maybe buying a house
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amymeenieminymo
Posts: 2,394 Member
in Chit-Chat
So my boyfriend and I decided to start house hunting. We got an apartment together last March and he was sort of unofficially living with me in my old apartment for a few months before that. We were thinking of waiting until closer to getting married, but the housing market in michigan is such a buyers market right now that I think we're going to go ahead with it.
We decided to make it more of a financial step, rather than a relationship one by leaving his name off from it until we are married (I have the good credit anyway) so since I came to that decision I cannot think of many reasons to wait.
Our lease is also up in a few months, so hopefully the timing will be just right. We already have our eye on a house....we'll look at others too, but I think this house will be the one to beat. It's got everything we want, a partially finshed basement (for the mancave) a garage, comes with all the appliances, has central air and the price has dropped 40 grand since we started looking at it.
Hopefully we can hold off and look at others to be sure, but so far we have our sights set on this one. Yikes, I'm so excited but so scared at the same time. I'm not looking forward to telling my dad though, he always plays devils advocate and points out a lot of cons to big ticket stuff like this. I know in the end he is only watching out for me and making sure I think things through, which is good, but I have always been very swayed by my dad's opinion and I am almost 30 years old and I think I am ready for this! Wish me luck!
We decided to make it more of a financial step, rather than a relationship one by leaving his name off from it until we are married (I have the good credit anyway) so since I came to that decision I cannot think of many reasons to wait.
Our lease is also up in a few months, so hopefully the timing will be just right. We already have our eye on a house....we'll look at others too, but I think this house will be the one to beat. It's got everything we want, a partially finshed basement (for the mancave) a garage, comes with all the appliances, has central air and the price has dropped 40 grand since we started looking at it.
Hopefully we can hold off and look at others to be sure, but so far we have our sights set on this one. Yikes, I'm so excited but so scared at the same time. I'm not looking forward to telling my dad though, he always plays devils advocate and points out a lot of cons to big ticket stuff like this. I know in the end he is only watching out for me and making sure I think things through, which is good, but I have always been very swayed by my dad's opinion and I am almost 30 years old and I think I am ready for this! Wish me luck!
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Replies
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So my boyfriend and I decided to start house hunting. We got an apartment together last March and he was sort of unofficially living with me in my old apartment for a few months before that. We were thinking of waiting until closer to getting married, but the housing market in michigan is such a buyers market right now that I think we're going to go ahead with it.
We decided to make it more of a financial step, rather than a relationship one by leaving his name off from it until we are married (I have the good credit anyway) so since I came to that decision I cannot think of many reasons to wait.
Our lease is also up in a few months, so hopefully the timing will be just right. We already have our eye on a house....we'll look at others too, but I think this house will be the one to beat. It's got everything we want, a partially finshed basement (for the mancave) a garage, comes with all the appliances, has central air and the price has dropped 40 grand since we started looking at it.
Hopefully we can hold off and look at others to be sure, but so far we have our sights set on this one. Yikes, I'm so excited but so scared at the same time. I'm not looking forward to telling my dad though, he always plays devils advocate and points out a lot of cons to big ticket stuff like this. I know in the end he is only watching out for me and making sure I think things through, which is good, but I have always been very swayed by my dad's opinion and I am almost 30 years old and I think I am ready for this! Wish me luck!0 -
Are you guys talking of getting married?
Will he be paying half the mortgage? It is a buyers market for sure. I wishh you all the best of luck. It is so stressful buying your first home so good luck and enjoy the experience.0 -
Just don't make the same mistake that me and my husband. We built a house and just put it in my husband's name since I filed bankruptcy after our second daughter was born due to medical bills. Totally sucked but worth it to a point. That is another story, anyways, he built and we needed up losing the house after almost 5 years in it. It was pretty hard on us to handle the payments and when I was laid off it was hard and the property taxes killed us big time. I know that you are not going to build. I would just make sure that you have an emergency fund set aside to help out with the costs. It is a big step and make sure that you know what your taxes are going to be and everything so that you don't get hit like what we did.
We had to go back to a small apartment for now. I hope to be in the same spot next spring for looking for a house and this time we are doing it MY WAY!!!! Not his.
Good Luck!!!!!1 -
Are you guys talking of getting married?
Will he be paying half the mortgage? It is a buyers market for sure. I wishh you all the best of luck. It is so stressful buying your first home so good luck and enjoy the experience.
Yes right now we're talking about probably fall of 2010 to get married. We'll probably do what we do now which is I pay the rent and he pays all the utilities and cable and the majority of when we go out, it's just easier than trying to split up each bill. According to the mortgage calculators, our mortgage payment could be less than our rent!0 -
I would actually have your dad do a walk through with you. Yes, you want to buy it alone, however, it really pays to have an experienced homeowner with you who might point out things you're not going to notice.
