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So you wanna buy a house?
Nov. 17th, 2008 09:56 amWell, I kinda do. Bugs me that I'm flushing rent money down the toilet. Bugs me that my apt has wall-to-wall carpeting, but it's really too much of a bother to move to a new apt (assuming I'll just have to move again in a year or two). Bugs me that I live about an hour south of my social life.
So the goal: Get a house. It must be within riding distance from work, (and not too close, ideally) - so let's say in the 10-20 mile range. Has to not have a HOA - I do not play well with others. Has to have hardwood floors. Has to be in a reasonable area (crime-wise). Has to be affordable.
Would be nice if it was on BART. Would be nice if it was two stories (I suspect the cats would love that). Would be nice to have a connected garage.
Looking at the prices in the area, seems my best bet would be to look somewhere around Fremont - I can ride across the Dumbarton bridge, easily get to BART, and houses there are not as insanely priced as houses on the peninsula.
But, I just talked to my bank - seems I have two options. FHA loans go up to $362k, and require at least 3% down; I can do that, but that wouldn't buy much around here. Conventional loans go up to $417k, but require 10% down; I'm pretty sure I can found houses in that price range, but I can't quite afford the down payment yet. Over $417k is considered a 'Jumbo loan', and we won't talk about those.
Seems the laws might change, that will raise both of those numbers, meaning I could get an FHA loan, afford the down payment, and be able to get a reasonable place.
Bottom line, I have to wait; Save more, wait for house prices to drop more, and/or wait for the laws to change.
But hey, I will be getting the paperwork that I'll need to fill out, and I found out some information - so that's progress, right?
So the goal: Get a house. It must be within riding distance from work, (and not too close, ideally) - so let's say in the 10-20 mile range. Has to not have a HOA - I do not play well with others. Has to have hardwood floors. Has to be in a reasonable area (crime-wise). Has to be affordable.
Would be nice if it was on BART. Would be nice if it was two stories (I suspect the cats would love that). Would be nice to have a connected garage.
Looking at the prices in the area, seems my best bet would be to look somewhere around Fremont - I can ride across the Dumbarton bridge, easily get to BART, and houses there are not as insanely priced as houses on the peninsula.
But, I just talked to my bank - seems I have two options. FHA loans go up to $362k, and require at least 3% down; I can do that, but that wouldn't buy much around here. Conventional loans go up to $417k, but require 10% down; I'm pretty sure I can found houses in that price range, but I can't quite afford the down payment yet. Over $417k is considered a 'Jumbo loan', and we won't talk about those.
Seems the laws might change, that will raise both of those numbers, meaning I could get an FHA loan, afford the down payment, and be able to get a reasonable place.
Bottom line, I have to wait; Save more, wait for house prices to drop more, and/or wait for the laws to change.
But hey, I will be getting the paperwork that I'll need to fill out, and I found out some information - so that's progress, right?
