For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

[C the Lyte]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

My wife and I bought our house in 2008. And I vividly remember how I felt...


I am absolutely terrified of money and spending money, so I was a wreck when we went through the whole process. But, afterwards, it isn't that bad at all. I've found out that money and finances have a funny way of working out, even when it doesn't seem it will. A few tips I wish I would have had when buying a house and being an "average joe":

Home inspectors. Can't stress that enough, but be careful because they can get pricey.

Look @ more than just 10 houses. We went through 30. It was actually kind of fun. We eventually got our # 1 choice though.

On the $$$ side of things and space wise, I would advise of getting a house that, heaven forbid, if something happened to your source of income, you can still be flexible enough to make payments. Just survive. And when it comes to space, don't get a monster sized house if you don't need one, and at the same time, don't get too small of a house. You never know how long you will be in there, whether it be 5 years or until retirement: but get one that fits your needs and is flexible enough for future. I like options!

One more...I don't know how bad they are now and what kind of credit you have, but if possible, try to avoid adjustbable rates (ARMs) and stick with fixed.

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

If I didnt mention to all, thanks for all the tips that you've been putting up

Its amazing how you grow up with people who owned homes or always rented and people never said a word to you about it... its just crazy when I think about it

C the lyte... I just wont accept an adjustable loan.. I just cant

Anyone do a reverse mortgage or the kinds of loans where you pay interest first?

Not that im looking for that because im not...just asking all I can

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Weather makes up for it

Absolutely.

I'm hoping to move out there in a few years. I cannot take NY winters anymore.

And yes...people hold onto info like it's top secret or something. I went into my process blindly but like others have said...it was the people involved in the process who made it easy for me.

[C the Lyte]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

If I didnt mention to all, thanks for all the tips that you've been putting up

Its amazing how you grow up with people who owned homes or always rented and people never said a word to you about it... its just crazy when I think about it

C the lyte... I just wont accept an adjustable loan.. I just cant

Anyone do a reverse mortgage or the kinds of loans where you pay interest first?

Not that im looking for that because im not...just asking all I can

Excellent!!!

And, btw, good luck with everything.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I browsed through most peoples posts and not sure if this came up, but if at all possible, put 20% down.

Having an 80% LTV (loan to value) ratio is key. You typically can knock your rate down a quarter of a point or so. You can escrow your own home-owners insurance and property taxes and you won't have to pay PMI every month (just an unneeded expense).

Some people like to have their insurance and home owners insurance escrowed by the mortgage company, but basically all you are doing is letting someone else hold on to and collect interest on thousands of dollars of your own money.

Open a separate account and just make the payment to yourself every month and collect the interest yourself (even it if it is only $50 or $100 a year).

What becomes even more of a pain in the butt, is if your home value is re-assessed very year by the local taxing authority. The first couple years we lived in our house, the value fluctuated about $20K a year causing our payment to jump a few hundred dollars from year to year as the mortgage company had to constantly re-adjust our escrow (as well as the cushion they need). It was just annoying when you are used to budgeting $X for your monthly payment and then it jumps up $200 and then falls back down $150.

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

That does sound annoying

I actually have funds in my 401k I cant touch because im currently paying back a loan of a couple of grand i borrowed to pay some stuff off my credit

Might have another year of small payments to make before i can retouch it, but i saved up small amounts for this type of day

Even if its about 15k, id like to use that for what i put down

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Absolutely.

I'm hoping to move out there in a few years. I cannot take NY winters anymore.

And yes...people hold onto info like it's top secret or something. I went into my process blindly but like others have said...it was the people involved in the process who made it easy for me.

Hopefully ill be in hands just as good if not better. I want my girls to have a place thats belongs to us to experience before they get old enough to move out

[mjb2124]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Also remember for every foot of lawn and square footage of home space/wall space...

YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF IT!

