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Start looking or wait? (Kind of long)
I am 26 & my DH is 27. I have a steady work history. I received my first job the September after I graduated college & 10 months later I found a higher paying full-time job which I have stayed at for the past 3.5 years. DH finished up law school in May 2010 & finally secured a paying job working at a local courthouse and will be a state employee. We have $100k saved ($80k is liquid & 20k is in bonds). We have no loans, we own our cars, and have credit cards, but hopefully building up our history a little bit more before officially looking for a home.
The earliest we'd look for a house is this Spring (so we could move out around the time our lease is up in August), but we aren't sure if we should wait another year or more to start looking to save more money. If we saved for another year or so we'd hopefully have an extra $30k saved.
We currently rent an apartment that we love, so we aren't in a huge rush to move, but we want to buy a home before starting a family (in the next 2 years) so we can use our disposable income to improve our home.
We live in NJ so the COL is very high. We'd ideally like to pay $300k or less for a home so we could only put 1/2 of our savings on a downpayment & keep the other 1/2 in savings. Not sure if we should begin our search this Spring or wait another year (risking prices/mortgage rates going up). WDYT?
Re: Start looking or wait? (Kind of long)
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I've already browsed zillow.com - however it's a bit confusing since I will see homes that are worth every penny they are asking and others that seem to be in shambles & they are asking for the same amount.
I think Spring would be the best time for us to look if we can find something we like. I am just worried that lenders may look poorly on the fact that DH is just starting his job in January.
I wish I could say I personally saved the entire $100k myself, but much of the money is from bonds given to DH by his grandfather over the years (he has given each grandchild a $50 bond every month since they were born) - that money was invested once the bonds matured & never touched.
I suppose it depends where exactly in NJ you are, but I bought a fixer upper in central NJ (decent school district but not amazing) last year for $253k. We've put a lot of work into it, and we still have a lot left to do.
Zillow is probably best for checking out houses that have already been sold, because that will show you what houses are actually going for, not just the asking price.
It's a super personal decision, but you definitely have enough in savings for a decent down payment and e-fund. If I were in your position, I would go ahead and get pre-approved and start looking this spring, but take your time and don't rush into something. Talk to your H and decide what you really want and what you're ok with compromising on. Don't get caught up in finding the "perfect house" because it doesn't exist.
Good luck!
71 workouts completed in 2012
Get preapproved so you know how much you can spend.
After you find out what you can get for that number, then find a realtor and learn about the process and how everything works.
I think looking now is good because the interest rates wont hold out this low forever. Better to do it now (if you find something that you like).
Annie - Where in Central NJ?
DH and I both work in Freehold, so we are looking in that area. We don't need to live in the best school district, but certainly need to be in a good one. I've noticed many homes I like that are a little above $300k so we are going to really try & save alot of money in the coming months so we can go a little bit over budget if needed.
I am east of you (sorry, I'm paranoid about writing my town name, lol). I did notice there was a huge jump between the $250k we were comfortable with and what you can get for $300k.
Another thing that we did when we were first looking was to check out open houses. That way you can kind of get a feel for what you like/don't like, neighborhoods and how houses are being priced before you start seriously looking. That's also how we found our realtor.
71 workouts completed in 2012