Comments on: “My First Place” Shows Off Poor Decisions

By: Christina

Christina — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:36:19 +0000

Agreed! New home owners also need to be realistic about what their price point will actually buy. I am always amazed by the people who up the price of their loan simply because they believe that they can not live with fore-mica counter tops or vinyl tile. Shows such as this make it seem like granite counter tops and other expensive updates ought to be the norm in all houses, when truthfully the vast majority of people do not have such luxuries– Not only do they survive, they thrive. Yet these first time home buyers with modest budgets can not live without buying a home that they can not really afford? It seems rather spoiled to me.

By: Ms. Haynes-Short

Ms. Haynes-Short — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 01:32:48 +0000

It is wonderful when you can make it work. (Or) when it’s in your
care-ma be provided with the things that can done for you. Myself my spoon was niegther gold nor silver. (Who Knew) even though my great idea’s could have landed a wonderful briecase payout, their is always two to five with their hands in the pot. (Who Knew) It’s always others that break off the excess anyway. Why bother…. Just for the entertainment of seeing it work for a few years…. Then what? You find yourself right back were you started. Trush me stuff happens. But enjoy the ride… sometimes it can be a blast…. but if it herts too bad … don’t be too proud to back-off… and just cry…until it feels better.

By: Ms. Haynes-Short

Ms. Haynes-Short — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 01:12:31 +0000

Hey, I don’t know about getting too rich too quick. I just had to say this… Maybe if you did
achieved this goal….

Would you die right after? that is what most people think even if they won’t say it. Yes.. I understand it’s a goal….Someone once wrote sometines you have to give up one thing to get something better. The goal in my life is just to be confortabe if you must be rich… I guess you have to take the chance and do it….I just know it’s not for me..
If I could think of a way to get rich and don’t think I’ve not thought long and hard about this subjuct as most people have. What then? I would be too afraid to tell anyone nor spend to the point I could enjoy it enough to be happy. ?????

By: Dawn

Dawn — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 01:32:58 +0000

I just saw this episode too and I totally agree.with you…never buy anything solely in your name if you can’t afford it on your own..

This guy can decide six months later that he doesn’t want to deal with the responsibility and simply walk away…they’re not married and he’s not on the deed or the mortgage obligation…so he can live out the $15k he invested as a down payment and leave her high and dry…

By: Mrs

Mrs — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 00:48:03 +0000

I’m watching the show now. A couple, Angie and Aaron, are looking for a home in Northern Cal. (Santa Rosa). They live together, but aren’t married. The house is going in her name only, he’s taking care of the downpayment, and they are splitting the mortgage 50/50. She’s approved for $300K, and has $15K savings (for emergencies). Her ‘MUST HAVES’ are: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, fenced yard, open floor plan, hardwood floors. They start off by looking at places ABOVE their price range with the thinking that they will be able to ‘strike a deal’. House #1 is $339,500: The living room ‘has an awkward shape’, the kitchen appliances ‘don’t match’, and there’s only one eating area. They would ‘deal with’ the tile countertops in the bathrooms. She’s not willing to compromise with the small backyard. Too many ‘deal breakers’.

House #2 is $325,000, 1400sqf. Right away they don’t like that it’s on a main road. The first bedroom is ‘too small’ and has a bush in front of the window. The bathroom isn’t to ‘their taste’. The master closet isn’t big enough, and the room isn’t big enough, and they don’t like the bathroom. It has a pool, but they don’t want to do the work to maintain it.

They talk, Aaron says that she is setting herself up for disappointment in the $340K price range. They should go down to a $300K fixer-uper. She says, “I’ve never even painted before!” He says, they could do 99% of the work and save a lot of money that way. She asks if the $2K they have saved enough. He says that it would be a start, and enough to get them into the house living comfortably. She’s kinda freaked out.

House #3 is a fixer at $299K short sale. She’s disappointed that there are not wood floors. She wishes there were granite countertops in the kitchen. First bedroom is ‘really small’ and needs an updated window. The first bathroom is ‘real bad’. The master is more promising, and she is willing to make some changes. Bathroom 2 is better. She is more optimistic by the end.

They’re are 2 other offers on the table for #3. The realtor explains what a short sale is. Other properties in the area sold for more. They ask for closing costs to be covered, and offer $300K. 4 months later….they got the house without covering the closing costs. Inspections report the roof needs to be replaced. There are termites in the foundation, and it needs fumigation. They have $9K in repairs. They only have $15K in savings, and are asking for $9K in credit from the bank. The bank won’t do anything for them: AS IS…… They went ahead and purchased it for $299K, $1,982/month. They got the house fumigated, but will wait to fix the roof.

Between the repairs and closing cost, this couple is screwed. God forbid one of them loses their job, or if they break-up. What the hell is she going to do, since the house is in her name only? She now has (if the roof gets fixed) $2K in savings??!! That’s one month’s mortgage. It amazes me what people get themselves into.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 04:26:57 +0000

Ironically, I came across this blog as I was Googling to see if there was a follow-up to an obvious “foreclosure-in-the-making” episode of “My First Place.” A young couple with three children under the age of six decided to buy a home once they learned of a grant program that would cover their down payment (the gov’t shares some blame in this mortgage debacle). “Who wouldn’t pass up free money?”, says the wife…SMH!!

