| Should we buy now or wait? |
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Dominique
Member
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Joined: 08 Jul 2006
Location: Georgia
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| Go for it |
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Do the math first, determine how much everything is going to be such as mortgage insurance, utilities etc. Then figure out how much you are going to actually save. Budget, and go for it.
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Sun Jul 09, 2006 12:39 am |
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Blue Eyed Cat
Contributing Member
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Joined: 12 Jul 2006
Location: Central Florida
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You cannot know what the future will bring so just look at today.
What is your risk profile? If you and your husband can tolerate high risk, then buy; otherwise wait. Your income is still not certain and you are not in a position where you want to go back to work just now.
Are you totally committed to living in your area for at least 10 years? Real estate is always a good investment (in the right areas) but sometimes you cannot sell when you want. Sometimes you have to wait for the market.
If you do decide to buy, take advantage of the turn around to a buyers market that is happening nearly everywhere. Do not buy new; visit a lot of resales in your area and prioritize them based on location, schools, and how much you like the house. Then make a low offer on the one you like best. Get a good agent who knows how to negotiate and do not buy unless you get the house at a good price. If #1 doesn't happen, try #2. If houses are not moving (and they are not in the hot areas of central Florida and DC) eventually someone who needs to sell will give you a deal. Instant appreciation. If a month goes by and #1 is still on the market and you haven't got anothr good deal, go back and offer them even less than you did the first time. The game is to offer and counter offer. Do not buy emotionally. Decide what is a good price for you and don't pay even $1.00 more. Be sure you are pre-approved before you make any offers.
Blue Eyed Cat
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Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:12 pm |
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coaster
Senior Advisor
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Location: Wisconsin
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From one cat to another  welcome to the forum!! Some excellent posts so far. Looking forward to more. 
~Tim~
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Wed Jul 12, 2006 4:38 pm |
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bijan814
Full Member
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quote:
Originally posted by coaster
That's a lot of rent. Do you need to spend that much on a house? I don't know where you live now, but around here you certainly don't need to spend that much on a very nice house suitable for your family. You only need to stay there for a few years until your family income is higher. I hate to see you spending $1200 a month and have nothing to show for it at the end of the month.
$1200 a month on rent in california is nothing. In my area a 2 bedroom apartment goes anywhere from $1900 to $2500 a month. Thats why a lot of my friends are still living at home. Its rare for any of my classmates to be living on their own.
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Tue Aug 01, 2006 5:48 am |
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SomeBum
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Joined: 01 Aug 2006
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| Re: Should we buy now or wait? |
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quote:
Originally posted by jtnc06
Sorry if this is long/convoluted- this is my first post and I don't really know how to simplify our situation.
My husband and I joined the mass exodus from California so we could afford a larger home and I could stay home with our baby. We made a nice profit, moved and put that profit ($155K) in a savings account earning 4.25%. Since I am staying home with our child, my husband is the sole income and he just started a commissioned sales job. His income right now is about $45K per year- it could be more but it could also be less. So our dilemma is whether we should buy now (we're looking at homes b/w $275-$300K) or keep renting (we pay $1200/mo in rent) until he is making more money and we can easily afford our mortgage. I'm leaning toward waiting/he wants to buy now.
I'm hesitant to buy now b/c I'm nervous we'd be struggling to make our mortgage each month. We'd also have less in savings after putting 20% down on a home and it's nice that our savings is earning $500+/mo right now. We are compleltely debt free and are able to afford our rent and expenses relatively easily (although on a tight budget).
My husband is leaning toward buying now because he's nervous interest rates will continue to rise as well as home prices and we may kick ourselves if the home we want is then out of price range or the interest rates have gone too high for us to afford it. He'd rather us dip into our savings to make the mortgage each month and is confident he'll be making more money in a year or so.
Both scenarios have their pros and cons. Any advice?
Ouch $1200 a month in rent. Go buy a house, maybe you won't afford what you want now but you can always trade up as finances allow. At least you would be paying your own mortgage instead of someone elses...
TSX-Venture Investing on Nabloid.com
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Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:48 pm |
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jasonm
New Member
Cash: $ 1.00
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Joined: 03 Aug 2006
Location: Southern Cali
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| buying a house |
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if you have no other liabilties a lender would say that you can afford a house based on 42-50% of your gross income. If you make $45,000 per year/12 months=$3750x.45=$1,687. The lenders say that you can afford the home according to the risk up to $1,687 or a little more. Don't pay someone else's mortgage for them. You will always have to pay for a place to stay and you have a ton of money saved for emergency(s). Go and find a few houses and make ridiculously low offers on something you may like and see who bites...get yourself an incredible deal and you'll be set.
jason@therightrefi.com
"purchase or refinance"
www.therightrefi.com
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Thu Aug 03, 2006 8:51 am |
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coltster45
New Member
Cash: $ 1.80
Posts: 9
Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Location: Northern California
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I'm not sure where you have moved to, but yes the country is turning into a buyers market in most areas.
Sacramento, ca - where I am is going down in price - quickly.
I still have rental properties in North Carolina and they are appreciating nicely.
I'm 27 and have over a million in equity in real estate because I bought lots of real estate and have other people like yourself who are scaired to buy pay my morgage.
Pick up your balls - and like everyone else said- Give lots of low ball offers on houses you like. Maybe even find someone in forclosure you can take advantage of- or have a seller carry your morgage.
