How was your first time

How was your first time

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 16:32:50

At 6/12/15 02:57 PM, Nacholuskey wrote: At your first go on newgrounds and the first animation you click in

First came here because of this:

One Chance

Then, years later i came back because of @Macaroni-Penguin’s animations.

«Till one day, that lion gets up and tears the shit out of everybody.»

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 17:14:50

At 6/12/15 04:39 PM, PhilTheThrillKessel wrote: >attacks grammar
>has shit grammar

It’s very embarrassing when people try greentexting outside of 4chan. I’m embarrassed4u.

wow haha ok there bud

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 17:17:45

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 17:25:11

imagine if > didn’t mean ‘greentext’ but had been used for quoting people in emails etc literally decades before 4chan even existed

just #imagining, here

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 18:37:00

At 6/12/15 02:57 PM, Nacholuskey wrote: At your first go on newgrounds and the first animation you click in

От каждого по способностям, каждому по потребностям

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 19:03:10

We Drink Ritalin

When this post hits 88 mph, you’re going to see some serious friendship.

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 19:10:10

I don’t remember anything about the animations. I just came here to read the forum boards.
The games here suck compared to y8, and crazymonkey.com but that was years ago.
SO I assumed that the movies did too. But you know, Salad Fingers still rings true in my heart.

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 19:44:32

I came to this site after looking up zombies on Google (I was a huge fan of zombies back in the day). The zombie animations were probably one of the first things I watched here.

Just chillin’ like always.

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 19:47:40

a friend of mine named @Auzama showed me this place, pretty sure the first thing he showed me was this

Potter Puppet Pals!

and not long after, this

Is This What You Want?

which might be the best animation ever.

«Death upon death. Nothing but death in this barren land. Who can we pray to? There are only demons and fiends here.»

The Journal of a Man Who Wandered into Another World

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 19:49:37

At 6/12/15 02:57 PM, Nacholuskey wrote: At your first go on newgrounds and the first animation you click in

How the hell am I supposed to remember this?

Formally known as Viper50

When you get into one of these groups theres only a couple of ways you can get out. One is death. The other is mental institution.

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 19:51:01

At 6/12/15 02:57 PM, Nacholuskey wrote: At your first go on newgrounds and the first animation you click in

How the hell am I supposed to remember this?

How long have you been on this site?

Just chillin’ like always.

At 6/12/15 02:57 PM, Nacholuskey wrote: At your first go on newgrounds and the first animation you click in

How the hell am I supposed to remember this?

How long have you been on this site?

I used it pre-2007 redesign, left, then came back in 2010 and made my account.

Formally known as Viper50

When you get into one of these groups theres only a couple of ways you can get out. One is death. The other is mental institution.

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 19:59:14

At 6/12/15 07:52 PM, Viper wrote:
I used it pre-2007 redesign, left, then came back in 2010 and made my account.

I don’t remember exactly how long I’ve known about this site, but I created my account many months after I first discovered the site.

Just chillin’ like always.

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 20:21:57

At 6/12/15 02:57 PM, Nacholuskey wrote: At your first go on newgrounds and the first animation you click in

My first time was in my dorm room at college in 2003.

I think I was watching stick fights then mostly because xiao xiao was big around then.

Flathead Symphony

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 21:42:29

At 6/12/15 09:25 PM, PhilTheThrillKessel wrote:

At 6/12/15 09:17 PM, PhilTheThrillKessel wrote: Failing to capitalize the first of the sentence and lacking a period at the end of it, sweetie.

punctuation isn’t grammar

goddamn, you’re an idiot

you were making me feel really stupid for a second and i was doubting myself but then after a quick google search i realized that it’s actually just you who is stupid after all.

«Death upon death. Nothing but death in this barren land. Who can we pray to? There are only demons and fiends here.»

The Journal of a Man Who Wandered into Another World

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 21:59:17

Two words: Frank’s Adventure

Response to How was your first time? 2015-06-12 23:18:25

At 6/12/15 10:43 PM, PhilTheThrillKessel wrote:

At 6/12/15 09:42 PM, TOXlCITY wrote:
you were making me feel really stupid for a second and i was doubting myself but then after a quick google search i realized that it’s actually just you who is stupid after all.

Oh shit son, you’re wrong. Suck my cock.

uh.
so where in this does it show that i’m wrong?

grammar is the set of structural rules governing the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language.

nothing about punctuation here

and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics, and pragmatics.

morphology refers to ‘root words, affixes, parts of speech, intonations and stresses, or implied context.’ nothing about punctuation here.

syntax is the ‘arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.’ also nothing about punctuation. words and phrases do not involve capitalization or punctuation marks.

phonology and phonetics refer to how it sounds. nothing about punctuation here.

semantics refer to meanings.

pragmatics contribute to meanings.

grammar was invented with the creation of language. when language was created, no one originally knew how to read and write, that came much later. they are not entirely the same.

