our utilities were reduced with all of the upgrades but are still higher than most newer homes that are designed for conservation. For example, our house is rectangle in shape and the units are located on the west side of the house forcing all air the length of the house where the thermostat is located. The temp at the therm and in the master bedroom (which is closest to the units) is significantly different.

Efficiency.

[Special K]

Efficiency.

Multi task FAIL....

[Roscoe]

Mutli task FAIL....

Spelling fail.

Yes, after re-reading, I now fully comprehend the message, as significant as it was...