Purchasing a home as a single woman (tenant, plumber, foreclosures)

[Amelie90]

I'm a 30ish single woman and I'm thinking that it may be time for me to purchase a home. I used to think that maybe I should wait until I get married and purchase a home with my husband, but I can't guarantee that will ever happen, so maybe I should just go ahead and do it by myself. I have a stable career, good credit, and no significant debt.

I'm just wondering at what age did other single women decide to purchase homes and what were your primary reasons for doing so?

My thought process is as follows:

Pros of Buying:
-Mortgage payment will probably be similar or even less than my current rent payment
-I'd be a homeowner, building equity, etc.
-The house I'd buy would be larger and nicer than my current rental (although my rental is really nice and sufficiently meets my needs)
-Houses that I like are selling for low prices and I could probably get a good deal

Cons of Buying:
-Potentially having to use a huge chunk of my savings for downpayment, closing costs, etc.
-Potentially having to deal with a long, drawn out, annoying homebuying process (foreclosures/short sales)
-Being responsible for all maintenance issues that may arise
-Not looking forward to moving all my stuff into a new place and getting ripped off by the movers again or getting my rental in squeaky clean condition for a new tenant, paying for carpet cleaning, etc.
-If I do meet someone and get married, I'll probably have to sell my house because I'm not buying something that would be ideal for children

At the moment, I'm shopping around for mortgage loans to see how much I can get pre-approved for. Depending on how that goes, I'll contact a real estate agent and start actually visiting homes. So far I've only looked at homes for sale online, so it's not like I'm ready to buy something immediately. I'm just starting to think about it more seriously.

[Dale Cooper]

Well, I was 28 when I bought my first house, but that was 40 years ago. Back then, it was highly unusual for a single woman to buy a home and, in fact, was just becoming illegal to discriminate based on gender.

Just remember that every single thing will be your responsibility, including tax and insurance. You will be the manager and maintenance person. And you will pay for everything. The actual mortgage payment is only about half of what homeownership will cost you.

[ImCurlybelle]

Congrats to you !! That's a huge accomplishment

[Ohiogirl81]

I was 32 when I bought my first house; that was 20 years ago (yipe!). I was tired of my stupid neighbors and my annoying landlord (or vice versa), and my dad thought it would be a good way for me as a single woman to build wealth, and I wanted to paint and garden without asking permission and without praying that the little brat downstairs wouldn't pull up all my vegetable plants.

We'll take your cons one at a time:
-- Yes, you'll have to use your savings for a down payment; that money will no longer be liquid. If that concerns you, wait until you've saved up a little more money so you'll have some cushion.

-- The home buying process isn't necessarily long or annoying. You'll probably be annoyed only for about a week or so, unless waiting annoys you. And once it's done, it's done.

-- Yes, you've gotta mow the lawn and call the plumber, but it's not a constant thing

-- You'd have to do the moving mess no matter where you moved; and just think! No security deposit when you own your own place!

-- You'll cross that "this house isn't ideal for kids" bridge when you come to it. Anything is good enough for kids temporarily, and no house is ideal anyway.

The only reason not to buy a house is if you don't want to. If you want to, all this other stuff can be dealt with.

[Poltracker]

I was in my mid 30's not too many years ago when I bought my house (first). Went through all the thoughts you are expressing, but it was well worth it. I had hobbies I could not fully participate in at an apartment or condo (I am a rock collector/lapidary) and I like gardening too. I performed most of my own basic maintenance but made sure that my budget was such that I could put back money for maintenance I could not perform myself.

[NinaN]

I bought my first home when I was single. The biggest issue for me was that I bought a 1920s house and it required a lot of maintenance/repair that I couldn't do myself. I hire people for maintenance and hired contractors to do improvements - and I didn't always make the best choices in hiring. But it was very satisfying to buy my own house on my own.

[Umbria]

I bought my first house as a single woman when I was 26 - never regretted it.

Originally Posted by NinaN

I bought my first home when I was single. The biggest issue for me was that I bought a 1920s house and it required a lot of maintenance/repair that I couldn't do myself. I hire people for maintenance and hired contractors to do improvements - and I didn't always make the best choices in hiring. But it was very satisfying to buy my own house on my own.

This is the hardest part - once you find a good handyman, etc... it's like winning the lottery. Until then, find a wedding ring to wear for those occasions when you are dealing with hiring people to help - amazing how different and how much easier it is when they think there might be a big bruiser they may have to answer to. Works when dealing with car repairs too.

[Amelie90]

Thanks for the responses so far! Since I'm really not in a rush to purchase, I don't think I'll buy anything unless I find something that I REALLY like for a great deal.

[Avalon08]

Back when I was in the my 30's, it was a huge accomplishment and goal for people to buy their own homes. Investing in home ownership was usually always a good investment. Nowadays, it's much riskier. Unless you are planning on buying a house and staying put for the long-haul, you may not build any equity and then what if your situation changes and you want to move? I bought a house two years ago and would lose a ton of money if I sold it now (sale prices have dropped, plus I had to put a lot of money into renovating it, plus I'd have to pay sales commission and closing costs). I fully intended on staying here forever when I bought, but my circumstances have changed. Since you're young and there is no compelling reason for you to buy a home right now, you might want to hold off. Just my .02.

[househunting523]

I just turned 27 and am trying to buy my first home by myself. Maintenance scares me and I'm also worried about the housing market dropping further. But I feel it's time, I'm buying a fixer upper and taking care of the expensive stuff and doing some upgrades so hopefully that will improve my resale value and I won't have any big ticket items to replace/repair for a while. We aren't at the bottom of the market are we?