STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

halleybird · Hermes

would you...(a budget question)

nyc_shopgirl · Dooney & Bourke

Yes! Real estate is a great investment and will be more satisfying. The extras in life are great but so is being an owner of a home you love.

dot · Marc Jacobs

ack.. halleybird, i started writing a response.. and then i wrote it over... and then i didn't like the way it sounded so i wrote it over again.. and then i changed my mind about what i wrote.. and then i felt like i shouldn't be giving advice about these kinds of things because only you and your husband knows what works for your financial lifestyle and what your goals are and how important it is for you both to reach those goals.

if you are concerned maybe talk to a financial planner or someone at the bank or a mortgage broker. my mortgage broker has been exceptionally helpful and really lays it down straight with me.

jen · Kate Spade

Nothing better to spend money on than a house!

Tati · Chanel

You just gotta ask yourself if its worth it? If the answer is yes, I'd say go for it.
I kind of just did that myself. I'm so happy living in my new house with my husband and two kids. Great neighborhood and all. I love it.
Yes, we dont go out as much, but we invite friends and family over all the time now that we can and have a great time that way too.

JackieO527 · Dooney & Bourke

Go for the house!!! Like stated before real estate is a great investment. Plus you will be in a great school district, I personally belive that is one of the most important factors when buying a house but that is a personal opinion. Things might be tight but you will get through it. Also you will be a lot happier in the end. For me as much as I love shopping and vacations I would sacrafice it all for a great house in a great location.

kealoha · Kate Spade

I'd go for the house. Real estate is always a great investment & 4 years isn't really that long compared to a 15 or 30-year mortgage. In the long run, you'll be extremely happy you bought the house you love.

Lilykind · Hermes

In order to get a house in a place I'd really want to live in, I would do #1. It's defintely worth it in the end, even though you're making sacrifices now, you can make up for it eventually, right?

kenzie · Chanel

I would go for the house. It's a good investment and it will be worth it in the long run.

honey · Gucci

i think asf had excellent advice. it may be time to sit down with a financial planner and discuss the situation with her or him. they could help you assess your budget and help you come up with a reasonable plan for affording the house of your dreams.

Karina · Chanel

GO FOR THE HOUSE!!

Farrah · Marc Jacobs

I also think that you should go for the house. I would trade A LOT of the crap that I have bought in the past 3 years to have that money back in the bank so that I would have a good down payment for my own place. With the way that property value rises you will be making a wise investment.

Also, do you know that when you start making payments you can do an interest only loan? It significantly reduces the cost of your payment because you are only paying the interest for the first few years. You can always pay more than what is due and that will go toward the principle of the loan (kind of like student loans repayments are in the beginning). I know a lot of people that did this when they bought their first place and they were very happy that they did it. HTH!!

gruiz · Kenneth Cole

I would say go for the house...BUT don't get yourself into such a financial bind that you can't pay for unexpected things. Say your car or house needs an expensive repair, will you be able to pay for it? I don't know what the condition of the house is, but if it's not brand new, you're probably going to run into some repairs that you didn't count on or budget for.

I had to make a similar decision and went for the house. While the inability to buy everything you want is definitely heart-wrenching, I'm so proud to be a home owner. Having a house puts your priorities into perspective...and that fantastic pair of shoes can wait until after you pay the plumber.

blink · Coach

I say, get the house, it's a buyers market right now still and if you love it you should get it. You have the rest of your life to take the fun extras.

Cricket · Gucci

I'm kind of on the fence on this one. We've been in that situation since we moved here last year. We were living in Italy before (Air Force), making about $25,000 more a year (my husband is a fighter pilot and there were all kinds of benifits for flying into hostile areas, living overseas, separation pay, etc.). We bought this house (our first), not fully realizing how strapped we would be for the first year. It's probably easier for you having bought a house in the states and not having to adjust to living in a different country again, though. We also added in a car payment that we didn't have when we made MORE money. My husband hates being in debt for any reason, so when we started having to use our credit cards for stupid stuff, it killed him. We had more fights when we were strapped for cash, then ever. I couldn't shop much, we couldn't afford to get a sitter to go out (much less paying for dinner, movies, etc.). I am so glad we bought all new furniture before we moved here, because if we hadn't, we'd probably still have all our old stuff. It really sucked for a few months. I'm a SAHM, by the way. SOO many extra things popped up that we didn't think about when we bought the house. Phoenix is expensive!

