How do average people afford downpayments?!
mandogirl
16 years ago
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fran1523
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agofeedingfrenzy
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
How many people do you feed from your garden?
Comments (30)Last year, 3 cucumber plants gave me enough cucumbers for me, my wife, and my 4 year old. We always slice them and eat them as a snack. 6 tomato plants was enough and we even shared with the neighbors. 6 jalapeño plants kept me well stocked since only I eat them. I have a 10x20 "fool's square" (someone here called it that and I loved the term) but this year I am increasing the garden by using two additional parts of my yard. Up until last year, I had one peach tree but last year I planted two apple trees, one plum tree, one nectarine and a pear. This year I am planting a cocktail tree and a strawberry tree from a catalog. Also, I already put my blackberry, blueberry, and two raspberry bushes on the ground (all from Sam's). All in all my gardening efforts should feed all four of us fine....See Moreeliminating debt vs. saving for downpayment
Comments (11)If you pay down your CC debt you'll see a change in your score in one or two months - depending on when the cc company makes their reports. Whatever the balance is when they prepare your monthly statement is the balance reported - even if you pay that balance off in full. I would try to knock down the cc debt to 30% or less - there's nothing magic about 25% or any other percent really. 50% or less isn't too terrible, but this portion of your score accounts for about 30% of the total score overall, so the less the better. This is all very general though. Many different things are taken into account when determining your score, and many things besides your 3 scores are taken into consideration by lenders - it's not a matter of one thing being cared about more than another, it a matter of your overall financial picture. My advice to you is to wait until you've paid down your cc debt and also make sure you have an emergency fund in place - not only so that you can take care of yourself should you lose your job or become ill, but also so you can pay for the many emergencies that can befall a home. You can expect to pay an amount about equal to one monthly payment just on yearly maintenance alone - not counting any repairs or emergencies - and much more for an older home. Plus home owners insurance and taxes and possibly higher utility bills than you are paying while renting. That you cannot both save for a down payment and pay off your debt tells me that you probably aren't yet ready for home ownership. Also, debt on one cc and a car loan don't account for such a low score (I assume that's an average of the 3 scores? 700 would be like a B- or C, low-good) - have you fixed whatever caused that score? Is it simply a short credit history ? (in general, it not good to close out an account unless it's fairly new and charges an annual fee) Most of all, most important to your scores, is to never, ever make a late payment on any bill - includes phones and utilities, etc. Have you thought about getting a 2nd job clerking or waitressing or something like that? You could save a great deal in a very short time. In just 6 months you could earn that 10% down payment and still be paying down your cc debt with your regular income. My husband and I each worked a 2nd job in order to save for our first home on the schedule we wanted - it was hard, but fun and exciting, too. On the brighter side - you can request that the PMI be removed once your home equity is high enough - so if the value of your home rises then that PMI may not last longer than a couple of years. Just remember that it's not getting into the home that you should be most concerned about - it's being able to stay in the home while remaining financially solvent - you want to be able to pay yourself (emergency fund, retirement), pay your bills, save for big ticket items (like a home, newer car, furniture, vacations), have some fun, and invest....See MoreProperty Taxes & Improvements--How Do I Know I Can Afford Them?
Comments (21)Wow, thanks for all the responses. I am going to have to reread this over very slowly so that I understand everything you all said. To answer some of your questions and comments, it's not too much house for me Gardenspice because I am buying it for cash. Taxes are high in New Jersey. They are $6700. on this house now. I want to make sure I can continue paying the taxes on it when I get older so I don't want to do anything to it that's going to cost me more money in taxes. I understand that taxes go up anyway. But I want to keep them from going up as much as possible. The taxes are one reason I am looking into building an apartment in one of the outbuildings on the property. I'm thinking ahead for old age. I want to keep this house until I die. If I had a tenant, it would help with the taxes. Unless the tax cost of the improvement cancels out any profits I would make on rent. Of course I will look into all the rules and laws I have to follow if I was going to do something like this down the road and I'd never do it without getting proper permits, etc. I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't follow the rules! I am also looking into other ways to make some money with this property. Making an apartment was one idea. I've also thought of having weddings and other events there. I'm a bit of an entrepreneur and will do a lot of research. Whatever we do, we will be doing all the work ourselves. As far as what's going on inside the house right now, there are open permits on it now that the code officer told us was transferrable to us so we can complete the work. Nothing is hooked up in this house. The work was in progress and then the owners had to stop. It will take us three weeks to hook it all up. There will be lots more work to do but in three weeks we'll have enough done that we will be able to get the certificate of occupancy to move in. Other than the tax man kind of rushing me off the phone, all the town guys we've spoken to about this property have been very helpful and supportive of us--they want us in there. The house has been empty for a while and I think they're afraid someone's going to buy it and turn it into some kind of halfway house type thing (it's a big old Victorian) and they would rather have a family in there who is going to give it tender loving care. It is in a town with other multiple dwelling buildings, bed & breakfasts, plus it's on five acres. I'm not even sure what I want to do with it and what I can do to it at this point. My goal is taking care of these taxes. Where I live now, on an 11 acre farm in Virginia, my taxes are only $846 a year so this is going to be sticker shock! And this whole thing might be moot if I don't get my farm sold. We lost our buyer two days before closing! Now we're praying the old Victorian is still going to be there when we get a new buyer!...See Morehow do people do refinsh their floors ( sand, varnish) in one day
Comments (8)When we had ours refinished in our previous house we were out of the house for five days. There are different types of finishes, so the time required may vary. Sounds like it's 3-5 days. Take the advice of the flooring professional. You do not want to put your furniture back until the surface has hardened or else you will ruin the job. If you have a garage, put all your furniture in the garage, or rent a POD to put in your driveway....See Moremfbenson
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