Hellobee Boards Topic: How did you know you were ready?

Hellobee Boards Topic: How did you know you were ready? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 27 May 2026 08:43:01 +0000 SugarplumsMom on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-281088 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 06:54:59 +0000 SugarplumsMom 281088@https://boards.hellobee.com/ DH was saving for a house for us even before we moved in together. Our situation is a little different because we'd known each other for while before getting together and I moved another country to be with him. So right from the beginning, we were already serious: with the visa and all the necessary prep to move, we had to be. We lived in his old college apartment for about a year before we found a place. We basically looked around and attended open houses whenever we could. We didn't apply for a loan until we found a townhouse we liked. That townhouse ended up in a bidding war, way above our budget and even more than our single family home now! From that, we got pre-approved based on DH's salary alone (we weren't even engaged then). We were able to put down 20% plus closing and inspection costs, in total was about 23% of the total price of our home. We pretty much emptied our savings! We lived on my savings for the first month or so. Looking back now, that was pretty scary but we have no consumer debt and trusted that our house was clean of any structural defects and we wouldn't be surprised by anything hidden. Having said that, there was an unexpected expense - we had to replace the chimney because it was leaking! It scared the crap out of me, but there was no mold or water damage associated with it (thank goodness)! We got a great deal on our place and our mortgage isn't so much more than our rent used to be. We have a yard, a guestroom, and enough room for a family of 4. We just had our first baby and it's really nice to be able to decorate her room and fix-up the yard for when she starts walking. My suggestion is to just look around for fun. You'd be surprised how your preferences will change when you see enough homes. And you never know when a home will motivate you to take the plunge! Andrea on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-281087 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 06:54:15 +0000 Andrea 281087@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We were getting ready to TTC and I wanted to be in a house/suburbs before the baby was born. We were living in Manhattan and I didn't want to deal with all the noise, grit, and congestion anymore. Luckily, we had enough money for a down payment in our desired area plus extra in savings for unforeseen repairs. mrbee on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-281058 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 05:36:55 +0000 mrbee 281058@https://boards.hellobee.com/ One note: make sure your school district is a good one! We have some friends who bought a great place, but the school is terrible so now they have to move out and rent a new place in a better school district! looch on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-281039 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 02:01:07 +0000 looch 281039@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We're looking to buy a home in the next year or so and our criteria for being ready has mostly been mentioned...long term destination to live, having the down payment (at least 20% to avoid having to pay PMI), having a comfortable amount of savings in place for emergencies. We had our child while we lived (and currently still do) in an apartment, it's been great to not have to worry about the washing machine breaking down and having to replace it on our own and my husband can spend his weekends with us instead of mowing the lawn. I totally get not wanting to move with a child, I hate moving more than anything on this planet, but we'll be doing it in a few months and it's not going to be that bad. Freckles on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280998 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 22:45:03 +0000 Freckles 280998@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Unless you are buying a new house where things are under warranty, have money set aside for unexpected expenses (e.g., new water heater, flooding repairs, etc.). We set aside a few hundred dollars per month to go towards our "House" fund. 1-3% is a great starting point. As mentioned above, you spend quite a bit in your first year...i can't tell you how many trips were made to Home Depot and Walmart! We have a separate emergency fund which covers 6 months of expenses should either one of us lose our jobs. When we bought our first home, i had just found a job (i had moved to a new city for my DH) so our house choice was based on just DH's salary alone. It is a lot less stressful buying a home that you know you can comfortably afford. You can always upgrade down the road...there is nothing wrong with having something modest as your starter home. Also factor in whether you will be able to afford the mortgage payments should interest rates rise. I know it's a nerve-wracking decision. Good luck! JessiBee on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280991 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 22:20:05 +0000 JessiBee 280991@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I want to say in some ways it's like having a baby...if you wait until you're absolutely sure that both of you are completely ready, it'll probably never happen! We moved to a new area knowing we wanted to live in a single-family house. There was no rental market for those, so we looked at prices and decided to buy! We knew the market was over saturated, so we were pretty sure we could get a decent deal on a house. Our mortgage is certainly less than what we'd spend on a rental, but once you factor in maintenance, upkeep (lawn, repairs, etc.), taxes, utilities...I'm not so sure. But it's ours, we'll (hopefully) get much of it back when we sell, and we get to work on it and improve it in any way we want, which is kind of fun to do! ladyfingers on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280983 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 21:54:23 +0000 ladyfingers 280983@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We were renting a nice house from a crazy lunatic. We got married last November and I knew I wanted to start TTC. Our lease was up in May and I knew if I was pregnant and had to deal with our psycho, cheapskate, passive aggressive landlord for another year, I'd lose it. We cut it close financially - we had just enough in wedding gifts for 3.5% down through an FHA loan but by a crazy twist of fate we ended up with money leftover. It wasn't ideal - I originally wanted more in savings - but worked out. So for us it was a decision spurred my my total wits end lol. Also our mortgage is $50 more per month than rent and the place is ours with no landlord looking over our shoulder. We paid exactly what the house was worth in an improving market (for our area). No regrets! yoursilverlining on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280977 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 21:46:04 +0000 yoursilverlining 280977@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We knew we were ready when we had 20% to put down as a down payment, basically no consumer debt (now we have no consumer debt), could afford the mortgage on one salary, and were just tired of renting. We also bought a place that will resell well - good neighborhood, not on a busy street, 2 full bath, granite counters, hardwood floor throughout. I would double, triple check having a home inspector you trust to be competent. And remember to factor taxes into your estimated mortgage cost. heffalump on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280966 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 21:37:13 +0000 heffalump 280966@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I was lucky enough to have a lot of money in savings. After college I lived with my parents and they supported me while I worked and put all my earnings in savings. Yes... I have awesome parents! They wanted me to be able to move out on my own someday and be ok, and I ended up moving in with dh, who already owned a townhouse. We also got a lot of money for our wedding gifts that we put towards the house. Now all of our savings is pretty much gone and its very scary.... but we're able to turn to our parents if need be. His parents are able to lend us money, and my parents will usually give us money if we need it. We obviously try never to ask for it because nobody likes to ask for money..... but its nice to know we wont go homeless or roofless or something. Mrs. Superhero on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280942 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 21:10:46 +0000 Mrs. Superhero 280942@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I'm pretty sure our rent is less than a mortgage. Real estate is super expensive here and we have great landlords. Not happening this year! Minnie_Girl on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280925 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 20:50:14 +0000 Minnie_Girl 280925@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We found out we were pregnant. We didn't want to have a baby in the apartment, and nicer/roomier rentals had comparable prices to owning a home. So we did the math and figured out a way to put 20% down on a large house we could grow into over 10-15 years. Our goal was to not overstretch ourselves with a mortgage (hence the 20%), and choose a place that would be a good investment. It will take a while to recover from the down payment, but I think it was ultimately the best financial choice we could have made. MamaMoose on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280922 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 20:49:21 +0000 MamaMoose 280922@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @mrs. bird: I actually just saw on the DIY network today that you should expect to pay 1-3% of the home value each year for maintenance. In the first year we probably paid more than that because we had to buy a lot of things you don't have as a renter (lawn mower, etc) but that sounds about right to me as far as what we have had to spend in the second year in our house. marionberry on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280893 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 20:06:46 +0000 marionberry 280893@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @MrsBird: We're planning on purchasing a home early next year. The primary reason is (in agreement with @Mrsaudi) to have a home before we have a baby - I hate not being able to truly decorate. But we have also found that we could own a brand new nice home for the same price as what we pay for a 2 br apartment, so for us it just makes more sense. We need to be saving more (for a lot of reasons) but I think once we buy our house, that will be the next thing we save for - the unexpected things. Mrs. Pickle on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280856 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 19:18:56 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 280856@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Once we had all of our debt paid off we started talking about buying a house. A couple of months before our apartment lease expired we started looking. DillonLion on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280840 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 19:11:33 +0000 DillonLion 280840@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @mrs. bird: we wound up in a unique situation where we didn't have to pay a down payment (purchased in a rural area that was being built up for the first time) so our savings never took a hit when we bought our house. We have a few