First Time Home Buyer

[Kram]

Whoever said rent first nailed it. There's a negligible chance that prices will increase in a year, and a very good chance they will be less or at least you will have more choice, so you have little to lose.

Your lifestyle and friends will dictate the best area to live. You have no way of knowing the area you want to end up without trying it out for at least a year first. Don't make a huge mistake with hundreds of thousands of dollars by rushing in to a market with little knowledge when it's in decline anyway.

I have lived in 37 addresses in my 38 years in two countries and 6 provinces/states. I can tell you with certainty that the likelihood of you choosing the right area for your lifestyle without living there first is about 1 in 10. And when the time comes to make the call, choose an area first, then choose what you can afford in the area. Don't rent in hipsville and love it, then move to lala land coz that's what you can afford. If you think you must live in lala land, rent again over there first. I regretted my first house purchase. I also have broken a large number of leases to move accross town to areas more suitable for my lifestyle. You would be one lucky s.o.b. to nail it on the first try and live happily ever after.

[KenN]

Originally Posted by switch

Get a good home inspector and verify the report.

Originally Posted by bkoz

How does one verify the report?

Originally Posted by pete

By paying a second home inspector. Geez doesn't that sound dumb.

pete wins!

Just get a good inspector that is NOT a guy recommended by your agent. They will want to get ongoing referrals from your agent, so will be more likely to give a passing grade just to not kill the deal. Go independent, ask around. I used the same guy that couch_surfer recommended and he was super thorough, caught some things that the builder overlooked. Got them all fixed up. Nothing major, but would have led to more maintenance in the long run.

Kn.

[KenN]

Originally Posted by Wernie

maybe read some of the entries on http://www.greaterfool.ca/ and see if you still think it's a good time to buy

While I don't disagree with Garth's musings, much of what he writes is focused on buyers treating a home like an investment vehicle. If one takes investment out of the picture and instead focuses on buying a home for stability and peace of mind, the picture changes considerably.


Kn.

[HIBuLlitT]

Originally Posted by KenN

pete wins!

Just get a good inspector that is NOT a guy recommended by your agent. They will want to get ongoing referrals from your agent, so will be more likely to give a passing grade just to not kill the deal. Go independent, ask around. I used the same guy that couch_surfer recommended and he was super thorough, caught some things that the builder overlooked. Got them all fixed up. Nothing major, but would have led to more maintenance in the long run.

Kn.

Didn't I already say that

Originally Posted by KenN

While I don't disagree with Garth's musings, much of what he writes is focused on buyers treating a home like an investment vehicle. If one takes investment out of the picture and instead focuses on buying a home for stability and peace of mind, the picture changes considerably.


Kn.

Bingo! There are many reasons to buy a house vs renting. Some people don't get a long
with landlords very well, others just want to be able to paint their house whatever color they want.
Others want to work on their cars or do other hobbies not allowed by the landlord, maybe
they want to have a dog, or snake. I owned my first house for over 10 years. I've been
in this one for over 3, I'll probably be here for a few more, unless I find a great place
cheap in Tofino (so I'll probably be here for a while lol).

So, ask yourself, why you want to buy a house. Is it for investment...short or long term...
is it for a castle of your own?

[Adam West]

Originally Posted by hypa

I love this line.



It's the same thing they've been saying since 2005. In fact, if you want a laugh search out "This will not end well" on Garth's archives. Be sure to put aside some time as there are a lot of results.

I think its plateaued. To think it will keep going up at the same rate that it has in the past decade is oblivious.

[hypa]

Originally Posted by Adam West

I think its plateaued. To think it will keep going up at the same rate that it has in the past decade is oblivious.

exactly.
But this Garth clown is all doom and gloom. According to him, it's all going down when in reality the economy will trudge along.
I still want a CTS coupe, while the OP still wants a house. One will fall, and two will take his place.

Also, fucken 'ell, I accidentally deleted my reply!

[bkoz]

Originally Posted by pete

By paying a second home inspector. Geez doesn't that sound dumb.

I mentioned the idea of having an inspector inspect the inspector a couple weeks back to a colleague and got looked at like I had two heads. That's why I asked the question.

[bkoz]

Originally Posted by HIBuLlitT

Didn't I already say that



Bingo! There are many reasons to buy a house vs renting. Some people don't get a long
with landlords very well, others just want to be able to paint their house whatever color they want.
Others want to work on their cars or do other hobbies not allowed by the landlord, maybe
they want to have a dog, or snake. I owned my first house for over 10 years. I've been
in this one for over 3, I'll probably be here for a few more, unless I find a great place
cheap in Tofino (so I'll probably be here for a while lol).

