This is great in a dream world. Reality? Not so much...at least for most people. The majority of property owners sure as hell don't have a down payment that large.
How the hell do you buy a house?
- Thread starter RoJoHen
- Start date
This is great in a dream world. Reality? Not so much...at least for most people. The majority of property owners sure as hell don't have a down payment that large.
I hope you're right. Otherwise I probably wouldn't be able to buy a decent house for another 20 years.
Yep. I live in a university city myself, and it's also great for this sort of thing. The current tenant in the property I let out is a doctoral student. Personally I draw the line at post-grads rather than undergrads, simply because they're a bit less likely to cause major problems in the property.
But it's certainly profitable to cater for the undergrad market in a big shared house as well!
Actually, I wouldn't go with a buying agent who is also the selling agent. No one can serve two masters. The selling agent is trying to get the maximum buck because the commission will be a percentage of the sale price. So guess who they'll be working for?
I hope you're right. Otherwise I probably wouldn't be able to buy a decent house for another 20 years.
That's why the housing bubble that burst has caused lenders to ratchet up down payment requirements. Oh well, live foolishly if you want and I'll just shake my head, like always, at people who whine that they can't make their mortgage payment. Gone are the days when one merely needed a pulse to get a mortgage, as it should be.
Holdfast, but the awesome thing about undergrads is that they're less picky about where they live, so you don't have to keep it that great of shape! 
As long as I get a free cup anytime they have a keg, they can tear the house apart.
John Picard, I was exaggerating. Calm down.
As long as I get a free cup anytime they have a keg, they can tear the house apart.
John Picard, I was exaggerating. Calm down.
Me, because I already formed a relationship with her. So rather than the selling agent taking 1X and the buying agent taking 1X from the sale price ( = 2X ), she only took something slightly greater than 1X, and talked the seller into lowering their price by the remainder they were saving.
And by the way, the agent fee on both sides is a percentage of the sales price, so by your logic you can't trust your buying agent, either.
I hope you're right. Otherwise I probably wouldn't be able to buy a decent house for another 20 years.
Don't worry about not having 20 percent to put down as a first-time buyer. Few people would expect you to have it in that circumstance. For what it's worth, 20 percent is just a benchmark, not a requirement. Down payments of less than 20 percent will require Primate Mortgage Insurance (PMI), however before anyone takes them seriously. My wife and I put down only 5 percent on our first house. But we had PMI.
As long as you're a strong buyer in all the other categories they'll check: income, personal debt, and credit especially, just buy Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). It'll add about $50 or so to your monthly house payment, but it gets you in the house in the first place.
Play with what your payment would be if you put down 5 percent, then, maybe 7 or 8 percent. There are plenty of mortgage calculators online. If he extra money up front is worth it in lower monthly payments, then do it. The thing is not to tie up all your liquidity in the new home. You still need to eat and make car payments.
It shouldn't be a problem getting a home in the Quad Cities with 5 percent down and PMI. So, that's $5000 to $10,000 in cash up front for a home in the $100,000 to $200,000 range.
I hope you're right. Otherwise I probably wouldn't be able to buy a decent house for another 20 years.
Melodramatic, much?
I hope you're right. Otherwise I probably wouldn't be able to buy a decent house for another 20 years.
Melodramatic, much?
It's kind of his thing.
Hell, I know people in the Quad Cities right now that are buying houses without putting ANY money down. They're getting loans for the full cost of the house just so they can get the homebuyer tax credit before the deadline.
One of the reason I'm planning to wait at least a year is so that I don't have to do that. I want to put down a decent down payment.
Yeah, I suppose so.
I hope you're right. Otherwise I probably wouldn't be able to buy a decent house for another 20 years.
I make my mortgage payment on time every month without a problem. You just assume that your way is the ONLY way.
Now think about how long you are likely to own the house, add in closing costs and selling costs, and see if it's still cheaper. It might be. Here's a caclulator to help. There are other similar calculators around.
If you haven't found it yet, I found Zillow to be very helpful when I was buying my house.
Yeah, I'm just playing around. I was just trying to make the point that your downpayment doesn't necessarily have an impact on whether or not you can afford a monthly payment.
How long I'm going to live there is such an odd thing to think about. Right now I'm single and have no kids, but who knows when that could change? This house is perfect for one or two people, but it wouldn't be big enough for a family.
I'm not wise in these matters, I just noted somewhere upthread that you compared mortgage payments to your rent. Wanted to make a note that a house is entirely different from renting a place. There are all sorts of other expenses and upkeep, including unforseen ones!
Now I'm not saying that means you shouldn't buy, just make sure you're considering everything involved.
Now I'm not saying that means you shouldn't buy, just make sure you're considering everything involved.
Oh yes, I'm being smart about this. I'm just trying to figure things out now rather than a year down the road when I'm actually ready to buy.
It's important to keep a cash buffer in your bank account (or uncharged credit if you can't keep that much cash around without spending it) for unforseen household expenditures. I tend to think of about $5000 in my bank account as "unspendable" unless it's for a household emergency, like repairing hurricane-related roof damage or replacing a dead air conditioning system. (Two real examples of when I had to dip into it.)
As someone who just got her realtor license about a week ago, this thread has me riveted.
As someone who just got her realtor license about a week ago, this thread has me riveted.
You wanna find me a house?
Similar threads
