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Spend my money or save it - Housing

Tweak155

Tweak155

Lifer
Here is dealio:

-Getting married in May
-Want bigger place within 1 year

When my fiance starts working full time (as opposed to full time student) we will make good money. The goal we have is to have the COL fall under my paycheck and save hers.

I have 1 car with about 11.5k left on it and a lease that we may or may not buy but that is still about 2 yrs away.

Basically don't like throwing away money in rent but the plus side is that it makes things a whole lot simpler (and cheaper for the time being).

I have basically 3 options in mind -

1 - Screw waitin' , buy me that condo / house now!
2 - Ride out the apt living for a while and pay off debt on car first (should finish by March)
3 - Keep things simple. Once lease is up just find a bigger place to rent and be patient and save up a nice down payment.

If I buy now I can probably get about 100k place without needing the other income. That will buy me at least 1300 sqft and if I look enough, probably about 2000+ sqft in the areas we are looking in (currently want to view a 1940sqft for 89k ~5 yrs old).

Not sure. One part of me wants to quit thinking about it and just push it off for a while while the other part of me wants to just jump the gun and get a place bought asap. Patience works out better most the time though.

The 8k refund is a good incentive to buy now, but I realize I don't know enough about real estate to have the first clue what I SHOULD be doing.

Thoughts?
 
Originally posted by: Tweak155
Originally posted by: Farang
why rush into a bad market
Click to expand...

Just want to be prepped for when we have kids I guess.
Click to expand...

Easy cowboy... I'm sure your junk will still work in another couple years.

I'm assuming the market will be flatlined for another year or two, but I'm curious what to expect from interest rates in the short term. Will they continue to be suppressed by the shitty economy or will be seeing increases anytime soon?
 
I've been thinking about it too. The biggest thing stopping me right now is flexibility. After may when my wife graduates I have nothing holding me to this place. If my job disappears I can just throw everything in a truck and go wherever I can get a job. As soon as I buy I'm tied to this one spot. While that $8k is tempting it would do a number on my savings and if I lost my job and was forced to sell soon I would have to give back the $8k and lose my shirt reselling the house.
 
Originally posted by: Skeeedunt
Originally posted by: Tweak155
Originally posted by: Farang
why rush into a bad market
Click to expand...

Just want to be prepped for when we have kids I guess.
Click to expand...

Easy cowboy... I'm sure your junk will still work in another couple years.

I'm assuming the market will be flatlined for another year or two, but I'm curious what to expect from interest rates in the short term. Will they continue to be suppressed by the shitty economy or will be seeing increases anytime soon?
Click to expand...

Don't pretend to know my situation regarding having kids. Ignorance makes me peeved sometimes.

The other comment is fine though 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Bignate603
I've been thinking about it too. The biggest thing stopping me right now is flexibility. After may when my wife graduates I have nothing holding me to this place. If my job disappears I can just throw everything in a truck and go wherever I can get a job. As soon as I buy I'm tied to this one spot. While that $8k is tempting it would do a number on my savings and if I lost my job and was forced to sell soon I would have to give back the $8k and lose my shirt reselling the house.
Click to expand...

Yeah that is the other thing...

Currently I work out of home and can pick where I want to live. If I lose this job, though, then I will most likely have to find an office...

I think my wife will make enough to keep us alive either way, but still something to consider.
 
Originally posted by: Bignate603
I've been thinking about it too. The biggest thing stopping me right now is flexibility. After may when my wife graduates I have nothing holding me to this place. If my job disappears I can just throw everything in a truck and go wherever I can get a job. As soon as I buy I'm tied to this one spot. While that $8k is tempting it would do a number on my savings and if I lost my job and was forced to sell soon I would have to give back the $8k and lose my shirt reselling the house.
Click to expand...

You sound unsure about your job situation (as is expected nowadays) so it seems patience would be the best choice right now. The flexibility you have without a house seems like a really good comfort zone for you.

I'm liking option 3 til the market settles down and you can feel more secure at work. You also havent mentioned if your fiance has work in the same city or not. Not sure how demanding her field is but that's something to consider too.

gl
 
Originally posted by: Lichee
Originally posted by: Bignate603
I've been thinking about it too. The biggest thing stopping me right now is flexibility. After may when my wife graduates I have nothing holding me to this place. If my job disappears I can just throw everything in a truck and go wherever I can get a job. As soon as I buy I'm tied to this one spot. While that $8k is tempting it would do a number on my savings and if I lost my job and was forced to sell soon I would have to give back the $8k and lose my shirt reselling the house.
Click to expand...

You sound unsure about your job situation (as is expected nowadays) so it seems patience would be the best choice right now. The flexibility you have without a house seems like a really good comfort zone for you.

