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I am a 28 year old male still living at home and I have been trying to save money on my own for the last 5 years, but I still don't have enough for even a down payment on a condo. I do not want to get an apartment, I would like a condo or small house. How much do I need saved up to get a condo these days?
In addition to the absolute minimum down payment...
there will still be "closing costs" to pay...
then there are the moving expenses and furniture that no one remembers...
and the money needed to fix the things that make the purchase amount low...
and then the "prudent reserve" for the inevitable repairs you don't know about.
I can't imagine anything worth owning...
where that doesn't all add up to at least $10,000; probably far closer to $20-30,000.
I would not buy any real estate without having the following saved:
1. 10% down MINIMUM, plus closing costs
2. 6 month emergency fund saved so you can continue to pay for house, car, insurance, food, debt payments, & other "necessities" if you lose your job
3. $2-10k for things you'll need to buy/do after moving into your new place-> furniture, appliances, patio furniture or a grill, redo bathroom or other renovations.
How much is all of this? Well, if you make $40k a year and are trying to buy a $120k home, you'd probably need to save the following:
-$15k for down payment and closing costs
-$12k for 6-month emergency fund
-$5k est for repairs & furniture
= $32k needed to save
If you are tired of apartments and don't have enough saved yet, why not rent a condo or house?
You should talk with a real estate agent who has experience with first time buyers. Ask him/her to connect you with a lender who will work with you to get this done. You may be able to get loans with only 3.5% down or even 0% down. It's better to have a larger downpayment but sometimes it makes sense to put down as little as possible. Your agent and lender will see what you qualify for in terms of a loan amount, a loan product, and your cash flow, and will assist you with a rent vs buy analysis. Not all agents or lenders are good (or willing) to do this so you may have to call around, ask questions, ask friends or business acquaintences for a name of an agent who did a good job for them. I guarantee you, though, that you'll be happy that you found the right agent once all is done.
You should talk with a real estate agent who has experience with first time buyers. Ask him/her to connect you with a lender who will work with you to get this done. You may be able to get loans with only 3.5% down or even 0% down. It's better to have a larger downpayment but sometimes it makes sense to put down as little as possible. Your agent and lender will see what you qualify for in terms of a loan amount, a loan product, and your cash flow, and will assist you with a rent vs buy analysis. Not all agents or lenders are good (or willing) to do this so you may have to call around, ask questions, ask friends or business acquaintences for a name of an agent who did a good job for them. I guarantee you, though, that you'll be happy that you found the right agent once all is done.
Is there any good website online where I can find and ask a real estate questions about first time homebuying for a condo or house? It would be nice to work with someone along the way and set up a nice plan and goals with me. I just need a better idea of the road to get to where I want to. thank you
Curious, given you do not want an apartment, why the interest in a condo?
I'm not the OP, and his reasons might be different given that he's 28 and I'm 52, but living in a condo is not the same as an apartment. Mainly, it's YOUR place and you can paint the walls whatever colors you want (I sacrificed my security on my last rental for that one, but it was worth not raising my kid in a home with morgue-white walls!), you can usually have pets, and rentals that allow pets are few and far between (lucked out with that on my last rental, a house owned owned by a vet) and with a condo, someone else mows the lawn and takes care of snow removal. I had to do that myself with the house rental--worked it out that the guy next door cut the lawn in exchange for me letting him store stuff in my garage, but I don't want to have to shovel out a driveway/sidewalk ever again if I can help it.
Rare is the landlord who steps up and fixes things in a timely manner--I've had to buy space heaters in the past when the house heat didn't work and the landlord was out of town for weeks and his maintenance guy ignored the phone calls. If something doesn't work in my condo, I make the call and get it fixed and get it fixed right.
Condos aren't for everyone, but they do work for some of us. Plus, most houses would be too big for me. I looked at a few small houses when shopping for my condo. If you don't need all that space, it's a waste of time to clean it and a waste of money to heat and cool it.
I'm not the OP, and his reasons might be different given that he's 28 and I'm 52, but living in a condo is not the same as an apartment. Mainly, it's YOUR place and you can paint the walls whatever colors you want (I sacrificed my security on my last rental for that one, but it was worth not raising my kid in a home with morgue-white walls!), you can usually have pets, and rentals that allow pets are few and far between (lucked out with that on my last rental, a house owned owned by a vet) and with a condo, someone else mows the lawn and takes care of snow removal. I had to do that myself with the house rental--worked it out that the guy next door cut the lawn in exchange for me letting him store stuff in my garage, but I don't want to have to shovel out a driveway/sidewalk ever again if I can help it.
Rare is the landlord who steps up and fixes things in a timely manner--I've had to buy space heaters in the past when the house heat didn't work and the landlord was out of town for weeks and his maintenance guy ignored the phone calls. If something doesn't work in my condo, I make the call and get it fixed and get it fixed right.
Condos aren't for everyone, but they do work for some of us. Plus, most houses would be too big for me. I looked at a few small houses when shopping for my condo. If you don't need all that space, it's a waste of time to clean it and a waste of money to heat and cool it.
I like your post. The only thing I don't like about condos is that they cost the same as a house when it comes to buying one. The main reason I am always told for that is the Amenitites. IMO that's baloney when there's no pool, club house, tennis court. Maintenance fees should cover what I am told is the amenities and that would be the Landscape, lawnmowing, snow removal, painting/maintaning common areas. If you like apartment living and know to watch out for scams it can be good move but beware the price it shouldn't cost as much as a house.
Does First Homebuyers reward apply to condos? Or just homes?
If you are asking about the Federal first time buyer $8,000 tax credit, that is no longer available. There may be local state/city programs for first time buyers that you can check into.
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