Need help with brand-new house

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In two years, I should have enough money saved for a house because of all the overtime I'm getting (55-60 hour weeks). My town is building brand-new houses in a development. I want to buy one of those, but I don't know what the process is like. All I know so far is that I need to get a mortgage approval, select a lot, and put down a deposit. What else do I have to do?

Once you have found the mortgage pre-approval it is time to go out there and look at the different builders in your town new development. It is often a great idea to visit the model homes for it is often possible to see the layouts in question and better ascertain the finishes used by the firm in question. That’s how you find out what you like here!

After you select a lot and make your initial payment, you then move and sign a sales and construction contract with the builder. That is when it hits the real…whatever you want to call it. You may likely select some of your finishes such as flooring and colours of paints, which is rather exciting. But, for the reminder just ensure that you conduct final check up just before closing to ensure that everything is in order. It is also helpful to have a real estate agent who can give a briefing about new builds, it is much easier to engage their services and discuss with them about what you want and they can definitely help you out in the negotiation process also

Retain a good building inspector, one that is recommended to you by someone you respect.

It may cost a lot, but it will be worth it.

An experienced pro can tell whether a house is well-constructed or not.

I hired one before buying the house I'm in right now. He missed some stuff. but it was a foreclosure and I got the house fairly cheap. It has not risen that much in price since the time I bought it. I have had to make a lot of repairs, and there are still things that need repairing, it is just a constant maintenance cost because the house was poorly designed with a focus on using cheap materials and cheap labor.

Continue saving for maintenance and repairs. Stuff will break. Over time the roof and driveway will need to be replaced. All part of owning your own home.

Property lawyers and possibly "mortgage in principle". It's like the bank saying they'll approve you for a mortgage without yet doing so and is usually mandatory in the UK just to view a house. They can't approve for a mortgage here on a house until a survey has been done and the lawyers have got the ball rolling. It wouldn't surprise me if the US is the same.

Other than that, that's pretty much it but I would be careful of the info you give the banks. They can be picky over the house itself and the lawyers can throw a spanner in the works too. The surveyor can also find surprising flaws that shouldn't be overlooked.

The onus will be on you to provide info to lawyers and the banks the best you can. Check boundaries and check the the type of deeds you're buying. Lawyers are just there to make sure everything is done legally, even if the title is a pile of crap.

Usually you need proof of insurance before they hand over the money too

As others have mentioned, maintenance can be expensive.

Find out about the HOA and covenants. They are sort of above the law. If they are onerous enough, go elsewhere.

If possible, get a mortgage where excessive payments are applied to the principal. I did that when I bought this place. I got a 30-year mortgage but managed to pay it off in 13...and I saved a lot by not having to keep paying interest on as much principal.

Overpaying, especially early on in the mortgage is a great strategy.

HOA's are similar to UK leaseholds. Some of the clauses can be absolutely terrible but will still be rubber stamped by lawyers because it's all above board. It's important to read the deeds, HOA and covenants.

IF over-payments are applied to the principal.

My understanding is that in some mortgages they figure out your monthly payment multiply it by 30 years of payment and that's what you have to repay...no matter whether you make any payments early. That is, they calculate how much interest you'd accumulate over 30 years at the assumed payment rate and then you have to pay 30 years of assumed interest even if you pay the principal off in ten years.

It's usually a 10% per year limit for mortgage overpayments here by default. Dunno what it's like in the US though

Can my girlfriend be on the mortgage with me? So we can split the payments.

You should probably get an expert to explain various scenarios to you.
- What if you split up but you still each own half the house
- What if one of you fails to pay their share of the mortgage or real estate taxes
- What if one of you decides to sell their share
- What if one of you dies
etc.