House Shopping?

[Rayn13]

We're looking for a house.... I don't really know where to start. We can't afford a realtor so any advice on how to get started?

(we're looking in westminster/broomfield, co)

[Sollie]

Depending on where you are at, there are a lot of online housing lists. Or look in the papers. Or word of mouth. I wish I could help more.

Good luck.

[Against The Tide]

Free listings is where its at. Try Craigslist and similar sites. Not only can you see what people are selling but you can advertise your wants too.

[Rowan MoonDragon]

I'm assuming that you are talking about buying a house? First of all, if you haven't already done so, get prequalified first. It SUCKS when you find the perfect house only to discover that you dont qualify for the loan.

Second, as its been stated, Craigs list is a good place to start or the newspaper, and there are some online listings as well. What Mike and I did was drive around the area where we were interested in moving to. Houses that are for sale generally have the for sale signs in the yard and some of them have pockets with papers that tells you about the house, ie how many bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage and the price. The great thing about driving around is that you can look at the prices of the houses in the neighborhood and get a good idea of what is a good price and what isn't. It also makes for a great day out with the hubby. =O) ialways enjoyed our days together when we drove. We actually would drive around alot of neighborhoods even when we weren't looking so we would have a good idea of the best places to live, the best prices in particular neighboorhoods, etc. it was a lot of fun. If you need any hep, sweets, just ask. good luck!!!

[Rayn13]

Thank you so much!
i'm getting on it. this is the first time i've done this so.... i'm not sure how it works.

I get qualified for a loan and then what?

[Rowan MoonDragon]

Once you get qualified you'll know how much house you can afford. They will tell you that you are qualified for up to a certain amount. After that, you can start looking for a house in your price range. A realtor is a really great idea because they can take you to houses in your price range with your specifications and the area that you are looking in. They can even put you in touch with a bank to help nyou get pre qualified. They actually dont get paid until you buy a house so if you end up not buying a house, they dont get paid at all. What happens is that the listing agent (the agent selling the house) gets a certain commission from the sale of the house. If there is a buying agent, that commission gets split between the 2 agents. There is actually no money out of your pocket. That's why they work really hard for you because they dont make any money until they sell you a house. I highly recommend one because there are alot of things that are needed when you buy a house and they will not allow you to get taken advantage of which can sometimes happen when you dont have a realtor. I highly suggest that you get a realtor, especially since no money comes out of your pocket. If you dont get a realtor, you dont get the money that they are suppose to get so its money that you would never miss. You dont save aything by not having one.