Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Rubbish.
I had no business owning houses but I did it.
People are too lazy, helpless, and useless these.
Someone with drive, ambition, and a strong work ethic can make it work.
Wah no Benz, Jet skis, Dining out and partying every weekend.
Some people are willing to sacrifice for the bigger picture.
I'm assuming you're a single person; no spouse, significant other, etc.? In that case, have you budgeted anything for a social life (especially if you're a male)?
As others have mentioned, you need some kind of reserve or savings to fall back on in an emergency.
Factors to think seriously about:
Is your job so secure that there is absolutely zero chance that you may be laid off or hours reduced? If you need to use your medical insurance, do you have enough put by to cover whatever your yearly deductible and copays will be if you should get sick or injured? If you did lose your job, is your skill set such that you could quickly find another at the same salary or better? (be realistic about this)
You mentioned having a pet. I'm sure you've budgeted for food and possibly grooming, but what about vet expenses? My son has two cats and one of them needed emergency surgery earlier this year; the vet bill, when all was said and done, was $5000. Would you be able to handle a vet bill of $1000 or more?
If you have to put emergency expenses on a credit card (such as the aforementioned medical bills for either yourself or your pet), will you be able to at least make the minimum payments?
Speaking of credit card debt, do you have any currently?
If you need to take a second job in order to make ends meet, what kind of job would it need to be based on your skill set and available hours from your existing job? Would it need to be something minimum-wage and would that really make up the shortfall?
And final question: How much equity will you have in this house you want to buy (how much are you putting down versus how much financed)? Asking this because if you need to take out a HELOC or something similar to cover emergency expenses as a last resort, would you even have enough equity to qualify?
Last edited by BBCjunkie; 08-23-2018 at 12:44 PM..
We're talking about a LI house, right? Is it in a flood zone, and is storm insurance budgeted into your figures?
If you're in a safe flood zone (X or shaded X) you'll pay less.
However, if FEMA redraws the map putting you into a flood zone (A), your flood insurance could spike. I would know, because mine spiked about $900 when I lived on LI. Then after Sandy, and there was no flooding in my area, the map was changed and the rate went back down.
In a nutshell, the climate is changing and you have no control over this.
I try to be positive about these things, but I'm sorry. I can't imagine $300 a month for utilities and incidentals being enough. Have you thought of renting out a room to bring in more income? Regardless, I wish you the best of luck!
That's really cutting it close, do you have decent savings? Do you have promising job prospects? I would opt for a co-op/condo instead of a house if I didn't have the padding to cover all the little things that pop up out of the blue after buying a house; they add up quickly. $300 is not enough to cover all the things that happen to go wrong, including taxes, car repairs, health bills for you and pets, etc., that all have a chance of rearing their ugly head out of nowhere. I would consider looking at something more affordable to start out with. Remember, you can always sell and upgrade later. Good luck!
That's really cutting it close, do you have decent savings? Do you have promising job prospects? I would opt for a co-op/condo instead of a house if I didn't have the padding to cover all the little things that pop up out of the blue after buying a house; they add up quickly. $300 is not enough to cover all the things that happen to go wrong, including taxes, car repairs, health bills for you and pets, etc., that all have a chance of rearing their ugly head out of nowhere. I would consider looking at something more affordable to start out with. Remember, you can always sell and upgrade later. Good luck!
Yeah, all this and more. You'll be house poor — won't that be fun.
Ridiculous that people are even suggesting this is remotely ok. As someone said, you are leaving at least one thing out....forget it. Expenses come up every single month that you are not expecting. You can be handy as you like materials aren't free. Plus there are things you're going to want to do even if it's just paint. I don't know why anyone would want to end the month with $300 that may not be enough to pay their monthly bills. Only on LI would this be a commonplace and acceptable occurrence. You have a pet but might not be able to pay utilities. SMH.
Ridiculous that people are even suggesting this is remotely ok. As someone said, you are leaving at least one thing out....forget it. Expenses come up every single month that you are not expecting. You can be handy as you like materials aren't free. Plus there are things you're going to want to do even if it's just paint. I don't know why anyone would want to end the month with $300 that may not be enough to pay their monthly bills. Only on LI would this be a commonplace and acceptable occurrence. You have a pet but might not be able to pay utilities. SMH.
I am going to the mortgage broker to find out exactly how much cash I would be left with. This property is hard to give up on - it has an acre of land (good part of it gets full sun) and I love to garden and would love to eventually have poultry, goats, and horses.
But I am leaning in the same direction as the majority - bad idea; things can very easily go wrong.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
