Is this a Bad time of year to be looking to buy a house

[Chuck_Finley]

The market is completely fucked right now. I'd say this is a HORRIBLE time to buy a house. Not because of the time of year, but due to this being a seller's market. People all over North Texas are overpaying for houses and they're going to be fucked when the market crashes again.

I'll have to agree with this simply on the premise the the DFW area right now is a sellers market due to Toyota. One single, large company moving to this area and a lot of people will need housing. Then any ancillary suppliers who decide to follow will need housing too. See the ripple effect? And that's just 1 company. You never hear about smaller companies opening up shop or even large companies deciding to add on an extra 50 employees or relocating people here.

Interest rates are low, that's true and it's good for buyers but don't get suckered into getting a rate lock ASAP because then you'll start to feel that you have to find something before the lock expires and you'll get rushed. You can pay to extend it out, but then you're out money and no guarantee you'll find what you want.

Have you identified specific areas you want to move to? I don't mean cities and such, it's easy to say Plano or Denton or whatever. I mean specific neighborhoods. For example I'll never live in a neighborhood with an HOA so I know to focus on areas with older homes, things like that. Maybe you want a specific school for kids? If you can narrow it down that way it can help you more effectively find the home you want.

[Buick355]

I have a 3 story house (finished out basement and garage on the first floor). Heating/cooling can be a pain in the balls until you figure out a good schedule. We keep all the bedrooms closed off upstairs during the day, and turn the heat off downstairs at night when we go to bed. Keeps things comfortable and the bill reasonable. 3800 sq feet, and we rarely reach a $200 power bill.

The stairs on the other can be a fucking death trap. Me and my wife have both ate it on them.

[Couver]

Not sure it's a sellers market either. All I am getting are extreme low ball offers. Last one was 25k below our asking price and we pay closing. Yeah fuck that noise.

I bought a single story house because I hate lugging shit up and down stairs. We found one that had a very good split floor plan (I think that's the term) where most the bedrooms are separate from each other. As for power bills I added solar screens, insulation and re-calked the windows. That helped a ton along with more even tempatures through out.

[BP]

Interest rates aren't going anywhere as long as Obama is in office. Bernanke was replaced almost a year ago and I bet you've never heard of his replacement. She'll probably be there half way through the next presidents term.

[GeorgeG.]

We had a 2 story built in 1984. It had 1 unit that was as old as the house and all bedrooms were upstairs. We hated that thing. I'm sure we could've improved the efficiency by replacing the HVAC but with an open floor plan between upper and lower levels, I don't think it would've helped that much. We also had a skylight that faced east in our master bedroom. So if you're looking at a similar layout...run away!!

IMO, two story homes need dual units. I'm sure most new houses are built that way so I wouldn't be too concerned with efficiency as I would with other downsides.

Some of the things we got tired of real quick.... having to go up and down the stairs all the time, lugging laundry up and down, keeping 2 kids settled down, having to check on the kids' rooms to make sure they are cleaned, going to our room for stuff, etc.

I also thought about maintenance. I had to replace a skylight due to hail...I really enjoyed the steep roof that day. I also needed to replace some eves and siding that I couldn't get to. Even with renting scaffolds, it was tough. Those things made me think of how hard it would be to do when I'm older. Plus the need to go up and down stairs when I'm older too.

We will never do a 2 story house for those reasons alone. We see this next move as a place we'll be at for the next 15-20 years, if not forever. I need to be able to maintain my house and not have to worry about stairs or a roof that I can't get on. The other benefit we see is the feeling of having a bigger place. we could turn empty bedrooms into something else, or enjoy a media room downstairs. Having to climb stairs would more than likely turn those rooms into storage just to avoid going up there.

I wouldn't say it's a bad time to buy, there are just less houses to choose from. If you see one that you both like, then make an offer...the key is to stop looking once you get something because you'll almost always find something else you should've waited for, this can happen in the spring too.

[Cooter]

Any time is a good time to buy a home if you find the right deal on the right house...

as stated above, DO NOT rush into buying a house. We looked at a zillion before we bought our current place. Thankfully our realtor is the mother of one of my wife's students, and she was really patient with us. We bought a dump that she made very little commission on.

BUT, we're about to be shopping again, and we're going to go through her again so that she can actually make some money this time.

That was a bit of a ramble/tangent, but bottom line is: research research research, and don't rush into shit. It's ok to rush to get an offer in on a slam dunk deal, but if you don't even know what a slam dunk deal IS, don't rush a damn thing!

Get your lending squared away so that you can actually go shopping. You're spinning your wheels until that's in place as even if you find the perfect place, with no financing in place, you'll miss out on it and/or you won't even be able to view the place.