«Death upon death. Nothing but death in this barren land. Who can we pray to? There are only demons and fiends here.»

The Journal of a Man Who Wandered into Another World

First-Time Homebuyer’s Guide

Everything you need to know to make that big purchase easier

Buying a home can be challenging for a first-timer. After all, there are so many steps, tasks, and requirements, and you may be anxious about making an expensive mistake. But first-time homebuyers enjoy some special advantages created to encourage new entrants into the real estate market.

To demystify the process, so you get the most out of your purchase, here is a rundown of what you need to consider before you buy and what you can expect from the buying process itself, plus tips to make life easier after you buy your first home.

Key Takeaways

Top Tips For Buying Your First Home

Benefits of Being a First-Time Homebuyer

Buying a home is still considered a key aspect of the American dream. As a first-time buyer, you have access to state programs, tax breaks, and federally backed loans if you don’t have the usual minimum down payment—ideally, 20% of the purchase price for a conventional loan—or are a member of a certain group. And you may qualify as a first-time buyer even if you’re not a novice.

Qualifications of First-Time Buyers

A first-time homebuyer, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is someone who meets any of the following conditions:

6 Questions to Consider Before You Buy

Your first step is to determine what your long-term goals are and how home ownership fits in with those goals. Perhaps you’re simply looking to transform all those “wasted” rent payments into mortgage payments that give you something tangible: equity. Or maybe you see homeownership as a sign of independence and enjoy the idea of being your own landlord. Also, buying a home can be a good investment. Narrowing down your big-picture homeownership goals will point you in the right direction. Here are six questions to consider:

1. How’s Your Financial Health?

Before clicking through pages of online listings or falling in love with your dream home, do a serious audit of your finances. You need to be prepared for both the purchase and the ongoing expenses of a home. The outcome of this audit will tell you whether you’re ready to take this big step, or if you need to do more to prepare. Follow these steps:

Look at your savings. Don’t even consider buying a home before you have an emergency savings account with three to six months of living expenses. When you buy a home, there will be considerable upfront costs, including the down payment and closing costs. You need money put away not only for those costs but also for your emergency fund. Lenders will require it.

One of the biggest challenges is keeping your savings in an accessible, relatively safe vehicle that still provides a return so that you’re keeping up with inflation.

Review your spending. You need to know exactly how much you’re spending every month—and where it’s going. This calculation will tell you how much you can allocate to a mortgage payment. Make sure you account for everything—utilities, food, car maintenance and payments, student debt, clothing, kids’ activities, entertainment, retirement savings, regular savings, and any miscellaneous items.

Check your credit. Generally, to qualify for a home loan, you’ll need good credit, a history of paying your bills on time, and a maximum debt-to-income (DTI) ratio of 43%. Lenders these days generally prefer to limit housing expenses (principal, interest, taxes, and homeowner’s insurance) to about 30% of the borrowers’ monthly gross income, though this figure can vary widely, depending on the local real estate market.

2. Which Type of Home Will Best Suit Your Needs?

You have a number of options when purchasing a residential property: a traditional single-family home, a duplex, a townhouse, a condominium, a co-operative, or a multifamily building with two to four units. Each option has its pros and cons, depending on your homeownership goals, so you need to decide which type of property will help you reach those goals. You can save on the purchase price in any category by choosing a fixer-upper, but be forewarned: The amount of time, sweat equity, and money required to turn a fixer-upper into your dream home might be a lot more than you bargained for.

3. Which Specific Home Features Do You Want?

While it’s good to retain some flexibility in this list, you’re making perhaps the biggest purchase of your life, and you deserve to have that purchase fit both your needs and wants as closely as possible. Your list should include basic desires, like size and neighborhood, all the way down to smaller details like bathroom layout and a kitchen fitted with durable appliances. Scanning real estate websites can help you get a sense of the pricing and availability of properties offering the features that are most important to you.

4. How Much Mortgage Do You Qualify for?

Make sure to get pre-approved for a loan before placing an offer on a home. In many instances, sellers will not even entertain an offer that’s not accompanied by a mortgage pre-approval. You do this by applying for a mortgage and completing the necessary paperwork. It is beneficial to shop around for a lender and to compare interest rates and fees by using a tool like our mortgage calculator or Google searches.

5. How Much Home Can You Actually Afford?

In deciding how big a loan to actually take, you’ll want to look at the house’s total cost, not just the monthly payment. Consider how high the property taxes are in your chosen neighborhood, how much homeowner’s insurance will cost, how much you anticipate spending to maintain or improve the house, and how much your closing costs will be.

