A few Qs regarding buying my first house

[Jeff Hayat]

Hi everyone :)

I am hoping to have a few Qs answered in regards to buying a house, which I will be doing towards the middle of this year. This will be a single family home, my primary and only residence, and no portion will be made available as a rental.

1. Assuming the house is priced around market value, and is in good cond., is there an "unwritten rule" on how much the initial offer should be, in terms of percentage of the asking price? For ex., if the asking price is 229k, what is the best place for the buyer to start? Is say, 200k too low to start (I don't want to insult anyone), or is it not low enough?

2. This will be a cash transaction - how do I show the listing agent that I am ready to buy financially? I assume they are going to want to know that they are not wasting their time. Will printing my current bank statement suffice?

3. Assuming I need to show bank details, I dont want to alert the listing agent to the fact that I have more money in the bank than I am looking to spend. When they find out that I have 40k in the bank over my stated budget, then I will probably have to deal with, "oh, well then, let me show you THIS house!"... and "well, if you spend some more money, you can get a much nice house and better deal!" and on and on. How do I avoid this? On the surface, it seems to me that it would be as simple as moving the extra money into another acct; is it really that painless?

4. Home inspection - if one is done already, is there a way for me to know if it is trustworthy? How do I know it wasn't done by the seller's cousin, or best friend? If one has not been done - and I am pretty sure I want one done - who pays for it?

5a. Closing costs - in addition to my attorney's fee, and considering there is no bank involved, are there any closing costs I should expect to incur?

5b. Taxes - will I be paying any taxes? I understand that there are taxes to be paid when you sell a house, but what about when you buy?

Thanks in advance!