FLOODING. I wish I had paid more attention to the signs of water damage. My entire street is in a low spot, and 11 houses have basement flooding issues. Arghhh.
I have not read through everyones posts but here is my advice (sorry if it has already been said)
Don't get too attached to a house before it is actually yours.
I got to within 24 hours for closing 3 times on 3 different houses.
Each time some problem came up with the title.
By the time I get to the 4th house I had learned not to get too excited. I was still in shock when the closing went through!
WHen you find a house you're interested in, drive past it at going-home time. There is a road near us that hubby and I comment on CONSTANTLY how surprised some of the homeowners had to be when they bought it. When you go down this road during the day, it's a nice quiet little road, full of pretty trees and singing birds. But from 4:30 to 6:30, it's bumper to bumper and we cant imagine how people get in and out of their driveway!
My advice is: ONLY buy a house if you plan on living in it forever, or at least a really long time. Otherwise it will probably not be a good investment. Buy it, pay it off, live in it forever.... that's my advice. Congratuations!
I don't really understand the reasoning behind that one? It can be very lucrative to buy and sell.
My mum used to buy houses that were relatively cheap (for the neighbourhood or size, etc), usually because they hadn't been renovated or updated since the 70s or earlier. She worked full time, but on weekends and when she had time, she'd do relatively minor renovations, like put in new kitchen and bathroom, knock out a wall here or there, change light fixtures, paint walls, rip up carpet, sand and polish floorboards - even small things like replacing dated looking door knobs with more modern ones. It was a gradual process, but she always got there.
Anyway, point is, she did this to a number of different houses, then sold them at a profit. The last 3 houses she's bought she didn't even need a loan, the money she'd made from the previous house sale has been enough to buy a new home outright and have funds left over for renovations. She's 51 soon, and she's still at it, though she says this one's the last one 
My advice is: ONLY buy a house if you plan on living in it forever, or at least a really long time. Otherwise it will probably not be a good investment. Buy it, pay it off, live in it forever.... that's my advice. Congratuations!
I don't really understand the reasoning behind that one? It can be very lucrative to buy and sell.
Plus your lifestyle changes. we bought a 4 BR house when we had 3 kids at home. With our youngest now 17, we've downsized and moved out of the 4br house because 2 of us + 1 teenager jsut don't need that much space. No way I'm spending my retirement years cleaning a 2 story, 4 br house! 
However, the advise is good in the sense of look at a house "as if" you had to live in it for a long, long time. I've seen a few people who bought a house with the idea of "it's a little small, but we'll just live in it for a few years, build some equity and then buy a bigger house." Well, then life happens. One of you gets downsized, or you never quite manage to put back that extra $200 a month you were going to save toward the bigger house, or gramma had to go to a nursing home unexpectedly and your surplus cash went to that, the economy tanks and you have no equity (or not as much as you hoped you'd have). And now here you are with 3 kids in a too-small house and can't afford to get something that fits you.
My advice (in addition to all of the wonderful suggestions above!) is to check out the neighborhood at different times of the day to get a good sense of the environment and your neighbors. 
When we bought our home, I think it was the homeowner (or maybe the realtor) who would only allow us to look at the house mid-morning. Well, there's very little traffic at that time. AFTER we bought the house, we discovered that there is a steady flow of tractor trailer/dump truck traffic that starts around 7am. AND they jake-brake all the way past our house (when they really don't have to, but they are speeding). SO loud that when I am on the phone, I have to put the person on hold while a truck passes. 
Anyway, I do wish you the best in searching for your new home!
All that said, we're going theother way ..... we just moved (like a month ago!) to an apartment, in preparation for our retirement. We've decided that we don't WANT to be homeowners anymore. 30+ years is long enough. I now have a smaller monthly payment and I get a pool, tennis courts, volleyball court, free workout room, I never have to mow a yard or shovel a walk again. If I get any UPS deliveries, the folks in the office will receive it for me and I don't have to worry about it being stolen from my front porch. In the house we just left, we paid $600 for a new water heater about a month before we moved out. In an apartment, I call them if the special light bulbs need changed in the bathroom! I dont' have a Homeowners Assoc telling me I can't endorse my political candidate and I can't keep my daughter's bike on my front porch (the same HOA that ALSO tells me I can't have a storage shed to keep the bike in EITHER!) we have a 1st floor apt with a private entrance ... it's just like living in a one-story house.
Yeah, I'm gonna LUV apartment living!
