I'm going to buy a house, I could use some help!

[s15driftking]

Well, The wife and I have been married for about 6 months now and we figured we'd take the plunge and buy our first home. Nothign too fancy, we just want to build some equity, get a decent home, and get that phat 8k check from the government. Besides, we are paying about 200 dollars less in rent than it would cost to own decent house.

I am taking advice o nthe "do's and donts" of home buying.

So far, here is what i have come up with.

A coworker of mine once worked in the realty business and calculated based on what i want to spend and told me how expensive of a house i can buy (he factored in mortgage, interest, average taxes, and insurance)

My realtor gave me a couple of loan officers numbers and i think i found a decent guy.

1. What should i look out for when shopping for a decent rate? help me out guys.

2. he made it sound like once i stepped foot in the door to try and get approved then we were in business for good, is that binding?

3. how do i shop around for the best rates? Any advice would be great!

4. in this market (nationwide) how much (percentage) can i expect to get off of a house. Lets say theres a house for 200,000 dollars, what should i offer, and what factors should i take into consideration?


Thanks for all the advice in advance guys, Im getting kind of excited to shop for a home. I have to be in contract by mid April to get the 8K.

Thanks Brothers! - Bobby