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[Halo is Back]

Hello GAF! I am proud to say that I just purchased my first home for 219K to start a new life with my family! It feels good to know that hard work pays off in the end. I never would have dreamed of buying a home due to how oppressive the housing market is, but it was one of those things in life where you see a good opportunity and seize it. I haven't been married for more than a year and now we are buying a house together.

For Reference if anyone is wondering:
3bd, 2ba 1,542sqft (House was built in 1998)


It was a repo home and sort of a "fixer-upper." No major structural damage just minor things here and there that needs addressing, but nothing we can't handle or afford. I think the sellers were eager to sell the house and get it off the market.

Feel free to AMA or offer me any tips about homeownership!

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

congrats, sounds pretty cheap, where I live you won't find anything under €450k unfortunately.

 

[IntentionalPun]

Congrats!

It’s a lot of work, and hopefully you live somewhere where the value is going to go up. Otherwise it’s just s pain in the ass savings account that constantly costs you money lol

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

May good fortune smile upon you as you take on this new challenge.

 

[Mossybrew]

What a heartwarming and inspiring story, thanks for sharing OP.

 

[Halo is Back]

congrats, sounds pretty cheap, where I live you won't find anything under €450k unfortunately.

I live in Louisiana. Not exactly the highest-income state in America and the cost of living is generally lower compared to other areas. This was a repo home that needed some touching up, but no major structural problems or overhauls. Overall, we are very happy and the house is just what we need.

 

[Halo is Back]

Congrats!

It’s a lot of work, and hopefully you live somewhere where the value is going to go up. Otherwise it’s just s pain in the ass savings account that constantly costs you money lol

The area seems to be pretty nice with a clean neighborhood. Also, it's not in a designated flood zone (big problem in Louisiana) so I think the area will continue to develop in our favor for property values. Other homes in the area sold between 220-250K.

 

[Rival]

$219k!?!? Live look at OP’s home.
Seriously though congrats!

 

[Halo is Back]

$219k!?!? Live look at OP’s home.
Seriously though congrats!

lol! Its a 3bd, 2ba 1,542sqft House was built in 1998

 

[Rran]

Hey, a fellow LA Gaffer! Congrats on the house, and yeah, our cost of living down here is nice. (the heat and mosquitoes less so) Our first house was 160k and 1300 sq ft brand new and it was a great starter home. Our second was a few years old and 270k/2800, and we'll probably be here the rest of our lives.

 

[Big Baller]

 

[Celcius]

Congrats
For a house built in 1998 do you have an HOA?

 

[Halo is Back]

Congrats
For a house built in 1998 do you have an HOA?

Yes, however, it's only $35 a year. Luckily the HOA rules seem to be pretty relaxed after reading them and the neighborhood is kept up pretty well.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

26 ueara doesnt seem to old for a house. How much do you think repairs and renoovations will cost

 

[Robot Carnival]

congrats to the OP. and do you mind if I crash at your place for free for a while? just a few years only, I promise.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Congrats.

Make sure to save money for repairs, property tax etc.... And by the sounds of it, renos down the line.

Loiuisiana so I assume never any snow. But for mowing the lawn, get a good gas mower. They are more powerful than electric, and dont overheat killing the engine like mine did if you try to cut through thick wet grass. A gas mower plows through it like a champ.

Since the place is a reno, make sure to check all water pipes (know where the main shut off valve is), and ensure any water drains away from the property best as possible. So ensure any downspouts etc... are good and either go into the ground into the sewer or drain out a spout at least 6 ft away from the house.

Mortgage rates are about 6% which is a a lot. But in the US, I think you can deduct mortgage interest and get some money back. Most countries dont allow that.

$219k, what a steal. The first condo I bought (1 bed + 1 bath + 1 parking spot = 580 sq ft) cost me $179k about 25 years ago. And monthly condo fees (kind of like a HOA fee was I think about $300). Sold it for $230k 3-4 years later. That condo is now worth $500k+ now. Toronto. A house the size of yours I'll estimate in the burb areas at $1M here at minimum.

 

[Billbofet]

Congrats!!!

 

[Azzurri]

Damn, as long as it's in a safe area that's a steal.

That would land you in the ghetto here.

 

[Halo is Back]

Damn, as long as it's in a safe area that's a steal.

That would land you in the ghetto here.

Comparatively to other areas around Baton Rouge, it is much safer than anywhere close to downtown or LSU. When people speak about a "bad neighborhood" or area of town this isn't one of those spots. We are just on the border of EBR parish. I've lived in the area here my whole life and this isn't the ghetto. It's in a more rural area so that's why we were approved for a rural development loan.

