Advice on buying a home.

[eric81485]

Originally Posted by Nick@Night

Paying rent means you're making someone else's mortgage payment, so why not pay your own?

the difference between out rent and mortgage is $150 per month.

[CRLocky]

If you're 22, DON'T DO IT! I bought a house at 22 and though I did feel that I was making an "investment" and achieving something that not many my age do, I still wish I hadn't. At least ponder the following:

The only thing I bought when I bought this house was experience and authority. Experience in buying a house and the authority to declare who rents, lives, and visits. However, I don't own it outright, I did go in on it with a roommate. Which is actually the biggest mistake because I really wish I hadn't.

As much as renting really feels like you're setting money on fire, you're actually sacrificing those dollar bills for freedom and liberty. You can get up and leave practically whenever. Get a house/mortgage, and you've got yourself a solid anchor of responsibility.

Think long and hard about your future before you make that kind of decision. Three, five, ten years down the road, where do you want to be?

[DrinkNoH2O]

Originally Posted by Nick@Night

Paying rent means you're making someone else's mortgage payment, so why not pay your own?

For the reasons I just described. Search online - there are plenty of articles on financial sites that will spell this out. In many cases (I never said all) at the moment you'll be saving money renting plus there's much more flexibility and a lot less hassle.

Sorry, not trying to stir the pot, but I think a lot of people have grown up their whole life listening to their parents about "flushing your money down the toilet" in paying rent and how you must buy a home - but frankly a lot of that info is outdated.

My recommendation to anyone buying a home would be to seriously research their market and crunch some serious numbers. You might be very surprised.

As for our 22 year old wanting to buy a condo in Seattle, I can almost guarantee that that is a depreciating asset and it would be cheaper to continue renting - especially considering he's likely to not stay there more than a few years.

[Styx Cover Band]

Originally Posted by JanelleM

I've owned two homes and I just don't get they hype. Plus taxes are insane. I pay $500/month in taxes alone. I would rather have a low rent payment and put the $1,000-$1,300 a month I would be saving on mortgage into my retirement fund. Homes are boring. Too much work and money.

I know in my case (since I have a decent down payment) it's actually cheaper per month for me to own a place and have a mortage, taxes, insurance, pmi, hoa fee than it is to rent a place. Now granted it isn't much cheaper, but since the price is so close why not buy?

[Nick@Night]

Originally Posted by DrinkNoH2O

For the reasons I just described. Search online - there are plenty of articles on financial sites that will spell this out. In many cases (I never said all) at the moment you'll be saving money renting plus there's much more flexibility and a lot less hassle.

Sorry, not trying to stir the pot, but I think a lot of people have grown up their whole life listening to their parents about "flushing your money down the toilet" in paying rent and how you must buy a home - but frankly a lot of that info is outdated.

My recommendation to anyone buying a home would be to seriously research their market and crunch some serious numbers. You might be very surprised.

As for our 22 year old wanting to buy a condo in Seattle, I can almost guarantee that that is a depreciating asset and it would be cheaper to continue renting - especially considering he's likely to not stay there more than a few years.

Originally Posted by Styx Cover Band

I know in my case (since I have a decent down payment) it's actually cheaper per month for me to own a place and have a mortage, taxes, insurance, pmi, hoa fee than it is to rent a place. Now granted it isn't much cheaper, but since the price is so close why not buy?

I guess you have to go by situation then. As with Styx, the difference between renting and buying was a small margin even with taxes, PMI and HOA. At that point, you may as well buy.

[Lee3691]

Originally Posted by Styx Cover Band

I know in my case (since I have a decent down payment) it's actually cheaper per month for me to own a place and have a mortage, taxes, insurance, pmi, hoa fee than it is to rent a place. Now granted it isn't much cheaper, but since the price is so close why not buy?

If you have a decent down payment, why do you have PMI

[Lee3691]

My wife and I are going to be purchasing or building our first home by years ends.

We are a bit older than someone people on this site (35), and it'll be out first home purchase. We are planning to start a family soon, so we are going to buy a home we can be in for the next 10-20 years.

Visting homes and builders have given us the best ideas of what we do want, and what we don't want.

