We're Buying our First House (and other happenings)! Exciting Times...

I’d shop around, but I’m not sure I have time, with closing being on Sep 28…

I shopped a few banks. A couple were obviously high, a couple didnt communicate well or we’re hard to get a hold of, and a couple were hitting me about the same.

Last week or week before, I got a quote for 5.875%, but then rates went up this week.

Im not sure about switching things up now. Would hate for something to go wrong and lose the deal on the house. I’ve heard of things like that happening.

With my job, I don’t have a lot of time during my work week (which starts tomorrow). I work 4:45 am - 4:30 pm, Wed-Sat.
It's a little tight. Normally it takes 4-6 weeks for the bank to close. Normally what happens is that you have a commitment date a week or two before the closing date and if you can't get a commitment letter from the bank by then, you extend out the closing. You basically picked a pretty aggressive closing date so that didn't give you much time to shop around. Most people spend about a week shopping different banks. With the same bank, nothing much changes if you want to switch the type of loan like the 5/1 ARM or 10/1 ARM for the lower rate. Then you could always refi later. For your loan amount, probably the credit unions would have the best rates.
 
Thanks for everyone’s comments and advice!

Couple of bonus photos:View attachment 114821View attachment 114822
I see your cuteness and raise you with raccoon level mischief.

And no, we don’t give him pop, he fished that out from the top of the garbage can. 🦝
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What an awesome story!
Best wishes to you, your wife and the rest of your family.
The house and property looks fantastic and you certainly did the right move getting out of an apartment and owning real estate.

The interest rates are not high, They just seem high because of a few years of extraordinarily low rates. Don’t forget the interest is a tax write off every single year which reduces the cost even further.

We’re actually in the mist of securing a small mortgage on what will be most likely our final home destination for the last part of our lives (gulp).
We are moving to the coast and the builders mortgage company is offering us a 6% rate with no points and a 5k incentive, however the house will not be finished until next year and that does not include a lock, to have a lock it would cost a half point which in our case would be prudent.
What I’m saying is rates depend somewhat on area and if you’re comfortable with the deal you have at 6.25% and no points I wouldn’t hesitate.

What I would do if I were you is ask for an amortization sheet of your mortgage and after you close, for a couple thousand dollars you’ll be able to knock years off the tail end of the mortgage just by making a lump sum principle payment added onto your regular payment once you’re all settled down in your house.
It’s incredible what a small amount of extra payment can take off the tail end of your mortgage, even if you just pay an extra $200 a month toward principle. The amortization sheet shows you exactly what you’re doing.

For example you’ll see payment one and it will outline the interest in principal that’s being paid at that time, you could then look at payment number two and literally add the principle of payment of payment 2 to payment one and you just eliminated one month off your mortgage at the tail end for a fraction of the full payment.
Being payments in the first 10 years of a 30 year mortgage most everything is interest, every time you pay a little extra principal you’re taking a big chunk off the tail end of your mortgage, I would rather do this then worry about quarter percent interest rate variations.
The above is just an example but you can pay any extra to the principle of your mortgage at any time whether it’s right away or down the road it doesn’t matter.
By doing this during my lifetime I’ve always eliminated 10 to 15 years of home mortgages and a commercial loan that I’ve had for a commercial property.

There are also countless online mortgage calculators which will show you the savings by adding extra payments paying extra principal, it’s quite possible leaving your mortgage company online will have a calculator for you.

Again last but not least good luck in your new home, it really really looks fantastic
 
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...It’s incredible what a small amount of extra payment can take off the tail end of your mortgage, even if you just pay an extra $200 a month toward principle. The amortization sheet shows you exactly what you’re doing.

...Being payments in the first 10 years of a 30 year mortgage most everything is interest, every time you pay a little extra principal you’re taking a big chunk off the tail end of your mortgage, I would rather do this then worry about quarter percent interest rate variations.
...By doing this during my lifetime I’ve always eliminated 10 to 15 years of home mortgages and a commercial loan that I’ve had for a commercial property.
This is a very sound financial strategy for the long term goal of owning your home. I was able to pay off a 30 year mortgage in 22 years by paying off incremental chunks of the principle as my income grew throughout my work career. It takes discipline, but you can often save more overall by applying this tactic early in the loan rather than refinancing later at a lower %. Most savings accounts won't pay you a 6.25% interest rate which, in effect, is what you are "earning" by paying off the principle early.
 
