how do you come up with a down payment?

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  • GraySaturday
    GraySaturday Posts: 2,878
    This thread isn't an argument on who is worse off, a renter or owner.

    We rent, we'd like to own, and I was asking for people to share their experience if they came up with a down payment.

    Please don't argue and get the thread shut down. No one said anyone had to buy or rent. Its a personal choice. What works for one person could be completely wrong for the next.
  • AmentsChick
    AmentsChick Posts: 6,969
    GraySaturday wrote:
    This thread isn't an argument on who is worse off, a renter or owner.

    We rent, we'd like to own, and I was asking for people to share their experience if they came up with a down payment.

    Please don't argue and get the thread shut down. No one said anyone had to buy or rent. Its a personal choice. What works for one person could be completely wrong for the next.

    If you buy...buy a house with a/c. ;):p
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  • fanch75
    fanch75 Posts: 3,734
    CityMouse wrote:
    yeah but do you really want to do that?

    and still 5% of $350K is $17,500!

    And truthfully, if you can't save up $17,500, you probably don't need to be buying a house that costs $350k. How do you expect to make the monthly payments?
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  • decides2dream
    decides2dream Posts: 14,977
    LikeAnOcean wrote:
    I've read a few msn, cnn articles.. There is money in buying, but only if you keep the building for a long time or fix it up. This is why the housing market is collapsing now, because people think or payed waay more than their places are really worth. Inflation is what, 2, 3%? Expect the same rate added to the value of your place each year.. house prices don't just exponentially keep rising. After taxes, maintenance, bank interest, you only earn about the same on owning as you would investing your money into the stock market.


    which is still a helluva lot more than you earn renting....b/c the money put into rent goes into the landlord's pockets, not into your own stock portfolio.


    over and over and over....it's studied and discussed, owning is a far better financial investment than renting. obviously, there are very good reasons to rent. but looking at it from a purely financial standpoint any financial advisor would say the same.


    and....

    GraySaturday wrote:
    This thread isn't an argument on who is worse off, a renter or owner.

    We rent, we'd like to own, and I was asking for people to share their experience if they came up with a down payment.

    Please don't argue and get the thread shut down. No one said anyone had to buy or rent. Its a personal choice. What works for one person could be completely wrong for the next.



    absolutely.
    personal choice is the KEY.
    Stay with me...
    Let's just breathe...


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  • blackredyellow
    blackredyellow Posts: 5,889
    CityMouse wrote:
    well The Economist has had articles on this.

    It's NOT always a better financial move to buy a house. period. people just tell themselves this to make themselves feel better about buying a $500,000 item and signing their lives away in mortgage!

    Of course buying a house can be a bad decision, but that's not because actually buying one is, but more than likely which house or how quickly you try to sell it.

    If you over-reach and get yourself strung out financially, then you probably were better off renting a cheap apartment and investing in your savings. But if you are smart about it and buy a house within your means, in the long run it will be a good investment.
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  • LikeAnOcean
    LikeAnOcean Posts: 7,718
    GraySaturday wrote:
    This thread isn't an argument on who is worse off, a renter or owner.

    We rent, we'd like to own, and I was asking for people to share their experience if they came up with a down payment.

    Please don't argue and get the thread shut down. No one said anyone had to buy or rent. Its a personal choice. What works for one person could be completely wrong for the next.
    Sorry,.. I'm not argueing.. just stating what I recently read..

    I lived with my parents extra years to save up money.. I could put 10% down on a place now, but I feel more comfortable renting.

    I also currently budget $200 a month into my savings. It depends what you spend your money on.. I make barely 30k a year and pay about $850 a month in rent and utilities... I have friends making 80k a year who are broke.. go figure.
  • GraySaturday
    GraySaturday Posts: 2,878
    AmentsChick wrote:
    If you buy...buy a house with a/c. ;):p

    No kidding.. its 100 today.. I've got moving on the mind.. hardcore!
  • Drop The Leash 10
    Drop The Leash 10 Posts: 7,011
    AmentsChick wrote:
    If you buy...buy a house with a/c. ;):p
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. :D
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  • Thecure
    Thecure Posts: 814
    i live in Toronto where ave. house costs around 500K. teh ave. 1bedroom condo cost 270k. i make around 48 k a year. i am a social worker. i have been working for teh past 17 years,i am 31 now. what i did is save 200 a month since i was 21. that gave me 24k. i just bought my first condo in toronto for 260k. it is hard. what i sould suggest to you is take out a private loan (if you can) for the downpayment and when you buy your house rent out a part of it to pay the laod back. i don't know if you are interested in having another person living with you but it would help.
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  • comebackwoman
    comebackwoman Posts: 7,271
    CityMouse wrote:
    I don't know how I could possibly save $100/week. I save that per month. I pay rent, heat, electricity, gym membership, cable (not parting with it, I'd go nuts without a TV, and it's just basic cable), old credit card bills (don't use them anymore, don't have to, but it's from grad school and times when I was so struggling I had to buy food with them), and student loan payments. that's it. I almost never buy food even, and I don't drive a car.
    It doesn't have to be $100/week - it can be more or less. Any amount of money over time will grow - just save what you can. We were fortunate to be living in a very affordable apartment, so that helped a lot...and at the time I didn't have my addiction to shoes...so that helped even more! :p
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  • GraySaturday
    GraySaturday Posts: 2,878
    Thecure wrote:
    i live in Toronto where ave. house costs around 500K. teh ave. 1bedroom condo cost 270k. i make around 48 k a year. i am a social worker. i have been working for teh past 17 years,i am 31 now. what i did is save 200 a month since i was 21. that gave me 24k. i just bought my first condo in toronto for 260k. it is hard. what i sould suggest to you is take out a private loan (if you can) for the downpayment and when you buy your house rent out a part of it to pay the laod back. i don't know if you are interested in having another person living with you but it would help.

