I just wanted to hear other opinions and philosophies as far as buying a house in this market. I have always lived in apartments and the thought of actually being tied to one place is strange to me.
I don’t know about houses, but I got this bridge…
IMO, now is the time to buy. It will be a long time before we see a combination of 5% interest rates, low prices (relative to the high prices) and 8k from the government.
I just bought my first place in December. I only had to put 3.5% down. I’m getting about that much back from the 8k tax credit.
And before this gets into a debate about federal programs, the 8k tax credit, etc., let me just state that I do not agree with them, but I’m already paying for them so fuck it, I’m going to exploit the programs available.
It’s not for everyone, lot’s more upkeep than most non homeowners expect. From watching some of those home buying shows it seems there are a lot of great deals in Texas, I was surprised at how much you could get for your money.
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
IMO, now is the time to buy. It will be a long time before we see a combination of 5% interest rates, low prices (relative to the high prices) and 8k from the government.
I just bought my first place in December. I only had to put 3.5% down. I’m getting about that much back from the 8k tax credit.
And before this gets into a debate about federal programs, the 8k tax credit, etc., let me just state that I do not agree with them, but I’m already paying for them so fuck it, I’m going to exploit the programs available.[/quote]
Cool.
I am having one built now that I had the opportunity to design myself (as far as interiors). Is there anything you think I should look out for?
[quote]Testy1 wrote:
It’s not for everyone, lot’s more upkeep than most non homeowners expect. From watching some of those home buying shows it seems there are a lot of great deals in Texas, I was surprised at how much you could get for your money.[/quote]
I was surprised as well. You can probably find a brand new house right now in this city with 4-5 bedrooms for under $150,000. Foreclosures seem to be all over as well even though people seem to try to destroy the house before they leave it.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
IMO, now is the time to buy. It will be a long time before we see a combination of 5% interest rates, low prices (relative to the high prices) and 8k from the government.
I just bought my first place in December. I only had to put 3.5% down. I’m getting about that much back from the 8k tax credit.
And before this gets into a debate about federal programs, the 8k tax credit, etc., let me just state that I do not agree with them, but I’m already paying for them so fuck it, I’m going to exploit the programs available.[/quote]
Cool.
I am having one built now that I had the opportunity to design myself (as far as interiors). Is there anything you think I should look out for?[/quote]
Have it designed to fit the average buyer for when you sell.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
I just wanted to hear other opinions and philosophies as far as buying a house in this market. I have always lived in apartments and the thought of actually being tied to one place is strange to me.
[/quote]
I was never a ‘city’ boy so my natural preference was to find a place with at least a 2 acre lot to build on. Luckily I found a 55 acre that does just fine 
Even in this economy, I would personally lean to finding a place outside of a subdivision. Reason being, 1) it’s much more peaceful and 2) property value.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
IMO, now is the time to buy. It will be a long time before we see a combination of 5% interest rates, low prices (relative to the high prices) and 8k from the government.
I just bought my first place in December. I only had to put 3.5% down. I’m getting about that much back from the 8k tax credit.
And before this gets into a debate about federal programs, the 8k tax credit, etc., let me just state that I do not agree with them, but I’m already paying for them so fuck it, I’m going to exploit the programs available.[/quote]
Cool.
I am having one built now that I had the opportunity to design myself (as far as interiors). Is there anything you think I should look out for?[/quote]
Get a good (THOROUGH) inspector. I know this should go without saying but some people just pull a name out of a phonebook with no references. I actually had an inspection done on 2 homes I looked at. The first one I passed on buying which meant I basically lost the $450 inspection fee, but it’s a very small price to pay considering I would have bought a house with more problems than I expected.
Also, if you have friends (or friends of friends) that have blue collar type jobs (plumber, electrician, ROOFER especially), have them come to the home inspection. They’ll be more likely to spot problems within their respective areas of expertise than an ordinary home inspector.
Another thing you may want to look in to is buying a duplex. If you’re already accustomed to living in an apartment, a duplex is a good way to have someone else pay rent (aka equity) into your home. It’s a little more responsibility but the payoff is greater in the end (IMO).
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]Testy1 wrote:
It’s not for everyone, lot’s more upkeep than most non homeowners expect. From watching some of those home buying shows it seems there are a lot of great deals in Texas, I was surprised at how much you could get for your money.[/quote]
I was surprised as well. You can probably find a brand new house right now in this city with 4-5 bedrooms for under $150,000. Foreclosures seem to be all over as well even though people seem to try to destroy the house before they leave it.[/quote]
This is true in a lot of places. I’ve been considering a move from Maine to Georgia. I can literally get twice the house and lot for what I’m in now at the same price. You can get just short of a mansion for under 200k in some areas- houses that are less than 5 years old.
