My wife and I are looking to purchase our first home in the northern NJ (HCOL) area to be between our jobs. Our gross is about 500k/year so we can definitely afford more than average, but even in this market is seems like the houses towards the top of our budget are fixer uppers. Maybe I just have an unrealistic expectation of the housing market.

In any case we have thought about buying a cheaper house to renovate though are hesitant as we don’t know anybody in the industry or even where to start along with hearing all the horror stories about shady contractors and accruing costs.

We do see a lot of remodels/quick flips in the area that all have similar aesthetics so I’m assuming it’s a similar company/group that is doing them. However I’ve always been warned about these due to poor craftsmanship/work quality. Has anybody ever purchased one of these and can share their experience?

Buying a house has a heavy upfront and exit cost, but the cost of home ownership increases slower than the cost of renting. Therefore one of the most important things to remember is time spent owning. After getting past the break even point your excess value from homeownership will rise exponentially.

In 2026 homeownership to rent value is pretty bad. For the median house it would take 14 years of homeownership to breakeven on renting the equivalent and investing the difference. Of course most people wouldn’t invest the difference perfectly so it would take less than 14 years realistically.

To clarify in nominal numbers homeownership would still be a positive investment in around 8 years, but it would take 14 had you been investing the difference perfectly into the market.

Ideally you buy a house super young and die in that house which would skip the exit cost of homeownership completely. If you did that you would be projected to come out ahead in the 7 figures range.

I’m 23 just bought an older home built in 1955 about 2 weeks ago. it was “remodeled” and after closing I’m noticing so many things that are bothering me like walls being out of plum by an 1”, cracks on walls after heavy rain and etc. and now I’m wondering if overpaid for this home and what if it doesn’t sell for more than what I bought it when I decide to sell In 5 or 6 or so years. I was super excited to get into this home but after living in it for a week I’m feeling heavy buyers remorse and feeling as I should have took my time to pick out a better home and etc. doesn’t anyone feel the same way? Any advice will help. Thanks

One of the decisions that “made” us buy was when we had kids and pets, rentals started becoming both inconvenient and small. Toddlers cry and make a mess; dogs chew up things and cats scratch the carpet.

When I was single, I’d never thought of buying since what’d I do with space? I’d always rent a small apartment or studio in downtown/ midtown of whatever city (and really liked living in a city) that was enough for my needs.

I feel the whole talk about what makes for a better financial decision goes out the window when you have a full family. School systems, space for kids to play (even if not always a yard), and just a bit more time at home that I could spend fixing things (and not have the ability to while away playing video games or dating) meant the decision was no longer just simple math. And even the math looks very different. You start looking at SFH or at least condos and they’re far more pricey than small apartments which are a dime a dozen everywhere you look.

I wonder whether all these posts about how renting is cheaper and investing the rest in the market is actually applicable for families.

It seems like the rates have gone up but the prices are dropping for “sales”. I’m questioning if when the rates go back down (if they do) will the prices of the homes go back up?
Also, trying to consider what is reasonable to save each month for unexpected expenses?
Seems like HOA fees are more expensive in townhomes and cheaper in single family homes. I’m hearing that townhome HOAs go up annually. And property taxes go up annually as well. So the fixed rate is really just a fixed principle and interest, not all the other expenses.

I want to buy a home. But I’m single and I don’t even know if it’s worth it. Townhomes are more affordable but HOA goes up. Single family homes HOA is more steady, but property taxes go up.

Where should I be financially to be ready to buy a home? How much should I be able to save each month realistically?

Lenders are telling me I qualify for more than I want to pay. This is soooooo stressful and I’m ready to just throw in the towel and rent forever.

Any advice is appreciated 💗

Original here https://www.reddit.com/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyers/s/geLwZwqkXB

Lender is playing hardball, we owe them a little extra at closing for the “October payment” at closing, and our first payment is due 1 Nov. They have now doubled down that mortgage payments are not made in arrears.

As of closing, they owe us ~$700, they’re saying we owe them ~$350. If we made the 1 November payment we’d be effectively be paying October’s payment twice. They owe us $700 because they charged a VA funding fee they shouldn’t have, it was originally a ~$900 fee. In the second round of closing disclosures they said they owed us like $200, and that version was given clear to close (after we signed the original) and the title company already released a check to us.

What sort of recourse do we have if they don’t fix it? I know obviously if we don’t pay 1 November payment they will likely be very angry about that. Is it likely they will audit themselves eventually and realized they messed up? (Personally I don’t trust that)

ALSO GET THIS, I just noticed this. The title company altered numbers on the “cash to close” document after I signed it where were a little bit short on the cash to close. Surely that’s not legal? 😭

I am a first time home buyer looking at buying a property from someone who is not a US citizen and has since moved overseas.