[Styx Cover Band]

Originally Posted by Lee3691

If you have a decent down payment, why do you have PMI

Cause it's still under 20% of the price. But I'm told that the PMI I have to pay is tax deductable?

[ExistenceNow]

Originally Posted by Nick@Night

I guess you have to go by situation then. As with Styx, the difference between renting and buying was a small margin even with taxes, PMI and HOA. At that point, you may as well buy.

Same here. In fact, my mortgage plus taxes (I don't pay PMI or HOA) is less than I was paying in rent for this same house.

[UNC41]

If you're not in a hurry, considering a short sale isn't a bad thing. The condo I just closed on sold for $100,000 more than I paid for it in 2006.

I'm also another one of those who is saving money after buying.

[Lee3691]

Originally Posted by UNC41

If you're not in a hurry, considering a short sale isn't a bad thing. The condo I just closed on sold for $100,000 more than I paid for it in 2006.

I'm also another one of those who is saving money after buying.

That's a pretty substantial difference for a condo. How long did it take for you to get approved?

[mr.MikeD]

Originally Posted by Nick@Night

Paying rent means you're making someone else's mortgage payment, so why not pay your own?

good - someone else is getting fucked by falling housing prices, ridiculous property taxes, maintenance and upkeep costs, and being locked into a location by their mortgage.
/homeowner who wishes he wasn't.

[UNC41]

Originally Posted by Lee3691

That's a pretty substantial difference for a condo. How long did it take for you to get approved?

After the sellers accepted it took a little over a month for the bank to approve. I'll be the first to say that my short sale went better than most, but if you're not in a big hurry to get into a place it's something to look into because of the potential savings.

[Nick@Night]

Originally Posted by mr.MikeD

good - someone else is getting fucked by falling housing prices, ridiculous property taxes, maintenance and upkeep costs, and being locked into a location by their mortgage.
/homeowner who wishes he wasn't.

This is a ridiculous statement. I'm not getting fucked whatsoever. Just because you're bitter about your house doesn't mean everyone else is.

[Mickey Carson]

Originally Posted by JanelleM

I've owned two homes and I just don't get they hype. Plus taxes are insane. I pay $500/month in taxes alone. I would rather have a low rent payment and put the $1,000-$1,300 a month I would be saving on mortgage into my retirement fund. Homes are boring. Too much work and money.

Maybe you bought a house that you can't afford then? If you bought a house out of your price range and are unable to save any money after making your mortgage payment, then you're right that it probably wasn't a wise decision.

EDIT: The difference between a person renting forever and someone like myself, is that I'll have no more mortgage payments when I'm 55 years old...whereas a renter will still be doling out that rent payment each month. Plus I'll have a lot more equity.

[mr.MikeD]

Originally Posted by Nick@Night

This is a ridiculous statement. I'm not getting fucked whatsoever. Just because you're bitter about your house doesn't mean everyone else is.

yeah i know, i'm not really getting fucked either. There are days i wish i hadn't bought, but long run it will be a positive.

[Ascf33]

Top.

So my wife and I closed on Friday. What a goddamn experience. If i can give any advise, just make sure you have a shit ton of cash available when you are closing. We negotiated a pretty good deal, getting $8000 closing costs, and we still needed nearly $7000 at closing. The lawyers/broker didn't give us the total final amount due until 30 minutes before closing. That said, the moment you finish signing the papers and they hand you the keys, is one of the best feelings I've ever had. All the stress is gone.

[Nick@Night]

Originally Posted by Ascf33

Top.

So my wife and I closed on Friday. What a goddamn experience. If i can give any advise, just make sure you have a shit ton of cash available when you are closing. We negotiated a pretty good deal, getting $8000 closing costs, and we still needed nearly $7000 at closing. The lawyers/broker didn't give us the total final amount due until 30 minutes before closing. That said, the moment you finish signing the papers and they hand you the keys, is one of the best feelings I've ever had. All the stress is gone.

The first time you walk through the door without needing the realtor to unlock the house for you is awesome. That's a feeling I wish I could have all the time.

[Ascf33]

agreed. Awesome feeling... until my front doorknob fell off.

[Nick@Night]

Originally Posted by Ascf33

agreed. Awesome feeling... until my front doorknob fell off.

The fun part now is going around finding all the small shit that bothers you that you didn't notice during the times you were looking at it.

