We're shopping for our first house. We have a modest but reliable
income that doesn't depend on our location, so we're looking in
Kentucky, because it's famous for being a nice low-cost place to live.
Be we could just as easily look in Missouri or Oklahoma or anywhere in
the USA. We definitely want to remain in the USA, for reasons
unrelated to real estate, so Costa Rica etc. are out of the question.

I have questions about buying a house, and am not sure where to get
the answers.

My first question is where to look. Is Kentucky really the best place
for people who can live anywhere and just want to get the best place
for the least money? And where in Kentucky should we be looking? We
would like a fenced yard for our kids, and we would like reliable low
cost broadband internet access. If necessary we could live without
broadband and just get more than one phone line for dialup, but of
course we would strongly prefer broadband if possible. I assume
broadband would not be available in most "country" locations, so it
might be a hard choice between a bigger cheaper country place vs a
city house with broadband.

My second question is how to shop for a mortgage. We can pay a big
down payment, such as 30%, but we don't have good credit. Our credit
might be good enough to qualify for a high-interest mortgage, but what
we want is to leverage our big down payment to get a low-interest
mortgage.

Actually, our down payment is big only relative to the size of
mortgage we would want. We're looking for a relatively cheap house,
which is what really makes our down payment big.

My third question, is about mortgage calculators, such as the one at
bankrate.com, which tell you how much your monthly payments will be,
etc. Those don't take credit scores into account. How much your
monthly payments will be obviously depends on your credit score. The
mortgage calculators seem to assume you have perfect credit. Where
can I find one that takes credit scores into account?

My 4th question, which would become relevant once we find a house
we're interested in, is how to shop for a real estate lawyer, assuming
we need one. From reading this newsgroup I get the impression that in
most eastern states real estate transactions are normally done with
real estate lawyers, and that in a lot of western states they're
normally done by escrow companies instead of lawyers. I assume
Kentucky is an eastern state, so I would need to shop for a good real
estate lawyer. I get the impression that the competence and honesty
of the real estate lawyer is a major factor in how successful the real
estate transaction will be. So how do I shop for a competent and
honest real estate lawyer? And how much should I expect to pay? Also
how much should I expect to pay the appraiser, the inspector, etc.?
Where can I find a summary of such costs?

Kentucky seems to have a huge number of FSBO's. It seems like we
shouldn't get any brokers or agents involved if we end up buying any
FSBO, because brokers or agents could be harmful to FSBO transactions,
not only by charging commissions, but also by imposing restrictions,
and possibly annoying the seller, causing us to lose the transaction.

In article ,
wrote:

My first question is where to look. Is Kentucky really the best place
for people who can live anywhere and just want to get the best place
for the least money?

It all depends on what you are looking for. If it is minimizing
income taxes, there are states with no income tax. If you make
a lower income, that doesn't matter much, and a state with low
sales tax might be better. If it truely doesn't matter, check
out Kansas or South Dakota--they are offering incentives for
people to move there, such as $1 building lots. Kansas especially
has a lot of abandoned and low cost real estate.

My second question is how to shop for a mortgage. We can pay a big
down payment, such as 30%, but we don't have good credit. Our credit
might be good enough to qualify for a high-interest mortgage, but what
we want is to leverage our big down payment to get a low-interest
mortgage.

The typical way to shop for a mortgage is visit a few banks,
lenders, and mortgage brokers. You first want to get pre-qualified.
That will tell you what you can afford, what range to shop in, and
what the payments will be. Once you make an offer, you go and
apply for the loan at the place that had the best deal for you.

With 30% down, you may be able to get a low-doc or no-doc loan.
Some of these loans, such as a stated-income loan, do not look
at your credit history. I am used to these loans being more in
the 40% down area, so you may have to save a little more for the
down payment.

My third question, is about mortgage calculators, such as the one at
bankrate.com, which tell you how much your monthly payments will be,
etc. Those don't take credit scores into account. How much your
monthly payments will be obviously depends on your credit score. The
mortgage calculators seem to assume you have perfect credit. Where
can I find one that takes credit scores into account?

No--credit score has nothing to do with your payment. Credit score
will affect getting approved for a mortgage, and it will impact that
interest rate you get. Once you get an interest rate nailed down,
you can use one of these calculators to estimate your mortgage
amortization.

My 4th question, which would become relevant once we find a house
we're interested in, is how to shop for a real estate lawyer, assuming
we need one. From reading this newsgroup I get the impression that in
most eastern states real estate transactions are normally done with
real estate lawyers, and that in a lot of western states they're
normally done by escrow companies instead of lawyers.

Your real estate agent or Realtor can help you there. What is
traditional varies by state. If the transaction is relatively
stright-forward, you can do it without having an attorney
represent you. Make sure that you get title insurance.

Kentucky seems to have a huge number of FSBO's. It seems like we
shouldn't get any brokers or agents involved if we end up buying any
FSBO, because brokers or agents could be harmful to FSBO transactions,
not only by charging commissions, but also by imposing restrictions,
and possibly annoying the seller, causing us to lose the transaction.

