Buying house problem/ques

---

Posted by Hawks Nest

---

Posted by tiff940

We just brought a house about 4 weeks ago and we are getting married in another 3 weeks...so we are doing everything very close together. We didnt buy in NY though and I know the NY market is very expensive....though our house cost just as much as some LI homes. I think its a great time to buy. Its a buyers market. Our house was a foreclousre and the previously owners built it from the ground up in 2006 only to foreclose in 6 months! The market is terrible and you can find some great forecloures(sad to say). And despite what people say about financing right now we had no problem getting our mortgage...we used Coldwell banker mortgage. And we dont have perfect credit, not bad credit, but its not in the 700s. Right now everyone is saying you need perfect credit b/c the mortgage companies wont approve you. But we have credit in the 600s, and we got 5.78% , fixed 30 years. We only put down 5%. Im going on and on just to prove that there is hope out there for young people and you still can get mortgages out there. If you can swing the wedding cost and the downpayment. Save, save, save!!!!

We didnt stay on LI not because we didnt want to but b/c of FHs job. Even if he didnt work down south I still wouldnt stay here. You dont get anything for the money. I paid the same amount that most people pay for a LI home only its way bigger and its new. (6 beds, 3 car garage, fam room, game room, ect, 2006 built).

---

Congrats on your new home. One of the main reasons we are considering moving to North Carolina is because you can get so much more for your money. I have been down there numerous times and the houses are all brand new and beautiful. However, I am still not ruling out Long Island. When did it become so hard being an adult. OOOO and I forgot to mention that I already own a condo in Florida so some of our savings are going there. I have it rented however it is not covering full mortgage and maintenance.

How do you find out about houses that are in foreclosure???????

---

I saw pics of ur home. BTW its fab. Maybe u should post it on here

FH and I closed on our home in Aug. All I can say is yes it is VERY stressful. And be prepared for TAXES! You prob hear it from every homeowner but you don't realize how it hits you. Plus paying over $700 in heating bills each month, I can't wait until winter is over...lol. We used to rent in the city and believe it or not even though our rent was more than our mortgage our life was a LOT easier expense-wise. Plus I have commuter expenses LIRR every month it all adds up.

Buying a house in the tri-state area is very difficult for young couples just starting out. LI's taxes are out of control, certain areas of NJ are just as ad now. With that said....I feel like if you want to stay in this area you kind of have to start small, hoard your cash and then go bigger. Unfortuantely, FH and I will be looking to buy a place on LI in about 2 years. In the meantime, I'm selling my co-op which will be $$ used for a downpayment and moving to his house in Farmingville, then we'll move onto another place on LI. We chose to stay on LI beacuse his family is all out there and my parents will be moving to a retirement community (eventually) out there...so we have a good support system in place once we decide to have kids. We've both expressed the desire to eventually move out of the NYC metro area...but it'll probably after we retire......

Now is a better time to buy for sure...more of a buyer's market. Just remember that ech market is different though and even though sales are way down in certain areas that may be just even in others. There is definitely a lot out there so you can be picky!

Good Luck!

We are closing on our home next month. We bought the small house (not THAT small) in the awesome area, but there is a lot of property to expand and make it our 'dream home' in the future. I'm not going to lie...I have not done anything wedding related in a very long time because we spend our weekends at home depot looking at paint colors, or different items....i'm happy we registered a while ago, or else my guests would have nothing to buy

We both had excellent credit so we were not worried about getting a loan and we are also putting just shy of 42% down. We are hoping to pay the least amount possible for our monthly payments and start our savings fresh with our wedding money....

So far, it's been a bit stressful because we can't really plan too far ahead since we don't know the EXACT figure coming out of our pockets each month for expenses, but with a lot of hard work and patience I believe we and everyone else can do it!!!!! Stay strong, and GOOD LUCK.

---

Posted by DiamondPipa

We are closing on our home next month. We bought the small house (not THAT small) in the awesome area, but there is a lot of property to expand and make it our 'dream home' in the future. I'm not going to lie...I have not done anything wedding related in a very long time because we spend our weekends at home depot looking at paint colors, or different items....i'm happy we registered a while ago, or else my guests would have nothing to buy

We both had excellent credit so we were not worried about getting a loan and we are also putting just shy of 42% down. We are hoping to pay the least amount possible for our monthly payments and start our savings fresh with our wedding money....

