Ok, then I'll tell you why we shouldn't buy a house

[Aubrey]

Dh filled out the loan aps yesterday...but...we haven't got any money! Nothing saved for a down pmt, closing costs, inspection fees. Nothing saved for repairs or maintenance. Dh will still be working FT while taking classes, so he won't have time to fix a lot of things.

 

Our parents have offered to cosign if we need them to. We've got really (really, really) good credit but low (low, low) income.

 

But...then our income, our debt, where we live, how we spend--is all out there for everyone to look at & judge. The bank, our parents, & everyone in between. The realtor who has to muck through the cheapest properties in the metroplex.

 

Our stuff is semi-packed, & we're packing. Life is in limbo until we move. I mean, I haven't used the garlic press in 6mos, & of course I've wanted it every day since I packed it. School will be in limbo. The kids are acting nuts. (Although that could be the heat, lol.)

 

I think we should just move. We found a place tonight that will be fine. It's just inside the price range we were hoping for, just above the min square footage we were hoping for, has 3 bed, 2 bath, a fenced yard, dw, & fp, & it's not in scary town or 3 hrs west of Timbucktoo.

 

The house will be ready soon enough taht we wouldn't even have to get special dispensation to stay here longer. We won't have to stay w/ dh's parents in between here & there, either. (Last time we tried to buy a house, our buyers took a mo. past closing to actually close, & then our lender--for the new house--changed our closing costs from around $1700 to $10,000 the day before closing. It was a nightmare!)

 

Then a yr from now, dh will be certified, & if he finds a job in a quaint, sleepy town 3 hrs from here, he can take it. We can buy a 2000 sf house built in 1900 & live happily ever after. No rush, no shame, no borrowing money or credit from anybody.

 

Rent may be double what the mtg would be on the properties we've looked at buying, but I think that's really doublespeak for "the same price, when you figure in repairs & maintenance." Dh argues that we didn't put that much into our last house every month. But I think that's because we had the $ to fix most of it up front, before we moved in.

 

And then the water heater did go out. And the repair guy said it wasn't up to code, so that had to be fixed. Which required drilling through the brick. And the new roof? It leaked. And leaked. And the roofer did NOT want to come fix it. And crime went up, & suddenly we realized: you can't *count* on selling a house.

 

I just don't want to have to do the paperwork & pick the house right now. I want to file hs papers. :lol:

 

Right?

[Shelly in IL]

If you need the money from the $35K house to buy another in 2 years, then you probably shouldn't buy it - I'm guessing that this property may be hard to sell in 2 years. We used to be active duty military (still reserves) and it never made sense to buy a home when you were going to be at a duty station for less than 3 years (and that was in a booming housing market).

 

Good for you for using your intellect! The rental sounds lovely.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

 

Then a yr from now, dh will be certified, & if he finds a job in a quaint, sleepy town 3 hrs from here, he can take it. We can buy a 2000 sf house built in 1900 & live happily ever after. No rush, no shame, no borrowing money or credit from anybody.

 

Rent may be double what the mtg would be on the properties we've looked at buying, but I think that's really doublespeak for "the same price, when you figure in repairs & maintenance." Dh argues that we didn't put that much into our last house every month. But I think that's because we had the $ to fix most of it up front, before we moved in.

 

 

 

I think that this is very sensible. I didn't realize that you were likely to be relocating again soon. In that case I wouldn't at all buy a house.

[Renee in NC]

I would just rent in your situation, especially since you may have to move in a year for a teaching job.

[....]

Exactly, just rent. Then, you can go where the wind blows you. You don't want to be tied down to a house in your situation.

 

My husband can transfer to Europe for a few years. We're thinking about doing that in a year or two. We're renting and we can just pick up and leave. :001_smile:

[Teachin'Mine]

Your rental sounds wonderful. :)

[Lolly]

You make extremely good sense to me. I'd go for renting right now.

[LisaKinVA]

If you think you may be moving soon, don't buy -- rent.

[MariannNOVA]

Sounds like renting a little longer makes sense. I think you've made a sound decision should you go ahead and move to the rental you mentioned.:)

[Chris in VA]

Aubrey, I have dear friends who sold their house (after putting over 50K into renovations), and used part of the money to pay off all their debts. Hub has a great job, and they decided to rent for 2 years, saving for another down payment.

They are debt-free, have started to save, and are happy as clams.

 

I say go ahead and rent, for a couple of years, or whatever time frame suits you. Then you can let dh get certified, start saving, and buy.

