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Getting a HELOC to cover the difference between your down payment and the 20% to avoid PMI is still possible.
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Originally Posted by Pilot1
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.
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Originally Posted by KansastoSouthphilly
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.
Thank you for your replies! You all have given great information! It all seems so complicated, to be honest. But I will continue to do research and save as much as possible.
Also, my cousin put down $1,200 on a $250k house not so long ago, and I was very surprised. That's another reason I needed your advice. I wonder how much she has to pay in PMI.
Thank you for your replies! You all have given great information! It all seems so complicated, to be honest. But I will continue to do research and save as much as possible.
Also, my cousin put down $1,200 on a $250k house not so long ago, and I was very surprised. That's another reason I needed your advice. I wonder how much she has to pay in PMI.
That's 0.0048% of the house price. Essentially, she borrowed for the entire price of the house. It's going to take her forever to get any decent amount of equity in the house. A very risky proposition, IMO.
Springfield is nicer than some of the other towns in that area like Upper Darby, Clifton Heights, Collingdale etc. I know people who live in Aldan and get by without a car, I think the 113 runs through the area thoroughly.
That's 0.0048% of the house price. Essentially, she borrowed for the entire price of the house. It's going to take her forever to get any decent amount of equity in the house. A very risky proposition, IMO.
It is very risky, I do agree. I initially thought she made a typo when she told me. I do plan to put a whole lot more down when my time comes. That's for sure, haha.
That's 0.0048% of the house price. Essentially, she borrowed for the entire price of the house. It's going to take her forever to get any decent amount of equity in the house. A very risky proposition, IMO.
That depends on the length of the mortgage. Yes, a thirty year mortgage will take along time to build any equity, as with ALL mortgages you pay the interest FIRST. That is why I recommend a fifteen year mortgage or even less if you can swing it. You build equity a lot more quickly, and avoid A LOT of interest over the life of the loan.
As long as you have 10% down you should be able to find a lender that will give you the loan without PMI (assuming you have very good credit). It's for you to decide if you feel comfortable with this.
Keep in mind you will also need cash to cover closing costs and to furnish the house. And have separate savings left afterwards. Coming up with all that cash is definitely the biggest challenge.
I see some popular financial advice guys always saying to only take a 15 yr mortgage and while I understand saving a ton of interest how realistic is that in the Philly market? Seems pretty improbable. Some of those nice burbs are what $500k for a nice house and that payment on a 15!! Yikes.
Not sure what area of NYC you guys are in, we had an apt in Kew Gardens for a few years and now live in Media right on the 101 trolley line. we use the trolley nearly daily and survive on one car, the trolley runs pretty much from 5am to 0100 or so and is reliable.
Springfield has more detached houses than Media and the houses are newer (era 1950's compared to a lot of 1920's in Media. Media does have a very safe downtown that would be more than fine to cut any kids loose in. To get to center city Philly on the trolley you connect to the subway at 69th st transit center, the subway here is a just a slight bit edgier than NYC in my opinion, not unsafe though just no real tourist mixture like you see on the A/E & F trains.
The nice thing would be if you could get a house/townhouse on the west side of Media (Orange st/Jackson area) that way you could be blocks away from the trolley or the regional rail that runs non stop to center city (think LIRR). husband could easily do regional rail and save a ton of time in traffic and it takes you non stop to all the activities in Philly.
This area of Media (west side) while considered a suburb is actually more of a safe-walkable mini city (walk to bars/trader joes etc) with suburban amenities.
While Springfield would be easily my second choice its a bit too suburban for me and even though its close to the trolley its otherwise not really "walkable" like Media (or NYC of course). But again Springfield is more affordable and you'll get more house and a bigger yard.
I would suggest using google maps and using satellite and street views to explore neighborhoods ahead of your visit.
I've liven in Springfield DELCO for the past 15 years. I can say this:
It's a nice town. Middle to upper middle class. If you have 350k to spend you can get something modest but nice. They have new construction for 550-650 and twins below 200k. Town is mostly white. Crime is low. Main thoroughfares like township and 320 can be very congested during rush hour. The school system is above average. They are building a 170 Million $ new high school so I expect taxes and home values to go up. There are many parks and youth sports programs and two swim clubs to join. Taxes are up there but not the worst in county. There are trolley stops in Springfield. You can get to/from Phila & media easily using public transportation. Comparing to media, I would say Media has a better school district and a cool (but very small) town center but you also get less for your $ when buying a house. Springfield also has plenty of shopping -much more than media but it spread out and not very walkable.
Springfield is a nice enough area. It definitely isn't quaint and walkable, but it has alot. Living in Havertown, I find us driving over to Springfield often to go to places like target. It is a safe area and schools are good. I don't think you could go wrong with buying a house there. However, when we were buying a house I was surprised how much more house you could get for your money in Springfield over havertown. I always considered the two areas to be about equal, but I guess there must be SOME reason Springfield isn't as appealing to people or else home values would be higher.
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Media vs NYC
