Help!! Im buying my first home and Im looking for some advice. Do's and dont's

Hi Adam! If the house smells like pee, it is in the carpet, padding and in the sub-flooring as well. You may need to replace all of that. I am a realtor. If there was a flood, it would smell mildewy or moldy, not like pee. You should ask any question that comes to mind. If it does not sound right or feel right, believe me, there are plenty of houses out there! It's entirely a buyers market out ther now and you are in the driver's seat! Good luck! I see this was 4 months ago. Perhaps you have already purchased a home. I'd be anxious to see how it went.

Hi Adam, If you have a real estate agent worling with you then he/she should advice you and do all the research for yousince they got paid for to do it. You should be informed with all the expected outcomes from buying a foreclosure. There are lots of things needed to be researched before you go ahead and make offer on the foreclosure. You need to do your homework ( of course if you are working with an agent, he/she should be able to help you with these information since they have access to the sources unless they are not specialized in foreclosures. You have to check with title company to see what is status of the owner's title? Is this same name on title as on the deed? Is there any liens? any lawsuits against the owner? how many owners on the title? How many loans are borrowed against the property? The risk of buying any foreclosure is greater than you thought. You can't inspect the house before you buy. The owner has the right to redeem the house after 2 years. If you do any improvements on the house and the owner wants to get his home back you will not be reimbursed any money on your improvement. Foreclosured houses are bought by buyers through Realtors must be used as primary residences. The investors who are buying the foreclosures, they have experiences and know how to get the deal that bring them lots of profit. The rule is never buy more than 65% of the value of the house. If you are first home buyer and you have never had any experienced with foreclosures, my advice is not to taking that risk and loose your money. And one more thing, to buy foreclosures you have to pay cash. Do you know how it works? I don't want to take over your agent's work so you can ask your agent that question so he/she can help you.

I am on my third home currently. Gosh, I don't remember what questions I asked when I bought my first home. I was more concerned about getting a home in a good school district and I wanted to know how much the taxes are. Oh also being that my first house was old (42 years old) I wanted to know if the house had lead paint. I had an 18 month old at the time and I was concerned about the lead. You can have someone inspect for that. We had an inspector come and test to see if everything was in working order (boiler, washer, dryer, faucets etc. and to see if the home had termites. I am not experienced in buying a foreclosure. I thought those are as is purchases meaning you must take it in any condition it is in. Are you planning on living in it or just fixing it up for resale?

I don't know a great deal about buying houses yet. What I do know is that if the house smells you can probably get it at an even cheaper price.

This was initially posted two weeks ago... did you end up getting the foreclosure or are you still looking for some tips?

Adam, If you've never purchased a home before a buyer agent would really be a big help to you. Is the agent you are working with representing you or the seller? They can help walk you through the process, give you analysis of the value of the homes you are looking at in addition to the comparable market values of homes in the neighborhood. I have some free tips for buyers on my website - if you are interested, feel free to take a look.