home purchasing

[khattichic]

Re: home purchasing

@cpa2011

Question,

when buying a home what is better for a first time buyer? This is for someone in the NYC area.

1. By a bit smaller/cheaperhome, and be able to still go on vacation, or eat out

2. By a bit costly/bigger home, not be able to put 20% down, and kind of be living on a tight bugdet for a while.

The thing in in NYC usually you can purchase 1 home in your life time, so is it better to go big and be in a tight financial position, or get somthing that is definately affordable with room to spend money as well?

You have to decide what is important to you. As a Realtor, I don’t like to see my clients be “house poor”…meaning they over extend themselves to go into a pricey house, but then are living month to month with no savings or cushion for the incidentals (rise in taxes, maintenance, etc) that WILL pop up.

For a first time home buyer, the average time a person stays in a "starter’’ home is 7-10 years, before they upgrade or move on.

My personal and professional opinion is not to over extend yourself financially to the point where you can’t even enjoy life outside of paying the mortgage every month.