r2i forum

Friends,

I am a first time homebuyer in Plano TX and had some questions - Please share any additional tips /useful information -

1) Is it better to take a longer term loan (30 years) and prepay extra amount each month Vs taking a 15 year loan ? What are the pros and cons ?

2) Whats the difference between townhome and condo ?

3) For our lifestyle, we feel a smaller townhome/condo would be better compared to a large lot- we can get better location and newer home for same budget - are there any obvious disadvantages ? Is it much harder to sell a townhome/condo ?

4) What's the best way to go about looking for a home ? Go with remax ? any recommendations ?

5) What are the key things to check for in the home - and what are the additional expenses that we should negotiate ?

6) any negotiation tips ?

Thanks a lot in advance for all your responses.

:emrainbow:Happy Holi !!:emrainbow:

1) Is it better to take a longer term loan (30 years) and prepay extra amount each month Vs taking a 15 year loan ? What are the pros and cons ?

It depends on your goals, affordability and your length of stay. If your goal is:

(1) 'Payment Minimizer' and if your length of stay is less than 7 years, then 30 year fixed loan doesn't make sense since you pay a lot of interest. 5 year ARM or 7 year ARM will be ideal where the interest rates are lower for the initial 5 years or 7 years.

(2) 'Wealth Builder' and if your length of stay is more than 10 years to 15 years, then 15 year fixed loan is a better choice as the interest rate will be lower by 50 basis points and you own the home at the end of 15 years saving a lot of interest.

2) Whats the difference between townhome and condo ?

Townhome is a series of independent apartments within a building where you will have to share your living space with other neighbours and you will have free air space. A condo is similiar to Townhome except it is owned by cooperative society which is bound by lot of rules, laws and fees and you lose your privacy. I prefer an Independent single family home which is better than Townhome which is better than Condo.

3) For our lifestyle, we feel a smaller townhome/condo would be better compared to a large lot- we can get better location and newer home for same budget - are there any obvious disadvantages ? Is it much harder to sell a townhome/condo ?

If you have 2 kids, its better to go for a medium-sized single-family home. The comforts are much better in single-family home than a townhome/condo. Single-family home can be easily sold than townhome/condo in Plano, TX. Also, currently it is buyer's market and plano being a good school district - you will certainly get a good bang for the buck.

4) What's the best way to go about looking for a home ? Go with remax ? any recommendations ?

Realtor's are a big fraud lot - except a few who are knowledgeable about the area, the home conditions and their tremendous bargaining power. I would suggest you to go for an exclusive buyer agent instead of realtor who will act as a sole agent representing the interest of you (the buyer) and will certainly get a good price - but you will have to pay a commission. You can google it for 'EBA's' to look for exclusive buyer agent.

On the other hand - you can look for a home through ebby.com or realtor.com and negotiate with your realtor to give you 2% commission back since you have found the home.

5) What are the key things to check for in the home - and what are the additional expenses that we should negotiate ?

Look for the following in the order as:

(1) Excellent School District
(2) No Crime
(3) Resaelable value at any market(Based on 1 & 2)
(4) Property Appreciation (Based on 1, 2 & 3)
(5) Close to Office, Shop's & other essentials
(6) Proximity to a near Highway's or Interstate road
(7) Decent Neighbourhood based on Education, Demographics (Preferably Indians - Sorry for being selfish)
(8) Has no environment problems
(9) Has no legal issues
(10) Beautiful girls (Just kidding:emwink:)

6) any negotiation tips ?

Lot of things to negotiate. If you want, please send me a private message where I can help.

Hi Loveindia,

Thank you for your detailed post and useful tips ! Appreciate your inputs.

Regards.

Hello guys,

I am thinking to buy a condo or a townhouse in Edison area in NJ.
I plan to hold the property for 5 years and r2I.

How old can one buy a condo/townhouse ? Anyone experienced in this area have any suggestions regarding the Appreciation rate ?

Thanks,

Zebra,

I live in Plano and have been here about 10 years now. I can share my thoughts with you ...
1) It is a personal choice and what you want to accomplish. How long do you want to own the home for? How much increase in your income do you see in 5 years or 10 years from now?

2) In Plano - Town home you have a common wall with the neighbor, but you are in your own building home. Condo - almost like an apt. but you own it. So there could be someone above or below you, in townhome that is not the case

3) Buy a small house, I would not suggest buying a town home or condo in the DFW area, they are much harder to sell and from a price standpoint they are quite comparable to the houses. For example, a $170K townhome is the same as a $200K house because you would have to pay roughly $200 / month as a home owners association fee for a townhouse. Buy a townhouse or condo ONLY if you plan on living there for a few years (2 - 4 years) and then plan on renting it out forever. Single Family homes appreciate better than townhomes / condos in the DFW area as well.

4) I would suggest check out Realtor.com and there are tons of criteria's that you can request and it would give you a list of homes that meet the criteria. I would then suggest that you drive arond some of those homes and see if they have any open houses. If you are looking for a new home, I doubt you can find something in Plano unless you decide to move to Allen or are in the market with $400K+. For new homes finalize the area that you want to live in and talk to the builder. Do not get a realtor involved early on. If you like the house, then you can negotiate the price and then bring in a realtor and split the commision with the realtor (which can save you an additional 2% on the sale price)

5) Do your study on zillow.com and realestateabc.com

As I said, these are my opinions and suggestions. Take it for what it is worth.

If you need further info, please send me an email and we can discuss over the phone. I have bought 4 and sold 1 home in the DFW area.

All the best.
r2delhi

zebra_crossing;10292Friends,

I am a first time homebuyer in Plano TX and had some questions - Please share any additional tips /useful information -

1) Is it better to take a longer term loan (30 years) and prepay extra amount each month Vs taking a 15 year loan ? What are the pros and cons ?

2) Whats the difference between townhome and condo ?

3) For our lifestyle, we feel a smaller townhome/condo would be better compared to a large lot- we can get better location and newer home for same budget - are there any obvious disadvantages ? Is it much harder to sell a townhome/condo ?

4) What's the best way to go about looking for a home ? Go with remax ? any recommendations ?

5) What are the key things to check for in the home - and what are the additional expenses that we should negotiate ?

6) any negotiation tips ?

Thanks a lot in advance for all your responses.

:emrainbow:Happy Holi !!:emrainbow:[/quote]