First House

[MUEng92]

We've bought 3 houses over the years.  Didn't use a lawyer on any.  Not saying it was right or wrong. Maybe we were just lucky. But if you don't try to cut corners to find a way to afford a house you really have no business buying, what things do you really need to worry about?  That's an actual question, not trying to make a statement with a rhetorical question.

I was more worried about hiring a competent home inspector

[MUBurrow]

This has been a really interesting thread to follow. A large number of posters seem very satisfied with the lawyers they've hired, all of whom agreed to flat fee the transaction for $500 or less from the jump. I legitimately had no idea that legal services market was out there.

[reinko]

Here you go. You hit the nail on the head.

Assuming a $150,000 house and a $500 legal fee, your legal costs are 0.33 percent of the cost of the house. Most buyers are paying more than that for the new flat screen television that will go in the family room.

Next thing I hear is that a buyer doesn't need to pay for a home inspection either!

In the market where I live (Greater Boston), people are waiving inspections to make their offers more competitive, and few if any are allowing pre-inspection since houses are only on the market for 5-6 days.

[MUEng92]

In the market where I live (Greater Boston), people are waiving inspections to make their offers more competitive, and few if any are allowing pre-inspection since houses are only on the market for 5-6 days.

So do you just have a home inspector on call and he/she rides along with you while viewing the houses?  I couldn't buy a house without a home inspection.  Good thing I don't live in Boston.

[Benny B]

This has been a really interesting thread to follow. A large number of posters seem very satisfied with the lawyers they've hired, all of whom agreed to flat fee the transaction for $500 or less from the jump. I legitimately had no idea that legal services market was out there.

Again... not in every state, mostly because spending 2-5 hours at a closing is not worth $500 to an attorney who bills at $200-600/hr. 

In Illinois, seller's counsel orders title and there's a spiff/commission involved for the attorney that makes it worth more than $500; however, the buyer's attorney sees none of that, so for a first-time buyer (or someone who isn't also selling a house), most attorneys take the job hoping that you'll remember them when it comes time to sell, or better yet, the next time you need a lawyer for something (most consider themselves general practice, even if they focus squarely on RE transactions). 

Coincidentally, for most first-time home buyers (if they're lucky), a RE closing is their first interaction with a real attorney; so if you're a competent attorney, you can generate a lot of business on that sort of goodwill alone (especially considering that the hows, whats and wheres of advertising legal services are highly regulated).

[#UnleashSean]

You mentioned Waukesha in your initial post-have you looked there?  I've lived there for 30 years-love it.  Close to everything.  A lot of options including shopping, safety, schools, proximity to Milwaukee and relatively reasonable property taxes.  I'd also check out new Berlin, butler, Germantown and Menominee falls

Unfortunatly within my price range, I haven't found much in those areas. Waukesha has so far only had what I would call dumps that were overpriced and needed a lot of work. New berlin had a few, but none I loved very much. Butler has one that I may be thinking about, and Menominee Falls was a bit out of our price range =(

[dgies9156]

So do you just have a home inspector on call and he/she rides along with you while viewing the houses?  I couldn't buy a house without a home inspection.  Good thing I don't live in Boston.

When my wife and I looked for our first home in the mid 1980s, we found a home in a nicer northern Chicago suburb that we really liked. I went to a showing with my Dad, who is a Marquette-educated civil engineer and CEO of a large engineering firm, and had my Dad poke around with us. My Dad, who had led a design team on our family's home in the 1960s, did a close look at the property.

My Dad saved us about $25,000 (1980s dollars) by identifying a boatload of problems with the home, in the windows, roof and insulation. Dad showed me things I, in my non-engineering first time home buying, never in a million years would have noticed. From that day forward, I never, ever considered buying a home without Dad present or without a professional inspector/contractor or engineer inspecting the property.

[Chili]

Unfortunatly within my price range, I haven't found much in those areas. Waukesha has so far only had what I would call dumps that were overpriced and needed a lot of work. New berlin had a few, but none I loved very much. Butler has one that I may be thinking about, and Menominee Falls was a bit out of our price range =(

Also, who would want to live in Waukesha? I grew up there - 1988-1997 and once I graduated never looked back. Would never ever in a million years ever want to live there. So far from the city and just boring as sin.

[Strokin 3s]

Real talk, highly recommend multiple bathrooms. Ideally one is "hidden" for crazy dumps while wifey is home

First house in Tosa had a toilet in the unfinished basement just out in the open, nothing else around it. Strangely liberating and somewhat terrifying at the same time.

[MUEng92]

First house in Tosa had a toilet in the unfinished basement just out in the open, nothing else around it. Strangely liberating and somewhat terrifying at the same time.

The house my parents bought in 1974 had a toilet like that in the basement before they finished off the basement a couple years later.  Even though I was only 4-5 at the time that unprotected toilet has made appearances in bad dreams years later.

[MUBurrow]

First house in Tosa had a toilet in the unfinished basement just out in the open, nothing else around it. Strangely liberating and somewhat terrifying at the same time.

