fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #4793 ]

[ SECRET POST #4793 ]

⌈ Secret Post #4793⌋

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Should I buy a condo?

I live in a city where rent is very high. It's likely that my mortgage would be pretty comparable. I don't have a lot of savings, but don't have any debt beyond school debt (which isn't insignificant, but..) Still, I hear about local first-time homeownership programs where your downpayment can be like, 5%.

I am not sure I'll stay in this city long-term, but it's good for now. I can't guarantee I'd be here in 5 years, because I kind of have light feet and this isn't where my family is, either. But I do have a community here and a paying job, I guess I'll at least be here for the short run.

And since buying a house here would be impossible for me, I'd be looking at a condo. I thought maybe a two-room condo and I could maybe rent out the second room... (For the record, I'm in the US)

Anyone own a home? What are your thoughts? What was the process like for you, and what made you decide to take the plunge (or not)?

I don't know, but I'm somewhat in the same boat as you.

Where I live, it would be cheaper for me to buy so I know it's stupid of me to keep renting but thus far I just haven't felt like dealing with all the hassle of getting a realtor, finding a property I like in an area I like, dealing with inspections and loans and everything, etc. I know I probably should soon, though.

In your budgeting, make sure to factor in maintenance, repair, and appliance replacement costs. That's kind of what stung us as homeowners. Got in over our head on a fixer-upper we couldn't fix.

Owning a condo is different from a home, there's likely to be more restrictions on what you can do, etc. Read up on your area. Keep in mind that when you rent, you're not responsible for a lot of maintenance and upkeep of your home and yard. If you own your own home, that'll be an investment of time and money above and beyond your mortgage. Plus it's a good idea to have an emergency fund for when (not if!) shit happens, like your water heater dying, roof needs replacing, etc.

If I were single, I'd rent. No question.

Owning a condo is different from a home

A house*

Sorry, it just bothers me when people say "home" to mean "freestanding house that you own". Condos and rentals are still homes.

OK.

lol this level of pedantry. you knew what they meant. please leave your issues at home.

LOL!

I am a homeowner, with my Ex SO. There are some very good things about it. You get to do what you want with it, you get to decorate or change things, you get to paint weird colors on the walls. If your mortgage doesn't clean you out, it's an investment rather than money down the drain, and it boosts your credit nicely.

On the down side - you're the only one responsible when the water heater goes out, or the drains back up, or the 'fridge stops working, so that's never fun. And you *do* have do preventative maintenance and upkeep to keep it sellable in the future (plus, you'll have to repaint those turquoise and purple walls.....)
I say it's a good thing, over all, and a condo is nice; no lawn care, safer, usually a good resale. Make sure you look into the resale of condos in your area before you buy, and make sure there is not HOA fees for like - building maintenance that will fuck your budget.

Good luck!

Make sure you don't just compare rent vs mortgage, but whether the condo has monthly maintenance fees, locker fees, parking fees, utilities (some rents are all inclusive, while most condos are not), repair money, replacement appliance money if something breaks, etc.

Plus restrictions on pets, noise, smoking (though most buildings in general now in my area at least are all strictly non-smoking).

For me, renting way outweighed the benefits of buying, since in my area it would be three times as much just for mortgages, let alone any of that other stuff.

I bought a house two summers ago and really like it, but whether its a good idea financially and personally is such an individual thing and depends on where you live and all kinds of stuff.

The process turned out to be easier than I expected and yet still rather opaque because every explanation I found seemed way overly simplistic for such a huge purchase. I tried taking a community ed class on home buying and it was a confusing mess because the person teaching it was one of those people who clearly knows their stuff but has no idea how to teach it (doesn't know how to begin at the beginning/with a common frame of reference, doesn't define their terms, etc.) The best thing I did was get a buyer's agent to guide me through the home shopping process and send me possible houses to look at. Before that step, you need to get the financial stuff in order.

REALLY IMPORTANT: find out what the property taxes are in your area (or what they have been recenyly on the properties you are looking at - I think Zillow gives you that info) so you are calculating your expected monthly payment most accurately. Don't just use an online mortgage calculator with a tax rate left to default (which might be the national average or something) because if the tax rate is relatively high in your area, you could be grossly overestimating how much house you can afford if you don't account for the correct tax rate.

I would say research those programs that let you have a low down payment to see how you could get in on that, and be aware that if you put down less than 20% you have to pay for something called mortgage insurance (note: when you have paid off enough of the mortgage [20%?] you can cancel the mortgage insurance, but they probably won't stop charging you automatically so you have to pay attention).

You want to get pre-approved for a mortgage so you aren't rushing to do that after you find a condo to buy (it might get nabbed by someone else who was already ready to put in an offer - the house I bought was barely on the market for a couple of days before my offer was accepted). You get approved for a certain maximum amount. Your credit score matters a lot.

Remember that closing costs are a thing, as is paying for a home inspector. That increases the amount of money you need to have on hand when you actually close on your house. Unless you have a pretty high monthly income and can replenish your savings quick, don't drain your savings account to buy a house or you will have nothing to pay for that furnace repair 3 months in.

Honestly, for me buying a house felt like a totally lateral move. It's the same size as my old apartment (although I get a larger garage and don't halve to share the basement), is in the same neighborhood, costs about the same to heat, and was even built around the same time. Everyone kept acting like I must save so much more space and everything must be so amazing and I was like "Guys, it's really just the same." Yes, I have to be prepared to spend money on maintenance but I don't have to worry about my rent going up.

That was really rambling, sorry!

That's really detailed and helpful!! Thank you so much.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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