Mortgages

OP
bone collector 13

bone collector 13

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Tough spot for anyone looking to buy these days. First thing I'd try to do is get out of that vehicle and credit card debt. I wouldn't be looking at to buy a home until I had the CC to zero and a vehicle payment down to $300 or less a month if you can't buy an older used car/truck in cash. A 5-7k car today is pretty damn reliable. Once you get to that spot, see what the max a month is you feel you can put away is (throw it in savings or an index fund for now). After 6 months of that, you'll know what your max mortgage you can spend a month is (including any tax, HOA, and insurance). That 6 months of putting it away as a test case can be used as your closing costs.

Good luck!

Also, I was a wildland firefighter through college in eastern WA with the Naches IA and your picture sure made me miss those days!

Best of luck to you and your family!
Heck yeah! I spent 7 season with the DNR in Wenatchee, before “getting a real job” miss it every day haha. Definitely wouldn’t be considering buying a house on those wages. Definitely not in the Wenatchee valley!
 
OP
bone collector 13

bone collector 13

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I think one point I didn’t add, is even though I can’t use my finances income towards our mortgage due to her credit, she’s pulling about 50k a year and finishing up her degree in accounting (go figure right? Gonna be a accountant with terrible credit lmao she doesn’t think it’s as funny as I do) but she’s already working at the firm where once she gets her cpa will move her right into a accounting position. So hopefully in the next 1.5-2 years her income will go from 50 to 75-80 and then regular increases after that.
 
OP
bone collector 13

bone collector 13

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Maybe when 300k got you a nice place in low cost of living areas...lol
My dad is constantly telling me, you just need to find a “starter home” for 200k and move up from there. My response lately is well maybe instead of going to 3rd grade you should have convinced me so I could have bought a house a whole lot sooner then now and we wouldn’t be in this situation
 

NDGuy

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Ya'll are insane or make a ton of $ to suggest putting 20% down on a house these days. Who has that kind of cheddar laying around?

I live in ND and a decent house is like 300k. Not many folks looking for their first house have 60k laying around paying $1000+/month for rent and groceries being up 100% in 4 years.
 

NDGuy

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My dad is constantly telling me, you just need to find a “starter home” for 200k and move up from there. My response lately is well maybe instead of going to 3rd grade you should have convinced me so I could have bought a house a whole lot sooner then now and we wouldn’t be in this situation
People in their 50s and 60s are off their rockers. 200k get's you a box in most cities in the US.

Sure if you are out in the sticks you can buy a decent place but with rates the way they are and job pay not being great in small towns it's just a different end of a turd sandwich.
 

maxx075

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Ya'll are insane or make a ton of $ to suggest putting 20% down on a house these days. Who has that kind of cheddar laying around?

I live in ND and a decent house is like 300k. Not many folks looking for their first house have 60k laying around paying $1000+/month for rent and groceries being up 100% in 4 years.
But the boomers here say that's what ya gotta do! Ya just gotta do it! Pull yourself up by the bootstraps and make that 60-120k just appear, and put that 20% down!
 

NDGuy

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But the boomers here say that's what ya gotta do! Ya just gotta do it! Pull yourself up by the bootstraps and make that 60-120k just appear, and put that 20% down!
When they bought their house for a pack of smokes and $10
 

Hnthrdr

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Saw someone lay out the boomer debate kind of well. Yes they paid 75k for a house… but mortgage rates were north of 10% they also made 20k, I think the boomers had a much less expensive/glamorous lifestyle. They weren’t going on trips or remodeling things they bought some crummy house, lived there and didn’t expect to have the newest and nicest everything. Millennials tend to want awesome updated home, they want to vacation 4x a year, best outdoor gear, ect… yes in many areas home prices have far out paced wages, but I think our standard of “acceptable” living has outpaced what it used to be as well. Look at all the dudes here going on 2-6 western hunts, loads of top of the line hunting gear, but balk at saving up for a down payment… we only have ourselves to blame
 

CorbLand

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Saw someone lay out the boomer debate kind of well. Yes they paid 75k for a house… but mortgage rates were north of 10% they also made 20k, I think the boomers had a much less expensive/glamorous lifestyle. They weren’t going on trips or remodeling things they bought some crummy house, lived there and didn’t expect to have the newest and nicest everything. Millennials tend to want awesome updated home, they want to vacation 4x a year, best outdoor gear, ect… yes in many areas home prices have far out paced wages, but I think our standard of “acceptable” living has outpaced what it used to be as well. Look at all the dudes here going on 2-6 western hunts, loads of top of the line hunting gear, but balk at saving up for a down payment… we only have ourselves to blame
I would disagree with this. The boomers had a lot of fun along the way. They just want you to think they lived a "simple" life. I am not going to get into boomer versus millennial debate...there is truth on both sides of it.

Someone said it on the Slide one time, dont remember who but I think it rings true.

"The American dream isnt dead but it takes more work to achieve today."
 

Hnthrdr

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I would disagree with this. The boomers had a lot of fun along the way. They just want you to think they lived a "simple" life. I am not going to get into boomer versus millennial debate...there is truth on both sides of it.

Someone said it on the Slide one time, dont remember who but I think it rings true.

"The American dream isnt dead but it takes more work to achieve today."
I can whole heartedly agree with the last statement. And don’t get me wrong the deals that were available, especially out west were astounding! Buddies dad bought 90 acres of land, backs to NF, 35 min outside the front range for 20k in 92’… even adjusted for inflation that’s like 78k today… haha couldn’t touch that land for less than 700k now…
 

BuckRut

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Mar 11, 2020
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It's definitely a matter of priorities. How much does owning your house mean to you? It's not gonna be easy but if that's what you want above most other things it can be done. Kind of like starting a business it may take everything you have for a while and if the importance of home ownership isn't worth that to you that's fine. The only thing that's virtually certain is that nobody is gonna come along and just give you a house. There is no easy button for it just like most of life.
 

SDHNTR

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Real question...how do u guys make so much money?
Like really.
First of all comparison is the thief of joy. Stop doing that. Secondly, how do you know how much anyone here makes?

Lastly, and to answer your question…. Find something you enjoy that is a marketable skill/product/idea, and figure out a better way of doing it than the competition. Then work like hell at it.
 
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