My Condo (1st time buyer) will be done in March and I'm getting married in June. It's like a double whammy for me in '05.

Condo was a no brainier for me. Downtown Phoenix. Walking distance from the BOB and AWA Arenas. Getting the right mortgage was the hardest thing. I'm going to do a 80/15/5 (80% First, 15% Second, 5% Cash) I'm not looking long term and lower payments are what I'm looking for. Honestly I can't wait to move. I just hate paying rent!!

Wedding in the other hand, I just keep my opinions about the event to myself. I know that it's not my day, it's hers. She is a good girl, been with her for 8 years now.

 

Hang in there man...!


You will realize shorty after that this is the best decision you have ever made... (once you're done buying the furniture! )

Just out of curiousity... are you having to go into the deal with a large deposit!?

 

Our property taxes are high (NJ), although this part of NJ is not as bad as up in Bergen County. I think my taxes are right around $8k/year now. That sucks...I could buy a new s2k every four years at that rate, lol.

 

I'm assuming you were asking me...
But no, we are only going to put 5% down...

I'm sure we will be in the house at least 7 years probaby more...so I figured that putting everything that we have down wouldn't be necessary..

Forgot to tell you guys... They are working on building the biggest water park on the east coast about 15 mins from our house, (but not close enough that we will be affected by the traffic or noise.)

Everyone in the area has told me that this will probably be prime realestate after it opens up. So if that holds true then I will be happy of course...

 

yes... that will have a huge impact.

Were you not offered a chance to purchase the home for 0% down? Via 100% financing or 97% FHA with Seller Down payment assistance?

jk

 

yeah, we were offered a chance to finance at 0% down.. I just figured we might as well put 5% down and have a little equity. The seller agreed to pay all of the closing costs as well.

 

nice...


congrats

 

Back to the original question... I felt fine through the whole process, right through the closing. My 'fear' came the next month when I realized I was actually making my first real payment on a 30 year loan.

I always prepay some principal, and when I refinanced to a 15 year loan last summer, my payment was still less than what I was sending, so I continue to prepay principal to the amount. Based on some mortgage calculators, I expect to be paid off in about 7 more years, or just under 1/2 of the original 30 year loan.

As for the RENT comment and rebuttal. I don't think its as cut and dry. It depends on lifestyle, how 'free' you want to be, and how 'untied' to the market you want. Joe - I agree that with the market going up what seems to be daily, its difficult to lose money on a house, however, with closing, realtor, legal, etc... fees, it can happen. For plenty of people out there, renting is a very viable option. For many people out there, it is not a very viable option. **NOT STARTING ANOTHER TOPIC/THREAD HERE ---- It's like leasing vs. buying - Each is right for some people in some situation.

 

I'm about to buy now (again). I should've bought one last year. Now I'll have to spend additional $50-75k for something smaller.

I hate this. I wish I could just live at my parents place again.

 

Sorry for being long... but the more you know about this... the less likely you are to have even MORE regrets by the time you finally get into a home!

Where are you located GotS? Sounds like you are west coast. One viable option is construction...

Construction for a first time homebuyer often is not a feasible option simply due to the downpayment "typically" required...

Now, however... more and more banks (following in our footsteps ...and I'm NOT going to say who they are! ) are beginning to treat the construction process as a "Refinance".

This allows for multiple benifits:

This directly means... ESPECIALLY IN A HIGH APPRECIATION MARKET such as yours... that by the time this home nears completion- more phases of development will be sold... which obviously creates supply and demand issues and raises price... it also will be 6mos to a year... which will result in natural appreciation based on the market... AND- a Final product IS ALWAYS worth more then the costs to construct!

...ie...

You have a condo constructed for $250k (land and costs). By the time this property is completed... ESPECIALLY in an area like yours... it may now be worth close to $300k to 350k. This is the value that we use in qualifying you for the end loan. Now you don't have to come up with a huge downpayment- b/c you gain "instant equity" during the process.

So now- You've managed to save money during the construction process- (if living at parents especially!) You are only responsible for Interest payments on what the BUILDER DRAWS during construction... so if his first draw is $20k... you're payment will be about $40.00 dollars a month until his next draw... this will increase obviously as you near completion.

But a long story short... you buy another year at mom and dads... and when you're done... you move into a home that has $50k to 100k equity in it. (allowing you the best "low risk" mortgage payments)