any meso bros own real estate?

[NovaFlex]

the wife and I are looking into purchasing our first house. I've been doing a lot of reading about it, but Jesus Christ there's so much info...

any bros have any experience in this area that could give some tips?

 

[T_verde77]

If you're buying a home for a main residence make sure that's where u want to live forever. U will be financially better off that way usually.

What are u struggling with?

 

[NovaFlex]

If you're buying a home for a main residence make sure that's where u want to live forever. U will be financially better off that way usually.

What are u struggling with?

We're doing this more as a long term investment... I want to get into renting property. But we'd obviously live there for a while.

honestly, I just don't want to be ignorant in the process. I'm reading about Bbids and closing and all that. my biggest fear is trying to get a loan. I know about 20% down. But with little credit, i dont know if I'd ever get accepted.

 

[crossfitisgay]

if you have the down payment the walmart second chance banking institutions will give you a home loan

 

[lucabratzi]

I've bought 2 homes and sold one. I'm a financial advisor and honestly even though I've made money on the sales and purchase it still feels like a shitty investment.

Reason I say that is because if I invest my money in the stock market I can buy something that pays a dividend. So I'm being paid Just to invest. Where w a home I'm Payin 2% a year in taxes plus home owners insurance, plus repairs, plus hoa fees, ect. It all depends on the size of you're house but it's costing me at least $40k a year. So the value has to go up by at least that every year to break even.


As far as financing it's hard these days. Your required to put more down than in the past and have higher credit. The funny thing is interest rates are artificially low because of the fed reserve in order to get people to get loans and spend money. But banks don't want to lend money cause they make so little. So they make the standands higher to limit their risk.

You may need to start smaller than you wanted. Don't over leverage yourself and buy bigger then end up not being able to get a loan or afford it. Start small build you're credit up and upgrade later.

I'd get a fixed rate too. It's so low that you'd want to lock it in. Rates are expected to go up in the next few years so if u get a "arm" you're mortgage could go up big time.

As far as closing I've heard different things. For me when i bought 2 times and sold once the seller always paid full closing cost. But a buddy told me it was split. Maybe that's how we negotiated but ideally have the seller cover them

Always have a lawyer look at the contract not just the realtor. Also make sure the contract gives you ample time to inspect the home and ditch the contract if u find something wrong. Try to put as little into escrow as possible and give yourself enough "outs" that if something isn't to you're liking u can pull out and get that money back. And try to make that money not "go hard" for as long as possible. To give u a time frame a 30 day close is pretty quick. Try to get at least 45 days.

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

I've learned alot from my failures. I bought my first home for just under 100k when I was 21. Lost it by the time I was 26. I took on too much. Too many other loans. Houses cost alot of money. It's not just the mortgage. Once you buy one you have to fill it and mow it and fix it. Ideally don't buy a house if you have existing debt. That was the biggest mistake I made. Alot of people get lulled in to a false sense of financial stability assuming they will always be able to make all their payments. Any fool can get credit for anything. A smart man pays cash

Too bad I didn't find Dave Ramsey back then. I'd be alot farther ahead

 

[BULKTIME]

I've learned alot from my failures. I bought my first home for just under 100k when I was 21. Lost it by the time I was 26. I took on too much. Too many other loans. Houses cost alot of money. It's not just the mortgage. Once you buy one you have to fill it and mow it and fix it. Ideally don't buy a house if you have existing debt. That was the biggest mistake I made. Alot of people get lulled in to a false sense of financial stability assuming they will always be able to make all their payments. Any fool can get credit for anything. A smart man pays cash

Too bad I didn't find Dave Ramsey back then. I'd be alot farther ahead

Dave Ramsey has a lot of great advice on this topic... Check out his podcast. U shouldn't get into rental properties until your main house is paid off and u have a nice emergency fund.

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

Dave Ramsey has a lot of great advice on this topic... Check out his podcast. U shouldn't get into rental properties until your main house is paid off and u have a nice emergency fund.

I haven't touched down with ol Dave in some yrs but I read and heard his msg and it got me back on track to a wiser more successful self. All debt is evil

 

[Burrr]

If youre a middle class couple you should check out a program called Rural Development
It's from the USDA and is for helping people buy their first home.
You can get 100% financing and a gov. insured mortgage. I bought my first house using the program.

 

[BULKTIME]

I haven't touched down with ol Dave in some yrs but I read and heard his msg and it got me back on track to a wiser more successful self. All debt is evil

No debt = Better quality of life.

 

[T_verde77]

I would never buy another house unless I could do a 20% down loan at a fixed rate.
And even then owning a house can be a pain in the ass. always having to do something to it.
the best thing to do is buy a piece of shit home and fix it up to make a decent profit off the rental or sale of the house.
or just slowly fix it up why you're living there. and make sure it's where u want to be for at least a long time. That's what I would do anyways.

