and what are your monthly payments, and do you rent or own?

By what kind of home, I mean like house, mobile home, apartment, condo, etc...

I was just wondering because me and my girlfriend are currently looking to get a home together soon. Both of us will soon be 26 and currently live with our parents and we live over 30 miles apart. We both feel that we are ready to get out on our own as neither of us has ever really lived away from our parents.

It is very hard for us because neither one of us makes great money. I make somewhere between $5 and 6 hundred a week a and she makes somewhere near $300 a week, dedending on the week that we have, me with overtime and her with commission from sales. I get paid twice a month and she gets paid every 2 weeks. So we are trying to find a nice double wide mobile home on a nice piece of land. Both of us have said that we really prefer mobile homes over houses anyways and we don't care if it is in a perfect neighborhood, but we do have certain neighborhoods here that are off limits. We are even thinking about renting for a while, but both of us want to get a place and stay there. We figured that if we do it together we can make it, but by ourselves we can't.

Any suggestions????
And don't say not to move in together because we will be engaged to get married soon.

 

My small summer home...

 

WOW . . .

That's much nicer than mine....



Then again, mine's paid for.

 

In LA, that probably costs just as much as mine.

 

Paul, don't listen to Kobiashi or O.W. I got the best of both worlds, plenty of elbow room and the ability to go mobile at a moments notice. Just my wife, me and her little sister.

 

I just recently moved. Below is a pic of myself and a few buds moving. I really need to get a place with a little more room, as its hard to have folks over for dinner & hangin' out!
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The best way to address your problem is to sit down with a mortgage advisor/loan advisor to discuss your issues. There's nothing to be embarassed about when you show up at the table because, you need to be as up front with them as you possibly can so that you don't convince yourself that you can get something that you can't afford.

Be prepared to disclose all of your income numbers and your other debts (cars, credit cards etc) and they can do the numbers to put you in the ball park where you will be able to comfortably own a home and make payments on your other debts.

I don't think that anyone here feels very comfortable telling you what they're paying for their house because that is a little more of a personal bit of information that most wouldn't share on the internet.

I can, however, tell you this. My wife and I both work. She's a teacher, I'm a geologist. We, by no means, make bank on either job (as you may note by the postage stamp of a lot that I have). We're comfortable. We pay on our debts and still have some left over at the end of each month to put in the bank for a rainy day or another home farther down the road. To date, the house purchase was the best investment that we've made (and we did that a year ago this coming August).

Again, what we bought isn't anything spectacular and we have around 1600 square feet. 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath. This is a pretty standard home where we're located. Further, we moved out and away from the city (Louisville) to one of the less densely populated areas and thus, saved a little bit of money by doing this. Yes, I commute but, a 25 min. drive into work each day isn't awful on an interstate. Also, we looked into older homes but opted to get a new construction as we had a little bit more say in colors and such. We weren't able to really alter the floor plan (as it is a pre-designed home) but, by going with one of the 'mass-construction builders' that's in the area, again, we were able to save a few bucks and get something that was new (which has it's pluses and minues as well).

Here's what we bought:



Again, you'll note the VERY small lot and smaller footprint of the house. It's nothing spectacular but, it's what we could comfortably afford and it's, generally, what we wanted.

Good luck with your decision but, I highly recommend that you discuss your options with someone that is intimately aware of mortgages, the different types available, and someone that can answer your questions on a more complete scale than those of us here.

RP

P.S. Anyone remember the bicycle tire mark removal thread? Note driveway. This is 6 months later or something... they haven't faded.

 

RP, that looks alot bigger than 1600sq ft. Maybe because its just tall. Looks like you'll get a noise bleed on the top floor.


I am kinda like paulv107 here. Im 23 and still livin with my parents. But I have no GF(so much freedom ) and I would like to get a place of my own. Have it built my way but nothing big, like your house RP. But, I don't think I could afford something like that. I can make over $500 a week(if needed) and the only thing I can think of that I could afford off that is a rundown old shack.

Oh well, thats what I have my parents for.

