Buying a home streeeeeeessss. Anyone else nervous with the market?

[dakcp2001]

My former home ended in disaster. I bought at the top of the market and sold at the bottom as a short sale after it sat on the market 3 years. We had to relocate for my husbands job, so we had to move. Now we are looking to buy a new home, it has been a couple of years and I am still gun shy. The prices are starting to go up up up so we need to buy now or we will be buying at the top again. I do not want to overspend or overbuy. My husband wants to spend a lot more than I do. So we are meeting in the middle as a compromise. Now I need to find a home that he will like closer to our median price point. I understand I am irrational about what we can afford, we can afford well more than even he wants to spend, but I just don't want to be stuck paying a mortgage and rent at the same time again. I'd rather buy something we can easily afford and have less worry. When looking at homes, the realtor of course is trying to push the budget up. And reigning my husband back is difficult he gets all super excited over these ridiculously big spendy homes. I guess this is how he feels with everything else we buy where our spending roles are reversed. Getting a taste of my own medicine.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My former home ended in disaster. I bought at the top of the market and sold at the bottom as a short sale after it sat on the market 3 years. We had to relocate for my husbands job, so we had to move. Now we are looking to buy a new home, it has been a couple of years and I am still gun shy. The prices are starting to go up up up so we need to buy now or we will be buying at the top again. I do not want to overspend or overbuy. My husband wants to spend a lot more than I do. So we are meeting in the middle as a compromise. Now I need to find a home that he will like closer to our median price point. I understand I am irrational about what we can afford, we can afford well more than even he wants to spend, but I just don't want to be stuck paying a mortgage and rent at the same time again. I'd rather buy something we can easily afford and have less worry. When looking at homes, the realtor of course is trying to push the budget up. And reigning my husband back is difficult he gets all super excited over these ridiculously big spendy homes. I guess this is how he feels with everything else we buy where our spending roles are reversed. Getting a taste of my own medicine.

Are you planning on moving again? If so, continue renting.

 

[usnuzuloose]

We sold our home on a short sale and we were told credit wise we had to wait 3 yrs before we could purchase again. As a short sale it looks differently on your FICA credit. We are passed that point. But I would talk to your husband and tell him to not rush and get something you can afford in the budget or below. Sometimes it pays off to wait for that right priced home.

 

[ChristineNic]

We are in a similar situation. We took a beating on last home sale and have been renting for 3 years. We are planning to buy at the end of the year, but I am so gun shy.

Our realtor has opined that we are in a mini-bubble in our area - a lot of investment/cash buyers are driving up the prices and making it very difficult for even a pre-approved mortgage buyer to obtain a property.

We have been kinda looking at new homes to avoid the investment buyers, but we aren't finding that "Goldilocks" (just right) community.

Good luck in your search for the perfect home.

 

[kirstenb1]

We always buy a smaller/less fancy house than we can afford, just because we like "stuff" and entertaining, and traveling, and life seems to kick us in the teeth from time to time.

Still I can understand the temptation to "go big", and get what you really want. If you have plenty of income, and some cushion, get what you want!

 

[dakcp2001]

Are you planning on moving again? If so, continue renting.

We were not planning on moving the first time! But for now, we are not planning to move. I have to admit, I am not totally happy with where we live now, but we both have decent jobs and my husband loves his. I miss my family, my sister just had a baby girl and I went home to visit. It made me very homesick. But by the end of the trip, I was ready to put some distance between me and the in laws.

 

[glaserjm]

We were in a very similar situation. We bought a home in 2006 at the top of the market. It ended up being a money pit and we ended up getting rid of it via short sale a few years later when the ARM (stupid stupid stupid of me to have gotten myself into an ARM at the age of 25) adjusted and the payment went up.

As you're already aware that short sale will affect your credit for years and you have to work hard to get it back up. Well we finally got there after renting for 5 years and did it the right way this time. We closed on our house last Tuesday.

You have to know your lifestyle to know what you want to spend on a house. We personally like our active lifestyle complete with restaurants, concerts, sporting events and of course travel! Therefore we wanted a house that we knew was affordable even when you considered all of those other activities. Therefore we bought something that was much less expensive than we qualified for, but had all the characteristics we were looking for. Neither of us are they type that likes large suburban developments so our new bungalow is just right for us!

Good luck on your home search and don't let your realtor pressure you into something you're not ready for...they're not the one who is going to have to make the monthly payment!

 

[Rose23]

Guys, hubby and I just purchased a new home after waiting five years to rebuild our credit after a short sale in 2008. We were also told that it would take three years by the realtor that helped us with the short sale but it took much longer to get our credit rating in the 700s.

Lessons learned? For sure. Only purchase a home where one person can afford the monthly payment (just in case the other loses their job or a medical issue develops). Even though you can probably afford more, make it clear to your realtor that you're not interested in going anywhere near the maximum amount approved. You'll still be able to find mostly everything you want in a home.

We found a spec home (new home that was a former model) that had been sitting empty for a few years. The builders were willing to deal and accepted our low offer after one counter and our payments are low enough for one person to be able to maintain the house payment in an emergency.

Staying way under your maximum approval amount will give you peace of mind and a restful sleep.

Best wishes with your decision.

 

[mamacatnv]

We sold our home on a short sale and we were told credit wise we had to wait 3 yrs before we could purchase again. As a short sale it looks differently on your FICA credit. We are passed that point. But I would talk to your husband and tell him to not rush and get something you can afford in the budget or below. Sometimes it pays off to wait for that right priced home.

We were stuck in the housing disaster on the West Coast, DH was laid off of a 20 year career and the company I worked for was sold and relocated. I was offered a job if we relocated. We too short sold our home but we never missed a payment and were never late. The house never went into default and that is what saved us and allowed us to buy another home 6 months after we closed on the short sale. The only option we had was FHA but it worked for us. The process took about 3 months from start to finish but in the end, we are homeowners again.