thousand for emergencies, but we also have a home warranty that covers major repairs that may come up. Also, my FIL is an HVAC owner so he can help us with one of the major big potential costs of home repairs :heating and air conditioning. Finally, DH is really handy so he can do almost all of any issues or repairs that are needed on the house. Except for plumping stuff. So that's how we are able to feel comfortable with all of the repair responsibility aspects. Mrs. Champagne on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280792 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 18:24:54 +0000 Mrs. Champagne 280792@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We knew we were ready based on what we were approved for at the bank. We went for a house a lot less than our approval, so we knew we would be safe. Our mortgage is more than our rent, but we were renting a crap-tastic apartment and then built a new house. As far as things going wrong and having money aside, we would just use our savings for that. Because we built new, we didn't have a lot to worry about in that regard. Good luck!! Springtime on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280790 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 18:24:05 +0000 Springtime 280790@https://boards.hellobee.com/ we were spending a ton of money in rent and wanted to invest that money in a house! our mortgage payment is the same as our rent and we have a nicer bigger house! also we were expecting and I had always wanted a house of our own before the baby came. mrs. bird on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280788 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 18:20:41 +0000 mrs. bird 280788@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @highwire: down payment aside, how much did you feel like you needed to have set aside in case something broke in the house? Do you think it's like a certain percent, like 3%, or like a flat number, like $5,000? The mortgage doesn't scare me as much as the responsibility should something go wrong. But since we've never owned a house, I don't even know how much things that go wrong cost! MamaMoose on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280785 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 18:15:20 +0000 MamaMoose 280785@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We new we would be here for at least the next 5 years barring any extraordinary circumstances. We absolutely wanted to be able to put down 20% and still have a very comfortable amount in savings forany emergency that may come up (with the house or anything else). We also had no other consumer debt. My jus has some student loans but a very small amount. And we bought a house that was much less expensive than the max we could afford. While it would be a stretch we could still afford our mortgage even if one of us were to lose our job. This allows us to feel more secure and to continue saving for our future. DillonLion on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280778 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 18:04:41 +0000 DillonLion 280778@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Our mortgage is much less than rent would be, but we have a lot of extra costs associated with home ownership, so we are not saving any money whatsoever by owning over renting. But we are building equity which will suit us better financially in the long run. To answer your question about being ready, we just didn't want to flush money down the drain anymore when we could live in a nice, New house and own it rather than a mediocre apartment. And we were happy with our area and ready to settle somewhere permanently (for the next 5+ years) sorrycharlie on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280772 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 17:56:35 +0000 sorrycharlie 280772@https://boards.hellobee.com/ we desperately want to get OUT of our (rented) house, because we're next door to the ILs. long, long story. but we don't want to rent because everything would be more money than we are paying now (we are getting a deal through his parents, it's 1/2 what a mortgage would be). we also don't *want* to rush into buying, but...that's the next step unfortunately. so we're making sure we have about 3% of a general house cost in savings for a down payment and we'll work closing into the deal. we also want to get out credit card debt down by a LOT (we'd like to get it to 1/5 of what it currently is), build our credit scores and make sure we could afford a mortgage on one salary. we're looking at looking at houses in a little over a year or so, I think. mrs. bird on "How did you know you were ready?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-you-know-you-were-ready#post-280769 Mon, 03 Sep 2012 17:54:13 +0000 mrs. bird 280769@https://boards.hellobee.com/ It's come to my attention that what we pay in rent is more than many people in our area pay for their mortgage. Kind of a bummer. I've been saying we're not ready to buy because I'm afraid of getting into a house & having something terrible happen & then not being able to afford to fix it. That & we need to work on building up our credit scores & DH needs to go back to school (part time while still working) to get another degree at some point. So I'm afraid of being stuck, if he lost his job or something happened, we could move now, but if we had to sell a house, that would be harder! Honestly we have very little savings right this second, but as circumstances change in the somewhat near future, it almost seems like a better idea to buy, but it's a scary thought! How did you know you were ready to buy? Was there a dollar amount you had in mind you wanted to save first or a length of time you were with a job or a salary level? Did you look at the price point that was easier just to be safe or did you stretch it knowing that your family & salary will grow into it? What percent of your house cost did you put aside for house emergencies?