In todays economy would you..

[CBGB]

Upkeep is always something to keep in mind. You never know when something is going to break. It is a good idea to make sure that you are able to keep a savings for emergencies before buying. There are several home warranty companies out there that would be happy to sell you a contract. I don't have any experience with them, but they may be worth checking out. When it comes to moving... If the rental market is strong in your area. You have the option of renting it out if you have the need to move. If you have the stomach for the business...

[j4ever41]

If you rent, you may as well take your money outside and burn it. The HUGE advantage however, is the lack of risk. Buying is the place to be, but if its going to be a struggle to do, then don't bother. Only buy if you can COMFORTABLY afford it. Ive seen too many people lose their homes/ buy to let business lately due to overextending themselves. I personally don't buy properties unless I have at least 25% downs these days. You don't want to be running the risk of negative equity.

agreed, everyone situation can be different but as far as me i will not pay rent,do some research and use common sense,dont make youself house poor.

[firmechicano831]

I work in Real Estate in North CA. I say buy, buy, buy, if I had some extra cash around I'd buy shit like crazy. Were seeing prices on homes that have fallen well over 70% in the last two years.

[T_Own]

jdogg is right about not getting your moneys worth from things. in my moms new house (moved 4 years ago now, it was built 9 months before we got there, one previous owner) we paid like $250k for it, we thought it was a great price, coming from a suburb, 250k doesn't get you much at all, so this house was pretty nice. people said she overpaid on it, and about a year later she had semi finished the basement (drywall + linoleum floors) and put a $35k deck on the back part, nice deck with the fake wood so it lasts longer, multi level, pretty big. but then the next year the house was appraised at 233k, and this was before the economy took a downturn.

but the idea is that you generally will live there for a while, unless its part of your job to move a lot, then i'm assuming your company helps out a lot. so i think in the long run its a good investment, and there will always be upkeep costs.

[CBGB]

Sounds like you're still on the fence. If you aren't ready, then you arent ready. I wouldn't go in with 4%. Part of knowing you are ready is being financially responsible. (not saying your not) Make sure you have the ability to save for a rainy day first. As far as renting it out goes.... I couldn't sell my prior house before closing on my new one. Had to make payments on both places for two months. I brought in a local property manager and he is renting it out. Now someone else is paying my other mortage. With what looks like an airtight lease. The house is less than a mile from my new place so I do a drive by once in a while.

[CBGB]

jdogg is right about not getting your moneys worth from things. in my moms new house (moved 4 years ago now, it was built 9 months before we got there, one previous owner) we paid like $250k for it, we thought it was a great price, coming from a suburb, 250k doesn't get you much at all, so this house was pretty nice. people said she overpaid on it, and about a year later she had semi finished the basement (drywall + linoleum floors) and put a $35k deck on the back part, nice deck with the fake wood so it lasts longer, multi level, pretty big. but then the next year the house was appraised at 233k, and this was before the economy took a downturn.

but the idea is that you generally will live there for a while, unless its part of your job to move a lot, then i'm assuming your company helps out a lot. so i think in the long run its a good investment, and there will always be upkeep costs.

Did she get an appraisal first?.......thats a major overlook

[tyward]

I thought about my advice last night and thought I would qualify it a bit. I bought now because it was right for me . I don't work and I will never need to work again. (Entirely due to real estate investment, but remember that past results do not guarantee future profits) I live in Colorado half the year and will be holding on to the house forever. (Well, my forever anyway.) The rates are fantastic! (I have purchased, and made profit on, homes that I bought with loans at 17.5%!) Lastly, the Colorado market was not as hot as some other places, so it really (one hopes) can't fall as much as some other cities. With that, who knows?

[T_Own]

Did she get an appraisal first?.......thats a major overlook

she did, but it came up pretty close and we needed to move in within the week haha. she has really good credit so we got in right away, and our old house sold for much more so 10k wasn't a big deal at all.