The kicker is that I’d have to unload this house in a bottomed out market.
It’s indeed a ‘buyers market’. If I had the capital, I’d be buying up left and right. It’s not a matter of “if” the economy and housing market will pick up, it’s “when”. This is a great time to have some cash to invest (in a house).
You won’t see much of that $8000 if you make over $75,000 and none at all over $95,000.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
quote]
Cool.
I am having one built now that I had the opportunity to design myself (as far as interiors). Is there anything you think I should look out for?[/quote]
Get ALL paperwork from every contractor/engineer/inspector/bank. That will help tremendously when you file your taxes next year.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]Testy1 wrote:
It’s not for everyone, lot’s more upkeep than most non homeowners expect. From watching some of those home buying shows it seems there are a lot of great deals in Texas, I was surprised at how much you could get for your money.[/quote]
I was surprised as well. You can probably find a brand new house right now in this city with 4-5 bedrooms for under $150,000. Foreclosures seem to be all over as well even though people seem to try to destroy the house before they leave it.[/quote]
If you still live in Houston,my dad has bought two houses near the memorial area. (Like right across the street from Memorial City Mall) Hes always asking me to look for hosues around that area because if you havent notice now with the building of that new hospital its going to be a booming area pretty soon. Edge city and the like with new shopping plaza left and right. Im in college right now and I MIGHT buy a house here if I can find a good job in Houston. Im thinking either Fairfield or Katy though. Ya know,the nice untouched areas.
[quote]johnnytang24 wrote:
You won’t see much of that $8000 if you make over $75,000 and none at all over $95,000.[/quote]
Wait…what?
I haven’t heard this at all.
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
IMO, now is the time to buy. It will be a long time before we see a combination of 5% interest rates, low prices (relative to the high prices) and 8k from the government.
I just bought my first place in December. I only had to put 3.5% down. I’m getting about that much back from the 8k tax credit.
And before this gets into a debate about federal programs, the 8k tax credit, etc., let me just state that I do not agree with them, but I’m already paying for them so fuck it, I’m going to exploit the programs available.[/quote]
Cool.
I am having one built now that I had the opportunity to design myself (as far as interiors). Is there anything you think I should look out for?[/quote]
Get a good (THOROUGH) inspector. I know this should go without saying but some people just pull a name out of a phonebook with no references. I actually had an inspection done on 2 homes I looked at. The first one I passed on buying which meant I basically lost the $450 inspection fee, but it’s a very small price to pay considering I would have bought a house with more problems than I expected.
Also, if you have friends (or friends of friends) that have blue collar type jobs (plumber, electrician, ROOFER especially), have them come to the home inspection. They’ll be more likely to spot problems within their respective areas of expertise than an ordinary home inspector.
Another thing you may want to look in to is buying a duplex. If you’re already accustomed to living in an apartment, a duplex is a good way to have someone else pay rent (aka equity) into your home. It’s a little more responsibility but the payoff is greater in the end (IMO).[/quote]
The military is inspecting the house so I have been told they do a better job than most.
[quote]Totenkopf wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]Testy1 wrote:
Im thinking either Fairfield or Katy though. Ya know,the nice untouched areas. [/quote]
Doesn’t Katy have a bunch of natural gas wells? The reason I ask is I just can’t stand the smell.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]johnnytang24 wrote:
You won’t see much of that $8000 if you make over $75,000 and none at all over $95,000.[/quote]
Wait…what?
I haven’t heard this at all.[/quote]
Yup, it phases out at the higher income limits. I’m not sure how much money you make (and I won’t ask) but you could always get married real quick and it will raise the income limit to $150k - but I’m not sure that’s a route I’d be willing to take, lol.
Don’t finance upgrades.
If you can afford it, pay cash for your upgrades or have the minor upgrades done after the house is completed. You can do that over a year or two.
Why finance 20K in upgrades over 30 years if you can realistically pay it in cash over two?
[quote]Loudog75 wrote:
Don’t finance upgrades.
If you can afford it, pay cash for your upgrades or have the minor upgrades done after the house is completed. You can do that over a year or two.
Why finance 20K in upgrades over 30 years if you can realistically pay it in cash over two?[/quote]
Good point. The biggest change I made was to the master bathroom. I could barely turn around in the shower they had originally so I expanded it and removed the bath tub (as I don’t take baths). I know this may hurt me on resale though. I paid for that out of pocket though.
Bathroom & kitchen remodels are usually the biggest costs and give the best roi - return on investemnt