Owning your own home is the best thing you can do to secure your finicial stability when retired. Both sets of my grandparents own their homes, and it frees up a huge amount of their monthly budget to not have to pay rent. They don't have to worry. All you need to do is make your taxes. Your home is yours, you don't have to worry about a place to live if for some reason you don't have an income.
Building equity. Every month you are in your home you are building equity of some sort. Equity means you can sell your home if you ever need to, if you ever need the cash. You can't do that with an apartment.
Tax advantage! Every year I get a rather nice refund, whereas when I was in an apartment I always had to pay the government. The tax write off is an awesome reason to buy a home.
Security, equity and tax advantages are way more important than being able to call someone to change my light bulbs.
Owning your own home is the best thing you can do to secure your finicial stability when retired. Both sets of my grandparents own their homes, and it frees up a huge amount of their monthly budget to not have to pay rent. They don't have to worry. All you need to do is make your taxes. Your home is yours, you don't have to worry about a place to live if for some reason you don't have an income.
Building equity. Every month you are in your home you are building equity of some sort. Equity means you can sell your home if you ever need to, if you ever need the cash. You can't do that with an apartment.
Tax advantage! Every year I get a rather nice refund, whereas when I was in an apartment I always had to pay the government. The tax write off is an awesome reason to buy a home.
Security, equity and tax advantages are way more important than being able to call someone to change my light bulbs.
We've lived in our house for 12 years and with the tanking of the economy, our house is worth close to 15,000 less than what we paid for it. The idea of you can sell if if you need the money is totally dependent on whether credit is available for others to buy it and if you're money ahead on it or not.
The tax thing is a falacy. Listen to dave Ramsy, the God of personal finance. You pay $10,000 a year in interest so you can get $2000 back in taxes. I"ll make you the same deal. You pay me $10K and I'll refund you $2k. I"ll get the same tax advantage because in my state, you can deduct yoru rent payments from your state taxes.
Our decision of not wanting to be homeowners has a lot more do to with planning for our retirement, of not wanting to more a huge yard, of not wanting to be up on ladders doing roof repairs and painting, of not wanting to chance losing the house because we can't afford a new furnace on social security ..... and WAY less than "having someone change my light bulbs" for me.
"Back in the day", you could almost guarantee your house would gain value. In the past two years, we just learn that NOTHING is a guarantee anymore. I also see too many older folks losing their homes becuae of property tax issues, etc. When Indiana revamped their property tax policy a couple-three years ago, there were scandalous stories about retirees who were faced with losing their paid off home when they got hit with $9,000 and $15,000 property tax increases.
This is the perfect decision for us as we prepare for retirement.
ANd we didn't make it based on someone changing my dang lightbulbs! 
The best advice I can give you is to never ever pay retail. Never. The economy has taught everyone what investors have always known: a house is only worth what you're willing to pay for it.
Look at foreclosures. Contrary to what many people believe, most foreclosures aren't wrecks. I've looked at three in my neighborhood, all in great condition, and all going for about .80 on the dollar. They're out there! Buying a house with built-in equity is the smartest investment you can make. Over-paying (i.e. paying retail) is not. Just ask anyone who has lost money on their home in the downturn.
Also, make sure you get an inspection. Someone else already said this, but it's soooooo important! Call your local Chamber of Commerce or BBB and get a recommendation. Don't go with whomever your realtor suggests. Most realtors are not to be trusted. There are some really good ones out there (and they are some of the hardest working people you will ever meet!), but most of the ones I've done business with aren't. Being a good realtor is hard work, and many aren't willing to work that hard which is why there is so much turn over.
The #1 indicator as to whether or not you have a good realtor: they bring you houses and not the other way around. If you are doing all of the leg work, you need to fire your realtor.
Good luck!
Look at foreclosures. Contrary to what many people believe, most foreclosures aren't wrecks.
Agree! My son and his fiancee bought a foreclosure home and they just had to do some painting and buy new carpet ... something most folks do when they buy a house anyway.
Look at foreclosures. Contrary to what many people believe, most foreclosures aren't wrecks.
Agree! My son and his fiancee bought a foreclosure home and they just had to do some painting and buy new carpet ... something most folks do when they buy a house anyway.
Smart kids! I wish I would have known this when hubby and I bought our first home. Live and learn.
ANd we didn't make it based on someone changing my dang lightbulbs!
