How shall we buy our first house?

[an]

[quote=bearishgurl]
[side discussion hijack]AN, as captcha said, clothing and gear is a one-time expenditure. You can also buy used (most “used” clothing and equipment on CL is only slightly used). For growing children under the age of 14, it is wisest to rent their gear if you don’t live near any skiing, and buy their clothing used off CL or e-bay.

If you’re not purchasing new clothing and/or gear at the Del Mar Fairgrounds ski-blowout sale (previous-year models) in August or the Sports Chalet Labor Day Weekend sale (all over CA), you’re paying way too much.

Think “ski gear” when its hot outside :=)[/quote]
What’s the likelihood of someone having HH income of >$180k and looking for a $500k house be buying used clothing? Secondly, clothing is not a one time thing. At least for most people.

You don’t have to tell me about deals. You can get much cheaper deals online than any of these local shows or store. But they still cost a lot of money in comparison to other sports. There are not a lot of other sports that is more expensive, even if you live in the area.

[Scarlett]

That is true. Even though the OP provided quite a bit of a financial info about himself, only he knows what EXPENSES he has every month. For all we know one of his family has to travel a lot for personal reasons, or has an expensive hobby, or a medical condition, or kids take expensive classes/tutors, or he wants to save more for college or retirement etc.

At the very least the OP should try practicing that – putting aside the difference – $1500 let’s say for about 1 year. Shouldn’t be a problem for the OP, since he thinks it would take him another 2-3 yrs to save 50K – i.e. 17k a year or more… but nevertheless he should try.

Does anybody have a guesstimate how much to assign for maintenance?

[Scarlett]

That is true. Even though the OP provided quite a bit of a financial info about himself, only he knows what EXPENSES he has every month. For all we know one of his family has to travel a lot for personal reasons, or has an expensive hobby, or a medical condition, or kids take expensive classes/tutors, or he wants to save more for college or retirement etc.

At the very least the OP should try practicing that – putting aside the difference – $1500 let’s say for about 1 year. Shouldn’t be a problem for the OP, since he thinks it would take him another 2-3 yrs to save 50K – i.e. 17k a year or more… but nevertheless he should try.

Does anybody have a guesstimate how much to assign for maintenance?

[Scarlett]

That is true. Even though the OP provided quite a bit of a financial info about himself, only he knows what EXPENSES he has every month. For all we know one of his family has to travel a lot for personal reasons, or has an expensive hobby, or a medical condition, or kids take expensive classes/tutors, or he wants to save more for college or retirement etc.

At the very least the OP should try practicing that – putting aside the difference – $1500 let’s say for about 1 year. Shouldn’t be a problem for the OP, since he thinks it would take him another 2-3 yrs to save 50K – i.e. 17k a year or more… but nevertheless he should try.

Does anybody have a guesstimate how much to assign for maintenance?

[Scarlett]

That is true. Even though the OP provided quite a bit of a financial info about himself, only he knows what EXPENSES he has every month. For all we know one of his family has to travel a lot for personal reasons, or has an expensive hobby, or a medical condition, or kids take expensive classes/tutors, or he wants to save more for college or retirement etc.

At the very least the OP should try practicing that – putting aside the difference – $1500 let’s say for about 1 year. Shouldn’t be a problem for the OP, since he thinks it would take him another 2-3 yrs to save 50K – i.e. 17k a year or more… but nevertheless he should try.

Does anybody have a guesstimate how much to assign for maintenance?

[Scarlett]

That is true. Even though the OP provided quite a bit of a financial info about himself, only he knows what EXPENSES he has every month. For all we know one of his family has to travel a lot for personal reasons, or has an expensive hobby, or a medical condition, or kids take expensive classes/tutors, or he wants to save more for college or retirement etc.

At the very least the OP should try practicing that – putting aside the difference – $1500 let’s say for about 1 year. Shouldn’t be a problem for the OP, since he thinks it would take him another 2-3 yrs to save 50K – i.e. 17k a year or more… but nevertheless he should try.

Does anybody have a guesstimate how much to assign for maintenance?

[sdrealtor]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=sdrealtor]BG
Could you please repeat your retirement plans in detail again. You’ve posted them at least 20 times but I dont think any of us get tehm yet. perhaps another 20 or 30 times will do it.[/quote]

Certainly, sdr, if you will also :=}

Does it bother you that I’m fairly close to “retirement?”[/quote]

No it bothers me that you arent retired and out of our lives yet.

[sdrealtor]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=sdrealtor]BG
Could you please repeat your retirement plans in detail again. You’ve posted them at least 20 times but I dont think any of us get tehm yet. perhaps another 20 or 30 times will do it.[/quote]

Certainly, sdr, if you will also :=}

Does it bother you that I’m fairly close to “retirement?”[/quote]

No it bothers me that you arent retired and out of our lives yet.

[sdrealtor]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=sdrealtor]BG
Could you please repeat your retirement plans in detail again. You’ve posted them at least 20 times but I dont think any of us get tehm yet. perhaps another 20 or 30 times will do it.[/quote]

Certainly, sdr, if you will also :=}

Does it bother you that I’m fairly close to “retirement?”[/quote]

No it bothers me that you arent retired and out of our lives yet.

[sdrealtor]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=sdrealtor]BG
Could you please repeat your retirement plans in detail again. You’ve posted them at least 20 times but I dont think any of us get tehm yet. perhaps another 20 or 30 times will do it.[/quote]

Certainly, sdr, if you will also :=}

Does it bother you that I’m fairly close to “retirement?”[/quote]

No it bothers me that you arent retired and out of our lives yet.

[sdrealtor]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=sdrealtor]BG
Could you please repeat your retirement plans in detail again. You’ve posted them at least 20 times but I dont think any of us get tehm yet. perhaps another 20 or 30 times will do it.[/quote]

Certainly, sdr, if you will also :=}

Does it bother you that I’m fairly close to “retirement?”[/quote]

No it bothers me that you arent retired and out of our lives yet.

[bearishgurl]

Okay, back to the topic at hand.

UCguy, here’s my two-cents on your situation.

Firstly, I agree with the Pigg camp that states you absolutely need 20+% to put down in order to buy. But given your ages, I don’t think it is prudent to borrow from your 401K/403b plans. You never know what will happen in your life that could prevent you from paying it back after you purchase your home.

I agree with sdduuuuude. Especially that PMI is a nightmare and will add another time-consuming and bureaucratic layer of “qualifying” to your mortgage application process. Your lender’s PMI company will likely put your monthly income and outgo, etc., under a microscope during your escrow. Later, you will waste many months haggling with your lender and paying for an appraisal while you attempt to terminate it, IMO.

[quote=UCguy]Our rent is about $2200 for a 1800 sf home in PQ. Yes, of course the rent may vary in the next 10 years.[/quote]

This is high rent for an 1800 sf house. I’m not advocating that you move to South County, but it is only about $1850 mo for rent on a 2200 sf house in my neck of the woods. If you only have one small child, do you really NEED 1800 sf right now? School district doesn’t matter until your child will be entering the first grade. Attendance at a public kindergarten would be a good experience for your child anywhere, IMHO. In addition, kindergarten attendance is not mandatory in CA.

Your daycare costs of $1000 mo for one child is too high. Have you considered a good private or home daycare situation? Many of these caregivers are trained teachers and some even have a credential in CA or another state. Many home daycare providers offer a pre-K program in the mornings and also will pick up your child from morning or afternoon public kindergarten. I would venture that you can get FT care (incl meals & snacks, 3 hrs pre-K and naptime) for $600 – $750 mo for one child in a licensed daycare home F/T (may be less for kindergarteners). The Neighborhood House Assn gives home daycare providers in SD County vouchers for Food-4-Less to enable them to follow a strict nutritional menu for breakfast and lunch. They can either use convenience food (peel-off jellos/puddings and toaster waffles, for example) or make these items from scratch and return the unused vouchers every month for “Little Tike” vouchers. These points are used to buy “Little Tike” playground equipment for their backyards. Here are a couple of links to get a referral.

http://www.childcarecommunityreferralservice.com/

http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/attraction/childcare-resource-service-92000

If you can lower your rent for the next 2-3 years to =<$1500 and lower your daycare expense to $600-$700, you will free up another $1000+ per month to save for your downpayment.

I wouldn’t worry so much about accumulating a huge amt of cash reserves upon closing. Lenders requirements vary between 2 and 6 months. If your place isn’t perfect when you move in or (has an old frig, old carpet, etc.), I would just clean the carpet (if not done) and fix/replace minor things, paint as needed and move in, if there were no safety issues (i.e. a very old H/W heater). Contrary to popular belief, you don’t NEED to spend thousands the minute you take title to a house and before you move in. You can make repairs/improvements little by little.

And read the “Tightwad Gazette” as scaredy suggested here :=]

see: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Tightwad-Gazette-Amy-Dacyczyn/dp/0375752250

Good luck on your savings plan! You should be able to buy in 18-24 months if you can cut way back on these two (expensive) items.

[bearishgurl]

Okay, back to the topic at hand.

UCguy, here’s my two-cents on your situation.

Firstly, I agree with the Pigg camp that states you absolutely need 20+% to put down in order to buy. But given your ages, I don’t think it is prudent to borrow from your 401K/403b plans. You never know what will happen in your life that could prevent you from paying it back after you purchase your home.

I agree with sdduuuuude. Especially that PMI is a nightmare and will add another time-consuming and bureaucratic layer of “qualifying” to your mortgage application process. Your lender’s PMI company will likely put your monthly income and outgo, etc., under a microscope during your escrow. Later, you will waste many months haggling with your lender and paying for an appraisal while you attempt to terminate it, IMO.

[quote=UCguy]Our rent is about $2200 for a 1800 sf home in PQ. Yes, of course the rent may vary in the next 10 years.[/quote]

This is high rent for an 1800 sf house. I’m not advocating that you move to South County, but it is only about $1850 mo for rent on a 2200 sf house in my neck of the woods. If you only have one small child, do you really NEED 1800 sf right now? School district doesn’t matter until your child will be entering the first grade. Attendance at a public kindergarten would be a good experience for your child anywhere, IMHO. In addition, kindergarten attendance is not mandatory in CA.

Your daycare costs of $1000 mo for one child is too high. Have you considered a good private or home daycare situation? Many of these caregivers are trained teachers and some even have a credential in CA or another state. Many home daycare providers offer a pre-K program in the mornings and also will pick up your child from morning or afternoon public kindergarten. I would venture that you can get FT care (incl meals & snacks, 3 hrs pre-K and naptime) for $600 – $750 mo for one child in a licensed daycare home F/T (may be less for kindergarteners). The Neighborhood House Assn gives home daycare providers in SD County vouchers for Food-4-Less to enable them to follow a strict nutritional menu for breakfast and lunch. They can either use convenience food (peel-off jellos/puddings and toaster waffles, for example) or make these items from scratch and return the unused vouchers every month for “Little Tike” vouchers. These points are used to buy “Little Tike” playground equipment for their backyards. Here are a couple of links to get a referral.

http://www.childcarecommunityreferralservice.com/

http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/attraction/childcare-resource-service-92000

If you can lower your rent for the next 2-3 years to =<$1500 and lower your daycare expense to $600-$700, you will free up another $1000+ per month to save for your downpayment.

I wouldn’t worry so much about accumulating a huge amt of cash reserves upon closing. Lenders requirements vary between 2 and 6 months. If your place isn’t perfect when you move in or (has an old frig, old carpet, etc.), I would just clean the carpet (if not done) and fix/replace minor things, paint as needed and move in, if there were no safety issues (i.e. a very old H/W heater). Contrary to popular belief, you don’t NEED to spend thousands the minute you take title to a house and before you move in. You can make repairs/improvements little by little.

And read the “Tightwad Gazette” as scaredy suggested here :=]

see: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Tightwad-Gazette-Amy-Dacyczyn/dp/0375752250

Good luck on your savings plan! You should be able to buy in 18-24 months if you can cut way back on these two (expensive) items.

[bearishgurl]

Okay, back to the topic at hand.

UCguy, here’s my two-cents on your situation.

Firstly, I agree with the Pigg camp that states you absolutely need 20+% to put down in order to buy. But given your ages, I don’t think it is prudent to borrow from your 401K/403b plans. You never know what will happen in your life that could prevent you from paying it back after you purchase your home.

I agree with sdduuuuude. Especially that PMI is a nightmare and will add another time-consuming and bureaucratic layer of “qualifying” to your mortgage application process. Your lender’s PMI company will likely put your monthly income and outgo, etc., under a microscope during your escrow. Later, you will waste many months haggling with your lender and paying for an appraisal while you attempt to terminate it, IMO.

[quote=UCguy]Our rent is about $2200 for a 1800 sf home in PQ. Yes, of course the rent may vary in the next 10 years.[/quote]

This is high rent for an 1800 sf house. I’m not advocating that you move to South County, but it is only about $1850 mo for rent on a 2200 sf house in my neck of the woods. If you only have one small child, do you really NEED 1800 sf right now? School district doesn’t matter until your child will be entering the first grade. Attendance at a public kindergarten would be a good experience for your child anywhere, IMHO. In addition, kindergarten attendance is not mandatory in CA.

Your daycare costs of $1000 mo for one child is too high. Have you considered a good private or home daycare situation? Many of these caregivers are trained teachers and some even have a credential in CA or another state. Many home daycare providers offer a pre-K program in the mornings and also will pick up your child from morning or afternoon public kindergarten. I would venture that you can get FT care (incl meals & snacks, 3 hrs pre-K and naptime) for $600 – $750 mo for one child in a licensed daycare home F/T (may be less for kindergarteners). The Neighborhood House Assn gives home daycare providers in SD County vouchers for Food-4-Less to enable them to follow a strict nutritional menu for breakfast and lunch. They can either use convenience food (peel-off jellos/puddings and toaster waffles, for example) or make these items from scratch and return the unused vouchers every month for “Little Tike” vouchers. These points are used to buy “Little Tike” playground equipment for their backyards. Here are a couple of links to get a referral.

http://www.childcarecommunityreferralservice.com/

http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/attraction/childcare-resource-service-92000

If you can lower your rent for the next 2-3 years to =<$1500 and lower your daycare expense to $600-$700, you will free up another $1000+ per month to save for your downpayment.

I wouldn’t worry so much about accumulating a huge amt of cash reserves upon closing. Lenders requirements vary between 2 and 6 months. If your place isn’t perfect when you move in or (has an old frig, old carpet, etc.), I would just clean the carpet (if not done) and fix/replace minor things, paint as needed and move in, if there were no safety issues (i.e. a very old H/W heater). Contrary to popular belief, you don’t NEED to spend thousands the minute you take title to a house and before you move in. You can make repairs/improvements little by little.

And read the “Tightwad Gazette” as scaredy suggested here :=]

see: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Tightwad-Gazette-Amy-Dacyczyn/dp/0375752250

Good luck on your savings plan! You should be able to buy in 18-24 months if you can cut way back on these two (expensive) items.

[bearishgurl]

Okay, back to the topic at hand.

UCguy, here’s my two-cents on your situation.

Firstly, I agree with the Pigg camp that states you absolutely need 20+% to put down in order to buy. But given your ages, I don’t think it is prudent to borrow from your 401K/403b plans. You never know what will happen in your life that could prevent you from paying it back after you purchase your home.

I agree with sdduuuuude. Especially that PMI is a nightmare and will add another time-consuming and bureaucratic layer of “qualifying” to your mortgage application process. Your lender’s PMI company will likely put your monthly income and outgo, etc., under a microscope during your escrow. Later, you will waste many months haggling with your lender and paying for an appraisal while you attempt to terminate it, IMO.

[quote=UCguy]Our rent is about $2200 for a 1800 sf home in PQ. Yes, of course the rent may vary in the next 10 years.[/quote]

This is high rent for an 1800 sf house. I’m not advocating that you move to South County, but it is only about $1850 mo for rent on a 2200 sf house in my neck of the woods. If you only have one small child, do you really NEED 1800 sf right now? School district doesn’t matter until your child will be entering the first grade. Attendance at a public kindergarten would be a good experience for your child anywhere, IMHO. In addition, kindergarten attendance is not mandatory in CA.

Your daycare costs of $1000 mo for one child is too high. Have you considered a good private or home daycare situation? Many of these caregivers are trained teachers and some even have a credential in CA or another state. Many home daycare providers offer a pre-K program in the mornings and also will pick up your child from morning or afternoon public kindergarten. I would venture that you can get FT care (incl meals & snacks, 3 hrs pre-K and naptime) for $600 – $750 mo for one child in a licensed daycare home F/T (may be less for kindergarteners). The Neighborhood House Assn gives home daycare providers in SD County vouchers for Food-4-Less to enable them to follow a strict nutritional menu for breakfast and lunch. They can either use convenience food (peel-off jellos/puddings and toaster waffles, for example) or make these items from scratch and return the unused vouchers every month for “Little Tike” vouchers. These points are used to buy “Little Tike” playground equipment for their backyards. Here are a couple of links to get a referral.

http://www.childcarecommunityreferralservice.com/

http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/attraction/childcare-resource-service-92000

If you can lower your rent for the next 2-3 years to =<$1500 and lower your daycare expense to $600-$700, you will free up another $1000+ per month to save for your downpayment.

I wouldn’t worry so much about accumulating a huge amt of cash reserves upon closing. Lenders requirements vary between 2 and 6 months. If your place isn’t perfect when you move in or (has an old frig, old carpet, etc.), I would just clean the carpet (if not done) and fix/replace minor things, paint as needed and move in, if there were no safety issues (i.e. a very old H/W heater). Contrary to popular belief, you don’t NEED to spend thousands the minute you take title to a house and before you move in. You can make repairs/improvements little by little.

And read the “Tightwad Gazette” as scaredy suggested here :=]

see: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Tightwad-Gazette-Amy-Dacyczyn/dp/0375752250

Good luck on your savings plan! You should be able to buy in 18-24 months if you can cut way back on these two (expensive) items.

[Author]

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