As you may now know the house we live in is being sold by our landlords.
We have two options.
1. Buy this house
2. Move
a. rent again
b. buy another house
Reasons for buying instead of renting
1. Renting is catching up with the house prices. In a years time it will no longer be cheaper to rent.
2. It is becoming a nightmare to find a rental property. Not much supply and a huge demand. This is because of the lack of available land on which people can build new homes. I would have to do all the hunting. Now days when you show up to look at a rental there are at least 20 other renters there as well. If you show up with kids you go straight to the bottom of the list. If you had the choice to choose, would you choose a career couple or a family of five? Yes, that is what they choose too.
3. Housing prices are supposed to go up another 30-40% in the next 5-10 years. If we don't buy now will we ever be able to afford it?
Reasons for buying this house
1. We don't have to move again, again, again, and again.
2. It has character
3. Good location
a. within walking distance to three parks
b. within walking distance to two libraries
c. within walking distance to two shopping centres
d. two blocks from Princes Highway
e. two minutes from the Ring Road
f. 5 minute drive from church
g. 15 minute bike ride to train station
As we all know, location, location, location is the most important selling factor for a house.
4. Quiet suburb
5. In demand suburb, should be able to sell in a few years for a profit without doing any major repairs to house.
6. Happy to stay here for a very long time. We have room to add on if needed.
7. We can buy from landlords without using a realtor. Saves money.
Reasons for not buying this house
1. Could find a cheaper one but in a less desirable location
2. Needs a new garage
3. Dining room is very small and we are always having lots of people over for dinner.
4. Needs to be painted...but Brandon and I can do that
So we have decided to buy, hopefully this house. If not this one then somewhere else in Geelong.
Start the clock. When you gather a deposit you have to let it sit in the bank for 3-6 months (thank you US housing collapse) in order for most lenders to approve your loan. Our three months ends at the beginning of May.
We are on a saving spree. The last three weeks I tried to not buy anything, excluding food. Will be trying to continue this trend for the next few months. We have also cut our grocery budget by 30%. The fact that we can cut that much out means we were spending too much to begin with. Every dollar helps.
5 comments:
wow, you guys are in for a fun ride! home ownership is rewarding, but yes as you know it's also stressful at times. i think given your well thought out and logical analysis, that you should buy where you are. you're comfy there, you're plugged into the neighborhood, and maybe it's the reason He already had you there after the fire and everything?... God's gonna bless you, He already has!
You guys have really thought it through. I hope it works out for you!
The big scary part of buying a house are the possible unknowns that are lurking in the piping, the crawlspace, the foundation, the roof, and so on. If you've lived in the house for awhile, you KNOW about it, and can make more educated decision. Buy the house you're living in if you know you can afford it. Duh.
Hey Meg- We have been cutting our grocery budget by 50-70%- check out my blog sarahshaunandfam.blogspot.com
The Krazy coupon lady blog, and Cha Ching on a shoestring.
It has been a blessing to us and as my hubby puts it a major blessing from God to have found this info, he still gets giddy over it. :-) Blessings,
Sarah (DeHoff) Cain
Unfortunately the country of Oz does not believe in coupons. You are at the grocery stores mercy on prices.
The best you can do is look at the sales and buy accordingly.
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