So, Monday my personal life took a sour turn and I'm in need of finding a place to live. I would like to buy a house and never have done it before. I'm extremely cheap. I don't want to waste any money and I'm perfectly fine paying a 30 year fixed mortgage. My assumption is even if I put 5% down on a $185,000 house, I can make larger payments to pay it off sooner. My perspective is if I'm paying $1,100 a month towards a mortgage, that's better than paying $975 to rent a place and have nothing to show for it.

Anyhow, what kind of tidbits can you offer up to this dork?

UPDATE : This is for me probably more than you, lol.
Location : Howard-Suamico School District
Bedrooms : At least two, preferably three or at least a third area that can be used as a room in some capacity.
Garage : Two stall garage, or large garage that the opening can be structurally modified to account for two car door.
Bathrooms : Two would be nice, but if it's one full bathroom and a second toilet, that is perfectly fine.
Yard : Whatever.
Driveway : Paved, not gravel or dirt.
Kitchen : Sink against a wall not on an island.
Interior : Not painted over 20 times.
Exterior : Decent shape or better. No Grapes of the Wrath looking stuff.
Basement : Poured concrete and finished or could be finished.
Central Air : Installed or house priced low enough for one to be installed.

MISC: Must have high-speed internet access. Required for my profession and fixing the website that Wayne breaks.

Why Do I Want To Buy? I would rather spend $1,100 a month towards a mortgage (even if most goes towards interest) than spend $975 a month in rent every month.

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Get a RE agent. Get pre-appoved for the mortgage. Avoid oil heat. If electric, heat pump, but that climate is kind of cold, pay very close attention to HVAC. Brick and block. 3br2ba for appreciation. Worst house in neighborhood vs best house for appreciation. You care about appreciation even if no plans to move because of PMI Slope away from house, but level lot otherwise. Kitchen is usually most important feature. Check crime stats for area. School quality very important for appreciation. Check property taxes for differences. Look at assessment and will it change based on your purchase. Mud room vs basement washer dryer. You can look at FSBO, your agent can handle that if it comes up. 2 car garage if possible.Any question just ask me.. A good agent will guide you through everything and help with the loan, app raisal, inspections, subsequent negotiations, etc. Seller pays for your agent, who represents you by law. A buyers agent.Stay the f away from any flood plain, or any leaky basement, bad roof.Worst time ever to buy new, building materials out of control, new homes priced accordingly right now.

Thanks. You used a lot of abbreviations that have no meaning to me, lol. I do not want an agent. That's an expense I feel comfortable ignoring. I don't want them pushing houses on me. I hate being pushed and I would feel bad for telling them no over and over again.

I know the area I'll be buying in. I know the school district. I know my willing price range is under $190k. The crime is minimal in Howard-Suamico area, so that's no big worry.

Stuff about don't live on swamp land, avoid fireplaces, get one with two bathrooms because the value is higher, etc ... that's the good stuff. I'm also willing to pay to have a 2nd bathroom installed. I'm also handy as heck on repairing and remodeling too so that's something I'm considering. I don't want to "flip" a house, but let's say it has a 2nd toilet, but not full bath. I'm competent enough to complete that into a 2nd full bathroom. The two car garage is also another good standout point.

One of my buddies from when we were kids -- his wife is a real estate agent out in Oregon. I don't know if she can help me in Wisconsin though, lol. She wouldn't be pushy.

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You pay nothing for the RE agent. The seller pays. The buyer agent has a fiduciary responsibility to you, not the seller. If you walk into a transaction unrepresented, you will be dealing with the sellers agent, and not representing your interests. As far as pushy...just do yourself a favor...go talk to an agent and express that concern. That girl you mentioned cannot represent you, but call her. She is going to give you the same advice I am giving.

Kevin, it looks like Dfoster is giving you sound advice.
I don’t know much about this kind of situation, so I’m not qualified to give advice on it.

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If you need a place urgently, I would try to find someplace to rent so that you can take your time finding a place to buy.

Realize also that w/ the bulk of your payments going to interest for the first 10 years, you won't accumulate equity very quickly (not a problem if you stay there longer, but something to keep in mind). What equity you do build will take a hit from sales taxes and realtor fees.

Also, the housing market is red hot right now, so you will be paying a premium.

None of that necessarily means that now is not the right time for you to buy, just things to consider.

