I have been living simply and keeping my expenses small for several years. I currently live in a house that I inherited that I am not going to sell. The house where I live now is 3000 sqr ft. I have no complaints about it other than it is a little dated.
We just found out our first child is on the way. My in-laws will be here 4 to 6 months out of the year once the child is born. I am considering keeping my current house for my in-laws to stay when the visit, and moving into the new house so we can have our own space.
I have $120K for a down payment. My wife and I have a combined yearly income of 240K. I would finance the house for 15 to 20 years.
I don't know what to do. This house seems like a good deal but who knows what is going to happen to the housing market. Thanks in advance for your help
Link to house:
http://www.usamls.net/nationalrealty-cordele//default.asp?content=expanded&search_content=results&this_format=1&mls_number=52149&page=2&query_id=110496488&sortby=2
I hear its on the WFA side of town.
With 120k down you are a strong buyer, you can justify a lower offer with that much cash on the table!
Pull comps and see what recent sales look like, dont go off list prices, go off what they sold for!
SHIT! mods please move to OG. I am an asshole in the wrong forum
TheAxeMurdererGotCrippled - I hear its on the WFA side of town.
one and done.
Roids rule! WFA's drool!
Use a qualified agent (seller pays) have them pull comps and make a realistic offer on you behalf. 50% down will get you some leverage, use it to your advantage.
I'm mad jelly of you OP. What do you and your wife do for a living?
^lol
kanodogg2 - I think you are posting this just to rub it in our faces that you are buying a 450k house with a 50% down payment and inherited a 3000 square foot house you aren't selling plus the fact that you make several hundred thousand dollars a year.
Way to rub it in.
Agreed 
Think I'm gonna hve to move to America. For an equivalent sized house in a decent area in northern Ireland you can be talking anything from £1million to £1.7 million sterling.
Wow, look at me thread!
I'm having the same dilemma, but with planets.
"Think I'm gonna hve to move to America. For an equivalent sized house in a decent area in northern Ireland you can be talking anything from £1million to £1.7 million sterling."
I think somebody wrote something once about money not equating to happiness. If you get this early enough you can be free to live as you are "happy". If not you might as well be driving to your J-O-B (if your lucky enough to work part time at a burger joint) a rusty peice of shit car, no insurance (car or medical), Min. wage job (part time of course),),with a sticker that backs the GOP and one that is Pro-Life, and maybe one that says" Im an American. Im dumb as shit"! I let rich, arrogant indifferent people pretend to like me for my vote"!
If you want to be happy (which you think the house will provide)ten less is better. If you want to be mind fucked by rich greedy assholes into believing that if i had money like them i would be happy (no proof needed, i mean LOOK at the rich! You REALLY want to end up like that?). The problem is it is a closed game and hard as fuck to break in.
Unless you take up a position that you could care less who you hurt and how bad you hurt them you can NOT become rich. And OLD money is the plague of this last century.....
Take the 120K and invest it in renovations/updates/additions in your current home.
Pics of house or GTFO
Your current 3k square foot house is plenty of room for 3 people, even for 5 if your in laws come.
Besides, when you get a divorce, you will have to split your assets in 1/2.
I really dont see a need for using up 120k on a downpayment, not to mention a monthly mortgage for the next 15 years...especially when you already have a nice house to live in.
Then again, if you have that much disposable income, go for it!
BryanHamper - With 120k down you are a strong buyer, you can justify a lower offer with that much cash on the table!
Pull comps and see what recent sales look like, dont go off list prices, go off what they sold for!
This is total bullshit. Sellers could care less about how much someone is putting down. Assuming you are a smart guy, please explain he difference us. Buyer a is buying house for 230k. He has 120k for down payment and has been approved for the 110K difference.
Buyer B is a vetrean, and has been approved for 230k loan on the same property, with no down payment.
Seller receives the same amount, 230K in the end. The size of the down payment has ZERO consequence in the equation, he receives the same amount of cash at the end of the day.
btw dude, if you are making bank like that and living in cordele, you are a king. I dont know u from adam, but you and I both know what the common standard of living is like in cordele. You are living LARGE if you are making 200 plus combined in that oart of the world. Good or you bro, Im not mad at you! Thats good country living and im actually envious. If you get tired of the country ill gladly let you come stay at my place down here on the beach as long as you bring the kids with you and leave momma in ga for when when I arrive (pic please). Inlaws must beat it as well!
I have to admit that when I made my first post, I was unable to access the pictures of the house you are looking at..
Dude, thats a nice fking house!!!
In all seriousness though...
If you invsted that 120k back into your current home, would the updates be sufficient for your future plans? What kind of spread are you actually in now? How much land?
How many kids do you plan to have?
What kind of neighborhood are you in now? What about the school districts for each? Personally, these two issues take precidence to me over almost every other issue.. I could easily relocate, make more money than I do, and live in a nicer home, not that mine is bad, I live in a good spot in the country, where the neighbors are very nice, and my children are able to go to the school that I WANT THEM TO GO TO. When they finish school, I WILL relocate, but not until then.
Now, do you feel secure enough in your future that you think you can buy this new home, and take on the payments? Dont forget about the cost of having/raising kids...
Even if you do, you still have to consider the "what if's".
I worked for a company that by all indications was doing fantastic, and looking like it would only continue to grow, and had absolutely no reservations about my future with that company. Then 9/11 happened, and resulted in my company having to shut down the plant that I worked in..
Three are three people that I can tell you, off the top of my head, that were hurting afterwards..
The first was about 3/4 done with building a new home.
The second had his first mortgage payment due the day after, and he told me at that time, that he had no other choice but to default..
The third person had sold his home in Cali, bought a cheaper home here, and pretty much spent the remainder of the money that he had left from the sale of his home.. He resold the home he had bought here, used that money for a downpayment on another home back in Cali, and financed the rest..
I know that nobody can be 100% certain, thats wny you need to consider the "what ifs".
Then, there is also that chance that your current home is BARELY sufficient for any of your future plans, and the new home might provide for nearly all of them..
And did I mention... Dude, that is a nice fking house. lol
But only .5 acre though?????
For me personally, all the fancy stuff is nice, but if I can live comfortably in my current situation, rather than struggling and crunching bills for years just to have something nice, I would rather live comfortably..