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January 21, 2009 at 12:22 PM in reply to: Help for young couple buying a first-time condo with FHA? #332440January 21, 2009 at 12:22 PM in reply to: Help for young couple buying a first-time condo with FHA? #332776
Blissful Ignoramus
ParticipantBriefly, I don’t like the math. I simply wouldn’t do a 90-95% LTV on a condo in San Diego in this environment. Even if you are sure you will stay long enough to break even or perhaps do better, I would save for a year or two to get the down payment percentage up to 20%. In the meantime, prices are due to continue dropping. That 20% is likely to be 20% of a much nicer place in a year or two. And this way you have no second mortgage (if you can even get one) and no PMI, a nicer place, and a much more reasonable equity cushion. Assuming reasonable habits and income growth, you can pay the thing off in your 10 year window (that may be true either way).
Another observation: How many people here bought their first place, and expected to live in it much longer than they actually did? I know I’m raising my hand right now. The market is likely to encourage you to stay put far more than it did me, but there are many unforeseen reasons for which people end up moving. Just sayin’…
Good luck!
January 21, 2009 at 12:22 PM in reply to: Help for young couple buying a first-time condo with FHA? #332856ParticipantBriefly, I don’t like the math. I simply wouldn’t do a 90-95% LTV on a condo in San Diego in this environment. Even if you are sure you will stay long enough to break even or perhaps do better, I would save for a year or two to get the down payment percentage up to 20%. In the meantime, prices are due to continue dropping. That 20% is likely to be 20% of a much nicer place in a year or two. And this way you have no second mortgage (if you can even get one) and no PMI, a nicer place, and a much more reasonable equity cushion. Assuming reasonable habits and income growth, you can pay the thing off in your 10 year window (that may be true either way).
Another observation: How many people here bought their first place, and expected to live in it much longer than they actually did? I know I’m raising my hand right now. The market is likely to encourage you to stay put far more than it did me, but there are many unforeseen reasons for which people end up moving. Just sayin’…
Good luck!
January 21, 2009 at 12:22 PM in reply to: Help for young couple buying a first-time condo with FHA? #332884ParticipantBriefly, I don’t like the math. I simply wouldn’t do a 90-95% LTV on a condo in San Diego in this environment. Even if you are sure you will stay long enough to break even or perhaps do better, I would save for a year or two to get the down payment percentage up to 20%. In the meantime, prices are due to continue dropping. That 20% is likely to be 20% of a much nicer place in a year or two. And this way you have no second mortgage (if you can even get one) and no PMI, a nicer place, and a much more reasonable equity cushion. Assuming reasonable habits and income growth, you can pay the thing off in your 10 year window (that may be true either way).
Another observation: How many people here bought their first place, and expected to live in it much longer than they actually did? I know I’m raising my hand right now. The market is likely to encourage you to stay put far more than it did me, but there are many unforeseen reasons for which people end up moving. Just sayin’…
Good luck!
January 21, 2009 at 12:22 PM in reply to: Help for young couple buying a first-time condo with FHA? #332968ParticipantBriefly, I don’t like the math. I simply wouldn’t do a 90-95% LTV on a condo in San Diego in this environment. Even if you are sure you will stay long enough to break even or perhaps do better, I would save for a year or two to get the down payment percentage up to 20%. In the meantime, prices are due to continue dropping. That 20% is likely to be 20% of a much nicer place in a year or two. And this way you have no second mortgage (if you can even get one) and no PMI, a nicer place, and a much more reasonable equity cushion. Assuming reasonable habits and income growth, you can pay the thing off in your 10 year window (that may be true either way).
Another observation: How many people here bought their first place, and expected to live in it much longer than they actually did? I know I’m raising my hand right now. The market is likely to encourage you to stay put far more than it did me, but there are many unforeseen reasons for which people end up moving. Just sayin’…
Good luck!
Participant[quote=FormerSanDiegan]”How do mortgage lenders look at that? Do they average across the three scores? Take the lowest score? The highest? ”
None of these.
They typically use the median (the middle score)[/quote]
Good news. Thanks!
Participant[quote=FormerSanDiegan]”How do mortgage lenders look at that? Do they average across the three scores? Take the lowest score? The highest? ”
None of these.
They typically use the median (the middle score)[/quote]
Good news. Thanks!
Participant[quote=FormerSanDiegan]”How do mortgage lenders look at that? Do they average across the three scores? Take the lowest score? The highest? ”
None of these.
They typically use the median (the middle score)[/quote]
Good news. Thanks!
Participant[quote=FormerSanDiegan]”How do mortgage lenders look at that? Do they average across the three scores? Take the lowest score? The highest? ”
None of these.
They typically use the median (the middle score)[/quote]
Good news. Thanks!
Participant[quote=FormerSanDiegan]”How do mortgage lenders look at that? Do they average across the three scores? Take the lowest score? The highest? ”
None of these.
They typically use the median (the middle score)[/quote]
Good news. Thanks!
Participant[quote=kewp]This is *great* news.
My job isn’t going anywhere. The more folks leave the higher my quality of life gets.
Is there any way we can keep them from coming back?[/quote]
And that’s the problem. I grew up in CA and moved away as a young adult, but the folks I know who’ve done it in recent years seem miserable, and seem to be divided into those who moved back and those who wish they could move back. While the housing bubble took it to absurd heights, California is worth paying a bit more for. That said, I’ll take my cheap cost of living and great schools, and hope that I can get my car in the ice-covered driveway tomorrow morning.
Participant[quote=kewp]This is *great* news.
My job isn’t going anywhere. The more folks leave the higher my quality of life gets.
Is there any way we can keep them from coming back?[/quote]
And that’s the problem. I grew up in CA and moved away as a young adult, but the folks I know who’ve done it in recent years seem miserable, and seem to be divided into those who moved back and those who wish they could move back. While the housing bubble took it to absurd heights, California is worth paying a bit more for. That said, I’ll take my cheap cost of living and great schools, and hope that I can get my car in the ice-covered driveway tomorrow morning.
Participant[quote=kewp]This is *great* news.
My job isn’t going anywhere. The more folks leave the higher my quality of life gets.
Is there any way we can keep them from coming back?[/quote]
And that’s the problem. I grew up in CA and moved away as a young adult, but the folks I know who’ve done it in recent years seem miserable, and seem to be divided into those who moved back and those who wish they could move back. While the housing bubble took it to absurd heights, California is worth paying a bit more for. That said, I’ll take my cheap cost of living and great schools, and hope that I can get my car in the ice-covered driveway tomorrow morning.
Participant[quote=kewp]This is *great* news.
My job isn’t going anywhere. The more folks leave the higher my quality of life gets.
Is there any way we can keep them from coming back?[/quote]
And that’s the problem. I grew up in CA and moved away as a young adult, but the folks I know who’ve done it in recent years seem miserable, and seem to be divided into those who moved back and those who wish they could move back. While the housing bubble took it to absurd heights, California is worth paying a bit more for. That said, I’ll take my cheap cost of living and great schools, and hope that I can get my car in the ice-covered driveway tomorrow morning.
Participant[quote=kewp]This is *great* news.
My job isn’t going anywhere. The more folks leave the higher my quality of life gets.
Is there any way we can keep them from coming back?[/quote]
And that’s the problem. I grew up in CA and moved away as a young adult, but the folks I know who’ve done it in recent years seem miserable, and seem to be divided into those who moved back and those who wish they could move back. While the housing bubble took it to absurd heights, California is worth paying a bit more for. That said, I’ll take my cheap cost of living and great schools, and hope that I can get my car in the ice-covered driveway tomorrow morning.
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