House shopping with a smaller budget than you are approved for will not only make your financial life more flexible, but it can also help you in today’s hot housing market. Currently in many markets houses are selling for over their asking price. If you shop with enough wiggle room you may not end up losing a bidding war on your dream house.

6. Who Will Guide You Through the Homebuying Process?

A real estate agent will help you locate homes that meet your needs and are in your price range, then meet with you to view those homes. Once you’ve chosen a home to buy, these professionals can assist you in negotiating the entire purchase process, including making an offer, getting a loan, and completing paperwork. A good real estate agent’s expertise can protect you from any pitfalls that you might encounter during the process. Most agents receive a commission, paid from the seller’s proceeds.

Credits For First-Time Homebuyers

The Buying Process

Now that you’ve decided to take the plunge, let’s explore what you can expect from the home buying process itself. This can be a chaotic time, with offers and counteroffers flying furiously, but if you are prepared for the hassle (and the paperwork), then you can get through the process with your sanity intact. Here is the basic progression that you can expect:

Find a Home

Make sure to take advantage of all the available options for finding homes on the market, including using your real estate agent, searching for listings online, and driving around the neighborhoods that interest you in search of for sale signs. Put out some feelers with your friends, family, and business contacts. You never know where a good reference or lead on a home might come from.

Once you’re seriously shopping for a home, don’t walk into an open house without having an agent (or at least being prepared to throw out the name of someone with whom you’re supposedly working). You can see how it might not work in your best interest to start dealing with a seller’s agent before contacting one of your own.

If you’re on a budget, look for homes whose full potential has yet to be realized. Even if you can’t afford to replace the hideous wallpaper in the bathroom now, you may be willing to live with it for a while in exchange for getting into a place that you can afford. If the home meets your needs in terms of the big things that are difficult to change, such as location and size, then don’t let physical imperfections turn you away. First-time homebuyers should look for a house that they can add value to, as this ensures a bump in equity to help them up the property ladder.

Consider Your Financing Options, Then Secure Financing

First-time homebuyers have a wide variety of options to help them get into a home—both those available to any purchaser, including Federal Housing Authority (FHA)-backed mortgages and those geared especially to novices. Many first-time homebuyer programs offer minimum down payments as low as 3% to 5% (vs. the standard 20%), and a few require no down payment at all. Be sure to look into or consider:

Preapprovals and Choosing Lenders

Don’t be bound by loyalty to your current financial institution when seeking a pre-approval or searching for a mortgage: Shop around, even if you only qualify for one type of loan. Fees can be surprisingly varied. An FHA loan, for example, may have different fees depending on whether you’re applying for the loan through a local bank, credit union, mortgage banker, large bank, or mortgage broker. Mortgage interest rates—which, of course, have a major impact on the total price that you pay for your home—can also vary.

Once you’ve settled on a lender and applied, the lender will verify all of the financial information provided (checking credit scores, verifying employment information, calculating DTIs, etc.). The lender can pre-approve the borrower for a certain amount. Be aware that even if you have been pre-approved for a mortgage, your loan can fall through at the last minute if you do something to alter your credit score, such as finance a car purchase.

The minimum credit score to qualify for an FHA loan if you have 10% for a down payment. 580 is the minimum credit score to qualify with a 3.5% down payment.

Some authorities also recommend having a backup lender. Qualifying for a loan isn’t a guarantee that your loan eventually will be funded—underwriting guidelines can shift, lender risk analysis can change, and investor markets can alter. Clients may sign loan and escrow documents, then be notified 24 to 48 hours before the closing that the lender has frozen funding on their loan program. Having a second lender that has already qualified you for a mortgage gives you an alternate way to keep the process on, or close to, schedule.

Make an Offer

Your real estate agent will help you decide how much money you want to offer for the house, along with any conditions you want to ask for. Your agent will then present the offer to the seller’s agent; the seller will either accept your offer or issue a counteroffer. You can then accept, or continue to go back and forth until you either reach a deal or decide to call it quits.

Before submitting your offer, take another look at your budget. This time, factor in estimated closing costs (which can total anywhere from 2% to 5% of the purchase price), commuting costs, and any immediate repairs and mandatory appliances that you may need before you can move in. Think ahead. It’s easy to be ambushed by higher or unexpected utilities and other costs if you are moving from a rental to a larger home. For example, you might request energy bills from the past 12 months to get an idea of average monthly costs.

When you review your budget, don’t overlook hidden costs, such as the home inspection, home insurance, property taxes, and homeowner’s association fees.

If you reach an agreement, you’ll make a good faith deposit, and the process then transitions into escrow. Escrow is a short period of time (often about 30 days) during which the seller takes the house off the market with the contractual expectation that you will buy it—provided you don’t find any serious problems with it when you inspect it.