[Ascf33]

Originally Posted by Nick@Night

The fun part now is going around finding all the small shit that bothers you that you didn't notice during the times you were looking at it.

yeah def. The front door knob fell off as I was leaving for work today and i just stood there looking at it like "really?!" We also found an outside light that never EVER turns off. Like I've tried every switch, replaced the bulb, made sure it wasn't a motion light etc. It's just always on.

[Noles20]

Originally Posted by Ascf33

Top.

So my wife and I closed on Friday. What a goddamn experience. If i can give any advise, just make sure you have a shit ton of cash available when you are closing. We negotiated a pretty good deal, getting $8000 closing costs, and we still needed nearly $7000 at closing. The lawyers/broker didn't give us the total final amount due until 30 minutes before closing. That said, the moment you finish signing the papers and they hand you the keys, is one of the best feelings I've ever had. All the stress is gone.

Congrats. Enjoy your home!!!

[Nick@Night]

Originally Posted by Ascf33

yeah def. The front door knob fell off as I was leaving for work today and i just stood there looking at it like "really?!" We also found an outside light that never EVER turns off. Like I've tried every switch, replaced the bulb, made sure it wasn't a motion light etc. It's just always on.

We have a small 1/2 bathroom in the basement that has a cabinet to the right of the sink. The lefthand door of the cabinet can only open halfway because it hits the gigantic light fixture they put over the mirror. It's idiotic and annoying, a minor design oversight I manage to live with because it's the basement shitter and doesn't get used as often as the other shitters.

[Beefsteak1138]

After moving into our brand new home years ago, we realized that plumbing to the toilets was hooked up incorrectly and they were filling up with hot water. I was wondering my crap was basically disintegrating on impact.

[Ascf33]

Originally Posted by Noles20

Congrats. Enjoy your home!!!

Thanks dude.

[Ascf33]

Originally Posted by Beefsteak1138

After moving into our brand new home years ago, we realized that plumbing to the toilets was hooked up incorrectly and they were filling up with hot water. I was wondering my crap was basically disintegrating on impact.

[Beefsteak1138]

Originally Posted by Ascf33

True story.

Also, we almost didn't make it to closing because the hot water heater had been leaking (which we told them about previously). They failed to clean it up and repair it and that resulted in some moldy drywall. They repaired it and cleaned up the mold under protest a few hours before closing. They also gave us the wrong stove but reconciled with us by giving us a $400 Ikea gift card.

[pagoda]

Originally Posted by Beefsteak1138

After moving into our brand new home years ago, we realized that plumbing to the toilets was hooked up incorrectly and they were filling up with hot water. I was wondering my crap was basically disintegrating on impact.

We had this problem in an apartment we were in for a while. First time I noticed it was when I flushed while still on the john and I realized my ass was starting to sweat.

[Styx Cover Band]

Funny that this thread was topped. So I finally heard back from the selling bank on Friday (after 4 months of waiting) for the short sale i'm trying to buy. They came back with a slightly higher price, but I took it. So my realtor had to send my earnest check to the selling realtor and the selling bank has to apparently sign off one more time (hopefully they do this quickly). But the selling realtor said once the bank signs off it will be a quick close. So hopefully (fingers crossed) I'll be in my new place in early November. Short sales = pain the ass

[Nick@Night]

Originally Posted by Styx Cover Band

Funny that this thread was topped. So I finally heard back from the selling bank on Friday (after 4 months of waiting) for the short sale i'm trying to buy. They came back with a slightly higher price, but I took it. So my realtor had to send my earnest check to the selling realtor and the selling bank has to apparently sign off one more time (hopefully they do this quickly). But the selling realtor said once the bank signs off it will be a quick close. So hopefully (fingers crossed) I'll be in my new place in early November. Short sales = pain the ass

The short sale we had an offer on about a year ago that fell through before we bought our current house finally sold...to one of my girlfriend's bank tellers. After we dropped our offer (after 4 months of waiting) the place went in to foreclosure so this co-worker bought it a few weeks ago for about 25 grand less than we had offered on it. I'm ok with that, I'm just tickled the bank fucked themselves out of about a year of time and 25 grand in not selling to us when they had the chance.