How late in life is too late for home ownership?
 

LOL Im a single 37 year old guy and If I bought a house tomorrow Id be 70 before its paid off! And believe me Im years away. Whats sparks this is a conversation at work I had with a coworker who is my age. He said "you did it all wrong"! You owe the banks a little and your in deep trouble, you owe the banks a lot and your OK, But if you really owe the banks you own them! I laughed it off but I kept thinking about what he said all day. And you know hes right! I thought I was doing it right by waiting and saving while friends bought homes and drove nice cars and lived life. Why do I say this? A few of those friends have come close to loosing it all. One even has a McMansion lol In the past 10 years that Ive waited to get things in order the economy has tanked the housing market has became impossible Im making FAR less money I also have to help family members. So in short Im worse off- back to sqaure one. My friends have kept their houses even when they didnt pay for them. One hasn't made a payment in 14 months now the lender (CITI) renegotiated the contract. The end result.. He keeps his house with a much lower payment! Anyways I feel like they are the smart ones. I should have not paid my school loans off should have leased a few BMWs and bought a McMansion on a No-Doc or Low-doc loan . ;)

Do you want to hear that you did it right?

You did it right.

Or do you want to hear that you did it wrong?

You did it wrong.

In order for the bank to bend your way, they better be into you for a good amount of their bottom line plus they need to believe in you. Are you a big boy or pushing paper?

None of this matters, if you're ok with your decisions, great. If you need to ask total strangers to give you a gold star, then here it is, a gold star.

Thanks for the gold star!:D

Buy a house, but don't do a 30 year note! 15 years max. If you can't afford a loan for 15 years don't do the loan.

Look at it from both sides. You are like most who think, "All my friends are now up side down." Then they are. Now how about the ones that are not up side down and have actually done really well? Got a line of credit and bough a second home on the cheap, rented it and have someone else buy their second house for them. I really don't understand your question. Do you not want to buy a home and settle down? Now its time my friend if you can get in. Stop and look, interest rates are not getting lower.

I bought when I was 28. I am lights years ahead of those that screwed off, bought new BMWs, and hung out at the local bar every night pissing money away.

Why not?

I know 15 years would be the way to go. Its just kinda salty. Also the housing market in indy is kinda crazy right now. Plenty of houses 300k- 1m and plenty of houses 50k and down but not much in the middle.

The housing market has tanked, houses are cheaper than ever. This seems like a pretty good time to buy to me.

Why do yu think there isn't much in the middle? That

cheap house and cheap interest never happens.

Or you could get a 30 year mortgage and pay extra on the principle each payment - if you make more that month you pay more - less......you pay less.

Should you do it? Only if you walk into the house and know it's right. If you have to struggle to like it - then it's not the right house. And that includes the location location location.

Financially it's the biggest decision you'll ever make (House, Car, new roof - in that order). The bank will let you know if you can buy it on that aspect....

I love owning my own home. I'm single too so it's actually my castle! ;)

move out of Greentucky. there are plenty of nice houses in my neighborhood (north butler-tarkington) for between 150-300K

Your right I shouldn't be so picky. Im going to end up one of those old people that have to constantly move every 4 years because rent is going up and their on a fixed income. Its just I dont want a track home. Id like a older home but banks are not easy on those.

tony, i bought a historic home off of illinois street. built in 1909. I used an FHA loan, and had no issues. i remember a few years ago, you posted pics of the home on Meridian street. I looked at that place. you also posted the place on 39th street...that place sold and was restored. there are plenty of nice, 2200-2900 sq feet homes in north butler tarkington. surely you've checked out MIBOR.

"I used an FHA loan" How do you get the house to qualify? Credit and income were never issues but the house was in two instances.

It is never too late to buy a house, and it is not necessary to pay it off. You just invest wisely in a house that will appreciate, then sell and downsize. My In laws are retired and bought a second house while retired. I am 42 and just bought a house for the third time, at 3.5%. You won't see low interest rates and low house prices forever, now is the time to jump in.

was it a fixer-upper? that's about the only thing that won't allow it to qualify. I almost bought a house in Golden Hill that needed a lot of work. In the long run, I didn't want to deal with all of the bidding processes for the 203K FHA Rehab Loan.

I was about your age, the most important thing to me was my partner. I needed a women with a solid income that wasn't going to stick me with a mortgage & get lazy. I could have jumped earlier, but didn't trust my wife at the time. Your friends who refied didn't do themselves any favors not paying for 14 months, karma man.

Be glad you didn't get in a few years ago before the market tanked.

Rehab a Home W/Hud's 203k Rehab Program

i remember it was harder to find a lender that would do it, but there were several in Indy. Also, you have to put bids out for the rehab work. It was just a process i didnt want to deal with, so i bought a home that passed an FHA inspection.

If you ever meet the "right" girl... PRENUP... Not negotiable.