Nevermind :D

[sapphire_chan]

Deleting cause it's clear the question was waaaaay too stupid and I don't want anyone else to waste their time answering.

[ChristyMarie]

Um, if $1300 is going to be a deal breaker for you to move then I'm not sure you are in the position to buy a home.

In the past, sometimes you could refinance for more than the value of the home but I believe those days are long gone - now the majority of mortgages are 80% of the value of the home, meaning you need 20% down.

Perhaps finding a lower priced rental closer to his job would be the right solution?

[choli]

In the days of the property bubble, you might have been able if you had excellent credit.

These days, no way. And as ChristyMarie says, if you don't have $1300, you are in no position to buy a house. How do you intend to pay closing costs, moving costs, property taxes if you have no money saved?

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by ChristyMarie

Um, if $1300 is going to be a deal breaker for you to move then I'm not sure you are in the position to buy a home.

In the past, sometimes you could refinance for more than the value of the home but I believe those days are long gone - now the majority of mortgages are 80% of the value of the home, meaning you need 20% down.

Perhaps finding a lower priced rental closer to his job would be the right solution?

Ah, that's a good point, I'd forgotten that we used a down payment when we bought previously. :

What really sucks is as near as I can tell the new town has cheap houses for purchase and incredibly expensive apartments for renting.

[ChristyMarie]

Originally Posted by choli

....How do you intend to pay closing costs, moving costs, property taxes if you have no money saved?

And earnest money and the house inspection fee and the appraisal fee... Unfortunately, that all adds up to a lot more than $1300.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by ChristyMarie

And earnest money and the house inspection fee and the appraisal fee... Unfortunately, that all adds up to a lot more than $1300.

When we bought, it was all part of the mortgage thingy. After the downpayment, which I'd totally forgotten about since all the mortgage paperwork was done for the amount of the loan, we payed less than $1000 out of pocket (more like $500).

town. Seriously, if it were possible to get a mortgage (and yes, I'm going : about the down payment thing and sighing a lot) we could get a place the size of our current apartment for under $600/month, but we can't rent a SMALLER place for less than $650.

Or if we can, none of the online places want to tell me about it.



Near as I can tell, dh getting promoted and getting a salary increase is going to COST money.

[texmati]

I'm confused-- do you own a home currently? or are you renting?

[just_lily]

In a balanced market, the mortgage on a property *should* be less than the rent on that exact same property.

A property owner is also paying property tax and maintenance. Tenants don't pay those, and sometimes utilities are included in the rent as well. Plus a landlord would hope to make some kind of return on their investment at some point. So for all of these reasons you would expect rent to be higher than a mortgage... when the market hasn't been turned on its head.

The mortgage payment on the places you are looking at might only be $600, but the actual cost of ownership will be much higher.

[littleplum]

We had over $8,000 in closing costs. That didn't include the down payment or any points, just the fees.