Source
r/RealEstate•
FirstManLostOnMars

First time buyer - simple terms

Good morning all,

I have read a lot of posts from people who explain their personal situations and where they are at in terms of loans, savings, down payments etc etc.

Basically, my wife and I have only recently found ourselves in a position to start looking at buying our first home. Haven’t yet spoken to any professionals, not done a whole lot of homework on loans, not too savvy on a lot of the phrases being used on here.

So, in simple terms... with the way the economy and housing market is moving... would a housing crash be good for a first time buyer? Would it generally be easier to get loans? I’m sure house prices would drop. I know it’s a broad question, but I’m really just looking for a general perspective to know if it’s even worth us really diving into this process now. Thanks a lot.

Posted Apr 4, 2020, 11:25 AM UTC

89
sceaga_genesis•

Take a first time home buyers class, it’s worth it.

8
silenthatch•

Worth it for the information but not totally worth it if you make too much to qualify for the $3500 bonus

1
sceaga_genesis•

Yeah the benefits depend on your own situation. In my state, I know a lot of folks who took the class and qualified for a 3% down loan.

2
silenthatch•

Agreed, we took it to get the information and were super happy about that. Plus at the time we took it, we knew our fiscal plans for the next 2 years and it fell right in line with where we wanted to be.

Great advice to take the class, there's a lot of good information in it, and the benefit as you said of getting a 3% down loan or other offers in a local market.

1
FirstManLostOnMarsOP•

Didn’t even know there was such a thing. Thanks!

1
sceaga_genesis•

Yeah, they’re pretty helpful in shining light on the whole process. Usually they’ll be run by an agent or broker, and they’ll bring in professionals across the process to talk details and answer questions. It also allows them to prospect for clients (there is no commitment to use that agent or broker) while providing value to first timers.

2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

0
zephyer19•

Well, it is a good time to educate your self. Get ready to see the phrase "It Depends" a lot

Is a crash good for a first time home buyer. It depends, if you and your wife have a good size down payment and more importantly secure jobs then yes, it would be great for first time buyers.
My wife and I bought two homes during the recession. We got 200k more when we sold them than when we bought them.
A down turn could get you a bigger or nicer home than say a year ago. It might get you into a neighborhood that you wouldn't of been able too before, maybe a swimming pool. 4 bed room instead of 2.

Taxes, maintenance and insurance. Don't buy more house than you can or are not willing to take care of. Taxes have a way of sneaking up on you.
That house may look great sitting in the middle of five acres of grass but, now you have five acres of grass to mow every week.
Last house I owned we really loved. It was in the foothills of the California Sierras. Sadly we got there at the start of a very bad drought. There were a lot of wild fires around the state. A few in our area and once we had our bags packed and sitting in the hallway with the car turned around in the drive.

That really wasn't the bad part. My home insurance went up every year and was I was dropped by a company once. When we were in the process of selling the home we found out we were about to be dropped again.
Our neighborhood had crossed the Insurance fire line. Almost everyone was dropped. One neighbor had the same company for over 30 years, never filed a claim and was dropped.
Some folks were paying 12,000 a year in insurance.

Time: How far is the commute ? One or two hours each way eats a lot of family time and builds lot of frustration. Being close to work and school really is helpful.
You may not have the biggest or nicest house but, an extra hour with your family everyday is wonderful.

Keep saving the money, watching, and see what happens.

6
ewwwdavid•

Not an expert, but in the same boat as you. If you have job security and a lot of cash savings, yes it should be a good opportunity. With unemployment so high (affecting not only lower incomes, but everyone across the board) you may have less competition in your market as well.

5
steezetrain•

Theres never really a bad time to learn about this process. If you're buying a home to live in I really wouldnt look at it as if it was an investment vehicle.

You certainly want to make sure you're getting a good price and arent over paying, for sure, but traditionally real estate is not a way to generate a ton of wealth when it comes to living in your investment.

2