Lately we’ve been thinking a lot about buying a home (probably more like a condo/townhome). We live in the LA area, so prices here are always astronomical…but at least now they are better.
We are liking this…
and this…
but are SOOOOO not looking forward to this!
So my friends, I look to you.
What advice do you have?
What mistakes did you make that you can warn me against?
How can we get through this process without wanting to shoot ourselves or each other?
I :heart: your BLOG, BTW!
Congrats on wanting to take the "plunge" and settle into homeownership! We actually just built a home and though people had all sorts of comments about "are you crazy" and "you'll be lucky if you are still married when its finished" we made it thru without a single temper-tantrum on either of our parts….AND WE HAD A HOUSE TO SELL in the meantime!!
I say get your self all kinds of financially crazy organized. Find out for yourself what your comfortably qualify for as in terms of mortgage $$(& STICK TO IT, though I know it's hard to turn down new hardwood floors and a shiny new stove) and GO FOR IT! It is soooo nice to have a place that is ours to do whatever we want to with it!! GOOD LUCK!!!!
If you don't love the place, don't comprimise. The right place will come along, and it will be one you can afford. Its a huge purchase, don't have any regrets.
If you dont have time for upgrading, dont buy a fixer-up. It will still be the same 10 years from now.
Make sure you keep some extra money in the budget for the unexpected repairs; dont buy at top of your affordable range.
Enjoy your new home. I've struggled sometimes, but have never regretted buying my place.
I was on my way for a second view to make an offer on another place when my realtor told me about this new place in a building I had looked at and hated. But this unit was so different from the first, I fell in love and made an offer that night. Be open to looking at places.
Boyfriend and I were looking to buy a while ago and of course, didn't find anything we liked that was affordable. It is super difficult to find a nice place in LA county (we live in the San Gabriel Valley) So we stopped. Since we haven't taken that leap, I don't have any advice for you but I wanted to wish you good luck!
-Nicole
http://www.craftmysoul.blogspot.com
How exciting!!
We bought our first home 5 years ago and it was a great experience! We had two little ones at the time, too.. and it wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be. Especially b/c we were renting at the time and didn't have to worry about selling and buying.
We're house hunting now, and the thought of trying to make the stars align so that our home sells so that we can then buy an other house.. now that's stressing me out!
Great advice so far – DITTO everything! lol
Ugh, you know how I feel with all of this! The most important thing is to make sure that you're both on the same page for where you want to be, how much you can afford (and how much you want to spend…those are VERY different) and what you want in a house. Hubby and I sat down after we had looked at a few places and made a list of all of the things that we would want in a house, and that's been really helpful at identifying how close each one is to being "the" house.
I would also recommed talking to a mortgage broker about how much you can afford (if you need a recommendation, let me know…we found ours through my mom), and then finding a great realtor (again, let me know if you need one) who can look at your list of what you want and find a house that fits it.
Have patience, have hope and have fun!! Good luck!!
After looking at 30 or so houses, I fell in love with my house on the walk through… 2 stories on an acre of land that's in the county while also being five minutes from my office for less than $175k. Perfect! We put a bid in that day and closed within the month and became first time home buyers.
Fast forward two years later and we realize how shoddy the construction is. We've had to make a lot repairs where things just started falling apart (cheap siding, hidden leaks in door jambs that caused the hardwood floors to buckle up, A/C unit, etc) I still love my house but all the unexpected issues have been a strain on my patience and my wallet. I would just say be mindful of the construction and look into the builder to see what quality of work they're known for. It's one of those "if I knew then what I know now" kind of things.
I also agree with everything that everyone else has said so far too! So good luck with the hunt and I hope you find the perfect home!
5 Reasons Why Buying a Home is a Bad Investment:
1. It is an indivisible asset.
2. It is undiversified.
3. Transaction costs are very high.
4. It is asymmetrically liquid.
5. It is highly correlated to the job market.
Keep renting. Existing home sales just dropped 27% in July as government tax breaks expired. Home prices may fall even further.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-petruno-20100828,0,4478303,full.column
So my advice: DON'T BUY NOW