 

It's all going to be ok!

 

(Are you going east?)

[1bassoon]

You sound like a voice of reason. . . . . . . renting seems like a plan to me!

[Harriet Vane]

I worried about this on the other thread. Yes, I think you should definitely rent. You don't know where you'll end up when dh is done with school, so think of that rent money as buying your freedom--free from responsibility for repairs or rehab, free from the work of selling the house, free from the insecurity of needing the house to sell within a certain time frame, etc.

 

Definitely rent.

[meet me in paris]

Dh filled out the loan aps yesterday...but...we haven't got any money! Nothing saved for a down pmt, closing costs, inspection fees. Nothing saved for repairs or maintenance. Dh will still be working FT while taking classes, so he won't have time to fix a lot of things.

 

Our parents have offered to cosign if we need them to. We've got really (really, really) good credit but low (low, low) income.

 

But...then our income, our debt, where we live, how we spend--is all out there for everyone to look at & judge. The bank, our parents, & everyone in between. The realtor who has to muck through the cheapest properties in the metroplex.

 

Our stuff is semi-packed, & we're packing. Life is in limbo until we move. I mean, I haven't used the garlic press in 6mos, & of course I've wanted it every day since I packed it. School will be in limbo. The kids are acting nuts. (Although that could be the heat, lol.)

 

I think we should just move. We found a place tonight that will be fine. It's just inside the price range we were hoping for, just above the min square footage we were hoping for, has 3 bed, 2 bath, a fenced yard, dw, & fp, & it's not in scary town or 3 hrs west of Timbucktoo.

 

The house will be ready soon enough taht we wouldn't even have to get special dispensation to stay here longer. We won't have to stay w/ dh's parents in between here & there, either. (Last time we tried to buy a house, our buyers took a mo. past closing to actually close, & then our lender--for the new house--changed our closing costs from around $1700 to $10,000 the day before closing. It was a nightmare!)

 

Then a yr from now, dh will be certified, & if he finds a job in a quaint, sleepy town 3 hrs from here, he can take it. We can buy a 2000 sf house built in 1900 & live happily ever after. No rush, no shame, no borrowing money or credit from anybody.

 

Rent may be double what the mtg would be on the properties we've looked at buying, but I think that's really doublespeak for "the same price, when you figure in repairs & maintenance." Dh argues that we didn't put that much into our last house every month. But I think that's because we had the $ to fix most of it up front, before we moved in.

 

And then the water heater did go out. And the repair guy said it wasn't up to code, so that had to be fixed. Which required drilling through the brick. And the new roof? It leaked. And leaked. And the roofer did NOT want to come fix it. And crime went up, & suddenly we realized: you can't *count* on selling a house.

 

I just don't want to have to do the paperwork & pick the house right now. I want to file hs papers. :lol:

 

Right?

Sounds like the Universe is speaking to you, and you are listening. :)

 

good luck!

[Brigitte]

I think that this is very sensible. I didn't realize that you were likely to be relocating again soon. In that case I wouldn't at all buy a house.

 

I didn't either. Renting in this case makes much more sense.

[amys]

I think you've talked yourself into it! I agree that you can't count on being able to easily sell in a couple of years.

[May]

Sounds like renting makes the most sense in your case. We finally bought after 20 years in the military. I miss those carefree days.:001_smile:

[TXMomof4]

I do agree to wait on a house until you're more settled. I hate having our plans curtailed by the responsiblity of a house. It's much easier to rent until you find your 'forever' place. I don't know if I'll find that before I'm 60. Maybe the retirement center will be my forever place and I'm fine with that.

[Aubrey]

I think that this is very sensible. I didn't realize that you were likely to be relocating again soon. In that case I wouldn't at all buy a house.

 

We wouldn't *have* to relocate. He'd just find a job IN the metroplex. But we'd both love it in a smaller town outside the city, & that would be an option if we weren't locked into a mtg.

[Aubrey]

(Are you going east?)

 

By a mile or two, lol.

[Aubrey]

I worried about this on the other thread. Yes, I think you should definitely rent. You don't know where you'll end up when dh is done with school, so think of that rent money as buying your freedom--free from responsibility for repairs or rehab, free from the work of selling the house, free from the insecurity of needing the house to sell within a certain time frame, etc.

 

Definitely rent.

 

THAT's what I mean, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't missing a good opportunity. We're so compulsive, it's embarrassing, & I just needed decisions to stop, so we could pack. Move. That is all.

