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Right I agree with you on that. I guess im more pointed at that 51K
NT's Homeowners, I need help.(25+ come on in)
- Thread in 'General' Thread starter Started by SneakerProSr.,
- Start date
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^nice.
congrats Lazy.
home improvement is a PIA.
congrats Lazy.
home improvement is a PIA.
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$65K after taxes is a very solid income.
The most important thing is to communicate with your agent. Make sure that he/she knows why the sellers have the home on the market.
Job transfers, divorce, ect. can all work out to your advantage when negotiating a final price.
Make sure that you get a fixed rate loan at the lowest rate possible.
The principle part of a house payment on a $150,000 is only going to be about $100.00-$150.00. So adding an extra $100.00 to that each month will save you tons like mentioned before.
Honestly, I would not go into home ownership with that high of a car note. I would sell the car and get something moderate and reliable eliminating your car payment. You'll have more money for the emergency costs that come with owning a home. Once you get settled into the costs, then buy a nicer car.
You'll keep the miles down on the new car, and own your backup.
Good luck OP
The most important thing is to communicate with your agent. Make sure that he/she knows why the sellers have the home on the market.
Job transfers, divorce, ect. can all work out to your advantage when negotiating a final price.
Make sure that you get a fixed rate loan at the lowest rate possible.
The principle part of a house payment on a $150,000 is only going to be about $100.00-$150.00. So adding an extra $100.00 to that each month will save you tons like mentioned before.
Honestly, I would not go into home ownership with that high of a car note. I would sell the car and get something moderate and reliable eliminating your car payment. You'll have more money for the emergency costs that come with owning a home. Once you get settled into the costs, then buy a nicer car.
You'll keep the miles down on the new car, and own your backup.
Good luck OP
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I can't speak on the FHA loan, but I'll give you my personal experience.
First, it's probably a good idea to check out a few different real estate agents. Mine was a friend of the family of my ex-gf, and I wasn't exactly thrilled with her, but I was not in a position to switch. I ended up doing most of the searches for listings I was interested in, but once I found them, she was able to set up viewings and go from there.
I bought a condo in center city Philadelphia, 1274sq ft. My offer was accepted in mid Jan 2010, and I closed in late March 2010, so it was just over 60 days. The asking price was $274,999, and I was able to get the final sale price down to $250,400. I was lucky enough to be able to put down 20%. After taxes (which are extremely high in Philadelphia) and closing costs (which I paid all of... no seller assist), I had to bring about $63,000 to closing. It's definitely important to get an estimate of taxes and closing costs up front, because obviously an extra $13,000 was a huge number on top of the 20% down.
My place was a relatively new construction (2007). There wasn't a whole lot to do other than painting and some minor handy work. The only thing I really don't like about the place is the walls are paper thin (something I did not 'hear' during my walk throughs of the place), so when people are loud in the other condos, it can be noisy. Just something to consider if you're moving into a non-detached home.
Like others said, IF you can figure out a way to afford 20% down, do it. Not having to pay the monthly PMI (personal mortgage insurance) is a huge benefit.
For my costs...
My mortgage is 5.0% 30 year fixed. I pay $1301 a month. My condo fees are $352.57 a month. The main things it includes are water, trash, exterior maintenance, and gated parking for one car. My other costs associated with the condo are electric, gas, and cable. Those come to about $300 a month combined, so in total I'm paying almost $2000 a month for the place.
Last tip is really shop around for your mortgage. Again, my real estate agent recommended a company, but I did my own research of probably a dozen different banks, and was able to find a local bank with a rate about .25% lower than everyone else at the time.
Good luck with your place.
First, it's probably a good idea to check out a few different real estate agents. Mine was a friend of the family of my ex-gf, and I wasn't exactly thrilled with her, but I was not in a position to switch. I ended up doing most of the searches for listings I was interested in, but once I found them, she was able to set up viewings and go from there.
I bought a condo in center city Philadelphia, 1274sq ft. My offer was accepted in mid Jan 2010, and I closed in late March 2010, so it was just over 60 days. The asking price was $274,999, and I was able to get the final sale price down to $250,400. I was lucky enough to be able to put down 20%. After taxes (which are extremely high in Philadelphia) and closing costs (which I paid all of... no seller assist), I had to bring about $63,000 to closing. It's definitely important to get an estimate of taxes and closing costs up front, because obviously an extra $13,000 was a huge number on top of the 20% down.
My place was a relatively new construction (2007). There wasn't a whole lot to do other than painting and some minor handy work. The only thing I really don't like about the place is the walls are paper thin (something I did not 'hear' during my walk throughs of the place), so when people are loud in the other condos, it can be noisy. Just something to consider if you're moving into a non-detached home.
