To buy or not to buy- HELP!

DH and I just got married in April. We live in an apartment in the in laws' house. I enjoy living here. It's nice, quiet, we are happy. Oh, best part is we don't pay a dime. We're not free-loaders. They just wanted us to save so we can buy their house for a nice deal.

Now that is said....

My MIL is waiting to retire. She works for the NYPD and is waiting for an incentive. She is turning 62 in August. So, she can retire in August of this year and then we'd by the house. BUT, the incentive from the state may not happen. She may even wait two years to retire. FIL is retired already. They built a GORGEOUS house in SC and will be moving there as soon as MIL retires.

We are in limbo. And we expect the house within 2 years.

However, my mind is all over the place. I am thinking of the pros and cons. First off, this is FH's childhood home. It's got a sick apartment we could rent. (The one we are living in now.) We would have a LOW mortgage and would live rather comfortably. Cons are: It's small. It's also my childhood town that I really want to move out of.

The other thing I want to consider is that mortgage rates are low. Houses are low. We could afford to live in a better neighborhood.

SO then this thought pops in my head- we could buy the in law's house. Sell for a lot more that we bought it for and have a NICE dp on a house....



What to do, what do do!!!!!!!

Tell me what you would do?

Message edited 6/6/2009 9:22:33 AM.

Re: To buy or not to buy- HELP!

If you plan on buying it and then selling it for a profit - you should def sit down and discuss it with your ILs....

Financial stability is a big thing in my book. I'd rather have a small mortgage and more money in the bank...

Re: To buy or not to buy- HELP!

Re: To buy or not to buy- HELP!

we actually went through almost the same thing. before DH and i got married, we bought a small ranch house, did A LOT of work to it to update it, and we were comfortable there- planning to add a second floor on someday for more space.
WELL then FIL's job got transferred and they decided to move to PA ( their whole family is out there). they offered us their house ( which is bigger, in a slightly nicer neighborhood) for a good deal. It was hard because we were settled into out first house, had done all the work to make it "ours", and now we were thinking about moving?? LOL
It took a lot of thinking- and we had the same concerns as you- this being DH childhood home, worrying about how ILs would feel if we changed anything to it, that kind of thing. What REALLY helped us was going out and looking at open houses in the same price range we were gonna pay ILs for their house, just to see what else was out there for that price. thats definitely something you should do before you decide.
In the end, we decided to buy ILs house from them. The nicer neighborhood and more space won out. Its not my IDEAL house, but theres enough we can do to make it "ours", AND having the low mortgage payment is really invaluable because we're able to live a very comfortable lifestyle and still save a lot. you never know what might happen job wise/health wise, etc..., and if you can be happy in their house with a low mortgage, thats really worth a lot.
I can say that we really don't regret buying their house at all. we're done a lot of work, making it ours. the ONLY thing is that DH REFUSES to get rid of any of his childhood stuff thats still here! his old bedroom closet is still full!!

Re: To buy or not to buy- HELP!

Coming from someone who just took on a mortgage for the first time, BUY YOUR INLAWS HOUSE!!! and keep saving, the last thin you need right after getting married is the additional stress of buying a home, renovating, and/or financial strain, if you dont need to. Live comfy, travel, start a family w/o so much $ strain, then in a few years down the line, you might be in a better position to sell and buy your forever home. Just my 2 cents.

Re: To buy or not to buy- HELP!

Re: To buy or not to buy- HELP!

Thanks for all your advice. DH and I went to a party last night and on the way back, we were talking about this in the car. Looks like we are going to save save save and then buy. Could be anywhere between a year to two years. I guess it works out because we don't want children for another 3 years or so... So, thanks for your insight! It helped to see what other people think.