Members Parah Salin Posted December 31, 2009 Members Share Posted December 31, 2009 Not sure if this has been asked yet but how are the locations? I'd pick the one with the better location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chrisjd Posted December 31, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 31, 2009 Not sure if this has been asked yet but how are the locations? I'd pick the one with the better location. Both are equally good, so it's a tossup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members skinsscalper Posted December 31, 2009 Members Share Posted December 31, 2009 Buy the one you can afford. You DO NOT want to rely on having a roommate to pay your mortgage. Consider it a "starter home", pay it for a few years, put extra money (tax returns etc) towards the principal and once you have some real equity, you can sell it and move it to your ideal house. It's what I did and it worked well. I'm going with House #1 and I'll tell you why. Life has a way of throwing you curveballs. When you buy a house that's at the top of "what you can spend" those curveballs can take you right out of the game. Also remember, when you buy a house that you can barely afford, you don't own the house. The house owns you. Good luck and congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Parah Salin Posted December 31, 2009 Members Share Posted December 31, 2009 I personally would rather have a basement than garage. I think that would be cooler to turn it into a den. If you need a garage for storage then just get a shed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Harvest Posted December 31, 2009 Members Share Posted December 31, 2009 First, I would NEVER spend more than double my salary on a house. Your monthly payment, depending on property taxes, is going to hover about 1% of the cost of the mortgage. So, a $100,000 mortgage will be roughly $1,000/month in principle, interest and escrow. After three houses, this has been the rule. Maybe in Texas where houses are CHEAP... move to NY or SF (or Calgary) and try to live by that rule. :poke: By that rule, I'd have to be making 200K+ just to buy a "starter" home here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Harvest Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 Christ you guys are lucky in the States... Here in my city in Canada, a {censored}ty 1000sq/ft starter home runs around $150,000 and up... I've home shopped in the states, and a $1,000,000 home here can be had for $150,000 in the USA... Not only that, you need a minimum of 5% down, which in reality, is around 12% after tax, land transfer fees, lawyers, etc, and no 45 year mortgages either, its all 25 year up here... I'm 27, educated, have a good job, and will be extremely lucky to get a home by the time I'm 30... 150K won't even get you a cardboard box to live in here... maybe in Winnipeg You *might* find a run down studio apartment foreclosure in a {censored}ty neighborhood here for 150K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aman74 Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 Buy the one you can afford. You DO NOT want to rely on having a roommate to pay your mortgage. Consider it a "starter home", pay it for a few years, put extra money (tax returns etc) towards the principal and once you have some real equity, you can sell it and move it to your ideal house. It's what I did and it worked well. Yeah, you should not be buying a house where you need to have a roommate. I can't believe that's even being considered. Why put more money towards the principal if you know it's short term. You are taking more risk if the home value drops no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theAntihero Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 yeah i need new gutters and some concrete taken out/redone and my back yard raked/leveled away from the house. but after reading about the houses in phoenix collapsing in on themselves i guess i don't really have it too bad lol. some guy told me i could have a "gutter" system installed around the perimeter of my basement floor that would really keep it dry- it has holes drilled all along the floor so the water doesn't crack the basement foundation supposedly WTF! You have holes in your foundation walls so the hydrostatic pressure doesnt break your foundation? How much water do you have flowing around your place? Ive worked in concrete for years and ive never heard of anything like that. Dont get a drain around the basement perimeter.Patch the holes, dig out around the foundation and get a french drain put in. This will be much cheaper than jacking out your concrete floor to put in a drain. Whomever told you the breaking of the foundation thing is a moron. Also to the OP: Never stretch your finances to the limit for a house, its not something youll be dealing with short term and being constantly under financial pressure sucks as would losing your house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members etepbbb Posted January 1, 2010 Members Share Posted January 1, 2010 I lived in NE Mpls for many years without a garage, and I would recommond buying a house with one. Like it has already been said, it's MN, most people what one, so if your planning on reselling in 5 years, that may slow your efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrueBlueAutoX Posted January 2, 2010 Members Share Posted January 2, 2010 I say anywhere that it would snow, buy a garage. I just got my first house last month. I'm kicking myself because I think I should have stayed at my first offer price. Never let your real estate agent pressure you into going higher on the price of the house. I was told there was a second offer in on it and I probably could have saved $5,000 had I been smarter. Remember that location is also another big thing. You'd rather buy an okay house in a great neighborhood instead of an awesome house in a {censored}ty neighborhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Deaj Posted January 4, 2010 Members Share Posted January 4, 2010 Buy the one you can afford. You DO NOT want to rely on having a roommate to pay your mortgage. Consider it a "starter home", pay it for a few years, put extra money (tax returns etc) towards the principal and once you have some real equity, you can sell it and move it to your ideal house. It's what I did and it worked well. This. ...without a doubt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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