...and I have almost no idea where to start. We've been looking at new(er) properties, but we can't really make up our minds whether we want to:

Option 1: Buy a fixer upper, and flip it for a profit.
Option 2: Just buy a new(er) property and be hang around for a while.

Any input is greatly appreciated. I'm just tired of throwing money out the window every month in this damn apartment.

Well just don't overestimate what you can afford. There will be a million things come up you haven’t thought of. Don't let the real-estate agent or the bank talk you into something you can't afford. You will just end up hating it.

I think a good rule is don’t have a payment over a third of your income.

Doing the fixer upper thing is great, if it works.

I've had a lot of friends try it and have the market take an unexpected nose dive.

I'd get something reasonably nice within your price range and hold on to it for a while. Real estate is probably the best long term investment.

I've been looking at a house for a while now, kinda depends on where job takes me. I hate this damn apartment... it's full of beaners

I live in the nicest apartment complex in the city, hands down. Surprisingly, that's saying a lot here.

However, the rent is higher than most mortgages. I wouldn't mind if I was nomadic and didn't have a choice, but now we plan on being here for another 5-7 years or more, so I don't think I should keep throwing money out the window.

Buy a stick home, new. It has an oppisite effect than cars. they go up in price after purchase. Live in it for 3 years then sell it for another new or a real bargain. repeat. Eventually you'll buy a huge dream house. At least that is what several books i have read told me. I live on 30K profit. No one is buying at the moment. YOU HAVE THE POWER! Its a buyers market. Demand a bargain!

Are you a handy man?

Are you a handy man?

That's why we were thinking about a fixer upper ;)

I want to have a specific setup, so I may get something built if I can't find a home to fit my needs. I'm a huge Home Theater Buff, so I need a huge room for a theater like atmosphere. Right now, my home theather is my sun room, and I can't mount my projector :(

On top of that, I can't work on the car in the parking lot of my complex, at least not without people being nosey and shit...anyway, i'll quit rambling...

I'll post some links/pics of what i've been looking at. SC is a great market to buy in right now. Homes are dirt cheap, and I could probably get 100% financing without a problem. I refuse to give up a chunk of my nest egg for a home I won't be living in for a long time.

Whatever you do, make sure you buy the house that you want. Dont settle for anything that you are not happy with 100%. Don't let a realtor talk you into something that they want you to buy. Remember they get paid by how much the home sells for and they work for the seller.

Number 1 rule....figure out how much you can afford, before looking, before getting preapproved. Use that as your starting point.

Remember each bank has different rules. Some charge PMI, some make you escrow your taxes and insurance. There are many different types of loans. Personally I would stay away from anything with an ARM or interest only.

I bought my house almost 3 years ago now. It needed some work, and I have begun to update it quite a bit more then what I had originally planned, but Kitchens and Baths are big ticket items when it comes time to sell.

Deffinatly stay away from interest only loans, I had my house built last year with an interest only loan from the equity in my mothers house. Interest rate started at 7% and went to 8.5% (in one year) when I locked in in February. On 200k, the payment went way up. But other than that don't over extend yourself and become house poor. Good luck with your home purchase.

Like said before, Find a loan amount first and use that to determine how much house you can buy.

Now is a good time to buy but prices in our area are not low, Half backs are running for the area.

If you like to do your own work then a light fixeruper is great, I would not jump on the "oh my god this is a peice of shit" unless the flip will be well worth it.


Personaly I suggest a nice small house, pay it off and live debt free.

heh...

I wouldn't buy a fixerupper for your first home. IMO your first house ownership should be something that you can just live in and maintain for the first few years and not have to be working on it while paying on it. The best kind of fixer home is one you can pay cash for and then dump all the money into fixing it rather then into the mortgage.

and all this "flip that house" crap for profit, the thing they never show you or tell you about it when the market takes a huge dive and you wind up losing your ass on it rather then making all these thousands of dollars of profit. Going into a house on the premise that its going to make you money is just going to dissapoint you in the future. Sure, they gain value, but 90% of the time they don't gain as much value as you wish they would have.

And finally, if you want a "specific" layout you will never find a home that will satisfy you that wasn't built just for you. Even if you find one that is "close" it still isn't going to be 'exactly' what you wanted.

edit:

As for myself, I guess I'm just an 'easy' person for house buying. I just went with the cheapest one I could find on the market that still filled the needs I had. There is still a lot of stuff I wish the place I got would have had that it didn't, but it will work for the next few years.

Well the home i'm looking at is a foreclosure. Anyone who's bought a foreclosed home knows that they took every'fuckin'thing except the kitchen sink. However, in this case they took the hot water heater, light fixtures, fucked up the carpet, etc. What's interesting is that they left their satellite dish.

But it's cheaper than the same exact house next door. $25,000 cheaper. 3BR, 2.5 Baths, garage, etc. 1500 sq. ft. It's just the two of us, and we're not having kids for a while, so it's just about perfect for us right now.

I'm going to have another look at it tomorrow. I know i'm gonna have to make up my mind soon because they've gotten offers on it.

I've been looking at a house for a while now, kinda depends on where job takes me. I hate this damn apartment... it's full of beaners


You must be up in Thorton then.....

foreclosures can also be a great deal

Marks true nature, capitalizing on the misfortunes of others....

Marks true nature, capitalizing on the misfortunes of others....

If you want to sling shit at each other, then make another thread in :smacktalk:

You must be up in Thorton then.....
Tech center, actually. I25 and arapahoe.
All the restaurants have to have people to cook and clean dishes from the rich assholes with their private jets that fly into centennial...

North and south of me is beaners, east of me is the rich assholes, west of me is cherry hills... more rich soccer-mom-type assholes.

Thornton/northglenn is pretty bad though, i gotta say. Hell, most of denver is overrun with them.

If you want to sling shit at each other, then make another thread in :smacktalk:


+1!!!!!



Friend of mine bought a house 3 years ago for $74k.. a real "fixer upper".

He's spent about $15k on it, including windows and crap, it's now worth $110K... quite a profit margin!

Of course, that doesn't count the hours he's put into working on it, which I'm sure are quite a few... but probably not $20,000 worth.

+1!!!!!



Friend of mine bought a house 3 years ago for $74k.. a real "fixer upper".

He's spent about $15k on it, including windows and crap, it's now worth $110K... quite a profit margin!

Of course, that doesn't count the hours he's put into working on it, which I'm sure are quite a few... but probably not $20,000 worth.


Dont forget about the 5k in interest on the loan each year.