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I don't think we're low-income, but we don't make a lot of money. We bought a home in a quiet area with a USDA loan last year. It's smallish (it was 1380 sf when we bought it, but we converted most of the garage into a den, so now it's about 1600 sf) and it did not come with stainless steel appliances or granite counters or other upgrades. Our mortgage is substantially less than it would be to rent this same house.
That said, our dryer died the other day and the fridge is making strange noises (but nothing is thawing or warmer than it should be). If we were renting, I could just call the landlord, but alas, I am hanging clothes out (we live in Florida, so it's still sunny and warm) and my husband, who is quite handy, was researching refrigerator repair this morning. He has a four-day weekend coming up, so we'll attempt to get both appliances fixed then. We recently shelled out $400 to have the septic pumped (on a weekend, sigh) and we just replaced a part of the well for around $100. I think it's these types of things that are more a problem for someone who doesn't have a lot of extra money saved, and not actually purchasing the home, as long as you choose a modest home in an area that you can afford. If you aren't good at fixing things yourself, a few appliance malfunctions can really add up!
Not recently. But then again, applying NYC prices to this discussion is a bit disingenuous when the discussion is centered around home ownership in lower cost/lower wage areas don't you think?
Live below your means, save, save, save, buy less house than you can afford and continue to save, save, save, in the long run you'll be far ahead, delayed gratification.
I agree, they can also live there for 10 years sell and take any equity and use it to buy the better home that they could not afford to start out with.
Not recently. But then again, applying NYC prices to this discussion is a bit disingenuous when the discussion is centered around home ownership in lower cost/lower wage areas don't you think?
Same difference, it's an example, common sense approach, calculate/adjust the price of cigarettes in your particular region, it's a good portion of money either way.
Same difference, it's an example, common sense approach, calculate/adjust the price of a pack cigarettes in your particular region, it's a good portion of money either way.
As a smoker I'd agree, but when it's put out as gospel fact and the reason why someone can't afford a house, as was done with an example of it being a down payment, then it needs correcting, which I did.
But are you so anti-smoking that you can't see the bit of intellectual dishonesty there?
Of course, regular loans that allow low down payments then tack on PMI which drives up mortgage payments making the low down payment cost a whole lot of moeny.
OP, glad you asked this. I'm always curious how people do it. I have $36k/year coming in. Was dying to get into my own home this year, and was only looking at houses $80k or less and it's literally impossible unless I have a massive 20% down payment. Though of course you really need much more than that in the bank in order to cover all those pesky maintenance issues that will come up in the first few months. Home ownership is just really out of reach for the average person.
I keep hearing about those suprise maintenance costs. I am four months in an nothing has broken. And if it does then hopefully the home warrenty that the POs threw in will cover it.
I was able to afford a $190k home on 43k per year right out of college. Granted I had virtually no debt and was unmarried with no children... but still... You certainly don't need an amazing job to afford a home in lower cost of living areas of the country.
The problem is people think that they have some right to not only own a home but provide for a family of 4 and take two vacations a year, drive a new car every 5 years, and get a new iPad and smartphone every year on a working class wage. And that's just not feasible.
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If we were renting, I could just call the landlord, but alas, I am hanging clothes out (we live in Florida, so it's still sunny and warm) and my husband, who is quite handy, was researching refrigerator repair this morning. He has a four-day weekend coming up, so we'll attempt to get both appliances fixed then. We recently shelled out $400 to have the septic pumped (on a weekend, sigh) and we just replaced a part of the well for around $100. I think it's these types of things that are more a problem for someone who doesn't have a lot of extra money saved, and not actually purchasing the home, as long as you choose a modest home in an area that you can afford. If you aren't good at fixing things yourself, a few appliance malfunctions can really add up!