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Kevin,

DF is correct. Shocking I know, right? Your real estate agent spits the commission with the selling agent. They also know how to ferret out issues. How long is the furnace? roof? Has there been any issues with the plumbing, stuff like that. The seller has to make statements about the quality of the items in the house. If you ask about them. If something goes wrong and they mislead, they owe for the repairs. If you don't ask, you pay.
As far as a house in the flood plane, it is a lot of places you may not realize. A $190,000 house might need a flood insurance policy. It could cost $3000 a year. I had a guy a few years ago that was in the flood zone but there was no lake, river or even a stream nearby. But when I looked at the map the property had a dry creek bed. A flood zone is one where it might flood every 100 years. He had lived there for about 25 years with no standing water at any time. FEMA still said it was possible. Turns out there was a creek about 3/4 a mile away. If it got out of it banks it was all down hill past his house. I can look up a property for you for you. The real key is a bank is going to require flood insurance for the loan. So you don't need me but I don't want you to put down money and lose it. When I bought my house I stipulated my offer was contingent up approval by my attorney and getting a loan. The gray area is I can get a loan but I will need flood insurance.
Which brings up the point YOU NEED A LAWYER. More than likely it is the biggest investment you will make. Have a professional on your side but you sign your name.
You might be good with your hands but a toilet/sink alone is no good. You need space. Where's it at? If it's off the kitchen then you will need to move a wall to put in a bath. There goes the kitchen. If it's downstairs it doesn't count when you go to resell the house. A finished basement is nice but it doesn't help the resell value very much. (By the way, kitchens and baths are the two biggest items that drive the resell price.) Both are driven by the woman's opinion so you are sort of handicapped there. Your daughter's opinions are useful but they are not the ones making the purchase.
Walkout basements are nice but can lead to water issues. Sky lights lead to water issues. I had one person in the repair business said sky lights are like screen doors on subs. They will leak.
Check the attic. If there are signs of water rings the roof leaked. Maybe not now. maybe 10 - 20 years ago but it did leak. I also recommend having a contractor check things over for you. He will tell you about the furnace, plumbing electrical and so on.
As I am typing this I remember an issue on my parents home. They built it. It is definitely an upscale home. The plumbing hook up has the wrong sized pipe leading from the washing machine to the main line. The guest bath is on that line too. When they wash clothes the discharge water back flows in to the tub. It can be fixed but it will cost about $4-5,000 (Before the 2021 price gouge.) Mom has her own master bathroom and the caregivers use the one in the finished basement so we let it go for now.
When Mom and Dad were signing off with the contractor she had 3 pages on notes of items she wanted corrected first. That was on a new house that they supervised the construction.
Kevin I understand you are a shrug your shoulders you will take care of it kind of a guy. I admire that. You can never be too careful. You have one chance to get it right.

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The two places I've been most interested in thus far are as follows.

Also, why can't this shit all be on one website for houses? Why so many? My goodness.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2578-Tulip-Ln_Green-Bay_WI_54313_M79232-83113 


I like this one the most because it doesn't feel like the neighbors will be creeping while I'm walking around naked in the living room.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/12581-Velp-Ave-Green-Bay-WI-54313/51159288_zpid/ 

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And what I'm gathering from your advice here is now isn't he optimum time to buy a house? I should just rent a shack for a year and hope the market gets favorable for buyers next year?

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I like the metal roof on the Tulip house. More than likely you will never need to replace it. This house is not in the flood zone. It ends about a block or two south of the house in the ACE hardware parking lot near their green houses. Most of the flood zone in south of Glendale Ave. I like the deck even if it needs a little care. You can grill brats before the game. Bathroom looks tiny but it is what it is. Check to see if the mortar in the chimney bricks has cracks or is coming loose. I like on demand water heaters. You don't have to pay to keep reheating the same water over and over again. We had one in my office but it only lasted a few years. I don't know why. Maybe my brother bought a crappy one.

Velp Ave
I like the table/counter against the wall. It makes use of limited space. It may not be but the kitchen looks bigger. Could be tricks of the camera. No a/c upstairs can be brutal but a window unit or two will work.
The flood zone is a long ways away. North of town in the woods off of Bridge rd. Also south of your place across the rd from the Chambers Hills storage units on County HS. I like the larger lot too.

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