SDLaw06:
I’m also going to be a first time buyer within the next year, but from the good advice I’ve gleaned from reading Pigginton’s I won’t be rushing into it.
OK, I’m in LA not SD, and the bubble doesn’t seem to have burst here just yet, but it will. It’s still more cost effective to rent and commute 30 miles a day than it is to try and buy nearer to work.
As SD Realtor says, learn about your area and watch it for a while: I’ve saved about 50 homes on ZipRealty – some are affordable now, some very unaffordable- but I’m going to track them for the next year and see what happens.
Just like your wife, we don’t want to be renters forever. What we’ve done is put a little bit aside every month into a high-interest account, so that when the time comes we’ll be able to afford a 20+% deposit, points, closing and moving fees and to swing a 15 fixed on a house that’s affordable.
Resist the hype 🙂
We had three different Realtor businesses touting thier wares on our street on sunday (everything from flags planted on our lawn to ice cream trucks giving away popsicles with a free Realtors card…).
There’s a sea-change going on, even here in LaLaLand.
Up until a few weeks ago my husband and I felt like fools for not buying in 2000, when we could just about afford it. Now, looking at some of the things our co-workers have had to do to get on the housing ladder, we’re glad we were late to the party.
Anyway, as always, I’m light on data but heavy on anecdote 😉
