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MockingJay
Ring out the old...
Member since 9/08 1312 total posts
Name:
Ring in the new!
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How did you know you were "ready"?
This is probably going to sound really dumb but what would you consider really "READY" to purchase a home?
-Completely paid off Debt (credit cards mostly but student loans ok?)
- Saved a substantial downpayment
-Good credit
-Pre-approved for a mortgage
-Secure jobs
Just curious what a good gauge of readiness is to everyone? Also, I know mortgage companies have changed what the want from you now, so is there anything I should know about/prepare for?
Message edited 10/6/2010 4:29:55 PM.
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Posted 10/6/10 11:32 AM  |
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Long Island Weddings
Long Island's Largest Bridal Resource | Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate |
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
I was ready when I couldn't write the $2000 a month rent checks anymore without thinking I was flushing money down the drain.
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| Posted 10/6/10 11:37 AM |
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Ma-n-Pa2008
Mommy's Big Boy
Member since 3/09 2584 total posts
Name:
Melissa
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
i just didn't want to rent anymore for exactly the same reason as the PP said!
we had a decent amount saved, most of our credit cards were paid down, but not all or all the way. it's pretty easy to get pre-approved, but once you have the house the mortgage process is a pain in the arse!
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| Posted 10/6/10 11:44 AM |
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MockingJay
Ring out the old...
Member since 9/08 1312 total posts
Name:
Ring in the new!
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
How different was the pre-approval process from the mortgage process?
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| Posted 10/6/10 11:59 AM |
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
the pre approval was easy. They asked basic info. SS # Debt Job etc.
Morgage process, they asked for everything short of or first born child.
They asked where large deposits came from and we had to show proof (example Wedding gifts. Tax returns)
They wanted info on car loans. My husbands Diploma from College.
It was very annoying but in the end we have a home . HTH
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| Posted 10/6/10 12:09 PM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
Posted by SchizoBride09
I was ready when I couldn't write the $2000 a month rent checks anymore without thinking I was flushing money down the drain.
I wouldn't use this as a sole reason for buying a house because when you rent you aren't flushing money down the drain. You are paying for a place to live, similar to a house.
Remember on a house that has a 400k house (20% down) and 10k in yearly property taxes, in the beginning you are flushing about $2300 down the drain between property taxes, mortgage interest, and homeowners insurance.
All items that don't gain "equity".
Message edited 10/6/2010 12:22:29 PM.
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| Posted 10/6/10 12:16 PM |
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
Posted by ave1024
Posted by SchizoBride09
I was ready when I couldn't write the $2000 a month rent checks anymore without thinking I was flushing money down the drain.
I wouldn't use this as a sole reason for buying a house because when you rent you aren't flushing money down the drain. You are paying for a place to live, similar to a house.
Remember on a house that has a 400k house (20% down) and 10k in yearly property taxes, in the beginning you are flushing about $2300 down the drain between property taxes, mortgage interest, and homeowners insurance.
All items that don't gain "equity".
Im sorry the 25k a year for our apartment was a waist of money. You have nothing to show at the end of the year. our taxes are below 10k and the interest on a mortgage is worth having a HOME. We had to have renters insurance, so no difference there. We bought a forclosure and put another 80k into it so it is already worth more than what we paid for it. So in our situation It was a good reason to buy.
here are the rest of them...
Had to pay extra a month in the apartment for our 2 dogs.
Had to deal with people leaving nasty notes on our door about shock collars for our dogs.
Had to walk 10 minutes to thow the garbage out.
Never could get a parking spot
The winters were terrible getting snowed into parking spots...
and this was for a 1 bedroom apartment that didnt include utilities.
If you can afford it DO IT
Message edited 10/6/2010 12:41:17 PM.
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| Posted 10/6/10 12:33 PM |
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JohnGardner
LIF Infant
Member since 7/10 54 total posts
Name:
John
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
No "dumb" questions here, right everyone?
Anyway, I sell real estate and I can tell you that most people don't know if they are ready (kind of like when your having a baby). Usually it turns out fine.
That said, it's not for everyone, and sometimes, it most certainly does NOT turn out fine.
It sounds like you've done some homework on this - Paying off cards, saving for a down payment, etc.
Be sure to save an emergency fund for unforeseen trouble down the road (loss of job, injury, etc.) We're in a pretty good buyer's market right now, but that should continue for some time so there's no need to be in a hurry to buy. Most importantly, DON'T over spend!! If you're qualified for a certain amount, buy well under that amount.