[CBGB]

she did, but it came up pretty close and we needed to move in within the week haha. she has really good credit so we got in right away, and our old house sold for much more so 10k wasn't a big deal at all.

Maybe not in your world. But ten grand buys a lot of food.............................................. ....and hookers lol

[CptAmericaX]

Maybe not in your world. But ten grand buys a lot of food.............................................. ....and hookers lol

haha I was thinkin the same thing fuk 10gs is still 10gs

[quarry206]

i actually think its a good time to buy a fixer up house.. in the st pete area my brother just bought a home for 100K (a short sell)that was valued at 225K two years ago.. him and his friends took two weeks doing fixer up work on it (dry wall, painting, yard, drive way, lights)

one of his friends knew how to do things to code, and he and another friend did the work. he just had it looked at by the bank so he could get another 10-15K to get an extra bathroom and they aproved him..

i think its a good time if your in a solid place. to find great deals

capt aren't you former military, use your VA benifits, any bank will help you out if you have VA home loan..

[CptAmericaX]

i actually think its a good time to buy a fixer up house.. in the st pete area my brother just bought a home for 100K (a short sell)that was valued at 225K two years ago.. him and his friends took two weeks doing fixer up work on it (dry wall, painting, yard, drive way, lights)

one of his friends knew how to do things to code, and he and another friend did the work. he just had it looked at by the bank so he could get another 10-15K to get an extra bathroom and they aproved him..

i think its a good time if your in a solid place. to find great deals

capt aren't you former military, use your VA benifits, any bank will help you out if you have VA home loan..

Still active and deployed, yes I know about the VA home loan its a great Idea and all sounds great getting a house and fixing it up, because I was a carpenter by trade before the military so I would like my house to be a project one but my biggest concern is when I am gone and away and my wife will be with our newborn and if something goes wrong im not there to fix it.

[CSAR]

Lots of good info in this thread. I've been looking into buying as well. Depending on the location, if you're a disabled vet or a member of a veteran's organization (like the VFW), you can also get a substantial exemption on property taxes.

Also, look into pre-foreclosures and renewable energy for homes. Banks don't like foreclosures, because they look bad. Mortgage holders don't like foreclosures, because it wrecks their credit rating. If you can find a home in pre-foreclosure (meaning the owner and/or bank want someone to step in and assume the loan) with a low remaining balance on the mortgage, you can get a good deal. The renewable energy sources will earn you tax breaks with the fed AND could pay for themselves if you're supplying your local power grid.

I just saw a home (3 BD/2 BA) in the mountains between Reno and Lake Tahoe that had less than $23,000 left on the mortgage. They couldn't make their remaining payments and the home went into pre-foreclosure. A real estate company bought it and now they're selling the property for $350K. Definitely worth looking into.

[CptAmericaX]

Lots of good info in this thread. I've been looking into buying as well. Depending on the location, if you're a disabled vet or a member of a veteran's organization (like the VFW), you can also get a substantial exemption on property taxes.

Also, look into pre-foreclosures and renewable energy for homes. Banks don't like foreclosures, because they look bad. Mortgage holders don't like foreclosures, because it wrecks their credit rating. If you can find a home in pre-foreclosure (meaning the owner and/or bank want someone to step in and assume the loan) with a low remaining balance on the mortgage, you can get a good deal. The renewable energy sources will earn you tax breaks with the fed AND could pay for themselves if you're supplying your local power grid.

I just saw a home (3 BD/2 BA) in the mountains between Reno and Lake Tahoe that had less than $23,000 left on the mortgage. They couldn't make their remaining payments and the home went into pre-foreclosure. A real estate company bought it and now they're selling the property for $350K. Definitely worth looking into.

When I think of foreclosure I think of auction i have looked into them and they are really cheep but honestly how many auctions can you go to and get outbid before you say fuk this, and the time you waist on that you may end up spending more in a temp rental apartment

[CSAR]

look into pre-foreclosures

When I think of foreclosure...

