Rapid City/Black Hills Jobs (condo, house, construction jobs)

[blackhillsdreams]

Originally Posted by luv_it_here

As for housing - first, I don't carry debt at all, so you can add the $1500 back into my monthly debt to income ratio.

I agree with you for the most part about the way you planned your move there, but regarding the $1500 per month, that wasn't all debt, in fact only $500 of it was, the other $1000 was simply gas, groceries, electric bills, phone, etc...

Back up plans are great if you can get them, but aren't always easy to come by. Also, I never said you'd want or need a $300,000 house, the entire example with a $50K income showed that you wouldn't be eligible for any mortgage on any house at all. I'm really not trying to be negative here, just realistic.

I desperately want to move to the black hills and I have always known it would not be an easy task. I had several thousand dollars saved up and could have come out this summer but I didn't have a back up plan or any employment opportunities. I didn't want to get myself in too deep and end up with a bad feeling about the hills. I just couldn't bare it.

So, my plan is to pay down or off most of my debts, save some money, and then try to move there sometime down the road. It's the only option I see for me at the moment.

[luv_it_here]

Originally Posted by blackhillsdreams

I agree with you for the most part about the way you planned your move there, but regarding the $1500 per month, that wasn't all debt, in fact only $500 of it was, the other $1000 was simply gas, groceries, electric bills, phone, etc...

Back up plans are great if you can get them, but aren't always easy to come by. Also, I never said you'd want or need a $300,000 house, the entire example with a $50K income showed that you wouldn't be eligible for any mortgage on any house at all. I'm really not trying to be negative here, just realistic.

I desperately want to move to the black hills and I have always known it would not be an easy task. I had several thousand dollars saved up and could have come out this summer but I didn't have a back up plan or any employment opportunities. I didn't want to get myself in too deep and end up with a bad feeling about the hills. I just couldn't bare it.

So, my plan is to pay down or off most of my debts, save some money, and then try to move there sometime down the road. It's the only option I see for me at the moment.

That's a great plan. You have to start somewhere, and if you already have an end goal in sight (moving here) then you always have something to measure against, to see how far you've come. I would never suggest anyone make a large adjustment in their life, unless they were very sure that they recognized ALL the possible outcomes, not just the one they are hoping for.

As you keep paying off debt, and saving up money, don't give up hope. Keep researching up here, and learning, and you'll be even more prepared to settle in and ENJOY yourself once you get here!

[Jammie]

Luv it here, I'm so glad that you found your spot in the Hills along with good employment and that you are very happy here. You sound like us~credit cards are scary so they only come out at vacation time because that's the only way to book things.

Even though housing is expensive in some areas, it's still basically very cheap to live here compared to so many areas of the country. I was just reading in a couple other state forums and was in shock at what they pay for state income tax. It really isn't that trivial of a thing. Then they have emission tests on their cars to pay for. Their license plates and driver's licenses are much higher then ours. Then you have areas of the country where sales tax is 9%. Still others tax personal property such as cars, campers, etc. We really are fortunate in so many ways.

BH, I'm so sorry that the landlord was a jerk to you. Just chalk it up to the fact that some people like to kick you when you're down. WELL, that guy will get tired of doing that because there will be MANY people in the same situation who will be looking for apartments or houses to rent. Who knows? He may be in a similar situation some day. ( I KNOW, I should say, "but I hope not", but that's just not my mood today.)

It just sounds like so many people are so depressed about the housing situation because they've always thought that house ownership was the American Dream. It's probably more of a marketing phrase then anything. And somehow they called it "HOME" ownership. Yet there are so many broken homes so I'll stick with calling it 'house ownership."

When I was growing up, many people bought the houses their Grandparents lived in. Many of us lived in big old farmhouses. Houses were just basic structures~no AC~no furnace~no washer/dryers, etc. The few people who built new houses were doctors, dentists, attorneys, etc. We common people just bought them as hand me downs 30 years later. We didn't mock those "cookie cutter houses" because we just bought what was affordable.

I actually have cousins who bought my Grandparent's house. My Grandparents bought it from a congregation that was joining another church. It had been a Baptist Church at one time and my Grandparents renovated it. Many people bought old school houses and renovated them. That was ideal since it generally wasn't extremely far from a town and they had an acre of land with it and were as happy as could be. They didn't contract the renovations~they DID the renovations.

I was recently reading an article that talked about how the square footage of houses has changed throughout time. Families have grown smaller in number and houses have grown dramatically in size. Everyone wants the stainless steel sinks and all the extra frills. It hasn't been that many years ago that farmhouses were nothing special and were just thrown in when people bought their farms. Houses in town were just basic houses and had a huge garden spot. Families had one car back then. Things were just SO different yet many people struggled just to have very basic shelter.

