Home buying resources?

[spotty_dog]

We're buckling down to do our research on the subject of buying our first home. Any good references? Books, articles, websites -- lemme have 'em!

[SuzySunshine]

Ooh, I gave my books to my sister, I'll send her an e-mail and get the titles. We really liked both of them.

I think that articles on Smartmoney.com and Kiplinger.com are good.

The Fool has good stuff too (scroll down past the ads).

http://www.fool.com/homecenter/homecenter.htm?source=LN

http://www.kiplinger.com/personalfinanc ... index.html

Home buying primer:
http://www.smartmoney.com/home/buying/i ... ory=primer

Tips for first time buyers:
http://www.smartmoney.com/consumer/inde ... y=20020531

Moving expense deduction:
http://www.smartmoney.com/home/buying/i ... =movingexp

[DCJenn]

Talk to your bank or banks and get their information, too.

I believe that several people here have used the physicians loans from SunTrust and from Bank of America. If you have any way to get linked to USAA, they have a great information section. (It's a military-oriented bank)

Jenn

[Auspicious]

Thanks for starting this thread, Alison, and for posting those resources, Nellie. We are just starting this, too, and I mostly have negative feelings about it--oddly it seems simultaneously terrifying and boring and I'm not very motivated to own, although I know we should if we can.

And my husband leaves Sunday for his six weeks in Kenya, so I won't have his help (although my sainted parents have already jumped in and been helpful with info and encouragement).

Oh, and there's been a big shakeup at work, so I don't have the time to devote to this that I would like.
[/whining]

I welcome any comments on whether we are on the right track here:

So, my parents put us in touch with a realtor they know, and the realtor told us to talk to a lender for pre-approval, and gave us contact info for three lenders he's worked with, all of whom look local. I feel like the first thing we need to do is check out the physician loan programs, then talk to the three lenders and see if they have any comparable offers, then tell the realtor what lender we've decided to work with and how much we're pre-approved for and how much we actually want to spend. OK so far?

Ignorant question #1: Just poking around on the main website for Bank of America or Wachovia, I don't see any info about their physician loan programs. We have gotten postcards, etc, from individual account executives or whatever from those institutions regarding physician loans and we can find them on google, but those individuals don't seem to be based in the Chicago area. Does this matter? Should we find someone based where we're buying? Should we contact the person who sent us the postcard?

At the husband's financial aid exit interview they told them about the physican loan programs and told them to watch out for scams, but they didn't say what form these scams take. Ugh.

I obviously need to read more about this, I realize. And stop freaking out.

[spotty_dog]

Cheri, I look forward to getting those titles, thanks!

Nellie, I should have thought to go to fool and kiplinger. I printed the Home Buying Primer, thanks!

[DCJenn]

Julie-

those loans are NEVER advertised on the websites. You need to talk to the mortgage department, and if they say they've never heard of such a thing, ask to speak to a supervisor. Some of the newer employees don't do them so don't know about them.

Our friends in San Antonio were very happy with Bank of America.

Jenn

I think that sounds OK so far. Calling the three lenders and just talking to them to see if you like them is a good place to start. The pre-approval goes fast. If you don't have it, you probably need to know your husband's salary as a resident. If you parents had a realtor to recommend, do they have a lender or know someone to ask? If you want someone local, they might match or meet the physician loan offer (I don't know what is offered because we never pursued that). Being pre-approved will help because you will know what you can afford and it makes an offer stronger. Keep in mind that you might get approved for more than what you really want to pay every month.

As to the scams, I'm guessing they are referring to the loan refinancing scams and not the home loans. DH gets mail about once a month that tries to look official about his loan payments being due or needing to "take immediate action" "only chance to refinance before rates go up" or some crap like that. Unless it is from Direct Loans, he ignores it. I don't think we have received physician home loan stuff, lots of credit card offers, but no home loans.

[spotty_dog]

Thanks Jenn, we do have a USAA connection and we get our auto insurance through them!

Julie, here's one of the BoA mortgage guys: http://mortgagesforphysicians.com/

We got an ad from SunTrust about physician home loans and are trying to contact them; we've also already contacted Washington Mutual with whom DH officially has an account history dating back to 1989!

We figured we'd have a pre-approval in hand before contacting realtors; the residency program is sending us information about lenders, realtors, and neighborhoods as well.

Julie - my only advice is DO NOT use LaSalle. It's Chicago based (where you're going, right?), but they are the NIGHTMARE of mis-communication that nearly killed me last summer. I know all mortgages tend to have some degree of clusterf*@k associated with them .... but this was truly a nightmare (not sure we actually had a loan / house until we AND OUR STUFF was en route to KC). Much info can be found in the archives from me on this one.

Along the lines of what Jenn is saying....be vigilant about looking over all the papers for your loan and closing statements.

I didn't have anywhere near the problems she did (thank goodness!) but we had an error on our loan amount (easily corrected) and errors with our closing statements (not as easily corrected). Besides the loan issue, we didn't have any problems with the title company on the house we purchased -- just the one we sold. You need to double check all of it, including the legal description of the property. Fixing it after the fact is much harder and after they have their fees, they aren't as interested in helping you. I asked to see corrections back to me before the closing despite their promise that it would be right at closing -- good thing because it wasn't always corrected. It took two tries to get my name spelled correctly on our first house.

[SuzySunshine]

Ok, finally got the titles. They are both by Robert Irwin, Tips & Traps when buying a home and Tips & Traps when mortgage hunting. They are both good books to read and then use as references in my opinion.

Good luck!

[spotty_dog]

Thanks Cheri, I've just reserved a bunch of Robert Irwin books! And got one as an eBook to read now!