So, ask yourself, why you want to buy a house. Is it for investment...short or long term...
is it for a castle of your own?

Honestly I don't see a lot of upside in the Kamloops r/e market. The prices seem high with not a lot to prop it up other than maybe spill over from the crazy lower mainland prices.

And if I didn't have 3 cats, a larger dog, and the need of a garage buying wouldn't seem so enticing. Plus financially I am sitting pretty good right now.

I am trying not to rush into it. I am looking into having some family watch the animals and storing some of crap so we can find an easier rental. But we will keep looking at houses to buy. Every time we walk into a house we learn something. And the relator we are dealing with has been knowledgeable, patient and non pushy. Thanks again to one of the NSMB board members for the relator recommendation.

[damian]

Originally Posted by bkoz

Honestly I don't see a lot of upside in the Kamloops r/e market. The prices seem high with not a lot to prop it up other than maybe spill over from the crazy lower mainland prices.

And if I didn't have 3 cats, a larger dog, and the need of a garage buying wouldn't seem so enticing. Plus financially I am sitting pretty good right now.

I am trying not to rush into it. I am looking into having some family watch the animals and storing some of crap so we can find an easier rental. But we will keep looking at houses to buy. Every time we walk into a house we learn something. And the relator we are dealing with has been knowledgeable, patient and non pushy. Thanks again to one of the NSMB board members for the relator recommendation.

I will admit that I don't monitor the Kamloops market, but I can tell you with a degree of certainty that Kelowna will get much cheaper in the coming years. I would be surprised if the Kamloops market was any different.

That being said, life doesn't wait, so if you need to buy for personal reasons, buy something that you can really afford, not something that you can afford right now.

[butler]

Bi weekly mortgage payments and dont pay your property tax in with the mortgage payment. Save the money each month and pay it off. Bi weekly payments will knock a few years off the mortgage.

[Duncan]

Originally Posted by bkoz

Honestly I don't see a lot of upside in the Kamloops r/e market.

I was in Kamloops a few years ago and mused about selling my place in North Van, moving the family out, buying a nice place in Kamloops and having a decent kitty of money put away. I looked at the asking prices in Kamloops, and I really wasn't persuaded that Kamloops was a big bargain, or that I would be substantially better off given the location, amenities and job opportunities. I mean, if you have a great, secure, well-paying job and you love everything about Kamloops and environs, that's great. But I wasn't tempted at all. I thought it was overpriced too, from the prespective of 10+ years in the N Van market.

Originally Posted by damian

I will admit that I don't monitor the Kamloops market, but I can tell you with a degree of certainty that Kelowna will get much cheaper in the coming years.

Didn't someone describe Kelowna as having "the amenities of a small town with all the problems of a big city."

[switch]

Kelowna also has the problems of a small town.

Duncan, a nice place in Kamloops is going to be about 40 to 50 percent of a place in this area. That's a lot of extra cash. My (probably weak) argument against it is that if you stayed in Vancouver from 40 to 50, and your $400K place doubled to $800K, you'd have a lot more equity than the Kamloops home that doubled from $200 to $400K. In other words, there's a reason that people are retiring all over the province, especially on Vancouver Island.

[Bushman]

dont buy...not here....not now.

Tungsten enters stage right.....

[go-t]

Originally Posted by Bushman

dont buy...not here....not now.

Tungsten enters stage right.....

Why would anybody listen to advice from the idiot in his parents basement spewing conspiracy theories?

[XXX_er]

Originally Posted by switch

Kelowna also has the problems of a small town.

Duncan, a nice place in Kamloops is going to be about 40 to 50 percent of a place in this area. That's a lot of extra cash. My (probably weak) argument against it is that if you stayed in Vancouver from 40 to 50, and your $400K place doubled to $800K, you'd have a lot more equity than the Kamloops home that doubled from $200 to $400K. In other words, there's a reason that people are retiring all over the province, especially on Vancouver Island.

K-town was nice in the 80's but nowadays it seems like one big strip mall

It might be tougher for an established guy with a growing 2 income FAM to cash-out of Van just to take advantage of home equity in what possibly could be an RE bubble but its a real good idea for the retired person or maybe the young person with nothing