ARE YOU A HOME OWNER???

we are in the process, will close in the next 3 months ... its deffinately stressful but worth it. We are 24 and 26 and will own a house!! I know that we will have to make sacrifices but its an investment and if you can swing it, its worth it.

Fortunately, we only had to put down 5%, we used some savings and continue to save and put away money for the wedding monthly. We hope that by the time we move in, we will have the entire wedding budget saved so that we can put what we were saving for the wedding towards the mortgage!!!

Best of luck! Its deff scary girls. I still get crazy when I think about it sometimes. Make sure you have savings 'just in case' and take it day by day. Watch how you spend!

WOW all this is soooo informative..

THANK YOU!!!!

It's stressful that's for sure! We're getting the inspection and appraisal done today!

We started looking at our one-year mark, moved in with 8 months to go. We had been living together in a rented apartment before that. We saved for our own downpayment and closing costs and furniture... it's a lot, espically on top of weding expenses, but its possible to balance both. And now all our wedding gift money can go to home improvements!


eta: if you're just finding something at your five-month mark, keep in mind that you'll be closing on the house and moving about six weeks before your wedding... JMO, but I think that's very stresful.

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Posted by Munchkn16

We started looking at our one-year mark, moved in with 8 months to go. We had been living together in a rented apartment before that. We saved for our own downpayment and closing costs and furniture... it's a lot, espically on top of weding expenses, but its possible to balance both. And now all our wedding gift money can go to home improvements!


eta: if you're just finding something at your five-month mark, keep in mind that you'll be closing on the house and moving about six weeks before your wedding... JMO, but I think that's very stresful.

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well I am under 3 months and dont think we'll get the closing before the wedding but you never know. In case this happens, i wont move in then. We'll still wait until after the wedding. i AGREE, and i wont deal with that stress

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Posted by Espo22

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Posted by Snowflake08

you also have to remember

1. when you take from 401K, your paycheck will be less (loan payment)

2. a place may be a good price, but watch the maint. fees! some of them are outrageous and they go up every year

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thats why i told fh not to take out money from his 401k especially since i dont think we'll need it

yeah when i calculate the monthly payments i include the maintenance to make sure its within the monthly budget we set for ourselves to pay. But yeah that can be a HUGE factor, and some ppl dont look at maintenance but just at mortgage payments. At first Fh would keep looking at these places that were just about the budget we set and then i'd always have to say 'OK but what about the maintenance' now he calculates with maintenance before even showing me anything

the first question we asked every agent today was about the maintenace. I also asked how much has it gone up in the past few years. Which wasnt that bad bc in 10 years its gone up just a little over $400...my apartment in 3.5 years has gone up $300. So our biggest question was about the maintenance and to get a better understand of how often it changes and by how much

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i agree that taking from a 401k should be a last resort, but remember you are paying yourself back, which is better than paying a bank. And the younger you are the better it is to take out of a 401k vs. a bank loan.

I've seen women/men in their 50s/60s taking out of their 401k (usually to pay for their kids weddings) and that drives me crazy because they are so much closer to retirement. But if I really needed the money now, at my age I wouldn't have a problem doing it - like I said, as a last resort.

I own my apartment now, and I'm really dying for a house but refusing to look. We're not going to look for another 2-3 years and in the meantime we can save for a house.

A lot of people assume that just because you are getting married you will be buying a house together, but it's so much to do all at once! I think even if I didn't already have a place for us to live I'd rent for at least a year or two (cheaply) and save for a house in the meantime.

FH and I own our co-op for the past year- we got engaged after some months of living together-

we decided to wait to buy a house- we are in no need to rush-we decided to have kids in two years so we have time to save money for both kids and a house-

I dont need the stress or the debt!

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Posted by snwb08

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Posted by Espo22

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Posted by Snowflake08

you also have to remember

1. when you take from 401K, your paycheck will be less (loan payment)

2. a place may be a good price, but watch the maint. fees! some of them are outrageous and they go up every year

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thats why i told fh not to take out money from his 401k especially since i dont think we'll need it

yeah when i calculate the monthly payments i include the maintenance to make sure its within the monthly budget we set for ourselves to pay. But yeah that can be a HUGE factor, and some ppl dont look at maintenance but just at mortgage payments. At first Fh would keep looking at these places that were just about the budget we set and then i'd always have to say 'OK but what about the maintenance' now he calculates with maintenance before even showing me anything

the first question we asked every agent today was about the maintenace. I also asked how much has it gone up in the past few years. Which wasnt that bad bc in 10 years its gone up just a little over $400...my apartment in 3.5 years has gone up $300. So our biggest question was about the maintenance and to get a better understand of how often it changes and by how much

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i agree that taking from a 401k should be a last resort, but remember you are paying yourself back, which is better than paying a bank. And the younger you are the better it is to take out of a 401k vs. a bank loan.

I've seen women/men in their 50s/60s taking out of their 401k (usually to pay for their kids weddings) and that drives me crazy because they are so much closer to retirement. But if I really needed the money now, at my age I wouldn't have a problem doing it - like I said, as a last resort.

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VERY good point, and i told FH if we had a choice between the 401k or a bank loan then we'd go with the 401k plan. I mean its not an idea that should be thrown out right away, definitely something to consider. ANyone who is interested should find out the policy at their job about taking it out

I bought my house last year. I had to have a huge down payment (90k plus closing costs) because I am self employed and was only 23 at the time. The bank saw me as a huge risk. Especially since I didn't use a co-signer.

Real estate 'experts' are saying the market is going to stay low for about more 2 years before the prices start to really go back up.... so I really don't think there is any reason to rush into buying a home now.

My fiance' and I own a home in Manorville. We both make decent salaries and we still JUST make it. It's hard but worth every penny. If we had waited though, we could have gotten the same house for $45K less. (Same house down the block going for an awesome price).
It is definitely a Buyers Market right now. They should be lowering the interest rate more than they already have to give some incentive to buyers. If you found a home you LOVE - then if you are going to make an offer - Dont forget that the ball is in YOUR court. People selling homes right now are dying for any buyer! ASK HOW LONG THE HOUSE HAS BEEN ON THE MARKET!!! If it has been at least 3 months - then chances are you can get the price you want! Owning a home is hard work but way worth it!! Make sure when figuring your budget - you think about EVERYTHING - Both of your credit card payments - cell phones - student loans - electric - oil(crazy expensive right now), television, phone, taxes per year, closing costs....and many more!

Do you need to put the down payment down when you Officially apply for the mortgage or when you go to close?

Anyone know any good Buyer agents??

When you are figuring out your monthly budget (which is something you should def. do before you start to look) you need to also take into consideration the taxes and also the utilities. I say the utilities becuase they are different in every house. A lot of times people look at the price of the house and don't consider the other stuff.
If a house doesnt have new windows it could cost more to heat it and things like that.
I am a real estate agent on the side and have seen people start to get into things that they can not get out of.

So if we are married in July and buy a house in August...chances are we wont be in til Octob anyways maybe...because thats how long it takes to close??

When do you need to put down the down payment??