Buying A House?

Question

I'm 21 years old with a full time job and college 3 nights a week. All my girlfriends are buying condos and houses and paying less on mortgage than I do on rent. I plan on building a well paying career and living in a nice condo one day but I hate paying so much for rent now. Should I buy something now that isn't my dream condo and then sell it later in my 20's? It would cost me way less monthly but I could end up having it for 10-15 years when I only want it for like 5-10. I just don't want to be living in a little house when I'm 35 because I bought it when I was 21. I just want to save money now. They spend almost 300 less than me monthly.

Answer 1

go ahead and buy something now, small, it will help you in many ways it will show future lenders you are responsible enough to make a house payment, build up your credit, excellent tax breaks for 1st time home buyers rite now, then you can sell and use the equity in the house to get the one you want when the time comes

Answer 2

There is no reason you shouldn't explore home ownership. Get yourself a cute condo in a desirable area and if 3, 5, 7, 10 years own the road you find yourself in a position to buy something else, go ahead. Maybe your HOA will allow you to rent your condo, and you can start emassing a RE empire. =)

Make sure you are checking into condo fees or HOA fees, they will be assessed monthly or annually. You'll want to see the CC&Rs too, those are the condo rules you have to abide by in order not to catch the angst of the HOA.

Not only will you be saving money monthly, you can deduct the mortgage interest from your taxes. It won't be a huge savings, but enough to buy a nice pair of shoes.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

Answer 3

Brandy, you need to do more homework. First talk with several loan officers to see what you qualify for in a loan. If the payment for that loan fit's into your financial picture for the long term, then maybe you should consider buying something now. As for what to buy, that is a personal decision, but I would caution you, you need to consider what would be easiest to resale in a short period of time. Say for example, you meet the guy of your dreams and he sweeps you off your feet to a hut in Hawaii, are you going to want to sit around and wait for your place to sell? So consider carefully when purchasing.

I can tell you that renting is money out the window. You get no return on your investment. And trying to save for the ultimate place, well that isn't too realistic theses days.

It doesn't cost anything to check this out with a loan officer and also use a Realtor. Just be honest that you may or may not buy something now. Let them show you a few things then think about it. Take your time. Don't let anyone push you into making a decision you may regret later. Some Agents can be really pushy, just tell them to back off! LOL

The best of luck!

Answer 4

I think that would be a very smart thing to do. If you can find a condo that you can afford, you should go for it. Just remember to count all the expenses of owning a home...in addition to the mtg payment, taxes and insurance, utilities, trash hauling, water and sewer -- these are things you don't pay when you rent. Don't forget the maintenance on the condo. Someone else does the exterior maintenance, but they do like to get paid. And remember that you can't change the exterior of the unit without permission. My condo won't give permission for any change to the front of the unit. I can't paint my front door without their permission.

Answer 5

Buy a condo. You could always rent it out later and buy your second home in addition to it. Why throw money out the window?

Answer 6

Every market is different. If its cheaper to buy, then buy it. Think of it as a stepping stone.