#2. Purchase a House as soon as possible!
Ashlee and I purchased our first house in 2008, which was 9 years into our marriage! I loved purchasing the house we live in, and it met all the expectations Ashlee and I had for a house. The problem is that we had those expectations since about year three or four of our marriage.
When we first got married, we were not sure where we wanted to live, and our families (mine and hers) had just gone through some family crisis. We moved back and forth across the country twice in the first year. So we waited on purchasing a house while we traveled back and forth.
Once we moved back to Texas and decided to stay there while I went to school, we were given advice, “DO NOT PURCHASE A HOUSE!” Someone who I looked to for coaching in this area gave me horrible advice. They explain I should not purchase a house, especially since I was in ministry and wanted to pastor.
His questions included:
“Where will you pastor in 3 years?” — “What will you do with the house if you move right after graduation?” — “How will you afford it as a student?”
The problem is that we lived in Texas another 6 1/2 years, which was all three years of college, 1 year of grad school, and 2 more years as a pastor of the church we had attended the whole time.
We did look at one house once. We decided not to buy it, because the payment was OUTRAGEOUS! {that is 444.00 a month for those of you who want to know what OUTRAGEOUS was at the time}
The problem is this: we moved out of our dirty, cheap apartment into a rent house and paid $600 a month a few months later.
We threw money away for years, and gained no equity during that time. You see we could have bought that $55,000 house for $444.00 a month and probably lived there happily while in Texas. Then when we moved to WI from Texas, in Texas a similar house was running around $70,000. If we had purchased it, we would have had some good money to put down on our house in Wisconsin.
We ended up purchasing close to our dream house last year. God has taken care of us, and we are so thankful and blessed! Praise God, he opened up this house at the right time, for the right price {bought way under appraised value}.
My advice:
Purchase a house as soon as possible! If you are going to live in an area 3 to 5 years it is worth it! If you are concerned about replacing major appliances then you can purchase New Home Buyers insurance. It runs around 550 a year and covers all major appliances. Things I realized in this last year is that things do go wrong, but most of them are minor, and you learn quickly how to deal with them.
I have also learned, that people who make more money than I do, people you or I might consider “wealthy or makes a ton!” struggle to find the dough to pay for things too!
If you purchase a starter house when your first married, you can buy up later. I have friends in Texas who bought their first house 10 years ago, and now live in house 2 or 3. They purchased cheap, did some minor upgrades and sold while the market was up. They then had good money for a down payment on house number 2 and many of them pay a very similar monthly payment and price for house number 2 even though it is WAY nicer!
Purchasing a house is a wonderful investment, and it will help you learn skills that you will eventually need to know. You might as well learn them as a young, energetic newly wed than 9 years in like I am.
You do what you want, but if I had to do it over again, this is one decision I would change! Living in our HOUSE has been one of the most rewarding things this past 14 months. We talked about it last night on OUR deck. Funny, since she did not know I was writing this today!
Check back tomorrow for #3…”it deals with money”
May 5, 2009 at 1:57 pm |
Ironic me reading it having moved what… will be 3 times within this year now! Our poor family
We bought our first house and we regreted it. We were quick to buy and didn’t consider all things we should have. Such as a “shared” driveway. We were too awe struck to own a big old victorian house that the shared driveway was nothing. But when we got a job opportunity up in Neenah only 2 years later it made selling it very hard. We put a lot of money into the house and ended up forking over $50K of our own money just to sell it. I would say if you’re going to buy be smart about it, educate yourself and take your time so you know and are confident in your decision. Certainly our second go-around with house #2 we took a year to get settled before even considering to buy again and took our time weighing everything about the house and knowing the market, etc. Sometimes renting isn’t such a bad idea and can give you the time and money to save before you are tied into something. We never know what life will throw at us at any given moment. House #2 is so much more for our money than #1 was and our payments are less and we have more house, but the market is a buyer’s market right now so if you’re wanting to sell you’re chances are good.
May 5, 2009 at 3:29 pm |
WiNY,
I agree that when buying that first house you should be cautious. When we moved to WI we took 2 years to get a feeling for the area.
I do not regret waiting to buy a house in the 1 year we traveled a lot, much like your situation here in the area. I do realize that you had to move, and renting is great for that situation. Renting is not the evil, bad thing some make it out to be. There are great perks, but if your getting married and trying to plan for long term financial success buying provides great opportunities.
I also, recommend every couple I do pre-marriage counseling with to purchase a starter home first. I try to get them to realize the dream house their parents bought at 45, took them 25 years to get there. Many newly weds want to purchase mom & dad’s house (you know perfect home, not actual home) and that gets them in trouble. I think we all make that mistake, which why I wish I had known this when I got married!
Wonderful insights WiNY..love reading your responses!