1st time buyer how can i buy a house when they are too expensive?

Question

myself and my partner earn about 25-30 k between us but cant buy a house in our prise range

Answer 1

Hey! Don't over extend! It is better to live in a cheap flat and have enough for coffee, than to live in a Maison and struggle for coffee, Life is so MUCH more!
Kiddo, love life and the freedom it gives, we are so lucky!

Answer 2

Rent to buy schemes are good if you can find one - you pay your money each month and some of this goes as rent and some of it goes towards buying a portion of the property. In later years, you can increase the buying part and decrease the rent part. In general though, if the houses are out of your price range there is not a lot you can do except look elsewhere. Check around with different lenders, some will lend a higher proportion than the normal ratio of x % one wage and y % of joint income, they may also lend the full 100%. If you can find a lender to lend enough, next thing is paying it back. Some companies will give allow you a repayment period of more than the standard 25 years (they work on retirement age) which reduces the monthly cost but increases the overall cost. Big drawback with this is you dont own the home for mega years and if god forbid you had to sell, the sale price of the house could be less than what you have to pay back especially if the house market in your area goes into negative equity. Research well, compare everything, then do it all 5 times more before you commit. - Good luck

Answer 3

My husband and I just bought our first home last month. We are close to 50 years old. I wish we had done this sooner. Anyway, work with a reputable mortgage company. They won't let you over extend yourself. They will tell you how much money you qualify for. This gives you a price range to work with. If there is any way that you can get a home, and do it for less than the mortgage co. says you need, thats great. That frees you up to pay your mortgage off in half the years. If you make a mortgage payment every month, and send the "principal" of the next month, you will pay it off in half the time. Make sure your credit report is good or excellent, it will get you better interest rates. Also, make sure you get a fixed rate, very important. If you get the kind that fluctuates, your payments can change frequently and you might not be prepared for that. Another thing that we have done is include our taxes and home owners insurance in our payments, this way, its just a done deal. As soon as you build up 20% equity in your new home, your private mortgage insurance will go away. I researched everything on the computer. Also, be careful when companies want to check your credit score. The more companies that check it, it takes points off of it. Try to get your debt to income ratio down, mortgage companies love that. Good luck, I know this was one of the best decisions we ever made. Also, we had no money down, and included closing costs in the offer.

Answer 4

Don't worry about it. I've been a homeowner for 33 years and I've come to realise that home ownership is a big con. The only ones to benefit from you being a homeowner will be any offspring you may have. You're probably just as well off with a local council property if you can get one. Obviously if you can manage to get on the property ladder the amount you have to pay on you mortgage doesn't increase like your rent would if you are a tenant. But against that, if you rent a property and it needs re-wiring, new windows, new central heating or half a hundred other things, you don't have to find the money to have them done, whereas the homeowner does.

Answer 5

Assuming you get a 15yr fixed and you don't spend more than a quarter of your take home on your morgage, you can afford about 50-60K Which doesn't sound like much, but depending where you live, it may be a decent little 2 bed 1 bath starter. under 1000 sq.ft I know it doesn't sound like much, but it can work. My suggestion is rent for a bit, get debt free, cars and cards, everthing, build up a 5-6 K in savings, try to work some overtime to get the income up, then go looking next year. It'll work. Get a 15yr fixed, and put about 10% down. Pay real estate taxes yourself. Morgage companies always screw that up. Just save for the tax bill.

Answer 6

Why don't you look at Shared Ownership schemes that are offered by many housing associations? You buy part of the property and pay rent on the other part. You then gain if the value goes up and it gets you onto the property ladder.

Also do a search on shared equity schemes. There is the Homestake scheme in Scotland but not sure where you are from.

Hope this helps!

Answer 7

Can you rent or lease with option to buy?

Or buy on a land contract, which would be a lower down payment and monthly payments, that in the future can be financed by a bank loan.

Check out area's or real estate brokers that can explain to you
your options.

At least that way you will both have more knowledge and can set a goal for yourselves.

good luck

Answer 8

There are several different programs for first time home buyers,
which I assume you are. One, I know, requires very little down
payment and even that can be financed. Another one, will actually
pay your down payment and closing costs. So, programs are
out there where you have to put out very little to move into and
own a home. Check out your regional housing authority for
guidence. There ARE programs out there. Be aware you are
starting out, so take what may be given.

Answer 9

I know. It's awful and I feel sorry for you. Our first house was £44,000. The same house just sold for £140,000. Our salaries simply haven't caught up with the rise in house prices. The only thing you can do is save up a huge deposit. And that's not easy when you're paying rent. It's a bad deal all round.

Answer 10

Check into buying a house on land contract. That's what I did and I paid my house off in 6 years.