Alright ya'll...as some of you know I'll be back in March or so. Hoping I'll land that AF recruiting gig in Duluth. Anyways, I've been lurking on yahoo for homes in the Duluth or Buford where my folks live. I've noticed the houses are cheaper in Buford. Closer to ATL gets more expensive? My housing allowance is going to be $1172 a month. I'm trying to buy a home thats at least a 2 car garage, 3 br, 2 bath, and thats less than 7 yrs old or so. Want it to be relatively new. For all you homeowners...advice would be cool from ya'll thats from there. Thanks. Shane
What all is supposed to be covered by housing allowance? With the current rates, depending on your credit, $1172/month ought to be good for something in the 150k range if you include PMI (you may not have to worry about this, around $60-80/month), insurance and property taxes... Can't help you on Buford vs Duluth, I am out in Snellville myself.
Awesome man! I just bought my 2nd home last year (1st one was in NJ) and in my experience, home buying has been one of the best investments I've ever made. Definitely, the closer you get to ATL the more you're going to pay. Is this your first house? If so, check on "first time buyer programs" with the mortgage companies. It may save you some money. I would highly suggest bankrate.com and realtor.com. Bankrate.com has some great information on mortgages and home buying, as well as current rates in your area and the mortgage calculator which will help estimate monthly payments (http://www.bankrate.com/brm/mortgage-calculator.asp). Remember, these are just estimates and you should really talk to a mortgage company to get more accurate numbers. Enjoy the reads...
hey guys thanks for all the good advice. yes this is my first home purchase. the housing allowance for ATL and metro area is $1172 a month. my plan is to buy a nice house for around a thousand or less, then have that extra to cover the utilities. if i have to spend a little out of my pocket to get that house i want..so be it. rexrocker...i will definately check out those sites you gave me. thanx! any other nice areas surrounding the duluth area? i'm sorta new to the area, as my parents are too. is snellville relatively close to duluth? thanks again ya'll! shane
I'll be honest with you. I hate owning a house. Yeah it has its perks but the money in interest and closing that you drop is big time. If you don't need the space I suggest renting an apt. Plus all the time I spend on that damn thing! My house has shot up nearly 20% in two years but if I sold tomorrow I'd still loose if you factor all the money I've spent in maintence, improvements, utilities, interest: then figure what I'd pay a realtor in commision. Unless you stay somewhere 5 years or more (not likely in the military) Subaru will probably move me in a year or two and next time I'll rent.
HMM..THATS STRANGE..I OWNED MY LAST HOUSED FOR 2 YEARS AND AFTER SELLING IT I WALKED AWAY WITH ABOUT 13 G'S IN MY POCKET
I think the issue isn't appreciation on the value of the home, but the maintenance/other costs associated with it. We have home owners association dues, yard maintenance (mulch, flowers, weed killer, winterizer, etc. etc.), the increased costs of utilities in a home vs. an apartment, other random ish you buy when you have more space, like deocrations, etc. There are many costs with home ownership that are difficult to calculate. However, with the housing market the way it is, and the interest rates reminaing low, it isn't a bad time to buy. I would look at a townhome or condo in an area that has a nice growth outlook if I knew I wasn't going to be in the area for long. That way, you defer some of those costs, and its easier to use as a rental property if he decides not to sell when he leaves again. Though, condos/townhomes tend to appreciate more slowly than houses. On the other hand, I love my house, the garage, the privacy of our fenced in backyard and not sharing walls with strangers...
