Rent/Condos it happened

[LindaBo]

Well it happened to me, my Apartment complex was sold to be Condos http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/freak.gif now i have a choice, eather buy it as a condo, rent it as a condo, or MOVE. I picked Move http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/worried.gif this is growing like wild fire here in Vegas, as i have been looking in Apartments guide for an Apartment, they are telling me they well only give me a 6 month least and they are selling also as condos.WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/shout.gif rent is up for a 1 bedroom $765.00 to $810.00 my pet deposit runs from $300.00 to $500.00 and per pet an extra $10 each to $25 each...cleaning deposit is $325.00 (and you know you never get that back!) http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/evil.gifjust for a key per key it is $50.00 so average it is going to cost me $2,000.00 to move into a place...they say buy a house,,, that is not easy eather, when you are a 1 person trying to make it on your own....so it is tuff....it,s like playing rullet, i don,t know when i move and if THEY well go condo and i,ll have to move again, nothing is permanent...i guess Life is not Permanent eather* i just have to keep going----and i well..... http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/yes.gif

[Yosemite_Wolf]

I thought that the apartment into condo era was done and gone...I never understood how one day a place was an apartment.. then overnight it was a "condo"... as if the Condo Fairy visited and stuck a brand new condo under your pillow!! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/rofl5.gif
Linda, youd be surprised what you could afford buying a house.. check into it!!!!! Youve been paying rent... thats like paying a mortgage... find yourself a realtor and start researching.. heck, just go onto realtor.com and look at houses/apartments/townhouses in your area.. youll be surprised what you can afford! (and dont forget the tax advantages of owning!)

[BGW]

Originally posted by Yosemite_Wolf:
I thought that the apartment into condo era was done and gone...I never understood how one day a place was an apartment.. then overnight it was a "condo"... as if the Condo Fairy visited and stuck a brand new condo under your pillow!! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/rofl5.gif
Linda, youd be surprised what you could afford buying a house.. check into it!!!!! Youve been paying rent... thats like paying a mortgage... find yourself a realtor and start researching.. heck, just go onto realtor.com and look at houses/apartments/townhouses in your area.. youll be surprised what you can afford! (and dont forget the tax advantages of owning!)

I couldn't agree with you more. It has been much easier for me as a home owner than as a renter. paying rent is nothing more than giving your hard earned money to someone else so they can have the priveledge and benefits of owning something. What do you get in return? No tax breaks, no equity, no investment, and no privacy. Basically, you get a box the keep your stuff in.

You may have fears of not being able to make a mortgage payment, but when was the last time you missed paying the rent or missed a car payment? And, mortgage payments can sometimes be less money per month than rent. Either way, if you miss too many payments you are out on the street...so I don't see this as a factor.

I think buying a home is scary because until we do it, we basically know nothing about the process. I am willing to bet you someone right now that is in the real estate business or has a family member that is. Start talking about it a work...you'll be surprised what you learn and how helpful people can be.

Just do the research.

[Yosemite_Wolf]

yeah.. what she said http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif. I have a friend at work who works as a CNA and she was able to get a house with no down payment(well, she put $1000 down.). Ok, so she bought a little house... but the important thing is she bought a house! You can do this Linda. Just think, if you own your own house, you won't have to put down a pet deposit for Bo. you said it would cost you 2000.00 to move in to an apartment... ok.... well, lets see.. if you buy a house, yeah, you might have to come up with some cash... but same as for renting.. so get out there and buy a condo or town house!! And by the way I know you can afford this cos I searched www.realtor.com (http://www.realtor.com) for townhomes/condos in vegas and they go for 100 K or so. not bad of a price.

[Kahlua Kid]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Yosemite_Wolf:
I thought that the apartment into condo era was done and gone...I never understood how one day a place was an apartment.. then overnight it was a "condo"... as if the Condo Fairy visited and stuck a brand new condo QUOTE]

This is a very hot commodity - as long as housing prices are rising, more and more apartments are going condo conversion - the owners of the apartment buildings can make far more money right now selling off as condos than the long-term income stream over years to make that kind of money.

I write a lot of contractors' insurance and some of it is WRAPs for condo and condo conversion.

[Kahlua Kid]

Originally posted by Yosemite_Wolf:
Youve been paying rent... thats like paying a mortgage... youll be surprised what you can afford! (and dont forget the tax advantages of owning!)

Exactly!

