I'm 23 and DH is 28. We are nowhere near financially ready to buy a house, but I definitely have the ache to! I feel that it's the wise thing to wait (as opposed to having no down payment) but it is hard to always be moving and never fully decorating, not having a yard or garage etc..
I know I have a lot of time though 
How old were you and/or your SO when you bought a house?
143 votes
GOLD / squash / 13464 posts
We were 26 when we bought out first home. We were financially ready around 24 but wanted to wait until we were married and also because of the nature of husband's job we weren't sure we would be staying in one location for an extended period of time.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
We were both 28 - but I turned 29 a few days later. I'm now almost 33 and DH is 32.
We live in Boston and prices are crazy and for condos you need to have 15-20% to put down (or at least that's how it was then) so there's no way we would have been able to buy sooner.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I am on the older side, there are so many reasons why we waited to buy a house, but then again, I was also not married until I was 33.
pear / 1698 posts
I'm 30 and my husband is 32. We're on our third house which is kind of crazy. We kept relocating for work and luckily had great relocation packages as part of our job offers.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
I believe it was '04 so I was 24 and he was 27/28?
honeydew / 7917 posts
I was 23, and DH was 26. We have been living in our house for the last 3.5 years.
grapefruit / 4311 posts
We were 25 (me) and 24 ( him). In retrospect we should have waited another year to be better prepared financially, but it all fell into place regardless!
cantaloupe / 6885 posts
We just bought a house this year - I'm 27 and DH is 29, though by the time it closes I'll be 28 and DH 30. We have been financially ready for a while but other factors (awaiting news of a possible relocation for DH's job) held us back. I hear you on being frustrated - it's so annoying not feeling settled in a place! We have 3 more months of renting before we move in and I can hardly wait!!
pomegranate / 3160 posts
I was 25 and DH was 30! It just happened in the last few months, we've only been there for two months so far, but still, it happened! 
bananas / 9229 posts
We just bought last month - I'm 29 and DH is 33. But, like others have mentioned, most places in the NYC area require 20% down so it took some time to save. We're still the first among a lot of our friends to buy though!
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
My first house was at 29. It was DH's 3rd, his first was at 24.
pomelo / 5524 posts
DH was 26 when he bought our condo. When we bought the house we're currently in, I was 29 and he was 30.
coconut / 8234 posts
Awww. Well, if it makes you feel any better you'll definitely be younger than I am when we buy our first home. We're 35 and 31 and are renting while we save for a down payment. But since I live in NYC, the majority of my friends do not own yet. I only feel like an outcast on HB.
GOLD / squash / 13576 posts
I bought my first place when I was 21. I bought my second house when I was 27. DH lived with me and then we made our first joint purchase last year. DH is 33 and I was 33.
nectarine / 2085 posts
I've never held a mortgage and I'm nearing my mid-thirties. DH is 40. I know what you're feeling--I've had many points in my life when I've really, really wanted to go house shopping and sign a contract! But we are SO lucky we waited. We now live in an awesome spot (I was sure that the city we were in as newlyweds would be the spot we would stay in forever...err, not so much!), we have plenty of cash should we need it, and we're on track to pay cash for a house in the relatively near future. I know the temptation is strong, but sometimes it's just not the right time, you know? And it's kind of fun to decorate new apartments and very nice to know upon move-in that if there are problems, they mostly aren't yours.
Also, decorate your home, whether you've got the mortgage on it or not! I have lived in a lot of rentals and I have found I am happiest when I have made my space look like I want it to. It's worth it. It's may be 'temporary,' but it's also your home.
grapefruit / 4085 posts
We bought our co-op a few months before we got married, so I was 30. Now we're looking to sell and buy a house - can't wait!
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
First I moved into DH's townhouse.... so technically it ended up being mine, but I didn't have to actually buy it He was 25 when he bought it, and I moved in when I was 25 (we're 5 years apart). Then when I was pregnant with LO we bought a bigger house- I was 27.
pineapple / 12526 posts
We owned our first house at 23, although we didn't buy it. My FIL passed away and we inherited it.
grapefruit / 4731 posts
@mrsjazz: I am in the same boat as you! But I live in the pricey SF bay area.
We were 27/34 when we bought our *townhouse* and I was one of the first of my friends to buy and pretty much DH's friends were all buying around the same time as us. Got to save for that 20% down... killer wait. It's not even our forever house either. Maybe in a few more years we can have enough equity to get detached house.
watermelon / 14467 posts
We were 26/28. We could have saved longer and gotten a bigger house, but I love our house/neighborhood and prices in Louisville are really good right now.
coconut / 8234 posts
@Raindrop: Yeah, we're only saving for an apartment! We can't afford a house here unless we moved to a bad neighborhood. Our 20% here could buy us a house in cash somewhere else, but oh well, we are choosing to live here!
grapefruit / 4671 posts
Don't feel bad, we are 33 and we bought our condo a few months ago. Like @mrsjazz: we live in NYC, and saving that 20% was a real biatch. Plus we are pretty much on the breadline as a result hahaha. Honestly, none of my friends have bought yet so moving from apt to apt didn't feel weird. Almost everyone is a renter in New York,. it is par for the course.
pomelo / 5509 posts
@Mrs. Pen: I know how you feel! You should have a poll option for "I haven't bought one yet."
We are 28 (me) and 27 (him) and neither of us has ever owned a house. I am sooo ready to OWN and stop renting, so I can decorate permanently (and not feel like it's a waste of time/money), have a garage, a yard, plant a full garden, etc. But he is in grad school right now and we're not sure where his job might take him when he's finished, so it doesn't make sense to purchase when we might be moving in a year or two.
We're pretty much ready financially, but logistically, it doesn't make sense. We're moving apartments right now and I get bummed all over again when I think about all the work I'm doing to move and it's not even remotely permanent or long-term. Sigh.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@IRunForFun: done!
@Raindrop: @plantains: @mrsjazz: is that a NYC thing? No FSA type loans or downpayment assistance programs?
When we were originally looking we qualified for only $1k down programs... but opted to just keep renting isntead.
@honeybear: haha funny you say that since DH and I are looking to move INTO the cities! We are sick of living rurally. We would love to be near all the things we love to do! The best of both worlds would be to find a house in the metro area that has a quaint little yard and a garage as well but is still near the things that are important to us.
GOLD / pomelo / 5737 posts
I'm 23 and DH is 24 and it won't be happening for awhile!!! We live in a very expensive area and I'm a SAHM. Maybe a couple years from now.
grapefruit / 4671 posts
@Mrs. Pen: In NYC, the downpayment assistance programs are such a joke. A family of 3 must have income of no more than $61,850 to qualify for 15K downpayment assistance. But the fact is that households of under 61K are not running about buying condos left right and centre.
The other problem is that demand is very high and inventory is very low right now so there are not that many FHA approved buildings with units on the market. For us, given the insane cost of the apt, we had to put 20% down upfront anyway to ensure a manageble mortgage payment.
| Today | Monthly Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | 0 | 0 |
| Posts | 1 | 0 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
72 comments