It sounds like an easy answer, just buy a house. Lately, I have been having doubts. I keep wondering why would buying a house right now be bad? Should we wait? Is there good advice on what the best course of action is? Didn't I read about what the right thing to do is in a book called the Two Income Trap? I am sure I did. I just don't know. Worse, my husband is willing to go any way I suggest without letting me know if he has concerns... He hasn't even been blown away by listing from the Internet either.
Oh, no my grumpy, fat, neighbor is not dead. I guess that was just wishful thinking on my part.
So I have looked and guessed based on information on the Internet about how much we could afford and if we would qualify. The answers are we will qualify, but not until March 11, 2012-exactly 2 years and 1 day since our Chapter 7 Bankruptcy was finalized, and maybe as much as $100,000 for a home loan. I know we can qualify. I know we need to wait about 60 days from today. I know that homes with 3 or 4 bedrooms exist in my current neighborhood for less than $100K, but not in my kids school boundaries! I know that this neighborhood lacks bus transportation, and is far from all my friends, and the majority of my dysfunctional extended family. I also know that the location is close to entertainment, dinning, and of course the freeway.
What I don't know is if this is a good thing to do right now. Should we wait another year? Should we pay off all the credit card debt with our tax refund instead of using it as a down payment on a home? If we pay off all the outstanding Credit Card Debt and the $5,000 I owe to University of Phoenix, I can go back to school. And maybe finish my degree this time around. But we would not have a house. We would be stuck in the same 900SQFT apartment that we are outgrowing! I have no space for an office, or quiet space to run and hide to when I have a bad day. Now if you think the loo is a good quiet place you obviously do not have little kids! Worse we have all three boys in the same bedroom.
The same 3 boys that were spoiled last month for Christmas have little space to play on the floor. As a result we find them playing in the living room, the kitchen, Mom and Dad's room, the bathrooms, the walk-in closets and outside on the patio. Their room is difficult to keep clean, mostly because everything needs a place and many times those things are sharing overcrowded shelves. They have too many clothes.
My husband has his desk in our Bedroom, which also triples as the workout room, sewing room, storage shed, and pantry for all those water bottles and juice boxes the kids drink. Our storage closet outside, barely holds our Christmas tree and decorations. Each of our bedrooms have a walk-in closet, and they are stuffed with extra things that would normally go in a garage or storage shed for long term storage.
I'd bet your saying...Doesn't she claim to be poor? How on Earth can she be talking about buying a house when she has been to the food bank twice in the last 2 months? How can someone who is on Medicaid be buying a house? The truth is the bank account is still empty, were still on Medicaid for health insurance and still can't buy all the things the kids got for Christmas. But I am expecting a large enough tax return that I could either pay off all the debts we now have or use it as a 10-20% down payment on a low cost house. FYI the houses I have been looking at are listed at 50-80K. Also I am trying to work, though that seems to be extremely part-time right now.
As you can see there are many reasons to move to a bigger location, and possibly a home of our own. But what are the reasons this is a bad time or bad idea? What does Dave Ramsey suggest? Things I haven't mentioned is that is the number one thing on my wish list, the number two thing is the Neat Receipts scanner.
And just when things seem to be going well. A kid falls of the counter and lands face first... Though not the one you would have thought, it was the 8 year old.
Oh, no my grumpy, fat, neighbor is not dead. I guess that was just wishful thinking on my part.
So I have looked and guessed based on information on the Internet about how much we could afford and if we would qualify. The answers are we will qualify, but not until March 11, 2012-exactly 2 years and 1 day since our Chapter 7 Bankruptcy was finalized, and maybe as much as $100,000 for a home loan. I know we can qualify. I know we need to wait about 60 days from today. I know that homes with 3 or 4 bedrooms exist in my current neighborhood for less than $100K, but not in my kids school boundaries! I know that this neighborhood lacks bus transportation, and is far from all my friends, and the majority of my dysfunctional extended family. I also know that the location is close to entertainment, dinning, and of course the freeway.
What I don't know is if this is a good thing to do right now. Should we wait another year? Should we pay off all the credit card debt with our tax refund instead of using it as a down payment on a home? If we pay off all the outstanding Credit Card Debt and the $5,000 I owe to University of Phoenix, I can go back to school. And maybe finish my degree this time around. But we would not have a house. We would be stuck in the same 900SQFT apartment that we are outgrowing! I have no space for an office, or quiet space to run and hide to when I have a bad day. Now if you think the loo is a good quiet place you obviously do not have little kids! Worse we have all three boys in the same bedroom.
The same 3 boys that were spoiled last month for Christmas have little space to play on the floor. As a result we find them playing in the living room, the kitchen, Mom and Dad's room, the bathrooms, the walk-in closets and outside on the patio. Their room is difficult to keep clean, mostly because everything needs a place and many times those things are sharing overcrowded shelves. They have too many clothes.
My husband has his desk in our Bedroom, which also triples as the workout room, sewing room, storage shed, and pantry for all those water bottles and juice boxes the kids drink. Our storage closet outside, barely holds our Christmas tree and decorations. Each of our bedrooms have a walk-in closet, and they are stuffed with extra things that would normally go in a garage or storage shed for long term storage.
I'd bet your saying...Doesn't she claim to be poor? How on Earth can she be talking about buying a house when she has been to the food bank twice in the last 2 months? How can someone who is on Medicaid be buying a house? The truth is the bank account is still empty, were still on Medicaid for health insurance and still can't buy all the things the kids got for Christmas. But I am expecting a large enough tax return that I could either pay off all the debts we now have or use it as a 10-20% down payment on a low cost house. FYI the houses I have been looking at are listed at 50-80K. Also I am trying to work, though that seems to be extremely part-time right now.
As you can see there are many reasons to move to a bigger location, and possibly a home of our own. But what are the reasons this is a bad time or bad idea? What does Dave Ramsey suggest? Things I haven't mentioned is that is the number one thing on my wish list, the number two thing is the Neat Receipts scanner.
And just when things seem to be going well. A kid falls of the counter and lands face first... Though not the one you would have thought, it was the 8 year old.
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