O and buy a house where u don't have to have roommates to afford it. I'm an idiot

 

[Burrr]

just don't get in over your head with mortgage payments. I live comfortably in 700 sf, and have a miniscule mortgage of just over a grand per month. That is 10G a year, give or take that gets knocked off my taxable income.
Everything about the US tax system is geared toward helping the wealthy, and fucking the middle class. If your gonna be middle class you have to use every trick that you can to take advantage of the system.

 

[biglumber69]

I've learned alot from my failures. I bought my first home for just under 100k when I was 21. Lost it by the time I was 26. I took on too much. Too many other loans. Houses cost alot of money. It's not just the mortgage. Once you buy one you have to fill it and mow it and fix it. Ideally don't buy a house if you have existing debt. That was the biggest mistake I made. Alot of people get lulled in to a false sense of financial stability assuming they will always be able to make all their payments. Any fool can get credit for anything. A smart man pays cash

Too bad I didn't find Dave Ramsey back then. I'd be alot farther ahead

Dave Ramsey got me out of debit about 130 thousand. Well me and my wife. His plan is commen sense. That is the only way I go now is cash. If I can't pay cash for it I wait til I save up the cash. We bought are second house that way 180 thousand. Now granted we did with out alot of things for 2 yrs but we wanted a better house.

 

[biglumber69]

No debt = Better quality of life.

When I broke my back workcomp tried starving me out by not paying me for 10 months mean while they were trying to get me to settle. But I had an emergency fund set in place. That could pay my bills for 3 yrs. So I did not have to settle and I could tell work comp to kiss my ass

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

Dave Ramsey got me out of debit about 130 thousand. Well me and my wife. His plan is commen sense. That is the only way I go now is cash. If I can't pay cash for it I wait til I save up the cash. We bought are second house that way 180 thousand. Now granted we did with out alot of things for 2 yrs but we wanted a better house.

Fantastic accomplishment

 

[biglumber69]

Fantastic accomplishment

My wife's mom signed me and my wife up to the class. She was my girlfriend at the time but I asked her to marry me. Of course I finaced the ring to put me in more debt. My mother in-law said we could get married but we had to be debt free before we did. So we worked are asses if to become debt free. It was the best thing anyone could have done for us.

 

[lucabratzi]

When I broke my back workcomp tried starving me out by not paying me for 10 months mean while they were trying to get me to settle. But I had an emergency fund set in place. That could pay my bills for 3 yrs. So I did not have to settle and I could tell work comp to kiss my ass

That's crazy. Glad you had a hefty cash reserve. When I sold more disability insurance I would tell people they can't depend on their work plans or social security cause they make people wait usually 18 months and that's why they need a stand alone policy.

Most people don't have that kind of cash reserve or any for that matter. It's crazy some of the shit I see. People telling me they want to retire in 5 years at age 55 and have barely anything to live off of.

 

[biglumber69]

Work comp will fuck you any chance they get. If you are hurt bad they will try to starve you then settle with you it saves them money. Ye ssd you can not work for 1 year to even be considered. People should listen to you @lucabratzi add get disability insurance for there self. Don't depend on your work or work comp because you will get screwed. They are all about money. They don't care about you or your family. I am sure people could cut out some other shit they spend money on and use that money for disability insurance. Life insurance is another thing people should have. If I died I know my wife will be able to be able to pay bills and send all 3 of my kids to collage. Sorry for getting thread off topic

 

[Sabian]

Don't not skip the home inspection. You want a thorough home inspection done. If you don't any problems that arise after closing are on you. Lots of first time home owner fall in love with a house and may skip home inspection to speed up process or because they may save a few dollars. Big mistake!! I've had friends make that mistake and pay dearly. Home ownership is a big financial decision and should be well thought out. It can be a good investment and has been for me personally. It's good that your asking questions before rushing in. Lots of good advice you are getting here. Good luck

 

[NovaFlex]

A lot of solid advice here. I knew I could count on you guys. Thanks for the tips, @lucabratzi. That's exactly what I was looking for.

I would never buy another house unless I could do a 20% down loan at a fixed rate.
And even then owning a house can be a pain in the ass. always having to do something to it.
the best thing to do is buy a piece of shit home and fix it up to make a decent profit off the rental or sale of the house.
or just slowly fix it up why you're living there. and make sure it's where u want to be for at least a long time. That's what I would do anyways.

O and buy a house where u don't have to have roommates to afford it. I'm an idiot

This was our initial plan. I was looking at foreclosures and fixer-uppers that were in the 40-60k range. That seemed ideal.