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bruce drake
08-27-2006, 05:46 PM
:coffee: Well guys,

My Wife and I have taken the big step. We are officially on the search for a new home. Our boys are growing up and we are definitely outgrowing the current apartment. I plan to use my VA Loan and proceed from there. I already have my Certificate of Eligibility and have been pre-approved for an ungodly amount on the loan. We have already decided that we'll limit our purchase to the basic home and save our pennies for the bigger house when I retire from the Army in a dozen years or so.

We stopped into an open house today for a house we have had our eye on and it was nice to see my wife being as interested as I am in getting a house. I even have my wife's friends involved in the search. Its funny to get phone calls from several women with houses close to thier's that are on the market.

Right now, my plan is to have the house before winter sets in here in upstate New York (that probably gives me 60-75 days on the outside.) although I don't care when I move as long the house is settled before I deploy to Iraq next summer.

Has anyone else recently gone through the VA process and is there any surprises in store for me using this approach?

Bruce[smilie=w:

HTRN
08-27-2006, 06:56 PM
1) Zoning. The less restrictions the better. Find out what you have to do to put up a permanent outbuilding. You're gonna wan a puttering/reloading/casting shed eventually, if not immediately.
2) Neighbors - the farther away the better. You don't wan to hear them complain, and you don't want to hear them play loud music at 3 AM.
3) Location. - think about things as devasting as flooding, and as mundane as where the local grocery store is. Is the driveway a real steep hill? What isn't so bad now becomes a terror come February with ice and snow.
4) Schools - check out the local schools. The public ones may be bad, and private ones expensive.

No doubt there's more, but that's off the top of my head.


HTRN

Bass Ackward
08-27-2006, 08:31 PM
Has anyone else recently gone through the VA process and is there any surprises in store for me using this approach?

Bruce[smilie=w:


Bruce,

Make sure the house qualifies. Some houses won't. And if you get your heart set on something and later ..... well you get the picture. Rules like you can't have a bathroom right off the dining room disqualifies a house for VA funding. And if a new one, the contractor had to have things approved prior or jump through hoops afterwards. Most get down on the paperwork and decide not to sell to you. Stuff like that. But an inspector will have to come in and certify the house.

We tried to buy several here in SW Pa and had to buy a new house. By the time everything was added up to make the older homes meet standards, the repairs exceeded the price of the house. What I am trying to say is that they will take care of ya in case you miss something. No problems if you are near a base because these rules are understood.

NVcurmudgeon
08-27-2006, 08:50 PM
Avoid property owners associations, and read CCRs carefully. It would be the pits if you were prevented from doing what you want with your hard-earned house.

P.S. Thanks for your service, without you none of us would have the right of being secure in our homes.

bruce drake
08-28-2006, 03:31 PM
CCRs?

I'm all about staying away from POAs. Have a brother-in-law that actually had a limited selection of colors for his house and its trim and what shrubs he could put in his yard due to a tight-butt POA. They ended up selling their house due to the outrageous fees they were sent for things like lawn spraying ( they believe in organics so that wasn't happening on thier lawn) and snow removal. They were billed for snowplowing their last winter there even though he has a plow on his truck and often was the only one plowing in the neighborhood.

Bruce

P.S. Looked at our third house today. So far we have a A house, a B house and a Oh My God a F- house (amazing what some realtors can hide in their display pictures). We have three left on our short list before we think about narrowing down to "THE HOUSE" The A House has an attached one car garage and a completed basement workshop. The B house has a two car garage and a finished attic but its 40 years older than the other. I won't even discuss the F- except to say the neighbors killed the house before we even got inside which confirmed its grade.

bruce drake
08-31-2006, 07:51 PM
:-D Well.

We are committed pending the VA inspection Tuesday Morning. We put an offer down on the A House and it was accepted this morning. After the Inspection I have an appointment with my Mortgage Broker Tuesday Afternoon.

I was worried that the seller wouldn't bite on the offer as I was 10K lower than what he was asking and I also asked for a new roof (my local roofer quotes were saying about 5K on that).