Have the Home Inspected

Even if the home that you plan to purchase appears to be flawless, there’s no substitute for having a trained professional do a home inspection of the property for the quality, safety, and overall condition of your potential new home. You don’t want to get stuck with a money pit or with the headache of performing a lot of unexpected repairs. If the home inspection reveals serious defects that the seller did not disclose, then you’ll generally be able to rescind your offer and get your deposit back. Alternatively, you can negotiate to have the seller make the repairs or discount the selling price.

Close—or Move on

If you’re able to work out a deal with the seller—or better yet, if the inspection didn’t reveal any significant problems—then you should be ready to close. Closing basically involves signing a ton of paperwork in a very short time period, while praying that nothing falls through at the last minute.

Things that you’ll be dealing with and paying for in the final stages of your purchase may include having the home appraised (mortgage companies require this to protect their interest in the house), doing a title search to make sure that no one other than the seller has a claim to the property, obtaining private mortgage insurance or a piggyback loan if your down payment is less than 20%, and completing mortgage paperwork. Other closing costs can include loan origination fees, title insurance, surveys, taxes, and credit report charges.

Congratulations, New Homeowner! Now What?

You’ve signed the papers and paid the movers, and the new place is starting to feel like home. Game over, right? Not quite. Homeownership costs extend beyond down payments and monthly mortgage payments. Let’s now go over some final tips to make life as a new homeowner more fun and secure.

Keep Saving

With homeownership comes major unexpected expenses, such as replacing the roof or getting a new water heater. Start an emergency fund for your home so that you won’t be caught off guard when these costs inevitably arise.

Perform Regular Maintenance

With the large amount of money that you’re putting into your home, you’ll want to make sure to take excellent care of it. Regular maintenance can decrease your repair costs by allowing problems to be fixed when they are small and manageable.

Ignore the Housing Market

It doesn’t matter what your home is worth at any given moment except the moment when you sell it. Being able to choose when you sell your home, rather than being forced to sell it due to job relocation or financial distress, will be the biggest determinant of whether you will see a solid profit from your investment.

Don’t Rely on Selling to Fund Your Retirement

Even though you own a home, you should do your best to save the maximum in your retirement savings accounts every year. Although it may seem hard to believe for anyone who has observed the fortunes that some people made during the housing bubble, you won’t necessarily make a killing when you sell your house.

If you want to look at your home as a source of wealth in retirement, once you’ve paid off your mortgage, consider the money you were spending on monthly payments as a source of funding for your living and medical expenses in retirement. Also, retirees often want to stay put (despite all the articles you see about downsizing or retiring in exotic locales).

What Is Financial Health?

Financial health is another way of stating what one’s financial condition is and involves savings, expenses, and ongoing income through employment. It also involves a person’s credit score, which determines the ability to qualify for loans such as those for homes or new vehicles and the terms of the loans. Financial health reflects the ability to live within one’s means, save money and be able to afford all monthly obligations like loan payments and everyday expenses.

How Much Mortgage Can I Qualify for?

An effective way to determine how much of a mortgage you might qualify for is to utilize a mortgage calculator. A mortgage calculator will require information like income, total monthly debt obligations, and how long you’ve been with your current employer. Your credit score will also be needed to provide an accurate estimate of the mortgage amount and interest rate for which you would potentially qualify.

How Much Mortgage Can I Afford?

A common rule of thumb used by lenders in determining mortgage affordability is for the estimated mortgage payment to be no more than 28% of a borrower’s monthly gross income. Mortgage lenders take into account things like annual income, total monthly debts, down payment, debt-to-income ratio along with loan factors like the interest rate, term, estimated taxes, and insurance when calculating how much they will lend to a given borrower.

How Long Does It Take to Buy a House?

Buying a house can take as little as a few days if you’re buying in cash, or can take years if you’re counting the amount of time it takes you to save money for a down payment and decide where to live. In today’s hot real estate market you can expect to put in multiple offers on homes before one is accepted in most areas. If you already have your money saved and have a good idea of the neighborhoods and type of home you want, the process will probably take you two to six months. Ask a local real estate agent for a more accurate timeline based on your local market conditions.

How Do You Find a Realtor?

Asking friends, family, and colleagues for recommendations is a great place to start. You can also use local searches and read reviews of realtors on sites like Zillow. Once you’ve picked out a few of your top realtors, meet with them and see if they’re a good fit for you.

The Bottom Line

This overview should help put you on the path to filling in any gaps in your homebuying knowledge. Remember that the more you educate yourself about the process beforehand, the less stressful it will be, and the more likely you will be to get the house you want for a price you can afford. When it’s done, you’ll have the confidence that comes from successfully negotiating a major step in your life.

Correction—July 13, 2022: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that DTI is calculated using net income, not gross income.