Plan on buying a house

did you amend your '08 income tax to get the credit quicker? or is there a different way to go about getting it?

Here's how i define 'perfect time to buy'

you go into knowing full well that house prices are likely to decline
you have a sizeable downpayment
you can actually afford the house, 3x annual income MAX
It is cheaper or break even to own rather then renting

question for those of you that still for some ungodly reason believe that housedebtorship is a good investment,,,,,what do you think happens to the RE markets when the 8k first-time buyer credit expires, and then what happens when interest rates begin to rise?

It's funny this thread came alive alittle bit today...I forgot to mention I had a 2 hour class for 1st time home buyers tonight. About 12-15 first time buyers all sat in a classroom, and our local credit union had a panel of people talk about what they do, and how the process works. It was a great experience, and alot of knowledge to soak in.

It was not a sales pitch AT ALL, and they had 4 speakers...the first guy was from the bank, and just sorta gave an overview of the whole process from getting pre-approved, to signing the papers and getting started on painting my house pink with purple polka dots, burning Dale Earnhardt's #88 in my front yard, having a pet, and putting a stripper pole on the roof.

The next guy was a realtor who just gave his side of what he does, and how he tries to work with the buyer, and what the benefits are to having one help you.

Next was a lady who spoke about titles, and how you need to read the fine print, and all the "exceptions" on buying their services. Probably the one aspect I didn't think about, but she explained it very well.

Lastly was a gentleman who was an inspector. And he just talked about what he does, and how he'd like the buyer to walk through with them while the process is being done.

Overall, great 2 hour session. My dad was at the credit union last week, and ran into the lady who was setting this up. They talked about this upcoming class, so I signed up. There were other people from the credit union there too answer questions too. It was a good feeling friendly feeling because half the people on the panel already had worked with my dad before.

It was not a sales pitch AT ALL



A banker, a Realtwhore, a title insurer, and a house inspector walk into a bar, and the last thing on their collective minds is pushing "now is a time to buy"




gimmedembpoints, i know nobody wants to listen to what i have to say about housing, because it is a very grim fact.  However, if you take one piece of advice from me, it's in your process of finding information about becoming a homedebtor, please seek out both sides of the story.  Look for all the negatives and consider them, PLEASE.  It can only help you to be over-informed,,,,,and while there are some cases where buying a house can be a decent idea in 2009, they are VERY RARE,,,,,my advice would be move out on your own into a rental, and shop for a starter house to buy in maybe a year or so


link  from yahoo, home sweet home, another tool pushing for 'homeownership' .  He has all your pro-buying a house arguments lumped into one very misinformed article

in whatever you decide (even if it means buying a house while values are plummeting)

Yes, we ammended the 08 return, but it is taking longer than i exected.

for what it is worth, I bought in the best area in one of the best towns in kansas. appraised at 204K, paid 194400 after we rented the house for a month and a half for them to get out. THis market isn't volotile, I am employed in family business. Married, going to have kids in a year or two. I am 29. However, I only put 9K of own money down. I would reccomend 20% so you don't have to pay PMI.

 

I strongly suggest you have the buyers pay the closing costs or at least negotiate they pay part of them. will save you more dwon. and rent it out if they are still in it for a month if they need, you will get a payment from them and you can use it also for closing costs or first payment.