Any tips for a first-time home buyer?

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

14 minutes ago, Link said:

Any reason you can't just let them lie? I do it. It's ecologically better. 

A couple of things.

1. Massive amounts. If it was only a few it wouldn't be so bad. 

2. Dog poops everywhere, and they must be picked up. Otherwise kids track in the dog shit. But you can't see where the poops are without cleaning up the leaves. 

Edit: we do take a large portion of them and mulch the garden with them. But they still have to be cleaned up.

Edited November 23, 2022 by CodysGameRoom

[Reed Rothchild | 9,509]

17 minutes ago, Link said:

Any reason you can't just let them lie? I do it. It's ecologically better. 

It's very dry here.  So, you end up with piles of dried leaves up against the fence, and the patio furniture, and the BBQ and the fire pit all spring/summer (the following year), and your wife is just absolutely pleased with you.

[Link | 2,708]

Yeah dog shit is a problem. 

My yard is small (20x40) and I only have two trees and they're relatively young. It's not real dry here, so they break down more. I've even imported leaves from elsewhere sometimes. 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,509]

3 minutes ago, Link said:

Yeah dog shit is a problem. 

My yard is small (20x40) and I only have two trees and they're relatively young. It's not real dry here, so they break down more. I've even imported leaves from elsewhere sometimes. 

We have 60-70 trees and nothing breaks down 

[Brickman | 3,980]

Congrats. Home ownership is great but definitely a lot of work and money. I couldn’t go back to renting but I do miss the simplicity of a smaller place where I’m not responsible for repairs. Some tips when inspecting:

- try and go on a wet day. I feel that’s when you really see what a house is like.

- look at the corners of the ceiling or tops of walls for odd paint jobs. They might be covering mould.

- check all taps and run them at full. Don’t worry if you get odd looks. You need to check water pressure.

- if the house is on stumps go under the house and check the stumping. You don’t need to be an expert to see sinking or dodgy stumping. I inspected one house and could see through the floor boards haha.

- if it’s a wood exterior check the quality of the wood. A quick glance should tell you if it’s been looked after.

- if it’s on a hill try and look around to see if it has good drainage. 

- look around windows for signs of mould.

 

[Link | 2,708]

3 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

We have 60-70 trees and nothing breaks down 

20+ acres?

[a3quit4s | 4,092]

I went from having about 0.25 acres in MD to 3+ acres with a shit ton of trees and needless to say transporting leaves from the front yard to the backyard tree line using a tarp was not fun this year. Usually in MD it was about 20-30 bags of leaves to the street. 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,509]

1 hour ago, Link said:

20+ acres?

No, just a million cottonwoods

[Gloves | 11,760]

I just wanna say a blanket "thanks" for all the advice so far, you all are great and I really appreciate the viewpoints!

[Code Monkey | 2,005]

20 hours ago, Gloves said:

Any thoughts on the specific internet providers out there in NS? I see there are different options than those here in TO.

I lived in residence, I don't know anything about providers out there but I do know it's primarily Bell.

[AirVillain | 485]

On 11/23/2022 at 11:19 AM, a3quit4s said:

@Trifecta - it’s also handy to remember you don’t necessarily have to get to the 20% down payment. Even if you have to pay PMI with your mortgage your still better off with that than throwing money at an apartment. 

20%??? Sweet jesus. 

It's 5% here. The downpayment on my apartment was only $3,750     That was only 8 years ago, fuck. I wish I wasn't so stupid in my 20's.... could have bought ALL of Nova Scotia @Gloves  

 

On 11/23/2022 at 12:09 PM, Link said:

Any reason you can't just let them lie? I do it. It's ecologically better. 

I see people go through SO MUCH effort to move leaves around, haha. I've also seen quite a number of info-graphic posts about how leaving them is actually WAY better, like you say. Like, different insects burrow in them and when you mow it you are basically just blending them and their houses up... I had no idea 

Plus the leaves are just fertilizer....

But I'm sure there's lots of situations that maybe Cody's in where some sort of leaves/general outdoor stuff/tree maintenance needs to be done...

EDIT: I just realized there was a whole 2nd page of comments, I didn't read, haha. 

Dog shit would be a primary reason to deal with said leaves, haha. 

