I'm in a bit of a predicament

[Diluted]

/rant on

A couple of weeks ago I found out from my landlord that she wants to sell the place we're currently renting. Well our lease is up in the middle of February.

So, "Why not buy?" you ask...

Well for one, she's asking way too much.

Second my girlfriend went through a nasty divorce and had to foreclose on her and the ex's house. Now because of this I can't put her on the the loan for a new place since it's been less than 3 years since the foreclosure was finalized. So we're stuck with just my income. On top of that, I bought the new car, so that increased my debt to income ratio. Instead of maybe being able to borrow up to $230k I'm now probably going be right at or below $200k.

Usually when people decide they want to sell their house they know more than 1.5 months in advance. I wish she would have told us this back when she first decided she was thinking about selling. Instead, we're now having to scramble to find a place to live and save up the money needed.

We've been good renters, always paying the rent on time, keeping the place nice looking. You don't treat good renters like that..:banghead:

/rant off

So yeah, not quite sure what to do at this point. We've been going to look at houses that are in my price range, none of which are all that great in the area we're looking. We do have a few apartment complexes that have openings that would be similar to what we're paying in rent now as a last resort. I just hate renting, I'd rather put that money towards something that's mine.

There are a lot of nicer places in my range that are easily 1hr+ away from work, however they're closer to a lot of nice roads/mountains. I'm just not sure I'd want to commute that far every day. It'd be great cause I'd get to ride the bike a lot more.

Anyone have an insight they feel like sharing? Anyone commute that far everyday? in traffic?

 

[Marthy]

I sold my house in Indy about 3 years ago now, just before the big market woops. The sellers markets wasn't great but I was lucky. Within 3 months it was gone, so my ex-wife! I move to Florida and been renting ever since.

I got married again last September to my lovely wife. We are still living in a 1/1 right by the mall, restaurant, movie theater, 2 minutes drive from I-95, 10 minute drive from the beach. Our rent: $960.00 with garage. Now, if I want to buy in the area... different story! Since I barelly broke even when I sold the house, I left everything to my ex but my clothes and few tools. Recession hit my too. Did odd job for a bit with a salary drop of about 2G a month. Much better these days now, but I don't have a big cash down to put on a house.

40 y.o.is right around the block for me. So a 30 y. morgage with put me in debts until 70 y.o. Home owner insurance in Florida is a killer! Property Taxes will finish me up! So I'm pretty much screw! I will pay to live somewhere until I freaking die!

The way I look at it, renting is not a bad thing. No maintenance, cheap insurance, pool, gym, easy to move if required for work or life changing situation. Worst case senario, even braking a lease is not too bad. Better than paying 7-8% commission on selling a property. Realestate is not what it use to be... ain't going to get rich this way anymore. But I have to agree that owning your own place is nice... espacially if you get a 3 cars garage to put all your toys!

 

[Stephenfz6r]

Remember; LOCATION, LOCATION; LOCATION. Buy a beat up house in a good neighborhood and in time you can fix it up and have a nice place that will have solid value. Housing that is far from major urban areas lag in value because of commuting costs. It all depends on what you prefer. Where I live weather in the winter makes commuting suck. In warmer areas commuting is easier. So take your pick, I worked hard and spent big when I was young, it was tough but now I have a nice place and can afford some of the finer things in life.
:canada:

 

[Diluted]

Remember; LOCATION, LOCATION; LOCATION. Buy a beat up house in a good neighborhood and in time you can fix it up and have a nice place that will have solid value. Housing that is far from major urban areas lag in value because of commuting costs. It all depends on what you prefer. Where I live weather in the winter makes commuting suck. In warmer areas commuting is easier. So take your pick, I worked hard and spent big when I was young, it was tough but now I have a nice place and can afford some of the finer things in life.
:canada:

Well, the places further away from work are in their own major urban area. I could probably find a job out there, there's a lot of government facilities out there.

The house I want to make an offer on in the current city is bank owned and could use a little TLC. It's certainly livable at this point but needs help. The area isn't a bad area and if the housing market recovers it could go up in value a lot.

 

[dart1963]

I have a 40-60 minute commute... it sucks

but after work and on the weekends, I wouldn't trade my house location for anything. It's quiet and I do have some great roads around me.
I also payed about half to two-thirds what I would have if I moved closer to work (Sterling/Chantilly area), got a house instead of a town-house and have 1/3 acre of land....

