Any advice?
Any advice?
First off, congrats. It is sooo much better than renting, because you actually aren't just tossing money down the drain to your landlord. Here's some bland advice, not knowing where your housing market is, what type of house you're looking into or your family/friend/roommate situation:
1- Try to have a mortgage payment that is about what you were paying in monthly rent. This way, it's not such a shock to your financial system when you upgrade.
2- Don't get too much "new" stuff right away for your "new" home. You or others might think that they only solution to that giant empty space on the wall is a giant new 3-D television, but it is much better to replace it as you start living in it than look to upgrade immediately.
3- Once you buy, do touch-ups before you move in. NP and I painted walls in main rooms before making the big move and have since painted other rooms... should have just gotten it outta the way initially. Soooo much easier to take care of that stuff if you're not already living there.
4- Figure out what the neighborhood is like and adapt... or choose a different neighborhood. Dogs will pee and poo in our yard and if catch em in the act, I'll tell their owners that I don't appreciate it, but for the most part, you won't be able to change the area you move to. If cars are parked on both sides of the road every day when you visit the house, that's not gonna change once you move in. If the neighbor has music cranked up during the summer, it's going to continue every summer.
5- Understand that it's an investment, but not your typical investment. Yeah, a lot of money is involved, but so is the fact that you're living there. Don't get a "good deal" if you're going to be living in misery. Don't get a fixer-upper if you have no intention of fixing it up.
Thanks Badg!
Do you have a job, David?
Real Name: Mark
Good point! A job is a very good prerequisite to owning a homeOriginally Posted by sooner_born_1960
And if you think you need to save up money by living in an apartment first --- check to see what a mortgage payment would be compared to apartment rents. You might not be saving anything at all and, like I said, effectively throwing money down the drain.
If you have cheap living arrangements to go with your first job, by all means take them and try saving up for a down payment on a house. But, if your monthly rent is the same as your monthly mortgage, just get the house right away if you can.
Ok full disclosure, I am not actually buying. My friend/roommate wants to. He makes a lot of money. A lot. So I am going to rent from him as he pays the mortgage. I was just trying to find some tips to pass a long to him. He wants to buy a new house, I personally dont care cause I am just a long for the ride. Oh and yes, I have a job other than UCO Football I am a substitute teacher. But I am currently trying to find better work. I can only sub three days a week. But my cousin, he makes enough money to buy the house on his own. So money is not an issue for him.Good point! A job is a very good prerequisite to owning a home
And if you think you need to save up money by living in an apartment first --- check to see what a mortgage payment would be compared to apartment rents. You might not be saving anything at all and, like I said, effectively throwing money down the drain.
If you have cheap living arrangements to go with your first job, by all means take them and try saving up for a down payment on a house. But, if your monthly rent is the same as your monthly mortgage, just get the house right away if you can.
Seems peeps on here are always offering you advice, I'm sure they'll be along shortly to help you out. LOL
Behold the pale horse. The man who sat on him was death, and Hell followed with him.
Olevet Posse Pistolero
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2015.
I just like communicating with people. Especially since most of you can offer good advice or past experiences that help me. I have also have 2 awesome parents and a rather large family to counsel as well, but I also like hearing from you losers.
So it's not you, or your friend/roommate, but your cousin that's buying the house?
he likes the fight in this post. he likes the resolve.
he'll take this post around and post it on any sucker's message board that's beat him 5 years in a row.
he learned stuff today.
Sorry, cousin is friend. I guess I called him both, my bad. My cousin is my friend in this explanation. We are both same age(basically) and have grown up together.
I'm anxious to see ST's treatise on homer ownership.
Behold the pale horse. The man who sat on him was death, and Hell followed with him.
Olevet Posse Pistolero
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2015.
So you are a liar.....
Hey... maybe T BOONE can pony up and start a Stilleater newspaper... but the players would probably just use it to roll the weed.
I've got 5 that no one is buying a house in this scenario.
Not me, I ain't coming over to lift up a damn thing..... :-) I have done too much of that already...
you cant prove it.
your avatar makes me smile.
If your "friend," "cousin," or whoever is planning to stay in the house for several years, it would be something to contemplate. However, if the purchaser is planning to stay there 3-4 years then move on, the purchaser should think twice about purchasing. There are costs associated with purchasing a house that should be figured into the financial benefit of a purchase. The mortgage interest deduction and the real estate taxes are available, but spending $100,000 to save $5,000 is something the purchaser needs to decide if it is worth the effort. The homeowners insurance, homeowners association dues, repairs, utility bills, and such are expenses the purchasers must weigh, along with the mortgage interest deduction.
Think of a house as a liability and not an asset and you will do fine.
I think this is a social experiment for one of David's classes
he likes the fight in this post. he likes the resolve.
he'll take this post around and post it on any sucker's message board that's beat him 5 years in a row.
he learned stuff today.
Great, thank you so much!!!
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