House buying
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May 23, 2005
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Here are my lessons learned from buying a house.- Don't skimp on a lawyer. A lawyer will cost between $500-$1000. But in the long run, that's about a half of a percent of the cost of a ~$200,000 house.
- Try a paperless loan. That sounds nice, doesn't it?
- Add about $2000 to the estimated closing costs.
- Try going with a reputable mortgage lender. More on this later, unless Quicken Loans really impresses me.
- Choose a lawyer and a bank that are close to where you live so you don't have to travel and make extra plans for the closing date.
- Set a price limit on the houses you want to look for. Then look for houses that are about $50,000 less than your limit. You can't afford what you think you can afford.
- Expect to spend an exuberant amount of money for things like home inspections, loan application, and title insurance.
- Don't put any money down for the down payment. What's the point? Your measly little savings account with $15,000 in it will lower your monthly payments by about $50. That's stupid. Finance 100% of the house and spend your cash on something useful, like toys from Home Depot.
#money
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