patrick.net

I would get a RE attorney to handle your contract title and everything else bypass your buyer agent altogether.
They will have your best interest better than the RE Agent will and you'll need a title company anyway.
For more money than you would pay the title company, you get a full service Lawyer for less than the buyer agent will charge you get someone to submit the contract to the seller's agent.

All good advice. It's easy to get caught up in buying a mini mansion just because I can and everything seems so cheap in Phoenix compared to San Diego. For someone who asked, I'm looking at the Desert Ridge neighborhood on the North side.

just any guy says

It's easy to get caught up in buying a mini mansion

it's definitely worth it, just nice to know the baggage that comes along.

don't live down, life is too short. enjoy.

landtof says

A: yes, they have to avoid dual-agency and usually are certified negotiation experts to help get the price down and deal with other terms / inspection stuff. they will know the all important "absorption rate" for any given micro-market.

Bwahahahaha

Brush up on your chemical synthesis skills as a backup plan.

ThreeBays says

SpecialSnowflake says

I was thinking of just doing solar on my roof.

... which is the same as prepaying for your next 6 or 7 years of electricity bills.

One of the best investments of our time.

... if you stay in the house longer than the time you prepaid for.

Can't you buy an entire subdivision in Arizona for 800k, and roll around in all the rent tribute your serfs and vassals bestow upon you?

Where is good old Roberto?

ThreeBays says

SpecialSnowflake says

I was thinking of just doing solar on my roof.

... which is the same as prepaying for your next 6 or 7 years of electricity bills.

One of the best investments of our time.

Are you being sarcastic? I can't tell

just any guy says

ThreeBays says

SpecialSnowflake says

I was thinking of just doing solar on my roof.

... which is the same as prepaying for your next 6 or 7 years of electricity bills.

One of the best investments of our time.

Are you being sarcastic? I can't tell

Ask for several solar quotes and decide for yourself. (Ownership, not solar lease or PPA).

SpecialSnowflake says

Ask for several solar quotes and decide for yourself. (Ownership, not solar lease or PPA).

I have been getting quotes for a solar system. San Diego has some of the most rip off electricity prices in the nation. I am literally saving 75%.
Phoenix electricity may not be as expensive, therefore savings with solar may not be very high.

WookieMan says

I disagree, to some extent. Don't know the cost in the southwest.

hot sun evaporates the water fairly quickly and then you need to refill it often.

BayArea says

Bwahahahaha

why?

Strategist says

SpecialSnowflake says

Ask for several solar quotes and decide for yourself. (Ownership, not solar lease or PPA).

I have been getting quotes for a solar system. San Diego has some of the most rip off electricity prices in the nation. I am literally saving 75%.

Phoenix electricity may not be as expensive, therefore savings with solar may not be very high.

You're not saving anything unless you stay long enough to reach break-even point. Which is currently between 6 and 7 years for a typical 90-110% system. (In SFBA which is probably on par or even more expensive than SD).

just any guy says

It's easy to get caught up in buying a mini mansion

Why not buy half of what you can afford? It would still be very nice, I'm sure.

landtof says

hot sun evaporates the water fairly quickly and then you need to refill it often.

Yeah, I know that's an issue out there. Just wasn't sure how pricey water is there. I assume high, desert and all. Where I'm at in the midwest I figure I have to top off about 2 feet of water a year, maybe about 5-7k gallons max. Water bill only jumps about $30-40 during the summer for me, if even that much. Have a lot of garden to water as well, so hard to tell what % is pool.

Pool cover would help too with evaporation. Contrary to popular belief, pool covers just maintain the temperature. If you remove the cover at night, it will help to cool the water and you won't lose water to evaporation (as much) like you would during the day. Obviously a pain, but at $800k you might find a house that has a auto pool cover and you can get a timer for it. And if water is expensive, a cover like that might pay for itself rather quickly.

Sorry OP, this has been totally off topic. Pools are expensive of course, but there are definitely ways to make the maintenance cheaper. You didn't say this (or anyone in this post), but it seems like a lot of people are afraid of homes with pools due to the cost. Obviously there are other safety concerns, especially with kids, but pools are rather fun with kids at a certain age if you make it safe and set rules.

Thanks everyone. My wife is nervous about the weather, but I told her that most places in the US outside of CA have several months where you're just indoors. I'm just sick of the taxes here and the cost of buying a house. I feel like I should be living a better lifestyle given where I'm at in my career, but CA just squashes that.

ThreeBays says

my understanding is solar adds good re-sale value to your house.

Not a fact.

just any guy says

- Any other tips for a first-time homebuyer?

