My wife and I recently viewed several houses with our real estate agent. She took us all over town to see new homes in new neighborhoods, old homes in old neighborhoods, and everything in between. This was tons of fun, and we finally decided on on an older home that needed some updating, but in return, we are able to purchase a larger home in an already established neighborhood with our money.
Of course, this purchase is pending the home inspection. This home was built in 1964 and we are expecting the inspector to find several things that we need to be aware of. After we sign the counter offer made by the sellers this afternoon, we will have 10 days to back out if we so choose. Assuming everything goes well, we have set our tentative closing date for Friday, November 6. This will be in plenty of time to beat the November 30 deadline for the 1st Time Home Buyer’s tax credit.
For those who aren’t familiar with the process of purchasing a home with a real estate agent, I will soon post a brief entry detailing the steps we took during our experience. And for those first time home buyers who haven’t started looking just yet, you still have some time. However, there seems to be a number of “problems” through out this process that could delay your purchase. Our real estate agent suggested that those wishing to close before November 30, should really begin the hunt for their new home in the next week or so. Don’t forget that the Thanksgiving holidays are right before this deadline and many people involved in the transaction, from the real estate agent to the mortgage banker, may or may not be taking a short vacation during the days that you need to close!
Congrats on your first place! This is so exciting. It looks like you’ve been doing your homework and learning as you go. Keep up the good work and watch out for fees at closing.
Cheers,
Miel