themean Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Other tips: Avoid mortgage brokers and national banks. Ideally, you want your mortgage to be with a local bank, and stay with that bank. If you have a problem, you want to be able to walk into the branch and talk to someone. Go to three or four different local banks and see what each of them can offer you. Think about how handy you are making repairs when deciding what to buy. Obviously, a 15 year mortgage will save you money in the long run, but most first time buyers won't be able to afford the monthly payment. We originally had a 30 year, then when rates went down and we added value by finishing a room in the walkout basement, we refi-ed into a 20 year and are paying about the same (monthly) as we were with a 30 year. Bank foreclosure sales can be great bargains, but tend to carry more risk. And the word "short" in the term "short sale" obviously does not refer to the length of time the transaction will take - it refers to the fact that the bank gets "shorted" in the sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robotfactory Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 $27,500 for a house? even $100K for a house? fuck...living in the bay area is rough. we bought our first place back in june, $315K for a 2 bedroom townhouse. its modest as hell, about 25 years old, and could use some help (new furnace/ac, new windows/doors, carpet is nasty). we dumped about $4K into it when we bought it, but we are not planning on being here for more than 5 years, so we dont want to go too crazy. this was a bank owned property and overall it wasn't too bad as far as the whole process. just a bit frustrating as the bank that owned it was slow to respond, and stupid. in my opinion, i would never hire a home inspector again, but thats just me. we paid $500 for our home inspection from a guy/company that came highly recommended. he was ok i guess, but he missed shit, like a leaking toilet that had cause some nice mold damage in the master bath. i fixed it all myself, but still, $500 and you cant recognize a leaking toilet and mold??? short sales suck. we tried to get involved in them early in our search, but quickly learned that we didn't want to deal with it. we used bank of america for our mortgage. my wife works for BofA and they give some pretty good percs to their employees as far as mortgages go. take your time, try to find a place that you truly like. we kind of "settled" and we are happy overall, but i wish we would have waited until we found a HOUSE (we bought a townhouse) that fit our needs and budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 THE BEST thing you can do is buy the least expensive house that meets your standard of living.I bought a house for $27,500, put $6000 into it to bring it up to my standard (new furnace, air conditioner, some windows, and a couple other small things). I could have afforded a $100,000 house payment, but went small. I paid that thing off in under a year (I had a large percentage of the cost saved already and borrowed the rest from an uncle, so there was no mortgage). I saved a ton in fees by paying cash and not dealing with a mortgage. So now, one year later, I have my house paid off, my roommate pays me rent which covers all my utilities and more, and 100% of my earnings after living expenses goes into investments. Instead of paying 6% on $100,000, I'm making 10% on a small, but growing, amount of money every week. I have no idea what your finances are like and you could be in a totally different financial situation, but starting small is good advice. You can (almost) never underextend yourself, but it is very easy to overextend yourself. 27500 for a house that just needs that amount of work? jealous. whats the sq footage? ive looked at homes here that are 100k with extensive water damage plus other repairs. I forget the square footage exactly. Around 1200. 3 bedroom. has a basement. No garage. Does have a big shed for lawnmower, bikes, etc. City is Roseville, MI. On a scale of 1 being a slum and 10 being the Hamptons, its probably a 3 or 4. Lower-middle class. Fairly big lot. House was appraised in 2004 for 125,000. That's what the Detroit market is like though right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Buy a mansion. They are huge and there's like butlers and maids and stuff that do everything for you. Oh, and also a pool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 I can't imagine paying $315 k for a house. In Michigan that buys you a legit mansion with fountains and 7 bedrooms and shit. I guess I'm happy I was born here? Maybe if I lived in California for a while it would change my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemsklile Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Buy a mansion. They are huge and there's like butlers and maids and stuff that do everything for you. Oh, and also a pool! and a pool house Master William! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemsklile Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 $27,500 for a house? even $100K for a house?fuck...living in the bay area is rough. we bought our first place back in june, $315K for a 2 bedroom townhouse. its modest as hell, about 25 years old, and could use some help (new furnace/ac, new windows/doors, carpet is nasty). we dumped about $4K into it when we bought it, but we are not planning on being here for more than 5 years, so we dont want to go too crazy. this was a bank owned property and overall it wasn't too bad as far as the whole process. just a bit frustrating as the bank that owned it was slow to respond, and stupid. in my opinion, i would never hire a home inspector again, but thats just me. we paid $500 for our home inspection from a guy/company that came highly recommended. he was ok i guess, but he missed shit, like a leaking toilet that had cause some nice mold damage in the master bath. i fixed it all myself, but still, $500 and you cant recognize a leaking toilet and mold??? short sales suck. we tried to get involved in them early in our search, but quickly learned that we didn't want to deal with it. we used bank of america for our mortgage. my wife works for BofA and they give some pretty good percs to their employees as far as mortgages go. take your time, try to find a place that you truly like. we kind of "settled" and we are happy overall, but i wish we would have waited until we found a HOUSE (we bought a townhouse) that fit our needs and budget. Yeah man...my sister lives out in LaFayette. She just rents her...probably 1000 sq ft. 2 bedroom 1 bath house. On zillow (which isn't totally reliable obviously) it says her house is worth a million dollars...literally. Haha. What? The same size house here would be like...120,000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drabley Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Economics tip: it's probably