What do you mean real first time buyers? My wife and I are first time buyers in January and just saved like the dickens to pay for what we wanted rather than just buying a crappy starter home.Just came across this chart:
So... essentially... housing is now more UNAFFORDABLE now than it was in 2006/2007! WTF?
Are first time (real first time) buyers like me forever priced out of owning real estate? Most agents I talked to say that the bidding wars have only become more aggressive.
Placed an offer on a home just to find out there are 7 more. Pretty much done with that.
Placed an offer on a home just to find out there are 7 more. Pretty much done with that.
Got another offer on a short sale and waiting for a response, but as it is with short sales it can take months. Ugh.
What do you mean real first time buyers? My wife and I are first time buyers in January and just saved like the dickens to pay for what we wanted rather than just buying a crappy starter home.
It is definitely possible in this market, you just have to be patient.
Placed an offer on a home just to find out there are 7 more. Pretty much done with that.
Got another offer on a short sale and waiting for a response, but as it is with short sales it can take months. Ugh.
What hood you looking at?
Man, not bad at all. Every short sale our realtor took us to was a major shithole. Would have taken a ridiculous amount of work to make it livable.Bought a house just over the state line into WV from VA to escape Loudoun taxes etc. The house was a short sale so got a 3,500 sq house, 6 years old, originally listed for $450,000, for a quarter of that. Didn't pay closing cost and used my veterans benefits (va loan). There was no bidding war and I came in lower than the drastically reduced list price. Place was in perfect condition essentially and is my first home, I lucked out.
Since it was a short sale it took about 7-8 months to get the purchase done...pain in the ass, but worth it.
If you are buying a house either through short sale or foreclosure and the price is already steeply discounted, inspectors may find things, but the seller isn't going to fix them, it's more for your "to do" list, and usually doesn't bring the price down much further unless it's something substantial.
finally finished moving into our new, first and last, home. its fucking beautiful and we are stoked. its a good size and sits on a river with an amazing view. all of our friends and family comment on how it feels like a true vacation home.
St. Johns Bluff around Sandalwood. Decent homes, and can't see myself anywhere other than SS.
Nice. Congrats. Do you mind sharing City and State?
lake almanor, california
this is the back yard
and the lower deck with the river
WOW! Amazing! Congrats. Do you work locally or are you commuting to the major cities?
Since my previous posts, we put an offer in on a home at $125,000 and it was accepted. We've already done all of the paper work, loan has been approved, inspection done, appraisal scheduled for tomorrow, so now we just sit back and wait.
It is a 1,750 square foot home with hardwoods and an open floor, split floorplan. It has everything we wanted except that it's not on a flat lot, but we were willing to sacrafice that.
This may be a stupid questions, but coming from an apartment to our first actual house, what are some must have items that we should start picking up?
Since my previous posts, we put an offer in on a home at $125,000 and it was accepted. We've already done all of the paper work, loan has been approved, inspection done, appraisal scheduled for tomorrow, so now we just sit back and wait.
It is a 1,750 square foot home with hardwoods and an open floor, split floorplan. It has everything we wanted except that it's not on a flat lot, but we were willing to sacrafice that.
This may be a stupid questions, but coming from an apartment to our first actual house, what are some must have items that we should start picking up?
It's months late but congrats! And your advice later on was very good from my experience. Always need to be pro-active.Oh wow, thank god it's almost basically and finally over. They accepted and signed our offer!
Well, you're probably going to find that you don't have enough furniture. If you ever want guests, some people have a second bedroom set up for them. I didn't have room in my apartment for a dining room, but now I do.
It's really up to you. What do you want to be able to do in your house?
congratulations. Exciting and nerve racking time.
Things to get or you may want now that you have your own place*:
a dog
A grill/smoker/bbq pit
lawnmower(if applicable)
leaf blower(if applicable)
various tools: hammer, drill, screw drivers, paint brushes, stud finder
spray bottle with ortho or some other insect killer, spray around foundation of home to keep bugs out.
if you live in a cold climate, or somewhere it occasionally freezes insulation for your outdoor faucets.
water hoses
sprinkler(s)
an irobot roomba - seriously best invention ever, if you can spare the funds.
*obviously biased interpration of what you one might want for their home.
Yes it's possible. But I have to offer around 5-8% over list. And I have to waive buyer protections. The agents I speak with have yet to close a single transaction where the buyer didn't have to go over asking by at least $30K and waived appraisal and termite this year. Oh and every winning offer up until now has been with at least 22% down. I can't compete with my 10% down.
So I'm officially out of the market. Hunkering down to get to 25% down so we can buy a house we like instead of a crappy starter home like you said.
Also, as I added above, it's also just 1.2 miles from our apartment, so moving wont be a big deal and we already know the area perfectly well. I'm fine with all of that.
Well, we never have too many people over but we want to have it so her parents can stay overnight if need be. They are from NC, we are in SC, and when they visit they have been staying in a motel since we don't have a guest bed (second bedroom is our "office" right now) and I don't want to make them do that anymore.
We are moving from two bed (again, second one is just an "office") and bath and a half to three bed two full bath.
Thanks!
I'll go over your list...
