we bought a house....

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-23-2005
we bought a house....
11
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 2:02am

Well, after weeks and weeks of searching, we finally found a house and are set to move into the house on 05/05.

lvhunnie2005

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 8:27am

Congratulations! That's terrific news. Two years ago, we moved into our house with a mortgage payment of nearly $1000 a month--not much compared to what you're paying, I'm sure, but dh was making only $38k a year, and our apartment was only $580 a month. Plus, we now had water, and higher power bills, and insurance, and so on.

It delayed our debt repayment, for sure--we'd have been paid off about a year now without the house. And it certainly made us tighten our belts. And I was terrified we wouldn't be able to pull it off. I also felt totally unworthy--I could scarcely believe we deserved to live in such a wonderful place, with the backyard and lots of space and a pond across the street, and generous neighbors. It was too good to be true.

But you know what? We did it. We're still here, our debt is still going down, we've adjusted to our tight budget (and dh has had a raise, thank goodness), and life is grand. I wouldn't do it any other way. We're SOOO glad we bought the house, and glad we did it when we did. Our house is now worth (roughly) $8000 more than when we bought it (not much compared to your market, I know, but still significant inflation), and we just really, really love living here.

If your loan officer feels confident, I'm sure you'll do fine. You know what you need to do to make it work, and you'll make it work. I think splitting your "extra" in half for debt and savings is a great idea. Be sure to earmark portions of those savings for unexpected expenses--your home will need repairs from time to time, and there are always car repairs, etc. If you earmark the savings ahead of time, you'll be less likely to dip into it for less important "emergencies" like new furniture and such.

Congratulations, and enjoy!

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 9:39am

Get that E-fund built up!

 

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Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 12:50pm

Congrats to you!

All my best,
Danni

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 1:32pm

Congratulations! I'm so glad you are getting a home. I assume you were renting before. Here's a couple of thoughts I had:

1. Remember you will now be getting a healthy tax deduction and you'll get it for 1/2 the year this year. You might consider taking a look at a W4 calculator and see if it makes sense to change one of your W4's to bring home more.

2. I think that if there is ever an area to borrow a little more than comfort it is in a home purchase if you intend to stay for a long time. If the payment is a little tight right now, it will probably feel just right in just a few years and that will make it much easier to stay put and enjoy your home. The payment amount (at least if you do a fixed mortgage) stays the same while your income grows each year so it becomes easier and easier. You can do this. MUCH smarter to have mortgage debt than any other kind and if it means the other kinds linger a few months longer, it is going to be worth it in the long run. Also, having a mortgage will probably help you keep other spending in check. I know I would rather do pretty much anything than miss a mortgage payment. :)

3. I get in lots of trouble every time I move because I have this picture of making the house perfect and I get all h*ll bent on doing it as soon as I move in. Get in there w/as few expenses as possible. Don't go hog wild buying new stuff for it at this point. Make do while you get the rest of the debt paid off and by then you'll know what really is important to change and you'll know better how you want to change it. You're going to get swamped with lots of 'new homeowner' mail advertising. Try to ignore it unless it really is something you need. Be sure to seek the best pricing on any purchases you do decide you need. It can be easy to cut corners on that when you are overwhelmed with purchasing and moving into your new home.

Most importantly...enjoy this wonderful moment in life. It's an exciting time and make sure you document it however you prefer to do that (pics, journal, blog, whatever!). One thing I do recommend you buy is a Christmas ornament (if you celebrate Christmas of course) to commemorate your purchase this year. My realtor did that for me with my first house and I've kept it up for my next 2 houses. I love taking a minute to remember my homes while I'm decorating my tree. :)

Peg

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 2:17pm

I have to agree on the prices of homes creeping up. It's happening everywhere. We live in a small town near the North Georgia Mountains. We bought our home up here because we couldn't afford to buy a home where we used to rent our old apartment (Atlanta-Dunwoody area....very expensive homes there). It cost us $158K to buy, in just a simple swim/tennis neighborhood, but homes in our neighborhood are now selling in the $240-250K range. It's amazing to see!!

One new neighbor said to me, "I hate to ask, but how much did you pay for your house?", and when I told him, he stepped back in shock and said, "Oh my goodness....please don't tell my wife that. She'd faint after what we just paid for ours." Another new neighbor actually told me, "My wife said I'm not allowed to tell anyone how much we paid for this house". LOL!! :-D

It makes it so hard, however, for young families just starting out, to purchase their first home. Dh was offered a job opportunity in California, but for what our home would sell for here, minus our mortgage payoff, we wouldn't be able to purchase a home on the West Coast for that.

Pat :-D

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-25-2003
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 2:27pm

In our city, 250K would buy you an apartment. It might get you a townhouse in a 10 year old complex. Farther out, you can get a townhouse for 250K, and a house for 350K. In our neighbourhood, a house would be around 800K.

We'll be buying a townhouse in about 4 years, and I'm scared to think what the prices will be like. I'm hoping the prices will drop right after the Olympics, or at least stop going up.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-04-2004
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 3:38pm

That is great news! I live in the Seattle area too, isn't it crazy what is going on with real estate!?! My brother bought a $400,000 house 2 years ago, and his neighbor just sold the same house he has for $570,000!!! I think you are making a very wise decision to buy now! I'm buying in about 3 months, and I can hardly wait! way to go! I know you are really smart with your money, and I am confident you will do just great!! And, as others have said, enjoy! You deserve it! You have worked really hard to get here! :)

~leanne

~leanne

deciding to be happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect, but that you had decided to look beyond the imp

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-19-2004
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 3:57pm

First off, a big congratulations to you!! How great you found a home you love!!

I'm glad I'm not the only one stressing about the mortgage payments ~~ we are going through it now too! Let me tell you $800/month is great money to have just for debt repay and savings. A lot of people have next to nothing left at the end of the month because they want the house so bad they stretch too thin!! Your incomes are going to go up too!

I've been panicing because we are jumping from a $475/month to approx $1300/month mortgage payments!!(these numbers include property taxes and homeowners ins.) It's the taxes that are crazy. In town they are $1200/year , for our new home in the country~ $5-$6k/year!!! I keep telling myself it will be okay as I can use all of my tip money for savings/debt, repairs and misc. And DH is due a raise in June. Thank goodness for extra pays, bonuses and tax refunds huh?!!!

It will be so worth it though for me to be out of town (no yard!)so my kids and dog can play without me worrying they'll get hit by cars.... and grandma lives just a walk up the field ;)!!

You guys will be just fine! I'll say too be careful of buying TOO much stuff right away~ okay I'll repeat that to myself as well! Nicki

Avatar for cl_beckymk
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 3:59pm

Here's your words of encouragement!!!!


IF *I* can do it with everything going on - YOU can do it.

Avatar for endomagazine
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2004
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 4:24pm

Hello,


Congratulations on the new house. May I ask what percentage of your income the mortgage payment will be? In our household, it's 25% of our take-home pay. For our first home, that was as high as we were willing to go and I'm glad we did, because for 5 months, DH was laid off and 50% of my income went toward mortgage payments during that time. Whew!


I would suggest putting away 3 months of mortgage payments in an emergency fund, starting with the $800 you have. Having that "cushion" stashed away where you won't use it and have it "just in case" can help ease those worries. After you have 3 mortgage payments, go back to paying toward your debt. It won't delay your debt payments significantly, (interest-wise) and may give you some peace of mind.


If you don't want to put away 3 months worth, I'd suggest building the emergency fund up to $1000 before sending money to your debt. We had a water heater break down two months after moving into our first house, which required a $700 repair. How I would have *loved* access

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished

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