cheap because nobody wants it. I'd rather own a $500,000 closet in New York than set foot in Detroit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Economics tip: it's probably cheap because nobody wants it.I'd rather own a $500,000 closet in New York than set foot in Detroit. Auto is making a comeback and that will pull Detroit back up. Look at Ford's stock recently. I read one of those Yahoo front page articles a few months ago that had Detroit housing values gaining 30% in the next five years, or something like that. It was 3rd in the nation, behind a city in Oregon and one in Washington State, I believe. You take your location, I will own a home free and clear at 24 and retire by the time I'm 40. Fair trade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drabley Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Economics tip: it's probably cheap because nobody wants it.I'd rather own a $500,000 closet in New York than set foot in Detroit. Auto is making a comeback and that will pull Detroit back up. Look at Ford's stock recently. I read one of those Yahoo front page articles a few months ago that had Detroit housing values gaining 30% in the next five years, or something like that. It was 3rd in the nation, behind a city in Oregon and one in Washington State, I believe. You take your location, I will own a home free and clear at 24 and retire by the time I'm 40. Fair trade. You never plan on leaving your present location? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Auto is making a comeback and that will pull Detroit back up. Look at Ford's stock recently. I read one of those Yahoo front page articles a few months ago that had Detroit housing values gaining 30% in the next five years, or something like that. It was 3rd in the nation, behind a city in Oregon and one in Washington State, I believe. You take your location, I will own a home free and clear at 24 and retire by the time I'm 40. Fair trade. You never plan on leaving your present location? I couldn't say never. It would take a significant opportunity, though. All my friends and family are in Detroit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drabley Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 You never plan on leaving your present location? I couldn't say never. It would take a significant opportunity, though. All my friends and family are in Detroit. Well enjoy. Hope your plan works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonskanks Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 we just bought a house a little over a year ago for $74,000. I am currently working on remodeling the downstairs bath. It's been fun so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melikecheese Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Check with your bank to see if they offer a discount on the mortgage rate. I know Chase does, I just didn't learn that until I went to the branch to get a Cashiers check for closing....could have locked in half a percent better, oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirbypuckett Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 we just bought a house a little over a year ago for $74,000. I am currently working on remodeling the downstairs bath. It's been fun so far. I really like how yours looks! Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonskanks Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 thanks! feel free to take a 3-3.5 hr drive north for some coffee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonskanks Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 i just re-read that and it kinda sounds like i was trying to seduce you haha. sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deafmx Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 jealous of all you homeowners. how many first time homebuyers were single or at least bought the house themselves if they had a girl/boyfriend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 jealous of all you homeowners. how many first time homebuyers were single or at least bought the house themselves if they had a girl/boyfriend? I am single. As was pointed out earlier though, my house cost a fraction of others, so one income was plenty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonskanks Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 married with two kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviolentworld Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 we just bought a house a little over a year ago for $74,000. I am currently working on remodeling the downstairs bath. It's been fun so far. dude you doing the remodeling by yourself or you hire someone? i started mine last april and it is still not done. doesnt help that the girls came early but i plan on finishing in the next couple of weekends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattisr1984 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 we just bought a house a little over a year ago for $74,000. I am currently working on remodeling the downstairs bath. It's been fun so far. I really like how yours looks! Nice work! i like your house. you really dont see homes like that here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drabley Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 we just bought a house a little over a year ago for $74,000. I am currently working on remodeling the downstairs bath. It's been fun so far. I'm not disrespecting you or your home at all, but you know what I noticed right away? The front door. It's some kind of ugly. It really detracts from the facade, in my opinion. If it was my home, I'd lose the screen door and replace the other with something more... appropriate. If you're cool with it, cool. Just sayin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesomexloveus Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 we just bought a house a little over a year ago for $74,000. I am currently working on remodeling the downstairs bath. It's been fun so far. I'm not disrespecting you or your home at all, but you know what I noticed right away? The front door. It's some kind of ugly. It really detracts from the facade, in my opinion. If it was my home, I'd lose the screen door and replace the other with something more... appropriate. If you're cool with it, cool. Just sayin'. i think the house is adorable, but i agree with you on this one. it definitely dates the house. in a bad way, not in a 'that's cool cuz it's vintage!' way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
controlthebleeding Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 you fuckin' people and your 74,000 dollar homes. i could afford that alone if that were feasible here. too bad a decent home isnt worth less than $150k. and that's for a rather old home in a not so rad neighborhood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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