Years ago I had to convince Newcomer the facts of how we could afford a condo ourselves rather than rent. Our rent was $750 a month then... we jumped in to a condo with a $950 payment + $130 HOA dues (water included). And we barely felt the difference.

Even though your mortgage payment may be $950 a month, after your tax write-off it may be more like $700 a month (you'd just check with your tax person to figure this out for you and your tax bracket vs the mortgage interest and property taxes you get to write off and change your number of dependents during the year for your paychecks to be larger and to match what you estimate your year-end tax to be... sounds like quite a juggling act, but with the right consultants helping you its not that difficult!)

And not only do you get to own something where the actual principal balance reduces over time, but you get the benefits of house prices rising over time. Its a win-win situation.

If interested, my mother is a real estate agent in the Los Angeles area who is now starting to do loans too. She could help you figure out what you can afford.

For instance. I know a $150,000 loan balance at 5.75% interest for 30 years is around $900 a month... minus the tax write-offs - it may be more like around $700 a month... Or there are adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) too - where a $150,000 loan balance could be more like a $700 payment that feels more like a $500 payment after tax writeoffs... but ARM payments (interest rates can adjust) can go up. Fixed are fixed for the loan term.

Good luck out there LIndaBo.

[Summer]

These are all good points for buying, but I think where most people get hung up is qualifying for the loan. You need to have a steady job - and make sure you do not lose that job until escrow closes, you need a decent debt to income ratio, and decent credit score. And, in most cases you really do need to have a certain percentage down - usually the lowest is 5%. To get that low % down or no down you have to have a crystal clear credit score - KK correct me if I'm wrong on this. Many times you can get a loan from somebody but the int. rate will be substantially higher. That will get you into the house and after a few years you can refi at a lower int. rate. Any which way you can get into a home, do it. But if you have credit or employment issues it may be substantially harder. Still, go any which way to do it. It's worth it.

[Ironhorse]

I never thought I could own a place of my own, and now I own a condo. It was scarey, but it's do-able. I was lucky, I will admit. I was able to put a huge chunk down and my monthly payments plus HOA fees are less than I was paying to rent an apartment.

[monkey]

LindaBo, I bought a condo out in Mesquite (about and hour north of Vegas) for $69,000. It's a small 1 bedroom, but something I could afford as an investment. If you don't mind a commute, you may want to try that area, I'msure it's much less than Vegas and I loved the town. Or, might now be the time for you to move to Oakhurst? Keep us posted on what you do.

[Kahlua Kid]

Originally posted by Summer:
These are all good points for buying, but I think where most people get hung up is qualifying for the loan. You need to have a steady job - and make sure you do not lose that job until escrow closes, you need a decent debt to income ratio, and decent credit score. And, in most cases you really do need to have a certain percentage down - usually the lowest is 5%. To get that low % down or no down you have to have a crystal clear credit score - KK correct me if I'm wrong on this. Many times you can get a loan from somebody but the int. rate will be substantially higher. That will get you into the house and after a few years you can refi at a lower int. rate. Any which way you can get into a home, do it. But if you have credit or employment issues it may be substantially harder. Still, go any which way to do it. It's worth it.

You're right, credit scores, income, etc. come into play - but you'd be very surprised how flexible the lenders have become these past few years. They've been pretty lax, and I think its because they've felt if they had to take a property back on foreclosure, they would have increased equity as a cushion.

[Yosemite_Wolf]

but we are all saying the same thing.. YOU CAN DO IT LindoBo. do a search on the puter for mortgage lenders... and see what you can get. My one piece of advice is keep with lenders in the US. don't go for lenders off shore. but word to the wise is... if you go for a subprime lender.. you loan will prolly be sold to another lender (common practice).. but the key here is to GET A HOUSE. In 1-3 yrs you can re-fi.. and believe me your credit score should be MUCH higher.. if it isnt high already.

[LindaBo]

They sent me the price of my aptment as a condo......get a load of this!!! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/annoyed.gif $138,000.00 YES! for a 1 bed room/1 bath the size of your closet! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/annoyed.gif It would be just a place to keep my stuff....So you think i could buy a House? i don,t think so, at the price of this condo, do you have an idea of what HOUSES are going for now? A lot! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/disappointed.gifSOOOO! i,m looking to waist my money AGAIN$$$$ for rent http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/cry.gif and that is costing me $845.00 a month for a 1 bedroom...but! at least i,ll have a lease for 14 months! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/yes.gif...it is terrible here they are going like HOT CAKES!!! well you friend who bought that cheep little house was LUCKY! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif