r/NewbHomebuyer

Two months of house hunting, saw 5-6 homes, found “the one” — Toll Brothers single house plan near ATL suburbs, checks every box (price, layout, location). Problem: the specific lots we want haven’t released yet, no timeline given. Sales agent says we can only offer once released, and only if pre-approved through Toll Brothers Mortgage specifically — so she wants us to pre-approve now to be ready.

Questions:

**1.** Is requiring pre-approval with the builder’s own lender, before lots even release, normal for new construction?
**2.** Any room to negotiate price/lot premium with builders, or is flexibility usually limited to closing costs/upgrade credits?
**3.** First home ever, no contract seen yet, nothing negotiated — are we moving too fast, or is this a reasonable pace?

4. The plan we are interested in has an unfinished basement and Toll brothers won’t finish it even if paid extra, can anybody help in understanding as unfinished basement?

Anyone dealt with Toll Brothers or similar pre-release situations? Trying to avoid a rookie mistake.

Edit: We plan to do a pre drywall inspection and one before closing. Will that help us out to avoid or prevent alteast some of the general toll brother complaints?

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Hello. I asked my lender for a loan estimate. He said I have to go under contract for that. In that case, would I still be able to leave if I don’t like it?

I’m looking for a home in the st.louis area. I have a good loan for up to 370k. I make around 4k a month after taxes. I have over 100k in my savings. Im worried about the costs d/t relying on myself. Any advice? I’ve never been much of a risk taker so this has been nerve wrecking for me.

Hey everyone,

I’m starting the process of buying a home in Charlotte (NC) and looking into different mortgage brokers to work with. Any recs? I came across some while researching local options like Mecklenburg Mortgage, but I’d really appreciate any honest experiences.

I'm a mortgage loan officer and give first time homebuyer tips and tools at r/NewbHomebuyer

Here's a chart that gives an idea what $2,500 might get you for a purchase price in each state. I've included tax and insurance estimates, a 6.75% interest rate, 30 year conventional mortgage with .25 mortgage insurance factor and $50k down payment.

Here's the chart (and a cool calculator below the chart)

State	Purchase Price
AK	$358,437
AL	$359,700
AR	$348,967
AZ	$375,689
CA	$353,745
CO	$361,018
CT	$333,893
DC	$375,072
DE	$382,569
FL	$299,928
GA	$349,188
HI	$401,671
IA	$327,246
ID	$378,770
IL	$312,611
IN	$352,217
KS	$316,991
KY	$348,478
LA	$319,283
MA	$361,334
MD	$356,771
ME	$362,471
MI	$343,941
MN	$345,309
MO	$341,397
MS	$351,386
MT	$360,907
NC	$356,229
ND	$345,442
NE	$292,548
NH	$345,229
NJ	$331,590
NM	$358,195
NV	$381,537
NY	$351,399
OH	$340,643
OK	$320,743
OR	$367,671
PA	$348,913
RI	$346,608
SC	$362,509
SD	$337,007
TN	$357,978
TX	$317,988
UT	$380,990
VA	$363,370
VT	$345,856
WA	$371,028
WI	$342,178
WV	$368,326
WY	$376,044

I made a Reddit calculator for you to check out.

You put in your saved down payment amount, your monthly budget, the interest rate, and the state, and it gives you an approximate purchase price. Here's the link to it if you could test it out and give feedback. and here's a snapshot of it:

https://preview.redd.it/zywk751116jh1.png?width=719&format=png&auto=webp&s=a59f69478333971ee07e25d49da9fcd9c29c6d5f

Hope this helps!

Sam

I give first time homebuyer tips and tools at r/NewbHomebuyer

Here are my stats :

- 21 year old

- High school diploma only

- $18 an hour salary with weekly pay but I take home around $610

- $3,000 in savings account

- $900 in checking account

Monthly expenses :

- Around $150 auto insurance

- Around $190 light bill

- Around $90 water bill

I am looking into learning how to be able to buy a house REALISTICALLY no matter how slow or daunting it'll be. I live with my grandmother who has not specified a sole owner between her three children and I do not want to be kicked out one day without having a house of my own to go to. So, please, any advice or anything would help me. I am going to learn about brokers, lenders, mortgages and loans as much as I can and I am saving up all that I can.

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To start with I have a house in Little Rock and it's not in a hot neighborhood. I’d even say it’s a bit out of the way. The market here is slow. Houses sit for months and some even years…

I'm thinking about selling. So I called a realtor and she said her commission would be 6% of the final price. That's thousands of dollars

Well… I did my own market analysis. Looked at recent sales. Compared my house to others in the area. Most sold for around $180,000 to $220,000. Similar size, similar condition

6% on $200,000 is $12,000. That's a lot of money. For what? A few photos, some showings, and a lot of waiting?

Now I'm considering a cash buyer. I requested an offer and they'll buy it as-is. So…no repairs and no months of waiting.

But I'm scared. What if their offer is way lower than I expect? What if I'd make more money after paying the realtor? I don't know what's better. A quick sale for less? Or a long wait for more?

I never thought I'd be that neighbor you know the one with the overgrown lawn, the boarded-up window, the house everyone whispers about.

Two years ago, due to an urgent need to shift from family reasons, I sold my house. I put up my house for sale, but it was an old one with some foundation problems. Everyone who came to inspect it left as soon as the inspection was over.

At first, I tried to keep up. Paid a lawn service and asked a friend to check on it. But money got tight, and eventually, I stopped. That's when things got ugly…

Kids broke in through the back door. Spray-painted graffiti on the living room wall. Stole the copper pipes. The city sent me violation notices. My neighbors started calling and not to check on me, but to complain. Eyesore. Trash in the yard. Bringing down property values

I got it, but it felt like I was stuck. Paying taxes, insurance, and utilities on something that I cannot even live in, let alone sell and fix and every single month, my money just went down the drain while trying to keep a place standing that everybody hated

I was embarrassed. On my visits, I saw the curtains shut and mail piled up. I knew people thought I was some absent slumlord who owned this property. I was not, though. I just did not know how else I should act