    We'd only be buying a one bedroom condo, or maybe one and a small other bedroom/office/den..

    I don't think anyone would want to live with my husband and I... and my 40 cats ;)
  • fanch75
    fanch75 Posts: 3,734
    Thecure wrote:
    i live in Toronto where ave. house costs around 500K. teh ave. 1bedroom condo cost 270k.

    Good Lord. To hell with that. Why not move out a bit and commute into the city or find a job in the suburbs? Those prices are insane. Only speculation can drive up prices that high, it makes no sense. Is there a housing bubble in Toronto?

    $500k here would build a very, VERY nice house!
    Do you remember Rock & Roll Radio?
  • MrMerkinball
    MrMerkinball Posts: 1,978
    GraySaturday wrote:
    This thread isn't an argument on who is worse off, a renter or owner.

    We rent, we'd like to own, and I was asking for people to share their experience if they came up with a down payment.

    Please don't argue and get the thread shut down. No one said anyone had to buy or rent. Its a personal choice. What works for one person could be completely wrong for the next.
    This thread is a brilliant idea.

    We all struggle month to month with personal finances and sharing ideas is perfect.
  • CityMouse
    CityMouse Posts: 1,010
    fanch75 wrote:
    And truthfully, if you can't save up $17,500, you probably don't need to be buying a house that costs $350k. How do you expect to make the monthly payments?

    my friend just bought a 1 br condo, maybe 600 sq feet in somerville, MA, not even very close to the T. it cost $350,000 and that was one of the cheapest places she could find. that's how much condos cost in this area.
  • fanch75
    fanch75 Posts: 3,734
    CityMouse wrote:
    my friend just bought a 1 br condo, maybe 600 sq feet in somerville, MA, not even very close to the T. it cost $350,000 and that was one of the cheapest places she could find. that's how much condos cost in this area.

    I guess it's time to decide if it's worth it to live in the area. Apparently it is! I hear Toronto is awesome to live in. I make a good living and those prices nearly give me a heart attack.
    Do you remember Rock & Roll Radio?
  • MrMerkinball
    MrMerkinball Posts: 1,978
    fanch75 wrote:
    Good Lord. To hell with that. Why not move out a bit and commute into the city or find a job in the suburbs? Those prices are insane. Only speculation can drive up prices that high, it makes no sense. Is there a housing bubble in Toronto?

    $500k here would build a very, VERY nice house!
    It is starting to slow down, but it is not a bubble.

    Toronto has 15% of Canada's entire Population, so naturally it is crowded. Houses in the city are in high demand and are WELL over $500K.

    My House is 45 minutes out of the city and it's current market value is $485,000. As Gas goes up, though, value in the subburbs goes down.
  • chromiam
    chromiam Posts: 4,114
    fanch75 wrote:
    I guess it's time to decide if it's worth it to live in the area. Apparently it is! I hear Toronto is awesome to live in. I make a good living and those prices nearly give me a heart attack.

    same here, same here.... Toronto was a great city but I don't think I'd pay that much to live there...
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  • Inhiding230
    Inhiding230 Posts: 362
    This thread is so making me appreciate living in Nashville TN!!

    We own a house with about a half acre fenced yard (backing to woods), in a very nice neighborhood, very close to the interstate, and about 10 minutes west of downtown Nashville. It's 1700 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and perfect for our little family - it cost us $182k 2 years ago :D
  • CityMouse
    CityMouse Posts: 1,010
    fanch75 wrote:
    I guess it's time to decide if it's worth it to live in the area. Apparently it is! I hear Toronto is awesome to live in. I make a good living and those prices nearly give me a heart attack.

    Well my screen name says it all. I hate suburbs with a passion, and I hope I never have a job that requires driving in a car. I value living in an a good urban area much more highly than I value the inside of my living quarters. I love having a neighborhood square nearby where I can go sit on a nice night and be out with the rest of my community. I'd much rather to pay to "rent that" than own a house.
  • CityMouse
    CityMouse Posts: 1,010
    seren327 wrote:
    This thread is so making me appreciate living in Nashville TN!!

    We own a house with about a half acre fenced yard (backing to woods), in a very nice neighborhood, very close to the interstate, and about 10 minutes west of downtown Nashville. It's 1700 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and perfect for our little family - it cost us $182k 2 years ago :D

    living close to the interstate is a good thing?

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