Question to all buying or have bought 1st home? (to rent, appliances)

[Torkey]

Dopo, where did you end up buying at in Cibolo/Schertz? just curious

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by Torkey

Dopo, where did you end up buying at in Cibolo/Schertz? just curious

Fieldstone in Cibolo, what about you?

[Torkey]

Belmont park on 35N....right past wiederstein (sp)....the waiting process is nerve racking!

[Chaka]

My dream home is an estate in the South of France with vineyards and a winery, so no, I didn't buy my dream home....more like my nightmare. No, really, I love my home

Buy what you can afford comfortably, with a cushion. You can always upgrade later if necessary.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by Torkey

Belmont park on 35N....right past wiederstein (sp)....the waiting process is nerve racking!

I'm mad, because it's been about 2-3 weeks since we signed the papers and it looks like we still have to wait 1-2 weeks before they start building.

I'm more than ready to move. So I have to completely forget about the house.
Otherwise I'm gonna be in a bad mood all the time.

[JAL71]

Originally Posted by Chaka

Buy what you can afford comfortably, with a cushion. You can always upgrade later if necessary.

Great advice here!

We bought a home that we could afford on DH's salary alone, with mine being the cushion.
We went through all of this this past year (2008), and we did decide to buy a home that was not our "dream home", yet we could make upgrades if we needed/wanted to when we were ready to, if we do decide to stay in this house for many years.
The house is 3 yrs old. We decided to buy a newer home that could wait a while for us to decide what we wanted to do, rather than an older home that needed attention sooner.
We were military. No way would we have bought our dream home before leaving the military. I would have been crushed to leave that house in 2-5 yrs!!

Very smart advice in this thread from the previous posts!!

[jessealva]

I am currently building a home in Alamo Ranch. We are excited and can't wait to move in. Alamo Ranch area is great and it is up and coming! This will be our first home also. We went with Pulte homes. They don't offer many upgrades the house already comes with several upgrades already. For example: covered patio, vaulted ceiling in bedroom, comes with corian counters. It is a great area as well. I would suggest to buy new if you are planning to move in about 5 yrs. just build in an upcoming place and the prices will hopefully hold steady or jump up. My feeling is if you are going to live in it you should like the place you live in. Also, with a new home you hopefully don't have to worry with fixing things and upgrading anything. You will really not save that much money buying an older house anyway. New homes are not that expensive at all. With builders offering incentives and closing cost you could end up saving money going with a new home. Also, you will receive an $8000 tax credit from uncle sam if you buy this year.

[perticusrex]

Originally Posted by JAL71

Great advice here!

We bought a home that we could afford on DH's salary alone, with mine being the cushion.
We went through all of this this past year (2008), and we did decide to

Thats the best advice right there! I received very similiar advice (though my income IS the ONLY income) but also we chose something 30% less than what we even qualified for. Someone told me to get something 15-30% less than what the bank (or mortgage co) told me I qualified for. What I qualified for just seemed ridiculous to be quite honest. On one very modest income they were suggesting a price range where the homes were located in what I personally considered "affluent areas." Luckily I had a realtor who cared about what I wanted and didnt push me into these McMansions. Thats why I tend to feel for those people who were convinced they could afford such extravagant homes in expensive neighborhoods; its amazing the pressure the mortgage companies (in our case the bank) puts on people in an attempt to convince them they can actually afford these crazy homes. Its very inticing and hard to resist, but just keep looking at your finances as black and white, no gray area. That will tell you everything you need to know.

[5stones]

but also we chose something 30% less than what we even qualified for. Someone told me to get something 15-30% less than what the bank (or mortgage co) told me I qualified for. What I qualified for just seemed ridiculous to be quite honest

great advice. yes, they will ALWAYS give you more credit than you really should be getting.

YOU DO NOT want ot be HOuse poor!! esp with kids.


restating what others have said... your 1st house should never be your "DREAM house."
We are in our 4th...have never built new and have yet to have my dream house. (my hubby thinks I'll never have the "perfect house!!" This one is close...

Buy for the LOCATION! and in a good school district. Location will always sell a house. Buy one with GOOd "bones" that you can make small updates on(SWEAT EQUITY)
Paint... It amazing what a simple paint job can do
new fixtures..(faucets lights all easy to do your self)
new counter tops
new flooring (tile verses vinyal etc...)

We made a great profit on our first house and did almost all the work ourselves, it was "our project house" and we learned alot but it was alot of fun as well.

[jessealva]

I agree a first home will not be a "dream home". I also think that if you are going to live there it should be something you really like. After all you are paying a mortgage every month so it should be worth it to you. The home we are building is not our dream home but it is what we wanted. I think I was more worried about location than the actual home itself. Is being within walking distance (less than a block) to a school (elementary) increase the value of your home?