buying a house/having a baby question...

we were just married- put the $$ we made as gifts into a house acct. a nice start but we need a lot more..Well need about another year or two so to have enough for a down payment... were both 30, turning 31 this year. I would really like to have the house then start havign children.. how many of you saved and bought a house first? how many of you let nature take sits course and whatever happens happens? was it hard to have a baby and live in an apt and then move into a house?

Re: buying a house/having a baby question...

We actually bought our second house just after our baby was born. It was not a ton of fun going to tons of houses with an infant, lugging him in and out of the car, etc. but we thought we needed the room right away. We weren't in an apartment with him but a small house, but to be honest, I don't think you need a lot of space with young babies and it is almost harder having more room because there is more to babyproof, more to clean, etc. My girlfriend lives in an apt now with her baby (now 9 months) and although they desperately want a house, they can't afford it yet, they have plenty of space where they are. Anyway, if I were you, I would not let the place you live determine when to have a baby. Your baby will be happy whereever he/she is as long as you are with him/her!

Re: buying a house/having a baby question...

I think it really depends on the couple. I had a condo prior to getting married. It was one bedroom and an okay size for 2 people, but IMO it was not a good size for us plus a baby. I guess I would have made it work , but we really didn't want to have to.
Also, saving $ is another hump to get over when you have a baby. I was out of work, unpaid for a few weeks. Plus if my boss had not been so good to me about my after-baby work schedule I would have possible had to find a lower-paying job in order to avoid the commute to NYC everyday. Also, daycare is expensive and that also hinders your ability to save for a while.
Rent on a 2 bedroom apt will cost you nearly as much as a mortage!

Only you and DH can decide what is best for the both of you. Some don't mind baby first, others do.
Good Luck!

Re: buying a house/having a baby question...

I think couples make it work no matter where they are but for my DH and I, we prefer to be in a house and then TTC. We both want to have a nursery etc, and figured it was better financially for us to buy a house first and then have a baby. And good point - I didn't even take into consideration lugging around a baby and all their gear when going house hunting!!

Re: buying a house/having a baby question...

It really does depend on how strongly you feel you want children and how soon. If you are ready for children and want to start trying, I dont think the amount of space you have should dictate that... Yes its much more comfortable to have a home, more rooms, a backyard, etc. But if that is just not something you think you will have right away, I dont think you should hold off on dreams to start a family.. You might wait, buy a home, and then say 'oh wow, should I wait till after we do XYZ to have a baby?' I dont think life is so easy to plan as we all would like..

I wont try to sound like our parents generations. but many of us did pretty ok with ALOT less room growing up than our children have now...

Whatever circumstance/situation you are in life, you WILL make do to suit your lifestyle if you want it to happen.

GOod luck!

Re: buying a house/having a baby question...

We are waiting to buy a house first.

Re: buying a house/having a baby question...

We are waiting to buy a house and be comfortable and ready to have a baby.
Even though we took all our wedding money and started a house fund...we just cant believe how much houses are.
I don't know how long it will take but I try not to stress about it.

Re: buying a house/having a baby question...

I think its a very personal decision. We brought our house a 2 months after we got married. One does not realize how much you money you will need to spend after you get into the house. Paint, decorating, lawn stuff. You name it owning a home can get real expensive especially the first year.

We are currently pregnant and I am currently on bed-rest, which means I am on disabililty :(
which is only $176 a week. Not to mention the added expense of having a baby (food, diapers, clothes, childcare etc....). I don't think we would have been able to save enough money to buy house once the baby is born, if we didn't have a house already.

Re: buying a house/having a baby question...

I would check out other mortgage options...you don't have to have 20% down...as a matter of fact our lender said we were in the minority for first-time buyers - b/c we put down 20%

Re: buying a house/having a baby question...

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Posted by Valentinegirl

We are waiting to buy a house first.

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us too

Re: buying a house/having a baby question...

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Posted by Valentinegirl

We are waiting to buy a house first.

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Same here!! I would love to have a baby right now, but it is just impossible in our tiny apartment. We are in the hunt now for a house, so maybe within the year we'll be in one and TTC soon!!

Re: buying a house/having a baby question...

We just bought a house and are waiting to TTC for about 4 years (but I just turned 25 and dont feel ready for a child)
I think like alot of people said its completely up to how much you want a child and how soon.
I think that you can obviously make it work but I think its probably easier to save for a house and then have the baby.
A house is expensive and hard to save for but think of how much money will go towards the 'set up' for the baby (ie crib, furniture, food, child care etc...)I personally think that once you have a child it will be 2x as hard to get the money together for the house.

Re: buying a house/having a baby question...

We bought a two bedroom co-op for this reason. When we started looking we figured that we might as well get something where we could start our family and leave when we're ready. We'll definitely have our first child there and probably the second before leaving.