[Noah930]

I don't know if I can answer any of the questions you posted. But my wife and I purchased our first home (here in LA) about 4 years ago. We had good credit, good/steady income, and brought 20% down to the table. We had our finances in check before we found a realtor.

But there were many things we wish we knew back then, that we now know. Even if the real estate agent helping you out is a "buyer's agent" (not the listing agent), in the end they work for themselves--not necessarily you. They only make a commission when you make a purchase. So you making a purchase may very well be more important than you making the happy/right purchase. Just keep that in mind.

It's hard/nearly impossible to find that "perfect" home. You'll look for it. You may be set on your basic criteria. I think my wife and I walked through about 80 homes before we finally bought our home. Stuff looks great on the MLS, but in real life no two homes are truly alike. And when you've got a budget (i.e. not a mega-millionaire), there will be compromises. There always are. There will be things you can change (i.e. color of walls, flooring, lighting fixtures, cabinetry, windows, landscaping), and things you can't (i.e. proximity to work, neighborhood, interstate highway next door).

Based upon the above paragraph, it's worthwhile to try to get a feel for how much home construction/remodeling projects cost. Because the realtor will not be helpful at all. They'll say things like: "Oh, you can change that." And you can. For a good chunk of money. Those $5-10K projects add up fast. That's for the plumbing, water heater, wiring, A/C, heat, attic insulation, sewer line, roof, appliances, wiring, etc. Don't count on your home inspector to pick up all these things. Ours certainly missed a bunch of items, in retrospect. And that home inspection (that you paid for) to a certain extent indemnifies the realtors from any liability. How old is that water heater? Is that A/C unit the right size for this square footage home? How old is the wiring in this house? Is the electrical panel up to date? How long does it take for hot water to actually materialize after you turn on the faucet in each bathroom/sink? If the previous owners were cheap, or looking to flip the property, they're not likely to have purchased quality stuff. If they lived in the home for a long time, they may have purchased higher quality stuff...15 years ago. Our house went through a flipper, so we have a newer A/C unit....that's about 1/4 the size it should be for our home.

If you plan on having kids, ask about the school districts. Don't rely upon the listing agent to have any useful info. Actually, I found that if the home was located in a good school district, the listing agent would usually include that info online. If it wasn't as highly regarded a school district, they'd feign ignorance.

Once you buy, remember to check on property taxes. If it's near tax time, that may be included in your escrow. But if not, then you're responsible for their payment, yourself. Our tax bill got sent to the previous owners' out-of-state address. We never received it. But, as property values were declining at that time, we actually received a rebate check. I never imagined that we'd get a rebate check if we actually owed the city money. But the three offices that handle property taxation in LA don't communicate. So we were late on our first payment and were docked a 10% ($500) fine.

Get a feel yourself for comps. Don't rely upon the realtor. They may rather make a quick sale (guaranteed income) than negotiate a lower price on your behalf (and risk losing the whole deal).

When we purchased our home, we got what I thought was a decent interest rate. I didn't think rates would drop much further at that time. So we bought points to lower it even further. Well, hindsight being 20:20, interest rates did drop and we refinanced. In the end, the paying of points up front (our gamble) didn't pay off. We would have been better off with the higher rate up front and refinancing.

I'm sure I'll think of other stuff later on. Good luck and congrats!