Well I gotta move out here to end my commute of 105 miles a day, otherwise im going to strangle someone. I've been looking into selling my sti, and trying to possibly by a cheap house..........



I figure its going to be around 350k, can anyone help me out with whats realistic for monthly costs? Also if anyone has experience with any first time buyer stuff, e.g. government programs..........thatd be great............

I work off juntion ave, id like to be close as possible but not sure about the area....and what spot to look at (most the decent housing for cheap seems to be around alumrock)

any ideas?

 

where is juntion ave? 350k might not get you a house, not in a decent neighborhood anyway... rates are going up like crazy... I say talk to your loan officer first and see what your purchase power is. Then decide where and how much. townhouses and condos are great since HOA takes care of a lot of stuff for you. But that also comes with a heavy monthly fee as well as a lot of restriction. your monthly property insurance would also be more expensive with a house as well. good luck!

 

Wha?? First time Ive heard that! HOA sucks, they charge you up the *** and rule with an iron fist - they can basically set up any arbitrary rule they want and you have no say in the matter.

CA sucks in general to buy any property, way overpriced imo. I would rather pay rent and have fun with my life (car, good food, going out, etc) rather than have a giant mortgage payment on some overpriced condo or sh*tty home in the ghetto - but hey, thats just me Some people love owning a home and not having any disposable income.

But then again there are the lucky folks that can easily afford to own a home out here - kudos to you.

 

I purchased a townhouse in Danville, across the street from Blackhawk(don't know if you know where that is, but E40 lives there, and Gary Payton use to live there also, heard Hilary Duff has a house there, but not 100% sure). 4 bedroom/3 bath, 2 car garage, 2100sq ft for $450k Brand New 3 months ago. Payin less than $2000 a month for interest only. This house is a BMR. If you don't want to spend too much, I'd suggest looking into BMR homes or Low Income Housing, depending on your income.

Both DetailAddict and subie OCD are correct, HOA does take care a lot of stuff for you but they also suck cause you pay them for them to tell you what you can do to the EXTERIOR of your house.

It all depends where you are trying to look, I have no idea which Junction Ave. you're talking about. I have a friend thats a realtor, If you want, PM me and I'll give you his #, and he can help you out more.

 

yes, most of them are pretty bad, but I guess mine is pretty nice. there is no way around the 'expensive' part. but having someone doing the up keep of the entire complex is really nice. the entire complex always look nice and clean. fresh paint pretty often (i've been here for about 4 years and they have repainted the building once already and refinishing my desk twice).

if you are in a good neighborhood where everyone keeps their property nice, clean, and new looking, then great. Other wise, if you have shty neighbor with sht all over the front year, never trim the grass/tree, and 30 year old paints on the house. yeah, it's going to drag your value down a bit.

but in general, i do agree, HOA does suck. But in my case, simply because of the money. I could use that towards my mortgage instead. but that's just me...

Leo

 

Wow you got some *****, I didn't know people still did IO loans!

 

 

Actually, based on the economy. Right now is the best time to buy a house, even though they are still expensive. The housing market is way down, so this is probably the best bet you'll get for a good while. But if you're looking for a house in that price range. you're not going to find anything that cheap in the bay area that has a relatively good neighborhood unless you go somewhere like Tracy or Brentwood or even Livermore. Where do you work and where do you currently live?

 

I know, but it was the only way to get approved cause of my income, working on a 30 year loan, but I'm also paying more than just IO so I'm paying for the house also.

 

I work off junction ave, off montague exp. Need to move close to work as possible, I saw some decent alum rock houses for cheap but that may be too far south i dunno, and not sure about neighborhood.

 

http://countrywide-foreclosures.blogspot.com/

On the left column... "REO (Bank Owned Properties)" section. Go look and see if anything catches your eye, you might end up saving $100k.

 

Is it true that banks now require 30% down? I thought I read that somewhere. So even tho housing prices dropped, its a LOT harder to actually get a loan now.

 

no necessary true... but it is true that bank starting to ask for more down. I did zero down back then and my friend recently got his house and was required to have 10%, another was required for 10% and later bump to 15%. I've read about 25%-30% down required, but that was for those buying for investment/rental.

Leo

 

Yeah I just bought a house this month.. My first house so it was a big decision. House prices are dropping but be carefull don't buy a cheap house in a bad neighbourhood, its not worth it just to get on the housing ladder..

Now is a great time to search and buy the house you want and will actually like as opposed to cheap. And if you don't find it rent until you do, build up your downpayment.

I just about got my loan with 10% down, but like the rest of the guys said its getting harder and harder to get a loan these days. The other thing is to try and get out of paying PMI this will usually be anything between $150-200 a month and you get nothing from it.. You are more or less paying insurance to the lender on your mortgage.. Be aware..

Also when you are buying make sure you get the seller to pay all the closing costs etc.. its a buyers market.. I got my house for $50K below the asking and around $10K in furniture and another $15K in Closing costs.. It can be done be a hard a$$ and be willing to walk away and you'll find a nice place..

Best of luck

 

That sound like a plan to me if you are going to live in that house for some time. Even with paying IO, after tax return you might be actually either evening out or saving money compare to renting a house. You could alway refinance in the future when you can afford extra payment toward principal. Most likely, what you make in the future will be greater in the future than your current earning while money you loaned will seem lower in value due to inflation. Look at people who bought a house 10 years ago. They boght them for nothing. I'm sure they might have easier time paying their morgage now. Just my 2cents.