Buying a home we are currently leasing - advice? (Spring: for sale, foreclosed)

[SA08]

Hi all, okay we are currently in the 10th mo. of a 12 mo. lease. At the start of the lease the owners (through the prop. mgr.) made it clear that they'd love to sell the house as they have moved back to NV & are in a bit over their heads.

The prop. mgr. just called & wants to know if we want to buy or extend the lease.

We have been debating this & are quite nervous as we've never bought a home before. Actually, this is the first time we've not been in military housing for quite a long time.

He is saying we should go with a local lender as they will understand the market better. Is that true or bs?
Also, we have all our bills on time but some serious c.c. debt due to a custody battle I had last year
Will we be able to get a decent loan?

Stop reading here if you are not interested or whatever because this post has none or very little of my usual smart a@@ comments - lol

Our pros:

like the neighborhood (hubby likes it better than I do but I don't hate it)

The subdivision is one almost no one has ever heard of & quite tucked away yet convenient to many things.

Very good school. Daughter loves teachers/admin. but is not doing so hot with making friends....trying to figure that one out as she has SO many friends where we used to live.

Big enough house (2300 sq. ft.), 2 story, 4 sd. brick KB home

One of the largest, fenced back yards in the sub division

Cons:

BAD insulation or something as the master bdrm is always the HOTTEST or coldest...it's right over the garage & the house gets the sun ALL day

All bedrooms are upstairs & the stairs are STEEP. If we can't sell this one day & anyone is sick...those stairs will be a beeootch

Master room is HUGE but the kiddos rooms are TINY

Carpet is SHOT from previous renters big dogs.

I'm scared to buy ... economy...commitment issues? maybe both?


Any good advice? I sure wish my Mom was still alive. She used to be a Realtor & was so wise about such matters.

THANK YOU in advance for your patience & advice.

*edit* forgot to mention hubby is a Navy retiree so we can use the Va. but I don't know how that even works.

[ShaneSA]

Go for it. The positives are more than the negatives. The negatives are also things that you can fix or change as an owner. it will only benefit you to buy it, you will have equity in a few years and if you bought, so will someone else. Location, location, location. that's the secret when it comes time to sell. that's your marketing tool.
You can get a VA loan and through a local lender. it'll work. you have to make rent payments and what's the difference between rent and mortgage? The term of the commitment. You have to make payments for rent, so now turn them into mortgage payments.
If you plan to stay here for a while, even 5 years, it's well worth it to buy it.
Keep us posted on what you do and how it's going.

[AFMike]

I agree, sounds like one of you is active duty so you have little to no chance of loosing your job, bad economy means good price and by the time you sell the market should be better.

The prop mgr might not be used to dealing with military (for buying/selling) because you have access to both penfed.org and usaa.com that offer great rates and understand miitary pay system.

because of the market I would give a lowball offer and negotiate from there.

[johnrex62]

You may also be able to negotiate a "rent concession" for past rent to be applied to your downpayment to increase your upfront equity. This could make a difference as to whether or not you have to have PMI insurance on your loan. The rent concession is funny money as it only appears as a portion of downpayment already deposited with the seller and will be defined as non-refundable in case of non-closing.

[ashbeeigh]

Will this be the first time your family has bought a house within the last three years? If you haven't take advantage of all the First time home buyer things that are out there right now! $8,000 credit = lucky!

If you tell us specifically what area you are in a lot of the posters can tell you about the area and how it has changed too. No need to just say "it's in a nice area..." we all think we live in "nice areas"

[Paka]

There are lots of things that you can negotiate on and perhaps include that would help you "correct" some of those issues...which really are minor except for the room size. That you can not correct.

HOWEVER, looking at if you choose NOT to buy, are you ready to go thru the hassle of being forced to move??? Just food for thought. I think that it sounds far more positive than negative right now. You might need to add the problem of being forced to move into the equation since you are currently living in the property. If they choose to sell and you are not interested, you are left with the hassle.

[Dopo]

Something positive... It's that you could get several months of free rent as part of the deal, while you are buying the house.

It's a good deal for both, because from the sellers point of view, they don't want to have the house empty waiting for somebody to rent it and they don't know if those people will take care of the house.

[bwauer]

Yeah I 100% support the previous posts. It is a great time to buy price wise and negotiating wise.....there is that 8000 dollar tax break if you are a 1st time home owner AND you have lived there so you know the quirks...your list had alot more positives than negatives. Ultimately though and here is the hard part it is up to ya'll.

Good Luck!!

[SA08]

Thank you all for the very helpful responses! Also, thanks to those who have DM'd me
To answer ??'s, we are in a sub-division called "Coral Springs" in the "50". I took a look at the countys website & the appraisal went down from 160 to 148K. There are a few foreclosed homes in the neighborhood & a few that have been up for sale most of the time we've been here. I'm really
not sure why? Are they just asking to much for this area? The seem to be lovely homes & the
schools for this are seem to be quite good.

[sapphire]

I agree with everyone who says your pros outweigh your cons. One thing about kids and bedrooms.......at least with mine--I never wanted them stuck in their rooms playing.........wanted them near me, so their rooms have always been just where they sleep, keep their clothes, and hang out very occasionally. My oldest, as he got older, did spend more time in there, but by that time he was just on his computer and didn't need a lot of "play space". Just throwing that out there--it would be nice to have huge bedrooms, but it's really just more for them (or Mom) to keep clean.

Also, I love your neighborhood. It's so nestled in there--I thought it was gated for the longest time. I'm not familiar with Elrod, but my youngest is at Connolly right now, and I could not be happier. The principal is top-notch.

Oh, and I'd rip that carpet out. My allergies improved tons when the carpet was gone. Tile is awesome.

Good luck with your decision!