Renew apt lease or buy a condo?

[cross6]

I'm fairly young (23) got a steady white collar job.

I'd like to get a condo to build some equity instead of throwing away rent every month. But on the other hand I need to keep saving to and building my credit.


Anyone got any advice?

 

[skimple]

Figure out how much you can afford with your current rent payment. Factor in taxes, utilities, repairs. Then buy something in that range. It may not be a great place, but you will build equity for yourself. Plus it will help you build a good credit history faster than anything else.

 

[Kalbi]

A) where do you live
B) how much down payment do you have
C) are you in rent controlled apts

 

[cross6]

Originally posted by: Kalbi
A) where do you live
B) how much down payment do you have
C) are you in rent controlled apts

A) Baton rouge Louisiana - Go Tigers!
B) None - hence why I think I need to wait 2-3 years to build up say a 15-20K down payment
C) Not sure what you mean

Currently I pay 625/month for a 625 sq ft 1 bedroom.

That INCLUDES Cable, phone, water, cable internet, and electricity.

I pay one check a month for everything.

 

[Kalbi]

A) You should buy a house
B) save up down payment for that house
C) i guess you don't live in california

I don't know your income or spending habits, but if you don't have any down payment money and you're paying only $625 a month for a place, I would assume you can't afford to buy right now.

 

[cross6]

Originally posted by: Kalbi
A) You should buy a house
B) save up down payment for that house
C) i guess you don't live in california

I don't know your income or spending habits, but if you don't have any down payment money and you're paying only $625 a month for a place, I would assume you can't afford to buy right now.

Well I just got this job a few months ago, so I'm still catching up with bills and credit cards.

I make 31500, and no, it's no cali. Louisiana has a very low cost of living thankfully.

Why a house over a condo?

 

[Yossarian]

what is the point of building your credit if you can buy a condo? yeah it's nice to have a high FICO score and all but if your current credit lets you do what you want to do, who cares.

 

[cross6]

Originally posted by: Yossarian
what is the point of building your credit if you can buy a condo? yeah it's nice to have a high FICO score and all but if your current credit lets you do what you want to do, who cares.

I need to build, my credit has a few negative things when I was in college and stupid with credit cards. It's not bad credit by any means. But I do have a good bit of unsecured debt due to student loans.

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: cross6

Originally posted by: Kalbi
A) You should buy a house
B) save up down payment for that house
C) i guess you don't live in california

I don't know your income or spending habits, but if you don't have any down payment money and you're paying only $625 a month for a place, I would assume you can't afford to buy right now.

Well I just got this job a few months ago, so I'm still catching up with bills and credit cards.

I make 31500, and no, it's no cali. Louisiana has a very low cost of living thankfully.

Why a house over a condo?

Associations = : (


31.5k is take home or gross? How much are small houses/condos in your area?

?If you are frugal and can set a budget and stick to it, yes you could probably swing a condo/house

Based on your comment about bills and credit score, im guessing maybe not

 

[hypn0tik]

Buy.

Renting = you pay someone else's mortgage.

 

[cross6]

louisiana is cheap, 100 grand will get you a 3 bedroom house

 

[rsd]

It's sounds like you aren't ready yet anyway to buy a condo. Wait a couple of years to save for your downpayment, as it sounds like you got a good and cheap set up already. By that time your credit score should have gone up anyway. There are various calculators out on the web that gives you an idea whether you should rent or buy. Also a lot of this depends on the cost to buy too.

 

[cross6]

Originally posted by: dxkj

Originally posted by: cross6

Originally posted by: Kalbi
A) You should buy a house
B) save up down payment for that house
C) i guess you don't live in california

I don't know your income or spending habits, but if you don't have any down payment money and you're paying only $625 a month for a place, I would assume you can't afford to buy right now.

Well I just got this job a few months ago, so I'm still catching up with bills and credit cards.

I make 31500, and no, it's no cali. Louisiana has a very low cost of living thankfully.

Why a house over a condo?

Associations = : (


31.5k is take home or gross? How much are small houses/condos in your area?

?If you are frugal and can set a budget and stick to it, yes you could probably swing a condo/house

Based on your comment about bills and credit score, im guessing maybe not

gross

after 6 months I will get bumped to 35K though

 

[cross6]

Originally posted by: rsd
It's sounds like you aren't ready yet anyway to buy a condo. Wait a couple of years to save for your downpayment, as it sounds like you got a good and cheap set up already. By that time your credit score should have gone up anyway. There are various calculators out on the web that gives you an idea whether you should rent or buy. Also a lot of this depends on the cost to buy too.

anyone know what % of pay you are supposed to pay on mortgage? I know there is a formula somewhere to tell you if you can afford it.

