Yes!!! Got Approved For A Home Loan

[Stoked]

Lots of good posts and advice. Thanks y'all. My wife and I have already considered a lot of things where but others are fresh ideas.

 

[Miggs]

I guess I should have clarified that it depends on the situation. With us, the lower interest rate of the 15 year mortgage more than offset the closing costs involved with the refi. But that will depend on the details of the interest rates at the time you consider refinancing, so there will certainly be situations where your advice to just pay extra would be the better thing to do.

Agreed. But tying one's self down to the extra 400-600 a month isn't necessary. You can just pay extra principle each month.

 

[♪alt13]

Exactly this. Consider the audience as I'm mainly speaking to Stoked and the rest on this forum who don't come off as a half-witted morons.

Maybe it's different in your neck of the woods, but the thing is a lot of people around here buy starter homes and waste tons of money and equity gain in the process. It's such a trash model and typical of our current throw away society. If you want to upgrade then why not purchase what you want now instead of in 10 years? Everything you put into a house is going to be wasted money when you sell to upgrade your starter home. Your shed, deck, counter tops, landscaping, cabinets playground, etc, etc. To make it worse, then you go to purchase that dream home you could have purchased for $160k 10 years ago and now it's $320k.


Put ten or twenty grand cushion in the bank and spend an extra $50,000 or $100,000 or whatever and purchase everything you dream of. That will get you a helluva lot more around here (average is about $220k so you could be getting roughly 50% more). Your cushion will also pay for that extra $3-4 hundo per month house payment for several years if necessary. If things get bad and you start running below your comfort zone then get a second job during the holidays to cover for another year or two. If it keeps going south then work weekends at a gas station until your income catches up.

The money you will make or save off taking such a risk is pretty significant. Again, I'm talking to someone like Stoked who IIRC is about my age, and people younger, who aren't morons.

Stoked can get a legit home with the features he wants without breaking the bank. It's hard to build equity in an expensive home in Utah. Utah has a pronounced gap between the mid-middle class and upper class market. Spend too much and there just aren't enough buyers available to boost the value of your home. Stoked's price range is perfect for the savvy buyer. Upper middle class home pricess really haven't increased that much while mid tier homes have and will continue to. Stoked should look for the features he wants in a desirable neighborhood and stick to his budget, chances are he can find the right deal.

 

[♪alt13]

Best advice


Patience


Srsly be smart, don't panic. If a realtor or anybody else pushes you call someone else.

 

[colton]

Agreed. But tying one's self down to the extra 400-600 a month isn't necessary. You can just pay extra principle each month.

The interest rate can be substantially different, so if you know you can afford the extra 400-600 that can be lead to a substantial savings.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Best advice


Patience


Srsly be smart, don't panic. If a realtor or anybody else pushes you call someone else.

If I might say it differently...

Patience to find the right fit and the intestinal fortitude to move quickly and lock it up once you do.

If you find a property that you are seriously considering, write it up.
Dead serious. Take control from the seller. Get it off the mkt.
With an adequate due diligence period, it allows the two of you to be in the driver's seat and think about it a while with NO obligation.

 

[franklin]

That's not necessarily correct. With some research you can put money into things that WILL later add to the sales price. In my case we redid the kitchen and two bathrooms, and the money we put into that was more than made up for in the increased sales price. Much more.

Adding value in a home is hard, but I cannot disagree with you. DuPont counter tops, etc.

You seem very much like a work in value out type, and something to be commended.

Stoked can get a legit home with the features he wants without breaking the bank. It's hard to build equity in an expensive home in Utah. Utah has a pronounced gap between the mid-middle class and upper class market. Spend too much and there just aren't enough buyers available to boost the value of your home. Stoked's price range is perfect for the savvy buyer. Upper middle class home pricess really haven't increased that much while mid tier homes have and will continue to. Stoked should look for the features he wants in a desirable neighborhood and stick to his budget, chances are he can find the right deal.

Outdated advice. Poorly outdated advice. The mid-upper values were stupid low 5-6 years ago and have increased more than any, and are now back to "market value".

 

[♪alt13]

If I might say it differently...

Patience to find the right fit and the intestinal fortitude to move quickly and lock it up once you do.

If you find a property that you are seriously considering, write it up.
Dead serious. Take control from the seller. Get it off the mkt.
With an adequate due diligence period, it allows the two of you to be in the driver's seat and think about it a while with NO obligation.

For sure. I was just sayin sayin not to jump when others want you to. Understand that everyone else in the deal has a different incentive than you do. If you're excited jump, but don't let anyone convince you that you should be excited.

 

[♪alt13]

Outdated advice. Poorly outdated advice. The mid-upper values were stupid low 5-6 years ago and have increased more than any, and are now back to "market value".

The wages still aren't there. The fact that they have regained their value is a perfect reason not to buy. They aren't going to grow at the same rate. Buy a neighborhood not a mcmansion. The time to overspend was 5-6 years ago by your own evidence, not now.

 

[Miggs]

The interest rate can be substantially different, so if you know you can afford the extra 400-600 that can be lead to a substantial savings.

No doubt. I re-fied from 4.5 to 3.375 a couple years ago so it saved me a decent amount each month.

 

[Miggs]

I'm pretty sure it's been said but if you are considering 2-3 different towns (that's usually how it works, by town and nothing more), try to see at least a good 6-10 houses in each town, track them, and see at what price they sell. You can even do that now (right away) online and then once you start seeing homes, do it moreso.

By doing this, you'll have a good idea of what homes are selling for based on their location, size, amenities, upgrades, etc. I saw about 30-40 houses before I made an offer. I knew my current house was perfect for me and my wife. It was in the summer of 2011 when the market was just about at its abyss and it was in a great town and it was a good size and could be our forever home if we wanted it to be but yet was so well-priced (I have a great nose for pricing. Seriously, it's ridiculous) that I knew it was a great value. We've definitely put some money into. A new kitchen, tiles, sheet rock work, painting,a new front and back door, a new AC unit, 16 inches of insulation in our attic (we had 2"), a new washer and dryer, and probably a few other minor things I'm forgetting. If we sold it right now, we'd get between 75-150 more than what we bought it for. So yeah, my point is, get a really great idea for prices and values of homes. This could get/net you some serious money down the line.

 

[Miggs]

Sort of want to post some pics of homes me and MsSerp are currently considering but I don't want to seem douchey.

Prob too late for that anyway but yeah...it's just really exciting to move into a home you love and we want to get that home. If I'm being honest, we should probably just wait another 1-4 years to wait for our dog to go (don't want it scratching nice hardwoods and getting hair everywhere) and for us to be even more financially secure. The dog will be 12 in February so...