Edited November 25, 2022 by AirVillain

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

30 minutes ago, AirVillain said:

20%??? Sweet jesus. 

It's 5% here. The downpayment on my apartment was only $3,750     That was only 8 years ago, fuck. I wish I wasn't so stupid in my 20's.... could have bought ALL of Nova Scotia @Gloves  

20% is the goal so you don't have to pay mortgage insurance, thus saving you thousands and thousands of dollars.  The 5% minimum is pretty standard everywhere, but 20% is ideal as it saves a ton of money and all the hassles associated with stress tests and whatnot...

[fcgamer | 4,719]

53 minutes ago, Dr. Morbis said:

20% is the goal so you don't have to pay mortgage insurance, thus saving you thousands and thousands of dollars.  The 5% minimum is pretty standard everywhere, but 20% is ideal as it saves a ton of money and all the hassles associated with stress tests and whatnot...

If I want to purchase a residence, I essentially need to walk in with briefcases of cash, pay in full. All because of my skin color.

[FireHazard51 | 2,043]

5 hours ago, fcgamer said:

If I want to purchase a residence, I essentially need to walk in with briefcases of cash, pay in full. All because of my skin color.

How you present yourself may be the problem....

Spoiler

Best of luck to you Gloves.  Some times you just have to have luck to get something great for right price for you.  Prepping can only do so much.  If people aren't selling houses that you want there isn't much you can do about that.  Hope what you are looking for is something that comes on the market frequently.  The more common it is the more likely it'll be at a good cost too.

 

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

25 minutes ago, FireHazard51 said:

How you present yourself may be the problem....

He's presenting himself as a white dude in Taiwan...

I got it!  He just needs to use the disguise that James Bond used in You Only Live Twice so that everyone will think he's Asian (in spite of the fact that he's probably a foot taller than everyone else in the country).  Dude, this is totally gonna work...

EDIT - for reference (and shits & giggles):

 

Edited November 26, 2022 by Dr. Morbis

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

It seems like there is a bit more on the market around here lately and also some places sitting for more than a few days. Let me know if you have any more specific questions. Big difference about living on the water and by the water and you'll have to think about being on septic vs. city water once you move outside the main hub of Halifax/Dartmouth/Sackville/Bedford. Heat pump is probably the way to go since it doesn't get cold here for extended amounts of time and heating oil is very expensive. Lots of provincial and federal grants in place now including big loans with 0% interest (up to 50k maybe?) for green improvements if you do get a somewhat older place with a furnace. Cost of living is rising here and taxes are high but a really great place to live to have the city/nature mix and a slower pace of life. 

[Daniel_Doyce | 470]

On 11/23/2022 at 11:19 AM, a3quit4s said:

@Trifecta - it’s also handy to remember you don’t necessarily have to get to the 20% down payment. Even if you have to pay PMI with your mortgage your still better off with that than throwing money at an apartment. 

Renting isn't throwing money away. It buys you the freedom to not have to deal with home maintenance and the premium of mobility if you want to relocate quickly compared to owning a house.

Most people drastically underestimate the friction costs of buying / selling / maintaining a property. The average time period of home ownership is 5-8 years, and 5 is about the breakeven point on the friction costs, assuming you sell your property for at least the price you paid for it, which is definitely not guaranteed.

The other benefits of home ownership vs. renting are harder to value monetarily. I may buy again once I retire in a couple of years and know I'm definitely going to stay in one place for 30-40 years until I croak, though.

[AirVillain | 485]

On 11/26/2022 at 4:02 AM, Daniel_Doyce said:

Renting isn't throwing money away.

Yes. Yes, it is. 

That's why rich property owners stay rich, and ppl who rent have a hard time getting out of it. 

Because $1,000/month rent is A LOT and would pay for a large house mortgage. 

So you're paying a high rent just to pay someone else's mortgage so you are still making money for them. 

"Premium of mobility"? Yeesh.... you've obviously never lived in a town with low rental availability. 

I once lived in a town (beside Banff) where there was a 0% vacancy rate. Yes, 0%. Most renters want LONG term leases just so they don't have to worry about being kicked out every year. 

