 First time home buyer using a VA Loan...? |
| My Husband comes home from Iraq in a month, and we are going to buy a house as soon as he gets home. I've heard that a VA loan takes a while to process and what not. So my question is, how long ... |
|
 Does a landlord have the right to call at the last second and say they are? |
Coming to go thru the house to check on it? The gave my boyfriend about 8 hours warning that they coming.... do they have the right to go thru the house like that?
Additional Details
Its ... |
|
 Should we make our initial offer over the asking price? |
| My wife and I are going to make an offer on a bank owned (foreclosure) home. It is a nice 3 bedroom ranch with a full partially-finished basement, hardwood floors, pool, etc. It's in a ... |
|
 Can someone tell me where i stand with my landlord going to court to get me evicted? |
| on mytenancy agreement it states who my landlord is but does not provide me with his address or phone number. my tenancy agreement ended on 7th january but i have not found anywhere else to stay as ... |
|
 Going to view a house tomorrow bit of advice? |
| We have been renting a flat since last May. It was fine through the summer, but since winter has come we have found it to be very draughty and cold. We are wanting to get a mortgage on a house ... |
|
 Does my landlady have the right to sell the house when we are only 3mnths into a 6mnth tenency? |
i have 2 small children and we have just moved into a rented house 3mnths ago, the landlady said she was not looking to sell in the near future and we signed a 6mnth tenency agreement.
a few ... |
|
 The house i'm renting is in foreclosure if I stop paying rent can I appeal a eviction if he files one.florida? |
| I feel as a renter if the owner is not trying to resolve the debt owed he knowingly is breaking the rental agreement between us not allowing my family and self to stay for the duration of ... |
|
 Less than 30 day notice - tenant? |
I live in MA. Tenant agreement states 30 day written notice (min). I received an e-mail on the 5th instead of the 1st of Jan '09. Are they responsible for Jan & Feb?
Additional D... |
|
 Do They Have The Right to Raise my Rent? |
| I'm from CA and have been living in a Townhouse since last July. During my first year, the complex that I stay in has changed ownership. Yesterday, I got a letter from the manager saying that ... |
|
 I would like to start buying houses to rehab & sell or rent.? |
| What is the best way to get started doing this with less than perfect credit?... |
|
 Rent A Center a viable option? |
| I have sub par credit (still a work in progress) but really need new bedroom furniture. I know RAC doesn't exactly give you a great deal, but what is a guy to do if he doesn't have several ... |
|
 I have lost my house deeds where can i get them from so i can sell my house? |
| iv had my house 37 years now i want to sell but cant find my title deeds can i get some ... |
|
 I have a prospective tenant who is claiming benefits, is this a potential problem for me? |
| I´m a UK landlord looking for a tenant, one interested chap says he is claiming benefits but can provide good references. Is this a bad situation and I should avoid him? or is he just the same as ... |
|
 We are in the process of looking for a house to buy. We have found? |
| 2 homes we really like. My question is, what would you do. The 1st home is in one of teh best areas in town but really ugly and the 2nd home is in a moderatly good area but very pretty. How do you ... |
|
 Is it discrimination ....? |
| Is this discrimination???? I know someone who recently became a landlord, but refuses to rent to friends or relatives even though they have excellent credit and previous rental references. (never ... |
|
 Is this house payment a good one? |
| We are under a contract for a house we just bought... well almost, our settlement date is the 26th of September. We are getting all the inspections done. We bought the house for $78,000 with $4,000 ... |
|
 UK landlord question?? |
Our landlord has "served notice". He wants us evicted.
The letting agent came round to do a three month house inspetion. She said there was no problem with condition of house. L... |
|
 What is negotiable after a sale price has been agreed upon? |
| Both parties have agreed to the inital sale price. A home inspection has occurred. The buyer is now asking for an additional reduction in the price.... |
|
 How much do you pay for rent? |
| what type of establishment is it (apt, condo, house, etc) & in what town? Do you think it's a deal or a rip off? Just curious! I live in a 1-bedroom apt in milwaukee-area wisconsin & ... |
|
|  |
Sara | Homeowners: How much do you make, and what does your house cost? |
Please, renters and apartment owners, I am not requesting your answers at this time. I still love you, though. :-)
My husband and I will be making a NET income of $57,000 next year and we want to buy a house. I want to see what other people are doing and what they can afford with their income -- I'm tired of doing calculations and guessing. I want to hear what you REAL people are doing/affording. How much do you make, and what does your house cost?
Feel free to add your debt/monthly payments/how comfortable you are with your bills, etc. I just want a FEEL. Thanks. :-)
Additional Details
ETA: Our gross will be about $67,000. I estimated 16% on taxes, which may be a little high.
PS: I understand if people don't want to mention their income, that's fine. I wasn't trying to be rude. You don't have to answer, obviously... |
 |
 
CJKatl
|
When I was earning what you're now earning, I purchased a $160k condo which had a monthly payment of about $1400, including taxes, the condo fee, and mortgage insurance. My fixed debt - credit card, etc. - was just around $200/month. Insurance was about $50, and my car was paid for. Utilities ran me about $80/month. When all was said and done, my take-home pay ran about $3k/month. This left me well over $1k a month for non-living expenses, which was very comfortable.
Better to have a less expensive payment and money left at the end of every month than to over-extend and lose sleep. On your salary, looking in the $180k range will probably be comfortable, assuming you don't have other large debts.