Pittsburgh Toilets are the best. The urban legend is that they were for miners to use before they cleaned up, but the real reason for them is to compensate for shitty plumbing infrastructure back in the day. Because the sewers used to back up all the time, architects started putting Pittsburgh Toilets in to make sure that when sewage flowed back into your house, it just got all over your unfinished basement. Most houses of that era only had bathrooms on the second floor, too, so if you didnt have a basement toilet, a backup could cause mold problems in the ceiling of the first floor.

[rocket surgeon]

First house in Tosa had a toilet in the unfinished basement just out in the open, nothing else around it. Strangely liberating and somewhat terrifying at the same time.

Know your target and beyond, enn'a so?

[Spotcheck Billy]

Al Bundy would disagree, Fergusons are the best toilets!

[jutaw22mu]

Might be putting in an offer for my first house----in IL (limited options in Kenosha and big time seller's market, it seems like).  When should I contact a real estate attorney?  Just at the closing, assuming my offer is accepted?

[MU82]

Al Bundy would disagree, Fergusons are the best toilets!

When we bought our Chicago condo in 2004, we decided to change the 3 toilets to the "comfort height" toilets with the elongated bowl. I did my research and Toto toilets consistently rated the highest.

So I searched for them in Chicago ... and couldn't find any. Home Depot, Lowe's and the like didn't carry them, and nobody else had them in stock. I also couldn't find them online cheap enough to make it worth it to pay the high shipping costs. (This was before free shipping became widely available.)

I finally located them at a plumbing distributor near the West Loop. The employee said they would hold them for me but went to pick them up the next day they were gone.

"Sorry, we had to sell them to somebody else."

"Well, that doesn't make me happy. When will you get more in stock?"

"Who knows? We'll call you."

I didn't think that sounded promising, so I tried one more plumbing supply shop. They had one in stock but it was spoken for. I asked the guy why it was so hard to find Toto toilets in Chicago.

"It's kind of strange," he said. "It's like they are intentionally keeping the supply low so there's almost a black market for them."

I gave up. I was not going to pay 2x list price for black market toilets!

I ended up buying Kohler products and we never had problems with them.

And there's my strange-but-true toilet story!

[4everwarriors]

Glad ta hear everythin' came out well, aina?

[🏀]

Might be putting in an offer for my first house----in IL (limited options in Kenosha and big time seller's market, it seems like).  When should I contact a real estate attorney?  Just at the closing, assuming my offer is accepted?

Yeah, Foxconn just drove up the value of any home immensely in the RKW area.

[jutaw22mu]

Yeah, Foxconn just drove up the value of any home immensely in the RKW area.

It's so crazy.  I saw a house in Kenosha on Saturday that was listed over 300k but sold for 204k in 2015.

[Coleman]

Might be putting in an offer for my first house----in IL (limited options in Kenosha and big time seller's market, it seems like).  When should I contact a real estate attorney?  Just at the closing, assuming my offer is accepted?

I have a recommendation if you'd like. $500 flat fee. He's in Chicago but I'm sure he would work in Lake County too. The only time he is there in person is at closing, the rest is over the phone/email. I would get in touch as soon as you are under contract.

[jutaw22mu]

I have a recommendation if you'd like. $500 flat fee. He's in Chicago but I'm sure he would work in Lake County too. The only time he is there in person is at closing, the rest is over the phone/email. I would get in touch as soon as you are under contract.

Thanks, I sent you a PM!

[Coleman]

Thanks, I sent you a PM!

I think I sent you a PM back? But it isn't showing in my Sent Messages. Let me know if you didn't get it.

[jutaw22mu]

I think I sent you a PM back? But it isn't showing in my Sent Messages. Let me know if you didn't get it.

Got it, thanks!

[dgies9156]

When we bought our Chicago condo in 2004, we decided to change the 3 toilets to the "comfort height" toilets with the elongated bowl. I did my research and Toto toilets consistently rated the highest.

So I searched for them in Chicago ... and couldn't find any. Home Depot, Lowe's and the like didn't carry them, and nobody else had them in stock. I also couldn't find them online cheap enough to make it worth it to pay the high shipping costs. (This was before free shipping became widely available.)

I finally located them at a plumbing distributor near the West Loop. The employee said they would hold them for me but went to pick them up the next day they were gone.

I gave up. I was not going to pay 2x list price for black market toilets!

I ended up buying Kohler products and we never had problems with them.

And there's my strange-but-true toilet story!

We have three of them in our home in Chicago. Never clogs. Never. Best working toilets ever.

Got them from a plumbing distributor in Buffalo Grove. Had plenty in stock. No games to be played there. They were fair with us..

Ironically, our plumber who installed them just shook his head. "Gosh, I never imagined people would pay this much for a toilet," he said.

Heck, I didn't think it was that expensive -- especially for something that works.

[🏀]

We have three of them in our home in Chicago. Never clogs. Never. Best working toilets ever.

Got them from a plumbing distributor in Buffalo Grove. Had plenty in stock. No games to be played there. They were fair with us..

Ironically, our plumber who installed them just shook his head. "Gosh, I never imagined people would pay this much for a toilet," he said.

Heck, I didn't think it was that expensive -- especially for something that works.

If you're paying less than $150 for a toilet, you're doing it wrong.

[MUBurrow]

If you're paying less than $150 for a toilet, you're doing it wrong.

Kinda like getting a good mattress, aina? You take out my time in bed and on the can and I've only got like 30% of my day left.