WWYD - housing?

[Bren's Mom]

I think that you need to do a little more research before you jump in.

First, I agree that it's worth looking at 2br with bonus room or 3 br places, see what those prices are.

Let's say you can purchase a suitable home for a purchase price of $100,000. You can put 5% down. Contact a reputable lender (your local bank or a broker recommended by a trusted relative or friend) and tell them you're interested in a $100,000 home, have 5% down and want to be pre-approved. Be sure they run your credit and find out what your scores are. Then ask them to give you loan scenarios for 30yr fixed rates ONLY. When they say 5% for a 30 yr with 0 points ask what the payment would be so you're clear. And also ask what the PMI would be.

Then check out property taxes for some properties listed at $100,000. Take the average of them and divide by 12. Add that to the mortgage P&I and the PMI amounts.

Then call your insurance company and ask them what homeowner's insurance would cost for an X sf house valued at X. Just get a ballpark. (Ours in CT for a 4BR, 2000sf+ home is about $500 per year...just to give you an idea. No clue what it might be in Texas.) Divide the yearly premium by 12 and add that to the P&I, PMI and taxes monthly figure.

Is THAT # more or less than your rent? If it's more, I'd be very cautious since it's likely the utilities would be more on a home and you'll have to pay out of pocket for any and everything that may go wrong plus lawn maintenance, etc. If it's less I would definitely be considering buying. DEFINITELY. This is assuming you're meeting your current obligations with no problem. Keep in mind that you'll want to be keeping MORE in savings if you buy since you never know when things might go wrong and there's no landlord to bail you out.

Good luck whatever you decide!

 

[friendofgusgus]

I'd wait until DH's FT job is secure - and by secure, I mean he's been in it a while. In this economy, I just don't think it's prudent to buy unless you are in a strong cash position.

Also, please don't think of rent as wasted money. Your rent provided you with a place to live, maintenance of that location and flexibility that you cannot have when you are a homeowner. You can easily spend a year's rent on one maintenance issue with a house (roof, leaky basement, bad plumbing, the lost goes on and on) and then you'll still have feelings that the money could have been better spent elsewhere. Trust me, a new roof is not an upgrade that pays for itself at resale time - all houses need a good roof!

Many more people are choosing to rent than to buy right now and there are an entire set of ARMs out there that still have not re-set. There will be plenty of bargains to come, so I'd sit tight until your DH has his job in hand.

You're not missing anything except a chance to save more right now.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[missj1975]

WWID - I would buy a house in your situation since your job is stable and hopefully secure.

I bought a house three years ago on a one person's income so it is possible. My house is a two bedroom ranch with no major repairs needed since I have been the homeowner. I did request a new roof in the closing agreement plus the seller paid the closing costs.

My suggestion is to look at a smaller house (2 to 3 bedroom). A lot of people mention the start up costs for a house but I never had that issue. As soon as I mentioned I was buying a home, friends and family flooded me with stuff for the house. The only thing I ended having to buy was curtains ($300 at Walmart for the whole house). I did buy other stuff because I got carried away with decorating but it was in my budget.

You mentioned that you had animals. I have a dog and two cats and life is so much easier for my dog now that he has his own fenced in back yard. I never had pets when I rented an apartment so I was very thrilled to be able to have pets finally.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[Princess_Michelle]

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[Mrs.Reese]

I like your hubby am a laid-off teacher. My hubby is in a stable position. We own a house. We wish that we didn't. Why? Because getting a teaching position is VERY difficult. We are upside-down in our mortgage. We are basically trapped by this house. If we could relocate, I would have a job tomorrow.

I say wait until you are both working. There is always a better deal somewhere.

 

[Jennabeth]

DH and I have lived in our house for 8 years. If we sold today we would come out of the closing with no money. That's means for eight years we've basically been renting, at a higher cost. Plus we've made repairs to the house and paid property taxes. That money is gone. Renting would have saved us a lot.

Second, I'm not sure there is such a thing as part-time law school. Would you be able to afford a house if you didn't work? Will you be able to afford a house and student loans? What happens if you want to move after law school?

Third, people say your mortgage stays the same, the principle & interest stays the same, but if you escrow your taxes and insurance, your payment will go up. Taxes increase and insurance increases and if your escrow is short one year, your mortgage payment can increase, by a lot. You will have to make up the shortage while paying the new payment.

If DH and I would have waited to buy our first house, we would be able to buy our dream house right now. Now we have to sell our first house and live in Michigan, so it will probably take a year or more.

Good luck in your decision!

 

[Kidnurse]

WWID:
1. Only buy if I KNOW for a FACT I would be there at least 5 years....
2. Only buy once he gets a teaching contract
3. Only buy if I KNOW I'll have at least $5k in savings for a rainy day
4. For now, continue to rent but ask the owners if they'd opt for a rent to buy option where at the end of a year, should you decide to buy, at least 50%-75% of the monies from the rent goes towards the purchase of that home

Good luck!

 

[Jennabeth]

DH and I have lived in our house for 8 years. If we sold today we would come out of the closing with no money. That's means for eight years we've basically been renting, at a higher cost. Plus we've made repairs to the house and paid property taxes. That money is gone. Renting would have saved us a lot.

Second, I'm not sure there is such a thing as part-time law school. Would you be able to afford a house if you didn't work? Will you be able to afford a house and student loans? What happens if you want to move after law school?

Third, people say your mortgage stays the same, the principle & interest stays the same, but if you escrow your taxes and insurance, your payment will go up. Taxes increase and insurance increases and if your escrow is short one year, your mortgage payment can increase, by a lot. You will have to make up the shortage while paying the new payment.

If DH and I would have waited to buy our first house, we would be able to buy our dream house right now. Now we have to sell our first house and live in Michigan, so it will probably take a year or more.

Good luck in your decision!

Also forgot to add, when we bought our house we paid 3% down and had no cc debt and no savings. Now, no savings and cc debt. Buying a house with no emergency savings is very risky. The only way I would buy now is if I had plenty to put down, house payment was 25% or less then take home and had a nice emergency savings.