Need a little more advice as we start our house hunt... (San Diego: short sales, 2014) - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

~JenLei~ · 05-14-2012, 12:15 PM

I got some great advice a few mos ago, and just hoping to get a little more to go on as my hubby comes back from deployment and we're about to start our house hunting full force.

So the quick backround is we are military, I"m an RN. VA loan no down, looking at the $350k range in Chula Vista (Otay Ranch/Eastlake area). Very likely we are staying stationed in San Diego... BUT always the possibility we could get a transfer in 2014. Otherwise we are here for the long run. Daughter is elementary age, and we have a baby on the way.

I think we established before, short sale is not a good idea. Harder with a VA loan and may take longer and we are looking to close quickly and move the heck out of the apts we are at now.. An agent told me it probably won't take long and we would encounter less competition with short sale... I don't believe her, would you? There are some good deals out there but we don't want to sit on a lot of time here..

Detached house with a yard (we would prefer some outdoor space, at least a patch of grass for our dog!). Or townhome? Some do have small or decent sized yards. Townhome just in case we have to transfer away for a couple of yrs, and it would be easier to rent out?

We'd prefer existing sale.. but are drawn towards less hassle, move in readiness with a newly built home. We are not handy and don't have a budget for renos... Thoughts?

Thanks again for the advice!!

earlyretirement · 05-14-2012, 01:38 PM

Wow, they are giving VA loans with 0% down? I knew FHA was as little as 3.5% but I didn't realize they were still doing 0% down payment loans.

Personally, if there is a chance you might get transferred as soon as 2014, I'd probably just wait it out and rent for 2 more years. People always believe in the notion that they can be forced into becoming a landlord if they have to suddenly leave but it's not so easy and not a desirable situation most of the times.

But it sounds like with a baby coming you are antsy to buy something. Definitely I'd stay away from short sales which can take forever.

~JenLei~ · 05-14-2012, 02:01 PM

I think it's only VA that has 0 down now.

I know renting it out if we had to move would not be the best situation.. we know a lot of military families that have done it successfully, and some who have not. We've been renting for 11 years all over the place and really are just wanting to settle down now, because we know SD is where we want to be for the long run. To have something that is finally ours is what we've been dreaming of forever, it feels like! Honestly if I could find a decent townhome or house rental, I would be ok with it... but my husband is really looking to own.

No short sales, got it! Thank you

kathygrl · 05-14-2012, 03:34 PM

Definitely agree with Early Retirement regarding short sales....they can drag on forever and during the time you spend waiting to hear if the bank will accept your offer you could very likely be missing out on another home that comes on the market. VA is the way to go as far as your loan, the rates are extremely low right now. If you are thinking about renting it out down the road, in the case that you get transferred, make sure that rentals are allowed in the complex.....some places do not allow it. I am a Realtor so feel free to PM me with other questions you may have! Good luck in your search!

earlyretirement · 05-15-2012, 03:04 AM

Ah, I think I remember one of your old posts. Weren't you the one where your dad was in the mortgage business and he was advising you to keep renting? Or am I confusing you with someone else?

Anyway, I guess I didn't realize at the time you had $0 to put down payment. Honestly and I truly believe this.... if you don't have at least 10% to 15%+ to put a down payment on a house you probably can't truly afford to buy or shouldn't be unless you have some major savings, and a hefty emergency fund. We need to get back to a standard of people putting down decent % down payment before they should buy. I don't think FHA and VA should be excluded from those rational levels. I know it's often tough in an "I want it now society" but this is partly what got us in this mess of people putting $0 down and taking on too much leverage. (not saying this is necessarily the case in your personal situation).

Judging by your post above it doesn't sound like you have any thing significant? Do you have any money to put towards the down payment? Emergency funds? You already mentioned you aren't handy around the house and have no renovation funds.

I think I understand why your father advised you to continue renting under your current situation if you have $0 to put down and getting a 100% mortgage. I'd probably advise to bite the bullet and rent a few more years and bank up some more savings.

Pacific Beach 2121 · 05-15-2012, 04:38 AM

". To have something that is finally ours is what we've been dreaming of forever, it feels like! Honestly if I could find a decent townhome or house rental, I would be ok with it... but my husband is really looking to own."

Young Lady unless you pay in cash you don't own anything......the bank is the owner and you are renting from them.
The great American Dream and ownership thru the mortgage is just illusion.