As far as what the mortgage company will want, i you're pre-approved (make sure you're pre-approved and not just pre-qualified) that's a good first step. From there, just keep all your paperwork in order so that when they ask for information (sometimes the same information over and over again) you can get it to them quickly.
Most importantly, not all mortgage reps are created equal. Ask friends, family, etc. if they can recommend a good rep. If you hear a name pop up a few times, that's a good sign. If you get a bad rep, your life can be a living hell.
Best of luck.
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| Posted 10/6/10 1:09 PM |
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Cheeks24
Living a dream
Member since 1/08 8589 total posts
Name:
Cheeks
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
Posted by ave1024
Posted by SchizoBride09
I was ready when I couldn't write the $2000 a month rent checks anymore without thinking I was flushing money down the drain.
I wouldn't use this as a sole reason for buying a house because when you rent you aren't flushing money down the drain. You are paying for a place to live, similar to a house.
Remember on a house that has a 400k house (20% down) and 10k in yearly property taxes, in the beginning you are flushing about $2300 down the drain between property taxes, mortgage interest, and homeowners insurance.
All items that don't gain "equity".
I agree with what you're saying, but what the PP says makes perfect sense. When renting the home isn't yours, it's someone elses.
To answer the OP, when we got engaged tossed around renting vs. buying (we were both living at home at the time). We decided we wanted our own place not someone else's so we did our research on what we needed to do. If you have a decent amount in savings for a downpayment, I would then take the next step and get a preapproval.
Message edited 10/6/2010 2:17:45 PM.
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| Posted 10/6/10 2:16 PM |
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maybesoon
LIF Adult
Member since 9/09 5981 total posts
Name:
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
we rented for a year (1K per month ) after we realized 12K down teh drain we purchased an apartment. Now we are buying a home. if you have no debt, down payment closing cost and a little extra money it will all work out
GoodLuck!!!
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| Posted 10/6/10 2:38 PM |
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PrettyPeonies
GAW my baby boy <3
Member since 8/10 3874 total posts
Name:
Pino
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
I was ready when I woke up one morning and said to myself that I was tired of living in an apartment & under the same roof of my ILs.
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| Posted 10/6/10 3:45 PM |
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nraboni
Uggh...
Member since 10/09 6905 total posts
Name:
Nicole
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
From the day I moved out of my house I wanted to buy a house. Finally, after living in apartment after apartment and it getting harder to find places that accepted pets my DH and I decided it was time to buy a house. We bought a house, got engaged, got married and now we are having a baby.
Personally, I hated giving my money to other people every month when I knew we could afford a house. We were lucky enough to buy in the right market.
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| Posted 10/6/10 4:04 PM |
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MockingJay
Ring out the old...
Member since 9/08 1312 total posts
Name:
Ring in the new!
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
How long does it usually take to go from Pre-approval, to putting an offer in- to going to contract- to closing?
Is it insane to assume you'll be saving your downpayment throughout that time?
I know this is a weighted question since alot of people have diff experiences but I really appreciate the feedback!!! 
I'm sick of living in a basement. We both have good jobs, relatively little CC debt, we have our cars but mine is almost paid off. I'm ready to move on...its just a matter of saving enough for the F-ing DP and getting approved for a mortgage with a decent interest rate.
I'm thinking we're most likely going to have to do FHA since I don't see how we can come up with $80k by my time schedule.
ARRRRRRG!!!! Why can't this be 5 years ago when they'd give anyone a house  I'm anyone
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| Posted 10/6/10 4:34 PM |
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Cheeks24
Living a dream
Member since 1/08 8589 total posts
Name:
Cheeks
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
How long does it usually take to go from Pre-approval, to putting an offer in- to going to contract- to closing?
You can get the preapproval now. It's really easy to do. You basically give them your SS#s and your income and they do the rest. They'll tell you how much they'll lend you. Then you start looking at houses and when you find one you like, you make an offer. There's no set time from getting the pre-approval to the offer. Once your offer is received (took us a few days) then you go into contract. Once in contract it can be 30-90 days, depending on how smoothly everything goes.
Is it insane to assume you'll be saving your downpayment throughout that time?
Not sure what you mean, but if you don't have any savings yet for it, I'd start now. You'll need a decent amount for a DP and closing costs unless you do a seller's concession where they roll the closing cost into your mortgage amount.
