How to Buy a House: The Very Basics

You don't pay cash when you buy a home. If you had to do that then nobody could afford to buy a house. Instead you get a loan from a bank called a mortgage. You make payments on this loan every month for 15 or 30 years, and then you get to stop making payments.
Most homebuyers also make a cash down payment of 3 to 20% of the sale price. The higher the down payment you can make, the easier it is to get a loan, and the lower the interest rate is, and the lower the monthly payment is. But if you can't afford to make a down payment (or don't want to), banks are increasingly offering "zero-down" loans. In fact, 43% of first-time homebuyers put no money down. (USA Today, 2006)
If you're rich and don't need a loan and can pay cash for a house. In this eceonomy, who is rich?!?

In most cases it makes more financial sense to buy instead of rent, and to buy as soon as you can afford to do so. Most people think the benefit in buying is to "stop throwing your money away on rent," but in fact the equity you build from buying is offset by the money you will "throw way" on taxes, insurance, and maintenance, which renters don't pay. The real benefit from buying is that you freeze your monthly payment for 15 to 30 years, and then you stop paying it altogether

What kind of home can I afford?

In general you can afford a home worth about three times your annual household income. If your combined income is $50,000, you could afford a $150,000 house.

If it looks like you can't afford a home then consider getting a bigger home than you need and renting out part of it. This is especially applicable to single people, where the smallest home they can find might be too big for their needs. For example:
In 2006 a friend of mine was paying $600 to live in a tiny 1-bedroom apartment. She bought a 4-bedroom house that cost her $1100/mo., and rented out two of the rooms for $600/mo. total. So her net cost per month is only $500. She's spending $100/mo. less, and she has twice as much room, a yard for her dog, and she owns her own house.


How much a home costs

The median price for a home was $225,000 in U.S. metro areas in late 2006. Of course the price varies according to the part of town, and even the state you're in. Homes in California cost lots more than homes in West Virginia and Arkansas. And naturally if the median (middle) price is $225,000, there are houses available for much less.

How much will my monthly payments be

Your monthly payments will probably be 0.75% to 1.15% of the purchase price. On a $150,000 home that's $1125 to $1725/mo. This includes taxes and insurance.

The bigger your down payment, the lower the monthly payments.
The lower the interest rate, the lower the monthly payments.
The longer the loan, the lower your monthly payments. But it's better to get a shorter loan so you pay it off quicker and save on interest, if you can afford the higher payments.
Don't forget that you can lower your monthly obligation by renting out a room or two (or a whole side, if you buy a duplex).
To afford a house you'll need the up-front money as well as money for the monthly payments

Money you'll need up front

3 to 20% of the purchase price for a down payment. The actual amount depends on what kind of loan you get and how good your credit is. Your bank might offer a zero-down loan, but if you can afford to make a down payment, you should do so, because you'll get a lower interest rate and because your monthly payments will be lower. These loans are increasingly hard to find.

1 to 8% of the purchase price for closing costs. You might not have to pay this up front. The bank might be willing to add it to your mortgage. (Add them to the mortgage if you need the cash, but pay the closing costs up front if you don't.) The actual amount of closing costs depends on how good a deal your lender is willing to give you, and the price of the house. The more expensive the home, the less the closing costs are as a percentage of the total price. Sellers are also paying closing costs.

$250 to $800 in Miscellaneous Costs. These are things like the application fee for the loan, the fee for the bank to run your credit report, professional inspection of the home, and an appraisal (if you can't get the appraisal added to the closing costs).

Putting these three things together, on a $150,000 house you'll need
$4500 to $30,000 for the down payment (unless you get a 0% down loan)
$0 to $12,000 for the closing costs
$250 to $800 for miscellaneous costs
Total: $4750 to $42,800. Yes, that's quite a difference. You'll learn more about estimating the costs for your own situation as you go through this guide.

How to get a mortgage
You generally need four things to qualify for a mortgage:
1. Money to make the down payment.
2. Income that's 2 to 3 times higher than your mortgage payment. (more on figuring mortgage payments in a minute)
3. Two years of solid employment history (same job or field).
4. Decent (not perfect) credit.
There are sometimes ways around this if you lack one or two of those, but usually not if you lack three or four.

How to find and buy a home

1. Read the rest of this guide, especially the parts about estimating how much home you can afford. The rest of this guide covers everything below.

2. Get a copy of your credit report and clean up your credit record as much as possible.

3. Go to your bank, ask to talk to a loan officer, tell them you want to buy a house, fill out an application, and get what's called a Pre-Qual Letter. You may have to pay an application fee of $40 or so.

4. Find a realtor (get referrals from friends). The seller pays the commission to your realtor, so it costs you nothing to have a realtor. Your realtor serves you by letting you know what houses are available that meet your needs (they have access to a special database) and by answering your questions about the process.

5. Tell the realtor what part(s) of town you want to live in, what kind of house you want, and how much the bank said they'd loan you. Your realtor will give you a list of houses that match your criteria. Go look at them.

6. When you find a house you want get the Disclosure from the seller. This is a list of problems with the house that the seller knows about, and which they're required to give you by law.

7. If the Disclosure doesn't sour you on the house, ask the realtor how much you should offer. It's rare that you accept the price given by the seller, usually you'll offer slightly less than they're asking. Get a list of Comparables (similar homes that have sold in the same area recently) from your realtor so you can get an idea of how much the house is worth.

8. You'll make the offer by signing a contract. If the seller accepts your offer then they'll sign too. At this point you're generally obligated to buy the house and the seller is generally obligated to sell, though depending on the wording of the contract either of you could have the right to walk away from the deal under certain circumstances.

9. Have the house professionally inspected. You generally have to pay this yourself, at the time, and it will cost $300 or so. If the inspection turns up problems not listed on the disclosure which will cost a lot to fix, try to get the seller to lower the price or fix the problems before the sale -- or walk away from the deal if your contract allows that and that's what you want.

10. The bank will have the house appraised to make sure it's worth what you're paying for it. (They don't want to loan you $200,000 to buy a house that's worth only $150,000.) You might have to pay this up front, otherwise it will be added to your closing costs. Besides paying for it up front if that's required, you're not involved in this step of the process.

11. Find an insurance agent (ask friends for referrals) and get a quote. You can certainly price-shop 2-3 different companies if you like. Pick one and tell them you want the insurance. The cost will be added to your closing costs, you don't have to pay this at the time.

12. Closing. You go to the office that's handling the closing (a title company or an attorney, usually selected by the lender or the seller), and bring with you a bank check to cover the down payment and the closing costs (unless the closing costs are being rolled into the mortgage). This can be two checks or one. You don't need to get a check for the mortgage loan, the bank will wire that directly to the office handling the closing.

If you have any questions about this post or want to continue this discussion beyond the customary comment, email me at lizgermanos@yahoo.com. If you are interested in real estate in Hampton Roads and need an agent to guide, please feel free to also email me.