- I had a seller carry my morgage on a 1.4 million multi unit property in north carolina- only had to put 10% down - and pay 7.5% interest on commercial loan. - If the property goes down in value I can run away- but it has actually gone to 1.7 million in 3 yrs.
I know if you look hard enough - you can find a seller do the same for you 
Money has no soul - just make sure you are smart enough and in position to have it when you need it - I have not had shit go down in my life- but know it can. I have learned at a young age - build equity - it is great
I think 100k in the bank is plenty!
GO FOR IT!
'easy money'
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Thu Aug 10, 2006 12:58 am |
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Aine9
New Member
Cash: $ 1.05
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Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Location: UK
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I agree with coltster45.
You have to ask yourself how often property comes down?
A lot of people make the mistake of waiting only to find that they missed the boat in the end.
There are many people who have lost a fortune in proprty and many people who made it - either way renting someone's elses home when you have the means of buying - is such a waste.
Don't be frightened, if the worst comes to the worst you can always move out of your home, rent it to someone else and rent a cheaper one.
You are lucky to have such a lot of options.
Good luck
Aine
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Thu Aug 10, 2006 5:02 pm |
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foxi$
Contributing Member
Cash: $ 5.15
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Joined: 22 Aug 2006
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| LEASE TO OPITION |
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YOU HAVE MORE CHANCES TO SEE WHERE YOU CAN AFFORD IT FUN TO GRAB A CHEAP HOUSE FIT IT UP WATCH OUT YOUR NEVER LOOK BACK WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF OWNING ... 2 YRS IT MIGHT JUMP UP HIGH IT MIGHT BE CHEAP WAY BUT IT MONEY IN THE LONG RUN GOOD INVESTMENT ... LOL I SHOOT FOR LONG RUN ... GOOD LUCK ..
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Wed Aug 23, 2006 12:51 am |
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Sailbad
Member
Cash: $ 3.10
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Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Location: Austin TX
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| Take your time |
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I'm not sure what market you are in but you have the ability to bide your time and wait for a great opportunity.
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Thu Aug 24, 2006 10:15 pm |
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sam1000
Full Member
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Joined: 28 Jul 2005
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Hope you don't have that 155K in a single savings account since FDIC insurance is only for the first 100K
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Sat Sep 02, 2006 6:36 pm |
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carmella25
Member
Cash: $ 1.80
Posts: 21
Joined: 16 Sep 2006
Location: Bay Area, CA
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| Buying a home |
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I totally understand where your coming from. I live in the Bay Area, CA where the housing is outrageous. My husband and I are trying to figure out what were going to do. We dont know if we should wait it out here or move out of state to buy something.
quote:
Originally posted by jtnc06
$1200 is reasonable for rent for a 3 bedroom apt where I live. $275K is on the low end for a home here. Where we moved from- California- rent was about $1800/mo for a 2 bedroom and the median home price was over $600K. So to us, $300K for a home doesn't seem like much. Our whole reason for moving was to afford a nicer home so we don't want to step back and buy something smaller than what we had before. I guess our situation is just complicated because my husband's income is so unpredictable right now.
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Sat Sep 16, 2006 9:05 pm |
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Stromprophet
Preferred Member
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Joined: 09 Sep 2006
Location: Indiana
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quote:
Originally posted by sam1000
Hope you don't have that 155K in a single savings account since FDIC insurance is only for the first 100K
I thought a joint account was insured for 100k for both.
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Thu Oct 19, 2006 8:18 pm |
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Stromprophet
Preferred Member
Cash: $ 26.30
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Joined: 09 Sep 2006
Location: Indiana
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As for buying a house.
I would so wait.
Especially in Cali, the market there is so overpriced it's not even funny. Real estate ran up so much in the last couple years, and the bubble is gone now and prices are still headed down.
The prices are likely still going lower.
Get on MSN money,
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/HomebuyingGuide/HomebuyingGuide.aspx
That is the link to the homebuying guide, there is all kinds of useful information.
The power is so in the buyers hands right now, selling real estate agents are charging an extra percentage to their clients to offer incentives to buying real estate agents on the exchange. Companies are throwing in extras to entice buyers, and it's only going to go further until demand for homes recovers.
I'd say until the Fed lowers the rates, demand will not be high for new homes, so sellers are stuck and you can sit back and wait.
Rates may go higher, maybe 1 more time I think. But it is not certain, and the more than likely outcome is they are going down to drive housing demand again, help with a slowing economy, and to prop up corporate profits.
Why do you need a 300k home? (Is that small or big in your area, and what is your family size?)
I have stripped out the need to have a large home, even if I got married, or had a kid, I would still only get a 2 bedroom house with a basement. In my area this is very affordable, I'm looking at 70,000 for my first house, all brick construction, hardwood floors, fireplace, basement, garage. To me, more house means more money wasted to maintain it, if anything, I would say a larger yard is much more important than the home size, especially for kids, plus it's less money to maintain things like gardens, fences, a playset, than to maintain more house.
More house = more utilities, (more property taxes in my area when compared to buying more land), more items to fill the space, more supplies needed to clean. Plus the all important thing that trumps money any day. Time. You can always get more money, but you can't buy time.
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Thu Oct 19, 2006 8:34 pm |
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