Good luck!1 -
Let me tell you a little bit of what your dad is going to say. You will have upkeep with a house. Lawn, appliances, plumbing, painting, etc. yes, taxes and insurance. Time and money. And much of it will be right now! Whether you’re ready right now or not. You are not only buying a house, you are buying neighbors and a neighborhood. Drive by during the day, evening, late at night, and on the weekend to see how noisy it is, how many cars are parked on the street, etc. how far is it from your work? Is it an easy commute?
Hope you don’t take this as a downer, but just as a chance to prepare for your talk with dad.
I hope you get your dream home! Best of luck!1 -
If you're young, which it looks like you are, buying is probably best financially in the long run. Where in Michigan? Traverse City is my home town, and I'm going back for a visit with family next week. :-)0
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Was thinking of giving some home buying advice here, but then realized this thread was from 11 yrs ago lol.....i assume the OP knows all tbey neex to at this point
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Well, hopefully the advice will help someone who's currently in this situation.
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Dang a thread from 11 years ago. Now I want to hear about the house.
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Well, hopefully the advice will help someone who's currently in this situation.
Ok....my advice would be:
Check for recently sold comps in the area to make sure the seller has a reasonable selling price expectation.
Hire a home inspector and get a full engineers report on the house to find out as much as you can about the quality of every aspect of the house before you buy. Even if there are things wrong it can be ok, it may help with negotiating a better deal, or get the sellers to fix it before you close on it.
If you have a family or plan on having one, check out the schools and how they rate.
Observe the neighborhood if its a new area to you. Talk with neighbors if possible, see what the surroundings will be like.
Plan to see it more than once, try to see it in non optimal weather conditions. Make sure their is no interior flooding or property issues with inclement weather.
Dont spend more than you can afford. Even if you have the money to buy a house doesnt mean you will have enough to live and maintain it. Know exactly what your taxes are and see if you can get info on average utility costs. If you are buying in a community or Townhouse situation find out about the fees that occur with owning there.
Dont buy a house with resale in mind unless you plan on selling it quickly. If you are buying a "home" and not just a "house" the only factors should be you love it, and can afford it. Houses do appreciate, but on average only at roughly the same rate as the inflation percentage. The market can skyrocket for a few years, and then dip for a few years, the longer you hold it the more the market will correct towards the mean. Most people living in a house cant sell it anytime they want like a normal investment, so even if the property market is at a high, there is no guarantee you will be in the position to sell and cash in. Buy your house because you love it.
Buying a house is awesome. The memories of living in it will be priceless and thats really what its all about in my opinion.8 -
I bought a condo as my first place. A 4 bedroom condo. It took me forever to sell it, because no one is ever looking for a 4 bedroom condo. My Dad told me this, along with the strict guidelines to make renovations, carrying in groceries, having no private scenic areas and much more. Everything I initially rejected, I learned to hate about my place. He was right. My advice, listen to your father, he knows what he’s talking about.2
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@amymeenieminymo Come back and tell us what happened!0
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Well, hopefully the advice will help someone who's currently in this situation.
Ok....my advice would be:
Check for recently sold comps in the area to make sure the seller has a reasonable selling price expectation.
Hire a home inspector and get a full engineers report on the house to find out as much as you can about the quality of every aspect of the house before you buy. Even if there are things wrong it can be ok, it may help with negotiating a better deal, or get the sellers to fix it before you close on it.
If you have a family or plan on having one, check out the schools and how they rate.
Observe the neighborhood if its a new area to you. Talk with neighbors if possible, see what the surroundings will be like.
Plan to see it more than once, try to see it in non optimal weather conditions. Make sure their is no interior flooding or property issues with inclement weather.
Dont spend more than you can afford. Even if you have the money to buy a house doesnt mean you will have enough to live and maintain it. Know exactly what your taxes are and see if you can get info on average utility costs. If you are buying in a community or Townhouse situation find out about the fees that occur with owning there.
Dont buy a house with resale in mind unless you plan on selling it quickly. If you are buying a "home" and not just a "house" the only factors should be you love it, and can afford it. Houses do appreciate, but on average only at roughly the same rate as the inflation percentage. The market can skyrocket for a few years, and then dip for a few years, the longer you hold it the more the market will correct towards the mean. Most people living in a house cant sell it anytime they want like a normal investment, so even if the property market is at a high, there is no guarantee you will be in the position to sell and cash in. Buy your house because you love it.
Buying a house is awesome. The memories of living in it will be priceless and thats really what its all about in my opinion.
Holy crap, this advice is golden.
My next move is going to be to a city that I'm not familiar with and I was thinking of talking to neighbours about the area once I'm interested in a particular house. Glad to hear it's not a crazy idea.4 -
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