Not sure about you, but I really don't like the idea of a landlord being able to tell me I have to leave literally EVERY YEAR.

I'm renting right now and EVERY month I am pissing money away. Paying a mortgage is like putting money into your own bank account.

YES, the mortgage system is fucked and banks/lenders make a TON of money off the mortgages, but when you compare it with rent, would you rather be putting 100% of your income into someone ELSES mortgage, or 75% of your income into your OWN mortgage??? 

And most mortgages will have options to pay down faster to lower overall interest.

Theoretically, if you buy a house when by the time you're 40, with a 25 year mortgage, it's paid off when you're 65.

I do NOT want to be paying rent when I'm 65, fuck that.

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

14 minutes ago, AirVillain said:

I once lived in a town (beside Banff) where there was a 0% vacancy rate.

Are you talking about Canmore?  Because I grew up in Canmore...

Anyway, I agree with you 99% (everything except a thousand bucks a month mortgage getting you a "large" house mortgage).

[AirVillain | 485]

37 minutes ago, Dr. Morbis said:

Are you talking about Canmore?  Because I grew up in Canmore...

Anyway, I agree with you 99% (everything except a thousand bucks a month mortgage getting you a "large" house mortgage).

Yup, haha. Awesome. I lived there from 2007-2014.

My ex and I moved away because there was nowhere to live, especially with 2 dogs, after the duplex we rented got sold.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Haha, the $1,000 was just a rough number throwing it out there. Most rents are going to be higher than that too, shit. 

Point is, whatever you're paying in rent could probably bag a pretty sweet place. And if not a place "as good" at least it's yours. 

Once you own an apartment (in my case)/house it turns from a piece of shit into a glorious nest and you make it all your own.

No need to worry about answering to a landlord.... you can at the very least paint and start to get shit done.
 

On 11/26/2022 at 4:02 AM, Daniel_Doyce said:

It buys you the freedom to not have to deal with home maintenance and the premium of mobility if you want to relocate quickly compared to owning a house.

Sorry.... just went for a walk and realized I shouldn't be so dismissive.

Really I was only considering myself and someone in Gloves' position. 

There's lots of people who physically can't or don't want to deal with maintenance of a house.

But really, for those people owning an apartment still makes more sense than renting. You get all the benefits of owning your own place without having to take care of the outside maintenance or roof. 

It's a bit of "both worlds". 

Or someone like myself who was "new to the market", purchasing an apartment made the most sense. 

Edited November 28, 2022 by AirVillain

[Daniel_Doyce | 470]

Yeah, your original post makes sense if everyone lives in the house they buy for 25-30 years until it's paid off. But that's not the norm at all. As I mentioned, in the US at least, average home ownership time is 5-8 years. So the friction costs of buying/selling/maintenance and paying mostly interest on the mortgage in early years makes it more of a tossup vs. renting.

This is also ignoring nightmare scenarios like 2007-2009 where lots of people made bad decisions and got themselves severely underwater on houses that had no business buying.

I've moved 7 times in the last 12 years. If I bought a house every time I moved, it would have been a nightmare. That's the "premium of mobility" I'm referring to that renting allows. But a lot of people don't want to have to deal with a landlord, so that's a point in favor of ownership for many.

Also, instead of having a tantrum about the mean rich people and evil banks, etc., buy some REIT stock or bank stock and become an investor too.

[Mega Tank | 955]

1 hour ago, Daniel_Doyce said:

I've moved 7 times in the last 12 years. If I bought a house every time I moved, it would have been a nightmare.

You have moved about twice as much in the last 12 years than I have in my lifetime.

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

1 hour ago, Daniel_Doyce said:

I've moved 7 times in the last 12 years. If I bought a house every time I moved, it would have been a nightmare.

If you had bought a house 12 years ago, you wouldn't have had to move 7 times...

[Mega Tank | 955]

17 minutes ago, Dr. Morbis said:

If you had bought a house 12 years ago, you wouldn't have had to move 7 times...

It also depends on what you do for a living. Some people are better off renting than owning just for the sake of convenience

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

29 minutes ago, Mega Tank said:

It also depends on what you do for a living. Some people are better off renting than owning just for the sake of convenience

That is definitely true, but I feel like that's the exception rather than the rule...