I'm sick of living in a basement. We both have good jobs, relatively little CC debt, we have our cars but mine is almost paid off. I'm ready to move on...its just a matter of saving enough for the F-ing DP and getting approved for a mortgage with a decent interest rate.
Do you go out a lot? Do you have stuff you can sell to pay off your minimal debt?
I'm thinking we're most likely going to have to do FHA since I don't see how we can come up with $80k by my time schedule.
You don't need 80k for a house even with a traditional loan. You just have to find out what the banks want these days.
Message edited 10/6/2010 5:33:15 PM.
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| Posted 10/6/10 5:30 PM |
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jgl
Love my little boys!!!
Member since 8/07 7060 total posts
Name:
g
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
when we worked out about how much it would cost us every month and determined if we could "do it".
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| Posted 10/6/10 5:55 PM |
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babyonboard11
In love with my little man!!
Member since 8/10 1841 total posts
Name:
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
Posted by Belongs2DanBuckley
How long does it usually take to go from Pre-approval, to putting an offer in- to going to contract- to closing?
This pre-approval is pretty quick, putting in an offer and the rest can vary - I put in an offer on my house, she did not accept - 3 months later she came back to me and accepted it. My DH works in mortgages so our close was much faster than normal, but it can drag out for months or banks can be on top of it and you can close pretty quick!
Is it insane to assume you'll be saving your downpayment throughout that time?
I guess it depends on how much you want to put down and are saving each month
Will the whole process be done in 30 days - no, but if you want to save 50k, the whole process might take 3-4 months, it depends if you can save that much it that period of time
If you are ready to move, then start the process, I can't rem how long pre-approvals last for, but you might want to go for one now, and see what they approve you for and what you can truly afford. It might help your decision. You can think you can afford a 400k house, but they only pre-approve you lets say for 300k - you have to come up with that difference if you find a house you want for over 300k.
Good Luck to you!!
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| Posted 10/6/10 6:07 PM |
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evenedan
Need a little sunshine
Member since 9/05 3843 total posts
Name:
D
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
I wasn't ready until I stumbled upon our house (we weren't really even looking at the time), but we had the down payment, we have good jobs and the price and interest rates were so low, we had to go for it.
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| Posted 10/6/10 6:27 PM |
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Salason
♥
Member since 6/05 9878 total posts
Name:
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
We were "ready" by your list many years before we bought a house but we weren't personally ready because we didnt want the responsibility and didnt want to leave our city life. Honestly, we've been in the house for a year now (and truly only moved because we wanted a second child and didnt want the hassle of city preschooling) but I'm still not ready. Were it not for those reasons, this house would be back on the market and back to renting in NYC....
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| Posted 10/6/10 8:42 PM |
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
The times have change. It is not about the equity.
It is all about family.
You buy a house, but you make it a home. You fill it with memories you will cherish forever.
If you are financial sound and feel secure in your jobs, having a place of your own is priceless.
Arthur
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| Posted 10/7/10 12:02 AM |
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ny55angel
car seat tech & geek :-)
Member since 2/06 4346 total posts
Name:
P
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Re: How did you know you were "ready"?
How long does it usually take to go from Pre-approval, to putting an offer in- to going to contract- to closing?
We got pre-approval about a week before putting an offer in on our house. From that day - to yesterday when we closed was pretty much 3 months exactly
Is it insane to assume you'll be saving your downpayment throughout that time?
We had our down payment and closing costs saved befoe even putting an offer in.
I know this is a weighted question since alot of people have diff experiences but I really appreciate the feedback!!!
I'm sick of living in a basement. We both have good jobs, relatively little CC debt, we have our cars but mine is almost paid off. I'm ready to move on...its just a matter of saving enough for the F-ing DP and getting approved for a mortgage with a decent interest rate. I'm thinking we're most likely going to have to do FHA since I don't see how we can come up with $80k by my time schedule.
DH and I (and my DD) have been in an apartment since we got married 6/07 (we didnt' live together before that) We have been looking on and off since the middle of 2009 but when we found out I was pregnant (late March) we really started looking more seriously. We didn't want to be in the apartment anymore anyway.
We were able to put down a little over 5% and NOT have to do an FHA, and we got an interest rate of 4.375%
If we did the FHA, it would have cost more in the long run according to the mortgage person we were talking to becuase of extra fees and stuff. Not quite sure what - didn't really pay attention.
Good luck with your decision !!
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| Posted 10/7/10 9:38 AM |
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