buying the it home for us

RI-SVT

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Hi so we are looking into buying a bigger house in the near future, Hopefully the house market takes a dump, right were looking into a home around 400k, let me tell you 400k doesn't get you anything crazy in MA, I need a two car garage, wife's want a bigger kitchen and backyard, nicer neighborhood and school system, Been saving towards this goal for a long time, We own well still pay on a 240k home right owned for 10yrs planning to sell or rent the house, Now what will you guys do in this situation? put the 20% so there's no PMI, put even more of a down payment to have a nice comfortable mortgage or what? I know many of you have upgraded to a bigger home, Besides the current mortgage and a car payment we have no big debts and very little at that, I appreciate any suggestions for those who have done this.
 

BlckBox04

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If putting more than 20% down isn't going to break the bank for you, it's worth it. And with interest rates being as low as they are right now it's worth it even more.
I mean I'm sure you can do the math but if you put lets say 30% down on the 400k at an interest rate of 3% plus whatever your taxes are going to be, you're going to be paying a mortgage of what most people in your area are paying for rent.
 

black4vcobra

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I'll be in the same boat in 5-6 years. We likely have $100k in equity in our home now but we want to get out of the City of Madison before our infant son starts 1st grade. The housing market is strong here so homes have gone up in value significantly in the last 5 years, unfortunately any equity gain is just spent on a different home.

Depending on your income I would attempt to put down 20% and secure a 15 year mortgage loan. We bought our house just over 4 years ago but at the current pace we are paying it off we will be done in a little less than 22 years from now. Even still, I'm thinking of refinancing our 3.5% 30 year mortgage to a 15 year if those rates go below 3.0% in the near future.
 
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72MachOne99GT

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I’d put down as much as you’re comfortable.

PMI is robbery, definitely avoid that.

(And remember, if 400K is a strict limit, 450K will get you everything you’ve ever wanted. Our budget was 300, but going to 350 would've been great haha)
 

RI-SVT

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I’d put down as much as you’re comfortable.

PMI is robbery, definitely avoid that.

(And remember, if 400K is a strict limit, 450K will get you everything you’ve ever wanted. Our budget was 300, but going to 350 would've been great haha)
I hear that!
 

brigs

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You're right on having the 20%. I wouldn't be hoping the housing market takes a dump...that's only good if you're renting while house shopping (you want your current house to bring top $, and even if you're renting it out and the market gets hit, it's going to take time to catch up).

I also wouldn't buy at the top of what you can afford because there will be lots of hidden expenses and unplanned life events, and I would rather be comfortable and be able to upkeep/improve the house than struggle to keep it maintained.
 

RI-SVT

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something that's on my mind, lets say someone can put 150k down, for example on a year after the purchase the house market takes a dump, wouldn't the buyer have been better off putting down 80k instead, and keeping the other 70k cash money?
 

BlckBox04

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You're right on having the 20%. I wouldn't be hoping the housing market takes a dump...that's only good if you're renting (you want your current house to bring top $, and even if you're renting it out and the market gets hit, it's going to take time to catch up).

I also wouldn't buy at the top of what you can afford because there will be lots of hidden expenses and unplanned life events, and I would rather be comfortable and be able to upkeep/improve the house than struggle to keep it maintained.

I agree with all of this. If the market does crash you're going to take a big hit on the equity. And there is DEFINITELY going to be something you're going to have to pony up the money for. Why not buy something for slightly cheaper that has anything and everything you could ever want?

something that's on my mind, lets say someone can put 150k down, for example on a year after the purchase the house market takes a dump, wouldn't the buyer have been better off putting down 80k instead, and keeping the other 70k cash money?

not necessarily, your equity will take a hit but what your mortgaged and your interest rates will stay the same, you're still keeping that extra money in your pocket from getting a good rate. When you go to sell is when you'll take the hit if the market never recovers.
 

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Put more down if you can. I did 25% on my rental property to not pay PMI and then 30% a year later on my personal single family house. I wanted a comfortable mortgage payment just in case. I'm dumping an extra $900/month into principal on top of the mortgage payment to get it paid off quicker and save on interest. If larger expenses come up I adjust the extra payment or cancel it for a few months.
 

blownstang4.6

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something that's on my mind, lets say someone can put 150k down, for example on a year after the purchase the house market takes a dump, wouldn't the buyer have been better off putting down 80k instead, and keeping the other 70k cash money?

Can't forsee the future. Buy a home as a longer term investment not a 1 year investment. If the market tanks you don't care because it will eventually recover, but you also don't want to pay an extremely inflated price because you may never get the money back when it's time to sell. The previous owner of my house paid $550k for it in 2008. In 2017 I bought it for $342k.
 

13COBRA

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I bought my first house in 2013. Sold it in 2016 and made $75k. Went and invested in a larger house, haven't looked back.
 

BlckBox04

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I bought my first house in 2013. Sold it in 2016 and made $75k. Went and invested in a larger house, haven't looked back.

unless someone's retiring, that's pretty much the norm in the housing market
 

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Every dollar you take out of equity during the sale of your current home, you are paying back in the form of mortgage interest. At current interest rates, it's almost dollar for dollar. And you're starting over with a new amortization schedule to boot...

As long as the inspector does a decent job, and you don't see any immediate major costs, I'd say leave the money as equity. Though, up your way, houses are built far better than the garbage they slap together down here and call a "house."
 

BlckBox04

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As long as the inspector does a decent job, and you don't see any immediate major costs, I'd say leave the money as equity. Though, up your way, houses are built far better than the garbage they slap together down here and call a "house."

It's funny you say that, my girlfriends parent bought a prefab house in myrtle beach, her father used built houses and he actually had to finish building it himself because that's how bad they put it together.
 

venmos1

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Im selling my house right now here in maine. market is rediculous. Garbage for a quarter million up price tags. good time to sell, bad time to buy. My house is at its peak value. Purchased it 3.5 years ago and will clear around 40k. This is the second house i have purchased/sold. its really all about buying at the right time. Buy low, sell hi.

OP, have you considered building? unless you can wait, its not a good time to buy imo. The problem i have with what is available on the market, is everything is so cookie cutter. its pretty impossible to find the layout i want. If you are looking for your forever home strongly consider building. You can have the house exactly how you want it.
 

coposrv

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Im selling my house right now here in maine. market is rediculous. Garbage for a quarter million up price tags. good time to sell, bad time to buy. My house is at its peak value. Purchased it 3.5 years ago and will clear around 40k. This is the second house i have purchased/sold. its really all about buying at the right time. Buy low, sell hi.

OP, have you considered building? unless you can wait, its not a good time to buy imo. The problem i have with what is available on the market, is everything is so cookie cutter. its pretty impossible to find the layout i want. If you are looking for your forever home strongly consider building. You can have the house exactly how you want it.

Building is tough here. You’re going to pay a mega premium to build anything outside of a typical spec 2500-3k sq foot colonial. Land is dumb expensive anywhere worth in living in the north east as well.


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CV355

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It's funny you say that, my girlfriends parent bought a prefab house in myrtle beach, her father used built houses and he actually had to finish building it himself because that's how bad they put it together.

It's bad down here. Granted, there are still builders that know how to do it right, but you pay out the ass.
 

13COBRA

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Building is ridiculously expensive.

I looked at building before I bought my current house. It would've EASILY cost me 3x's as much.
 

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