How long til you could by a house?

[Emerald 0]

I know this is a bit ahead of myself, but we were looking up rentals and houses in the area we are moving too. It seems just as cheap to buy then it is to rent.

How long did it take till you got to buy a house?

[Jenn! 918]

Still renting...with the house prices around here, I think it'll be a long time before we can buy one

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Was once (late 1996, in Memphis) almost ready to buy; unfortunately, my project in Memphis ended and I had to relocate to Dallas.

After 2001 (layoff, LONG job search), I can't say when I'll be able to afford to buy house or condo--unfortunately, Baltimore-DC area has prices ranging from high to Andean (NYC prices are Himalayan on that scale). From June 2002 to Dec 2003, I could only afford to rent a ROOM (fortunately, it had an attached 3/4 bath) in a house with restricted (owner orthodox Brahmin--so no onions, garlic or eggs, let alone non-veg cooking) kitchen privileges. Afterwards, rented one-bed apartments--still in one.

Edited October 15, 2006 by CherryXS

[canadalaura 0]

Well... we have a dwon payment saved up to buy a house in SC finally (I've been working in the states since January), but since we are moving to Boston in March, we will need to at least double or triple that amount saved just to come up with 10%. It sucks.

[Emerald 0]

thanks for that, we are moving to Roswell New Mexico and the houses we are looking at are between $47.000 to $80,000 we will have the 10% down when we get there, but no idea when we can apply with a bank to get a loan.

Hubby will have a job when we get there, I might have one, just depends when i get there if the position is ready to be taken.

[cmartyn 0]

Was once (late 1996, in Memphis) almost ready to buy; unfortunately, my project in Memphis ended and I had to relocate to Dallas.

After 2001 (layoff, LONG job search), I can't say when I'll be able to afford to buy house or condo--unfortunately, Baltimore-DC area has prices ranging from high to Andean (NYC prices are Himalayan on that scale). From June 2002 to Dec 2003, I could only afford to rent a ROOM (fortunately, it had an attached 3/4 bath) in a house with restricted (owner orthodox Brahmin--so no onions, garlic or eggs, let alone non-veg cooking) kitchen privileges. Afterwards, rented one-bed apartments--still in one.

You must be one of those lazy immagrants we keep hearing about otherwise you would have a 3500 sq foot monster home with a garage full of SUV's like real Americans. (Just kidding)

Anyhow, one of the advantages of renting (which I keep telling my wife) is that you are not tied down. Selling a house can be expensive in a falling market. Sellers are still asking high prices but buyers are not paying them. So, if you buy for 500K and move in a year you may sell for 450 and pay 30K in fees. A 70,000.00 loss. That could be a lot of rent.

[PlatyPius 5]

I already own my house. I ain't moving. It's paid for.

[timelena 0]

I think we are all too late to buy a house

Prices are about two times higher than they were five years ago.

For now we rent, enjoy life, and wait for the prices to go down

By the way, for many immigrants who simply cannot drive on freeways renting would be a better option since we are not restricted that much in our job search.

[silly_chick 0]

With California real estate prices, probably never...

[prujohn 0]

Jasna and I just spend the last 8 months having this house built in North Texas (see attachment), and we just moved in a few weeks ago. So Happy!

Other happy news (since I'm here updating), Jasna received her green card a few months ago.

And also...

We're expecting a baby boy in December!

[canadalaura 0]

Gorgeous house and lots of good news - congratulations!!!!

[AnaAndDaniel 0]

should be paid off in under 11 years. God willing that is.

Daniel

:energetic:

[KarenCee 3]

We hope we've just paid our last rent. We are looking for a house NOW. I have a pre approved mortgage and we are on our way out of this rental at last!

[Anastassia 0]

KarenCee,

"I am pre-approved" - does it mean that only one of you is ?

Does anybody know how it works if non-USC has no credit history for obvious reason and an USC has a bad credit history.

Can one get a loan with short credit history ?

Thanks

Ana

[prujohn 0]

KarenCee,

"I am pre-approved" - does it mean that only one of you is ?

Does anybody know how it works if non-USC has no credit history for obvious reason and an USC has a bad credit history.

Can one get a loan with short credit history ?

Thanks

Ana

Lenders will give a loan to anyone who has a credit rating. So if you haven't established at least SOME kind of history that is reported to credit agencies, then it's fairly difficult to get a loan. That being said, lenders evaluate each borrower based on risk, so that means even though you might get a loan, the loan might contain terms that aren't the best, such as a higher down payment (deposit) and a higher interest rate.

I helped my non-USC wife Jasna establish a credit history by co-signing her onto a loan (in this case an auto loan), which allowed her to start a credit history, then she later applied for a credit card from our bank and began to make payments on the card to establish her history. Right now her credit rating is higher than mine! (she loves that, hehe)

To summarize: Bad credit, no-credit, short credit history = higher interest rate & higher deposit. If you are in any of these categories, I suggest shopping around for the best loan deals, because they will typically vary from lender to lender (your bank should be giving you the best rate, if not consider changing banks).

Hope this helped!

John