Going to look at a house tomorrow.

Andrew Dzikoski

Well I may soon be a home owner and I figure since I help all of you guys out with cigar advice some of you might have some first time buyer advice?

pross

RBeckom

RBeckom

Bigshizza

james40

Congratulations Andrew. Be thorough and have it fully inspected as stated above. Look for any signs of water damage in the ceilings as walks and foundation. All great advice so far.

Gray4lines

Andrew Dzikoski

Thanks guys! I am worried the place seems like a too good to be true tpe of situation. If nothing is in too rough of a shape I plan on putting in an offer and then getting an inspection to see if theres anything really bad. Luckily I have alot of contractor friends who will work for beer so long as I pay for the materials.

beatnic

Get pre-approved and put down 20%. Its' not easy to do, but well worth it.

Dark Roast

Congratulations. If you are looking at older house Make sure you know age of HVAC, water heater, windows, insulation, wiring, plumbing and roof. A lot of the originals may have been replaced which is always a plus. If not the cost to replace can be expensive and if they are older but seem to be in good shape just remember they might need replacement sooner than later. Good Luck and have fun.

Dark Roast

beatnic:

Get pre-approved and put down 20%. Its' not easy to do, but well worth it.

+1

webmost

Rail Jockey

Andy, as my personal Cigar.com rep, i wanted to take the time, and tell you make sure you and your real estate agent are both present at the inspection. walk side by side with the inspectors, and what ever you do, do not let the inspector "fly through the house" make him take the time and tell you everything he is doing. as for your realtor, the reason i like them going with me, is because they notice things you may not. in the past 5 years, i have bought 4 homes. (move with my company) and i have learned a lot. also get everything in writing that needs to be repaired, and if your state works with a lawyer, make sure they do their job and fight for you, because trust me, people will screw their on mom and dad on selling a home. check all the electrical, plumbing, check the dishwasher, toilets, foundation, open and close all the doors, windows, turn on and off all lights, ect, you get the point, and take your time.....but most of all, if your real estate agent, lawyer, if used, and home inspector are not doing what YOU want, don't hesitate to tell them your the boss and they work for you. they may not like to hear this, but i have had to do it before......out of everyone that has their hands out for money during a real estate transaction, i would say 99 percent of they do not give two SH!TS about you. if you are fortunate enough to have a great real estate agent as I have in the Chicago area, your lucky, because most of them act great and they have your best interest at heart, but all they really want if your money.....Good luck, and make sure you post pictures of the new house when you do, and you know your going to have to have a great cigar deal for everyone to celebrate your new home! haha

Rail Jockey

Rail Jockey

Ken Light

Andy, all of this is great advice. But don't forget what might perhaps be the most over-said and under-appreciated advice in real estate: location, location, location. It's very easy to get wrapped up in the condition of the home, and you should. But look at the surrounding neighborhood and the condition of those houses, proximity to schools, proximity to highways, walking distance to a main street or town...all of that. Then make sure you get a great inspector.

ddubridge

+ 1 on the get everything in writing. Make sure all the repairs post inspection are up to your standards and with quality products you approved and got in writing before the deal is done. ie and in my case the seller agreed to replace all the windows in the house with a certain type of window. We stated in our offer that the windows need to be replace but did not state the brand agreed on. We got screwed in the end. the new windows suck and were not put in by a professional(at least I hope they werent put in by a professional).

Andrew Dzikoski

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2447-S-5th-St_Allentown_PA_18103_M37184-49774 This is the place I'm looking at the deal seems far to good to be true but all of the thing my contractor buddy said to watch out for should have been made before other things like updating wiring before putting in central air. My biggest concerns are foundation issues, knob and tube wiring, lead paint somewhere in the house, asbestos somewhere on the pipes and the fact that I gave you all the chance for a house warming bomb if I buy the place.

Martel

1 bath...would be a deal breaker in my family of 4. I don't know how they did it in the old days; they certainly didn't read on the pot.

Roberto99

Andrew Dzikoski:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2447-S-5th-St_Allentown_PA_18103_M37184-49774 This is the place I'm looking at the deal seems far to good to be true but all of the thing my contractor buddy said to watch out for should have been made before other things like updating wiring before putting in central air. My biggest concerns are foundation issues, knob and tube wiring, lead paint somewhere in the house, asbestos somewhere on the pipes and the fact that I gave you all the chance for a house warming bomb if I buy the place.