So far, it's been a bit stressful because we can't really plan too far ahead since we don't know the EXACT figure coming out of our pockets each month for expenses, but with a lot of hard work and patience I believe we and everyone else can do it!!!!! Stay strong, and GOOD LUCK.

---

Your home is so nice, what area is that in?? Good luck..

---

Posted by Hawks Nest

---

Posted by TheFutureMrsM

We bought a house way before we got engaged.
but we are in the process of a major reconstruction on the, i can say it is soooooo stressful, and i truely wish my wedding was in 09 instead of 08.
I feel like i wouldnt have this rushed feeling.

---

Wow I looked at your house that is some reconstruction. It looks absolutely beautiful. I was thinking of maybe buying a small house and then remodeling. Does it come out cheaper that way?

---

Thank You!!!
I think its a great idea to buy small and build out.
It definately is not cheaper, but you get to fully customize everything in the house the way you want it.
We would never be able to buy a house with all the feautures we are putting into it!

---

Posted by kimandvin

I make a very decent salary and so does my fiance.. however it was too close for us to be buying a house and paying for our own wedding at the same time. if you can wait I would say too just so that you don't get stressed out with expenses that you may not realize are in a house.. We want to live in MAssapequa( LI) once we are married,. but it is not at all affordable for young people.. Im not sure about Jersey though.. Hope that helops!

---

massapequa isnt that bad, ive seen decent prices for homes there and taxes better than some places.

---

Posted by Espo22

---

Posted by kimandvin

I make a very decent salary and so does my fiance.. however it was too close for us to be buying a house and paying for our own wedding at the same time. if you can wait I would say too just so that you don't get stressed out with expenses that you may not realize are in a house.. We want to live in MAssapequa( LI) once we are married,. but it is not at all affordable for young people.. Im not sure about Jersey though.. Hope that helops!

---

massapequa isnt that bad, ive seen decent prices for homes there and taxes better than some places.

---

I am in Massapequa Park and I pay almost 10,000 with the star rebate for taxes. My house before the construction was 1141 sq ft and I was paying 7300.

Go to the carolinas!!! I honestly don't know the draw to stay here...if your family is down there, you can get a bigger and better house, and have land I say go for it! I'm from PA and i find it very difficult to afford a house here. FH and I were lucky cause we won this lottery for next generation housing in plainview where we got a town house for 250K but after this i have no clue what we will do...i can't see spending a fortune for a house built when my grandparents house was.....i'd love to go south!! lol

PS...why is your name the hawks nest? Anything to do with St. Joes in Philly?

---

Posted by 2007 Crescent Bride

---

Posted by Espo22

---

Posted by kimandvin

I make a very decent salary and so does my fiance.. however it was too close for us to be buying a house and paying for our own wedding at the same time. if you can wait I would say too just so that you don't get stressed out with expenses that you may not realize are in a house.. We want to live in MAssapequa( LI) once we are married,. but it is not at all affordable for young people.. Im not sure about Jersey though.. Hope that helops!

---

massapequa isnt that bad, ive seen decent prices for homes there and taxes better than some places.

---

I am in Massapequa Park and I pay almost 10,000 with the star rebate for taxes. My house before the construction was 1141 sq ft and I was paying 7300.

---

some i have seen in the 10k range and some lower...but the prices of houses themselves are lower...ive seen TONS of houses for under 600k. I do a search for 600k and under in certain areas in queens and maybe 5 things will come up. But of course some are going to be higher than other

---

Posted by zoe282

Go to the carolinas!!! I honestly don't know the draw to stay here...if your family is down there, you can get a bigger and better house, and have land I say go for it! I'm from PA and i find it very difficult to afford a house here. FH and I were lucky cause we won this lottery for next generation housing in plainview where we got a town house for 250K but after this i have no clue what we will do...i can't see spending a fortune for a house built when my grandparents house was.....i'd love to go south!! lol

PS...why is your name the hawks nest? Anything to do with St. Joes in Philly?