Turns out after talking to my potential neighbors that the seller had just bought a new house in Texas and was paying two notes for the last six months. I think I got him at the right time as he agreed to the lower price as well as the new roof. Unless the 5 year old furnace blows up between now and closing I think I've got a deal (I'm also purchasing a Home Warranty to cover the furnace while I am deployed in case it dies this winter or next.)

Here is the listing.
http://www.nnymls.com/public/search/advanced/summary.asp?Listing_ID=74527

Click on the photos to enlarge the pictures.

I expect to close by Mid-October barring any Lawyer delays.

Bruce

Herb in Pa
08-31-2006, 09:54 PM
Looks like you got your $'s worth to me.

Lee
09-01-2006, 12:48 AM
Congrats! Now save/find/keep/steal about $750 on the side somewhere. About three weeks after you move in, the water heater WILL take a crap. Or something like that. Trust me. It happens. Be ready for it. If it does, you're prepared. If it doesn't...........wellll....... you've got $750 to go buy a new toy......Lee:)

bruce drake
09-01-2006, 08:24 PM
Lee,

I'm hoping to divert that need with the Home Warranty with a very low deductible ($500). Considering the expected date of closure, I think any remaining money left over from this purchase will be singled out by my dear wife for Xmas presents for the children.

I have a project rifle in the works right now: a 7.62x39 Mauser that I've been toying with for a few months. I'm looking forward to declaring her a lead-only rifle once she is burped out of the Smith's shop. I'm thinking of a 170gr 311291 under a caseful of powder will be nice deer medicine.

Bruce

bruce drake
09-06-2006, 11:02 AM
Folks,

THe Home Inspection went as expected yesterday and the mortgage paperwork is completed. We are waiting on the VA Appraiser to confirm that we are getting the house below market value and then its just a matter of waiting for the lawyers to cross the tees.

The wife gets what she wants and I get a basement workshop and half a garage to work out of. I intend to do my reloading in the basement and my casting in the garage. But then again, I expect my Honey-Do list to triple shortly :) so my casting/reloading/shooting time may suffer.

Bruce

9.3X62AL
09-06-2006, 12:31 PM
That home would be at least $400,000 where I live. Ya did good, sir--and CONGRATULATIONS!

bruce drake
10-10-2006, 06:52 AM
Gents,

House is bought! Family and reloading/casting gear is moved and we are currently living out of boxes while we are unpacking. The silver stream may have to wait a few weekends until the immediate honey-dos are completed.

more to follow as the joys of home ownership develop....(1500 in home appliances on Saturday and 1200 in furntture on Sunday.)

Bruce

fatnhappy
10-10-2006, 10:11 AM
It cost me $1200 for hardwood refininshing, $1600 for furniture, and $1000 for painting. Toss in another $300 to move, and $300 to wet the thirst and feed the help.....

Welcome to the club. Now that you're poor, just think of the equity.

BTW, is Arsenal street Rt 3? It's been awhile since I've cut through Watertown on the secondary roads.

Dean

bruce drake
10-10-2006, 12:34 PM
Dean,

Yep, Rte 3 is Arsenal Street. My house is a block and a half from the City Park. Looking forward to the kids using the sledding hill this year.

Bruce

dk17hmr
10-11-2006, 01:35 PM
$5K for a roof...how big is the roof. My boss and I do roofing jobs the last one was a 4/12 pitch about 30 square with 4 valley that was only a $3500 job, that was with a tear off. That is here in MI though I am sure its different in NY.

bruce drake
10-11-2006, 02:49 PM
Doug,

I've got 2150sq ft to cover. She's a big house with a 1 1/2 car garage/carriage house attached. And yes NY is expensive to live in in certain areas although the North Country here is a little better than the communist south.

Bruce

bruce drake
12-23-2006, 09:32 PM
It's been a long time since I purchased the house but this weekend was the first time I've had a chance to set the equipment up and pour a few bullets. Home ownership certainly takes up your time!

I'll post another topic based off today's casting session so we can retire this thread.

Bruce