So....I'm buying a house. Not only am I buying a house but I'm building it. From an empty lot to the finished product I'll be involved in the whole thing. Now I won't be doing any of the physical labor (I'm to pretty for that) but the trials and tribulations of the process, I thought I'd blog a little bit about. How I got here: I started looking for a house in the suburbs of Philadelphia, the market was good for buying and I had managed to save some money over the past few years so I thought the timing for home ownership was right. I've lived in downtown Philadelphia for several years now and while I do love living in the city I was missing the green of the suburbs. I looked for months and found a few that I liked but nothing that I loved. Also, every time I found something I liked it never seemed to be an ideal location. Since I travel for work I need to have easy access to the airport. Downtown, it can't get much easier, I'm just a 15 minute cab ride away; I don't have to worry about driving to and parking at the airport. When I get home from a trip, there are cabs right outside the baggage claim and I am back home in no time. I think one thing also making me want to return to the burbs was my parents. They are getting a little older and my mom had a little episode and ended up in the hospital and I felt like I was far away in the city. So it might have been a little reactionary to that event. They are in their mid 60's so hopefully they have many fine years ahead of them and me living nearby can probably still be put off for a while. After I worked through the parent issues I realized being in the city was still probably the best choice for me in terms of my job. Plus I love living in the city! I have friends here, I like being able to walk to stuff. Starting to look in the city also gave me the opportunity to kindly fire my first realtor. The Realtor: When I started the house hunting process I asked several friends what I should look out for. Almost all of them said "Don't trust your realtor!" Now, I don't know that I'd go that far, my second realtor has been a good guy. I would say you have to always remember the realtor, even if they really do want to help you, will also be looking out for themselves. As one friend put it, "They're like sharks, you get close to buying a house and it's like they smell blood and want to, as quickly as possible, move in for the kill." My best advice...about evrything in this proces so far that I can offer....educate yourself. The internet is a great thing, you can find a ton of information on almost any subject...so find it, read it, read three or four or five different sources about the topic you are interested in. Only one person in this whole process will be looking out for your and only your interests; that's you. Sites like www.zillow.com and www.truila.com are great sources to read up on real estate related topics. When you realtor says something that goes against what other experts in the field say, call them on it. You don't need to be mean about it, but let them know you are an informed consumer and while you expert their advice on topics as they should be experts in their fields you will also do your own research. Let me say, my first realtor was an idiot. I later read experts say you should interview realtors, but quite honestly I don't think people do that. I'd just say don't be afraid to move on to another realtor if you don't mesh with yours...or they're an idiot. Ultimately they work for you, you, in effect, employ them...treat them as such. My second realtor I didn't interview either, but I called the realty agency and gave them some information about myself and what I was looking for and they matched me up with someone they thought would work, it was almost like eharmony...except, you know, for people wanting to buy a house. My second realtor worked out fine. He is a smart guy and was supportive, he would offer challenging points of view that would at least make me think about things and in the end he is who I am expecting to pay attention to all the minutia on forms and things that I am signing (not that I haven't read them...but he did catch a few things that really should have been in writing). But quite honestly, if I could have made the arrangements to gain entry into the houses I wanted to view...I wouldn't have even needed a realtor. I could have visited places on my own...it's just when you want to make and ofer, they know that somewhat convaluted process much better then you (or I) do and make it go much easier. The Money: This is where the whole process should really start. The one good thing my first realtor did, was set me up with a mortgage guy. Money has never been my strong suit and the mortgage guy really guided my in doing some basic things, like monthly budgets with low, medium amd high estimates for mortgage payments to see how you would feel with different price houses. Also getting pre-qualified for a mortgage amount is really helpful when you actually go to put in a bid. But the money should really be guiding you during your whole process, you should have clearly defined numbers for amount of money you want to put down, the amount of money you want to spend on the house and the amount of money you want to spend per month on a mortgage. Again, read as much as you can, educate yourself. My mortgage guy was pretty helpful but when it came down to finalizing some budget items he reccommended some things that after I did reading on them and questioning him about, he changed his suggestions. So be smart. Theay always say location, location, location with realty but I would change that a little: 1. Money 2. Location 3. Follow the gays (thanks Krisitna)