Good luck Andy! About the only advice I can add is look at the door frames and doors to see if they are still fitting properly and look for cracks in the sheetrock in places like over door frames etc. These might be signs of house settling / foundation issues.

james40

The original hardwood, brick work inside, and those beams are really nice.

Amos Umwhat

Great advice above, all I can add is "due diligence". In these times of debt, there have been situations where a buyer closes, then finds out later that there was some unmentioned lien on the house. Oh, and set up a fund for repairs, you'll either be doing them yourself, or paying for it, no landlord to call. Good luck!

Andrew Dzikoski

Thanks for all the advice guys. I feel pretty safe knowing my agent he has been a family friend for over 15 years I'm sure he will do his research on any liens and what not. As to any repairs so long as its nothing critical like major foundation flaw or something. I can do any electrical or plumbing work my self.

Gray4lines

Great looking house! Good luck

bearb

WOW! Andy, took a quick look and that place looks awesome buddy. Off to a hockey tourney with son, or I'd post some more comments...but great advice thus far and nothing in those pics indicates obvious deficiencies. A few things (like the way they exposed the stone wall for the addition, actually indicate to me, that they knew what they were doing...as opposed to trying to hide stuff). And while i dont know american prices...that 2300 ft2 house here, done up with .32 acres would have a 3 or 4 in front the price!!! WOW!

jgibv

jadelt

Andrew Dzikoski:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2447-S-5th-St_Allentown_PA_18103_M37184-49774 This is the place I'm looking at the deal seems far to good to be true but all of the thing my contractor buddy said to watch out for should have been made before other things like updating wiring before putting in central air. My biggest concerns are foundation issues, knob and tube wiring, lead paint somewhere in the house, asbestos somewhere on the pipes and the fact that I gave you all the chance for a house warming bomb if I buy the place.

Is that an already existing "Man Cave" in the back yard????? Looks like a great place ! Good luck !

Dark Roast

Andy that house has a ton of character and individuality. I love older homes because they were not built cookie cutter style like a lot of newer neighborhood houses. Good Luck.

Andrew Dzikoski

jadelt:

Andrew Dzikoski:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2447-S-5th-St_Allentown_PA_18103_M37184-49774 This is the place I'm looking at the deal seems far to good to be true but all of the thing my contractor buddy said to watch out for should have been made before other things like updating wiring before putting in central air. My biggest concerns are foundation issues, knob and tube wiring, lead paint somewhere in the house, asbestos somewhere on the pipes and the fact that I gave you all the chance for a house warming bomb if I buy the place.

Is that an already existing "Man Cave" in the back yard????? Looks like a great place ! Good luck !

It's will be my house the whole place will be a man cave.

phobicsquirrel

Andrew Dzikoski:

jadelt:

Andrew Dzikoski:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2447-S-5th-St_Allentown_PA_18103_M37184-49774 This is the place I'm looking at the deal seems far to good to be true but all of the thing my contractor buddy said to watch out for should have been made before other things like updating wiring before putting in central air. My biggest concerns are foundation issues, knob and tube wiring, lead paint somewhere in the house, asbestos somewhere on the pipes and the fact that I gave you all the chance for a house warming bomb if I buy the place.

Is that an already existing "Man Cave" in the back yard????? Looks like a great place ! Good luck !

It's will be my house the whole place will be a man cave.

Wow, under 70 grand!!!! Man I paid like 217 for my house, just over 2400 square feet. I looked for houses under 200k and most were in the 160-180's with like 1200 or so sq feet. Houses are too damn expensive around me. Your lucky. Looks like a nice house. And for that price you could really fix it up too! As far as inspections go, they usually just do the basics. I just bought my house in Jan and it sort of sucks how a lot of the inspection is all on you. There's the basic, but then you have to get all the special inspectors if you want things to be rather specific. Sounds like you know people that can help you with that stuff so you'll be okay I would think. I don't know many people in the know about houses. My expertise is electrical so I was good with that but everything else I had to get the experts.

Martel