Thread: Graduating, Thinking About Residence

Hi,
If you do decide to buy now you can take advantage of 1st time home buyer tax credit for 10% of purchase price up to 8,000 dollars.
You must live in the home for 3 years and then you qualify to not have to pay back the credit.
Also the closing needs to be completed by Nov 30 2009 but there a good chanch the tax credit will be extended because realtors are lobbying for this.
bobrey00

Very good. Currently, I plan to graduate with no debt and more than thirty thousand dollars saved up. My salary is around 80 - 100K. So with the credit, how much of a house could I be considering? At the moment it is just me but I like my space. Perhaps two bedroom two bath? Oh, and reasonably new.

Will we know if the credit will be extended to next year before the deadline?

Hi Benn,

It's a great time to buy, however in your situation I would do a few things first.
I guess most importantly make sure you like your job at your new location before you buy. Spend time driving neighborhoods in your new community. It's wise to do this on Friday and Saturday nights. What sort of neighborhood are you looking for?

Location is a very important factor when settling on your new place! Also you mentioned 2 bedrooms. Always keep in mind resell. A 2 bedroom may be harder to sell than a 3 bedroom. A great deal on a busy street is not such a great deal when you need to sell or sleep, unless you like to do a lot of garage sales.

Get approved before you go shopping! Location, location, location, seriously!


Best of Luck!

Ben,

Most here advise you of securing your work first. THEN worry about getting pre-approved. [COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]If your job doesn

I have had several credit cards for around 4 years and have great, established credit. I was approved to buy a moderately priced used car (just curious, didn't actually buy). My job is actually telecommuting based and when I graduate, I will have worked there for a full year. I can obviously keep working for this particular company in the future.

I guess I have no problem renting (many benefits indeed) but am just thinking: if I rent for a year at $1,000 a month, then I've lost twelve grand. If I've been paying a thousand a month on a house payment, don't I theoretically still have that twelve grand? I have a good track record caring for property as well.

I don't want to give up snow in the winter so that crosses off half the US. All I know is that I want to live somewhere other than Iowa for a little while. This could turn permanent or into a miserable failure. I will point out that I have lived in California for one summer--which helped me secure work there which I have continued to now.

At this point, I prefer a mix between big city and rural living space. Medium sized neighborhoods with larger yards.

Very interesting ideas everyone, thank you!

No, theoretically, you don't still have that $12k. You're forgetting rent with option to buy and if you don't exercise that option, the home owner will probably keep all of your option money. (it'll be in the contract). If you own? Okay...Again, you said it's only temporary. Single Family Homes are for the long term Ben. Keep this in mind. If you have a stable career (and the bank sees it like this), then you'd have no trouble getting pre-approved for something. But please don't count your chickens. Banks nowadays are very fickle: they can say anything they want when it comes to lending money short of breaking Civil Rights laws. They don't have to do a freakin thing for you. Remember to take cost of living into consideration if and/or when you move to a new city. Mortgage, taxes, insurance, upkeep on appliances: it ALL adds up. Add it ALL up and take your current salary into consideration before you plan on buying. 1-2% transfer fees to the State as well.

In the end, if you're planning on staying for a while (ten years +), then look into buying. Don't be discourged if your lender only pre-approves you for a portion of what you thought you'd get: it happens everyday.

Good luck to you in your quest and remember: there's no hurry, SFH aren't going anywhere.

CM

Are there any good video first time homebuyer seminars online you could suggest I watch? Of course I can search around myself as well.

Thanks!

No, no seminars I'm aware of online. But if you seek out a live seminar at your local Realtor's office, I'm sure they have tons of info for you. If you search around here, there's lots of advice for first time buyers. You might want to try Activerain online, lots of blogs and advice and stuff. There is lots to learn, yeah but don't let it discourge you. Just get the steps down in their order. W2's, pay stubs, both maybe, call up a bank like Bank of America or Wells Fargo, have the stuff ready, bring it to them. Tell them you're looking for pre-approval. Wait a few weeks maybe. They call you back and tell you what kind of commitment they'll give you. And it's never what you're expecting. IF you don't get approved for what you're seeking (large yards, suburban area), you can always seek out a Realtor in the area you wish to move and ask them if there are any listings for Rent with option to buy. They do exist despite what others may say. If you have any documentation that you're a responsible person and care for the properties and can afford the rent, I don't see why you wouldn't be a good candidate. This avoids your having to come up with the down payment and closing costs if you were simply to buy from a seller and get a commitment from the bank and deal with all that waiting. Your arrangement will be with the homeowner and you only and you can probably negoiate the monthly rent and what percentage of your monthly payments to them go towards your purchasing the home when the contract is up. Some homeowners will say 50%, some will say 20%. It's all negotiable man, it's a buyers' market! Homeowners want you in their home! If they know there'll come a time for you own it, you're more likely to take care of the place and not trash it like some Section 8 gang banger.

CM

All great information. I guess it is important for me to realize that a SFH (new term for me) is truly a longterm deal.

What is the complete list of types of houses? Condo, SFH, apartment, trailer???