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'Advised to Buy New |
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Hi. My wife and I are shopping for houses. We live in north Texas and are shopping some fairly new developments that are in a very undeveloped area. This will be our first home purchase, and we will be moving from an apartment. We have spoken with several builders and a couple of realtors and we seem to be getting a large mix of information, which is causing us some confusion.
For instance, we have been told that it is best for first time buyers to buy a new home rather than a pre-owned one due to the fact that the lenders will often pay the closing costs and the downpayment when using an FHA loan. They, of course, also mentioned the fact that new homes come with warranties to protect the buyer from extra expense down the line. My question is, are these incentives possible or available at all when buying a pre-owned home? We don't have a downpayment saved, so the idea of being able to get into a house without one is very appealing to us. But, we have seen many pre-owned houses advertised for much less than what a new home would cost.
Also, in the case of a newer pre-owned home, are the warranties generally transferrable? Any help on this would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance. |
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I never heard that it's better for first-timers to buy new. Don't pay any attention to agents who tell you that. Find a Realtor who is happy to show you older housing, and then judge for yourselves.
There's nothing wrong with older homes. Of it there is, you'd find out in time, by making your purchase contract subject to a satisfactory report by the home inspector you'd bring in as soon as your offer was accepted. That way if there were anything wrong, you would be alerted to it before the contract became binding.
My husband and I first bought a 50-year-old two-family house in the city, and it gave us a fine start.
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Edith
Originally published on November 29, 2007 |
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