First time house buying

The time is now. Also you don't need 20% down nowadays. Just make sure you're comfortable with the mortgage amount and don't get a variable loan.

 

Honestly the right time is going to be when you find the right place that works for you in your budget... My wife and I inherited a Condo and a shore house this past fall, we were able to sell the condo last month and now we are fixing up the shore house with a new roof and siding so getting really thrown into the homeowner life.

On top of that, we are planning to purchase a home this upcoming late Spring/Early summer of 2020. My wife works on a school schedule so it is just the best time of the year for us to be able to move.

I also learned something about FHA loans, if you happen to be looking for a condo at all, the condo has to be FHA approved to be able to use an FHA loan. We had 3 people make offers with FHA loans and we couldn't accept them because the condo wasn't approved and had to wait a few more days for someone with a conventional loan to come through.

 

The reason you want to put at least 20% as down payment is so that you won’t have to have PMI (private mortgage insurance) on your loan. Depending on how much you borrow PMI adds at least $100 a month to your payment. PMI only benefits the bank in the event that you default on the loan. If you qualify some VA loans don’t have the PMI requirement, but otherwise PMI is a huge waste of money for the consumer.

My advise to the OP is to remain in your current living arrangement and continue to save money for your down payment. Get that 20% saved up along with any additional savings you deem prudent. I know you are ready to move on a new home now but you’ll never be able to save money like you can when you are debt free. Just the PMI alone over the course of a 30 year mortgage costs you $40-50k alone. I’d even go so far as to temporarily stop funding your retirement (401k, IRA, etc.) an put that towards your savings. Making a good buy for your home can really work in your favor as to your long term financial health and stability.

 

We bought our house(FHA) 2 years ago and we pay around 2000$ a year in MIP. Our house value has gone up enough and now we are in the process of refinancing to a conventional loan. About 166$ a month saving.

Yup bought my first house in 2006 and got crushed.

BL

 

Are you psychic?

 

Find something around the 300k range, offer 279,000$ YOLO

 

Go for it my brother u only live once good look

 

Homes cost too much, glad I don't have one

 

It sounds like you have a good hold on your finances. My wife and I just purchased a new house with no down with VA loan. I’d definitely save some for repairs or breakdown. Our water heater went out this month. We had warranty I installed myself and actually made a few hundred from that. Look at the house several times. What will be monthly payment and are you ok with that. A smaller less expensive house is always a good start especially if your handy at all. Fixing flooring, painting, all small things that some people just don’t want to do can make a cheaper house more advantageous for you.

Good luck owning a home and sitting in your backyard smoking a fatty and just getting lost is one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had!


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So lets do the math.
I bought my first home back in 1977 for $35,500.00
It funded the purchase of my grandmothers house from the family in 1981 for 60k and we really never stopped buying houses after that.
Now that first little shack is worth about 800k and grannys house is worth another 750k. Shall I go on??

Buying your first home is your first step to greater things if you play your cards right. Buy for the long haul and the ups and downs of the housing market won't mean shit over the long run.

BNW

 

Double post

 

Damn homes are out of this world exspensive

 

Finding Jesus and God is better
Right now I just lost my job and owe the bank $45,000 for a 2017 Chevy Silverado that they repossed on account of me losing my job they got the vehicle and are threatening to sue me if I don't pay them.....fuck I have never owned a home and I'm 40..it sucks. You think I should tell the bank to fuck themselves? They got thier truck back ...so why do they expect me to still pay for it?

 

Do some research on the real estate market in the area you want to buy in. Are prices moving up or down? What are the long range trends? The projected trend in my neighborhood is a loss of .1% of market value over the next 18 months, but the area I want to move to is projected to lose 3% of market value in the same period of time. So for me, as a homeowner, it makes more sense to wait and buy later rather than sooner, even if my market value is slightly declining. Regardless of homeowner status, it's a good idea to keep an eye on the developing trends to know if prices are going up or down. And as others have said, it's best to get the full down-payment if you can, to avoid PMI.

 

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA
If I'd have bought just a year sooner that 35k house would have been 15k
So you keep waiting for them to expensive homes to drop in price.
Keep paying rent. (your still making the mortgage payments you just don't get the advantages of ownership)

It's all relative. We ate beans and leftovers for 10 years to make the payments on that first house. $288.98 a month seems like nothing now but keep in mind I was working for 5 bucks an hour. 300 clams was a big chunk of coin in 1977
BNW

 

Just lost my job, my truck, and now being threatened with court if I don't come up with the money for the bank ..I guess the bank can keep on wishing for thier money..cause that's all it will be, just wishing...when they repoed the truck my credit score dropped from 850 to 580 ....what a country we live in..how the hell can the bank still want thier money when they got the vehicle back?

 

We drove old junk cars and bought houses
Our friends bought new cars and rented houses
Now we are all in our 60s
They are living on Social Security and are all dead broke.
We just raised everybody's rents because we could.
<--- Paid Cash for the last car.
I love being a landlord.

Who made the better life choices ??

With all the first time buyer programs there really is no reason not to buy a home. Trust me it's a hell of a lot easier then in was in the 70s 80s. Shit we borrowed 10k at 19.9% interest to put down on grannys house. Ninneteen.Nine%
Do you even how a clue how that works out over a 10 yr note ??


BNW