The trade-offs are there and only you can say what you are willing to do.... I'd love to have a house closer to work, IF I could get away from HOA and have more than 10 ft between my house and my neighbors... and if the price was right... not happening anytime soon for me.

If your still not sure if you'd prefer to live close to work, or have nice roads, you could rent for another year further away and see which trade-offs you like better. I don't see the housing getting crazy in a year so you'd probably be safe holding off on buying.

Also, like Marthy said, if you rent, all you do is pay the rent, something breaks and it's not on you to fix it.. Two weeks after I moved into my house, I had to dump another $1k to get my well pump replaced... you have to have a savings set up just for household emergencies if you own (ac, water heater, plumbing leaks, roof, etc.)

and yeah, that bites you didn't get much notice.

 

[bmw675]

i bought my first house 5 years ago when i was 19. ended up moving this year and was extremely lucky to rent my house out, they moved in 2 days after i moved out.
i have been renting for the first time this year and began searching for a new house the last month or so.
similar situation as you, i put an offer on a short sale, bank owned, b/c if/when the the market turns around, i could pick up the equity a little quicker.

renting does have advantages but around here, mortgage+taxes is similar to rent.
i wouldn't want to drive 1+ hours in bad weather. my commute is 15 min and thats enough.

 

[Uno979]

Sorry to hear about that. I know where your coming from though. I've had my moments of difficulty due to not enough notice even-though I too made on time payments ect.. I even did the lawn work. The situation I'm in now.. last year had to Deed-in-lieu my home in another state due to not selling, the renter I had there left and owed me $6k in rent money and damages he was liable for. Now I'm in a place where rent far exceeds that of a mortgage, EX: decent 2BR, 1Bath, avg 1000sqft runs $1100-$1400 with no inclusions. I could, if not have been for the DIL , buy a nice 3BR 2Bath, avg 2500sqft for $150K-$180K and notes be around the same or less than renting pending on location and age of home. They claim high rent due to the air-force base here... I call that BS. There is nothing else here but crime and terrible drivers. It's not like your on lake front property...

Anyways I hope you find a place to live and that everything works out for the best. I hate to hear of others going through the difficult times I've had. :banghead: :spank:

 

[Diluted]

It would be more monthly for me to rent then it would be for me to pay for a house as well. That's why I'm looking. Just due to the situation I don't have a whole lot of time to do anything.

Sucks to hear about your house Uno.
Don, I was thinking of moving to Frederick.

 

[dart1963]

It would be more monthly for me to rent then it would be for me to pay for a house as well. That's why I'm looking. Just due to the situation I don't have a whole lot of time to do anything.

Sucks to hear about your house Uno.
Don, I was thinking of moving to Frederick.

Frederick would be a little hull if you didn't find something closer, but it is definitely a nice riding area. I'm sure you could find something there or near there, lot of places that need some IT staff.

There are hidden costs with a house that aren't necessarily in the "payment" listed for some loans "estimated monthly bill"... some don't even include basic insurance and taxes for the area. Most people will over-look these in the long run, because it is your house for one, and you can earn equity. It is a good time to buy though, I think most of the bloat has come back out of the "Bubble"...

Worst case, if your still up in the air (whether deciding, or just run out of options), get a monthly at extended stay until you decide... a little higher "rent" but it's monthly so if something comes along you can grab it.

 

[Diluted]

Very true about IT jobs. I've been getting stuff with all the taxes, etc...included in the estimates so I'm good there. Just not being able to save up for the down payment/closing costs really hurts. So now I have to find some way to get that money. If I had more notice I wouldn't have been so frugal with my money. Didn't have any idea that she was even thinking about selling, that's what really pisses me off.

 

[AFDavis11]

I'm confused. You're renting now, so renting another place shouldn't be an issue, should it?

A 60 minute commute is a little far, but not hard around these parts. I'm just coming off of a 4 hour a day commute. You read that correctly. Two hours each way. It nearly killed me though.

First, you have to think about both you and her. Getting a place near good motorcycle riding probably isn't going to fly, unless there is a good reason to move her there too.

You can't buy squat around here for that kind of coin, so I would look at renting.

If you want to buy consider a new townhouse development. No down payments needed in a lot of cases.

When things pick up for your GF in the financial department look for buying a house per the guidance in the other posts.

And if you want to rent a townhouse in Stephens City, VA with an option to buy when the girl friend gets the foreclosure off her record, LET ME KNOW!

