Buying a house - scared sh*tless!

[fordsho90]

Ass.= Association fees. These are fees that certain subdivisions charge you by mo. or year to live in. They "help" pay for taking care of common grounds or club house or pool if the community has one; among other things.

[stevoc]

Dont forget insurances, property tax, higher utilitys and more of them since you are coming from an apartment. Also are the appliances staying or are you gonna have to purchase your own? Oh and find out if there are any monthly ass. fees. Try to take all of the expenses that you possibly can into account so that there is no hidden suprises a mo. or two later. And the most important thing is that if you dont feel comfortable; dont do it.

All appliances are staying, and are brand new. They are alos coming with a home warranty. There is an ass fee, for the pool, playground, streets, etc., but not much. The property tax is rolled into the loan. (FHA) Plus, we're going to ge the FHA tax credit on top of that. Woohoo!

Got a verbal approval today. Papers should be signed next week. I'll have a permanent home for my Jacksons, oh yeah, and the family too.

[fordsho90]

Well then let me be the first to offer up congrats to y'all!!! Glad things went smooth for you and it sounds like a winner. Make sure to post a photo or two on your new digs when you get in.

[RacerX]

Congrats! What city is it??????????????

[Chad]

If you were indeed "scared sh*tless" going into this, then I think you made the wrong decision. When I bought my house, I wasn't scared at all because I factored in every worse case scenario and there was little to worry about finance-wise. The only stress was the move in, paperwork, etc.

But that's just an opinion. Congrats and hope all works out well!

[stevoc]

If you were indeed "scared sh*tless" going into this, then I think you made the wrong decision. When I bought my house, I wasn't scared at all because I factored in every worse case scenario and there was little to worry about finance-wise. The only stress was the move in, paperwork, etc.

But that's just an opinion. Congrats and hope all works out well!

I appreciate your opinion. Me, not being a big risk taker ever, am definitely stepping outside my comfort zone to make this happen. I could easily continue to rent and live where I am, but there just doesnt seem to be a future in it.

Shit! I only bought one brand new car in my life, and that was tough!

[stevoc]

Congrats! What city is it??????????????

I'll just say quite a bit north of you....just south of the bay area.

[emperor_black]

yeah, I was scared shitless too when I bought my house. But you'll find a way, dont worry. Just dont buy too much music gear, avoid eating outside too much. The first year is going to be hard. Property taxes are a killer. So, far, I've paid over $50 K (mortage+insurance+property tax) in the first year. But, I'm eager to know how much I'll be getting back (hopefully) in tax refund. Something worth waiting for I hope.

On the bright side, you'll love your freedom. Ability to play loud any time of the day or night, make changes as per your liking, etc. Last night at 11 PM, I was sawing wood for a 2x12 I'm building. Cant do that in an apartment can you?

[javert]

I appreciate your opinion. Me, not being a big risk taker ever, am definitely stepping outside my comfort zone to make this happen. I could easily continue to rent and live where I am, but there just doesnt seem to be a future in it.

Shit! I only bought one brand new car in my life, and that was tough!

I'm the same way! And I think it's completely reasonable to have some doubt and fears about buying something as expensive as a house--I mean, it could in principle ruin you. I atually never bought a new car, I've only owned one used car. But we've got 150% taxes on cars over here, so anybody riding what would be an ordinary car in the states are actually pretty well of

[stevoc]

Forgot to mention that all money can be focused towards house expenses minus one credit card. (no car payments, store credit cards, etc)

[emperor_black]

Its all good man. Dont worry too much about it. Life's too short to live with worries.

The credit system has become very very strict nowadays. If you got a good Loan from a decent lender, they've already made sure you can make payments. Its up to you to continue to make payments.

Live a frugal life. Not telling you to be a miser tho'. Before I bought my house, I used to flip gears so much, buy guitars, buy amps, sell them quickly. After I discovered Jackson guitars, my last guitar was purchased late 2007. I bought a $1K + amp a few months ago and it was really tough to make payments that month without taking money out of savings. I must add that I also pay $1400 per month for my child's preschool, so its extra tough for me.

[Spivonious]

Congrats! Buying a house is super stressful, but worth it.

The best piece of financial advice I ever got was to "pay yourself" first. In other words, before any bills are paid, put money into savings. Aim to have at least 6 months of bills in savings. It really helps with the whole "peace of mind" and if some emergency comes along (car repairs, job loss, etc.), you have all of that extra money as a buffer.

We set up our direct deposits so that a certain percentage goes into a savings account each paycheck. Since we never "see" that money, it makes it easy to save, and if something comes up (like when I smashed our glass cooktop with a bag of ice), you don't need to use credit cards to pay for it.