If 20% of the home sale price is put into escrow what risks do I face?

For context I am 27yrs old currently and pregnant.
I’ve been working my job for a year and a half now and with my hourly wage and tips (put on my check statement)I make roughly 45k a year gross. I’m looking for houses in the 145-160k range. I don’t have any debts that I need to pay off and I don’t have a car payment or any massive bills coming out.
However I don’t deposit my cash tips. They’re accounted for on my pay statements but if you look at my bank statements it just shows my hourly deposits and my spending. My rent is also paid in cash.
It’s extremely possible to get approved for a $20k DP and closing costs assistance program in my area based on my REQs. But because of the line of work I’m in I can’t get federal loans, only conventional but I’m unsure what they need statement wise. I don’t have much in cash savings only about 2k… but I want to get a home to raise my son in because the place I’m in now is falling apart.

I just don’t wanna start applying for things if I’m in over my head.

How often are you talking to your realtor each week/how many showings are you doing?

I know it’s their job, but I also sometimes feel like I’m annoying her texting her a million times asking to see a million houses 🤣

Closed on our house (1951, 1622 sq ft) on September 25. We bought kind of sight unseen from afar—it was a Goldilocks house, a known neighborhood that’s great, the realtor did multiple long walk-throughs, my parents visited, multiple tradesmen we trust did inspections and estimates, etc., etc.—and are preparing to move in a couple weeks

My partner (46M, not a FTHB, a contractor!) wasn’t really in a headspace to give input at the time, but we have since seen it, spent some time cleaning and prepping it for the move, and I think are very happy with it HOWEVER! Every time something comes up, he angrily questions, “Why didn’t this show up on the inspection?!”

• The bathroom floor we knew had water damage at some point, because it caused damage to the crawl space that was fixed by the seller, is weak and will need to be repaired/reinforced: “Why didn’t this show up on the inspection?”
• The only carpet in the house—that we intend to remove anyway—was poorly installed and lifts when you vacuum: “Why didn’t this show up on the inspection?”
• The HVAC tube in the attic seems to be disconnected, which we only found out when he went up there: “Why didn’t this show up in the inspection?”

I don’t know what to do about this! Like…some of it is frustrating, yes! And no one likes to be told they have to replace a floor the week they move in. But there is nothing we can do now, right?

Have any of you had this happen after closing? What is the most productive way to respond?

Hey first-timers here. We have been looking for houses for a long time now in Austin. We almost finalized a house among ourselves like oh okay I think this house would be perfect so lets explore the price and if we could negotiate and kept wondering how much we should actually negotiate versus risk losing a house we genuinely like. Although we wanted to just start to understand how all of this works but we got more confused.
Like if a house is listed at suppose 4M do you start below asking just because that is what people do or so does it depend completely on recent sales and how long it's been listed?
I know every property is different but i feel like there is a point where overthinking numbers can also work against you.
Is there anyone who can give some helpful advice especially the one's who have bought a house in an high-end market. how did you approach your first serious offer?
did you go in with a number you were comfortable with or leave more of that strategy to your realtor/agent?

So title speaks for itself. We signed the prelim closing disclosures Tuesday afternoon and thought we were close to the finish line. Closing date is supposed to be 10/16. Today, lender is asking for more stuff like pay stubs, statements for 401k hardship withdrawals for down payment, bank statements from last 3 months which we’ve provided before but guess they need more recent ones? Are we screwed? Our combined annual gross income is $280k and house is $445k.

Edit: WE OFFICIALLY GOT THE CLEAR TO CLOSE!!!

I've only ever rented or shared a home my entire life. I'm 37 and going through a break up. His home, so I have to move out. Not exactly the best time to buy a home (out of sheer necessity instead of having been thinking about this for years).

Problem is everything I'm seeing for rent is super high. I'm talking $1500-$2000 a month. The majority of the listings don't allow pets, of which I have 2. And the majority of the houses I can find are easily a 30, 40 mile drive away from where I currently live. I'm in a rural community.

There's a TON of listings for sale however. And the "estimated monthly cost" are much much cheaper than the rent! Im talking like $700-1200. And I'm almost tempted to buy a house because of the pets and the estimated monthly costs alone!

