1st Time home buyer many questions

[Samuel Williams]

I am a new to this forum and saw a lot of great information. I am a current renter and want to buy a home.

I have a few questions about buying a home for the 1st time where me & my family plan to live.

1.When looking for a home should I be pre approve first or wait until after I find the property I like?

2. Also when do home inspections come into play? Is it during the 1st viewing? after an offer or interest in the home? Also are there any free home inspectors?

3. We saw a few short sales listed. How do short sales work? Are they negotiable?

4. We also saw multifamily homes listed. Are they complicated if you decide to rent out the other part of the home? Would it be beneficial to buy a multifamily & rent out dealing with tenants? Anyone have any experience on this?

5. Can closing be negotiated with the seller where they pay a certain percentage?

6.What are points? & what should we look for regarding them?

Thanks if anyone can help?

[Jon Holdman]

Unless you are thinking of this as your own living space and your own business (a "work/live property"), I would stay away. These properties are more difficult to finance than more traditional property types. You might end up stuck with a commercial loan rather than a conventional residential mortgage.