I'm in my 30s and it's time. Lots of people here have done it and probably made mistakes they wouldn't make if they could do it all over again.
Please god rescue me from making those mistakes. Tell me what happened that you regret or what you did that really worked for you. I'd especially appreciate it if you told me some easily overlooked things about a home you bought that you ended up hating or were annoying.
Some quick baseline as to where we are at. Please tell me if any of these are wrongheaded.
1. We've been mortgage pre-approved and we're going with a relative starter house so that we live within our means. After down-payment, our goal is to essentially not have our monthly mortgage payment be any larger than what we currently pay in rent so that we don't have to substantially change our lifestyle due to "house poor." We think we can do that while getting something nice enough that we'd actually want to live there.
2. We are tilting heavily towards buying one of the smaller, more modest homes in a very good neighborhood rather than a nicer home in a less desirable neighborhood. We don't have kids, but the neighborhood we're looking at is the best public school district in the Phoenix metro and has been for 15 years. Our thought process is that the tax base in this area is high and it is likely to remain nice for longer, even if we have one of the worst homes around. I believe that will also help keep our home values high but that's a pure guess.
3. In Phoenix, desert landscaping is common and it's hard to keep a lawn alive. I'm strongly tending towards trying to get something with minimal upkeep because I'm lazy. I have no idea if having a nice lawn really makes people that much happier.
4. Do people have opinions about HOAs? How do you tell if your HOA is bad or any good?
Anything else? I appreciate it. Thanks guys/gals.
Please god rescue me from making those mistakes. Tell me what happened that you regret or what you did that really worked for you. I'd especially appreciate it if you told me some easily overlooked things about a home you bought that you ended up hating or were annoying.
Some quick baseline as to where we are at. Please tell me if any of these are wrongheaded.
1. We've been mortgage pre-approved and we're going with a relative starter house so that we live within our means. After down-payment, our goal is to essentially not have our monthly mortgage payment be any larger than what we currently pay in rent so that we don't have to substantially change our lifestyle due to "house poor." We think we can do that while getting something nice enough that we'd actually want to live there.
2. We are tilting heavily towards buying one of the smaller, more modest homes in a very good neighborhood rather than a nicer home in a less desirable neighborhood. We don't have kids, but the neighborhood we're looking at is the best public school district in the Phoenix metro and has been for 15 years. Our thought process is that the tax base in this area is high and it is likely to remain nice for longer, even if we have one of the worst homes around. I believe that will also help keep our home values high but that's a pure guess.
3. In Phoenix, desert landscaping is common and it's hard to keep a lawn alive. I'm strongly tending towards trying to get something with minimal upkeep because I'm lazy. I have no idea if having a nice lawn really makes people that much happier.
4. Do people have opinions about HOAs? How do you tell if your HOA is bad or any good?
Anything else? I appreciate it. Thanks guys/gals.