 

[dart1963]

And if you want to rent a townhouse in Stephens City, VA with an option to buy when the girl friend gets the foreclosure off her record, LET ME KNOW!

you didn't get jspansels old townhouse did you?

:rof:

that was a commute, Stephens city to Sterling

 

[Diluted]

I'm confused. You're renting now, so renting another place shouldn't be an issue, should it?

A 60 minute commute is a little far, but not hard around these parts. I'm just coming off of a 4 hour a day commute. You read that correctly. Two hours each way. It nearly killed me though.

First, you have to think about both you and her. Getting a place near good motorcycle riding probably isn't going to fly, unless there is a good reason to move her there too.

You can't buy squat around here for that kind of coin, so I would look at renting.

If you want to buy consider a new townhouse development. No down payments needed in a lot of cases.

When things pick up for your GF in the financial department look for buying a house per the guidance in the other posts.

And if you want to rent a townhouse in Stephens City, VA with an option to buy when the girl friend gets the foreclosure off her record, LET ME KNOW!

It's not that we can't rent again, it's that we'd prefer to buy. It does make sense though to let that come off of her record though. We could definitely have a lot more options. I'll have to search around for new townhouses. I don't think there's going to be anything in my range though.

 

[WenMark]

Maybe try to find a lease option to purchase. Plenty of people still upside down on homes but want to find a seller. Credit is not an issue and you can usully move in for little down some even cheaper than renting. If they are renting ask about a lease option. Good Luck. I did mortgages for ten years and plenty of lease options even my own houses.

 

[Detrich]

dang... sorry to hear about this chris. hope u guys find a nice place.

fort meyer in florida has TONS of condos for dirt cheap. but, there are no jobs there- hence the over supply of housing. =(

i really like florida, but the cost of living there is pretty high too. hope it all works out or that a good opportunity presents itself soon.

 

[6R Blackout]

Making lemons into lemonade

Well Diluted if it makes you feel any better I am about to loose my house, me and the ex decided to work things out and now I find out that I am going into foreclosure in March. I don't have a clue as to what I am going to do, but for now I am going to enjoy it while I can. Good luck to you I hope things all come together for you.:noworries:

 

[Diluted]

dang... sorry to hear about this chris. hope u guys find a nice place.

fort meyer in florida has TONS of condos for dirt cheap. but, there are no jobs there- hence the over supply of housing. =(

i really like florida, but the cost of living there is pretty high too. hope it all works out or that a good opportunity presents itself soon.

Thanks, I hope we do too. We might end up going the renting route again, at least that would give us a chance to save up some more money.

I'm from Florida actually...like you said though, the job market down there isn't great and the cost of living is much lower compared to here so therefore less pay. I guess it's all relative, stuff is more expensive up here than it is there, but I'm compensated. Down there it's cheaper and the pay is less.

 

[Diluted]

Well Diluted if it makes you feel any better I am about to loose my house, me and the ex decided to work things out and now I find out that I am going into foreclosure in March. I don't have a clue as to what I am going to do, but for now I am going to enjoy it while I can. Good luck to you I hope things all come together for you.:noworries:

That sucks! This is pretty much what my girlfriend went through, luckily her dad had room for her in his house.

Like I said, we've setup some backup plans should we need them so we might not get what we want right now, so we'll just have to use this opportunity to save up.

 

[Stephenfz6r]

Well, the places further away from work are in their own major urban area. I could probably find a job out there, there's a lot of government facilities out there.

The house I want to make an offer on in the current city is bank owned and could use a little TLC. It's certainly livable at this point but needs help. The area isn't a bad area and if the housing market recovers it could go up in value a lot.

If you are buying from the bank then that puts you in the drivers seat for the deal. Play up the fact that there other places available and get the best bargain. Because this is a bank there is no one to offend with low ball offers. Getting a detailed building inspection from a building engineer will give you heads up on any unseen problems and can be used to further reduce the price if it needs unmentioned repairs. As long as the neighborhood is good with no other empty houses or wrecks you can't go wrong especially if the place can be bought below market price.

Good luck.

:thumbup:The biggest risks get the best rewards

 

[Diluted]

Just an update...

I found new construction town homes. So I went for it and I am now in the process of purchasing one. Extra plus is the garage so now I'll be able to keep the bike at home and get to ride it more! It's about 20-30 minutes from work which is fine.

On a side note, I lost power at 8:30p last night and according to the power company it might not be on until 11:30p on Saturday...:banghead: