Help for young couple buying a first-time condo with FHA?

[urbanrealtor]

I would check out Normal Heights north of Adams.

I just showed a house on Mansfield there (about 1300 sqft) and about 250-300k asking.

Thats pretty much the price of a 2br apt in central Hillcrest.

I host open houses there (Hillcrest) constantly.

As an alternative, I would look at North Park east of 30th (probably north of Upas).

Finally, I would have a peak at some of the places in South Park (basically greater North Park South of Juniper). I have seen several places there (especially those with the 92102 zip code) that really make a lot of sense.

Okay and one other area to check out.
Sorry, I am a geek about this.
This is more for those who don’t have kids and are more interested in really gorgeous historic neighborhoods. Its a touch sketchy but Sherman Heights (east of the ballpark and south of 94) has lots of buildings that are more than 100 years old and can be bought for cheap. Again a sketchy neighborhood but truly incredible homes.

[Balboabride]

Thank you so much for all your responses! To answer your questions…yes, we DO have an emergency fund saved up (certainly not 12 months, though! We just paid for our wedding and that ate a lot. LOL!) and we do not want children.

We will definately check your suggested neighborhoods…although I fear some of your suggestions are way out of our price range(We want to top put at 220k so that we can still continue to save aggressively) Is there anywhere North or East of Central San Diego that is in the low-end range but a good investment?

In regards to the condo vs. house question…children are not in our future and we work and travel a lot. My husband does numbers for a living…so he is not what you would call “handy”.

That said, do you still think that waiting to buy a house is the right thing to do? I worry that a house is too much work and…just too much space for a young couple and their dog….

I am interested your opinions, because we are getting this advice (wait and buy a house) from a few people—but I still think if we could get into a “easy to care for” condo at a low short sale price right now– we’d enjoy a great tax benefit that would be “easier” on us as a couple than “stretching” our budget to get into a house.

Is the advice about buying a home because condos are hard to resell and therefore a bad investment or is it because owning a house is, in your opinion, an “ideal”?

Thank you so much for your input…we are truly open to ideas and wish to make a sound investment for our future together.

[Balboabride]

Thank you so much for all your responses! To answer your questions…yes, we DO have an emergency fund saved up (certainly not 12 months, though! We just paid for our wedding and that ate a lot. LOL!) and we do not want children.

We will definately check your suggested neighborhoods…although I fear some of your suggestions are way out of our price range(We want to top put at 220k so that we can still continue to save aggressively) Is there anywhere North or East of Central San Diego that is in the low-end range but a good investment?

In regards to the condo vs. house question…children are not in our future and we work and travel a lot. My husband does numbers for a living…so he is not what you would call “handy”.

That said, do you still think that waiting to buy a house is the right thing to do? I worry that a house is too much work and…just too much space for a young couple and their dog….

I am interested your opinions, because we are getting this advice (wait and buy a house) from a few people—but I still think if we could get into a “easy to care for” condo at a low short sale price right now– we’d enjoy a great tax benefit that would be “easier” on us as a couple than “stretching” our budget to get into a house.

Is the advice about buying a home because condos are hard to resell and therefore a bad investment or is it because owning a house is, in your opinion, an “ideal”?

Thank you so much for your input…we are truly open to ideas and wish to make a sound investment for our future together.

[Balboabride]

Thank you so much for all your responses! To answer your questions…yes, we DO have an emergency fund saved up (certainly not 12 months, though! We just paid for our wedding and that ate a lot. LOL!) and we do not want children.

We will definately check your suggested neighborhoods…although I fear some of your suggestions are way out of our price range(We want to top put at 220k so that we can still continue to save aggressively) Is there anywhere North or East of Central San Diego that is in the low-end range but a good investment?

In regards to the condo vs. house question…children are not in our future and we work and travel a lot. My husband does numbers for a living…so he is not what you would call “handy”.

That said, do you still think that waiting to buy a house is the right thing to do? I worry that a house is too much work and…just too much space for a young couple and their dog….

I am interested your opinions, because we are getting this advice (wait and buy a house) from a few people—but I still think if we could get into a “easy to care for” condo at a low short sale price right now– we’d enjoy a great tax benefit that would be “easier” on us as a couple than “stretching” our budget to get into a house.

Is the advice about buying a home because condos are hard to resell and therefore a bad investment or is it because owning a house is, in your opinion, an “ideal”?

Thank you so much for your input…we are truly open to ideas and wish to make a sound investment for our future together.

[Balboabride]

Thank you so much for all your responses! To answer your questions…yes, we DO have an emergency fund saved up (certainly not 12 months, though! We just paid for our wedding and that ate a lot. LOL!) and we do not want children.

We will definately check your suggested neighborhoods…although I fear some of your suggestions are way out of our price range(We want to top put at 220k so that we can still continue to save aggressively) Is there anywhere North or East of Central San Diego that is in the low-end range but a good investment?

In regards to the condo vs. house question…children are not in our future and we work and travel a lot. My husband does numbers for a living…so he is not what you would call “handy”.

That said, do you still think that waiting to buy a house is the right thing to do? I worry that a house is too much work and…just too much space for a young couple and their dog….

I am interested your opinions, because we are getting this advice (wait and buy a house) from a few people—but I still think if we could get into a “easy to care for” condo at a low short sale price right now– we’d enjoy a great tax benefit that would be “easier” on us as a couple than “stretching” our budget to get into a house.

Is the advice about buying a home because condos are hard to resell and therefore a bad investment or is it because owning a house is, in your opinion, an “ideal”?

Thank you so much for your input…we are truly open to ideas and wish to make a sound investment for our future together.

[Balboabride]

Thank you so much for all your responses! To answer your questions…yes, we DO have an emergency fund saved up (certainly not 12 months, though! We just paid for our wedding and that ate a lot. LOL!) and we do not want children.

We will definately check your suggested neighborhoods…although I fear some of your suggestions are way out of our price range(We want to top put at 220k so that we can still continue to save aggressively) Is there anywhere North or East of Central San Diego that is in the low-end range but a good investment?

In regards to the condo vs. house question…children are not in our future and we work and travel a lot. My husband does numbers for a living…so he is not what you would call “handy”.

That said, do you still think that waiting to buy a house is the right thing to do? I worry that a house is too much work and…just too much space for a young couple and their dog….

I am interested your opinions, because we are getting this advice (wait and buy a house) from a few people—but I still think if we could get into a “easy to care for” condo at a low short sale price right now– we’d enjoy a great tax benefit that would be “easier” on us as a couple than “stretching” our budget to get into a house.

Is the advice about buying a home because condos are hard to resell and therefore a bad investment or is it because owning a house is, in your opinion, an “ideal”?

Thank you so much for your input…we are truly open to ideas and wish to make a sound investment for our future together.

[4plexowner]

“Condo loans with less than 25% equity will cost .75% more than a house.”

http://piggington.com/fnma_new_loan_pricing_increases

now why would FNMA want 3/4’s of a point more for condos than for single family houses?

could it be that condos are a bad investment?

[4plexowner]

“Condo loans with less than 25% equity will cost .75% more than a house.”

http://piggington.com/fnma_new_loan_pricing_increases

now why would FNMA want 3/4’s of a point more for condos than for single family houses?

could it be that condos are a bad investment?

[4plexowner]

“Condo loans with less than 25% equity will cost .75% more than a house.”

http://piggington.com/fnma_new_loan_pricing_increases

now why would FNMA want 3/4’s of a point more for condos than for single family houses?

could it be that condos are a bad investment?

[4plexowner]

“Condo loans with less than 25% equity will cost .75% more than a house.”

http://piggington.com/fnma_new_loan_pricing_increases

now why would FNMA want 3/4’s of a point more for condos than for single family houses?

could it be that condos are a bad investment?