I stand to grab a lot of cash too, but think of all that has been paid out. If you figured what you spent on the home vs what you think you made out with you'd get sick to your stomach
ShaneSTI, a townhouse might be a great option for you if you're worried about maintenance costs. If you're going to look at your home as an investment, unfortunately you're going to have to put some money into and pay the associated closing costs and interest on your loan that gotsol mentioned. There are many options available to you in terms of mortgage products that will help reduce closing costs and interest payments...talk to a mortgage company for more info. If you're looking for a place to simply live, get an apartment. The bad part of apartment living for me (not bashing, just offering my opinion), is much like leasing a car, when you're ready to leave the apt., you have nothing to show for it. You go rent again and the cycle continues. If you're in a townhouse/condo and you're ready to move, you could turn it around into a rental property or sell the property and use the equity to upgrade to another home...the cycle continues here too, but you're gaining an investment each time. Ask the renters (capable of buying a home) you know if they've been able to save 100k+ in 4 years during renting...I'm guessing the answer will be no. Ask a few homeowners how much equity they have in their home and do a comparison... As Scott said, rates are low and it's a good time to buy. In terms of area, the real estate trend is moving more towards townhouses and condos closer to Atlanta area. Townhouse living has been great for me and my wife. We're both working professionals and don't have a lot of time for landscaping, exterior upkeep, etc., and as Scott mentioned, the HOA covers this maintenance in your association dues. Anyways...I could go on ad nauseam about this topic. Home ownership has been great for me, and I recommend it those who feel like listening. Take your time...do your homework and research! Sorry for the long post! Later.
I'm new to the forum, so I dont know anyone here very well yet. Anyway, most real estate companies that are selling a house are making a 6% commission off of the sale. this money comes out of the sellers pocket's, not yours. so Thats not really something you need to worry about. If you can find a realtor to represent you, then that commission is split between the realtor that represents you and the realtor that represents the seller. Now with that being said, if you want to save a little cash, find a realtor that does it on the side, and they might be willing to split that commission with you, and having 1.5% of the purchase price of the house go back into your bank is always nice. 1.5% sounds like small change, but if you buy a 150K house, thats $2250.00 in your pocket :eek3: pretty sweet, eh? If you have the cash, you could buy a foreclosure off the courthouse steps in your county. Those usually go for +-80% of their true value. the only problem is when you win it, you have to hand them a certified check that day... so get your financing in order. Also, you could always go to a foreclosure sale, and after someone buys the house you want, walk up to them and ask them if they would like to do an owner finance. These guys buy and sell houses for a living, so they want to turn around a house asap. They usually have the cash in the bank to bankroll the house, and then make a percentage off of you just like a financial company would, only they would be making all profit, while a financial company has to pay employees and such. That way you could negotiate a smaller percentage rate from them cause they are a private party. Or if they dont want to finance you, offer to buy it in the next week as it is (ie. no fixing up or time spent on their part getting it ready for a sale) for 85-90% of its true value and they just might bite. that way they have a one month turnaround on a house and they can take that cash of theirs right back for next months foreclosure. PM me if you want the name of a realtor who would split that commission with you. No, its not me, but it is close family of mine.
Well again thanks everyone for the advice! Very much appreciated...the wife and I also talked about townhomes/condos for a first purchase. Were still doing our homework and I'll keep ya'll posted. Andy, I'll look more into this and get back to you. Thanks again!!! Shane
Really? are you sure about that being illegal? Well, he said he would give a deal on locating a house by messing with the commission numbers. How would that be illegal? please explain, thanks. Maybe he said something about a flat fee... Hmmm, I'll have to ask him what he did exactly then. I'd hate to mis-represent what he can do, but he made it sound like a deal. ShaneSTI - forget about what I said about splitting the commission until I find out how he really does it... Sorry.
only licensee can receive any portion of commission. Most likely it'll be under-the-table. This includes referral fee. Always there can be a loophole.... that's something that i can't really share. It's always good to shop for a realtor who will work on YOUR side (not seller) since it'll be your first home purchase. So seller side won't play any game on you.
Andy...no problem bro. Thanks for trying to help! JJang...I'll be in contact with ya here soon....thanks again. ShaneSTi
UPDATE* As some of ya'll know, I'm going to be recruiting out of ghetto Jonesboro. I'm PCS'n (permanent change of station) mid May and heading back to ATL. I got approved for a pretty good mortgage loan via USAA. Therefore, we already have a realitor e-mailing us different homes in the McDonough/Locust Grove area. I'm thinking Locust Grove might be too far out there in the sticks though. But, I'm not going to rule anything out. Primarily, I want to live in McDonough...close to a lot of shi# like restaurants, shopping, etc. Yeah I know I'm a city slicker...sorta. Well def not a country boy (btw..nothing wrong with that). Wish me luck ya'll! Looking forward to seeing ya'll soon! Oh maybe a house warming in the near future!!! By then it'll be nice n warm.