Like others said, IF you can figure out a way to afford 20% down, do it. Not having to pay the monthly PMI (personal mortgage insurance) is a huge benefit.
For my costs...
My mortgage is 5.0% 30 year fixed. I pay $1301 a month. My condo fees are $352.57 a month. The main things it includes are water, trash, exterior maintenance, and gated parking for one car. My other costs associated with the condo are electric, gas, and cable. Those come to about $300 a month combined, so in total I'm paying almost $2000 a month for the place.
Last tip is really shop around for your mortgage. Again, my real estate agent recommended a company, but I did my own research of probably a dozen different banks, and was able to find a local bank with a rate about .25% lower than everyone else at the time.
Good luck with your place.
51K by age 21, i'm 22 right now. Union construction worker %!$!%. 1.5X pay on saturday and Double pay on sunday. On a good long work week I can bring home about $1,500. In may i'm due for another 10K raise.Originally Posted by CJDynasty
Right I agree with you on that. I guess im more pointed at that 51K
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4wrestling, I definitely remember you place, and 2K a month on a 250K condo is
!
Man call me silly, but I am envious at you guys being able to save that 20%!! How long did it take for you all to do that? Maybe for me, since I just graduated (last May), and just started working (Aug.) thats why it seems like an unbelievable task. And I make good money!
Man call me silly, but I am envious at you guys being able to save that 20%!! How long did it take for you all to do that? Maybe for me, since I just graduated (last May), and just started working (Aug.) thats why it seems like an unbelievable task. And I make good money!
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Originally Posted by CJDynasty
4wrestling, I definitely remember you place, and 2K a month on a 250K house is!
Man call me silly, but I am envious at you guys being able to save that 20%!! How long did it take for you all to do that? Maybe for me, since I just graduated (last May), and just started working (Aug.) thats why it seems like an unbelievable task. And I make great money!
I won't lie... When I was a child, I was bit in the face by a dalmatian and received a considerable settlement. I have to thank my parents for keeping the money from me until I was mature enough to appreciate it, and a large part of it is what I used for my down payment. If I did not have the settlement money, putting 20% down would not have been an option for me.
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4wrestling--Appreciate the candid talk. I was thinking like "sheesh" I dont really see it happening. No time soon at least!
Patmc13-- #salute good sir! Thats some dedication. The sacrifices were well worth it im sure now!
Patmc13-- #salute good sir! Thats some dedication. The sacrifices were well worth it im sure now!
I wouldn't put down 20% if it's going to completely wipe your savings.
10-15% plus additional money thrown at the principal as you can afford it. The upkeep and maintenance on a primary residence has a learning curve to it. Problems quickly add up.
Here's the short list of some things we had to do:
-new motor in Furnace
-new hardwood floor because the subfloor was so terrible and carpet was beyond disgusting
-new windows. Old ones has various points of failure.
-new garage door and motor. Old one was wood and rotted with a motor that didn't work
-all new appliances
- all new passage doors
- floor repair in main bath because old toilet was never bolted down so water leaked for 20 years
I mean I could go on and on. Point is, if people just took care of the property and performed regular maintenance a lot of this stuff could have been avoided.
Lastly - understand how property taxes work in your area. How often are they assessed? How often do you see a increase/decline. Also, even for homes, find out if they have a HOA or even the power to establish one if one has not been created.
10-15% plus additional money thrown at the principal as you can afford it. The upkeep and maintenance on a primary residence has a learning curve to it. Problems quickly add up.
Here's the short list of some things we had to do:
-new motor in Furnace
-new hardwood floor because the subfloor was so terrible and carpet was beyond disgusting
-new windows. Old ones has various points of failure.
-new garage door and motor. Old one was wood and rotted with a motor that didn't work
-all new appliances
- all new passage doors
- floor repair in main bath because old toilet was never bolted down so water leaked for 20 years
I mean I could go on and on. Point is, if people just took care of the property and performed regular maintenance a lot of this stuff could have been avoided.
Lastly - understand how property taxes work in your area. How often are they assessed? How often do you see a increase/decline. Also, even for homes, find out if they have a HOA or even the power to establish one if one has not been created.
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^^^This is some of the more informative informaiton in the thread so far.
Pointed out so far:
down payment
closing
mortgage (principle + interest)
taxes
Things not discussed so far:
utilities (a significant increase from apartment living)
homeowners insurance
incidentals*
*You have to consider costs beyond the actual purchase/monthly payment. I'm sure it varies wildly from one situation to the next, but maybe figure 1-2%/year. And you may not use that money every year, but I'm talking about when you need a new roof. When a tree falls in a storm. When you want to do some landscaping or paint a room. These are surprisingly regular expenses that many people don't factor into household economics.