[4plexowner]

“Condo loans with less than 25% equity will cost .75% more than a house.”

http://piggington.com/fnma_new_loan_pricing_increases

now why would FNMA want 3/4’s of a point more for condos than for single family houses?

could it be that condos are a bad investment?

[NotCranky]

There are houses with tiny yards in the areas Urban realtor is talking about. They won’t require much more work than a condo. I guess prices there will come down significantly in the next year or two. Depending on relative purchase price HOA fees could go towards maintenance.

I don’t really favor condos from any perspective, except maybe as a way to afford life in a really great community. Each to their own of course.

As long as you are still considering them and have asked about eastern areas, You might look at Rancho San Diego. This is less dense, suburban area east of town on the 94. Some of the condo grounds have a somewhat open feel, if one prefers that to living in a box next to another box, as is the situation in many centrally located buildings. The units should be priced lower per sq. foot the further east you go. You might consider how important a unit with a small patio might be to you, your husband and the pooch. Just in case you aren’t aware of it, it gets quite a bit hotter in the summer as you go east,especially in the valleys.

La Mesa is nice. Maybe one of the best balances of urban/suburban in the county.

[NotCranky]

There are houses with tiny yards in the areas Urban realtor is talking about. They won’t require much more work than a condo. I guess prices there will come down significantly in the next year or two. Depending on relative purchase price HOA fees could go towards maintenance.

I don’t really favor condos from any perspective, except maybe as a way to afford life in a really great community. Each to their own of course.

As long as you are still considering them and have asked about eastern areas, You might look at Rancho San Diego. This is less dense, suburban area east of town on the 94. Some of the condo grounds have a somewhat open feel, if one prefers that to living in a box next to another box, as is the situation in many centrally located buildings. The units should be priced lower per sq. foot the further east you go. You might consider how important a unit with a small patio might be to you, your husband and the pooch. Just in case you aren’t aware of it, it gets quite a bit hotter in the summer as you go east,especially in the valleys.

La Mesa is nice. Maybe one of the best balances of urban/suburban in the county.

[NotCranky]

There are houses with tiny yards in the areas Urban realtor is talking about. They won’t require much more work than a condo. I guess prices there will come down significantly in the next year or two. Depending on relative purchase price HOA fees could go towards maintenance.

I don’t really favor condos from any perspective, except maybe as a way to afford life in a really great community. Each to their own of course.

As long as you are still considering them and have asked about eastern areas, You might look at Rancho San Diego. This is less dense, suburban area east of town on the 94. Some of the condo grounds have a somewhat open feel, if one prefers that to living in a box next to another box, as is the situation in many centrally located buildings. The units should be priced lower per sq. foot the further east you go. You might consider how important a unit with a small patio might be to you, your husband and the pooch. Just in case you aren’t aware of it, it gets quite a bit hotter in the summer as you go east,especially in the valleys.

La Mesa is nice. Maybe one of the best balances of urban/suburban in the county.

[NotCranky]

There are houses with tiny yards in the areas Urban realtor is talking about. They won’t require much more work than a condo. I guess prices there will come down significantly in the next year or two. Depending on relative purchase price HOA fees could go towards maintenance.

I don’t really favor condos from any perspective, except maybe as a way to afford life in a really great community. Each to their own of course.

As long as you are still considering them and have asked about eastern areas, You might look at Rancho San Diego. This is less dense, suburban area east of town on the 94. Some of the condo grounds have a somewhat open feel, if one prefers that to living in a box next to another box, as is the situation in many centrally located buildings. The units should be priced lower per sq. foot the further east you go. You might consider how important a unit with a small patio might be to you, your husband and the pooch. Just in case you aren’t aware of it, it gets quite a bit hotter in the summer as you go east,especially in the valleys.

La Mesa is nice. Maybe one of the best balances of urban/suburban in the county.

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