 

[Pancakes and Sausage]

219k is incredible

Houses are a million for a 1500 square foot home here.

 

[Days like these...]

Congratulations! I bought mine @ 3% Interest back in 2022. Im selling it because the judge ordered it (divorce). I'll probably never own a home again. Prices and interest are too high now.

 

[Rockondevil]

Congrats mate. It’s a big step. Kind of wish I got an older place.
We finished building ours 2 years ago when interest rates were nice and low. Now they’re at about 7% which is annoying as hell.
Repayments are like $1500 a fortnight currently.

It’s a 219m2 (2357ft) on a 586m2 (6307ft) block and cost me about 500,000 dollary-doo’s ($325000 USD).
Nothing massive but enough for my small family.

 

[Mistake]

I just redid the roof on my house for 20k. Comes with a 30 year warranty though. Besides the usual expenses, only other thing to do is get it repainted

 

[Halo is Back]

Congrats mate. It’s a big step. Kind of wish I got an older place.
We finished building ours 2 years ago when interest rates were nice and low. Now they’re at about 7% which is annoying as hell.
Repayments are like $1500 a fortnight currently.

It’s a 219m2 (2357ft) on a 586m2 (6307ft) block and cost me about 500,000 dollary-doo’s ($325000 USD).
Nothing massive but enough for my small family.

Our interest rate is not great at 6.25% but I'm sure we will be able to refinance in the future. We have a plan in place to put extra payments down on the principal to hopefully pay off the loan in a shorter amount of time.

 

[Musashipan]

Congrats
I bought mine in 2023(same year built)for
$320 k Canadians, 3.74 % fixed
1300sqft , 2bd + 2 bath + 1/2 bath, 1 car garage. Property tax went up $100 per month and I pay fcking $342 on condo fees. Not sure how things work there, but be prepared for this kind of bs. Are condo fees a rip off after all?

 

[HL3.exe]

Congrats! sounds cheap as hell.
Can't find anything decent for under 400k where i'm from.

They fucked up the housing market big-time over here.

 

[poodaddy]

Find a reliable crew for home maintenance/improvement/repair OP. Try out a lot of different tradesmen and find that one, the golden goose. He's out there, and he's in your area, ya just gotta find em OP, and trust me, he's worth his weight in gold. Most tradesmen are absolute criminals with their pricing and the quality of their labor, but every region has good, honest folk who genuinely want to help others and won't take you for a ride. Find him, and then being a homeowner will be 70% less painful.

Congrats brother.

 

[EverydayBeast]

OP has to begin building a game room, we await pics!

Show us your gaming setup: 2024 Edition

We started the 2023 gaming setup thread coming out of pandemic, and heading towards a recession. So far, the recession never happened. PSVR2 was released, but almost like the supposed recession, it was hard to tell whether it happened. There were two or three in last year’s thread, including...

www.neogaf.com

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Our interest rate is not great at 6.25% but I'm sure we will be able to refinance in the future. We have a plan in place to put extra payments down on the principal to hopefully pay off the loan in a shorter amount of time.

I'm not sure how US mortgages work in terms of payment schedules, but in Canada paying it off paying every two weeks is good. Should be called something like Accelerated Bi Weekly. Or whatever. That's 26 payments per year. You can also do twice a month meaning 24 payments per year.

The worst is paying once a month.

Doing 26 payments per year will literally cut your mortgage down a few years due to interest savings long term.

 

[Dacvak]

Welcome to the world of mortgages! I bought my first house about two years ago at around 680k.

On the plus side, I happen to love ramen.

 

[Vyse]

Congratulations. That’s awesome!

 

[Northeastmonk]

Welcome to the world of mortgages! I bought my first house about two years ago at around 680k.

On the plus side, I happen to love ramen.

680k? Holy cow. I’m spending 520k to build a home next year. Already bought the plot. It’s in a boujee part of town too. I’ve never hated, but respected an HOA before this whole building process began.

Congrats on home ownership OP.

 

[AJUMP23]

Get insurance. Make sure it has a flat deductible and not a percentage. Prepare to spend money at a Home Depot

home ownership is a great thing.

make at least one extra principle payment a year. It can reduce your loan by 12 years. You want to wipe out the interest payments.

watch the escrow account some banks will pad it.

 

[cash_longfellow]

Good luck with that 7%. I’m happy for you, but the timing…oof.

