Buying your first house?

Tcox · Jan 1, 2011

Okay here's the situation:

In approximately 2 1/2 years i'm going to have to find my first home. (and know little about it) I'm starting to brainstorm now so that I can figure out how the heck I can afford it. After patrol school (4month long academy for OHP) I will be making approximately 3000 a month, but because of the academy I will have no time to house hunt. As of now i'm working minimum wage part time and I am a full time student. Needless to say i'm not made of money. I will either be married or be getting married shortly after, however she may or may not be done with school yet so lets do math for just my salary.

I know take a loan and make payments but the majority of you have either done this or know alot more about this. Basically i'm asking for some fatherly (or motherly if your are BB) advice on how this will or should happen. Maybe so Do's or Do Not's?

Thanks OSA

nobuttbrian · Jan 1, 2011

i wouldn't worry just yet.start saving $100 a month and use that towards your down payment.IF you go to the OHP acadamy and graduate then they will tell you where you're going to live then figure where to buy a house.

Tcox · Jan 1, 2011

I've got a contract with the local captain and I know where i will be. I should have stated this earlier sorry.

zandroes · Jan 2, 2011

I'm about to buy my first too. I went to the bank and filled out loan papers to figure out what I can afford.. It was very helpful and now have green light to seriously look..

landman873 · Jan 2, 2011

Take your yearly pay and times it by 3 that's roughly what you can afford and will get approved for. Start putting money away now the more you got the better it is. When the time gets closer check out zillow.com that's where I would look at houses at night and go look at them If I thought I'd like em. In your price range same as mine you will look at alot of crap I mean alot before you find decent ones. Find the one you like don't settle for one.

shotty · Jan 2, 2011

Take 20% of every dollar you make or earn and save it for your down payment. During this time, check your credit. Clean up any mistakes and start building good credit. Your local bank will help you for free. You'll need 2 years of tax returns to qualify for a loan. When the time finally comes, get pre-qualified and then search out a seasoned pro real estate agent.

Hobbes · Jan 2, 2011

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/houseafford/houseafford.html

plug in your best estimates and you will have a good idea.

In the meantime, carry some debt but not a lot. Pay the bill on time to show you are a good person to loan money to.

mr ed · Jan 2, 2011

Another route is buy a cheap house. Remodel it a little as you live there.
After a few years trade up to a nicer one.
The last thing you want is to get in over your head in a mortgage.
Everybody seems to think they have to have a $200k house.
When in fact a $75k would be just fine and then you will have lots of spending money for guns,ammo,vacations etc.
Also realize that when computing the mortgage payment it doesn't contain
property taxes and insurance. These are added on later and can be as much as half the mortgage payment.
Also theres a nasty thing called pmi insurance which is a total ripoff.
It is charged if you don't have a big downpayment(10+%) and is about 5% of the loan payment and is tacked on later at closing.

Another thing to look for is who is servicing the loan.
Some banks and mortgage companies service their own. This means who you make the payment to. Some bundle the mortgages and sell them. This is what caused the credit crunch for the past few years. It can get you in trouble as they sell it several times and you don't know who to send the payment to next month and they start telling you that you missed a payment and are calling the loan.

-Pjackso · Jan 2, 2011

mr ed said:
Everybody seems to think they have to have a $200k house.
When in fact a $75k would be just fine ...

Whereas I don't disagree, but this may drive you towards other problems.

Beyond the house payments, consider:
1) If you're planning on kids, consider the schools.
2) Look at the neighborhood. If it's a poor (or declining) neighborhood, you may have 'problem' neighbors AND the house may be difficult to sell.
3) Are you OK with Home Owner Associations (HOA)? There's pros and cons, and some HOA dues are expensive.
4) Are you a city folk? How about the wife? How long of a drive are you willing to handle? A low dollar house is generally far out of town, (or in a bad neighborhood, or needs a lot of repairs).
5) A fixer-upper house may need A LOT MORE repairs than you expect. Estimate the cost of repairs and factor in your TIME if doing it yourself. (i.e. Your time is worth a LOT more than you expect.)

I'm not trying to turn you off. Walk in with your eyes open.

Dblair17 · Jan 2, 2011

You should put down at least 20% and ur payment should'nt be more then 25% of income.

Buying your first house?

Tcox

Sharpshooter

nobuttbrian

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Tcox

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zandroes

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landman873

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shotty

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Hobbes

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mr ed

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-Pjackso

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Dblair17

Marksman

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