Buying house out of area- need advice

**BayAreaPat** · 10-10-2008, 11:54 AM

Hi,
I plan on retiring in about 2 years. I currently live in the SF Bay area. I'm a renter. Prior to retiring, I'd like to purchase a house in an area outside Calif.
My question is- will there be any unusual hoops to jump through with lenders because I want to buy a house far away from where I live and work?
I will be able to put 20-25% down, and the house payment I plan on having will be less than 35% of what my retirement income will be.
I figure on purchasing a place as much as a year before I retire. During the last year I work, I will be going back and forth to the new house on vacation time, which I will have a lot of. I won't be renting it out, so will lenders consider it "owner occupied?"
Thanks for your insight.

**minnesota-mls** · 10-15-2008, 04:55 PM

No unusual hoops you will need to jump through on this.

As long as you contact your mortgage professional and go through the preapproval process, it will not matter that much where the home is located.

Here in Minnesota, we have worked with a few buyers who have lived closer to Minneapolis but were looking to buy homes, condos, townhomes, etc. in northern MN, etc.

I hope this helps!

**richard123** · 10-16-2008, 11:04 AM

hello everybody i like this topic

**VancouverWa** · 10-16-2008, 12:34 PM

Hi Bayareapat,

We get a lot of folks from California. I would say we are the bargain on the west coast (Portland/Metro). On this side of the Columbia river we have no State incom tax.

Best of Luck

**LookRealty** · 10-16-2008, 03:23 PM

It will be considered a secondary home. If you have the income for it the lenders can't discriminate. It will just be a matter of you finding a lender who you want to work with. Best of luck as you make your way into new housing.

Always be cautious about purchasing a home with the intent of selling your primary later. If you expect to pull $200,000 out of your primary one year later.... The market could drop and leave you with only $100,000 in equity. This has just happened to several people over the past 1.5 years.

So take a strong look at the future markets. It should be alright by then but ..... while Real Estate is the best investment it is still an investment with risks.

Sincerely,

John Perkins
HomeSpecial &
LookRealty .com