Home affordability

[stick4]

Adding that keeping your credit rating score as high as you possibly can will pay dividends due to lower interest rates, lower home insurance premiums and even lower car insurance rates. Pay off the VA loan as fast as possible. I bought my 2nd home in 1985 in Mustang and paid of the $30K loan in 48 months. Besides credit ratings that will save you money you should also consider putting a high deductible on all your insurance policies. Our current home built in 2011 is 2200 sf and we have a $2,000 deductible policy. The annual rate has averaged about $1,000. (Wife & I both have good credit b/c we pay with cash mostly) \The high deductible keeps your rate low in two ways. The company has less liabilty to be sending you checks for small repairs (fence down, etc) and it also lessens how many claims you file with them. Some states now are cancelling policies when homeowners have submitted as few as 3 claims in 5 years. And even having a claim turned in and it being denied is still a dink on your record. Just think of your insurance man like your think of a cop. Don't need him until you absolutely have to have him.

 

[Shadowrider]

I own a construction company and build houses and small office buildings for a living. If you want land I say buy it now, since its not going to get any cheaper, and buy a small used trailer while you are single and gradually save for a house . When you can afford to, build a small house that is designed to be added on later where the footings, sewer, water, and electric are easy to tie on to, then as your family grows you can add on to the house and hopefully pay cash.

This is almost exactly my recommendation. Buy land now if you want to live rural, and bear in mind that rural now may not be rural in 20 years. You didn't mention what you have saved up, but with the numbers it should be enough to pay cash for some acreage somewhere or at least be enough to do that in the not too distant future. Buy land, get a trailer on it, and in 4 or 5 years build your house wish cash. No mortgage is a GODSEND. Mine is the only debt I have left and I'll have it paid off in a couple of years. At your age having that income is pretty impressive, use it to your advantage.

 

[oksportsman]

Been in the mortgage business for 38 years. My advice. Get pre-qualified it's not only free, it lets you be an informed buyer who can deal with confidence with sellers. If you are using a realtor, he or she will want a pre-qual letter to submit with your offer. You need to see what type of loan is best for your needs (either VA or USDA rural housing if you want over 40 or so acres), see estimated payments and costs, etc. If you do a VA loan and your disability is service connected you won't have a VA funding fee. Critical piece of advice here - use a LOCAL lender for better service and probably lower costs. You should also ask your local lender to see if you qualify for any down payment assistance programs.

 

[tomthebaker]

If you buy a brand new house get ready for additional expenses, like window blinds and curtains, a fence, etc.

 

[dennishoddy]

What are your favorite/most enjoyable aspects in you guys homes?

Living isolated in the country is #1.
Open floor plan for living and kitchen is a big plus so one that is cooking and entertaining is still in the crowd.
No kids, so our master bedroom is large, and the master bath is almost as big as my first apartment.
If there were kids in the future, this house would not work for them, so keep the future in mind when you make your selection.

 

[dennishoddy]

I own a construction company and build houses and small office buildings for a living. If you want land I say buy it now, since its not going to get any cheaper, and buy a small used trailer while you are single and gradually save for a house . When you can afford to, build a small house that is designed to be added on later where the footings, sewer, water, and electric are easy to tie on to, then as your family grows you can add on to the house and hopefully pay cash.

The house we bought used this advice. All of the footings are double wide for additional expansion. We didn't need to expand, but its a nice feature.

 

[John6185]

And watch the economic situation, there are some leading economists that are predicting problems for the dollar and who knows what will happen. I've always wondered, what if one bought a home, land, etc and owed on the expensive item and the dollar was devalued one could pay off the loan with inflated dollars and save a bundle.
In Germany during The Great Depression, it took a wheelbarrow full of Deutsch Marks to buy a loaf of bread- what if that wheelbarrow full of money was used to pay off a large Note? Of course they have to eat but still I wonder and probably will until I croak.
Additionally, if your disability gets worse, you might think of wider doorways and things like grab rails-even young folks slip and need something to hold onto sometimes.

 

[$$$$$]

Dave Ramsey says:
Be debt free and have an emergency fund of 3-6 months. Put 10% to 20% down on a fixed rate for 15 years or less, payment no more than 25% of your take home pay.

Some people don't like his stuff, but I'm simple and his plan works well for me.

 

[tomthebaker]

Ditto on the 15 year mortgage. We saved 300,000 in interest when we refinanced to 15 years.

 

[montesa]

I say buy as much land as you can and then build a nice metal building with an apartment in it. Save like crazy and then build your dream house later with cash.