1st time buyer here. I was just preapproved for 400k. Looking to buy a townhouse or condo in south Florida. Have $60k for down payment. Is there anything I should be aware of when buying? Any tips are appreciated.

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- plan for closing costs
- talk with your realtor to understand how sellers evaluate offers and what makes a “competitive” offer (price isn’t everything)
- have a list of must haves, nice to haves, and must avoids
- if you’re buying a condo, ask for HOA financials. Understand what is and isn’t covered by the association, what their reserves look like, when they last had a special assessment, etc.
- get a few quotes on insurance. I’ve heard FL can be very high with insurance costs.

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Yup here in Florida, all the home insurance companies increased all their prices. My old insurance went up to extra 1K in one year so I had to shop around to find a new one but all of them were high. Luckily I found one that was only $500 more than my previous home insurance.

This was due to Hurricane Ian hitting Cape Coral & Fort Myers hard and destroying a lot of homes and structures in 2022. Total damages were in the range of 109 Billion. Due to this, all insurance companies increase their prices

Tips for First Time Condo Buyer

1. Choose a few neighborhoods and research crime in the area - Realtor's are not legally allowed to give an opinion on this. Drive by both day & night & on weekends to assess parking, loitering and general vibe.

2. Review condo association rules, fees, reserve funds and insurance coverage & any ongoing legal disputes before going to any showings.

3. Do NOT go to open houses. Instead, hire a Buyer's Agent REALTOR who will help you research properties and who can take you to private showings. I am happy to refer you to someone in your search area.

4. Pre-approve with at least 3 different lender brokers. You can do this in a 2 week period with only 1 credit hit. I am happy to share some excellent ones who work with first time buyers and will answer your questions.

5. Apply for ALL down payment assistance - you don't have to take it. There are programs by city, county, profession, etc. and you can stack them. FL has a statewide one too. Understand if they are grants, loans and what restrictions they have. If you can manage to put 20% down you won't pay PMI and you also won't need to escrow. This can help keep your mortgage protected from tax and insurance hikes - you still need to save and pay those on time.

6. Zillow is fine for browsing, but it shows unavailable listings and will waste your time. Use your agent's online search or send your agent the Zillow listing to verify it's current status. A great Buyer's Agent REALTOR will know about "off-market" properties coming available that are not listed anywhere.

7. Get a home inspection done before buying - you should interview several inspectors to know if they will be available, what they cover & the associated costs.

8. Get homeowner's insurance quote - they may also pull your credit.

9. Ask seller to pay for a home warranty if property is over 5 years old.

10. Do not open any new lines of credit, credit cards, buy 90-days-same-as-cash, make ANY large purchases or bank transfers, buy furniture, car or co-sign ANYTHING.

Much success to you on your house-hunting journey. It will be challenging - but it's SO worth it!

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Can you please help me understand point 3?

Planning to be a time buyer .. how did you get started with the pre-approval process?

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CEO 1, not always. Broker I worked with had worse rates than nbkc who I eventually closed with. Nbkc seems very competitive. Shop around and pit them against one another. :)

Get a very good realtor who does it FULL TIME

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I second this. Omg interview you’re realtor:

- do they own property?
- do they have a network of contractors, inspectors, etc.
- how many deals do they do a year
- are they familiar with escalation riders
- what are their work hours

Basically you don’t want to pay someone where you’re constantly hounding them to get back to you and do their work.

If they’re getting a % of the house as commission they better work for it.

Florida has a $50k first time home buyer credit.

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