I feel just the opposite. From the questions that you are asking, I
see you as a relative novice. It is essential that you have an agent
working for you. It really costs you nothing since an agent is going
to help avoid some of the problems you might get into, and will likely
help you get a batter deal.

FSBO's are a mess. It is normally people who have a mess of a house,
some big problem with the house, or something unusual that makes a
traditional sale difficult. This is exactly the time and place
where you need an agent the most. Most FSBO's screw themselves because
they think they can sell for a little less since there is no commission
to pay. But all buyers come in, and subtract the commission a 2nd time.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

You can look at crime rate stats for various areas. Also taxes. And if you
have kids, look at school report cards.

Also weather. Snow/sunshine/rain - year round temperatures, etc.

Cost of homes in area. Cost of living in area.

The scenery and things to do in area. Do you want to look at trees and
forest? Desert? Mountains? What do you like to do in spare time? Camping -
campgrounds nearby? Fishing? Etc.

Might want to drive around the country before deciding. Visit the areas
which are good for crime rate, weather, and cost of housing.

"Bill" writes:

You can look at crime rate stats for various areas. Also taxes. And if you
have kids, look at school report cards.

Also weather. Snow/sunshine/rain - year round temperatures, etc.

Cost of homes in area. Cost of living in area.

The scenery and things to do in area. Do you want to look at trees and
forest? Desert? Mountains? What do you like to do in spare time? Camping -
campgrounds nearby? Fishing? Etc.

Might want to drive around the country before deciding. Visit the areas
which are good for crime rate, weather, and cost of housing.

Yup. Think hard about your lifestyle, and that of your kids a few
years down the road, too. Are there amenities other than a fenced
yard and high-speed internet that are important to you? E.g., a
walkable neighborhood and/or public transportation, a good public
library in the community, an ice rink or golf course, etc? Would you
rather live in a small town or a suburb of a bigger city or in a
completely rural area? Even if you don't have to commute to work, how
far are you willing to drive to a supermarket or shopping mall or
video rental store? Besides the quality of the schools, are there
after-school activities for the kids? Make a list of the things
you're looking for.

The climate and scenery issues will help you narrow down the search to
specific geographic areas. Kentucky looks nice, with hills and trees,
but it gets quite hot and muggy there in the summer. Would you rather
live somewhere with a drier climate, or where you can ski in the
winter, or where it stays warm year-round?

One thing I would suggest: even once you've narrowed it down to a city
or region where you want to live, don't jump in and buy a house until
you've lived there for a while. For one thing, it's very hard to
house-hunt long distance or when you can't take the time to shop
around. Actually living there will give you a better feel for the
neighborhoods, and you'll be less likely to make mistakes by investing
in a property in a lousy part of town. It's also possible that you
might change your mind about what your "ideal" location might be.

-Sandra

My first question is where to look. Is Kentucky really the best place
for people who can live anywhere and just want to get the best place
for the least money? And where in Kentucky should we be looking? We
would like a fenced yard for our kids,


I have lived in Kentucky, among other places. Although I don't know
your budget, the towns outside of Lexington (like Georgetown) are nice.


But this new book might help you, too:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...y_x.htm?ord=15

-Steven-

1. KY is fine, if you want to live cheaply and not have super-harsh
winters.

2. You should only put 20% down if you're short on money. Also, you
oughta focus on how much you want to spend. Here's a house with 3 BR, 2
bath in Somerset for 55k: http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1056018482

3. No. If you're FICO is that bad (and you oughta find out now, not
later), add a couple percent and see what that does. 20% down on the
house above at a crappy 9% rate gives a payment (principle and
interest) of a whopping $353. Note that if you do a loan under about
70-80k, it's a percent more cause that's a small amount nowadays.

4. Sheesh you worry a lot. Find a lawyer somewhere around where you
want to move, look in the phone book for real estate lawyers if you
can. They're all the same, over-priced and semi-interested. For a
lawyer to look the offer over and prevent total screwage, a few
hundred. Appraisals are a few hundred. Inspectors are a few hundred.

Your last paragraph - I think you're overthinking this. You are not
gong to move to KY and plop into some amazing FSBO situation. The US
is chock full of people who want to "get you a deal" - I suggest going
the traditional route and assume that realtors and other people exist
for a purpose, though they do cost a lot of money.

Finally - why not move someplace and RENT ? Make sure you want to live
there. Give your finances a break. Much simpler and if you don't like
the area, you're only stuck for a year's lease.

This is quite possibly the dumbest post I've ever seen here, and that's
saying a lot.


Dimitri

John A. Weeks III wrote:
It all depends on what you are looking for. If it is minimizing
income taxes, there are states with no income tax. If you make
a lower income, that doesn't matter much, and a state with low
sales tax might be better. If it truely doesn't matter, check
out Kansas or South Dakota--they are offering incentives for
people to move there, such as $1 building lots. Kansas especially
has a lot of abandoned and low cost real estate.

There are reasons that those states have a lot of abandoned property
and need to bribe people to move in you know...