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killaho69 OP t1_j2dbj4n wrote

Reply to comment by arpatel530 in Wanting to make sure I can afford the houses that I'm looking at. by killaho69

Problem is, I'm 34yo, my daughter and mother get in fights, then I get pulled into the fights, and chronically single because I've been at my parents for >7 years. If I keep "One more yearing it" all my youth will be gone before I leave my parents again.

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FckMitch t1_j2dc3os wrote

Rent

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killaho69 OP t1_j2dcoo2 wrote

Everything for rent is either for college students, in a rough neighborhood, or $1700 for a 1300 sqft house. If I'm gonna pay $1700/mo for a 1300sqft house, I'd rather just buy the 2500 sqft one for $300/mo more.

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1seabas t1_j2ec1zr wrote

Something good to remember is that rent is the most you’ll pay, and the mortgage is the least you’ll pay monthly.

It may feel like throwing money away, but you get a some great benefits like continuing to save money/pay off debts since you’ll pay less monthly, and won’t have the unexpected expenses of owning a house. I’d say even more importantly, you get flexibility! You can get out of your current living situation asap, and have more time to find the right housing fit for you/your family.

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SonOfMcGee t1_j2e6j7h wrote

I live in Northern NJ. My brother in semi-rural Michigan bought a house a while back and my wife was like, “Why didn’t he just rent a nice place. Seems more suitable for his lifestyle.”
I had to explain that in much of the middle of the country you simply cannot “rent a nice place”. Almost everyone owns their homes, even in trailer parks. And rentals are almost all low-quality homes for low-income folks to rent out of necessity.
Based on your initial post I’d say to go for it with the higher-priced place. It’s at the tippy-top of your budget but as a new build there’s a good chance it won’t need major maintenance (roof, AC, etc) for a while. Though I wouldn’t count on “just refinancing when rates go down”. There’s no telling if and when that will happen.

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killaho69 OP t1_j2eulxq wrote

Yeah you're right. Like both of the small towns near me have apartments for like $600-700/mo but the parking lot and breeze ways smell like weed 24/7, drug deals in the parking lot, etc. I wouldn't want to leave my daughter or my valuables home alone. Jump to the closest real city and apartments start turning into $1500+ real quick. Home rentals are absurd.

And yeah that's why I never mentioned in my post a goal to refi. Sure, it will be great if I can, but nothing I would bank on or build my budget around.

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bravo-charlie-yankee t1_j2fds2l wrote

A good rule of thumb also is 1% annually for maintenance around the house. In the rental scenario you'll pay at most $1700/mo

If you won, your MINIMUM payment is $2100/mo. And then you have maintenance. Need a new roof? 10-30k depending on pitch and size. Need to replace your HVAC? Got a plumbing issue? need sewer line replaced etc?

We bought our house and we have some large costs coming up, replace roof in next 5yrs (estimating $30k very steep pitch), our sewer line needs replacement (quoted $20-25k). We bought in summer, moved in Sept, HVAC broke before winter and had to replace immediately ($5k). Came back from vacation once, found someone had driven into our brick garage (luckily fix was only $2k)

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killaho69 OP t1_j2fiv0g wrote

Well one house is new construction with a builder and home warranty, the other house has a brand new roof, hvac, and AC. So I'm sort of being strategic in that regard. I know a major repair could be rough, so I'm sort of hedging those bets.

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smashinash023 t1_j2e1k5m wrote

how much do you have saved up for a downpayment and furnishings? I think the reason behind waiting another year would be to shore up your savings. you're fairly new into this job (which was a significant pay increase) and looking at a house that is 50% of your net income. having additional savings would be a huge buffer and make this feasible

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killaho69 OP t1_j2eu75h wrote

I've got about 15k that I've saved over the last year (5k of that in the last 2 months). By the time we close I might could be up to 20k. The new build is appealing because of the builder incentives. I can use their money to pay closing costs and maybe buy down some points, and hang on to more of my money to keep in reserve. Maybe I can negotiate even more.

I only plan to buy the absolute basics (beds, fridge, washer, dryer) and fill the rest in over time. I can put my socks and underwear in plastic drawers for a while.

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arpatel530 t1_j2dc47q wrote

Well then buy the house and refinance later. Silly to rent when you paying someone else's mortgage.

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FinsterFolly t1_j2e6vjn wrote

Not necessarily silly for the short run. With a purchase, he's going to be paying $3,600/yr more a month plus any upkeep on the house. His mortgage payment will only be contributing about $2,500/yr to principal.

A year renting might be a good short term solution to ensure job security and the area they want to live in. Plus, it gets them out of the house quicker.

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