My personal two cents? You'll have a loan at ~5%. You thrown an extra 10% of the principal payment at the mortgage payment each month and you are knocking YEARS off the note (about five and a half years, actually). I look at it like a CD where anything I pay early means saving 5%/year interest I would otherwise owe.
Pointed out so far:
down payment
closing
mortgage (principle + interest)
taxes
Things not discussed so far:
utilities (a significant increase from apartment living)
homeowners insurance
incidentals*
*You have to consider costs beyond the actual purchase/monthly payment. I'm sure it varies wildly from one situation to the next, but maybe figure 1-2%/year. And you may not use that money every year, but I'm talking about when you need a new roof. When a tree falls in a storm. When you want to do some landscaping or paint a room. These are surprisingly regular expenses that many people don't factor into household economics.
My personal two cents? You'll have a loan at ~5%. You thrown an extra 10% of the principal payment at the mortgage payment each month and you are knocking YEARS off the note (about five and a half years, actually). I look at it like a CD where anything I pay early means saving 5%/year interest I would otherwise owe.
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bought a home for 300k under FHA, put down 10%, the PMI does suck. But by copping the house, I took out an equity loan for 100k and started my own business, now the crib is paid off 4 years later in full including the second mortgage. Every year I'm just paying excises taxes and insurance now
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damn that sounds terrible.
i was in a similar (but not nearly as bad) situation myself. I bought a bank owned condo last year for $488,000 but it only took us a month of work before we could move in. It was one of the nicer foreclosure/REO properties we had seen in terms of condition, but it still had some work that needed to be done. Our money was a bit tight and I didnt want to keep paying for a mortgage and rent on our old apt at the same time so we moved in as soon as we could. It took us about a month and a half to do some paint and wall repair work to make it into movable/livable conditions. That being said, I still have some work/projects that need to be finished almost a year later. I trashed my beautiful paintjob in the living room and still have multiple spots on my walls and ceiling that need another coat of mud + texture + paint from drywall patches that are semi-done (sidenote: I am NEVER painting a house again. Will just work harder at my job to save money to pay a professional to do it). I still have a full list of other projects I want to get finished eventually.
The #1 problem I've encountered with homeownership is the neverending projects/fixes that the place needs. My place isnt even that old (built in 2002) but stuff keeps breaking or wearing down and the list is endless. Honestly, I just had to put the blinders on when I come home from work. If I dont see it, I wont get the itch to try and fix it.
Some other things you are going to want to consider (some have been discussed)
PROPERTY TAXES - damn its like getting punched in the balls twice a year. its THAT serious (atleast in Los Angeles county it is)
New Furniture? - The wife and I were moving from a 1BD/1BA apt to a 2BD/3BA condo almost double the size. Most of our furniture (except our bed) was hand me down stuff, and since this was our first new home together we wanted to get a few new pieces for the place. Having shopped at IKEA for most of my dorm/apt furniture most of my life, I had no idea how expensive "real" furniture was. Some of the space I had was oddly shaped/sized so I had to get a few pieces custom built (If anyone is in SoCal, I have a GREAT recommendation for custom locally built furniture that isnt all that expensive. About 25-50% less than what you would pay for a similar piece at Restoration Hardware or Pottery Barn). All in all, it ran us atleast $10K to furnish the place, and there are still some pieces we still want to get/replace. Just gotta save for it now.
New Appliances - depending on the house you find it may or may not come with any appliances. If you are lookin into REO or foreclosures, there is a higher liklihood that it wont have appliances. Fridges, dishwashers, ranges, ovens, etc... are not cheap.
HOA - even if you look into buying a single family home, you may run across some communities that have an HOA. Depending on what you get, HOA fees can be high. I get double punched in the balls again since I have not one, but two HOA's I have to pay fees to each month (totalling around $650+).
Good luck man.
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Man plenty of good info so far, I really appreciate it everybody.
I have about 6K saved up but honestly I waste $1000-1500 a month on random $#**, I was a broke @!% college so having a decent income is still kinda new to me But between now and December 1 I can easily save 10 grand more.
From what I've gathered from talking to my parents and this thread I'll look for something built in the last 5 years that costs between 90-125K. I suck at fixing stuff so I have to buy a newer house. Neighborhood and affordability are what matter most to me. Right now for housing I pay about 955.00 TOTAL. That is the rent, lights, cable, everything. I'm not buying a house where my costs will be dramatically more than that. 200-300 bucks more would be okay because I still have ways of eliminating that much from my monthly expenses but I'm not going that much higher.
