If only I had homemaking skills
In the past week, I have become obsessed with the idea of buying a house.
It seems like the next step in adulthood, right?
Well, there’s always getting married, but we can take care of that when we’re in Vegas in a couple months. (Right?)
Mom pointed out that first I need to save up enough for the down payment. This didn’t really appeal to me, so I checked out the city’s first-time homeowner program, which gets you out of the down payment. It turns out that I’d have to pick a house in a shitty neighborhood (you know, anything that wasn’t built in the last ten years) AND I’d have to buy the house before I get any raises at work because I’m not far from the maximum income.
So I guess I have to stop spending all my money on stupid shit and start putting it in a savings account.
Or win the lottery. That’s always Plan A. Powerball’s at $75 million right now, and I supposed I could get a livable house with that.
Actually, I’ve had my dream house picked out since 6th grade. It’s been sold twice since then. I’m guessing it’s about a quarter million, maybe more. I have no idea how many bedrooms it has or what kind of condition it’s in on the inside.
There are at least a couple houses in my neighborhood for sale now. One’s right behind us, and they’re asking $190k. Another’s a couple blocks east and they’re asking $125k. I’m going to have to do a lot of saving if I want to stick around the area.
Wait you’re coming to vegas?
As for those prices, those aren’t even that high. The house we bought 10 years ago in Vegas for 200k is now worth over 600k. You can’t even find a two bedroom house in vegas for less than 150 anymore.
Comment by Evan — 8/29/2006 @ 1:28 am
Yeah, I’ll be in Vegas for a weekend in November. It’s a long story.
I know those prices aren’t high, but they SEEM high. Housing’s relatively cheap in Wichita. If I want to be making the same kind of monthly payments that I pay for rent now, I’ll want to aim for something closer to $85k. I’d imagine my parent’s house is around $90k maybe, and it is — of course — the standard I compare all other houses to.
The other problem is that I’m not crazy about moving out to the newer developments, which means I get stuck picking from houses that need frequent repairs. (I’ve got a leaky basement in my rental now, and I’m lucky that that’s the least of my worries.) And I suck at repairing things properly. I have no sense of craftsmanship.
Comment by Katie — 8/29/2006 @ 7:55 am
Welcome to my world Katie, as I just went through the house buying adventure in the past 6 months. I’d be happy to answer any and all questions you have.
The first thing, quite obviously, is make sure you really do want a house and that it fits with your plan. (i.e. make sure you really like your job and you’re not going anywhere for at least 3-5 years). And that you want the burden, both financially and emotionally, of home ownership. It sucks up much more free time and money than renting.
The second thing to do would be to sit down and talk with loan officer at the bank. There are like 87 different options for financing a house, and many require very little down payment. No government program and the BS restrictions that come along. The bank should definitely help to find something that works.
And thirdly, you could probably expand your house age out to at least 15-years old, probably even 20 depending on how well the previous owner cared for it. Much older than that, and you’re correct, the repairs do get more frequent and serious.
The process is a fun pain in the ass, but the second you stand alone in YOUR house, it becomes instantly worth it.
Comment by Kyle — 9/3/2006 @ 4:27 am