Moving - Tips for the Initiate & Naive

[Balfree]

Ok so I'm moving. I'm juggling the tasks of visiting apartments for rent and getting job interviews, I even got new shoes and I found I can wear the fuck out of semi-formal attire, but that is beside the point.

Me and my lover are trying to decide between actually getting a house for ourselves or just renting one. For now we're settling on a rental because we're scared that we end up regretting buying a house and then hating the place after a couple months, but that is definitely what we want eventually, our own place.

So, for a rental... we're finding pretty shitty places only... it's getting to the point that we're probably just going to settle for something cheap and humble until we both gather some savings for the next step, which will be monumental because owning a house nowadays... I dunno, it seems like an utopia at this point.

What are some good tips when looking for a nice place? both rental and as for actually buying a place. Also... if you've been in this situation, what are some of the bad things you would warn me about?

Just looking for places has been exhausting so far... I'm scared. ;(

[Satori]

re: Moving - Tips for the Initiate & Naive

Before I moved out of the family home, I was saving like crazy. I saved 2 months worth of my salary for a deposit and another 2 months just because I knew I'd need a little cash pool.
While I was looking I'd buy small things or things that would catch my eye, My friends were buying clothes. I came home with a set of dining plates and a pack of dusters.

Mainly I'd say for rental make sure you know your tenancy agreement inside and out. You need to know who is responsible for what. My first place I moved to was a house-share with my two female cousins. We got messed around because we all were 18/19. Ended up in a lovely 3 bedroom house with front and back gardens and a large garage. Everything at face value seemed amazing,
Turns out the hot water heater was dodgy and would run cold during your shower. if you were home alone you'd have to grab a towel and rund downstairs, through the kitchen and accross the back garden and into the garage to reset the boiler. One time I had to do this 3 times during a shower by the 3rd time I was so annoyed I did the mini assault course minus the towel lol.

just basically inspect everything and know exactly what your landlord's responsibilities to you are. FOr us with the boiler we wasnt allowed to get it repaired we had to go through our landlord who was at the time backpacking around the world with the money from our rent lol. Turns out wanting a boiler fixed was like asking if I could have a go on his daughter because after we reported it to the lettings agency we had the landlords family members turn up to argue over the cost of the boiler then when a maintenance person turned up it was one of his friends that did a botching up job.

So make sure you go through a lettings agency that is reputable and never do transactions in cash only. You have a better legal standpoint with a lettings agent acting as a mediator for both parties.

My other bit of advice I also apply to the men I date. "If it seems too good to be true. It probably is" lmao

Oh don't worry if it's nothing like what you see on cribs. A home is what you make it. You'll soon put your own stamp on the place. Think of it like the sims, You start off with a box with no windows and gradually move up the street to the big house.

[Caspian]

re: Moving - Tips for the Initiate & Naive

As far as renting goes, like Satori says, know what you're getting into contractually. Other than that, find something you can tolerate for a year, get some money for a good down payment on a house and start looking with a month or two left on your rental. A lot of houses you can rent here will let you go month to month after your first year.

I bought a house two years ago, so I can hopefully impart a couple things. First, make sure the heating and air conditioning units are in good repair. When I got my house the furnace was nearly as old as the house and it and the outside condenser had to be replaced within a year. They said they had it inspected before I bought it, but they lied. When you find a house you want, you'll know it. I'd been looking for nearly a month and hadn't found anything I liked, then I saw two in the same day. It doesn't have to be perfect but there are lots of little things you can do on the cheap that have a big effect on the look of the house. Be sure you do like the house before you make an offer.

[Balfree]

re: Moving - Tips for the Initiate & Naive

Thanks. It is easy to lose grasp of some details when there's so many to account for... will definitely look into that heating/water issues from now on.

[Caspian]

re: Moving - Tips for the Initiate & Naive

When you buy a house, at least here in the states, you have an inspector go through and check everything out. After he gets done he'll do a walk-through with you and point out any stuff you need to know. Most of its little stuff that people rarely care about but he'll definitely alert you to things that need to be taken care of beforehand. I had to have the previous owners replace the roof. It had gotten so bad I wouldn't have been able to get it insured.

[TheGrandMom]

re: Moving - Tips for the Initiate & Naive

Bal, one of the best ways to buy a house, imo, is rent to own. I don't know if they do that over there but they do it here. This way you live in the house and are renting with the option to buy. So if you find the house isn't for you or there are issues with the house, then you can move on after the lease is up. In the current economy over here, rent to own is quite popular because houses just aren't selling and if they can get rent at least then its better than the house sitting empty.

I've always found that I knew if the house was right for me pretty damn quick. With my first house, I didn't take to it. It fit all of our needs, was in our price range, it was in a decent part of town, etc. but I just didn't get that "feeling". We ended up selling that one and broke even. The next house was a disaster! I told hubby that it was NOT the "one" but he kept throwing logic at me. "It's close to your family." "It's the right price range and thats rare in this area." etc. He wore me down so I felt like I better grab it before its gone.....what a huge mistake! Omg the issues we had with that house!

Our current house was a fun find. We were on the way home from our son's birthday party when we saw this house 1/2 mile from our apartment. It had an open house so I made hubby turn around so we could go through. I didn't need to go past the foyer, I knew this was "the one". I didn't say anything and we walked around and then left. As we were walking to the car, I just told hubby "Buy this house for me." and he did. Don't get me wrong there were issues with this house because the guy "fixed" stuff but to the bare minimum so stuff was falling apart left and right. He painted over wallpaper, built a deck around the tub with no support under it, cut a huge hole in the bathroom floor so the tub would fit so the tub sits on bare ground, etc. But you just know when its the house you will love and be willing to work on to make it perfect.

