Help with my Pro & Cons, house vs apartment

fluttaby32

H and I need to decide if want to buy a house or rent an apartment.

We initially were looking at houses thinking we'd have a down payment (H and FIL currently selling a house) but as it turns out, we wont have much, if anything.

We have good credit and are pre-approved for a loan putting 3.5% down and having to pay PMI.

H is leaning towards an apartment so we can save for a few years. I know the buying market is really good right now so I am leaning towards house. I would be fine with either, but we don't have a lot to base our decision off of. Can anyone offer advice based on their experience?

I know this is a dumb and general question, but I don't know anything about PMI and if its worth it, and I don't know who to talk to about this. I feel like a realtor or loan officer would push for a house because it gives them business.

 Any words of advice, or information would be greatly appreciated!

lil_jen051708

Sounds like you are interested in an FHA loan (3.5% down).  I believe after April, the loans will have PMI for the life of the loan... Until you have paid off your mortgage (unless you refinance at a potentially higher interest rate).  So I woul

fluttaby32

lil_jen051708:

Sounds like you are interested in an FHA loan (3.5% down).  I believe after April, the loans will have PMI for

entropicbeauty

I agree, go conventional with at least 5% down. FHA seems sooo tempting but the PMI and monthly payments are just higher than they need to be.

 If you'd like I can share with you some loan breakdowns my mortgage guy ran for me FHA versus con

MommyLiberty5013

The book, Home Buying for Dummies, covers a lot of the pros and cons too.

jtmh2012

I'm not sure if this is still true, but I had PMI on my original mortgage.  I refinanced 2-3 years into it, but because I had paid down whatever percentage of the loan and the house had gone up so much in value, they refunded all of my PMI payments t

GeorgiaRiah

I bought FHA with the 3.5% down.  I also used a state program that provided the down payment interest free up to 5k.  Please make sure you check into that.  I will be paying PMI for 5 years.  It is about $100 a month on my 110k loan

fluttaby32

Thank you all so much, this is incredibly helpful and gives us a lot to consider!

Sisugal

Ditto Georgia -

Be SURE you are financially ready to buy a house.

Home ownership is much more than the monthly payment.  You NEED a well funded emergency fund - stuff happens and you are the lucky one to fix/replace/deal with the situ