-a dog (We plan on it, if not as soon as we move in then for Christmas. We've planned to get a Boston Terrier for years, but didn't want to in an apartment. We already have Clancy, our Siberian cat.)
-A grill/smoker/bbq pit (that one is already on our list. We have a nice deck off the back of the house and it would be just perfect.)
-lawnmower(if applicable) (Yeah, I'll need one of some sort. I'm trying to budget to see if I can just get someone to take care of it for us though, if only for the short term.)
-leaf blower(if applicable) (I don't think this will be needed, but we'll see.)
-various tools: hammer, drill, screw drivers, paint brushes, stud finder (Got ya, I have a lot but I need stud finder and drill for sure.)
-spray bottle with ortho or some other insect killer, spray around foundation of home to keep bugs out. (Totally forgot about that, I'll remember it now.)
-if you live in a cold climate, or somewhere it occasionally freezes insulation for your outdoor faucets. (It gets cold in the winter, but not for long. I'll remember this as well.)
-water hoses (As stupid as it sounds I forgot about this also.)
-sprinkler(s) (Same as above.)
-an irobot roomba - seriously best invention ever, if you can spare the funds. (Hmmmmmm, I've always wanted one but didn't think it would work fine on the carpet we have in our apartment. Now with hardwoods, do they really work that great?)
We close right near labor day, either the day before or the day after.
The current homeowner has been told to install a complete French drainage system as well. We have had a TON of rain the past couple of months and it is needed, even if we haven't had that much rain in decades and may never again.
Need serious advice guys:
My parents are looking to buy a house under a FHA loan. Its brand new house and it was going to be under my Father's name. But to get FHA loan, my Father's income is 3K short. So housing folks are asking that I co-sign FHA loan. I just took a look at the papers and they say co-purchaser. My google skills not up to par to find anything that clarifies co-purchaser versus a co-signer.
Does anyone know?
Would we have refinance the loan to get my name of the loan?
Will I be eligible for a FHA loan later on ie. in 2 to 3 years time?
I mean this a good idea?
Also how expensive is the living expenditures of a new House on top of mortgage that we should take in account. I have estimated 1000 dollars a month. Is that reasonable?
leaf blower(if applicable)
spray bottle with ortho or some other insect killer, spray around foundation of home to keep bugs out.
if you live in a cold climate, or somewhere it occasionally freezes insulation for your outdoor faucets.
I don't view a leaf blower as necessary. I do have one but I use it to blow the grass clippings off the street and walkway and back onto my lawn. It's nice to have but it's totally unnecessary. It would be better to invest in a good tarp and rake. Rake the leaves onto the tarp and dump them in the woods or into a bag. I would go around and make leaf piles around the property and then bring the tarp over before raking the pile onto the tarp. I dump it in the woods on my property.
Getting a good mulching mower is a wise investment. Don't bag the clippings but instead, mulch them into the lawn. I do the same with the leaves in the fall. It's the primary reason why my lawn is the best in the neighborhood.
The idea of spraying stuff around your foundation to kill bugs is not a good idea in my opinion. You'll barely make a dent in the population. A better approach is to go around looking for entry points and sealing them with foam, caulking, etc to seal them out. Look around the windows, doors, garage doors, sill plates, eaves, etc for entry points that need to be sealed.
Lastly, if you're in a climate that is prone to freezing of pipes, it's best to drain those outside faucets if shutoffs/drains exist or invest in frost-proof faucets.
an irobot roomba - seriously best invention ever, if you can spare the funds.
We close right near labor day, either the day before or the day after.
I don't view a leaf blower as necessary. I do have one but I use it to blow the grass clippings off the street and walkway and back onto my lawn. It's nice to have but it's totally unnecessary. It would be better to invest in a good tarp and rake. Rake the leaves onto the tarp and dump them in the woods or into a bag. I would go around and make leaf piles around the property and then bring the tarp over before raking the pile onto the tarp. I dump it in the woods on my property.
Getting a good mulching mower is a wise investment. Don't bag the clippings but instead, mulch them into the lawn. I do the same with the leaves in the fall. It's the primary reason why my lawn is the best in the neighborhood.
The idea of spraying stuff around your foundation to kill bugs is not a good idea in my opinion. You'll barely make a dent in the population. A better approach is to go around looking for entry points and sealing them with foam, caulking, etc to seal them out. Look around the windows, doors, garage doors, sill plates, eaves, etc for entry points that need to be sealed.
Lastly, if you're in a climate that is prone to freezing of pipes, it's best to drain those outside faucets if shutoffs/drains exist or invest in frost-proof faucets.
ha, be ready for multiple trips for the same project seems like you always forget something even with a list.Be ready for lots of trips to Home Depot/Lowes/whatever.
Definitely a problem I have. 3 Oak trees in the front yard with St. Augustine grass.Valkyr Junkie said:A caveat for this would be to do additional research on your particular type of grass, and the leaves you'll be mulching. I have St. Augustine, and mulching oak leaves is a no-no since they contribute to thatch build-up since they don't break-down as cleanly as other leaves. St. Augustine is also fairly susceptible to thatch build-up.