Good Luck

doublerock · 05-15-2012, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pacific Beach 2121

"
Young Lady unless you pay in cash you don't own anything......the bank is the owner and you are renting from them.
The great American Dream and ownership thru the mortgage is just illusion.Good Luck

I don't agree. My parents paid a mortgage for many years and they now own their home which gives them a great sense of security as they enter their golden years. When you pay rent, you are putting money into someone else's pocket with no hope of ever owning, gaining equity or setting up a nest egg in the form of real property.

~JenLei~ · 05-15-2012, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by earlyretirement

Ah, I think I remember one of your old posts. Weren't you the one where your dad was in the mortgage business and he was advising you to keep renting? Or am I confusing you with someone else?

Anyway, I guess I didn't realize at the time you had $0 to put down payment. Honestly and I truly believe this.... if you don't have at least 10% to 15%+ to put a down payment on a house you probably can't truly afford to buy or shouldn't be unless you have some major savings, and a hefty emergency fund. We need to get back to a standard of people putting down decent % down payment before they should buy. I don't think FHA and VA should be excluded from those rational levels. I know it's often tough in an "I want it now society" but this is partly what got us in this mess of people putting $0 down and taking on too much leverage. (not saying this is necessarily the case in your personal situation).

Judging by your post above it doesn't sound like you have any thing significant? Do you have any money to put towards the down payment? Emergency funds? You already mentioned you aren't handy around the house and have no renovation funds.

I think I understand why your father advised you to continue renting under your current situation if you have $0 to put down and getting a 100% mortgage. I'd probably advise to bite the bullet and rent a few more years and bank up some more savings.

Hi earlyretirement, yes that is me. We do have a good amount of savings and adequate emergency fund. Not money I would want to spend on a renovation if I was to buy a house that needed to be fixed up, I guess I just meant that a move-in ready home would be ideal not a fixer upper. I recently changed careers to be an RN 2yrs ago so in the last couple of years we have been able to put more into savings/emergency, and a lot of what I earn I am putting into savings once bills are paid. But 2years it's not a huge amount, no. So no we don't have a big enough chunk to put a 10-15% down payment. I would be ok to rent but again would really rather not... I guess I am just tired of doling out a good chunk of money for renting space that isn't mine and will never be mine.

My dad had some good advice on some things, yes. But his reasoning mostly was that he thinks the market is not at the bottom and he thinks I should wait until it goes lower or otherwise renting for long term. I think most everyone had agreed that it is pretty low and a good time to buy. He hadn't even talked about putting a down payment and said he even liked the VA 0% down. Basically he either wanted me to keep renting indefinitely or until the market was at the very bottom. He said that he wishes he and my mom had rented even though they have had their home for 25 years now...which makes no sense to me. He doesn't say it, but I think his thinking stems from quitting a job he had for 20 years and making a bad investment using his retirement to start a business that didn't go well (long story, but to try to employ my POS brother). So I guess I was feeling that he was coming from a good place for advice but also regretful place. I don't agree with renting forever.. Yes I could do it for a couple of more years though.

[Young Lady unless you pay in cash you don't own anything......the bank is the owner and you are renting from them.
The great American Dream and ownership thru the mortgage is just illusion.]

Ok I get that... But then again I don't know anyone who has a house right now that isn't paying off a mortgage or has paid in cash...including my own parents who've had their home for 25+ years. So we are all living an illusion?? I mean yes it may take 30 years or so but eventually we would own it, wouldn't we?? Or is renting for 30 years a good idea then?

So I should pay rent for another, say, 2 years, which would come out to almost $50,000 in that time.. I guess I'm just not happy with the idea of throwing away that much money even if I am putting into savings. We would be paying less in a monthly mortgage than we would in rent right now.

Clevelandgal · 05-15-2012, 09:43 AM

If you may move in 2 years, what would you do with the house? If you sell I assure you will lose money. The realtor fees will exceed any projected appreciation. If you haved 0 down you may even owe money when you sell. If you plan on renting out be prepared for all kinds of hassle and expense, not to mention you might not qualify for a mortgage in your new location. So you will be renting again....

~JenLei~ · 05-15-2012, 09:51 AM

If we move in 2 years it is temporary. it would only be because my DH would get stationed somewhere else for about 3 years, so we would be back. For those 3 years we would rent it out, though I agree it would be a hassle. We wouldn't be buying somewhere else...once we buy here we would stay here because DH would be close to retirement by then (he can retire from the military at 41). If renting it out didn't happen then most likely I would stay here with the kids while hubby was stationed elsewhere for a few years.. there are a lot of military that do that. Not ideal and I would rather not if we could rent it out, but it is an option. If we did have to leave the house and get stationed elsewhere we would live on base housing most likely so not paying rent.