Advice for a young couple looking for a starter home... (Jacksonville: hardwood floors, sale)

[stephen3]

24 years old, engaged, about 70k total combined income a year.

Looking to buy a 3/2 starter home in Jacksonville within the next 6-8 months.

Can we find something nice for under $180 k?

Should we look at townhomes?

Any advide on good areas? Southside, 210, San Jose, etc.

Any help or general advice would be appreciated. Thanks,

[jackaroo]

First, if you have not already done so, make sure to get your financing in order by getting pre-approved with a lender. Nothing worse than finding your dream house only to find out that you can't get a loan. Plus, this will give you a feel for what kind of payments you can expect and if you can really afford the house you want.

Second, when looking, be sure to keep in line with what your spending expenditure is. If you work with an agent, they may steer you towards a nicer house that is just a little bit out of your budget. You need to have the discipline to stay within your price range.

Third, make a list of what you want in your house. Even if this is just a starter home, make a list prioritizing what is important to you.

Now, as for where to look, you need to figure out what part of town you want to live in and if you care about the commute. The farther away from downtown you live, the nicer the house you can get for the price you are looking at.

As for townhomes vs sf homes...traditionally, townhomes and condos do not appreciate as fast as single family homes, and it will be especially true given the current market conditions. It all comes down to supply and demand. It is simply faster to build townhomes and condos and you have greater density than with single family homes. However, that doesn't mean you should rule out townhomes, especially if you have no interest in doing yard work and don't mind sharing walls with a neighbor, but these are all factors you need to consider.

Good luck with your search.

[agreatlife]

You're going to need a 3% downpayment if you use FHA, which is probably the financing that will be recommended to you. Also keep in mind closing costs & prepaids, which are typically about 3-4% of the purchase price. On new construction, builders are frequently willing to pick up the closing costs if you use their preferred lender, but those lenders may not give you the best interest rates. Because there is such a glut of homes on the market right now, many sellers will also make the same concessions as to closing costs if you make a good offer.

Another thing to consider is HOA fees, so you'll want to factor those in to your monthly payments. Add in insurance and taxes - most lenders will escrow those and pay them for you when due. But you need to figure it in to what you can afford to pay each month. And finally, there is also mortgage insurance, which if you are putting less than 20% down, most lenders will require. I know it seems a little daunting, but in reality, you'll do fine. Find a reputable mortgage specialist, and they'll work through all this in detail with you.

Good luck, there's lots of bargains out there right now.

[apanda]

Originally Posted by jackaroo

First, if you have not already done so, make sure to get your financing in order by getting pre-approved with a lender. Nothing worse than finding your dream house only to find out that you can't get a loan.

This will also help when trying to make an offer on a home, if there are several offers on the same home, the owner will likely take the one who is pre-qualified over the other comparable offers. They don't want the sale falling through as much as you.

[tinaruss]

I agree with the others. Get prequalified first and make sure you have enough saved up to pay your downpayment. Also, be sure to negotiate your closing costs to be paid for by the seller or builder. There are tons of good buys out there right now and very favorable rates. Good luck!

[riveree]

Originally Posted by stephen3

24 years old, engaged, about 70k total combined income a year.

Looking to buy a 3/2 starter home in Jacksonville within the next 6-8 months.

Can we find something nice for under $180 k?

Should we look at townhomes?

Any advide on good areas? Southside, 210, San Jose, etc.

Any help or general advice would be appreciated. Thanks,

Some great advice from the posters above .

It sounds like you are looking for a modest, starter home, which is a sane move - you're not looking to take on more than you can handle - very smart .

$180k can certainly buy you a home like you describe in San Jose and other parts of the Southside.

I have to agree about townhomes. They had a good run in recent years, but that is not the norm. Right now in Jax, developers and individual townhome sellers can't GIVE their townhomes away, and that does not mean they are a good bargain .

I'm a big fan of the single family home, and I'd rather have a $180k single family fixer-upper than a $180k brand new town home. For one, you're not sharing walls, and that's a big difference. I've done my time sharing walls and I don't see myself doing it again. Also, how many people do you know that buy their townhome and then run out and get a dog? Only now, they don't have a yard to fence in, so the big Golden Retriever has nowhere to run !

When you buy a single family home, it's all yours - the house, the yard, everything, you can do whatever you want. You have some room for pets, or to garden, or for kids to run around or whatever.