We purchased a home based on my salary. Due to the layoff, my DH went back to school and was completing his Masters. His income was sporadic and not reliable so we qualified purely on me. I actually am the owner of the house , he is listed on the deed. I would not allow our Agent to exceed our predetermined budget. I would not even go view the home if it was over our budget. Our agent respected our logic and stayed within our parameters.

I "knew" that we "should" be able to qualify for another home loan but man oh man, it was stressful until they handed me the keys. We too are living in an area where the housing is ticking up and we are starting to see the signs of little inventory, high demand. We are glad we took the leap, we stayed within our budget and our mortgage with all the assoc. insurance and taxes is significantly less than we were paying in rent.

 

[scrapquitler]

My former home ended in disaster. I bought at the top of the market and sold at the bottom as a short sale after it sat on the market 3 years. We had to relocate for my husbands job, so we had to move. Now we are looking to buy a new home, it has been a couple of years and I am still gun shy. The prices are starting to go up up up so we need to buy now or we will be buying at the top again. I do not want to overspend or overbuy. My husband wants to spend a lot more than I do. So we are meeting in the middle as a compromise. Now I need to find a home that he will like closer to our median price point. I understand I am irrational about what we can afford, we can afford well more than even he wants to spend, but I just don't want to be stuck paying a mortgage and rent at the same time again. I'd rather buy something we can easily afford and have less worry. When looking at homes, the realtor of course is trying to push the budget up. And reigning my husband back is difficult he gets all super excited over these ridiculously big spendy homes. I guess this is how he feels with everything else we buy where our spending roles are reversed. Getting a taste of my own medicine.

if you think that you will need to relocate within 5-7 years, it might not be smart to buy, renting might be a better option, then when it comes time to move, you don't have the stress or potential financial loss that selling at a low price or carrying a for sale house will cause.

We bought for the long term, and fortunately, the whole housing bust hasn't affected us because we don't plan to sell for a long time (and our house is still quite a bit above the value at which we bought it in 1998, and on the way back up again). We also bought a house worth significantly less than we were approved for (about half what the realtor and mortgage company told us we could afford). I think it was the smartest thing we ever did. if you and your husband decide to buy, I'd definitely keep working him to buy a less expensive house, especially if you aren't planning to be there long term.

 

[ILUVALASKA]

Watched an interesting special this weekend about home ownership-this analyst said home ownership will never reap the benefits it once did. We own a home, but upon our retirement we want to move the San Francisco Bay area. We plan to rent. We will be freer to come and go as we please.

 

[dakcp2001]

Well, we are looking at 2 homes tonight in the neighborhood we want. Wish us luck! Both are within MY idea of a proposed budget! We saw one yesterday, it was about 20K over what I feel comfortable with and they got 2 offers yesterday! My husband wanted to make an offer, but I didn't love the kitchen and I am not maxing out a budget on a house with a crappy kitchen. Houses are flying off the shelves here and I don't like making hasty decisions with big amounts of cash. One that we are seeing tonight is directly across the st from the one we saw yesterday. The pictures look great, but the price is sending red flags, too good to be true.....

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

I think it all depends on the location. I live in a bubble, just a couple miles outside of DC... the housing market here is still hot hot hot... and it likely always will be. Housing is expensive, but it maintains its value..I have no issues spending $900K+ here because I know the value will only go up.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Well, we are looking at 2 homes tonight in the neighborhood we want. Wish us luck! Both are within MY idea of a proposed budget! We saw one yesterday, it was about 20K over what I feel comfortable with and they got 2 offers yesterday! My husband wanted to make an offer, but I didn't love the kitchen and I am not maxing out a budget on a house with a crappy kitchen. Houses are flying off the shelves here and I don't like making hasty decisions with big amounts of cash. One that we are seeing tonight is directly across the st from the one we saw yesterday. The pictures look great, but the price is sending red flags, too good to be true.....

I see.

You just have to wait for the right house. Be picky.

We bought this in 08 and let me tell you it was hard to buy then too. Anytime there is a "HOT" house it sells quick.

The mantra now is basically hope to break even when you do sell. Not sure we will be able to do that here but hopefully we will not take a bath on it.

 

[runsandjumps]

One thing I have learned from the ups and Downs of the housing market:

When everyone else is buying, don't.

When we were looking at houses back in 2005, I hesitated. My friend told me a house was always a great investment. Yeah, now she is sitting in a house worth 200k less than what she paid.

I for one think if you can wait. Do so.

Buying at the bottom of the market is key - as a pp mentioned buying a house in 1998. Ah, the good ol days.

Ana

 

[MrsDuck]

We are just starting the house hunting process and it terrifies me. I want to buy sooner than later but I'm nervous and feel everyone's pain!

 

[sbtrfly74]

Rent if you have to.


But if you dont like you relator then find another one. I would love to be a real estate agent due to the fact that I would no doubt listen to my client.

That said, I hated my DH agent. Not only bc he dated her daughter so he thought she would do a great job. She was beyond shady, showing him at the top of the market in 2002, 300k homes that he had no business buying that needed to be remodeled and anything that he was not looking for.

My point is if a RA is showing you stuff that you have no interest in they are trying to sell you a house that they also are the seller for... double commission!

His RA also told him.... now that he was doing very well for himself, she of course did a credit check (yes, I thought it was an urban legend that a father hit a bf with a baseball bat, well it actually happened lol) that he shouldnt marry me with 2 kids and her daughter would be back in town soon.... really?

Long story short, supposedly right now is a really good time to buy if you can get a low enough interest rate, and IMO if you are going to be there for a long time.