Also, for lending purposes, the GROSS income is used for qualification. This is actually the better number for comparison. In addition to taxes, everyone needs money for clothing, food, transportation, insurance, etc. When looking at expenses vs. income, lenders get a clearer picture looking at gross income. Those that pay more in taxes and have less take-home pay - usually the single borrower - will have fewer of the food, clothing, insurance, transportation, etc. expenses. Those with higher take-home pay because they pay less in taxes usually have families and are feeding, clothing, transporting, insuring, etc. more people. The two things cancel each other out. If we used NET pay, we would need to figure out those other expenses so that we could get a clear picture. |
|
Rick B
|
Well, how much do you pay in rent now? How much are you socking away for a down payment? Add those together, and DON'T go over that amount.
Keep in mind your utilities will be twice as much as they are now, and you will have lots of extra maintenance costs. Also remember taxes, home owner dues, and insurance if they are not escrowed in your account and included in your monthly mortgage payments.
My wife and I make about $125K GROSS and we have a 2,100 square foot house in a gated community. We paid $150K for it three years ago. We make extra payments and plan to pay it off in NO MORE than 15 years from the date we bought it. We pay about $1,500 per month including the eascrowed items mentioned above and our extra principle payments.
Note that we are pretty much debt-free other than our house (and some car debt which will be paid off mid-2008). |
|
tomthepawpaw
|
The amount that you make is only one part of the puzzle. Other pieces include available cash for earnest money, existing debt (long term and short term) Debt ratio, credit rating. Probably the best thing that you can do is to figure what you can find to be the most realistic budget you can come up with. Since you didn't give extra info you will have to investigate utilities, insurance. You could talk to a realtor to determine how much you could qualify for. If you pick a number use about 2/3 of you budget value for what you can realistically pay each month.pp |
|
palmyrafan
 |
I live in southern NJ, about 7 miles from downtown Philadelphia.
My husband makes about $120,000 a year and most people would say wow ~ me included. But try buying a house on that. The property taxes here are also high, as is most everything you buy.
Our mortgage payment is $1200.00 month and our property taxes are $800.00 a month for a total of $2,000.00
Bear in mind though that our house was below-market for a quick sale. We paid $210,000 on it five years ago and it is worth $385,000 minimum in today's market. The average home in a good neighborhood will cost you AT least that.
My husband and I cook at home most nights so our food budget is about $100.00 per week. Luckily that doesn't change much unless our kids come home. Then it is much higher.
On the flip side, there is a lot to do in the Philadelphia / southern NJ area. There are a lot of free events like festivals, concerts, etc. We have good police and fire personnel usually with a very quick response time. In the town I live in, police response is usually 2 minutes or less. There are about 3,500 people in town and we have a police force of about 7 full-time officers.
We enjoy nice weather most of the time. We do get cold weather, but not as cold as the midwest or Chicago. We also get warm weather, but again, not as hot as they do. However, because most of the homes are run on heating oil or radiator heat, we average about $350.00 in the winter with January and February bills being about $600.00 just for heating.
But again, it depends on where you live - what state, city, etc.
If you are looking for a house, condo, etc. some of the best places to look is actually in areas that are being renovated.
Good Luck! |
|
BumbleBee
 |
I am really uncomfortable saying how much we make... but we make less than you and have a house when we purchased it at $142,000 of course it is worth $250,000 just 3 years later oh trust me we have debt too :o) We make payments of $1200 a month.
Get a real estate agent and they will help you with the numbers. I will never rent again it is a waste of money. No matter where we move we will take the time to buy! |
|
beachbum
|
my husband makes about 52,000 a year, we bought a handy mans special, we paid 47,000 for it 13 years ago, it is worth about 260,000 now, our house payment was 412.75 a month, taxes are 600.00 a year. insurance is 4,200 a year, but that's because we are in Fl. we paid the house off early. we didn't drive new cars, we put all our extra money into the house payment |
|
Landlord
|
You need to calculate on your gross, your net will change with home ownership.
I gross about 170k a year, it varies a bit depending on how hard my renters are on properties. Next year will be bad, I have to evict one and I am sure her damage will be over 30k. it is the only reason I have not already evicted her, I can't afford to renovate right now as I am building another vacation home for my family to enjoy.
My home is valued at 800k, it dropped with everything else. My mortgage and other household bills, excluding food and medication, total 5,500 a month. I am a single mother with 3 children. I make a living off of my investments, homes and stock investments. |
|
William
 |
Well just look at it this way. With a good credit rating you should be able to afford a house that calls for a house payment principal and interst on a 30 year loan that is in an amount of 22% of your gross income. I didn't give you my personal numbers because our house costs $1,300,000 and I'm retired so my numbers mean nothing to you. |
|
Alterfemego
|
Sorry, but that is rude to ask such questions of anyone. |
|
| |
|
| | |
| Questions List |
Answers | Last Post
| | | |
9 | 34 minutes(s) ago
| | | |
9 | 3 hour(s) ago
| | | |
8 | 5 hour(s) ago
| | | |
9 | 10 hour(s) ago
| | | |
9 | 1 day(s) ago
| | | |
9 | 3 day(s) ago
| | | |
8 | 2 week(s) ago
| | | |
9 | 1 month(s) ago
| | | |
9 | 4 month(s) ago
| | | |
9 | 5 month(s) ago
| |
|
Homepage 
Financial
Forum 
Renting & Real Estate 
No Spam
Adult 
Gambling
Unfinished
Deception
Plagiarism
Not English