Emphasis on the "pre-" part. No bidding involved. Keeps the owner's credit rating intact and the potential foreclosure off the bank's records. As long as the house is solid and the remaining mortgage balance is low, everyone's pretty much a winner.

[CptAmericaX]

yah i have 2 weeks to find a home for my wife and newborn when I get back from this deployment, then I go to alaska for the birth, and fly with a newborn not looking forward to it, its just gona be rush rush rush, but while my wife is up in alaska Ill be in the barracks by my loansome self with the gym so it really wont be a bad thing.

[CBGB]

2 weeks isn't long enough to look, offer, close, and move. If you are going to do it, do it right. You don't want rush into a home and figure out that you hate it or it's not what you need. Take your time and do it right. And good luck.



IMHO.......

[T_Own]

2 weeks isn't long enough to look, offer, close, and move. If you are going to do it, do it right. You don't want rush into a home and figure out that you hate it or it's not what you need. Take your time and do it right. And good luck.



IMHO.......

agreed. when we had to do that, we had looked at other houses previously, put an offer in on one, but was literally hours late on it. we didn't find this out for a couple days, and when we did, we were on vacation so kinda hard to house shop from the beach.. when we got back in town, we went to see the one we now own, and it was really nice. nice and new, very well furnished, fit what we were looking for (well my mom, i wanted to build our own and make it monstrous)

[Tock]

If you had the choice to rent or buy a home today what would you choose and what do you base your decision off of. Meh and you can have a Rent to own option in there as well

The real estate investors I work with say wait another 6-18 months. It's going down . . .

Aside from that, if I was gonna buy another house, it would be with an eye to energy efficiency. Location (close to work, shopping, recreation, etc) and well insulation walls and roof, plus maybe some space for a solar panel or two and a windmill. Maybe a water well (ya never know).

[warchild]

im trying to buy another house but i still hear its gonna go lower...

[CBGB]

News today said housing market in my area is showing slight increase. But it was FOX. They were probably lying. lolol

[Tigershark]

I would buy. I am sick of renting.

[CptAmericaX]

hmm, yah I did notice the pre originaly, but I have not found a list of them well pre-foreclosures, hence me only finding auction dates and times it fukin sucks. im going crazy over this trying to find a place thing, my wifes like oo we can live with my grandma and grandpa, so that would be me my wife our newborn our new puppy, living with her grandma grandpa and there dog in a small ass 2 bedroom house. I think ima take my chances on this one

[CptAmericaX]

wow I can rent a really nice 2 bed 1 bath w/d apt for like 850 a month.... but my wife wants a house, so.. haha yah but even then I can get a nice 3 bd 2 bath house renting for like 1200 a month.

[CBGB]

Holy balls batman, $1600 for a fvckin apartment!!!

[CptAmericaX]

so im a big ***** i just caved in my wife was like well theres this golden retriever that I thought you might want hes 3 and his family is moving to germany and is going to put him down if he doesnt get a home. quick my childhood dog was a golden and he died durning my second deployment. Anyway so softy me is like alright Get him, so that puts me at 2 dogs a newborn on the way, and a house I need to find buy/rent but now the only way im going to find a place that will alow me to have 2 dogs is to buy so it is what it is.So haha any tips on finding a new home? well new to me I dont give a fuk if it was built in the 1930's

[CHAP]

Buy Another foreclosere. My starter home was a forclosere and we bought it 5 years a go for 30 g under market value. If you have good credit and can get a first time home buyers loan interest rate could be as low as 5.25% no more than 6% and you can buy homes at 50% and up off of there market value. F@ck even if you don't want a home right now but it and in 10 years the market will be back up then flip that b1tch. That is some seriouse money for laying your head down at night. THINK ABOUT IT!!!

[CptAmericaX]

I can get a VA loan and I have a 687 credit score, just because I only recently started building my credit, but I will be able to get the Va loan no matter what. its just a matter of getting a good house cheap that will get me from point A time now to point B 5 years down the road.