It's time to legit start looking at buying new property here in Montana! The sale of my MN home will be complete on February 24th. I can almost grasp moving out of this teeny, tiny concrete house.
I keep going back and forth between two options: 1) buying acreage (.5 to 2 acres) with a house already on it or 2) buying the acreage and then putting a modular home on it.
I was originally leaning toward the modular/acreage but it's been a little difficult finding land that allows modular homes. Even though they are built based on higher standards than manufactured and mobile homes, most land covenants want traditional stick-built homes. Ugh.
The boyfriend and I are going to go look at a home this week - 1550 sq ft, 3 bed/2 bath, new construction with .25 acre yard in a subdivision... the words "in a subdivision" make me cringe a little. I don't want to be in a cookie-cutter neighborhood, but these have decent sized lots so we'll see.
I haven't talked with a mortgage loan officer yet (I've been waiting until the closing of my MN house) but I am a little at a loss on how much I can afford. I'll be purchasing the house since I have excellent credit and while I don't see me and my boyfriend ever breaking up - I never have liked the idea of co-signed loans. He and I will still split all the monthly payments though... I guess he'll essentially just be paying me rent.
I only make about $38,000 annually (same with the bf) but I'll have about $100,000 for a down payment. A real estate agent I was talking to kept sending me houses that were $300,000... that seems quite steep for someone who only has an income of $38,000.
Advice anyone?
Time to Start Thinking about Buying Property!
February 16th, 2016 at 09:14 pm
February 16th, 2016 at 09:38 pm 1455658700
I agree you should not buy a house with someone you are not married to. However, you should also consider how you would feel about owning a property where you are currently located if you or your BF changed their mind and you split up.
February 16th, 2016 at 09:41 pm 1455658909
February 16th, 2016 at 10:40 pm 1455662410
AnotherReader - I talked with the modular home company and they work with lenders that don't have an issue with loans on modular homes - the main issue we've come across is finding land that allows it. One nice thing about where we're looking to buy is that it's booming - so if we happened to break up down the road, again, not expecting it but nothing is 100%, it would be good rental income if we had to move out of it for any reason.
February 17th, 2016 at 12:00 am 1455667206
February 17th, 2016 at 12:06 am 1455667566
Why not just go with a traditional, sticks and bricks house? Can you not find site-built houses on large lots in your price range? If that's the case, I would go with a smaller lot or house and be more secure with the future resale and rental potential.
February 17th, 2016 at 01:21 pm 1455715289
Use a mortgage calculator to determine what those payments may look like. Taxes and insurance can vary depending on location and property.
February 17th, 2016 at 08:16 pm 1455740195
You also mentioned selling your current home? If you have had a home already then that should give you a frame of reference of your comfort level. Will have to adjust for variables in new location, but it gives you a starting point.