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Is it a forgone conclusion that the husband will need to drive to work? If it’s at all possible, using transit to Center City would be more tolerable in the long term. I understand that he will be doing construction-related work at various locations in Center City; perhaps he could use transit whenever the location of the construction site is within reach of transit, and he can drive when it isn’t. But of course if he’s taking a truck full of equipment, transit might not be an option.
In any case, I think the drive to Center City from Jenkintown would be a roughly the same as Springfield—about an hour during the morning and afternoon rushes; about 30 minutes when there’s little to no traffic.
All three towns (Phoenixville, Jenkintown, and Ambler) were on our checklist before my wife and I agreed on Media. To my knowledge, all three have good schools and home options within your budget range.
As much as I like Phoenixville, I don’t think it’s a practical option in this case because of the borough’s distance from Center City (for the husband) and the lack of transit service (for both of them). But Phoenixville does have a unique personality, is very walkable, and offers an increasingly vibrant local business scene. And since it’s about a decade behind towns like Media and West Chester in terms of revitalization, real estate is less expensive, and it offers a good “ground floor” opportunity.
From my outsider perspective, Ambler seems to be in a similar position as Phoenixville with regard to its downtown revitalization: It’s well on its way but perhaps a few paces behind the region’s leading towns. Ambler does have Regional Rail service, so it might be an option if the husband can commute to work by train. It would be a considerably longer drive than Springfield, however.
Jenkintown and nearby Glenside are reasonably nice areas and closer to the city. Both have Regional Rail access as well. But even though both towns have small “downtown” districts, I personally felt a bit underwhelmed by the number and variety of businesses. But they might be worth a look anyway.
Is it a forgone conclusion that the husband will need to drive to work? If it’s at all possible, using transit to Center City would be more tolerable in the long term. I understand that he will be doing construction-related work at various locations in Center City; perhaps he could use transit whenever the location of the construction site is within reach of transit, and he can drive when it isn’t. But of course if he’s taking a truck full of equipment, transit might not be an option.
In any case, I think the drive to Center City from Jenkintown would be a roughly the same as Springfield—about an hour during the morning and afternoon rushes; about 30 minutes when there’s little to no traffic.
All three towns (Phoenixville, Jenkintown, and Ambler) were on our checklist before my wife and I agreed on Media. To my knowledge, all three have good schools and home options within your budget range.
As much as I like Phoenixville, I don’t think it’s a practical option in this case because of the borough’s distance from Center City (for the husband) and the lack of transit service (for both of them). But Phoenixville does have a unique personality, is very walkable, and offers an increasingly vibrant local business scene. And since it’s about a decade behind towns like Media and West Chester in terms of revitalization, real estate is less expensive, and it offers a good “ground floor” opportunity.
From my outsider perspective, Ambler seems to be in a similar position as Phoenixville with regard to its downtown revitalization: It’s well on its way but perhaps a few paces behind the region’s leading towns. Ambler does have Regional Rail service, so it might be an option if the husband can commute to work by train. It would be a considerably longer drive than Springfield, however.
Jenkintown and nearby Glenside are reasonably nice areas and closer to the city. Both have Regional Rail access as well. But even though both towns have small “downtown” districts, I personally felt a bit underwhelmed by the number and variety of businesses. But they might be worth a look anyway.
My husband would carry a tool bag with him. Nothing too big, thank goodness. So he would be able to carry it around with very little to no hassle. But the site will most likey have lockers/storage areas where he can store his bag. Anyway, I think using transit is a great suggestion. It would be quicker (possibly more tolerable), and he could park his car at the Septa station. If anything, he could use his car (for jobs further away).
Who knows, some jobs may be across Center City - - Camden, NJ for example. But it's all relativley within the same area. That probably would be a situation where he would use his car.
But yes, I will have a look at the places you and ASRGUY mentioned Thanks.
Oh right kind of overlooked that he cannot take mass transit. That might change things I was solely focused on the budget and I know Philly burbs are just pricey not much you can do but go further out.
Oh right kind of overlooked that he cannot take mass transit. That might change things I was solely focused on the budget and I know Philly burbs are just pricey not much you can do but go further out.
No worries at all! I understand where you are coming from.
Hey all! No update at the moment. Still very much interested in Springfield (Delco) - so that's great! Just trying to save for a down payment, and making plans to visit in the near future.
I was wondering if there were any real estate agents out there who could give me some quick advice. Is it common for first time home buyers to put down a 5% to 10% down payment? I assume that as long as your credit is good, it wouldn't matter the amount (though I know the rule of thumb is 20%).
I could get a loan, but let's say I choose not to. The idea of paying back the money I borrowed, plus interest kind of puts me off. Therefore, I could never imagine myself saving $70,000 (20% of 350k) in 2 years.
To avoid PMI (private mortgage insurance) you typically have to put down 20%. Some people are fine with PMI, but I just never wanted to pay it, so always put more than 20% down. You can get the PMI removed after you reach over 20% equity.
Percentage down is all over the map. Talk to some lenders and see how much they will lend you, and get pre-approved. I'd rather not be house poor, so never borrowed as much as I qualified for, and always kept my mortgages to 15 years or less, as you save a lot of interest that way.
If paying interest puts you off then how do you feel about enriching your landlord? Pick your poison.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ashma
Hey all! No update at the moment. Still very much interested in Springfield (Delco) - so that's great! Just trying to save for a down payment, and making plans to visit in the near future.
I was wondering if there were any real estate agents out there who could give me some quick advice. Is it common for first time home buyers to put down a 5% to 10% down payment? I assume that as long as your credit is good, it wouldn't matter the amount (though I know the rule of thumb is 20%).
I could get a loan, but let's say I choose not to. The idea of paying back the money I borrowed, plus interest kind of puts me off. Therefore, I could never imagine myself saving $70,000 (20% of 350k) in 2 years.
You can generally get a mortgage for as little as 3.5% down with an FHA mortgage if you are a first time home buyer. Generally the minimum for a traditional mortgage will be 5%. Keep in mind that you will also have closing costs which can be 2-5% of the price of the home or higher.
I recommend a conventional loan over an FHA because with a conventional you can drop PMI once you reach 20% equity. FHA loans have PMI for the life of the loan and it may be difficult/not worthwhile to refinance into a conventional if interest rates go up.
Some people recommend only buying when you have 20% down and that makes sense if you have, or soon will have, the 20%. If it will take you years to save 20% you have to factor what you are paying in rent in the meantime and you may end up losing out on the benefit if interest rates shoot up.
Of course the benefit to having 20% in equity is that it becomes easy to sell the house if something goes wrong and you have to move. If you have a minimal down payment then closing costs will quickly eat up all your "equity" and you may have to pay out of pocket just to sell.
I am not sure what you are saying about paying back interest. Are you thinking about taking out a loan to get your down payment? This is frowned upon and may make it difficult to qualify for financing. Even if you could it would definitely be better to just put less down on the house because mortgage interest rates are much lower than personal loan interest rates.
I do agree with the other posters that have said you should not borrow to the maximum. I borrowed significantly less than I was approved for and have never regretted buying a smaller house to have a better quality of life.
We are in an expanding, healthier economy. Interest rates have gone up, and will continue to rise. Keep that in mind. The Fed just hiked rates, with more on the horizon.
To avoid PMI (private mortgage insurance) you typically have to put down 20%. Some people are fine with PMI, but I just never wanted to pay it, so always put more than 20% down. You can get the PMI removed after you reach over 20% equity.
Traditionally yes but despite reforms after the housing crisis of 10 years ago, getting a HELOC to cover the difference between your down payment and the 20% to avoid PMI is still possible.
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Thanks.
