(Untitled)

[in_parentheses]

ETA: I am stupidI have been "looking for a house" for six years now. Somerville is the longest relationship of my life by almost six years, and I knew by the two-year mark that I wanted to get married. Unfortunately, the ring is too damn expensive and the wedding is too damn expensive and I'm going to be the mistress with no legal claim forever

Comments

[imminently]

Now that I cover real estate I'm rapidly becoming expert in all this. Well, not expert, but I know way more then I knew 2 months ago.

So, two questions: Do those figures you site include the lovely $8,000 tax credit? Because that's extra money you pretty much get for nothing when you buy.

And second, are you an FHA first time home buyer? FHA backed loans allow for far smaller down payments, and they're backed by the government so you can sometimes get approved for more money.

[in_parentheses]

1. They don't... or maybe they do, but it isn't enough money to matter. That's maybe half a year's worth of mortgage payments. Whoop-de-do. It could matter if they'd give it to me up front as part of the down payment, but that's not how it works.

2. Yes, I am a certificate-holding first-time homebuyer (really! the class came with a shiny certificate!), which means I can put down as little as 5%. Great, except that's not my problem: I have a good 15% to put down; I just can't afford the mortgage payments later.

[mrmorse]

I'm not a fan of home ownership as a signifier for adulthood. There are lots of good reasons to not own a house, for starters. Also, affording a house anywhere cool generally requires two incomes, so owning is less a signifier of adulthood than of marriage or equivalent. (Marriage is also a signifier of adulthood, which I find equally problematic.)

Of course, there are also good reasons to want to own. One of which may be that it's a significant sign of adulthood. Which makes the previous paragraph useless.

Also, I have a general personal aversion to signifiers of adulthood, and I'm generally in the same financial boat as you, except that 47K would be a significant step up for me. Which means that everything I say can be interpreted as sour grapes and even more useless, so perhaps I'll just shut up now.

Let's Buy A Condo!

[nafe]

Increasingly, I try to think of my financial existence as a for-profit-business. My venture, like all others, obtains profit by maximizing revenue while minimizing costs. Perhaps this approach could be useful to you

Re: Let's Buy A Condo!

[in_parentheses]

I appreciate the encouragement and suggestions, but don't think I haven't thought of this stuff.

1. You're right, I should at least figure out how much of a down payment I'd need.

2. That theoretical $5k in savings? You missed the part where that's living on campus in Wellesley without a car. I could do it for a year, maybe two, if I absolutely knew there were a house at the end of that. But seven years?? I wouldn't need a house, I'd need a cozy padded cell.

3. I can't get a raise other than the standard one I'll get at the end of this year -- that is, if they decide to unfreeze salaries. There's no negotiation in a position like mine. Yes, I could make more if I went to public school -- but I'd lose job security, and I'd have to spend some time making nothing while I take classes and fucking student teach to get certified, because my five years' experience don't count. Not to mention that I love my job and my career, and leaving either one just for more money seems too likely to backfire

Re: Let's Buy A Condo!

[keenween]

Re #4, there are decent-paying summer jobs out there. They may suck, but they exist. I used to lifeguard for a company that ran apartment complex pools and the like around Baltimore, and all of their supervisory staff were educators. Sure, it involved driving around and dealing with teenagers all day, but I'm guessing they made decent money, because I was getting paid pretty well.

Are there things going on at school over the summer? or could you get a summer job assisting a prof at one of the schools with research?

[marginaliana]

That sucks, I'm so sorry. I knew you'd been looking and not finding. And you're so right about the two incomes - there's no way I would have been able to afford to buy on my own, even in Dorchester. The whole system is structured for two-people units.

[keenween]

Having decided to use the similar grandparent-related influx of cash to fund school instead of home purchasing, I'm looking at likely being in a 2 income relationship (marriage, but not yet/ unclear when...), each of us making something like what you're making now, with student loans to pay off, so I feel your pain. If we were to stay in DC, we'd not be able to buy a place in a place we wanted to live (neighborhood or metro-able 'burb) for at least 10 years, if then. real estate in fun, interesting Bos-Wash corridor cities just isn't feasible for people like us.