Home buying...

[He3x]

We've just decided to buy our first house... Of course we have a lot of questions that we hope can get some answers here...

What do you think about online mortgage broker such as quickenloans, lendingtree, e-loan, etc? Any personal experience/recommendations?

Aside from price and location, should we buy new or resale home?

Any of you knows good agent representing buyer in Phoenix metro?

 

[spazntwitch]

We've just decided to buy our first house... Of course we have a lot of questions that we hope can get some answers here...

What do you think about online mortgage broker such as quickenloans, lendingtree, e-loan, etc? Any personal experience/recommendations?

Aside from price and location, should we buy new or resale home?

Any of you knows good agent representing buyer in Phoenix metro?

As far as lendingtree is concerned, I'd stay away from it. I got about a 4% LESS interest rate when I went to my local credit union instead of the online side.

New homes can have just as many problems as resale homes, believe it or not. The bonus is, however, that you won't have to worry about mold damage in a new home. If I could do it again, I'd rebuild but have some clauses with the contractor that delays on his part would make him pay me lost interest.

As far as an agent, I recommend that you have the agent show that he or she can get the job done. By that, I mean you need to ensure that he or she has a lot of customers. We just compared two agents last night (since we are selling) and the one has only listed 2 houses in the past six months, while the other one has listed 66. The one with 66 has sold over 87% of the houses within 32 days -- an awesome stat -- while the other agent hasn't sold either of the two houses. The numbers convinced me who to go with. Of course, you will want an agent who caters to you and has a pleasant personality.

 

[iluvdeals]

Definitely stay away from lendingtree.com. They have purchased homeloancenter.com which is one of the competing lenders. I think there might be some favoritism going on there.

As for the agent, find someone that you can trust.
I don't think the number of customers is really the issue. If they have a lot of clients then you will probably be just another paycheck heading their way. But if there are too little and they are not selling the home then they may not be advertising properly or may not care.

It's probably best to talk to people you know and get a referral.

 

[Kage_]

I 3rd the motion to stay away from Lending Tree. I put a request from them and got back the results. The rate quotes they were giving me were way out of line with a quote I got from a local place. Plus even now 6 months later I still get emails from lenders.

Talk to some of your friends that own homes and ask them about a good mortgage broker in your area.

My wife and I bought our first house about 6 months ago. It was built in the early 70's, but it had a lot of work done to it before we bought it. Personal I would look at preexisting homes. I feel you can get a better value out of preexisting homes than new homes. Also with new homes you will have to buy up celling fans, buy nice fixtures and pretty much anything else that you want upgraded. With preexisting homes, depending on the previous owners, you can find a lot of that has already been done.

If you have any specific questions I'd be glad to help out.

Thanks,

Kage_

 

[Cedar]

sent you a PM have the info for you