Buying a house

[Saggy Aggie]

Just put in my first ever offer on my first ever house.
Not bad for 24 y/o

[BwdLion73]

Congratulations, I bought my first house at 24!

I worried each night when I bought it if i would be able to make the payments. LOL

Filling up my vehicle cost more than the monthly payments were...good luck. ;)

[Saggy Aggie]

I'm not concerned about making the payments. The total monthly cost including taxes, HOA fees and insurance is just slightly more than I am paying for rent right now.

What I'm concerned about is my down payment, closing costs, inspections and all the fees that go along with this stuff. Really adds up....

[Tejastrue]

Why would you not already know the estimated closing costs ...they usually are pretty close...

[Saggy Aggie]

Why would you not already know the estimated closing costs ...they usually are pretty close...

I do know the estimate but I'm iffy on these kinds of things until the paper work is signed, everything is paid and I can still see that my account balance is in tact lol

[Saggy Aggie]

Also, there are multiple financing programs available at my credit union that I qualify for which each have different down payments and closing costs.

They told me we'd decide which program to use once we've come to an agreement on a house. So there is still a bit of uncertainty

[Tejastrue]

Yeah, I can see how that changes things a bit.

[waterboy]

It's definitely a "buyer's market" right now. Now, if you're selling a house, get ready to get low-balled..., at least in this part of the state. Be sure and get locked into a fixed APR, and go as short a term as possible.

[44INAROW]

Congratulations, I bought my first house at 24!

I worried each night when I bought it if i would be able to make the payments. LOL

Filling up my vehicle cost more than the monthly payments were...good luck. ;)

I hear you - lol.............. I wish we'd of never sold our 1st house... it was so cute :) would make a great rental

Congrats Saggy...

[Saggy Aggie]

Market is much different in katy. Pretty much every house is going to have multiple offers.

As you might expect, I didnt get it, mainly because I wasn't willing to overpay. But it's alright, I'm in no hurry. Gonna continue to look around

[Phil C]

Market is much different in katy. Pretty much every house is going to have multiple offers.

As you might expect, I didnt get it, mainly because I wasn't willing to overpay. But it's alright, I'm in no hurry. Gonna continue to look around

That is good. Patience is better than haste in something like this.

[Saggy Aggie]

Original house that we wanted (the reason we hired a realtor in the first place) came back on the market today.

Before we could schedule an appt last time they already had an agreement and stopped showing it.

Today, we had a chance to go see it and it did not disappoint. After doing comps, I actually think the house is a bit underpriced and so we just made a clean offer for asking price, no BS.

Hopefully they accept the offer before it has a chance to get multiple offers this wknd....

[regaleagle]

Yep, the housing market in Texas right now is pretty tight. All of that new construction a few years back has pretty much been cut by 50-75% because of the economy. Lots of out-of-staters moving in to Texas in the last few years to take advantage of low housing costs, taxes, and employment rate. All these factors make the real estate market in Texas in a "bubble" right now. There's a bubble in the market across the nation, being propped by QE money-printing, but esp. in Texas. Quality homes for sale are holding their prices, with multiple offers many times for full asking price.....or sometimes slightly over the asking price in markets like Houston and Austin. Interest rates are the lowest they've ever been and it's really cheaper than renting if you can qualify. Rents have been rising and many foreclosures are being bought by investors to turn into rental properties....the market is just that good.

[regaleagle]

My son and I have been talking about doing some real estate "flips" this year because of the glut of foreclosures available. We would concentrate on the lower-tier houses that we could buy in the $70k-110k range, do the upgrades and put them back on the market for sale. I'd like to do at least 4 this year. We already have accounts w/suppliers, crews and contacts in the industry to perform the work, but need to get our financing sources together in a plan before going forward. I've already been studying the market in different areas for probable good buys. The San Antonio market looks very promising, just comparing to many others.

[regaleagle]

Worst case scenario on these price-range houses....we could always just rent them out or "rent to own" could be another path....if we don't get a buyer in the first 4-5 weeks.

[Saggy Aggie]

Worst case scenario on these price-range houses....we could always just rent them out or "rent to own" could be another path....if we don't get a buyer in the first 4-5 weeks.

Very good market to be in if you've got a good eye for houses.

I personally don't like the idea of being a landlord and responsible for maintenance on a house I'm not living in and taking care of on a day to day basis.

[Saggy Aggie]

Not official yet but my realtor thinks we have an agreement in place. Hell yeah!

[regaleagle]

Very good market to be in if you've got a good eye for houses.

I personally don't like the idea of being a landlord and responsible for maintenance on a house I'm not living in and taking care of on a day to day basis.

Naturally.....the object is to turn the property and a good profit and then go get another one. The low interest rates, the higher rents, and the tighter market of available houses now point toward a more favorable arena to do these flips with a greater degree of success in a quicker turnaround.