Id have more options on what I pay, depending on the neighborhood and the condition of the house. I can decide if I want one to work on, or one that is ready to buy. I can have my pets. I can move out quicker (yes Im currently still living with the ex technically because the only places I have to go right now are with family. Where I'll have only a room to myself, and they have dogs too so it ends up being messy or just overcrowded.)

I guess my worry is I'm not thinking straight for the simple fact I need to move kind of soon ish. Or because of the pets. Maybe the prices are too good to be true and these houses are either in bad shape or in rough neighborhoods. Plus I'm not entirely sure I want to live in this town for the rest of my life. My mother and brother are here. But it's a small town. Also, the main reason the ex and I have split was because I want kids in the future. And he doesn't. And we don't have a big dating pool around these areas.

Just unsure of what to do at this point. I could always move to a bigger city and find more houses for rent than for sale, but even more outrageous pricing. I could pay $1500 for rent, but that's more than what my ex is paying for his mortgage for a big house, and great space. And I just don't see how that pays off.

Thoughts?

Okay, so I closed on my house 8 Oct. The lender messed up the closing documents, in a week we’ve seen now 3 different disclosures, the first one being they owe us $200, now we owe them $300.

Even the title company said it was a massive f up, that almost resulted in us not getting keys on closing date.

The main area of contention right now is the payments and prorations. Presumably the seller made the October 1st payment(for September?), the lender is saying we owe a prorated interest and escrow payment from the 22nd to the 31s of October (which kind of makes sense) minus the escrow portion.

That little extra escrow payment doesn’t show at the bottom of the disclosure under “initial escrow payment” so I’m automatically skeptical. Additionally, we asked when our first payment would be, and the lender is saying “1 Nov”. So we asked specifically if mortgage payments are made in arrears, and they’re telling us no????

Mortgage payments apparently aren’t made in arrears and additional money they need to close is “October’s” payment and the 1 November payment is for November 1-31.

Am I smoking crack or is the lender? 😭

Here is my assumption as to how this works, please correct me if I’m wrong. 1 October rolls around, seller makes September’s payment, at closing, the seller pays 8/30ths of the interest charge for October, and the buyer pays 22/30ths for October. The next payment should be due 1 Dec, since October’s payment should’ve been paid at closing.

hi everyone, I was picked to buy a low income housing lottery in massachusett in the boston area. the value of the condo i $480,000.00. Similar condos in the area are about $800,000.00. and similar rental would be about 3200/month

Haanyone have had experience buying such condos? how bad are the rental restrictions, and tesla value? how hard are they to resell?

thank you for any advice.

I have recently been approved for 225,000 which I most certainly don’t intend to spend anywhere near that much. I’m looking at homes in 160k - 180k range.
I have a 785 credit score yet my rate is 7.6% through Wells Fargo.
The monthly payment estimate from realtor.com is telling me it’s around 1600-1800. I’m not sure how accurate that is, but regardless, it’s insane..
I’m somewhat at the crossroads. Not sure if I should move forward or just say screw it.
At this point it feels like we’re playing the greater fool game. I’d be over paying for a 750 - 1000 ft.² Home and hoping that God a greater fool would buy it for even more in the future in reality on the price should be 140 grand for that shoebox of a home.
I’m having difficulties finding a condo because Wells Fargo saying too many units are being rented out or the HOA isn’t properly funded.
It seems like there’s no good option at this point..

My husband and I are expecting our first child and want to move close to the in-laws and his business in Orange County, CA - ideally have everything set up before I'm due. We currently rent a one-story, 4 bedroom house. All of the places I've lived were one story!

We've toured some condos/townhouses with this layout and was wondering if anyone has experience and insight living in a similar layout (especially with kids) or anything we need to consider?

• Main house has all 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms upstairs; one 1/2 bathroom on the first level
• Sliding door in the back leads to an uncovered patio
• Across the patio is a door to a 2-door garage, and there is a staircase leading up to an ADU/mother-in-law suite upstairs that is 1 bed 1 bath with a kitchen and living room
• Laundry hookups in the garage
• Community has a playground, tennis courts, pool

Questions/Comments

• I don't think we would rent out the ADU yet, would like to keep it as a guest room for friends/family, ex. my mom when she comes and helps out w the baby. It's probably not ideal to have the ADU upstairs though.
• Would be cool to add a pilates reformer or move my piano in the ADU so it has use in between guests. Or an office
• No idea if I need a C-section or regular birth yet. Depending on recovery and newborn, it could be hard (scary?) to constantly go up and down the stairs to get to my bedroom and nursery?
• Though the weather is pretty good in SoCal, there will be days when it rains or gets chilly. Do you guys hate having a detached garage and laundry?