---

I feel the same way, all these houses where built 70 years ago have a million things wrong and yet they sell for over half a million dollars, crazy.... The houses I am looking at in NC are built after 2003 are over 2000 square feet and are only around $250,000-$300,000. There are really only 2 reasons for me to stay my family is here (fh family is in NC) and the salary difference. If you want to have some fun look at www.fmrealty.com and look at the differences in houses. That is a Raleigh, NC website. I always look at zipcodes 27614, 27613, 27587.

My name is Hawks Nest becuase there is this scenic overview in Northeast PA called the Hawks Nest. THat is where I got engaged. FH is scared of heights and everytime we drove through there I wanted to stop and take a picture and he never wanted too. Well on SEpt 1, 2007 he asked to stop because he wanted to get over his fear, I am not sure which fear he got over marriage or heights, lol....

I am such a tight wad! I was all for buying a year ago and then we started to look at co ops and condos because thats all we can afford really.

The truth about co ops anc condos is that you may as well buy a house for another 250,000 becuase you are going to be paying ridiculous maint. fees.

I have lived here for 11 years and it has been a constant struggle. Had it not been for FH I would have left 3 years ago.

We too went to NC and scouted property and careers. We were set and ready to go when not only the housing market crashed, but the job market too.

As much as I want to buy, I won't. We have no desire to stay here, but right now we have no general direction as to which way to go.

So we will sit on our cash and invest as wisely as we possibly can and pray it all falls into place.

You girls that own have ballz cause I am scared to death!

Seriously, can I just buy an RV and move into central park?

I bought a house last year (actually we only moved in 6 months ago lol). I tired convincing FH to leave NY but he just didn't want to. He convinced me to stay here and although I love my house... I really wish we had moved to a different state. When I look online at what I could have bought in PA or SC ... it kills me. I own an online business so my salary will be the same no matter where I go. I could be living the crazy rich life somewhere else instead of the middle class life here.

Don't get me wrong... its not like we are struggling to live here. we still live very comfortably but if I had to do it all over again... there is no way we would stay in NY

---

Posted by Lucky0510

I bought a house last year (actually we only moved in 6 months ago lol). I tired convincing FH to leave NY but he just didn't want to. He convinced me to stay here and although I love my house... I really wish we had moved to a different state. When I look online at what I could have bought in PA or SC ... it kills me. I own an online business so my salary will be the same no matter where I go. I could be living the crazy rich life somewhere else instead of the middle class life here.

Don't get me wrong... its not like we are struggling to live here. we still live very comfortably but if I had to do it all over again... there is no way we would stay in NY

---

I am glad you shared that. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one struggling. I too own a small business and essientially work for myself.

I have a license to do hair but never had the financial support I needed here to get a following so I had to let it go.

I would love to get back into hair!!

I hate that it is just so hard to stay afloat here.

I have to sit back in amazement sometimes at how we have pulled money out of our butts basically to cover the cost of our wedding. I am honestly in constant awe!

---

Posted by MrsK2008

---

Posted by Lucky0510

I bought a house last year (actually we only moved in 6 months ago lol). I tired convincing FH to leave NY but he just didn't want to. He convinced me to stay here and although I love my house... I really wish we had moved to a different state. When I look online at what I could have bought in PA or SC ... it kills me. I own an online business so my salary will be the same no matter where I go. I could be living the crazy rich life somewhere else instead of the middle class life here.

Don't get me wrong... its not like we are struggling to live here. we still live very comfortably but if I had to do it all over again... there is no way we would stay in NY

---

I am glad you shared that. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one struggling. I too own a small business and essientially work for myself.

I have a license to do hair but never had the financial support I needed here to get a following so I had to let it go.

I would love to get back into hair!!

I hate that it is just so hard to stay afloat here.

I have to sit back in amazement sometimes at how we have pulled money out of our butts basically to cover the cost of our wedding. I am honestly in constant awe!

---

NY kills with the taxes too. Being a business owner I don't have to pay taxes all year long... and every year it is shocking how much they actually take from me all at once. This year is going to be terrible because last year I made a good amount. So now I am trying to pay for a wedding, pay the taxes I owe, and pay all the monthly payments that go along with owning a house... its crazy to think FH actually wanted to stay here. Now he realizes that we should have left... but its a little to late for that