Where in SC? I'm in Columbia SC. I've had my house for 4 years and just refinanced (at no cost, literally, took a higher interest rate, 4%, to pay for all closing and this is lower than my previous 5.25% rate).
You definitely don't want standing water/flooding, it's very high priority! I also paid $125k for my house but is 1620 sq ft and doesn't have wood floors but want to eventually get around to that.
More to the list
- variety of screws/nails.
-anchors for hanging heavy items
-broom/dust pan/steam mop
-weedeater
-watering jug
I don't view a leaf blower as necessary. I do have one but I use it to blow the grass clippings off the street and walkway and back onto my lawn. It's nice to have but it's totally unnecessary. It would be better to invest in a good tarp and rake. Rake the leaves onto the tarp and dump them in the woods or into a bag. I would go around and make leaf piles around the property and then bring the tarp over before raking the pile onto the tarp. I dump it in the woods on my property.
Getting a good mulching mower is a wise investment. Don't bag the clippings but instead, mulch them into the lawn. I do the same with the leaves in the fall. It's the primary reason why my lawn is the best in the neighborhood.
The idea of spraying stuff around your foundation to kill bugs is not a good idea in my opinion. You'll barely make a dent in the population. A better approach is to go around looking for entry points and sealing them with foam, caulking, etc to seal them out. Look around the windows, doors, garage doors, sill plates, eaves, etc for entry points that need to be sealed.
Lastly, if you're in a climate that is prone to freezing of pipes, it's best to drain those outside faucets if shutoffs/drains exist or invest in frost-proof faucets.
You can also buy heat tape if frozen pipes are a problem - lotsa folk use 'em here in Maine.
Congrats!
I bought a house late last September, so, in addition to lots of the things that have already been mentioned...
- A ladder
- Any gardening? Shovels, rakes, etc.
- Sounds like your winters are relatively short/mild, but a snow shovel if it makes sense - Edit: Oh, SC, probably not needed then!
- Garbage cans, if not city provided
- An unholy amount of boxes for moving
Be ready for lots of trips to Home Depot/Lowes/whatever.
- A ladder
Looks nice. Congrats!
Sigh only 125k. That house would be 900k here =(
Well, we close on 9/3 at 10AM. Is it normal to be nervous? I don't even know why that is, heh.We don't even have to be out of our apartment until 10/28 but we'll likely be totally moved well before then and then our first mortgage payment will be due on 11/1. We timed the closing date so that we wouldn't have our apartment rent due in the same month that a mortgage payment would be due. I can't believe we got that worked out.
I'm not sure how to fully transistion. Should we move everything ASAP or do it slowly? It will suck having to pay utilities on two places for a month or two.
Here are a few pictures of our place showing the slop in front, the house, the back, the deck, and a few shots of the inside. It's not the most amazing place ever, but it's our first home. It is a 3 bed 2 bath at just over 1,700 sq ft on half an acre and cost us $125,000...
Thanks!
But yeah, wow, where do you live? I know we are sorta lucky to live in a place where we can afford something like that. Then again, salaries aren't as high here as they are in most places so maybe it all evens out in the end, lol.
Well, we close on 9/3 at 10AM. Is it normal to be nervous? I don't even know why that is, heh.We don't even have to be out of our apartment until 10/28 but we'll likely be totally moved well before then and then our first mortgage payment will be due on 11/1. We timed the closing date so that we wouldn't have our apartment rent due in the same month that a mortgage payment would be due. I can't believe we got that worked out.
I'm not sure how to fully transistion. Should we move everything ASAP or do it slowly? It will suck having to pay utilities on two places for a month or two.
Here are a few pictures of our place showing the slop in front, the house, the back, the deck, and a few shots of the inside. It's not the most amazing place ever, but it's our first home. It is a 3 bed 2 bath at just over 1,700 sq ft on half an acre and cost us $125,000...
Yes. Almost every property we saw was a fixer that was much smaller than what we would consider remotely ideal. Holes in the roof, missing garage door, broken tubs and toilets... All this in addition to new floors, paint, ect...I'm considering the opposite at this point. Not necessarily a starter home, but going for something that isn't necessarily my ideal be all end all home, maybe a fixer, just to get on the damn ladder at this point. Have you considered, I guess 'settling' in this sense, trying to determine the pros and cons of waiting with all these shitty charts and anecdotes.
It's months late but congrats! And your advice later on was very good from my experience. Always need to be pro-active.
Closed on our first house in North Phoenix last week. Moving is a huge effort, there is so much 'getting used' to involved.
I am also not really a handy person, so I am being rapidly forced to learn - youtube is priceless!
How do fixer-uppers work alongside your mortgage? Do you need to get a separate loan for the renovations or do you need to plan for cash?
How do fixer-uppers work alongside your mortgage? Do you need to get a separate loan for the renovations or do you need to plan for cash?
Here are a few pictures of our place showing the slop in front, the house, the back, the deck, and a few shots of the inside. It's not the most amazing place ever, but it's our first home. It is a 3 bed 2 bath at just over 1,700 sq ft on half an acre and cost us $125,000...
It's probably going to be another 3 weeks before everything is done, I'll post some before/after pictures after we move in.