This is great! I'm looking to buy my first house soon, any advice on terms and money down? I was looking for a post That is sort of like a beginner guide to your principles. Do you have anything like that for stuff like buying houses, buying cars investing, insurance, budgeting?
1) Points are almost never worth paying. The time it takes to 'make it back' in the lower interest is well past where it makes sense.
2) First home? Dont be afraid to look at first time homebuyer. Can get a house 3% down. You will have to pay PMI (an extra fee monthly), but it can help a ton.
My first home I brought a 2 family with the first time homebuyer. Rented out 1/2 and paid most of the mortgage off. A few years later the value appreciated and I was able to refi to a mortgage without the PMI for only like 5% more down. (Obviously very different economy).
Related if you are a vet, VA loans are nice.
3) Always go 30yr mortgage - you can prepay (I wouldn't) and make it similiar to a 15 yr.
4) Always go fixed rate, Unless you KNOW you are going to be out in a certain time frame. I wouldn't want to be caught in a variable rate after your 3-5yr fixed part is done.
5) look at local community banks and credit unions. Lots of them don't bundle & sell their mortgages which means they can work with you for more custom loan.
In order for a bank to bundle & sell a mortgage needs to be within the strict guidelines of FNMA.
Working on all those other items in posts. Happy to answer Q if you have them
This is great thank you! , Is there a rule of thumb for how much house I should buy? I know it depends on where you live, housing is cheaper where I am.
Highly individualized based on how long you plan to be there, your near-term financial growth, family size / expectations, other debt payments, etc.
Basically you don't want to set yourself up for 'just scraping by' while living in more house than you'll ever need.
Just make sure you are factoring in the insurance & property taxes too. People will get a mortgage estimate of $1000 a month and then get a mortgage bill of $1,500 and be floored. Insurance & taxes can easily make up 30-50% of your mortgage payment.
This is great! I'm looking to buy my first house soon, any advice on terms and money down? I was looking for a post That is sort of like a beginner guide to your principles. Do you have anything like that for stuff like buying houses, buying cars investing, insurance, budgeting?
On the backlog.
In short:
1) Points are almost never worth paying. The time it takes to 'make it back' in the lower interest is well past where it makes sense.
2) First home? Dont be afraid to look at first time homebuyer. Can get a house 3% down. You will have to pay PMI (an extra fee monthly), but it can help a ton.
My first home I brought a 2 family with the first time homebuyer. Rented out 1/2 and paid most of the mortgage off. A few years later the value appreciated and I was able to refi to a mortgage without the PMI for only like 5% more down. (Obviously very different economy).
Related if you are a vet, VA loans are nice.
3) Always go 30yr mortgage - you can prepay (I wouldn't) and make it similiar to a 15 yr.
4) Always go fixed rate, Unless you KNOW you are going to be out in a certain time frame. I wouldn't want to be caught in a variable rate after your 3-5yr fixed part is done.
5) look at local community banks and credit unions. Lots of them don't bundle & sell their mortgages which means they can work with you for more custom loan.
In order for a bank to bundle & sell a mortgage needs to be within the strict guidelines of FNMA.
Working on all those other items in posts. Happy to answer Q if you have them
This is great thank you! , Is there a rule of thumb for how much house I should buy? I know it depends on where you live, housing is cheaper where I am.
General rules of thumb is 25-30% income.
Highly individualized based on how long you plan to be there, your near-term financial growth, family size / expectations, other debt payments, etc.
Basically you don't want to set yourself up for 'just scraping by' while living in more house than you'll ever need.
Just make sure you are factoring in the insurance & property taxes too. People will get a mortgage estimate of $1000 a month and then get a mortgage bill of $1,500 and be floored. Insurance & taxes can easily make up 30-50% of your mortgage payment.
Should have included - Those are 5 general rules. Each person is different and your mileage may vary depending where you are in life.
You can DM if you have specifics.
Also, I did a few posts on insurance you can check out - most people just need 20-30year Term WITH a conversion option just in case.:
https://effsigive.substack.com/p/life-insurance-basics-should-young?s=w
https://effsigive.substack.com/p/life-insurance-basics-part-1?s=w