I'm liking option 3 til the market settles down and you can feel more secure at work. You also havent mentioned if your fiance has work in the same city or not. Not sure how demanding her field is but that's something to consider too.

gl
Click to expand...

Dang. Bignate stole the glory of my post.
 
Originally posted by: zerocool84
Originally posted by: Tweak155
Originally posted by: zerocool84
How old are you op???
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Almost 25.
Click to expand...

Financial tip, don't get married especially at you're age.
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Getting married was a great thing for us financially. We got married while we were in college and suddenly got tons of financial aid. It saved a bundle on car insurance, on living expenses (cooking for two is pretty cheap), on health insurance now that I'm working, and on taxes.

How is getting married bad financially?

I think I'm going to wait on getting a house. My father is considering getting an investment property to rent in this area anyways. I could probably help him find something and rent from him. I'd get a nicer place and a cut in rent but without the risk of getting stuck with a house if I needed to move.
 
Originally posted by: Tweak155
Originally posted by: Lichee
Originally posted by: Bignate603
I've been thinking about it too. The biggest thing stopping me right now is flexibility. After may when my wife graduates I have nothing holding me to this place. If my job disappears I can just throw everything in a truck and go wherever I can get a job. As soon as I buy I'm tied to this one spot. While that $8k is tempting it would do a number on my savings and if I lost my job and was forced to sell soon I would have to give back the $8k and lose my shirt reselling the house.
Click to expand...

You sound unsure about your job situation (as is expected nowadays) so it seems patience would be the best choice right now. The flexibility you have without a house seems like a really good comfort zone for you.

I'm liking option 3 til the market settles down and you can feel more secure at work. You also havent mentioned if your fiance has work in the same city or not. Not sure how demanding her field is but that's something to consider too.

gl
Click to expand...

Dang. Bignate stole the glory of my post.
Click to expand...

Nah, I was just echoing what you were thinking. I think we're in pretty similar situations. I'm going to keep stashing away cash I think (saved $13k in 8 months, though some of that was from one time income that won't happen consistently) to get a nice downpayment for when I'm a bit more sure about my future.
 
Originally posted by: Tweak155
Don't pretend to know my situation regarding having kids. Ignorance makes me peeved sometimes.
Click to expand...

Just offering some nonconstructive, unsolicited advice. Don't mind me.

If that's your primary concern, though, I'd agree with you - a house is probably a better environment for raising kids. If you're more concerned about "throwing money away renting" - have you sat down and really ran down the numbers on it? I don't know much about places where you can get a decent home for 100k nor do I know how much you pay in rent, but here in glorious CA the "financial advantage" of owning is not always nearly what overburdened homeowners make it out to be.
 
Originally posted by: Bignate603
Originally posted by: Tweak155
Originally posted by: Lichee
Originally posted by: Bignate603
I've been thinking about it too. The biggest thing stopping me right now is flexibility. After may when my wife graduates I have nothing holding me to this place. If my job disappears I can just throw everything in a truck and go wherever I can get a job. As soon as I buy I'm tied to this one spot. While that $8k is tempting it would do a number on my savings and if I lost my job and was forced to sell soon I would have to give back the $8k and lose my shirt reselling the house.
Click to expand...

You sound unsure about your job situation (as is expected nowadays) so it seems patience would be the best choice right now. The flexibility you have without a house seems like a really good comfort zone for you.

I'm liking option 3 til the market settles down and you can feel more secure at work. You also havent mentioned if your fiance has work in the same city or not. Not sure how demanding her field is but that's something to consider too.

gl
Click to expand...

Dang. Bignate stole the glory of my post.
Click to expand...

Nah, I was just echoing what you were thinking. I think we're in pretty similar situations. I'm going to keep stashing away cash I think (saved $13k in 8 months, though some of that was from one time income that won't happen consistently) to get a nice downpayment for when I'm a bit more sure about my future.
Click to expand...

I think if we ride out my lease (which is most likely scenario), I can save up another 5-10k, but the 8k incentive this year can out-weigh that which is what gets me thinking.
 
Originally posted by: Skeeedunt
Originally posted by: Tweak155
Don't pretend to know my situation regarding having kids. Ignorance makes me peeved sometimes.
Click to expand...

Just offering some nonconstructive, unsolicited advice. Don't mind me.

If that's your primary concern, though, I'd agree with you - a house is probably a better environment for raising kids. If you're more concerned about "throwing money away renting" - have you sat down and really ran down the numbers on it? I don't know much about places where you can get a decent home for 100k nor do I know how much you pay in rent, but here in glorious CA the "financial advantage" of owning is not always nearly what overburdened homeowners make it out to be.
Click to expand...

I'd say if I got a good enough, deal, I'd be shelling out another 400 or so than I do now (however this includes taxes so I should get a nice chunk of that back at the end of the year).
 
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