 

If your looking to have a house built or a trailor placed on a piece of land then don't worry too much about the house now. Try to buy the land then look at houses. The main thing here is you have to make sure the land is zoned for whatever type house you want (built, premanufactured, whatever). By splitting it up you can afford a little nicer piece of land then when you have a house put on it you can afford a little nicer house.

If you have the know how or have access to someone who does, a fixer upper is the way to go. My last three were that way and I have come out way ahead. I bought old rentals, normally they are still in liviable condition just need updating, and did the updating nothing too hard or drastic yet, but this house is not finished.

Other than that Ditto RockPick.

 

We moved into our place on Friday, and everything is still a shables here.
All our stuff is in boxes all over the place because before we can unpack, we have to wait until the new flooring is laid out thru the house, and the painters begin at 8am for 3 days.

We're managed to put the boxspring and mattres on the floor for now, so we have somewhere to sleep.

ive managed to set up my laptop and one telephone for now, the house is in a total state of disaray until the workers / tradesmen complete their jobs.

What we got:

4 level sidesplit with
1950 sf above grade, and another 1250 sf of finished living area in the basement.
5 bedrooms (3 up / 2 down) Lotsa room for unwanted family and guests.
4 washrooms (never a need to wait in line to take a dump)
18x36 inground kidney shaped pool with a 9 foot deep end and diving
board (yes, I will only do cannonballs and annoy the neighbors)
2 car garage
lot is 77 x 110
wood burning fireplace in family room
wood stove in rec room
Everything should be done in one more week, and then I can post up some pics.

Habibi out!

oh ya, price? too damn much! LOL

 

Built this myself in 91. Its 1490 sq.ft. 15 acres and a pond. cost was not bad. It may not be the biggest but its mine. And its paid for. The snow was free, (man i hate that stuff)

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We lease. A lot of people in the military buy a home everywhere they move but it seems like such a hassle. Leasing a 5 bedroom, 2.5 bath with a 2 car heated garage. The hubby was quick to point that out when we first saw the listing. He didn't care what the rest of the house looked like! Trouble is my truck don't fit so he has the entire garage for his truck and 4 wheeler. Someday we'll buy our own but probably not until he retires and we're ready to settle in one place for more than a couple of years!

 

. Snipped>>> We are even thinking about renting for a while, but both of us want to get a place and stay there. We figured that if we do it together we can make it, but by ourselves we can't.

Any suggestions????
And don't say not to move in together because we will be engaged to get married soon. [/B][/QUOTE]
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Just one you will not like...If your going to sign deals for money you will have a better time dealing with people in that business if your married...If this is the real deal then get married first...Believe me it will make you both work harder to see this works...

Next try your idea of renting a place or two to see what the costs your lifestyles will need in the real world away from your parents...You can find many deals where you can do some sweat work and build up a place and resell it...You can see if there are deals where you rent to own...See what costs you will have to buy beds, chairs,stoves,dishes, etc,..You will need this wherever you go...Will you have the money to get this as well as a mortgage for a home...??? Get more advice on this from your parents as they should know the score more than you will...You don't have to take it but you should know allot more than you do now before to speak to a mortgage company or Bank...

oh I own my own home clear .... once I moved out of my parents I never went back to live...To do that I had to put in some long hours working...Be sure your ready to grow up fast once you do move out...best of luck...

 

Paul, find a realtor lay your cards on the table and see how much you are qualified to borrow. the more cash you have in your pocket, the more options you have.

A detached home will appreciate much better than a mobile. This appreciation will enable you to 'move up' later. With a mobile you will be treading water.

Buy as much as you can buy. Let the payment scare you. You'll have more income later.

In 1979 our first home was 960 sq ft and cost $30,000.
Our first mortgage $185 and second mortgage was $45.
That $230 per month scared me, as you and your girlfriend are making four times the money we did when I was your age.

Lived in that house for six years, sold it for $54,000 and we were on a way up the food chain.

So jump in, the water's fine.

 

Well i'm 19 yrs old and my bf is 21...when we first moved out a year ago, we lived in a very small apartment for $580/month canadian. Seeing as we were only making like $10/hr full time. Now we make a bit more and we moved to a duplex a bit farther out from city center. only a bit more expensive for twice the size. We can live comfortably there and hopefully when we get good paying jobs we'll look into getting a small house.