 

[Dacvak]

680k? Holy cow. I’m spending 520k to build a home next year. Already bought the plot. It’s in a boujee part of town too. I’ve never hated, but respected an HOA before this whole building process began.

I’m pretty close to DC, so prices are kind of high over here. But it is a nice house, I’m very fortunate and thankful.

 

[Dacvak]

Get insurance. Make sure it has a flat deductible and not a percentage.

This 10000%. And get a home warranty too, if you can. We’ve already replaced our double oven, garbage disposal, and had a myriad of things repaired for a low flat rate.

 

[Halo is Back]

I'm not sure how US mortgages work in terms of payment schedules, but in Canada paying it off paying every two weeks is good. Should be called something like Accelerated Bi Weekly. Or whatever. That's 26 payments per year. You can also do twice a month meaning 24 payments per year.

The worst is paying once a month.

Doing 26 payments per year will literally cut your mortgage down a few years due to interest savings long term.

I discussed the details with my mortgage lender and he said I could make as many payments as I wanted. All I would have to do is make sure the extra payments are going to the principal balance of the loan and not the interest. Doing this could cut my loan down to five years or more depending on how much I pay. Plus, it will help out when we decide to refinance.

 

[Lord Panda]

Congratulations to you and the family

Once you get that foot in the door, that's where the real fun begins.

 

[killatopak]

Dude congrats. A home, I would say is the best investment for the family.

 

[Lambogenie]

Americans and their 6 figure square foot houses. Psh.

 

[M1chl]

That's cheaper than 2+1 flat in Prague, so that's pretty incredible. Houses here are like 800k (well around area, which is worth to live in). Congrats

 

[RJMacready73]

My advice as someone who bought a 100yr old fixer upper, is don't do anything too major for at least a year, live in the house and get to know it's creaks and crannies and discover what is a priority and what can wait, there's no rush, take your time and don't get into dept thinking you must have a show house in 12mths, we're 8yrs into ours and still have rooms to finish and I know plenty of people who moved into houses, bought the brand new kitchens etc and then discovered all sorts of shit that needed fixed first, also congrats!

 

[Pimpbaa]

 

[deriks]

Did you bought in the US?

Could you explain how the system of paying works? If you need to pay in one shot or you can pay through the bank, divided oe whatever?

 

[Sub_Level]

Congrats OP!

Mortgage rates are about 6% which is a a lot. But in the US, I think you can deduct mortgage interest and get some money back. Most countries dont allow that.

eh, sort of. OP’s property tax and mortgage interest can be included in whats known as itemized deductions. There’s still a chance their married filing joint standard deduction would be better, however, so they might not get any benefit from it.

Additionally its just a deduction against taxable income, not a deduction against the calculated tax itself if that makes sense. (the latter would be referred to as a tax credit).

 

[FunkMiller]

Congrats OP. My dumb ass is about to move to the Sydney Eastern suburbs, where a 3 bed 2 bath with that amount of space would cost about

*checks notes*

3.9 million US dollars.

Luckily I'm only renting.

 

[RJMacready73]

Congrats OP. My dumb ass is about to move to the Sydney Eastern suburbs, where a 3 bed 2 bath with that amount of space would cost about

*checks notes*

3.9 million US dollars.

Luckily I'm only renting.

Jesus H Christ, obvs you back onto a 5* golf course and overlook the ocean

 

[Warnen]

Congratz, closing on a place myself at end of month.

 

[SF Kosmo]

$219K wouldn't get you an empty lot in the worst part of town around here. I don't think I'll ever own. Home unless I move. I make decent money too.

 

[dave_d]

Hello GAF! I am proud to say that I just purchased my first home for 219K to start a new life with my family! It feels good to know that hard work pays off in the end. I never would have dreamed of buying a home due to how oppressive the housing market is, but it was one of those things in life where you see a good opportunity and seize it. I haven't been married for more than a year and now we are buying a house together.

For Reference if anyone is wondering:
3bd, 2ba 1,542sqft (House was built in 1998)


It was a repo home and sort of a "fixer-upper." No major structural damage just minor things here and there that needs addressing, but nothing we can't handle or afford. I think the sellers were eager to sell the house and get it off the market.

Feel free to AMA or offer me any tips about homeownership!

Congrats. BTW damn that's way cheaper than up her in Mass. I mean even if someone broke in and stole all the copper pipes a house that size wouldn't be that cheap. (Yeah when I was buying my house back in 2017 there was a house like that and yes someone had stolen all the pipes, even from the furnace. I think they wanted about 220k but again, that was 7 years ago.)