Thanks! These units tend to be ~950k-sub 1M + HOA fees (I've seen $400-500) in our desired area for reference.

I’m in the process of doing my first home loan. But I’m so worried about the interest rates and everyone saying it’s bad time to buy. I’m currently in a one bedroom apartment with two little kiddos. We need to move asap. But do I just rent something bigger or go ahead and apply for mortgage now? We live in Allegany County, MD.

What all should I be doing and looking for? I don’t really have family to help with this at all. Any tips or tricks

I went under contract just over a week ago on a 2007 house. Termite inspector found mud tubes in the garage and exit holes in a window sill. If I go through with the purchase is this going to be an anchor around my neck if I decide to sell 5-10 years down the line provided I keep up with the yearly checkups and maintain the warranty? I guess I'm asking if you was interested and read on the disclosure that the house has had termites but was treated and has a transferable warranty would it be a deal breaker for you?

These AI Generated Listing photos are driving me up a wall. They are sooo far off from reality and it's not fair to people trying to decide if they want to drive over to see it. Hopefully we get to a point where this isn't allowed! I'm sick of seeing a normal sized bedroom then what is supposed to be the same bedroom but with a massive king bed, a couch and suddenly an extra closet? It's a mess.

Hi everyone!

I'm from China, and one of my American clients recently bought her very first home. Over time, she's become more than just a client to me — she's also a friend who's been incredibly supportive and trusting of me. I'm genuinely happy for her and would love to send her a thoughtful Christmas gift to celebrate this exciting milestone!

I'm planning to ship a box from China by sea before Christmas, and I'd love to fill it with practical things she'll actually use in her new home.

Since many household products are affordable and easy to find in China, I'm wondering what items are relatively expensive in the US but much cheaper in China.

What would you recommend? Kitchen tools, organizers, cleaning supplies, or anything else that would be useful for someone moving into their first home?

I'd really appreciate any suggestions. Thanks so much! 😊

Need some advice on an inspection report for a 2018 build.

The inspector said there's some scale buildup and minor venting issue that needs to be checked. But when we talked to the realtor, they said it's just a minor issue and we can ask for a small credit instead. What's the safe option here?

Can we ask the seller to repair it before we close, or should we ask for the credit then repair it ourselves?

My spouse and I are buying a home and we've just finished the inspection, which was overall quite clean (yay!)

The only issue that we've found (and we're not 100% sure is an issue - there's another place this might be, but we wont be able to confirm til the final walk through as its inaccessible at this time - behind a tv set in above an electric fireplace) is that the only coax cable/hookup we can find is in the basement.

The home is a ranch style house and my spouse and I are both gamers and I sometimes work from home and am in zoom calls all day. We're hoping to get fiber internet (confirmed it's available in the area) but we really like to have our devices hard wired to our router rather than using the wifi.

The house was built in the 1950s and the previous owners did a ton of awesome work and remodels as they hadn't intended to leave. That said, their internet use is less aggressive than ours and they simply had a hot spot they used.

I'm wondering if anyone could share what options are to get our primary internet hookups onto the main floor and, if possible, give a sense of the approximate cost, time required, and any other details that might help us know our options and be able to make an informed decision on how we want to navigate this.

Of note, the basement is the entire size of the house and is unfinished and again it's a ranch-style home, so there's only one floor

My wife and I are both first time home buyers. We are looking to purchase a new-built home. We placed an earnest money towards the built. However, me and my wife are not sure if we will get approved for a mortgage loan. The builder keeps wanting to make all these appointments and selecting the interior designs of the home when we are not even sure if we will even get approved. Is it pretty common to have all these appointments with the builder about the house when you haven't gotten approved for a loan yet. It feels like the process is backwards. It feels like you should first get approved for the loan first and the followup with all these appointments/meetings after. Please advice!! Thank you guys!!

The home was built in 1950. 2500 sq ft on 0.3 acres. Gorgeous. I was ready to put an offer but I just got the pre inspection report. It’s awful and I’m 99% sure I’m going to walk away but I just need to know:

1. Plumbing was galvanized steel and would need replacement. This is the biggest red flag for me and seems like such a monumental fix.
   
2. Electrical: would need to upgrade to 3 wire ground circuit for like half the house (plus other things I don’t recall)
   
3. Need new heat pump
   
4. Need new water heater and the new one needs to be seated 18 inches above ground

Those are the biggest things but not even all of it. Is it even worth negotiating if I really love the house and neighborhood?

I think I just need some affirmation and closure lol.