Time To Buy?

Posted by KC | Posted in federal reserve, home ownership, interest rates, mortgage | Posted on 24-01-2008

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So with all of the recent excitement that came from the Federal Reserves decision to cut the interest rate by 3/4 of a percent I, of course, started debating whether I should consider taking advantage of some favorable mortgage offers.

But after spending some time thinking things through – I have decided that now is not the time for me – even though it may be more doable rate-wise. Here are my reasons for passing – in no particular order:

  • I have little to no savings
    • I’m in the middle of my big credit card paydown plan, so I haven’t really been worried about building my savings at all. I’m planning to use some tax refund money to bring my emergency fund back up to $1000, however the rest will go to debt and I plan to keep my focus there for the near future.

  • I don’t know if I’m here for the long-term
    • I was born and raised near Boston, went to school in Boston and have worked and lived in Boston since. Part of me likes it – and wants to remain close to my family, but another part of me knows that the longer I wait to move somewhere and try something different – the more difficult it will become. Sure I could buy a house, live in it for a few years and try to sell – but I’m not going to pretend that I know what I’m doing and that it would be that easy. I could rent it out from out of state – but that too would most likely proof to be difficult.

  • Less than desirable credit score
    • I pulled my annual free credit report this week and can’t say I was surprised. I have a lot of debt – we all know that. I’m currently paying it off and not opening new accounts, so I know my score will only go up in the future*. But for now, my score is a 705 and that makes the rates that I would be able to get on my own less than desirable.
  • Property taxes, etc…
    • As a current renter, I have no idea really what to expect with home ownership. Sure I can read and ask people questions, but each situation is different and I want to be sure that some minor (or major) setback won’t absolutely kill me or my finances.

So, it looks like no home purchase for me. Don’t get me wrong – I may still look and even go to an open house or two, but I won’t be buying anything soon.

* I say that I know that my credit score will only go up in the future, but that may not necessarily be true. Only because I have a strong desire to cancel a lot of my credit card accounts. Especially the most recent ones – that way I still have the long-standing credit history that comes with some of my first accounts and I limit my risk to identity theft (a.k.a. absolute disaster). I know a lot of people will say that closing accounts is a bad idea – but, my thought is that if you don’t use your credit cards – already have a fixed mortgage and can afford a 7-10 year wait for credit score improvement – why not?

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Comments (3)

Great article ,

happy to read it,

Tracy Ho
wisdomgettingloaded

Boston is a brutal market for buying a home, at least price-wise… that’s for sure. We rented when we lived in the Boston area for 7 years, and only bought when we relocated to Southern Maine. For less than the cost of a condo in East Boston, we bought a small house, kept it for a couple of years, and then moved into a larger one (after selling the smaller one) with the birth of our daughter. Owning is great (most of the time… paying the insurance and fixing things can be a pain), but in Boston we could not have afforded to own a home. Good luck with whatever you decide! Prices are falling now, that’s one nice thing combined with the drop in interest rates.
Jerry
http://www.leads4insurance.com

This might be the best time to consider purchasing a home with the favorable interest rates.

Although the real estate stage may now be set for buying, it is always important to view real estate as a long-term investment.

Many have recently learned that gambling on the quick appreciation of property values can be a perilous short-term venture.

However, real estate prices and interest rates have now adjusted so that investors can once again purchase property with positive cash flows to allow them to continue to own and profit from property until they are ready to sell.

It is paramount to remember that the real estate market is generally dictated by the law of supply and demand. With more and more prospective homeowners and investors now capitalizing on attractive prices and interest rates, it is clear that the increase in demand has started to steadily chip away at the supply of real estate for sale. However, it won’t be long until demand once again outweighs supply and the masses begin complaining that they should’ve bought when they had the chance.

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