Haven't been active on the boards for a while cause...
I put myself in serious debt for the next 30yrs.
I bought a house.

I atleast got a 1 car garage, so the TA can be safely tucked away even during the summer months. It's a new construction split level. Close at the end of the month.

Seriously if you guys are in the market to buy right now it's a good time (assuming you have good job security and good credit) Rates under 5% and the pricing is good.

Bad thing is I wasn't 100% financially prepared as I wanted to be, however I couldn't pass up opportunity. Atleast it doesn't force me to sell the car or anything drastic. Just gotta buckle down for a couple years. So the worst part is the TA won't be getting much love for a while...

For all you home owner's, buying a house is truly a PIA, never mind expensive upfront. LOL glad I have a great realtor.

 

Congrats Dan!

 

A house is the best investment you can possibly do. Once the market comes back up you will be in great shape.

 

congrats dan! it is a PIA and it will make you go broke but you did buy at the perfect time .

new construction and a gagre though, what else could you ask for lol

 

LOL maybe another garage and about an acre more land it's a great starter/investment house. Plus I got a big basement ready to be finished...

Thanks guys. Yeah I'm gonna be so broke this year atleast when my wife yells at me I can tell her I'm so broke I can't even pay attention.

 

Congrats again man! Hopefully it's not gonna be as bad as you think it is. There's nothing wrog with pasta every night to save some $$.

 

Yeah but that's what I eat now, LOL.

Glad we are only 5 mins away. If I get the hankering for real food don't be surprised if you get a knock on the door at 5:30ish

 

Awesome dan, congratz!!!

 

congrats dan, i've been looking to buy myself. Can't find an area i really like? The town im in is just to much $$$

 

Congrats. House buying is a PITA, but well worth it in the long run. You should have been able to get a killer deal in this market.

 

Congrats Dan. Now you will relieze how much $$ you blew on stupid ****.When we bought it sucked and thought I would be broke forever.Then after we settled and didn't waste $$ I bought my Hawk.It was surprising how much $$ I was blowing when there was no house.

 

Congrats but

I took the plunge almost 2 years ago and rates were pretty good then as well.

 

Good deal man, I went thru the purchase process 4 years ago now, and it was a PITA, but I'm glad I did it.

I wish I had pictures of what it started like and what it is now, I really wanted to buy a new house, but 4 years ago with the prices like they were, that wasn't happening.

I do wish I had more yard, but other then that I'm pretty happy with it.

First year was tough because you don't realize what all the stupid **** adds up to, but once you get thru the first year or 2 it's not that bad.

Intrest rates are really good, so good I was thinking about refi'ing this spring, just to see if I could get the rate down a little lower, try to leave the payment the same and knock 5 years off the back side with a lower rate. The rates, I'm sure will never be lower then they are right now, so ya did good in that department I'm sure.

Hell I didn't really start building my heap until after the house was bought, fwiw.

 

thats awesome. how much money did you have to put down on the house im gonna be looking on about 6 months to a year

 

Yeah I blew a $hit ton of money. LOL
Mostly on car's and various hobbies.

I gotta drop a bunch more to get appliances and stuff too. The house is in the same town I'm in now which is good and bad. About 1.5 hrs one way to work. But atleast I carpool. I am close to friends and family though.

I wanted to buy closer to work, but no way could I afford it. Looked at a bunch of houses and for what we could afford I'd rather get something worry free than an old fixer upper. Once we build some equity I'll go looking for the house I really want (some land and a big garage ). Unless of course I wanna stay, problem is most of the land is not buildable, half of it is conservation, which does give me some privacy on one side though.

I know once we get though a couple years it won't be bad. Sucks that we need to buy everything for the house though, and still pay on 2 car's at the same time, etc etc.... But I am excited. I had a personal goal to buy a house before I turned 30, I'll be making it w/ a year to spare I got a picture somewhere here on my work PC I'll post it up.

 

Funny you asked. I financed 100%

If you have good credit and the monthly mortgage cost is under 30% of your gross income you'll get a loan. Assuming you have low debt.

Like I said I wasn't as financially prepared as I wanted to be, things just worked out. Plus putting say 3% down really didn't help me much. The fact of the matter is if you have good credit today, you are looking at 100% financing at 5% or lower. Be carefull though Mass housing loans no longer let you reappraise to drop PMI, a better option is maybe a fixed piggy back loan 80/20 or 70/30, so you don't pay PMI. In fact those loans typically pay more towards the principal and it's easier to refi the smaller at a lower rate eventually.

 

3 bed/ 2 bath

The house on the right is the only one real close to me. Hope they like loud cars






Future man town


Garage

 

I did the 80/20 loan, I didnt have anything to put down. The payments are the same as if you I had PMI but the money is going to principal rather than PMI. I just tried to re-finance last week but no go. I could of took the chance of paying an appraiser 400.00 to see if my condo was worth as much as I needed but it's not.

The first year I got my condo (195k); because everything was selling for more than it was worth:

It was assesed at 164k, I was 31k in the hole
Next year it assesed at 181k, I was 14k in the hole
Next year it assessed at 171k, I was 19k in the hole
2009 it assesed at 163k, I am 32k in the hole

Condo's dont go up in vaule as quick and they are quicker to drop. I knew I was over paying back when I got it but everyone was and sort of had to because no one would budge. I banked on the market carrying the assesment vaule upwards for the next few years and it did at first then it tanked. It doesnt bother me one bit, instead of only living there six years I'll live there for a few more. I know I'll get my money back. There was alot of interior work done on my condo when I moved in and the assesor never came in, that would bump it up and I want to do trim, kitchen and bathroom, that will bump it up more. Whatever, it's property, just keep living your life, driving your car and wait for the house to climb in vaule.

1.5 hours will stink at first but you'll get used to it quick. I used to wake up at 7:00 am to eat some food, shower and take the bus to work. I would get in at 7:55 am. Now I'm getting up at 5:45 am to do the same thing but I dont mind, I like my routine in the morning of espresso, a complete breakfast and watching 15 minutes of Married with Children before I start my long day. The garage will make it worth it.

Dont worry about the small things like appliances. Sears always has a sale where if you spend over a certian amount they'll take 30% off. You end up usally get 1 out of 3 appliances pretty much free. You can get free shipping and stuff as well. Once you start spending money on expensive items the advertised prices are usally the worst you'll pay.

 

Wow! That is very nice. New, modern, clean, has style, nice floors, baseboards, lights and it looks just as sharp outside. Very nice find. The garage is a perfect detailing den! Some heat and A/C and I'd live in there. I would KILL for a winter spot to detail. Like pay money! hahaha

Which town is it in and what are the specs like square footage, room etc....

Very nice!

 

Thanks Joe.
It's in Winchendon AKA Winchentucky, I was born and raised in Westminster (next town over practically) but, prices there are significantly higher.

1,200 sq feet, 2x6 construction. If I do the whole basement I could probably add another 600+. Just under .75 acres, 3 bed 2 bath. The living room, dining, and kitchen is all open floor plan. City water/sewer, forced hot water... It's a move in no work needed place and that's what I was looking for. It has a small deck on the side too.

I wanna pave and do gutters hopefully this year. Maybe start working on the basement next winter. Of course I am sure the Mr's is gonna spend some coin on window treatments, stuff like that. Shold be a great way to start investing for real.

I worked in Boston for 3yrs while living in the same town, that was a commute.