We have 25% of a downpayment!!

[wannabe]

Hooray!

And it only took us five years. At this rate, in another fifteen years we'll be able to start a 30 year mortgage. :

[jlutgendorf]

Congratulations!

Is 25% not enough of a downpayment to buy right now? That will get rid of the PMI.

I'm impressed, 25%! That's a lot of $$!

~Julia

[velochic]

I think she means she has 25% of their goal down payment. Not 25% for a down payment.

I think it's wonderful that you've saved this. You are doing it the right way... patiently and steadily. I see too often here people who just jump into home ownership because the want it rather than being able to afford it or support it. Good for you that you are being sensible and mature! It won't take that long... you'll manage before that. Just buy within your means. And if you don't get the money together, well, you still are doing it the smart way.

[Eman'smom]

You're doing a great job keep it up, slow and steady wins the race.

I do understand the frustration though, dh and I spent 12 years in cramped tiny apartments, but it was so worth it.

[mum4boys]

Congratulations!

Depending on where you live there are lots of grants for the down payment. Here in my area of Washington State there is one agency that is geared towards middle class people because there is lots of places for low income and no one can afford to buy here that is middle class for the first time.

[Vanessa]

Keep up the good work!

[jlutgendorf]

D'oh! You're right Velochic, that's what I get for posting before my coffee!

Still, 25% of a down payment is still awesome. We had no downpayment : and it would have been nice have even that amount!

~Julia

[wannabe]

Originally Posted by velochic

I think she means she has 25% of their goal down payment. Not 25% for a down payment.

Yeah, 5% of a house, with mortgage that we couldn't afford to pay. : we don't need congratulating, velochic, because there's no way anyone would lend us what a house here would cost, even if we asked reeeeeally nicely. it would be something like 60-70% of our income, and if we rented it out we'd get less than 50% of the mortgage as rent. Total insanity to even consider.

[Justmee]

congratulations!!! :

[Free Thinker]

Well, I still think it's great you have managed to save up that much. Right now the housing market is correcting itself, so it's not a good time to be buying anyway. Save your $$ in as high of an interest place as you can find (at least 5%) and it will start to grow. We have been saving for 7, almost 8 years and will start our house this spring! Yippee! I know it's a long time, but it will be well worth it when we have so much equity in our home and are paying less out in interest. I don't know where in the US you are, but some places in the midwest (were I live) are still really cheap comparatively, so you could buy a nice little place here for that much *but you wouldn't make near as much $$ either*. I also find that the hardest part of saving up a down payment is getting into the habbit of saving it instead of alloting that money to something else. You must have that part down, so congrats to you!

[velochic]

Originally Posted by wannabe

Yeah, 5% of a house, with mortgage that we couldn't afford to pay. : we don't need congratulating, velochic, because there's no way anyone would lend us what a house here would cost, even if we asked reeeeeally nicely. it would be something like 60-70% of our income, and if we rented it out we'd get less than 50% of the mortgage as rent. Total insanity to even consider.

Ummm.... uncongratulations, then? Sorry. It was just refreshing to hear that there is someone who is actually saving for a down payment rather than scraping it together at the last minute for a house that is way beyond their means. Seems to be par for the course here and you seem so level-headed about it. Then I'll simply congratulate you on having an objective perspective on your financial health... how about that?

[momto l&a]

My mom has told me that some guy on TV said if you buy now youll loose money.

Now I dont know if hes talking like a state or the USA wide. Cause right now in CA where we live the market is expected to start going up in '09.

We are looking for a place to buy but we will be buying with 0 down being we used up all our $ in paying down or ridding our debts. We have an offer in on a place, this is the third time we have put an offer in, lets pray this one is excepted.

[Selesai]

BUYING A HOUSE IS SO FREAKING CONFUSING.

Rent: save money.
Buy: feel permanency.

Is the market going to let me "make" money on my house in 7 years?
Is the market different where I live because of BRAC?
Are interest rates going go up?
Is now a good time to buy or is next year a better time?
Why are houses so ridiculously expensive?

:
<thank you for the vent>
((and if you have any answers, i love you))

[papschmitty]

Buying a house is confusing! We bought ours with on $3,000 down and we borrowed that from my parents! I was still in nursing school and I worked 3 part time jobs to be able to cover the mortgage until I graduated and started making real money (about 6 months). The house was a great investment for us, we've been there almost 6 years and have nearly $100,000 equity in it. BUT we didn't buy it specifically for the investment in the short term. We bought it to be our HOME. Of course you still need to live within your means and never borrow more money that you can comfortably pay back but I think it helps to think of you the house you plan to buy as the place you plan to grow your family in and not just as an investment. I guess I'm saying that when you're ready to buy, speculating whether interest rates are going up or down or at what % the housing market is rising or falling can suck the life out of you. If you plan to be there long term and you haven't over mortgaged yourself, it's much easier to ride the ups and downs of the market and buy the home you want to live in.

Congrats on getting your 25% of your goal. That's quite an accomplishment!

[phreedom]

That´s great. I wish my husband were as wise and as patient as yall are.

We live in a small apt and he wants a house RIGHT NOW. Thing is our credit is only so so and we get reamed on the interest rate. We have a good income, but not so good credit. I would rather just pay off our debts and give it about 2 years for our credit to get better and buy a nice house. No to mention heś talking about borrowing a down payment from his parents.

He wants to get a super cheap (under $50,000) fixer upper. The only thing is that fixer uppers can turn out to be not so cheap, especially if it needs lots of work. I´m totally open to the idea of an older home that needs some minor-ish cosmetic work or updating...but the houses he´s looking at...¨oh my¨. I live in an area where you can get a nice older home in a good school district for about $80,000.

I want to take the slow steady approach. Saving and going into is under the most favorable terms possible. It may be a long wait now...but I bet it will feel so good when you finally get in your new house. Congratulations!

[wannabe]

Originally Posted by velochic

Ummm.... uncongratulations, then? Sorry. It was just refreshing to hear that there is someone who is actually saving for a down payment rather than scraping it together at the last minute for a house that is way beyond their means. Seems to be par for the course here and you seem so level-headed about it. Then I'll simply congratulate you on having an objective perspective on your financial health... how about that?

bah, yeah, you're right. Thank you. it seems fairly obvious a thing to not dive straight into a recipe for bankruptcy with tanking market+ high prices+ not enough to cover the mortgage and emergencies+ lowish rent. But then again, maybe it's not, after one recent thread I saw.

[MindfulBirth]

Originally Posted by momto l&a

My mom has told me that some guy on TV said if you buy now youll loose money.

I don't think that is true unless you were planning on trying to sell the house within a few months or years. If you plan to stay put..now is a great time to buy. Sellers are willing to negotiate and there are lots of houses on the market to choose from. (although in some markets, lower-cost homes are being bought up pretty quickly and competitively).

My husband and I decided that we were tired of paying rent and are in the process of purchasing our first home in CT. We are getting it on quick sale so the seller can avoid foreclosure. Our purchase price is pretty much HALF of what the house is appraised for. Instant equity. Our mortgage payments will be 1/3 less than our current rental payments - putting us on the road to savings and a retirement fund.

Wannabe: I'm sorry you feel you are still so far from your goal. But please do celebrate what you have accomplished (just don't celebrate by going out and spending all that you saved!).

[nina_yyc]

You know, taking a long time to save might not be a bad thing right now. My DH and I are watching housing prices level off here after a year and a half of craziness....we think the subprime crash is the best thing to ever happen to us : We have 1/2 our down payment right now and we're very skeptical of buying with a small down payment...if we amoritized over 40 years we might as well be renting with the interest charges the first few years.