On the other hand, I love our house. We just had it appraised and it's gone up $30,000 in the year that we've lived here. It was a good buy. You're going to be in your house for a LOT longer than us. (We're selling in 2 years, probably). My husband just made Major, so we're making a lot more money and don't have CC debt anymore. Things are soooo much better, and now I think it was worth it. I would look at your finances over and over again and make sure that you're going to have extra money for house repairs, car repairs, vet bills, anything. 4 years is a long time to scrimp. I did it for about 8 months and it was hard.

I've been rambling. Trying to type fast. If you have more ?'s, PM me.

-- Edited by Cricket at 12:03, 2005-01-24

-- Edited by Cricket at 12:04, 2005-01-24

halleybird · Hermes

thanks so much for the advice, everybody!

To clarify some things: we actually are working with a financial planner, which is how we kind of came up with this dilemma -- these are our basic 2 choices. And we wouldn't be stretched completely to our limit; all of those things we would give up would be so that we could still save 10-15% of our income every month. So if something came up (say, the dogs got sick and needed surgery), we would still have plenty of money in the bank. I am not too worried about house/car expenses, because my husband and his dad have been able to fix 75% of any problems we have had with either of those things.

It isn't exactly the *perfect* time to move, but my real fear about staying where I am is that we know exactly where we want to move, and the prices are high there already. We have made about $100k on our house, but it isn't going to go up too much more from there. I am afraid that we will be priced out of the area we want to move if we wait too much longer.

My salary isn't going to go up much more, but my husband is trying to get hired as a firefighter. If he does get hired (could be anywhere from 1-3 years from now), he'll make $5k more a year to start, and he'll have enough time to start a side business with his dad, which he's wanted to do forever.

On the other hand -- Cricket, you have a great point. Worrying about this stuff in the past few weeks has made us fight SO much more than we ever did before. Of course, that could be due to the uncertainty (who knows).

UGH...I hate this. Can someone remind me why I decided to work as a public servant and make measly $$$?

dot · Marc Jacobs

buying a house is such a stressful thing.. and in my very short experience, i found that you're always in a way taking a risk or somewhat unsure about the next step... basically, for me, everythign that could have gone wrong has gone wrong! and every step of the way i've wondered should i can this whole idea? my bf and i have gone back and forth on so many issues and fought alot so i know exactly where you and your husband must be at. i just know that our anxieties about buying our first home, making sure we have enough money, being careful about budgeting and so now made us so stressed out. it's very hard to try and plan the next 5+ years of your spending and get back to your attorney that afternoon or whatever. i think something that helps is always reminding yourself about what your ultimate goals are and think about what you're really doing and how good it is. i just know that for me realizing that i'm not throwing away $2K+ a month on rent every month is a very helpful reminder for me when i htink about how much more (actually not that much more but the closing costs are killing me!) i will be actually paying a month on mortgage. also my broker told me already that another comparable apt in my building (where i bought my apt) just went for 45K more than what I got it for!

Anyway, I guess it's just another way of saying focus on the positives of the investment. It sounds like you've alreayd made up your mind already! I wish I could do something to make this transition a little easier for you but just know that there are lots of us in the same boat!

ayo · Coach

Well I'm more of an IG (instant gratification) type of gal..so I'd pick the smaller home with more money to blow, but that's probably not the most wise decision because at this stage you probably should be thinking a step (or two) above starter home because you've got a lot of money to put down from the equity in your previous house and you might start a family in the next 5 years or so, might be good to get in before the prices skyrocket further.

"UGH...I hate this. Can someone remind me why I decided to work as a public servant and make measly $$$?"

This made me sad :(

don't think that way! It almost sounds defeatist, you could be making triple what you are making now and you could still have a decision like this to make.

These sort of things aLWAYS put stress on any relationship :) My hubby and I always joke that we are glad when we found our new construc that the options were already chosen because we had to decide on them ourselves..I don't know if we would have made it alive to the wedding date

Hopefully your advisor can continue to give you more insight into your situation. It's not easy and it's really one only you and hubby can make

esquiress · Marc Jacobs

quote:
Originally posted by: halleybird
UGH...I hate this. Can someone remind me why I decided to work as a public servant and make measly $$$?"

because it's the most noble profession in the world and you're damn good at it, that's why!

ok as for the house debate, i agree w/ dot--its such a personal decision and only you and your hubby can really say if you're ready or not. it sounds like you guys are taking it all very seriously so take comfort in the fact that whatever decision you make, it will be an educated and informed one. good luck and keep us posted!

Hermes

I agree with the suggestion to talk to a financial advisor. Also keep in mind that there is no such thing as job security - have a back up plan in case one of you loses your job.