It doesn't seem like there's ever been a time in history where people didn't struggle just for survival for themselves and their families. It also seems like each generation feels they're the only ones who have to struggle and the world is going down the drain. I personally went through that about 35 years ago. Well, and 30 years ago and 25 years ago, etc. I guess what I'm saying is that it's never been easy and it's just all part of life. Kind of a bummer, but things always work out anyway.

[blackhillsdreams]

yep, Things always work out! Thanks everybody for the positive thoughts. My chin is up, and this place where I'm proud to chat with people I've never met but consider friends is always a bright spot in my day.

[DeadwoodJ]

I beg to differ on the Mortgage calculator that you posted blackhills......My wife and I between us have about 41k in combined income a year and we would be able to qualify for a South Dakota First Time Homebuyers loan of about $200,000....granted its a $1700 monthly payment which I would NOT be able to afford but we can probably comfortably afford $1000 a month which translates into about $130,000-$140,000 house in Sioux Falls, thats a pretty decent house around here even some new ones, we have low debt payments as well....so If we can afford that on $41k a year, $50k would more probably translate into $170,000 or so give or take....I'm not trying to say this mean but just informing .......

[blackhillsdreams]

Originally Posted by DeadwoodJ

I beg to differ on the Mortgage calculator that you posted blackhills......My wife and I between us have about 41k in combined income a year and we would be able to qualify for a South Dakota First Time Homebuyers loan of about $200,000....granted its a $1700 monthly payment which I would NOT be able to afford but we can probably comfortably afford $1000 a month which translates into about $130,000-$140,000 house in Sioux Falls, thats a pretty decent house around here even some new ones, we have low debt payments as well....so If we can afford that on $41k a year, $50k would more probably translate into $170,000 or so give or take....I'm not trying to say this mean but just informing .......

No Problem. I pulled that information off of a web mortgage calculator. What you are saying is probably true, but the calculator is probably accurate depending on the situation, size of down payment, credit rating and so forth.

As bad as the housing market is and even worse, the foreclosure rate, credit will be tighter and standards to get approved are bound to go up. Lenders won't be willing to risk another meltdown like this and will want to put all of the risk on the buyers before they'll loan anything in the future. That means either spotless credit with strong income, huge down payments, or other ways to get an approval.

[Jammie]

BH, keep in mind that your entire area is in a depressed state right now. There are many foreclosures and getting a loan there could be tough. The prices had skyrocketed and loans were easy to come by. They threw out so many things that are important~downpayment~went to adjustable interest rates, etc.

I'm not sure that ever happened here. As far as I know, we've always had to put down a good percentage in order to buy a house. I believe that most people around here have always gone with fixed rates. Homeowners insurance here is nothing compared to the cost in Fla. Our taxes are very low compared to yours. Our percentage is high, but a 300,000 house in Fla. is probably evaluated at less then half that here. We also have a 30% cut in taxes where you have the homestead exemption.

You sound like you're doing so well under the circumstances. It's got to be rough so you just need to come and chat with us more often.

I do a lot of reading on here and so often people are saying that the whole country is in a mess and it's just awful all over. That's simply not true. Several parts of the country have an unemployment rate that is practically non-existent and there are still affordable houses in the country. It's just so hard to see when your own area is suffering.

[blackhillsdreams]

Originally Posted by Jammie

You sound like you're doing so well under the circumstances. It's got to be rough so you just need to come and chat with us more often.

Thanks Jammie! I'm doing pretty good. it's been beyond stressful here in Florida. I'm just hoping my short sale will be approved quickly. We got two offers on the house already and both have been submitted to the bank. Taxes here have gone down, insurance too. My taxes last year were almost $1800, and Insurance was almost $800. This year my renewals just came in at $1200 and $490, so $1690 for both. That's pretty good but there just aren't any jobs in this town for me so I have to let it go.

At least I didn't just walk away from the house like so many other people are doing. I've kept in touch with the mortgage company, listed the house for short sale as they directed, and have kept the place spotless. MANY people came to look at it and every single one said they were impressed with the way we kept the house and the work we did to it. I've put $30,000 in upgrades in it over the past year and a half. it will be a great house for someone.

[Jammie]

Wow, your taxes and insurance were cheap compared to a lot of people down there. When I read that someone's taxes are 10,000 and their insurance is the same, I just can't help but wonder how in the world they survive. I have a niece who pays 5,000 a year in taxes and I thought that was extremely high. BUT she only lives a couple blocks from the ocean so that's what probably makes the difference for housing cost and insurance.

[DeadwoodJ]

I just read an article on Yahoo about the cost of Insurance and Taxes in Florida, its talking about the chance of a 'big' hurricane blasting a major Florida city.

Could Florida Survive the Big One? - Yahoo! News (broken link)

Again, politicians only care about getting reelected and skirt the important issues like hurricane protection in favor of lower insurance rates, etc.....