I'm just responding to what you said. But if you want to rent instead of own, that of course is your decision. No one but you knows what is right for you and your husband. Only you can decide what is best.
There is another side to the argument than what you are presenting. It is important to build equity and having a home is a good way to do it, assuming that you don't refinance it or take a lien against it to fund a business or something along those lines. (I'm not saying YOU did that, I'm making a point.)
Another issue is that if you have a fixed rate mortgage that your payment stays the same (with small fluctuations for insurance at times). Rent will go up significantly over the years. If you are retired for 30 years, it is possible your rent could double but your fixed income of social security will not. Your mortgage will likely go down once you have PMI taken care of.
Tax advantage! Every year I get a rather nice refund, whereas when I was in an apartment I always had to pay the government. The tax write off is an awesome reason to buy a home.
The tax thing is a falacy. Listen to dave Ramsy, the God of personal finance. You pay $10,000 a year in interest so you can get $2000 back in taxes. I"ll make you the same deal. You pay me $10K and I'll refund you $2k.
I"ll get the same tax advantage because in my state, you can deduct yoru rent payments from your state taxes.
OMG..... am I correct in reading that YOUR interest payments.... AND your rent payments are TAX-DEDUCTIBLE !!!!!
Geesh!!!! don't move to Australia !!! you won't get anything like that!
We pay for our mortgage! 100% - no tax incentives at all
We are paying 52 cents in the dollar tax! as well
No, rent payments are not tax deductible. There is no tax advantage whatsoever in renting. Just the interest on your mortgage is. 
No, rent payments are not tax deductible. There is no tax advantage whatsoever in renting. Just the interest on your mortgage is.
That varies by state. Knowing Indydebi, she sat down with her accountant and figured out what a move would mean taxwise before she decided to move.
In TX we don't have a state income tax (they make up for it with the property taxes, as I am discovering during my home search) and you can't claim your rent on your federal income tax return. So here there's no tax advantage to renting and for most renters, taking the standard deduction works out better than trying to itemize.
No, rent payments are not tax deductible. There is no tax advantage whatsoever in renting. Just the interest on your mortgage is.
when I was a renter, during my single mom days, yes, I did deduct my rent in full on my state taxes. So 100% of my "shelter payment" was deducted whereas only the interest on my mortage can be deducted.
No, rent payments are not tax deductible. There is no tax advantage whatsoever in renting. Just the interest on your mortgage is.
when I was a renter, during my single mom days, yes, I did deduct my rent in full on my state taxes. So 100% of my "shelter payment" was deducted whereas only the interest on my mortage can be deducted.
There is only a $500 difference between renting and owning per year. www.in.gov/dor/3799.htm#renter It certainly doesn't make taking a $15,000 loss on a house make much sense.
So yes, in your particular state you can deduct apartment rent. In a lot of states you cannot. But if your home is deductible too, and only costs you an additional $500/year in deductions, and every payment you make goes towards owning something, it seems like it is smarter to own if you have a choice. You will eventually have no payment but taxes and insurance.
brownie, I'm not saying owning a house is bad idea. absolutely not. I was sharing this thread with hubby and he calculated the loss we'd take in this economy, plus the upkeep we've had to put into the house and if we sold it today at current market value, we'd take a $37,000 loss on it. And I can tell ya that we never got $37K in tax refunds!
Tenants insurance is cheaper than homeowners insurance (a difference of $600 a year for us) and there is no maintenance costs. Right now the difference between my mtge and my rent is about $3000 a year. Plus the insurance savings, plus the lawncare savings, plus the maint savings, plus the lower utility bills.....
I only put this out because of the lifestyle change we have chosen to undertake. I didn't want to end up like a lot of older people, who live in a paid off house that is going to the dogs because he is too old to keep up with the maintenance and yard work and she is too old to clean it properly. My youngest is 17 and I just don't need a 2-story, 4 bedroom house anymore. We ran the numbers and just decided that apartment living was going to be much better for us as we plan for retirement.
It also became the catalyst to declutter our "stuff" and our lives. God knows that when I die, not only do I NOT want my children to have to clean out a 4 BR house that is full of "stuff", but I don't want them to have to deal with unloading a house that may have gone downhill because I was too old and pitiful t(and broke) to have kept it up properly.
No, no, I understand. I'm just arguing the point because I think owning a home is a great way to build wealth and stability. Like I said-you know what's right for you. I just wouldn't want someone to think owning a home is a bad idea.
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