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Some of y'all remember that we got married in April 2020, right in the midst of that thing we don't mention around here. Went from having a LOT of people invited to the wedding (mostly by her parents - I think they invited the whole town, LOL), to 10 total... And instead of flying to Costa Rica (which was a recommendation by @Quattro Pete), we ended up doing a road trip through Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, which actually turned out to be awesome.

Then she got pregnant almost right away, our son was born in Jan. 2021, then our daughter in Dec. 2021 (2 mos early, but she's fine now), and, now, she's expecting again, and we found out last night (through an early blood test) that everything looks normal, and we're having another daughter! She's due in March.

We have been in a 2BR, 2BA apartment (with attached garage and driveway) in a nice, gated complex, that was about $1100 when I moved in 9 years ago, had climbed to $1452 as of last renewal, but they decided to raise rent by a staggering $430 (to $1880/mo) if we chose to renew again, and it was the impetus that we needed to finally make the decision we've been needing to make anyway, and get in the market for a house.

I wasn't in a rush, but needed to make a decision semi-quickly, because I gave the required 60-day notice to our apartment complex management co. to avoid a penalty of 1 month's rent. So, we have until Oct. 21 to be out.

I found a house we liked on Thursday, went and looked at it that night, and made an offer Friday. They counter-offered Saturday, and we accepted.

Sucks that interest rates are so high. But it can't really be helped. We're blessed to have more than 20% to put down.

It's not huge by anyone's measure. 3BR, 2 full BA, 1450 sq. ft. It will be cozy for a family of 5. But that's OK. And it sits on a 1.1-acre corner lot, in a semi-rural area, but only 5 minutes from I-40, and a few minutes from Walmart, Kroger, etc. It's in ****son, TN. A little too far west of Nashville to be considered a suburb. About 15,000 people in the town. We drove around and did some exploring, and it's a nice town with a cool downtown area with nice little shops and restaurants, etc.

The house has a detached 2-car garage, detached carport, paved asphalt driveway, covered front and rear porches, and a fenced back yard. That detached garage even has a little storm shelter built into one corner. We're going to enjoy being able to let the kids loose in that backyard. And I'm going to enjoy that carport for vehicle detailing and maintenance!

Home inspection is tomorrow morning! Luckily I'm off work and will be able to show up at the tail end of the inspection to go over his findings and ask questions. Thankfully, from the appearance of the home, the owner was conscientious. And it's not that old - built in 2015. So I'm hoping for no major issues. What I'm concerned with is the bones of the house - the foundation, frame, roof, plumbing, and electrical.

Lots of things I'm going to have to think about. And buy! I'm going to need a riding mower, weed eater, and blower, for starters! Wondering what brands of lawnmowers are decent (I'll probably go used), and whether to go gas or electric on weed eater and blower. I know that the lithium-ion electric stuff has come a LONG way in the last few years. And the car detail guys are big on the electric blowers.

Also wondering how often to have pest control come out.

Anyway, just excited, and wanted to share with you guys.

Any tips, advice, etc. is welcome and appreciated!
You're going to have to park on the street, you won't be able to use the driveway because your pull out game is weak.
You can treat for termites and general bugs yourself. BifenXTS and PermethrinSFR from "domyownpestcontrol.com"
 
Nice!! Congrats.
New house new baby. Thats where we were 50 years ago but we stopped at two kids and had already been married four years.;)

Does it have city water and sewer?
 
City water. Septic tank.
That is good. You dont need to have a (weather protected) pump house for a well. I am looking to move at some point
and dont want to have a well to deal with if I can help it. Loved photos of kids. Remind me of (2) of my grandsons. One
just started talking up a storm. Man that is a fun time when they start to communicate. They can be so full of fun.
good luck / take care
 
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