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Hi;
I am retired, currently living with family. I want to have a place of my own, but am on a limited income, which will be mainly SS retirement.
I have enough for a down payment of around $50K, and figuring on what my SS benefit will be, I figure I may be able to afford a home costing around $100K if I put 50% down and get a 20 year mortgage.
I currently live in northern NJ, but would be looking to move out of state, as it is far too expensive to live here.
I think I would like VT, NH, ME, or northern NY. At least that's my gut feeling right now.
Of course, with the pandemic, I have put all plans on hold, but at the same time delaying the start of SS benefits will help me in the long run (with higher monthly benefits).
So, my question is whether or not I can afford a small home - perhaps a manufactured home - somewhere in the northeast.
I would even consider a 'mobile home' but do not want to live in a 'trailer park'. I hope I have not offended anyone by saying this, but I really would like to own the property my home is on. Otherwise I might as well rent an apartment.
Hi;
I am retired, currently living with family. I want to have a place of my own, but am on a limited income, which will be mainly SS retirement.
I have enough for a down payment of around $50K, and figuring on what my SS benefit will be, I figure I may be able to afford a home costing around $100K if I put 50% down and get a 20 year mortgage.
I currently live in northern NJ, but would be looking to move out of state, as it is far too expensive to live here.
I think I would like VT, NH, ME, or northern NY. At least that's my gut feeling right now.
Of course, with the pandemic, I have put all plans on hold, but at the same time delaying the start of SS benefits will help me in the long run (with higher monthly benefits).
So, my question is whether or not I can afford a small home - perhaps a manufactured home - somewhere in the northeast.
I would even consider a 'mobile home' but do not want to live in a 'trailer park'. I hope I have not offended anyone by saying this, but I really would like to own the property my home is on. Otherwise I might as well rent an apartment.
Thanks for your input
Runner2014
I’m sure NY state has plenty of properties in your price range.
It might be very difficult for you to find one in the market because there are usually people who will outbid you.
I would recommend you look into those affordable lottery housing, and see if you can land one of those. Not too familiar with the whole process, but see if that works for you.
If not, then I would suggest you to rent for now, and keep looking while you are renting an apartment.
Before we moved our search area to TN, we had looked at many homes in upstate NY, all $100K or less. 3 times, we put in our bid on a home and, thankfully, were outbid or the inspection came back with too many big items we just didn't want to deal with. I say thankfully because my health took a turn and living in snow country, out in the country, not in town, would not work for us. So, we set our sights on a state that would not tax income - TN is one of them.
I could find you a really nice home in a small town for under $100K easily. In fact, there are 3 such homes for sale down the street from us (we are 4 miles out of town). Since you're not looking for a job, the lack of job opportunities isn't an issue. The big issue is transportation - 2 hours from airport in Memphis and 3 from Nashville. Other than that, we've been happy here.
I purchased a home last year in South Jersey for $100k really only needed cosmetics. I made an off market offer though and it was appraised a few months later at $140,000. Maybe you could try doing what real estate wholesalers do, send out some flyers, knock on some doors. Let people know you'd like to buy their home, you can save them on time and realtor fees. Maybe you get a $125k home for $100k.
If you're willing to move out of NJ you should have no problem. Maybe you could even score a duplex next to a ski mountain and rent the other side out a few months out of the year on Airbnb.
I like the idea of a "tiny home" that you can buy for $40k or less, and then find a piece of property to put it on, in situations where real estate prices are out of your price range.
I like the idea of a "tiny home" that you can buy for $40k or less, and then find a piece of property to put it on, in situations where real estate prices are out of your price range.
Most research I've done this seems to be easier said then done and you're just better off in the long run using the $40k as a down payment on an actual home that appreciates in value.
Most research I've done this seems to be easier said then done and you're just better off in the long run using the $40k as a down payment on an actual home that appreciates in value.
That's probably true. I admit the idea of a small home that's roughly the price of a car seems really appealing at times...but reality probably does not match the fantasy.
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