Home Buying question for first timer...

[Johnny Dangerr]

Lived on the edge of 610 for 45 years. In these times I would worry about any large purchase. We live 2 blocks east of Telephone Rd and the prices are stupid high. Neighbor just bought his totaly re-furbed 1bath 2 bdr room 1400 sq ft house for $225k.
Good luck...

[BlackoutRam2500]

Depends on if your income is stable and how long you plan to own the house.

What goes up must come down and what goes down will come back up, and rise higher than it was before. The question is can you hold on to the property while you wait?

If you have a stable career, like Government, chances are a recession will not effect your income. If you are in Oil & Gas however that's probably not gonna be the case and I'd advise you to save all the money you can. Lol

Buying in the loop is by far the better/safer investment. You may consider room mates in order to make the payments more affordable. It's never too early to start investing in your future and real estate has been a great gateway to wealth in this country. Wish I had been taught that growing up instead of my parents saying "live your dreams and everything will work out" [emoji53]

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[Rustythebeagle]

LOL...yeah, uh, okay

I have a couple that bought 18 months ago, divorcing now and going to list for 40k more than they paid. Comps support it.

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Good for them however you would need to provide much more information for this to be a valid point. If you had $50k lying around I think there are other investments I would put that money in vs. the Houston suburban real estate market. That being said I don't think there is that much downside risk and if you want to own a home obviously OP should pull the trigger.

Obviously you can leverage yourself much more in real estate than other investments so if you have the risk appetite it can pay off.

I've bought and sold property in and around Houston for the last 15 years all in the burbs.

[bowhntrmatt]

If you have a job that will likely keep you tied to a particular area for a long period of time, buy.

Even if the RE market dives tomorrow, I can almost guarantee over the next 5,10,20 years it will prove to be a great investment. You only want to be on one side of the rental game.

Use FHA to buy a crappy duplex, live in one side while you fix it up while renting out the other. Once that lease is up, move to that side and rent out the remodeled side for a higher amount. When it's fixed, move on to the next one and repeat the process after doing a cash-out refi for the new value to fund your next bunch of remodeling. If I was single without kids, this is how I would live.

[DFWPI]

Good for them however you would need to provide much more information for this to be a valid point. If you had $50k lying around I think there are other investments I would put that money in vs. the Houston suburban real estate market. That being said I don't think there is that much downside risk and if you want to own a home obviously OP should pull the trigger.



Obviously you can leverage yourself much more in real estate than other investments so if you have the risk appetite it can pay off.



I've bought and sold property in and around Houston for the last 15 years all in the burbs.

Good for you.

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[bowhntrmatt]

LOL...yeah, uh, okay

I have a couple that bought 18 months ago, divorcing now and going to list for 40k more than they paid. Comps support it.

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Pretty common right now. I put about $100k down on my house 15 months ago. If I sold today I'd cash out about $260k in equity.

[CaptainDave]

Few thoughts from someone that owned a home inside the loop for almost 5 years.

Commuting sucks for a single person. Unless you can work from home or your office is out in the burbs, other than price, there's not much more the burbs will offer you.

Have you looked at areas like Cottage Grove? Just inside the loop and lots of inventory. I owned a home in this area, which contrary to popular belief, actually declined in value between 2013 and 2019. This was one of those poor, industrial type of areas, which developers came and bought up most of the property after Rice Military area was built out. The area was red hot for the yuppie crowd, but got over built within a few years with tons of town homes, single family dwellings, etc. You might find something in the budget in this area or in the vicinity. The central location was tough to beat, being literally within a few miles of the Heights, downtown, mid-town, Washington, Up-town Galleria.

Personally, if you are single and are not sure of your next move, I'd just rent. I know you don't gain equity in a property while renting, but it's not nearly as bad of a deal as some would make it out to be. The house I owned in Cottage Grove sold for less than what I paid for it. Not to mention, paying a mortgage and property taxes while owning the house...renting would have ended up being a better deal in that situation. I don't regret owning that house, but I wouldn't have been worse off by just renting.

[Dugie]

I would buy as soon as you can, make improvements along the way and sell down the road as the market allows, the key is to not overpay for something marginal. You're single and can be more flexible than when you have a family.

you may have to decide between best investment and "Trendy" location, but the equity will be yours, Texas housing isn't going down the tubes anytime soon.

[Tex_Cattleman]

There are some areas of Texas I might wait, but others I'd jump on it. Prices may settle, but they are not going down.

Buy a three bedroom house and rent out the other two rooms. You will likely cover your mortgage and be building equity (i.e. wealth) every month.

When you move on in life and are ready to get married and maybe upgrade, you'll have a perfect rental. And investment property with primary residence interest rate is huge. Then let someone else keep right on paying that mortgage.

[RR 314]

If you do buy now, and end up marrying in a couple years, your new bride will likely hate the house--or at least require a full remodel. Stripper pole will certainly have to go. My vote is rent and stash money/cash away or in the market.

[Texastaxi]

People say “you’re throwing your money away on rent”. These are the same folks paying interest and property taxes. Interest is just “rent” on the bank’s money.

I agree with that to a certain extent, but when you decide to move, chances are you will be able to sell the house for a profit, or at least walk away with some money in your pocket. Renting you'll walk away with your security deposit, if you're lucky.

[Throwin Darts]

I agree with that to a certain extent, but when you decide to move, chances are you will be able to sell the house for a profit, or at least walk away with some money in your pocket. Renting you'll walk away with your security deposit, if you're lucky.

If you’re renting for a lower all in cost vs owning then you need to figure the saved money and the earnings on it in the rent scenario. It’d be hard to walk away with just your security deposit unless you somehow managed to spend more money renting vs owning.

[jmac24]

Make sure you get a 6mth lease and re-evaluate every six months.

[DFWPI]

Found this in one of my programs from a title company.

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[Pedernal]

Lots of unknowns in the market every where so the decision isn't an easy one. I waited for a while before I bought my own place but I had a different situation and that was 25ish years ago. At the end of the day, at some point you will need to buy a home. The question becomes is it the right time for you?

I would really think about what you want to do professionally before purchasing a home. If you are committed to staying in H-town I would start looking to buy. If you think you might want to move in the next 3-6 years I would hold off on buying.

We all have opinions and some on here are very smart people. You can't really go wrong if you sit sown and do the math on what it will cost to rent versus purchase. In my humble opinion, if you purchase now and the market crashes you will just need to hold onto the house. The market will eventually come back around if Uncle joe doesn't totally screw it up.

When I say do the math on cost, I mean every last bit of what it will cost you to live in a house versus where you live now. Even with the current low interest the first few years you hardly pay down anything on a loan. So if the market takes a big hit, you are baiscally tied to the house or you are going to lose money.

Best advise I can give you is don't blow all your extra cash on partying and alcohol. By all means have fun, but if you aren't going to buy a house find some land and buy it. Best of luck on your decision.