House buying in the US

[ceresa 3]

Buying a house seems to be different here in the US to buying back home in England, such as things like a lot of stuff is included in the sale here - fridge, light fixtures, carpets etc. When we go to buy our house we dont want them to include all that stuff as it puts the price of the house up (and Id much to prefer to choose my own options and get at a cheaper price).... so are we able to tell the homebuilders we just want the basic house without all these "extras" ? Surely that will bring the price down some!

Ive also noticed that the taxes is included in the mortgage payment (unlike England), which we dont particularly want to do because then arent you paying interest on top of your taxes aswell if they include it in your mortgage loan?!

So I was wondering, what other things are there to look out for now that we're looking for a house here. I knew exactly what I was doing in England when it came to buying property but dont have a clue for here.

Anyway else from UK whos been in a simliar situation and noticed any differences ?

[zyggy 9]

Buying a house seems to be different here in the US to buying back home in England, such as things like a lot of stuff is included in the sale here - fridge, light fixtures, carpets etc. When we go to buy our house we dont want them to include all that stuff as it puts the price of the house up (and Id much to prefer to choose my own options and get at a cheaper price).... so are we able to tell the homebuilders we just want the basic house without all these "extras" ? Surely that will bring the price down some!

1) What exactly do you mean.... are you building a new house...

Anything that can be considered a fixture (such as lighting fixtures, carpet, etc.) is considered as part of the house and therefore, must be included in the purchase price. Anything that is not considered a fixture, is typically placed on a seperate bill of sale and where it is included in your mortgage, is NOT included as part of the purchase price for assessing and tax purposes. If you don't want any non-fixtures, you can negotiate that when you do your purchase agreement.

Ive also noticed that the taxes is included in the mortgage payment (unlike England), which we dont particularly want to do because then arent you paying interest on top of your taxes aswell if they include it in your mortgage loan?!

Actually you don't pay interest on the taxes. It is a separate part of your bill called escrow. Now there is a case that the bank will collect interest on your money as they keep it in escrow. You can ask that there be no escrow account if you have more than 25% of equity in your home. If you don't have more than 20% of equity in your home (put 20% down), then you must have the escrow account and typically are required to pay private mortgage insurance.

So I was wondering, what other things are there to look out for now that we're looking for a house here. I knew exactly what I was doing in England when it came to buying property but dont have a clue for here.

Anyway else from UK whos been in a simliar situation and noticed any differences ?

Be sure to look out for thing known as junk fees from your mortgage banker. Fees for trival things can add up quickly. Be sure to explain to youtr lender that there are certain thing that you are not willing to pay for in the closing costs.

Edited February 17, 2006 by zyggy

[Yodrak 7]

ceresa,

You're buying a new home from a buiilder? Things like kitchen appliances can generally be left out - I did that with my house. Things like light fixtures and flooring generally cannot be left out - they're essential to the 'livability' of the house and in many (most? all?) places you're not going to get a Certificate of Occupancy for the house from the local authorities without them. No CO, no mortgage loan.

Plus, in many homes, the standard items that a builder provides are often bottom of the line - you aren't going to save much by leaving them out because they don't cost the builder much to begin with. But you can work with the builder to provide upgrades rather than the standard, and maybe you can even pay cash for those upgrades to keep them off the mortgage. (Or just make a bigger down payment to compensate.) Actually, I found that it was cheaper for me to take the builders standard items (other than the appliances) and replace them myself after the fact. The cost of buying upgraded lighting and bath fixtures at the home improvement store, and throwing his standard items away, was less than his upgrade cost for the the same fixtures

Taxes, and often homeowner's insurance, are often collected from you and paid to the town or insurance company by the lender. This does not mean that they are part of the mortgage loan, it does mean that the lender wants to make sure they're paid so as to protect their ownership protion of the property - which is usually substantially larger than your ownership portion.

Yodrak

Buying a house seems to be different here in the US to buying back home in England, such as things like a lot of stuff is included in the sale here - fridge, light fixtures, carpets etc. When we go to buy our house we dont want them to include all that stuff as it puts the price of the house up (and Id much to prefer to choose my own options and get at a cheaper price).... so are we able to tell the homebuilders we just want the basic house without all these "extras" ? Surely that will bring the price down some!

