My husband and I are thinking of buying our first home together in a few months. It seems like a very tedious and confusing process!
We’ve started looking at house in the area we’re interested in and house are soooo expensive! And we’re not even looking in an expensive area :s
I feel like houses in the US are so much cheaper than here (I live in Canada).
So I want to ask how much did your first home cost? And was it relatively inexpensive or expensive according to where you all live and the cost of homes in your area.
It depends on where in the US you live. Homes and property taxes are so high where I live. I mean a decent move in ready single family will cost you no less than 450-500k .. if you want a nicer one you gotta up your price to atleast 600k and even those homes aren’t perfect Prices depend on how good the school district is here, the better the schools the higher the prices.
The home we’re living in right now is our first home. We bought it in 2010, I won’t disclose the price though. It’s a townhome and has no garage or basement. It’s a 3 bed 2.5 bath and has an semi open concept living downstairs. We have no backyard but we do have a deck. It was not cheap, considering what we’re getting for the price … which is not that much. We pay an HOA fee of $290 every single month! And our taxes are crazy … CRAZY!!! But we live in a town with blue ribbon schools … our kid is 2 and won’t be going to school for another 3 years
We made an offer 23 days after our home search! and moved in the house two months after that! easy peasy? no but we knew what we wanted!
We had a budget.. we didnt even look at the properties above that budget!
We chose the location that had good school ratings in the country (our son was only 6 mos at that time) and a beautiful neighborhood! the taxes are high but we had that included in our budget so yep first of all fix your budget and then write down what you want.. your priorties, things that you can or cannot compromise on! I wont be sharing the price, because its personal, but I can tell you we are not paying a penny over the rent that we were paying for in the 2 bedroom apartment.. the hosue has the garage, deck, patio, shed, finished basement, and much more than that apartment!
We also saved enough for 20% downpayment, less than that isnt worth it! and we bought sometyhing that had the potential to make it personal.. it was in move in condition but not our taste exactly.. we are working on renovating it and loving it!!We also chose islamic financing, guidance residential, and our experience was wonderful with them!
Wow you guys are really lucky to have saved up a downpayment! We're trying to do that as well but its so hard! But inshallah we will save this money :)
I know the area I want to live in. It's a nice family oriented, quiet neighborhood with good schools (I dont have any kids yet though). And this area is relatively cheaper than other parts of the GTA, but even still the houses start at $300k +. I find this extremely expensive for a first home!
Thanks for the link! I’ve been through the thread before but not sure why it wasn’t showing up when I searched for it.
I can’t believe how fast the home search was for you! It’s smart that you didn’t even bother looking at properties over your budget. I’ve already made that mistake and now it’s so hard to look at properties that are actually in our budget
But your absolutely right, I need to prioritize and make a list of the things I must have and things I can compromise on. And maybe consider buying something that I can slowly renovate to make it my own
Whats an HOA fee? Is that like a monthly maintainance fee? My parent old townhouse has this fee as well and they hated it.
Home owner's association fee.Can include various things.Ours includes heating,hot water,garbage removal and disposal,outside maintenance (which recently has become a lost cause due to management changes..!)
We pay $380 every month and there is nothing more which hurts every single month..!!
(It is high because they did a drainage project a couple of years ago and when the cost was distributed among the 90 something condo owners,the HOA fee went up.It should be paid off by 2015).Hopefully we wont be living here anymore by then..IA...!
What are some things that you feel are must haves in a home and what things are easy to compromise on?
I already know the location and price range I want to look at, but what other things do I need to look out for within the home?
Also, what do you guys think about older properties? Are there a lot of problems associated with older homes?
Sorry I have so many questions, I just want to know everything possible before making such a big decision and I really don't know much about buying a house lol
Home owner's association fee.Can include various things.Ours includes heating,hot water,garbage removal and disposal,outside maintenance (which recently has become a lost cause due to management changes..!)
We pay $380 every month and there is nothing more which hurts every single month..!!
(It is high because they did a drainage project a couple of years ago and when the cost was distributed among the 90 something condo owners,the HOA fee went up.It should be paid off by 2015).Hopefully we wont be living here anymore by then..IA...!
Thats exactly what my parents had, I think theirs included basic cable as well. I guess in a way it's not that bad since you're getting the work done ( if it actually gets done) and you'd have to pay for the heating and water bills anyways
we bought an old house but thats also because we live in New England, houses are VERY old here.. I know people who are buying the house that was built in 1879!! so its very common! ours was built in the 50s, renovated and expanded in the 80s! It had a new electric panel (1996), finished basement in the 80s, so you know what we got.. wall paper, and wood panels!!! I hate both of them but we are working on removing and painting them so its not a big deal to us! We got everything solid wood, new plumbing, new electric panel and a new 2 car garage!
so what we were looking for.. it HAD to be on town sewer, yes we live in the coutry side so most of the houses have their own septic systems, we didnt want tod eal with that hassle so yeah our priorties might very well be different than yours! we have houses here for 400K+ with septic system and I wont take that for free :D
so yeah we made a list of that that we wanted in the house..
of bedrooms
of bathrooms
garage
basement (not wet and we got teh finished basement so that was a plus)
front and back yard
large kitchen
Living room and Family room so one can be formal
new roof
oil or natural gas for heating
and a few more things!
