Real Estate Agents

I finally started working with a real estate agent and I am starting to notice a pattern.  They don't really listen to what you want.

We were fairly specific in what we were looking for in a place to live.  We wanted a two car garage, washer and dryer in the unit, a certain amount of HOA fees, within a certain distance from where I work, and a certain price point.

Apparently, what the agent heard was "You're willing to pay that much."  Of the ten listings he has shown us, only two have had the two car garage.  Every single place he has shown us has HOA fees over $350.  That's high even for San Diego.

It isn't like I haven't experienced this before.  When I bought my car the dealer kept trying to add options or get me into a car that was more expensive that what I wanted just because I said I could spend more.  I understand that they are just trying to make as much as they can, but just give the customer what they want.

Even when I send the agent listings that I have found myself, he/she disregards them.  He/she either tells me that some are in escrow or that he can't show us those listings.  I understand both answers, but at the same time I don't.  If you can't show me what I want then I will need to find someone who can.

This whole process of looking at places, getting a loan and all the extras is more difficult than I originally thought.  I understand that buying a house is a huge decision, one that requires tons of research and time, but one would think it would be easier than this. Any tips from experienced house hunters would be welcomed/encouraged.

House Hunting Experience

This week I met with a loan specialist.  I talked to them about what I was looking at and what I could afford.  I told them how much we could afford monthly, and they went from there.  After doing a credit check, they came back with numbers on the high end of what I had told them.

Honestly, this didn't surprise me that much.  I know that the bigger the loan they give me, the better it is for them.  But, they completely disregarded on piece of information that I gave them.  I told them to factor in $250 for HOA dues.

For those of you that don't live in a big city, Home Owners Associations (HOA) charge you a fee for living where ever it is that you live.  This is common among Town Homes and Condo's.  You aren't just throwing money out the window however.  They take care of the cleaning of the outside of the property, maintenance, and sometimes you get cable and water.  HOA fees range anywhere from 150-500 depending on where you live, what you get, and how many people live there.

Now, disregarding that little piece of information threw off their entire estimation.  Instead of a 200K loan, they went up to 220K.  They also charge me a higher interest rate because they wanted to use a different type of loan.

I had to correct them, and put them back on track given their mathematical error.  This cost them another day, and it cost me precious time.  When I am in the housing market, I want someone who understands my needs.  Also, when estimating a price for someone, it is always better to come in under rather than over.  Coming in over gives people sticker shock, rather than "Oh I can afford better than that."

This whole house shopping experience has been an adventure so far and I haven't even seen a place yet.  As someone that plans every detail to ensure success I am sure that everyone working with me on this process will eventually hate me.  I have made my peace with that.

In the future, I suggest that you talk with a loan specialist early in the process.  Do not let them do a credit check unless you are intent on buying however.  This will lower your credit score.  I suggest knowing your credit score and asking them to proceed with that.  Knowing the value of the loan is one thing, but I specifically asked them to work from a monthly payment perspective. This meant that whatever they came up with worked with MY budget, not what some computer said I could afford.

People love animals out here

  One thing you have to get used to in a big city are the vermin. These are a some very large rats that have curled up on this ladies hood.  

Everyone in this complex has to put towels on the hoods of their cars so they don't get ruined.  I'm not for the extermination of this rat population, but I am not for rats that sleep on cars.  

We do benefit from what the rats do, they eat bugs and small critters.  For that they do not get to sleep on the hoods of cars however.

This all brings me to one point.  Why doesn't anyone in this state have an actual garage?  I have seen so many houses that turned their garage into another room.  Why?  That makes no sense.  Your second biggest purchase is your car and you live near the ocean.  This all adds up to destroying your car if you leave it outside.

My recent house search has lead me down a narrow road.  The nice places don't have garages, and the middle of the road ones either sold their garages to the place behind them or they aren't available.  I mean, my dream as a young child was to have a garage as big as my house, here I get a house as small as a garage.  I will not stand for this insanity. 

Adventures in Life

Today I started looking for a house to buy, well not really a house but more of a townhouse/condo arrangement.  Since I live in one of the more expensive cities in the country, and my parents weren't filthy rich I have a warped view of how things should go.

A little background might help with my perspective.  I grew up in a small town in New Mexico.  How small?  28,000 people small.  The next closest town is 30 minutes away, and the town survives on the oil field and farming.  It doesn't get more country than that.  When I was a child my mother bought a home all by herself, it was 2200 square feet, four bedrooms, two bath, and had a garage.  She paid 50,000 for it.  She did not have to put down 20% or even 10% since her father was the one that owned the house and they found an arrangement at the bank so that she could just pay it off without having too big of a burden.  I currently have dozens of friends that still live there, some of which are secretaries or work at the grocery store but own their own houses.  So now you can understand me when I don't understand how things work in "the big city."

Currently I am looking at houses in the range of 200,000-230,000.  Anything in that range will supposedly fit my budget.  So I was SHOCKED when I found out flats were going for 300,000 without a garage.  A GARAGE?  A garage is a mans temple, where he builds shrines, and goes and hides when he's tired of the honey-does.  My heart almost hit the floor when i found out that 20% down is standard.  That is 40,000 before 3,000 in fees to clear escrow.  How the hell are you supposed to come up with that much money? Oh ya, parents...well what if you don't have those?  I think I lost or broke mine somewhere in the move out here to expensive town.

I'll post more as I go and learn more.  This is step one in....I don't know how many steps.  Stupid F**** City, where are the horses and quiet.