i didn't.

I have a 10 year home warranty. My situation with it is different though b/c my husband & I bought in a brand new community. We bought the house sight unseen since it was still dirt on land w/only a stick to mark where our house would be. The builder & company automatically gave us a 10 year warranty on the house which so far has been a good thing since we've found a few minor things in the house that needed to be fixed. With the warranty, we didn't have to pay for the repairs b/c it's part of the contract.

Way back when On this thread I stated I bought a Duplex. Tenants pay for it!

Get a good one!

Mine is one of the best Laid Out I have ever seen!

But normaly they have grass and Mine has a Big Yard!:mad:

Yes, we got one. Our realtor paid for it, for one year, as her gift to us. I wouldn't have gotten a warranty on our own, but it's come in handy. We're new to the area, & getting referrals isn't always easy..

I believe our warranty is with First American? I'm not @ home, so I'm not really sure..

But I DID decide to renew it. It was cheap enough & has already paid for itself. each service call only costs us $45; if I'd call a contractor independently, it would cost more. Most recently, I called for pest control - total bill would've come to ~$150

Ditto the MD advice for northern VA. I rent a condo for $1300/mo. Similar units in my building are selling for $350k+... for a 2 br/2ba apartment! Craaaaazyyyy!

Re: Homeowner's Insurance
 

Because if something happened to your house (say a fire) the land would likely still be there and that is the value for that. Make sense?

BUT, you want to make sure your policy covers replacement of the house, no matter the cost. If it costs more then the value of the house to rebuild it, you could end up screwed. Ask your agent to be sure. Mine gives a dollar amount but also clearly says that it will cover replacement of the house.

yep, bought a townhouse last year.

Re: Re: Re: Homeowner's Insurance
 

Good luck with your closing! Mine was a nightmare that I hope never to repeat again.

My advice for closing is that you don't look at the one number that includes all the principal and interest that you'll pay over the life of the loan. It will make you break into a sweat. Just close your eyes and sign that paper. It's too overwhelming to see it all at once.

I'm so glad this thread exists. I'm currently searching for a condo. I renewed my lease for one more year in order to give myself time to save more money and condo-hunt patiently.

I saw two complexes last Saturday. One of them did not offer 1BR/1BA with attached garages. The other one did, but it was almost sold out to developers.

I do need to have a home inspection, possibly go through a realtor, and find a lender.

So many things to take into consideration.

And also be prepared to sign your name on five million different pieces of paper.

Anyone here do mortgages? I'm buying a place for about $150K with no money down. I'm going in on an 80/20 loan (to avoid PMI) with a 6.8 fixed on the 80 and around a 10 on the 20. Is that about the going rate? We're hoping to get a contract on the house this week before I leave for my honeymoon.

That sounds about right. I work for a mortgage company, but I'm not a consultant. But all of the marketing pieces I see and send out show rates in the mid 6s to low 7s, depending on where you are.

Speaking of condos and apartments, what the heck is the difference? My impression of a condo is an apartment that you buy and pay HOA dues. And apartment is something you rent and generally just as a carport or something. I have been looking for rental properties because my bf and I are no where near close to buying a house and management companies are listing condos AND apartments for rent. WTF? Aren't they the same thing? Especially around here where all the condos are all "condo conversions."

So what's the perk of getting a "real condo?" You still share a wall or ceiling or floor right?

I may be completely wrong about this, but I'm pretty sure the difference is that with an apartment the entire building is owned by one person/management company but with a condo, each unit in the building is owned by a seperate person. The building that my condo is in has units that are rented out to people and units, like mine, which are owner occupied. the benefit to this may be that it is in better condition, recently remodeled etc since the owner has to only worry about one unit instead of many.