Advice for a First Time Home Owner?

[ThingFish]

Get a folding ladder like a Versa Ladder. Get an aluminum one; the steel ones will break your back. Expect annual maintenance costs to be 3-5% of your purchase price.

[colemanvoice]

http://www.garagejournal.com/

[PalmerGA]

Originally Posted by Normagene

I'd go with the majority; Best Advice; Pay down the Principle. A little extra monies with each monthly payment goes a long way. When I bought my house I put extra down starting with the first payment. Ten years, two months, or 122 payments later......DONE! Saved just under 170K in interest!

Yeah. I had a 15 year note and paid it off in 9 years doing that. Suddenly I had an extra $800 a month coming in, which went straight into savings. That's part of the reason I was able to pay cash for a new Camaro and a new truck. A paid for home frees you up to save a lot of money towards toys (and necessities, of course).

[Princess1]

Get a soaker hose for the foundation at least in Texas we have problems with it being so dry and hot that the house foundation starts shifting around.

[snymat68]

Originally Posted by Princess1

Get a soaker hose for the foundation at least in Texas we have problems with it being so dry and hot that the house foundation starts shifting around.

We have the opposite problem here. I need an UNsoaker hose. lol

[Green Machine]

Originally Posted by snymat68

We have the opposite problem here. I need an UNsoaker hose. lol

As do I! Although its not to wet down there.

Sent from the road.

[jkchambless]

Originally Posted by PalmerGA

Yeah. That little extra principle really makes a difference. Regarding #1 though, crunching the numbers on a 15 year vs. 30 year mortgage is really quite an eye-opener. For instance:

$300,000 loan / 5% / 30 years = $1610 per month = $569,600 total ($269,600 in interest)

$300,000 loan / 5% / 15 years = $2372 per month = $426,960 total ($126,960 in interest)

That's $150,000 less interest paid over the life of the loan and a much quicker accumulation of equity while making payments.

Maybe it's just me, but I HATE paying interest!

The difference in the monthly payments you are committing yourself to between a 15 and 30 year mortgage is significant, whereas you can accomplish the same thing by paying a little extra towards your principle each month - Upside, buffer in case you have an extra expense come up versus being committed to the higher monthly payment - downside, it takes some discipline to stick to the additional principle payments each month.

[Liltuffgirl]

Lol about the Home Depot comment. I'm so sick of lowes it's unbelievable lol I just bought my place in may.

I should have bought a cheaper car so I could pay my house quicker... Tax money will go to car or house payment. Not sure which one.
I'm not planning to stay in this house very long though.. It's really nice but not where I want to be in the long run.

[Normagene]

Originally Posted by jkchambless

The difference in the monthly payments you are committing yourself to between a 15 and 30 year mortgage is significant, whereas you can accomplish the same thing by paying a little extra towards your principle each month - Upside, buffer in case you have an extra expense come up versus being committed to the higher monthly payment - downside, it takes some discipline to stick to the additional principle payments each month.

That's what I did, kept it at 30 just incase I didn't have or needed the extra cash for something else. Luckily nothing ever came up. We just told ourselves the monthly payment is this amount and we stuck to it, and actually increased it around year six or seven. Sure is nice having no payments, i like living rent free!


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[2012-1822]

DON'T DO IT, RUN AWAY!
Okay, well, you're married. I'm single and have owned two homes and it is a lot of work for one person, including the stress of buying and then ownership. But I would say being able to share the experience, opportunity, and stresses with someone else makes all the difference.

I'm down to one house now, selling it, looking forward to not owning for a while, and when I do buy again it probably won't have a yard, maybe a condo or townhouse at the most.

[SS Blinder]

First, Congrats. Owning your first anything is a good feeling.
Second, go to your city local post office and ask for a change of address. Not sure in PA but in TX, specifically Forney or Rockwall, a welcome package is given that includes a 10% coupon off on Lowes. Comes handy when buying fridge, washer, dryer and everything else your heart desires..lol
Third, is the seller not buying the home insurance for you? when i bought, they paid for 2 years.
Fourth, congrats again. Have a good housewarming party and enjoy making the house your home

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

Originally Posted by snymat68

So my wife and I will be closing on our first house on the 21st! (I think I'm more excited to have a garage again than anything.) Does anyone have any advice for a first-time home owner?

Congrats!

Enjoy your house like you enjoy your Camaro .

William R.
Chevrolet Customer Care

[batman53201]

congrats.

whether you go with a 15 year or 30 year, try and pay extra on principle. I had a 15 year load, and paid it off in 8 years, saving lots of $$.

[Number 3]

Our financial guy recommends 30 years. This way you can choose to pay it or if something changes job or family wise you have flexibility.

Try to pay 13 payments per year. If you manage that I think the payoff is like 16 years or so on a 30 year mortgage. So divide your payment by 12 and that to every payment.

If you aren't putting 20% down watch your principal do you can stop PMI ASAP. Prepaying will help you get this monkey off your back. Do whatever you can to avoid PMI including putting 20% down. All that money goes to the bank and does nothing for you.