HOUSE HUNTERSWe decided to start looking for houses again…trying to find something a little closer to Fort Worth and not too far from Plano either. We shall see…I know the Lord will provide just the right place for us! I was craving some Outback ranch so we went there for lunch and basically drove around the rest of the day trying to scope out neighborhoods.
Sunday we went BACK to Fort Worth (see we are always there anyways!) and visited with Terence’s parents for a bit, saw our friends Adam and Christa….I want a snow cone, and then we had dinner with Terence’s Granddaddy. It was a busy weekend and I am happy to be relaxing at home now 🙂
How many of you own a home or rent? Which do you prefer? Do you think it’s worth it to buy, are you glad you bought a home as upposed to renting? It’s so nerve racking and such a big decision I would like to hear you feedback!
XOXO Becky
Own..for sure!!! If you rent all your upgrades and cool things you do will be useless..
I think I would loose my mind if we rented..I know some have to do it..and I hate that..it’s just throwing money away when you could be Buying a house 🙁
I’ve never lived in a rented home..
CUTE pic!
We rent a house, but it’s only till we can save enough money to move back up north and enough money to make a down payment.
to each their own.. 🙂
We own our home and it is the best decision we ever made. This is actually our second home and we love it. It needs work and is slowly but surely being upgraded. We bought our first TINY house and even though it wasn’t what we wanted it was a good buy and we were able to sell it 2 years later, make money on it, and then be able to afford more of what we wanted. Now this house has already gained in worth about $45,000. I guess what I’m trying to say is that even if you don’t get your dream home right away…make a good smart purchase and then you will be able to get it eventually.
Oh and just because a mortgage company says you can qualify up to a certain amount does not mean it affordable. Do the math for yourself. The mortgage companies calculations are usually ridiculous. Our payment on our first 3bed/1bath house was $400 insurance included! You CANNOT rent for that cheap!
my husband and i were trying to buy but the market in california is just so crazy right now that i think we are going to have to rent a little while longer.
i would love to buy though because i hate throwing money away for rent – its such a waste but sometimes necessary.
good luck!
Ranch makes everything better!
I bought my own home last year and I’m so glad I did. I have been spending money on rent for so many years that when I totaled it up I was quite disgusted. All of that rent money, used as a down payment, really would have been awesome! 🙂
I have a small, ranch style home. No stairs here. I really like it that way. And now that you are about to have a little one, I can imagine that you are taking stairs, big bulky, sharp-edged fireplaces etc into account so that your little one will be safe.
I know you’ve heard it time and time again but there is no better time than now to buy. In fact, I found a home for you already! http://itsgreattobehome.net/2009/07/31/our-flip-open-house/
I’m pretty sure it’s in the Dallas/Fort Worth area! 🙂
Keep us posted!
Linds
We are currently renting our home and it’s not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. We’ve decided not to buy right now because we know my husband’s job will be transferring him again next spring.
We have several times almost bought a home (we have even had contracts on a couple) but due to different reasons things never worked out, now we are grateful that those fell through because we would have been stuck with a house that we couldn’t sell right now, which would have meant he would had to turn down several job promotions, which financially have been better for us. We’re hoping to buy a house after the next promotion because we’ll be there longer.
Also, right now, we enjoy the fact that if something breaks, we just call up our landlord to fix it. We don’t have to shell out major money for any major repairs.
You have to have somewhere to live, so I have never thought of it as throwing money away. No matter how you look at debt is debt and buying a house is taking on major debt. House debt is why so many people are in trouble right now. Only the two of you can know whats right for your family. Either way don’t rush into anything. Look more at down the road what is going to be best rather than what is best right now. Good luck! I know it’s tough!
My hubby and I bought our house last year about a month before we got married. We had been house hunting for several months and unable to find anything. We were resigned to looking at apartments and then we fell upon this house. It was only 4 years old and had been foreclosed. In one weekend, we saw the house, bid on the house (it was a HUD foreclosure) and won the bid to become homeowners! Our payments are cheaper than the apartment would have been! I know it was the house we were meant to have! especially because some foreclosures are in bad shape and ours didn’t need anything.
I say this because I wouldn’t make a quick decision about anything- keep looking and keep your options open and the house/apartment you are meant to be in will find you!
Good luck!
i miss the simplicity of apartment living…all maintenance being taken care of, no yardwork, etc.
but there is nothing like owning your own home. it was super stressful to go through all the preparation (putting an offer, getting paperwork settled for our loan, etc.) but now that we’ve been there for over a month, i am SO happy.
My hubby and I are really into real estate and are building our fourth house. My advice is to buy, but buy what you can afford in the BEST area. Do not buy a gem of a house in a bad area. Buy something in a fab area, even if it needs some lipstick. Always think resell!! Because you will not stay at this house forever…that said, factor in the costs for home repair and insurance.
Good luck!!!!
