I am seeking advice on purchasing my very first home. As of now my thoughts are:

-It's cheaper to build a new house than buy a house that's is on the market.
-I'm just entering my career field, (pausing grad school in order to keep dti from getting higher) would it be smarter to wait on a buyers market
-If I chose to build, which builder is an affordable option
-How much is too much per square footage

I'm seeking suggestions and mistakes to avoid.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and Gig'em

I"m not sure there's enough information known for anyone to offer meaningful feedback.

Quote:

---

-I'm just entering my career field, (pausing grad school in order to keep dti from getting higher) would it be smarter to wait on a buyers market

---

If you are secure in your job and know you won't be needing to sell for a few years then I would buy now. People love to scream the buzzword- BUBBLE but the fact is the current local SFR market is a direct result of real world demand. I don't think CS homes will ever be any less expensive than they are now. If rates actually head up you might see prices slow but I don't see them falling. That brings up rates. Do you want to gamble waiting a few years only to see rates higher?

This might be useful to you.

Buyer's Guide



Mods: Please don't ban me. Just trying to help a fellow Aggie.

I'm a newlywed. I should have said we.

Thank you! This is very helpful. My question is so vague because we are honestly not sure where to start.

RENT!

You are at a point in your life that you need flexibility. Your break even point on a home is years away in almost any scenario. Take your time and enjoy your flexibility. Save as much money as you can and then make a decision in a few years. Life changes fast at your age. You never know when a job, school, or girl will change the direction and you don't want to be saddled with a house you need to sell.

Random thoughts...

Finding a place to build isn't easy. I personally don't feel that I can build the house I want in the location I want for less than I can buy.

Interest rates are still good. Yes, they have gone up. But they are nowhere near what our parents are used to. (I'm 30 so I still feel like we are within the same decade)

Do you intend to stay here? What's your plan? More info is helpful but the conversation is worth having.

Full disclosure - I am a BCS realtor

Price range?

Boom is on !

My wife and I bought our first home as newlyweds in November of 2014. We got a good deal in a great neighborhood. We renovated the kitchen, painted, screened in the porch, and made a few other cosmetic changes and sold last month making a nice profit.

While you probably won't see a drastic increase in $/sq ft like we were fortunate enough to see in our 2 years, I don't see the market drastically falling and you'll be making an investment rather than funding someone else's investment (rental property).

If you and your wife are handy, you can slowly make improvements and can see a return on your investment whether it's 2 years from now or 20.

My wife and I have bought 2 houses in CS in last 2 years. Both around 10+ years old. This was after looking at new house after new house, comparing builders, comparing to older houses...

Consensus in my honest opinion, you will get a better deal on an older home and save money. No doubt about it. You WILL run into problems. Get a 1 year home warranty and have the seller pay for it. This is standard in the market today.

Get one you can put a little sweat equity into. You'll make it back if you decide to sell 10 fold!

I rarely see anyone build a home that is cheaper than something on the market. It starts out that way, but once you start building, you add extras and upgrades.

If you are pretty certain you will be in a house for 5 years, then buying can make sense.

It is very hard to do, but I wouldn't buy as big as most people do. A house isn't a good investment. If you factor in all the costs (taxes, insurance, etc), most do not make much on their home.

Been spending a considerable amount of time researching the local area as I'd like to make an upgrade in the next few years. Based on that, here's what I'd tell you:

-It's cheaper to build a new house than buy a house that's is on the market. (Totally disagree)

-I'm just entering my career field, (pausing grad school in order to keep dti from getting higher) would it be smarter to wait on a buyers market (I'd wait until you are a little more stabilized to buy if I were you; if you have the cash on hand then by all means go for it)

-If I chose to build, which builder is an affordable option (Stylecraft would be least expensive but you also get what you pay for; most builders are only building new houses at 300K and up around here)

-How much is too much per square footage (I would never pay over $150 per sq/ft in this town)