Ive also noticed that the taxes is included in the mortgage payment (unlike England), which we dont particularly want to do because then arent you paying interest on top of your taxes aswell if they include it in your mortgage loan?!

So I was wondering, what other things are there to look out for now that we're looking for a house here. I knew exactly what I was doing in England when it came to buying property but dont have a clue for here.

Anyway else from UK whos been in a simliar situation and noticed any differences ?

Edited February 17, 2006 by Yodrak

[Badgerbabe 0]

Hi

Just something to think about if you are looking for a mortgage is what your credit rating is and your spouse too as this can have some baring on the rate that you will be paying. The lower your score the highter the rate will be.

Also we remortgaged recently and I hadn't really got a credit score built up even though I've been working full time now since July 2005 so although I was able to go on the title I wasn't able to go onto the mortgage. I've just managed to get a capital one credit card so that should help in the future.

Just something to bear in mind.

[Boiler 45,486]

The US process has very little in common with UK practice, biggest mistake you can make is to assume it is.

I know a guy who builds Custom Homes (translation one off rather than estate), he likes to get to the Frame up and then work with the buyer on final fit out.

The up front prices are misleading, from is the operative word, all would love to sell you upgrades, they may well represent value compared to diy later.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Lot of good home buying forums, just google away. here is an ok one:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/realestate/

Laws vary from State to State, soem States the seller has to incluse fridge, stove with the house,others they do not. And just because one may not want the appliances, that may not mean a lowereing of the price, its all negotiable. Best of luck

[kc456 0]

Good luck with house buying! I know we won't be at this stage for a while.

[Fandango 1,439]

Cerisa, if you're talking about a pre-owned house, from a real estate pov the existing fridge & appliances are really negligable costs in regards to the house asking price. And a seller would prolly not lower the price if you didn't want those items, because it would in actuality, cost them more money in removal fees.

I am a realtor® in FL, and cannot speak of RE laws in Texas because I am not licensed there. I suggest you speak with a realtor® in your area...he or she would be able to shed more light on how things work in Texas. In America, Real estate salespersons are licensed by the state...it's not like the UK. We go to specialized schooling, have to pass a state test, undergo a background/fingerprint search, and have to continue our education to renew our licenses. Realtors® are those salespersons who have joined the local level of the Nat'l Assoc. of Realtors® and among other things, subscribe to a code of ethics in our day to day practices.

If anyone can help you, a Texas realtor® can!

If you want, I can refer you to one...my company belongs to a big relocation/referral network of real estate agencies all over the world. Finding one for you wouldn't be any trouble at all, so if you want, just pm me. If not...find one yourself...even to 'pick his/her brain'. There is no charge (well at least not in FL) for buyers...so even if you just want a little direction, I would say that's the best place to start!

Either way, good luck!!!

[ceresa 3]

thanks all for your tips and advice

[cmartyn 0]

Unlike in Europe, where appliances are bought and maintained with some sort of thought process.. Here they are mostly junk.

For example, if I buy a GE profile toploader for 800 bucks from Costco, treat it like ####### for five years and then sell my house, whats that washer worth to me? whats it worth to you? Some number approaching zero comes to mind. Moving it is a big fat pain in the ###. It has to be disconnected, loaded and moved, and then refit into the new house.

Now, a more sensible person might actually look at the energy star rating on that big yellow tag and say YIKES! I'm not buying that piece of #######.. and proceed to the Miele shop and lay out 2K for a new washer which will make their clothes last longer, use half the energy, half the soap, and last for 25 years. That appliance has a resale value in England and is worth moving. In the US it is still worth nothing because people would prefer to toss it in the trash and go to Costco and get the shiny new one for 800.00 that uses twice the energy, soap, and lasts for 5 years.

GW is talking about new technology like High Bred Vee-Hickles.. Hes attributing the invention of hybrid technology to the DOE.. Hes talking about giving billions of our tax dollars to the likes of Shell to promote new technology innovations. How about fixing the damn AFUE rating system and the Energy star system first!