So to my advice, make sure you have enough money to hire people to repair stuff OR make sure you are a handyman AND like doing handyman stuff. Houses eventually need work, even new ones. If you are well off enough to be able to pay a repairman, thats friggin awesome and I'm jealous. If you are more like most homeowners, then you are going to have to be a bit handy and its best if you enjoy doing stuff like that. I LOVE working on the house but my husband does NOT. When I was healthier it wasn't a big deal. I put in our new gas water heater, I replaced some shingles when the weather ripped them off, I put flower beds around the house, etc. But now that I can no longer do these things, I rely on hubby and thats a huge mistake. Its always extremely stressful on our relationship because we argue and argue before something will finally get done......and many times things just never do and that just eats away at me. So for your relationship, make sure that one of you is handy or that you are well off enough for repairmen...

ALWAYS have the house inspected and DO NOT let the person selling the house or the agency selling it pick out the inspector. Over here it costs around $500 for an inspector and it comes straight out of the buyers pocket but its totally worth it. Ask your neighbors who they used, ask your family and friends for a reference of who they used, look up the inspector online and see if there are any reviews for him/her, etc. GET A GOOD ONE EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO PAY A BIT MORE! It could end up saving your thousands of dollars. With our second home we were talked out of getting an inspector because the seller needed to sell asap because he needed to move out of state. He then lowered the price of the house to convince us.......we were idiots.

Some other points:

- uneven floors can signify a problem with the foundation - its also a bitch trying to put in new flooring (besides carpeting)

- use all the faucets (check water pressure and also run more than one at a time like the sink and the tub at the same time in the bathroom)

- run the hot water and see how fast the water heats and how hot it gets

- look for water spots on ceilings/walls/floors for possible leak issues

- look under throw rugs if you are really interested in buying a place. People use them to hide issues with flooring underneath sometimes and you don't want any nasty surprises.

- always go on more than one run through of the house. The first time you can be blinded by the OMG I LOVE IT so go a second time.

- for the second run through, measure the furniture you absolutely are putting in your new place, make a list of measurements and bring along a tape measure. An empty house can look a lot bigger than it actually is.

- find out how old the roof is. A new roof is extremely expensive and no something a new home owner wants to be paying for. (Roofs last around 25 years.)

- if you have doubts about leaks or the roof, try to go see the house after a good rain. We had a doubt about a house once and the guy wouldn't let us come over after it rained. We figured something was up and told him we were backing out if he didn't let us come over. He let us and then had to come clean that there was a roof issue.

- how old the furnace is. Again, another high ticket item you don't want to be paying for shortly after buying. (Furnaces last around 20 years.)

- check under sinks for wet spots (leaky pipes) Pick up bottles and such that are under there and possibly covering up leak spots.

- find out how old the hot water heater is. It's not a huge expense but it is an expense....and frigging annoying to get up to a cold shower! (Water heaters last around 10 years.)

- find out what heat is used (oil or gas) and check annual heating costs

- Find out how old windows are to see if they are more efficient. Also check around the windows for gaps and to see how well they are maintained. Do this inside AND out. If they are older windows, make sure that they all have screens (in case they aren't all on at the time).

- check electrical wiring in old homes to see if its up to standard (knob and tube wiring is common in old homes but should be replaced) This is really something that an inspector should do but you can peak up in an attic and look at the rafters to see if there is any knob and tube. Sellers don't usually expect you to do that.

- check the basement walls in older homes because they deteriorate so make sure inspector checks that. Also check for moisture in the basement, you can usually smell that musty wet smell. Also see if they are using a dehumidifier, this can be an indication of a moisture problem.

Thats all I can think of right now. Buying a home takes a lot of homework, money, and faith. Good luck to you both and I hope you'll love wherever you move to!

[Caspian]

re: Moving - Tips for the Initiate & Naive

Oh one other thing, rather important. Find a real estate agent you trust. Not always the easiest thing to do, but they can be worth their weight in gold.

[Cotners]

re: Moving - Tips for the Initiate & Naive

I have done housing inspections here on base and there are a few issues that plague a lot of houses.

Leaking roofs. Rotting trusses mean you have to tear half the roof apart to replace them.

Black mold. Often found in wet walls between bathrooms, behind water heaters, in vents and ducts. Also if you have cracks in the stemwalls of your foundation the moisture from the ground can seep in and get into your exterior walls.

Poor wiring. Often in new houses the contractor will ensure that all lights work, but will not test the load that multiple appliences have on the system and new owners blow fuses left and right.

Inadequate plumbing connection/cracks in pipes. This is what really causes the black mold to build up in bath rooms.

There are also several cosmetic issues but most are fairly simple to fix.

[Balfree]

Re: Moving - Tips for the Initiate & Naive

Thanks for all the info guys.

Will be taking notes! We're visiting a place for rental that is most probably already going to be reserved by the time we get to midday. I attached some pics.

I love the spacious living room and the balcony... the bedroom is nothing special but it's also plenty roomy. The bathroom looks a little bent but the pictures are blurry anyway. We're in love with the place even before the visit... just hope we can actually visit it and see the state its in ><

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Moving - Tips for the Initiate &amp; Naive

Oooo looks like lots of light in the living room area from those windows! I like that! What direction do they face? I also love the balcony! I used to love putting down an air mattress and sleeping outside on our old apartment balcony. Good luck Bal!