I f'n hate lawn care

LOL. Lawn care is very tedious....especially if you build a house and have a brand new lawn from scratch. My father warned me of this, but I didn't believe him. The front and sides of my lawn look terrific, but the back needs some work. It's all nice and green, but the back has some small bare spots throughout and is thin in spots. It will take a number of weekends to fix (next year). I spent a lot of time this year on the front/sides re-seeding, watering, fertilizing and it looks terrific (very green and thick). I actually enjoy yard work as I like to be outside, but it can take a while. Also, fertilize 4 times a year. Scott's has a very good 4 step process.

[mjb2124]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I actually have funds in my 401k I cant touch because im currently paying back a loan of a couple of grand i borrowed to pay some stuff off my credit

I don't mean to pry, but I sure hope you aren't dipping into your 401k to pay off things? Or did I read that wrong.

I've known people who have done it (co-worker dipped into his to put a down payment on his house), but he had to pay a nice bit in taxes on the money he took out. Plus, it's often not a good idea to take money out of a retirement fund.

[fistofrage]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I don't mean to pry, but I sure hope you aren't dipping into your 401k to pay off things? Or did I read that wrong.

I've known people who have done it (co-worker dipped into his to put a down payment on his house), but he had to pay a nice bit in taxes on the money he took out. Plus, it's often not a good idea to take money out of a retirement fund.

Your Co-worker had to pay taxes because he didn't pay the money back, he just took it out. If he had a 401K loan he would have not had to pay any taxes as long as he put it back.

It is risky to take out a 401k loan. You lose your job, you have to immediately pay the money back or pay taxes and penalties.

However, if you had high interest rate credit card debt built up, I would highly recommend you take a 401k loan, pay yourself back as quickly as possible and move on.

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I don't mean to pry, but I sure hope you aren't dipping into your 401k to pay off things? Or did I read that wrong.

I've known people who have done it (co-worker dipped into his to put a down payment on his house), but he had to pay a nice bit in taxes on the money he took out. Plus, it's often not a good idea to take money out of a retirement fund.

Nah, I did to pay off some bills that pretty much would position us to be able to try for a home like right now

Ours allows us to borrow at least half of what we put in unpenalized then we pay it back to ourselves within the amount of time we want to

They match us 75c on the dollar, its a really good one

[fistofrage]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Nah, I did to pay off some bills that pretty much would position us to be able to try for a home like right now

Ours allows us to borrow at least half of what we put in unpenalized then we pay it back to ourselves within the amount of time we want to

They match us 75c on the dollar, its a really good one

75 cents on the $ up to 15%? Tha's awesome. Hopefully you contribute the max.

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Nah, I did to pay off some bills that pretty much would position us to be able to try for a home like right now

Ours allows us to borrow at least half of what we put in unpenalized then we pay it back to ourselves within the amount of time we want to

They match us 75c on the dollar, its a really good one

I, like the other poster, was thinking you were about to get hit with a 30% tax from early withdrawal...but didn't want to pry.

Great company. Wow.

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

OHhh I see

No im fully vested so I have no penalty issues at all

I just took out a little bit to pay some bills off that I needed off my credit, but it was all within the rules and available to me

fistofrage...not the max, thats another story, but it has built up a bit over the years as you can imagine.. just so happened I didnt know and went conservative the first few years but then the market crashed and everyone who went aggressive was losing money while my little teeny weenie amount stayed steady, but I did end up changing it later

Everything has a story, but yeah, the 401k is just fine

[mjb2124]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Nah, I did to pay off some bills that pretty much would position us to be able to try for a home like right now

Ours allows us to borrow at least half of what we put in unpenalized then we pay it back to ourselves within the amount of time we want to

They match us 75c on the dollar, its a really good one

Ahhh...nice. I actually have never heard of anyone doing that before - outside of the co-worker I worked with who got hit with penalties.

My company matches $1 per $1 up to 6% of salary and we're vested from day 1. It's pretty nice even though the economy is crap right now and I lost some money last quarter. My Roth IRA's are even worse...I lost a lot last quarter. Can't wait until the economy turns around and investments are back to being worth something. I hate looking at my statements nowadays.