RallyBoy

iTrader: (1)

My rent and utilities cost on average about $780 per month (rent is 651 utilities about 130) for a 754 sq/ft apartment. I have found a 1751 sq/ft house that costs $70000. It only needs new flooring and paint. It was built in 2005 and it is in a decent neighborhood. With my down payment of 3.5 percent I will be financing about $67550. With a 4.0% interest rate, pmi, taxes, and insurance, I will be paying approximately $655. I am guessing the utilities will be about $250 a month. The house is all electric and has a heat pump for ac and heating which i think should be more efficient. I am a single dude with no kids. Think it is better to buy the home?

jaysan

iTrader: (8)

Yes because You will own it someday

msydow

if you can afford it then buy. there are always more expenses than what you think. i bought a house in 09 and there are always little things that you dont think about. air filters, water filters, yard stuff, all kinds of ****. rule of thumb is 1% of home price is what you will pay a month. also consider your property taxes that will be added to your financing. i financed 85000 and my taxes on 5.5 acres is 3500/year. my house payment with taxes and insurance is like 880 a month. hope this helps.

Dan Stewart

No equity in renting.....

98Roller

iTrader: (1)

Be sure to calculating closing cost, realator fees when u sale, length of time u plan to stay and future market value. Sometimes there is no equity in buying.

chupr0kabra

iTrader: (10)

If you can manage your own escrow account, I recommend it. You have to have some discipline, and you have to be willing to adjust your monthly escrow payment as needed, but in the end, the bank doesn't make interest income off of your escrow money. My wife and I have always done this, and we pay a little more than we need to each month, but every few years we take the "extra" money from escrow and put it back into the house, either as improvements or extra payment toward principal. If you have the cash to buy a home, prices are definitely worth it, and in your situation, you won't have to worry about selling your current place, which is a bonus.

Also, don't forget HOA dues, if applicable.


-Mike

Tata

iTrader: (2)

I am assuming your 250$ utility speculation doesn't include a lot of items... My electric alone in the summer is usually in the 200$ range alone. Always better to own then lease as long as you're willing to be disciplined, plan on being there for a respectable amount of time and understand its a constant need of maintenance if even just small items.

Domsz06

iTrader: (2)

not sure where your looking or what not, but make sure the house your buying is worth it, lot of cheap homes were made and if you buy a **** house then your gonna be dumping so much into it it's not worth it.

Also, pesonally I'd wait till you can pay 20% down, PMI is stupid high and a complete waste of money, you get nothing in return for it.....

oh yeah and for what it's worth my utilities with cable are around 500-600 a month in the summer and about 200-300 a month in the rest of the year. my house is about 500 sqft bigger then yours.

Nowhereman

Depends.
Do you want to be mobile ready?
Do you want to settle down / have a family?
Do you have lots of aquired stuff that needs a home?
Do you have some right offs to help with the tax situation?
Gotta look at it from all sides.

If you like being single, haven't aquired lots of crap over the years, have other right off potentials to help with taxes, then rent.

Property is a dime a dozen right now and there is no short term light at the end of the tunnel.
As a matter of fact, it looks to get worse over the next two years.
Weigh it all out.

Domsz06

iTrader: (2)

nice ideas and thoughts.

TruBloodTransAm

iTrader: (24)

Get some roommates and charge them rent.

VinR1

iTrader: (17)

Just make sure you know the area/local market. My townhouse is in a desireable area and my mortgage payment is half of what my neighbors pay in rent. If I ever need out, I can easily rent it for $100/mo less than what everyone else charges, pay the mortgage, and still stick a grand in my pocket every month

chupr0kabra

iTrader: (10)

If you can get an 80/10/10 loan, it will help avoid PMI. Put 10% down, then pay two concurrent loans, one for 10% (at a higher interest rate) and one for the remaining 80% (at market rate). If you can put more money toward principal each month on the 10% loan, you can pay it off in a few years, rather than the full 30 years (or whatever term you decide).


-Mike

LS1RedZ

iTrader: (19)

I say buy the house, its better than throwing money away on rent.

Donohue96M6Z28

iTrader: (64)

My lease end next month and I was thinking about buying. But it's a big decision bc you are not mobile. Im going to wait another 1-1.5yrs and do tons of research to make sure I'm buying in a good location etc etc.

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

With homes as cheap as they are and with interest rates as low as they are, now is the time to buy.

However, with such a low down payment, you will have to be in the home 10 years before a) you will begin to see any real equity and b) you can get the pmi dropped.

San Antonio is hot right now. Lots of industry and growth. So I wouldn't think home values have been hurt as bad nor will they drop any further.

2TR

Everything you need to know right here:

http://www.realtor.com/home-finance/...spx?source=web