I love San Jose....nice, nice area and many of the homes were built in the era where "they just don't build them like that anymore" . You have a good shot at getting hardwood floors - real hardwood floors. Maybe a brick or stucco exterior, maybe a good-sized lot, etc. It's a nice, quiet, established area that has held its' value well and has proven itself over the course of decades.

You don't mention work - where do you need to commute to?

[stephen3]

As of right now, we both work off of Belfort road, it is the last exit on Butler Blvd, right before I-95.

Any other areas in Jville that a young couple should look into that would be affordable?

How much longer would you guess the Jax real estate market will decline and by how much? 5-10%?

Thanks again,

[jackaroo]

I don't know if anyone can predict what the decline will be in the Jax real estate market and I don't know if it makes too much sense trying to time it just right to capture the bottom of the market. I suspect though, it won't be as bad as the rest of Florida since the market never got as high as it did in Tampa, Orlando or South Florida. Jax was just starting to catch up when the bubble burst, which means there should be a softer landing.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by stephen3

As of right now, we both work off of Belfort road, it is the last exit on Butler Blvd, right before I-95.

Any other areas in Jville that a young couple should look into that would be affordable?

How much longer would you guess the Jax real estate market will decline and by how much? 5-10%?

Thanks again,

Pick up this month's issue of Money magazine for an in-depth article about the current real estate market, what they recommend for buyers/sellers, and what their predictions are for the future of the market...they've been fairly accurate in the past.

Remember that the predictions shown for Jacksonville in the Money magazine article or elsewhere are averages city-wide - some neighborhoods will fare worse and some will fare much better. San Jose, for example, tends to do better than average because of its' stability, location, etc., so don't expect a big drop next year if you buy in San Jose (there's my prediction ).

There are a lot of affordable options within a good commute of Belfort, it just depends on what you're looking for.

There are some great deals right there off Belfort, but don't expect the value of those neighborhoods to do anything spectacular - even in a good market that is a more affordable area because it's not as highly desired as some other areas. San Jose will cost more per sq ft, but would probably make a better investment in the long run.

I think it's important to keep the focus on what matters most when buying real estate - location. It's the one thing you can't change about a house.

For your price point - $180k - the neighborhoods I would look at are:

Ridgewood (32207)
Lakewood (32207 & 32217)
Goodby's Creek area (32257)

You might also want to add:

San Souci (32216)
Brierwood (32217)

[vdecapio]

Originally Posted by riveree

Pick up this month's issue of Money magazine for an in-depth article about the current real estate market, what they recommend for buyers/sellers, and what their predictions are for the future of the market...they've been fairly accurate in the past.

Remember that the predictions shown for Jacksonville in the Money magazine article or elsewhere are averages city-wide - some neighborhoods will fare worse and some will fare much better. San Jose, for example, tends to do better than average because of its' stability, location, etc., so don't expect a big drop next year if you buy in San Jose (there's my prediction ).

There are a lot of affordable options within a good commute of Belfort, it just depends on what you're looking for.

There are some great deals right there off Belfort, but don't expect the value of those neighborhoods to do anything spectacular - even in a good market that is a more affordable area because it's not as highly desired as some other areas. San Jose will cost more per sq ft, but would probably make a better investment in the long run.

I think it's important to keep the focus on what matters most when buying real estate - location. It's the one thing you can't change about a house.

For your price point - $180k - the neighborhoods I would look at are:

Ridgewood (32207)
Lakewood (32207 & 32217)
Goodby's Creek area (32257)

You might also want to add:

San Souci (32216)
Brierwood (32217)

In terms of investment, I don't think Jacksonville is the place. Census data shows that the Jacksonville population is currently stagnant (as many coming in as leaving). Slight increase due to net births over deaths. Not that you can't see moderate returns on housing investments here, but nothing like in other hotspots of the country. Too much land left, not enough city amenities, not enough density, not enough high paying jobs will keep the home prices here just as they are for the foreseeable future.

I also think that the areas discussed in your price range are somewhat fringe areas. I drove through a lot of these neighborhoods and wasn't very impressed with anything below 200k. Everything below 200k was in my mind a concrete block trailer with a rusty carport.

It would be a miracle if I ever purchased anything in Jacksonville, but if I did it would be based on what I wanted to live in......not based on investment. And for what 200k will buy, I would look closer to UNF for a newer home or I would buy one of the many townhomes or condos available near 9A. You could probably buy a townhome for around 100k, you wouldn't have to water the lawn or maintain it, you wouldn't have to fix it up, and with the extra 80K you could buy a small vacation home in Belize!