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Buying

554 questions found

Does it make sense to buy a house for my aging parents instead of them renting?

My parents are about 70 and have been renting the same apartment in Texas for 10 years, paying $2000 a month, and my dad whos self employed cant qualify for a mortgage on his own because lenders only count part of his income. My husband and I make around $200-230k and still owe about 210k on our own house, but we're considering buying them a small place with a yard using a Fannie Mae rule that lets an adult child buy a primary home for a parent who cant qualify alone. They'd put their whole 100k savings down and my dad would cover most of the new payment while hes still working, then Id take it over later. My siblings think its too risky and Im second guessing myself, but I really want my parents to have a place of their own before its too late. Are we crazy to consider this, and does it make more sense to just wait and see if prices drop further?

Asked by Denise C. | Round Rock, TX | 08-07-2026 | 140 Views | Buying | Updated 2 months ago

Does leaving "if you ever sell" notes on doors actually get you an off-market house?

My husband and I keep walking the dog past a couple houses we love and saying if that one ever comes up we're buying it. Instead of just waiting around I was thinking about slipping handwritten notes through their doors letting them know were interested whenever theyre ready to sell. Has anyone actually tried this and had it work, or is it a waste of time compared to just having an agent reach out for us? Kind of nervous it'll come off weird but were also just tired of waiting.

Asked by Nolan G. | Des Moines, IA | 08-07-2026 | 46 Views | Buying | Updated 2 months ago

How do we make a packed-up house look OK for an early final walkthrough?

Were closing Monday on our home sale and also buying our next place same day, so we asked for a few days of delayed possession to actually move our stuff out. Our buyer just asked to do her final walkthrough tomorrow though, which is 4 days before closing, and our house is already half packed with boxes everywhere thanks to two working parents and a toddler. Any tips for making a packed up house not look like a total disaster for her walkthrough?

Asked by Preston W. | Eugene, OR | 08-06-2026 | 45 Views | Buying | Updated 2 months ago

agent wants me to sign a 12 month buyer broker agreement before showing me anything, Is it normal?

Looking in Delray, around $650k. Met an agent Saturday and before we talked houses at all he pulled out a buyer broker agreement. 12 months, exclusive, all three counties. Told me he can't walk me into a property without it.nnDidn't sign. There's a line in there about me paying 3% if the seller doesn't cover it, and some protection period after it ends that I don't really follow. Asked about cancelling and he kind of brushed past it.nnThing is I keep reading the rule is on the agent, not the buyer, and that there are shorter forms , like a one-day or single property version. He never brought that up.nnS, is a 12 month exclusive on a first meeting standard down here? And will most brokerages actually do a short form if I ask, or is that just a thing people say online?

Asked by Anna | Delray Beach, FL | 08-06-2026 | 84 Views | Buying | Updated 2 months ago

closing in 12 days and nobody's ordered the estoppel yet. How screwed am I?

Under contract on a condo in Boca, closing set for the 19th. Asked the title company yesterday about the estoppel letter and got kind of a vague "we're on it." Pushed a little and it sounds like the request may have gone out this week, not when we signed 3 weeks ago.nnFrom what I've been reading the association gets 10 business days, which is basically two full weeks, and with the holiday coming up that puts us past my closing date. My rate lock expires the 22nd.nnAlso just found out the community sits under a master association plus the building's own association. Does that mean two separate estoppel certificates and two separate 10 day clocks?nnIs there any way to push an association to rush this, or am I just stuck waiting? And who eats it if we blow the closing date over paperwork nobody ordered on time?

Asked by Paul | Boca Raton, FL | 08-06-2026 | 16 Views | Buying | Updated 2 months ago

Is it actually worth removing wallpaper and repainting before we list?

Got a quote back to strip wallpaper out of two rooms and repaint several others before we put the house up for sale. Now Im second guessing it because I dont know if any of that comes back to us in the sale price or if buyers just redo cosmetic stuff anyway. Our agent hasnt weighed in yet and I really dont want to spend the money for nothing.

Asked by Bethany R. | Providence, RI | 08-05-2026 | 35 Views | Buying | Updated 2 months ago

Can a lender tell me my real buying power without a hard credit pull?

Im starting to think about buying a new place before we sell our current one, but Im not ready to commit yet so I dont want anyone running a hard credit check for no reason. Our mortgage payment now is really low so I think our DTI would be fine, but I want to actually confirm that before I get attached to a plan. Is there a way to sit down with a lender and get a rough sense of loan amount and terms using a soft pull or just our stated income and debts? Ive heard mixed things, some people say lenders cant tell you much without pulling credit, others say running scenarios up front is pretty standard. Id rather know now if buy-then-sell is even realistic before we start touring houses.

Asked by Corey L. | Charleston, SC | 08-05-2026 | 38 Views | Buying | Updated 2 months ago

Should we sell our condo and buy now, or rent bigger and wait?

My husband and I have outgrown our one bedroom condo with a toddler and two cats, and were saving hard for a 3 bed 2 bath in the school district we want, which realistically runs $600 to $650k. My plan is to sell the condo, use whatever equity we get, and buy as soon as we can even though wed be stretched paying for daycare on top of the new mortgage. He wants to rent a bigger place for a couple years first and build up a much bigger emergency fund plus a full 20 percent down before we commit to anything. Prices and rates probably arent going to get friendlier if we wait, but I get why hed rather have more cushion first. Is there a smarter way to think through this than just picking a side?

Asked by Travis B. | Fargo, ND | 08-05-2026 | 17 Views | Buying | Updated 2 months ago

I had to file bankruptcy after my husband died.

I want to buy a house and was wondering how long after bankruptcy can I get a mortgage?

Asked by Niesha T | 63136 | 08-05-2026 | 55 Views | Buying | Updated 2 months ago

Can we still negotiate repair credits after agreeing to "right to inspect, no repairs"?

We're under contract on our dream house for 830k and agreed to a right to inspect but no repair request clause just to get our offer accepted. The inspection came back with a bunch of issues, including a high radon reading and a few thousand dollars worth of bigger stuff, so we asked for a 10k credit anyway. Sellers only want to cover the radon system and we're stuck a couple thousand apart. Our agent even offered to give up some of her own commission to bridge the gap, but Im not sure if we're the ones in the wrong here or if we still have any real leverage.

Asked by Grant W. | Bend, OR | 08-04-2026 | 42 Views | Buying | Updated 2 months ago