I wish the 65K was after taxes
I have about 6K saved up but honestly I waste $1000-1500 a month on random $#**, I was a broke @!% college so having a decent income is still kinda new to me But between now and December 1 I can easily save 10 grand more.
From what I've gathered from talking to my parents and this thread I'll look for something built in the last 5 years that costs between 90-125K. I suck at fixing stuff so I have to buy a newer house. Neighborhood and affordability are what matter most to me. Right now for housing I pay about 955.00 TOTAL. That is the rent, lights, cable, everything. I'm not buying a house where my costs will be dramatically more than that. 200-300 bucks more would be okay because I still have ways of eliminating that much from my monthly expenses but I'm not going that much higher.
I wish the 65K was after taxes
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He's in Dallas so even at his price range, he won't be getting like a fixer upper outside of making changes to fit his preferences more, but it should be move in ready more than likely. Another option, although not optimal but many people do it and especially via CL, is renting out a room for like $500 (you could easily get that in that house you linked in Frisco that you like) to a friend or random college student/person you meet vi Craigslist. The pitfalls and risks to this are obvious, but it'd pay over 1/2 of your monthly payment that way and maybe you meet a cool person in the process. The guy I'm about to rent from this week actually (probably be where you are in another yr or 2) actually owns a bunch of quadriplexes and rents/sells them while living in one and playing landlord. People also do short term rentals using sites like www.airbnb.com (it's how I stayed in Harlem for $20 when I went to the NT Laguardia hoopathon Saturday
) but I don't think Dallas is a big or expensive enough of a city to have a huge market for that.
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Mojo made a great point. I've spent well over $5,000 on furniture over the past year, and I still have a ton more to buy. Like he said, real furniture costs a hell of a lot more than dorm room furniture.
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Yeah fam the next person I live with will be my wife when I carry her across the threshold.
I can't do roommates
I can't do roommates
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I'm coming from a 1bd 1ba into a 3bd 2ba house so needing furniture is on the list but it can wait. Bought a new couch with my Xmas bonus since my dog ate the other one.
Outside of that, copped stainless steel whirlpool gold fridge, gas range, dishwasher, washer and dryer all through the AICPA during their black Friday deal for 3,500 with no tax and free shipping. Saved 2k compared to prices in my area.
Outside of that, copped stainless steel whirlpool gold fridge, gas range, dishwasher, washer and dryer all through the AICPA during their black Friday deal for 3,500 with no tax and free shipping. Saved 2k compared to prices in my area.
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A guy I used to work with lived in Silicon Valley 15 years ago. He ran a startup company and made bank. During the crash he cashed out and sold his house.
Dude able was build a decent house in the suburbs around here just off the money he made selling his house he only works part time here and there out of sheer boredom.
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agreed. i bought my house in 2007, and it probably wasn't until 2009 that i had the entire thing completely furnished. don't feel like you have to do it all at once. buy good pieces that will last you a while.
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Never pay what you can "afford".
Always go a little cheaper. Or you could be stuck.
Always go a little cheaper. Or you could be stuck.
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I'm putting mostly everyone in a 5/1 fha ARM. That's if you are not looking to stay there past 5 years. Rates as low as 3% no brainer. Also ask if the seller can add any seller concessions. Where most of the closing cost are paid by the seller.
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Yeah $150K isn't reasonable for me right now.
I'd be sitting in my big +!% house that I don't need and not able to afford to furnish or "pimp"
I'm spending 115K tops, I don't want anything to change about my current lifestyle I just want to own a home instead paying rent to get noise complaints for smashing my chick(real reason I started to think about buying a house)
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Glad to see others are in the same boat and using helpful advice. Sometimes you will never truly understand homeownership until you jump in there. Definitely do your homework though. Around my way I pay for cable which time warner is a monopoly out here, gas , water bill every quarter includes sewer, garbage collection, light. Homeowners insurance for me is based on the assessed value of the house and what you have in your house that you want covered but it is a yearly fee our house is covered under travelers insurance which is connected to geico. Taxes are a killer and are due next week property tax and in september comes the school tax. Even with new constructions you got to watch this guys they like to cut corners alot with contractor grade material. The basement is not finished as well so thats an added cost. The backyard is big and i want to fence it but it raises the property tax so i got to watch that even if you add a pool taxes go up because the assesed value of the house goes up. I took my time between me and the missess decorating each room but its a pain in the rear.. I will update more later
