What would you do in my shoes? (Cameron: apartments, rental)

[ctribucher]

Looking for honest, unbiased opinions, please.

DH and I have found ourselves in a troublesome situation. We moved down here in the spring after he found a job. Sadly, the job has not worked out and he's been unemployed for over a month. We are currently living off of my salary, which, of course, was much less than he was making. Fortunately, we have not yet had to tap into our house nest-egg savings account. I hope we won't have to!

To make the situation more stressful, our landlord has told us that he'd like to put the condo we rent from him back on the market. We are in a lease until 9/30.

Our landlord has offered to give us "first crack" at the condo if we decide to buy it. He was supposed to stop by this weekend to talk price and conditions, but he didn't arrive or call. We left him a message yesterday to find out what's going on and now we're just waiting to hear back from him.

One thing he did mention is that he would apply the rent we've been paying as an additional down payment. And, because he is a mortgage broker, he offered to work with us to find a loan. He also said he'd prefer to keep realtors out of the deal. (This worries me a lot; we are first time home buyers and we could benefit from having someone "in our corner".)

We've worked out some pros and cons but still can't act one way or the other until we hear back from the landlord. I'd really like your feedback on our list; what would you do if you were in our shoes?

PROS

• Excellent Location
• Nice Community
• No Need to Move Again
• Could be a good investment (near Glenwood and Cameron Village)
• No limit/cost for parking

CONS

• Not a single family home (what we really want, even if it is a small one) - we are tired of condo living
• One highly annoying neighbor
• Unit Needs Updating (but is livable)
• High HOA fees
• No storage unit/basement/attic (may need to rent one)
• Lack of young people in our community (no offense intended, but we'd like to make friends with people our own age, and there are a lot of older folks here. Really not trying to be rude, just want to make some friends with people around our age!)
• No yard/garden/balcony/outside space
• And the biggest one of all - DH out of work

Yes, the cons list outweighs the pros list. But, taking this into consideration, would you still want to buy the condo? Or would you move again into another apartment until DH's job situation improves so we can buy ourselves the single-family home we really want?

TIA for all replies!

[sundaze]

In your shoes, I would not buy. Whatever the pros and cons of your condominium, the bottom line is your husband does not have a job. He might find a good job someplace else. You don't want to limit your options by buying a place which isn't really what you want anyway. Keep your options open, try to get a short-term lease on your next apartments.
In addition, when you do decide to buy a house, you will want to look at all your various options and make a choice. You would never choose a place with so many "cons".
This applies to financing also, you want to check with different lenders yourself in order to get the best rate. If you have been following the news, you know there is a big crisis is sub-prime loans and you really need to find out where you stand by talking yourself to banks and learning your qualifications.
Whatever you end up doing, please wait until your husband gets a job.

[nothruaccess]

Personally if I were in your shoes, I would pass on the condo deal and hold out for something better. Just keep concentrating on the job hunt and look for a place to rent in the meantime.

If you're living off of one salary and having a hard time with it, now is not the time to buy a place. Not only that, but the condo (based on your list) isn't what you want. You'll get out of this tough spot and when you do, you can continue with your plan to purchase a single family home. Sure you're a first time home buyer and looking for a break or someone to help you with your first purchase, but there are so many options for first time home buyers that just because this one came up now, doesn't mean another, better opportunity won't come up later.

If you buy this condo you'd probably be in it for one or two years at the least. It sounds like between annoying neighbors and other aspects of condo living that you really wouldn't be that happy there. And that's a big financial responsibility to have when it's really not what you even want.
My husband and I thought we would never be able to find a house in the Bay Area. We were looking for months and had decided to hold off when we were offered an amazing opportunity. Single family home, realtor agreed to just do contracts for 1%, sellers were ready to move immediately, yadda yadda yadda. We lived in it for two years and now we're ready to move on to NC.

This tough time will pass, just keep looking for more opportunities. I'm a firm believer in everything happens for a reason but you do need to make sure that you're happy with where you land.

[johnrex62]

Unless the job market there is significantly juicy, it is likely that buying now would just impose another restriction on his job hunt.

Unless the pros greatly outweighed the cons, I would not buy.

[findingmesomeday]

Putting it on the market and actually selling it are two different things. Assuming he wants to put it back on the market, will he reduce your rent in return for the inconvenience of keeping it clean, leaving for showings, etc? That could help with the budget issues.

If worse comes to worst, you might have to move to another apt/condo but I'd take that over buying someplace that you're not completely jazzed about.

We had to sell our house here in MA and move into a rental because we're just not ready to go down to NC right now (waiting on what I hope will be a job offer soon...). So we moved about a month ago, potentially will move again in 3-4 months and even then, we're talking about renting for about a year to get our bearings since every time we've relo'd, we bought right away and wished we'd taken our time. Besides we're not in a position financially right now, unfortunately, to buy.

And we have 3 kids!

[saturnfan]

The condo doesn't sound like it's what you really want, so why buy it.

Plenty of apts to rent till you're sure what you really want to do.

Condos with a high number of non-resident owners are a bad purchase.

[MrsSteel]

I agree with the previous posters. They offer very wise advice.

From the tone of your post, it sounds like you honestly don't want to buy this place - as if you're only considering it because you are weary and frightened by your current situation. I know things are hard now, but I think buying this place will just complicate matters for you. Don't settle & don't give up hope yet. Moving to a new apartment may be a headache, but purchasing a home is an even bigger one. The offer to buy this condo feels like a distraction. Don't let it cloud your vision of what you really want. Good luck!

[ferrickhead28]

To me, it would sound like you would purchase the condo out of desperation, having such a short notice to even decide on what you want to do. I personally, see your landlord as a bit shady. I would definately pass.

Apartment living is not a bad idea. This will give your husband the chance to get a better job and more time for you to scope out the area.

I dont know alot of re-selling condos but I havent heard anything positive about it from people who I do know that own one.

Definately pass. Definately.

[KellyCrash]

I think a lot depends on some things that are unanswered here. Are you determined to make a home here in NC and for your husband to find a job here? Would you move for another job?

I probably wouldn't buy in your shoes, but this seems to be a good opportunity. Having the owner apply your rent to a down payment is awesome. I would research to see what other condos in your complex are selling for and have sold for. When your landlord gets back to you with a price you want to be sure it's a fair one. I would talk with a lender to see how much of a mortgage you would qualify for on your income alone. Talk to them about how much a payment would be. Don't forget about the condo fees for maintence, etc. that are usually paid monthly to the condo assoc.

I wouldn't be alarmed that the landlord wants to keep realtors out of the equation. If you don't involve a realtor then that means the seller can keep the price lower and avoid the hassle of having to pay a realtor. You can hire an attorney for a few hundred dollars to get legal advice & definitely get an inspection prior to buying.

Good luck with whatever you decide. It does seem like condo living isn't for you, but it's a really good opportunity to rent to own. If you can't afford it tho then I wouldn't stretch yourself thin to do it.

[lamishra]

I would avoid buying if you can't afford it on one salary only and it doesn't actually sound like the condo is a good fit for you anyway. We've "been there, done that" and it's a highly stressful situation. Good luck.