[Schneed10]

I can hit you with the financial advice piece, that falls into my area of expertise. Experts generally say your mortgage payment (including escrow for taxes and insurance) shouldn't go higher than 35% of your NET income. My wife and I got married when we were 24 and bought a house right afterwards. At the time, the payment represented 34% of our income. At that level, we were able to save for retirement, pay bills and student loans comfortably, and take the occasional trip. We didn't have children at the time, which should be taken into account. (But I don't think you have kids yet, do you, SGG?) After 3 years, our income has risen, so now we're supporting a young'n and are comfortable with the size of the mortgage payment.

We had a buyer's agent, all she really did was keep an eye out for properties coming fresh onto the market. She also provided info about the whole process, which was good for us as first time buyers not knowing squat. Buyers' agents only make like 1% commission from the sale, so their incentive is to not spend too much time with you, because they could be putting their efforts into selling a house which gets them 5 or 6% commission. So they'll tend to urge you to bid higher on a house you like, just to increase the chances of pushing a deal through. The key for you is to set a price YOU are comfortable paying for the house, and offer that amount, regardless of what your buyer agent says. If the sellers don't like the offer, so be it, but at least you didn't pay more than you were comfortable.

It's generally a good idea not to go with the home inspector that comes recommended by the agents (either buying or selling). Those inspectors have relationships with the agents. All agents want to do is push transactions through quickly; if the inspector is willing to downplay problems with the house, it increases the chances that the transaction will go through. And if the inspector does this for the agent, the agent will feed the inspector more business. This is not always the case, some of these inspectors are reputable. But it's best to find a guy who comes well recommended from friends to do the inspection, and tell your agent to go to hell with whoever they're suggesting.

A few things when you're looking at a house:

- If the house has smells of dampness/must anywhere, DO NOT BUY under any circumstances. Where there is a damp/musty smell, there is ALWAYS mold damage. At age 24, I made this mistake. Last year we discovered rampant mold damage and had to replace all the plywood and 2x4 framing around the side of the house.

- Try to look for houses that are landscaped in such a way to grade water away from the side of the house. It reduces the chances of a flooded basement. Have your inspector look hard for evidence of previous basement flooding. Having a wet basement is a major inconvenience.

- While you're looking for the house, don't be afraid to turn on all the faucets, showers, lightswitches, and flush the toilets. You are familiar with your own pet peeves regarding a house; those little things may not seem like a big deal during the buying process, but over time they'll bother you big time. If you really hate weak flushing toilets for example, or low water pressure in your shower, check for it.

Long post, sorry. Good luck.