How Do You Actually Buy a House?

Think you're ready to buy a house? The path to get from here to there may seem confusing, but once you understand the steps and the people involved, you'll be ready to make your first move!

Two Cents on Twitter: @twocentspbs

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Two Cents was created by Katie Graham, Andrew Matthews, Philip Olson CFP® and Julia Lorenz-Olson and is brought to you by PBS Digital Studios. We love dropping some knowledge on all things personal finance and helping you make better money decisions.

Two Cents is hosted by Philip Olson, CFP® and Julia Lorenz-Olson
Directors: Katie Graham & Andrew Matthews
Written by: Julia Lorenz-Olson & Andrew Matthews
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Produced by: Katie Graham
Edited & Animated by: Andrew Orsak
Images by: Shutterstock
Music by: APM

SOURCES:

[damondominique]

two cents > most high school curriculums

[Yomanjstandbyme]

two CENTS actually answering all the important questions

[jjohnston]

Slight adjustment: "Contratulations. You own a home." should say, "Congratulations. The bank has decided to let you move into its home while you pay them back".

[Iffy]

Read this carefully!!! Do NOT let the bank tell you what home you can afford!! They will lend you more money than you should borrow!

[SJ-icyr]

What's crazy is that you really did turn it into a board game

[rossf]

I just wanted to write to tell you guys that my husband and I just purchased our first home in one of the most difficult markets to buy (Austin TX). I don't think we would have been able to do so without your video as a guide. Just wanted to say thanks for the content, as it has actually helped me and my new family considerably!

[jacobdebernardi]

The underwriter looks like a villain lol

[RuthCuadrado]

Buying a home was the most unnecessarily complicated process in my life. Even with a large down payment and great credit.
Thanks for sharing this.

[Youmuus]

Shop around for your loans btw and have other places beat your current offers can easily go from 4.75% to 4% which is a lot of money on a 30 year loan

[duchi]

*How Do You Actually Buy A House:*
"Give them an offer they can't refuse"
_-Vito Corleone (The Godfather)_

[AGJ]

Things that they should ACTALLY be teaching in school....

[jon_patterson]

Pro tip: find your own home inspector, versus having your agent recommend one. I know, it’s easier that way, but the person your agent recommends is interested more in getting repeat business from your agent... so they’re going to downplay any issues they spot so you’re more likely to buy the house. And your agent is happy because they know every time they recommend said inspector they end up selling a house.

[damiaina]

Make sure you loan officer is a broker not one associated with a specific bank. The can negotiate with more lenders for you for the best rate based on your information.

[sevalle]

As someone who has owned a couple of homes I'd say one big piece of advice is knowing what you want to own...example if you hate yard work then buy a condo or townhouse...an older home doesn't necessarily have "better bones" than a newer home...and for my fellow Veterans out there VA loan is the way to go and if you've already used it once then a 5% down payment brings the fees down as if you're on your first time using it. And lastly even if you don't have kids, look at the rating of the school district as this can have an impact on the value and future value of your home

[kristarichards]

As a realtor, this is great! It explains it so well and I will be sharing this video with my first time homebuyers 😁

[briankelly]

Don't forget to leave a lot of money on hand for painting walls, or what I had to do, replacing sinks. There is always something you don't think of, so just have a cushion of money for it!

[Mariofan]

I used to live in Riverside, California. My dad bought our house @ $250, 000. It was a 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bathroom house with a 3/4 acre land, but after the great recession, we had to foreclose. The house price went down to $70, 000 by 2012.



I wish I was old enough back then to buy a house. 😭

[thomaszabel]

I would love to see more on the real cost of a home before choosing a house to buy. It's fairly easy to calculate a monthly mortgage payment, but adding in things like PMI, homeowners insurance, taxes, higher utilities, repairs needed just to keep the house in shape, etc. Basically things that most renters haven't dealt with or might not take into account. A $2000 mortgage payment may sound do-able with your budget, but there are many other costs that can increase that total monthly amount.

[virgowitch]

Please do a video next, on the costs involved in owning/maintaining a house!

[abigfatman]

Still Seems complicated i think im just gunna live with my parents for another 20 years