 

The rental's ugly, but not BAD ugly, just a little too much white brick & brown tile, lol.

[Harriet Vane]

We wouldn't *have* to relocate. He'd just find a job IN the metroplex. But we'd both love it in a smaller town outside the city, & that would be an option if we weren't locked into a mtg.

 

Speaking gently . . . you simply cannot predict where dh will be able to get a job. You might think the area is large enough that something will come your way, but you simply don't know.

 

We thought we'd live in Chicago our entire lives. It's such a large area--surely there are plenty of jobs for everyone, right?

 

Wrong.

 

For the last six months we have known that we will most likely have to move. Several years ago a lot of major insurers left the Chicago loop. For dh to continue here, he would either have to do consulting or be lucky enough to get one of the few jobs in his field at a normal insurance company. He hates consulting and will not do that anymore (I am fully supportive of that decision), and he has not been able to score one of those non-consulting jobs. Therefore we probably have to move out of state. We are just praying that God will provide a job within a day's drive of Chicago so we can stay connected to family more easily.

 

We never, ever thought we'd see this happen. Had we known this, we might have chosen not to buy this house (110yo rehab nightmare), or we might have chosen to focus more of our rehab attention on the cosmetic appearance of the house rather than the infrastructure. As it is, we have house that is only half-rehabbed, and will NEVER get a return on the investment we put into what we thought was our forever home. C'est la vie.

 

Bottom line: Your husband's job is the Big Thing that has to be in place first. After that, then you set up the rest of your life.

[Aubrey]

Bottom line: Your husband's job is the Big Thing that has to be in place first. After that, then you set up the rest of your life.

 

It's funny--from a big picture view, I know you're right, & that's at least part of why I was so nervous about going fwd w/ (trying to) buy a house.

 

But from this close--huh. It does seem like a sure thing, but now I can think of at least 10 things that could go wrong.

 

Whew. I really thought it was a bad idea, but then when we filled out the ap last night, I thought...well, I wanted to make sure I wasn't just being too scared to do the sensible thing--there are women in our families who have forced their dh's to make terrible business decisions because they were too scared to do the right thing. Like cashing in retirement policies when their dh's were unemployed ($ was tight but ok, & the 20% penalty was way higher than alternative solutions). Like hanging on to a business when it's time to sell or selling when it's time to expand.

 

I don't want to be that wife, kwim? Thanks for listening!

[Garga]

 

Rent may be double what the mtg would be on the properties we've looked at buying, but I think that's really doublespeak for "the same price, when you figure in repairs & maintenance." Dh argues that we didn't put that much into our last house every month. But I think that's because we had the $ to fix most of it up front, before we moved in.

 

 

 

 

I think you're right and dh is wrong about the above. We pay our mortgage, but also have to set aside hundreds of dollars each month in preparation for home repairs. We know that in the fall the roof will have to be fixed. Last year the heater had to be fixed. We didn't just expect the money to magically appear--we save hundreds every single month in preparation for the major repairs that will inevitably come up.

 

You have to add $200-$300 a month (or more) on top of a mortgage payment, in preparation for home repairs.

[vonfirmath]

We are renting BECAUSE my husband is in school and we don't know where he will end up after he graduates (next year)

 

And we were able (relatively) quickly and easily to move from Washington to Austin because we were renting. If we had bought a house when we sold our condo, I do not know where we would be now. I do know the job my husband had in Washington is gone. The company went bankrupt since he left and is out of business.

Edited August 18, 2010 by vonfirmath

[Giraffe]

Wait until your DH graduates and finds a job before buying. We just moved here and are renting until DH figures out which end is up. It's really hard in the metroplex - there are so many possibilities and places.

 

And maintenance is more expensive than anyone realizes.

[justamouse]

Rent. Do not put yourself in such a financially precarious position.

[Ferdie]

I think you're right and dh is wrong about the above. We pay our mortgage, but also have to set aside hundreds of dollars each month in preparation for home repairs. We know that in the fall the roof will have to be fixed. Last year the heater had to be fixed. We didn't just expect the money to magically appear--we save hundreds every single month in preparation for the major repairs that will inevitably come up.

 

You have to add $200-$300 a month (or more) on top of a mortgage payment, in preparation for home repairs.

 

:iagree: Plus property tax and insurance. I was shocked at the expense of property tax in TX. About 3% of purchase price since we don't have state taxes.