We got some, we didnt get some but no regrets for what we didnt get because we knew we could make the best out of it!
and most importantly, dont skimp on home inspection.. we used the best one out there and they helped us to make teh final decision!
Thats exactly what my parents had, I think theirs included basic cable as well. I guess in a way it's not that bad since you're getting the work done ( if it actually gets done) and you'd have to pay for the heating and water bills anyways
^^Yeah I have heard some do have basic cable included.
It used to be nice a few yeras ago when they used to keep the grass all trimmed and flower beds looked clean and nicely kept.during winters they cleaned the heavy snow from the parking lots and sidewalks.But then the management changed and it has been a mess since then..!
we bought an old house but thats also because we live in New England, houses are VERY old here.. I know people who are buying the house that was built in 1879!! so its very common! ours was built in the 50s, renovated and expanded in the 80s! It had a new electric panel (1996), finished basement in the 80s, so you know what we got.. wall paper, and wood panels!!! I hate both of them but we are working on removing and painting them so its not a big deal to us! We got everything solid wood, new plumbing, new electric panel and a new 2 car garage!
so what we were looking for.. it HAD to be on town sewer, yes we live in the coutry side so most of the houses have their own septic systems, we didnt want tod eal with that hassle so yeah our priorties might very well be different than yours! we have houses here for 400K+ with septic system and I wont take that for free :D
so yeah we made a list of that that we wanted in the house..
of bedrooms
of bathrooms
garage
basement (not wet and we got teh finished basement so that was a plus)
front and back yard
large kitchen
Living room and Family room so one can be formal
new roof
oil or natural gas for heating
and a few more things!
We got some, we didnt get some but no regrets for what we didnt get because we knew we could make the best out of it!
and most importantly, dont skimp on home inspection.. we used the best one out there and they helped us to make teh final decision!
You so sound like my husband..!!
He hears the word 'septic tank' and jumps away...:D,while I look and awwww at teh pretty house.
But you are right...!It is pretty common and a pretty big hassle.
we bought an old house but thats also because we live in New England, houses are VERY old here.. I know people who are buying the house that was built in 1879!! so its very common! ours was built in the 50s, renovated and expanded in the 80s! It had a new electric panel (1996), finished basement in the 80s, so you know what we got.. wall paper, and wood panels!!! I hate both of them but we are working on removing and painting them so its not a big deal to us! We got everything solid wood, new plumbing, new electric panel and a new 2 car garage!
so what we were looking for.. it HAD to be on town sewer, yes we live in the coutry side so most of the houses have their own septic systems, we didnt want tod eal with that hassle so yeah our priorties might very well be different than yours! we have houses here for 400K+ with septic system and I wont take that for free :D
so yeah we made a list of that that we wanted in the house..
of bedrooms
of bathrooms
garage
basement (not wet and we got teh finished basement so that was a plus)
front and back yard
large kitchen
Living room and Family room so one can be formal
new roof
oil or natural gas for heating
and a few more things!
We got some, we didnt get some but no regrets for what we didnt get because we knew we could make the best out of it!
and most importantly, dont skimp on home inspection.. we used the best one out there and they helped us to make teh final decision!
Oh wow! When I said old, I meant like 15-20 years lol. So I guess there shouldn't be problems with old houses as long as we get a thorough home inspection done.
Thanks so much for the list, it's really helpful. Thank god we don't have to worry about septic tanks though, that would be a big hassle!
Hows your home search coming along? Did you move in?
My hubby and I dont have kids yet, but we are planning to sort out our finances by december and start looking around by next year. I live in GTA too. But I guess the kinda homes I like are all in the suburbs :(
That's the time frame we're looking at as well. And I also like the houses in the suburbs. Which is where I currently live. So staying in this area is not a problem for me. But I feel like even the house in suburbs like the east end are very expensive now. Many people like myself don't have a big budget since it'll be my first home :(
chipsy... let him get the grey walls and we will be twins :D
saks... just remember one thing.. buy what you can afford!!! dont think about the money that you may have 5 years later.. think about what you can pay right now and then get the fixed rate so nothing changes!!!
Saks, knowing GTA market and your situation (just couple with no kids), I'd suggest getting a Condo or Town house as your first buy unless you have good amount saved for down-payment. In most of the GTA areas, you can not get anything decent for less than 400,000k (and that too will be under 2000sqft) unless you are OK with being outside GTA in East, West or North like Cambridge, Whitby or King city.
We were lucky that our searching for house and signing the deal was spanned over 10 days only. We bought it new from builder and yes paid a hefty down payment. Delivery time was around 14 months after booking but that allowed us to save more for upgrades, moving and other expenses. We were also lucky to hit the market when it was down (2 years ago) and we got good deal.
Prices depend on how good the school district is here, the better the schools the higher the prices.