Sit down and seriously look at the rental to price ratio. Actually crunch the numbers. Hotpads is a great tool for this. If rents are really undervalued say 120 months+ then consider renting if you aren't all hung up on having "a home" vs a big wooden box you live in. Invest the difference between renting and buying (which includes banking what you would have paid in property taxes and insurance) along with investing the down payment. This is a very active hands on strategy that requires a lot of time and discipline. There are markets out there where for your 160k down payment you can buy 2 good rental houses in good areas netting over 9% after paying a management company. No appreciation, but very nice cash flow.

If you decide buying is for you then as people have said already, rent for at least 6 months preferably a year first. It's a pain in the ass to move twice in a year,but living a year somewhere gives you a whole different perspective on where you want to live in an area. You don't really know the in's and out's until you have your feet on the ground. I've regretted buying directly into an area the 3 times I've done it. Go month to month after the first year and you can shop at your leisure, preferably in the slow selling season, giving you a lot of leverage on the sellers.. I have had much, much better house buying experience when I did it that way. Everything is on your terms and the pressure is all on the seller.

I personally would (and always have) find a somewhat less expensive house and go for a 10 or 15 year mortgage. I have a 10 year 2.75% and the equity builds fast. The difference in what you pay the bank in interest vs a 30 year is astounding

Don't get all hung up on what the market will do. If you are living in it long term then it doesn't matter what the market does short term.

When I was in the UAE they had refrigerated pools in the resorts. Very odd feeling getting into a refrigerated pool. Had a salt water pool in my house in Oz . Much better than a chlorinated pool. I'm not sure why salt water pools are so rare in the US.

@bob - thanks for the tips. My wife and I have 2 kids (5th and 6th grades), so she's afraid of renting and then moving again if we're not at the same school. I agree that renting first would make the most sense, but moving twice does suck. On the price of home, we've noticed that to get the kitchen and backyard we want, you gotta pay $700-$800K minimum. I suppose we could go cheaper and then do the landscaping ourselves.

just any guy says

she's afraid of renting and then moving again if we're not at the same school.

Consider trying to get a long-term lease, like 5 years. Landlords like stability too.

That would give you some breathing room, and the lease could simply have a payment option to break it, like paying an extra month.

ThreeBays says

SpecialSnowflake says

ThreeBays says

my understanding is solar adds good re-sale value to your house.

Not a fact.

I've seen plenty of studies claiming the contrary. Can you point to any data to back your claim?

You first. With "plenty of studies" it should be easy to link 3 or 4...

Why not buy half of what you can afford? It would still be very nice, I'm sure.

My wife and I have 2 kids (5th and 6th grades), so she's afraid of renting and then moving again if we're not at the same school. I agree that renting first would make the most sense, but moving twice does suck. On the price of home, we've noticed that to get the kitchen and backyard we want, you gotta pay $700-$800K minimum. I suppose we could go cheaper and then do the landscaping ourselves.

just any guy says

@bob - thanks for the tips. My wife and I have 2 kids (5th and 6th grades), so she's afraid of renting and then moving again if we're not at the same school. I agree that renting first would make the most sense, but moving twice does suck. On the price of home, we've noticed that to get the kitchen and backyard we want, you gotta pay $700-$800K minimum. I suppose we could go cheaper and then do the landscaping ourselves.

Dude - if you are willing to plunk down $800K, can't you find something reasonable in San Diego County? Nice houses with 2,500 square feet are still going for that in my neighborhood in Carlsbad.

I totally get how you can be frustrated with the retards in government that are running California into the ground and wanting to get into something stable with a good school district, but there are still some pockets of sanity here and there - especially in San Diego, Carlsbad being one of them. I think prices are going to soften significantly in the coming year.

I am so happy we bought in Carlsbad in 2011 when the market bottomed out. We got a totally affordable 30 year fixed mortgage at low interest rate, have great public schools, ocean views and cool ocean breezes. I'm never leaving.

Then again, I was born in Chicago and lived a big chunk of my life in the Midwest, so I know how shitty the weather is for 6 months of the year. Life is too short to suffer indoors all the time.

socal2 says

I was born in Chicago and lived a big chunk of my life in the Midwest, so I know how shitty the weather is for 6 months of the year. Life is too short to suffer indoors all the time.

Amen, me too.

socal2 says

Life is too short to suffer indoors all the time.

There is an amazing new invention out there that solves this problem. It's called a coat.

bob2356 says

socal2 says

Life is too short to suffer indoors all the time.

There is an amazing new invention out there that solves this problem. It's called a coat.

Some of us prefer living with shorts, t-shirts, and sandals all year round.

Strategist says

Some of us prefer living with shorts, t-shirts, and sandals all year round.

And surf.

There is no surf in Chicago.

socal2 says

Strategist says

Some of us prefer living with shorts, t-shirts, and sandals all year round.

And surf.

There is no surf in Chicago.

We have everything they have, plus everything they don't have.

Actually, there is surfing on areas of Lake Michigan depending on weather.

