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XP: Buying a home in the Pacific Northwest
I posted this on MM as well.
Question for those of you who live or are familiar with the Pacific Northwest. DH and I are moving back this summer, not sure exactly where, but most likely Seattle or Portland. Anyways, we have no debt, no kids, and will have about $40,000 in savings by then. (This is everything, e-fund, dp, etc.) We don't have our jobs arranged yet, but a fairly safe estimate is that combined we will be making $75,000/year. Originally I was looking to about double our savings before trying to buy, but I'm not quite sure how Seattle/Portland area has been affected by housing market. At a minimum we'll need to rent at the beginning to just get our feet on the ground, but given the economy would you look at buying fairly soon? In your opinion should I stick with my original plan and build up savings more, or look more actively into buying?
(Also, will the fact that we're starting new jobs affect getting pre-approved?)
TIA
Re: XP: Buying a home in the Pacific Northwest
I would build up your savings as much as you can. The more you have for a downpayment the easier it will be to get a loan and pay less in mortgage. If you both have jobs lined up by the time you move you could look into buying, but it's probably better to rent first so that you get to know the city better and know which area you'd like to live in. Given your estimated income I'd say you'd like a house under $250k. I would say for Portland look at NE/SE. Check out www.portlandneighborhood.com for more info on different neighborhoods once you're ready.
The housing market has gone down here as well, though not as drastically as in other cities. I think it's a good buyer's market, but buying a home is a big decision so you need to do your homework.
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I'm wondering how secure you are that you'll be able to find a job(s) with a combined income of $75k in this economy? Right now a lot of companies have hiring freezes or have laid people off. Oregon has had one of the higher unemployment rates in the US recently and it typically is one of the first states hit in a down economy and one of the last to recover. All these layoffs and hiring freezes mean the supply of eligible workers is higher than usual.
I would also research buying a home and the ins and outs of mortgages more if I were you. Moving to a state without jobs and planning to buy a home if you aren't even sure how your job status or money down will affect your ability to be pre-approved hardly seems prudent.