Outback Ranch=YUMMY!!!!! 🙂
WOW I fully agree with Amber! We’re renting right now as well and have a pretty nice house if I say so myself 🙂 And the best part is we don’t have to spend money on repairs. Plus the house didn’t need much upgrading so all we’ve done is paint/decorate which I don’t see as a waste of money 🙂
We’d LOVE to own a home but we’re just waiting until Ronnie finishes up school and gets his “adult” job to try and buy. At that point, we can just pick up and leave and not worry about the stress of selling! Besides, there are sooo many people in foreclosure so it seems that way too many people are in homes they can’t afford and that’s just silly. We’ll be pretty prepared once Ronnie gets settled in his career – I would NEVER buy a house until we can fully afford a house, all extra “surprise” repairs included. I’m comfortable knowing we won’t ever lose our rental. At least not until we’re ready 🙂
It definitely is up to you but I wouldn’t stress if you had to stay in a rental a little longer. It’s NOT a bad thing that anyone should be judgemental about. You have to do what’s best for your family at the right time 🙂
oh yay!! good luck with house hunting 🙂
We own. While I’m glad that my money isn’t going to rent each month, it’s a ton of work. It’s a bagillion times bigger than our apartment was and it has a huge yard. Those things have to be taken care of. That doesn’t work well with my lazy lifestyle.
But I know, deep down, I’m glad we own.
PS- Your eyes look fantastic with that shirt!
We never rented, our first place we were lucky enough to buy a condo when the market was very low-we were soooo proud and it was ours.
Now that we sold our house and moved into my husband’s childhood home–which we have a special arrangement to buy–I wish I could buy my a new home. I love this area, the yard, the neighborhood. But I miss that feeling of Ahhh I love this place and its mine. Technically this is mine…but not my style or dream home–there will be a lot of work before that happens!
You’ll know when you find your perfect home…There are so many things that go along with owning that make it great. Tax breaks, equity, freedom!!!
Only you know what is best…but..
cute pic! We rented in Arkansas then when we moved to Oklahoma to “settle”..we bought! I like owning..simply because we are buidling equity. Whatever we put into this house essentially we can take with us…finanacially. I think God will indeed lead you guys in the right direction 🙂
Own a home! I would NEVER EVER go back to renting!
Good luck with your decision. We owned a house at our last base. We had it for 2 years, then got orders, we sold it in a week and made $20K. You can’t make any money off renting. Plus with the new homeowners credit, it is win/win. But I know it is a tough decision. I love the pic of you and Terrance. You two are too cute. How are you feeling?
You two are such cutie pies!
I think there are pros and cons to both:) I’ve owned homes for the last 12 years. I love it! This is actually a great time for home buyers!
My advice…take your time…you’ll “know” when you find the right one…you will feel it!
There are pros and cons to both. I rented before we got married, but now we own. I like owning so you don’t have to deal with landlords, etc.
Good luck with the house hunt!
We rent right now since Jason’s still in school, and we were only going to be here temporarily. However, since he’s now thinking of staying for a PhD, we might end up buying. It is a big (and expensive) decision, though. Good luck!
We love owning our home, but be warned: there’s a lot of maintenance involved! I feel like we are constantly doing work to and around our house, even though it is pretty new. It’s hard to not want to do all kinds of things to make it better!
We’re renting an apartment now, but are thinking about maybe maybe buying a house soon. So we’ll see. Hopefully it all works out soon enough to go through before december 1, for the new home buyer credit.
You two are such cutie pies!
I think there are pros and cons to both:) I’ve owned homes for the last 12 years. I love it! This is actually a great time for home buyers!
My advice…take your time…you’ll “know” when you find the right one…you will feel it!
I bought my own home last year and I’m so glad I did. I have been spending money on rent for so many years that when I totaled it up I was quite disgusted. All of that rent money, used as a down payment, really would have been awesome! 🙂
I have a small, ranch style home. No stairs here. I really like it that way. And now that you are about to have a little one, I can imagine that you are taking stairs, big bulky, sharp-edged fireplaces etc into account so that your little one will be safe.
I know you’ve heard it time and time again but there is no better time than now to buy. In fact, I found a home for you already! http://itsgreattobehome.net/2009/07/31/our-flip-open-house/
I’m pretty sure it’s in the Dallas/Fort Worth area! 🙂
Keep us posted!
Linds
Ranch makes everything better!
my husband and i were trying to buy but the market in california is just so crazy right now that i think we are going to have to rent a little while longer.
i would love to buy though because i hate throwing money away for rent – its such a waste but sometimes necessary.
good luck!
Oh and just because a mortgage company says you can qualify up to a certain amount does not mean it affordable. Do the math for yourself. The mortgage companies calculations are usually ridiculous. Our payment on our first 3bed/1bath house was $400 insurance included! You CANNOT rent for that cheap!
We rent a house, but it’s only till we can save enough money to move back up north and enough money to make a down payment.
to each their own.. 🙂
Own..for sure!!! If you rent all your upgrades and cool things you do will be useless..