Any cpa's in the house?

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: cross6

Originally posted by: rsd
It's sounds like you aren't ready yet anyway to buy a condo. Wait a couple of years to save for your downpayment, as it sounds like you got a good and cheap set up already. By that time your credit score should have gone up anyway. There are various calculators out on the web that gives you an idea whether you should rent or buy. Also a lot of this depends on the cost to buy too.

anyone know what % of pay you are supposed to pay on mortgage? I know there is a formula somewhere to tell you if you can afford it.

Any cpa's in the house?

30% ish

 

[dxkj]

Calculator HOW MUCH
Use this

 

[Squisher]

I just went to Realtor.com, there are no condos listed in Baton Rouge as condos, but they're there in the house listings. WTF is up with that?

Houses start at $6000 for 2 bed, 2 bath. No detail on number of cockroaches.

http://realtor.com/FindHome/HomeListing...BCBCC&sbint=1&sblo=1&lnksrc=sort-price

 

[skimple]

Look into government programs for first time homeowners. You can usually buy somethign with as little as 5% down. If you are a minority, there may be other programs. Check with your local housing authority on programs for first time homebuyers.

If $100K can get you a 3 bedroom house, you should be able to get something smaller for much less. A $45K loan for 30 years will cost you ~$270 a month at today's rates

 

[cross6]

Originally posted by: skimple
Look into government programs for first time homeowners. You can usually buy somethign with as little as 5% down. If you are a minority, there may be other programs. Check with your local housing authority on programs for first time homebuyers.

If $100K can get you a 3 bedroom house, you should be able to get something smaller for much less. A $45K loan for 30 years will cost you ~$270 a month at today's rates

Yeah, That's definately swingable for me. I can swing about 650 a month in extra bills with my current budget.

 

[cross6]

Let me run this by you guys.

I need a new automobile. Looking at a vehicle around 10K. I can afford to pay off a 10K vehicle in 3 years.

In the meantime I could live in my cheap apt and save for a downpayment.

And the paid off car note should help my credit right?

I've heard financing a car does good things for your credit.

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: cross6
Let me run this by you guys.

I need a new automobile. Looking at a vehicle around 10K. I can afford to pay off a 10K vehicle in 3 years.

In the meantime I could live in my cheap apt and save for a downpayment.

And the paid off car note should help my credit right?

I've heard financing a car does good things for your credit.

ok definitely dont get a house, if you need a car too


why spend 10k? get a beater for 2-4k that is a cheap fix, like a honda civic early 90;s

 

[cross6]

Originally posted by: dxkj

Originally posted by: cross6
Let me run this by you guys.

I need a new automobile. Looking at a vehicle around 10K. I can afford to pay off a 10K vehicle in 3 years.

In the meantime I could live in my cheap apt and save for a downpayment.

And the paid off car note should help my credit right?

I've heard financing a car does good things for your credit.

ok definitely dont get a house, if you need a car too


why spend 10k? get a beater for 2-4k that is a cheap fix, like a honda civic early 90;s

I have a beater. It's nickel and diming me to death. I can work on cars, but spending my one free day a week looking at various clunks or whatever sucks. Plus I have no place for my tool and no garage or covered parking to work on said car.


Well I obviously can't buy both at once. That's why I said maybe I should finance a car for 3 years and save a modest down payment. by then my credit will have risen more and I should be in good shape?

 

[Squisher]

Knowing more about your present financials, I would buy the car you want, then go out and see what a lender will say about floating you a 100% mortgage. You'll be paying PMI ($100/mo.?) , but you might find your total housing costs to be not to be much more than your apt. considering the low cost of housing in your area.

It never hurts to ask.

 

[woowoo]

I would buy a small house first.
Then get a new car.

Just to compare....

My house.
Paid 77,500
I put 8k down
Payments with taxes and insurance are $550 a month.

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: woowoo
I would buy a small house first.
Then get a new car.

Just to compare....

My house.
Paid 77,500
I put 8k down
Payments with taxes and insurance are $550 a month.

property tax and insurance on a house around my area is about 500 a month :-/ and thats on a 150k house ;(