Well, the “free money” dries up and and instead of walking away, the agent refers them to a mortgage broker (“by coincidence” a friend of hers). Long story short, the mortgage broker “helps” them out by raising their interest rate from 6% to 6.5%, which in essence makes them finance the $11k down payment they were supposed get through grants. The broker goes on to point out this rate increase only adds $59 a month to their mortgage..so doing some quick math, adds up to about $21k additional money paid during the life of the loan, with the financing based on the full price of the home. Clearly, the agent and the mortgage broker knew they were not dealing with buyers who were savvy on these things.

They closed the show with this gem: the husband mentioned that their rent payment was $800 (and they weren’t able to save one dime for a downpayment) now their mortgage payment is now $1424 a month!!! What banker in his or her right mind approved this mortgage??? Where was the additional $600 a month supposed to come from when this couple is apparently living on every penny they make, right now???

When will this madness stop???

By: Tori

Tori — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 09:56:36 +0000

I’ve seen a couple of episodes of this show and House Hunters to realize one thing that irritates me. The buyers are such whiners! They start off saying that want certain things within a certain budget but as the shows continue they go for something completely else. They nitpick over things that can easily be changed or the one that really gets me is the dining rooms. Most of the people wanting a dining room don’t have children, are planning on having parties not dinners, or buying vacation homes. I like to watch this show when I feel like venting at the tv. I think part of the reason the people on these shows go over their original budget is because of the public viewing of the show. They don’t want to come off poor. Also the people after breaking their budget go for inspections where they find out their home has a few problems. I just got done watching an episode where during the inspection they found a few tiny problems and one of them was a mouse trap in the wall. The trap was old, had not even been activated until that moment, and the women about backed out of the home! Maybe I’m a little country but that really is not a problem. The first home had the walls coming apart due to water damage. Now that is a problem. I love how the vacation home buyers are wanting these big 5 room places for cheap on the ocean with a view. Reality check! Many of these are couples have no children so why do they need the extra rooms? For their friends who are going to be able to come down to visit of course! Nice idea but not everyone can afford to fly down every weekend or summer to visit you. It is a vacation home! You are going to be out and about enjoying the culture not staying at home. You do not need that much space. Nor is it necessary to have a pool when you are right next to the beach. There was a couple who went with a condo on the beach that was under construction and was over their price range. They overlooked a 4 bedroom home large open living room, library, pool, balcany and low in the their budget because of three things: small dining room, 1 block way from the beach and the house was painted yellow. Who would have thought to paint a house yellow in florida? Thats not including the families that get vacation homes. Many of these families have to work all year long so I see no point in getting a vacation home in a foreign country with kids. They pick homes that are away from civilization so their teenage kids are cut away from society with nothing to do. Except swimming and that gets old really fast. Why get a vacation home that is so expensive, away from everything that the country offers, to only spend maybe 2 weeks there? You could rent a place instead for less because they are not adding in the fact you have to pay someone to watch the place while they’re gone. They also plan to rent their homes out. I have an aunt who rented out her home their house was gutted because the caretaker did not care about what was going on. And that is in their own backyard! The children have no say in these homes which is a place they will be having to stay for periods of time. Can we say broody kids? I have yet to see the parents ask about schools in the area for the children they are planning on having. Many of the buyers on these shows are also doing multiple tasks while buying their first homes. The earlier mentioned mouse trap woman was getting married in 30 days from the buying of the home. In all honesty you should avoid trying to buy a home while in any kind of stressful situation. Marry first then buy a home or the other way around. Don’t plan on having kids and buy a big home have one kid first. You may not be able to have kids or want more then one. Thats just a few of the problems I have with these shows not including the budget issues that have been already addressed in earlier comments. These shows need to have a follow-up to their follow-ups. I would just about bet many of the people have either lost their jobs, divorced or something else entirely. The people on these shows need to do their research first, go through the pre-approved morgage process, SAVE MONEY, and then visit the realtor’s office. Don’t trust the realtor because he is after the money not your happiness. Get your own selling prices of local houses that have sold recently. Dreaming about your perfect home is what got you motivated leave it at the door when seeing the homes available. They will never match up perfectly unless you build your own from scratch. Also read the paperwork. There is a reason they give it to you with your own copy. These shows should offer help and advice instead of decorating an area of the buyers’ home. They may not like the style since they are all so nitpicky. Sorry about the venting.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:07:54 +0000

Thanks, Katie for your comment….It really bothers me when real estate agents say that they work for the buyers. I hope that there are agents out there that will see these comments and realize that they work for the sellers all the time…..and to say that they work for the potential buyers just to get a sale, is ridiculous. These agents must remember that without the sellers, they wouldn’t make a living….Thanks again, Katie for for comments. Much appreciated…

By: Katie

Katie — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:04:02 +0000

Kathryn, I totally agree with you. I think I saw the same show. It bothered me too. I have a home up for sale right now and if I overheard an agent telling their sellers that they work for them, I think I would have said something to them.

I agree with telling all agents that they work for the sellers. We are the ones who give them their commission anyway.

Thanks for your comment.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:00:40 +0000

I was watching “My First Place” and the real estate agent told the potential buyers, “I am working for you.” She is not working for the potential buyers of the home….she is working for the sellers. Who does she think pays her commission? It sure doesn’t come from the buyer, it obviously comes from the seller. All real estate agents out there listen to this….YOU WORK FOR THE SELLERS. …..NOT THE BUYERS….” I realize the buyers are your clients, but you do not work for them…you work for us….the sellers. Why didn’t the editors take that out? Poor copy….I will still watch the show even though it was a poor statement on the side of the real estate agent.