House Hunt Update
January 12th, 2005
Quick update on the house hunt; the condo in Manchester that we liked has been sold already, so I’m getting more info on the place in Merrimack that needs work. It’s been on the market for over 100 days, so I doubt it’s going anywhere. Also, the other day when Delia was working at Staples, a guy came in to get copies made for the townhouse he’s selling. It’s in Merrimack, it’s 1900 square feet, 3 bedroom. Looks pretty nice, so we’re going to try and take a look at that one in the next few days.
On the financial front, it seems that the mortgage person I was dealing with has disappeared off the face of the earth, so I need to find someone else. I plan on contacting my bank and Delia’s bank. Any other suggestions?
Banks are a good place to start - and try looking on the internet for mortgage rate comparisons. You can sometimes get good deals with mortgage brokers too - we did when we bought the new house but the mortgage is with GMAC. The Staples house sounds interesting - if he is selling it himself FSBO (For Sale by Owner), you may get a better deal and it isn’t hard to handle it yourself. I would be very wary of the Merrimack one. A place that needs work like that has been abused - you never know what may break next and electric heat is always a difficult sell. I expect your apartment complex will let you go month-to-month so be careful and don’t feel rushed into buying something you are not 100% sure about. Good luck - and have fun!
I second what you dad said. We’ve been looking at houses too and there’s no way we’re going to jump on anything at the moment because it seems like a good price. A lot of home here in TX have flood problems and foundation problems. Oh, and don’t forget to have about 5k sitting around just for “fees”. You’ve got to pay to have it inspected, then the holding fee, then some closing costs. Ouchy. Also, try troubleshooter.com, its the website for a radio show by a guy named Tom Martino. He’s a bit of a wanker, but it’s his job to help folks with questions about legality, finaces, investments, etc and to fight for people who have been ripped off. Anyway, the website had a referal list and a sleeze list. Some of the info is mid-west/central US based, but there are quite a few “national” things on the lists as well. I found out that my car loan company was on the sleeze list for screwing people over and I switched and I’m much happier. Something to consider when choosing a loan company. They’ll be who you’re dealing with for a VERY long time. Anyway, hope the hunt goes well. Take care bud!
Ameriquest was not bad but when we lived in NH we found Citizen’s Bank gave great rates and were very agreeable to work with. Where we are now paying cash for the house was best.