Good luck man, and whatever they tell you that you can afford, multiply it by about .65, and you'll be in the ballpark! LOL

[Cooter]

oh, and FUUUUUUUUUUCK a 2 story house in TX

[lincolnboy]

I have heard 2 story have structure issues.

[Ratt]

We bought a 2-story house a year and a half ago. Now we have a kid coming, and the heating and cooling sucks. Plus, I can't run speaker wire or ethernet throughout the house without doing major demolition and repair because of all the firewalls and shit. 1 story house is where I will be spending my money next time around.

[juiceweezl]

There is a lot of bad/misinformation in here...and of course one thing this site is never short of -- opinions.

Here's my take, and keep in mind I work for a hardware manufacturer that deals with residential construction. I'm also generalizing about the metroplex and not in any specific area.

1) It's more of a seller's market. Rates are low, and people want to upgrade as the economy is doing better. Look at all the new construction, and that will tell you they are building up inventory.

2) With that in mind, you may be able to get a better deal on a new home. It may cost you a little more, but you won't have to deal with issues from a 10, 15, or 20 year old home. It would translate to a better deal.

3) Likewise, you may be able to find a great deal on a <10 year old home because someone can't wait to upgrade and needs to sell first. I have some friends that moved recently because of this. All buyers and sellers have the same market conditions as far as rates, appraisals, etc., but not everyone is on the same timeline.

4) As has been stated, do not rush in...unless you have done all your research and you know you've found what you want or a killer deal. By all means rush quickly then. Know what similar houses to what you're looking for have recently sold for in the area. Ask to see utility bills from the house you're looking at. Check to see what services are in the area as far as cable, internet, etc. This is the information you need.

5) Be cautious about overpaying because a house has some upgrade the lady likes/wants. Many things can be done fairly easily after the fact. Exterior doors, windows, etc. are usually worth the coin. Paying for upgraded interior doors is an example of something you can do yourself at a discount for example.

6) I wouldn't write off a 2 story house, especially with a lot of kids. There's two viewpoints to look at. Our kids are 11 and 7. They have the upstairs as their bedrooms flank the game room. Our house is the one the kids hang out at, so we often have 5-6 kids, sometimes more there. As they get older and into high school, we aim to keep it that way. I trust myself to watch after my kids moreso than I do someone else. I want my house to be the one the kids hang out at. That being said, a second story gives them some privacy and allows the wife and I a place to hang out separately as well.

7) I'll stop with this tidbit and let everyone else get back to doing what this site does best. Do not buy a house until you've seen how it looks in a hard rain or after many hours of rain. Water intrusion and erosion can be troublesome and expensive to correct. If a low spot in the yard collects water, you've got issues. If all the water runs to a certain point, you've got issues. Our first house in TX didn't have gutters. We were planning to install them quickly so I didn't think it was a big deal. There was a valley in the roof by the front door, and the first time it rained before the gutters were up, there was a waterfall covering our entrance. It got ugly. Water backed up quickly there and in the shrub beds. I had to hook up a bilge pump and hose to move the water away to keep it from coming in the house. Look for stuff like that.

[ELVIS]

I'll chime in on the two story. I had one, hated it. In the summer upstairs was always hot and in the winter, downstairs was always freezing.

I have a one story now, couldn't be happier. Plus with a new demon spawn of a child my wife just produced, I don't have to worry about collecting life insurance on him for tumbling down some stairs.

Yep. 400-600 a month electric bill may to October. And still hot upstairs.

God bless.

[juiceweezl]

Yep. 400-600 a month electric bill may to October. And still hot upstairs.

God bless.

There's more to it than just 2 stories though. How many AC units? Are they sized and serviced properly? How good are the windows? Are there solar screens? How long since last insulated? Is there any shade or does it draw full western sun? I've seen 2 story homes be more efficient than single story homes despite having more square footage. There's a lot to look at.

[BMCSean]

There's more to it than just 2 stories though. How many AC units? Are they sized and serviced properly? How good are the windows? Are there solar screens? How long since last insulated? Is there any shade or does it draw full western sun? I've seen 2 story homes be more efficient than single story homes despite having more square footage. There's a lot to look at.

Exactly, my house is 2600 sqft and I have never had a bill higher than 175. It is well insulated with good windows but is only 3yrs old though.

[lincolnboy]

When is there really a bad time to buy a house, when mortage rate are high. Hell you might find your dream home during anytime of the year. But finding your dream home can be found in a short time or long time.

[Sean88gt]

I like a 2 story. Keeps the kids away at times.

Plus, houses are generally built like shit in Texas. Cheap, fast, and on floating soil.

I'd wait a bit. If oil continues south, there will be a lot of emotional panic that takes place and prices may taper off.