Don't forget, in Phoenix you have to wear oven gloves to drive, and lizards jump in your ass crack for moisture.

I can see making the jump to Phoenix if a person lived inland like Fresno, Bakersfield, Inland Empire or even Sacramento. Why deal with the California dysfunction and high taxes if you don't get the nice weather and proximity to the beach? But seems really hard to make the leap if you are leaving San Diego. Especially if a person is willing to spend $800K on a house?

Patrick says

I was born in Chicago and lived a big chunk of my life in the Midwest, so I know how shitty the weather is for 6 months of the year. Life is too short to suffer indoors all the time.

Amen, me too.

December through February are bad. You're not going to be swimming during those shoulder months (Oct, Nov & March, April), but it's not that bad. I'd call it 3-4 months of shitty weather. $800k will get you a lot in IL, but then your taxes are fucking $20k.

I was in Phoenix 2 years ago in late August and it absolutely sucked to be outside. Also did a visit in mid May one year and I think we caught a hot spell, but it was 115-120 if I recall correctly. Don't care if it's dry heat or not. That's just awful to be in. So AZ has it's limitations weather wise as well during the hot months if you enjoy outdoor activities at all. At least in the midwest you could always cross country ski or even ski/snowboard at your local hill. Hiking in 120 degree temps does not sound pleasant. And I'm not sure what else you'd do besides swim in that weather.

You're just not going to be Socal weather.

WookieMan says

December through February are bad. You're not going to be swimming during those shoulder months (Oct, Nov & March, April), but it's not that bad. I'd call it 3-4 months of shitty weather. $800k will get you a lot in IL, but then your taxes are fucking $20k.

I was in Phoenix 2 years ago in late August and it absolutely sucked to be outside. Also did a visit in mid May one year and I think we caught a hot spell, but it was 115-120 if I recall correctly. Don't care if it's dry heat or not. That's just awful to be in. So AZ has it's limitations weather wise as well during the hot months if you enjoy outdoor activities at all. At least in the midwest you could always cross country ski or even ski/snowboard at your local hill. Hiking in 120 degree temps does not sound pleasant. And I'm not sure what else you'd do besides swim in that weather.

You're just not going to be Socal weather.

Spring and Summer is no picnic in the Midwest either. It's hot, humid, buggy and stormy. Always a good chance it will rain on your parade if you have any outdoor plans. I was just back in Indianapolis for 10 days visiting family in July and it rained 5 of the days. Came back with a gazillion bug bites too. Also most of the Midwest is flat as pancake. Very few hills or mountains to enjoy.

I was in Phoenix last month for work and it was terribly hot and HUMID thanks to the Monsoon storms. Thankfully it was just a day trip.

I don't even have an air conditioner at my house. Don't need it.

socal2 says

Spring and Summer is no picnic in the Midwest either. It's hot, humid, buggy and stormy. Always a good chance it will rain on your parade if you have any outdoor plans. I was just back in Indianapolis for 10 days visiting family in July and it rained 5 of the days. Came back with a gazillion bug bites too. Also most of the Midwest is flat as pancake. Very few hills or mountains to enjoy.

I was in Phoenix last month for work and it was terribly hot and HUMID thanks to the Monsoon storms. Thankfully it was just a day trip.

I don't even have an air conditioner at my house. Don't need it.

And that's the thing, if weather is a top 3 concern, I don't really see why you would move out of SoCal once there if you can afford it (I don't know if the OP stated weather was that big a concern). Phoenix schools are likely equal. Phoenix has it's pricey spots as well, although it's substantially cheaper overall. At $800k purchase price though, I'd stay in SoCal.

Monsoon storms are lovely. That August trip I mentioned involved one. We were at Alice Cooper'stown bar. Sign got blown off the front of the building into the street. Couldn't exit the building for a good 20-30 minutes after the rain stopped because there was a foot of water surrounding it. Had to wait until it drained down.

I've actually wondered about the mountain vs flat land perspective. I've always lived in flat land and visited mountainous areas across the country. Is there a chance people that grew up always in mountainous areas are fascinated in a different way about flat areas? There are certain drives I take where I'm even kind of shocked how flat it is. It's a different feeling I guess. Not sure how to explain it. I definitely prefer to see and/or be near mountains. Beaches and blue water are a favorite as well.

I travel to Phoenix for business. I love the city but 5-6mo out of the year is pure hell on earth.

The oven mitt comment above when driving is 100% true.

As someone that's lived on the coast his entire life, that would be a very tough transition for me.

We are worried about living in the Phoenix heat, but I'm sick of not having a nice house and paying so much in taxes. $800K does not buy you a nice house in a nice area in San Diego...sorry. I just don't see it when I'm on Redfin.

CA politics and taxes blow chunks, and I'm worried about building long term wealth with how much CA wants to tax me. It's a hard decision