my first house

[Typical_08]

ill give it to you like this. last year i rented a 2/2 in bradenton for $985/month a month. im currently renting a 4/2.5 now for $1000/month. the housing market where im at is finally dropping like its hot and now i can get a morgage for around $500-600 each month of which goes toward me owing my own home and not someone else paying off their boat.

to the op.....congrats!!! hopefully i will have a house this year! my lease is up in sept.

Very good point. If you (and this is not directed at you specifically) have a stable job, and buy within your means, you can not go wrong. I can't count the number of Marines that I have seen loose their houses because they puchased over their budget.

Ya know, young guy, new wife and kid, just bought a 40k car a year ago (before they got married), buys their wife a 30k car, then goes out and buys a 200k house. Mortgage 1300 a month, car payment one 500 a month, other car payment 400 a month, all on a Lance Corporal's pay. Just does not work.

I don't want to preach, we are all intelligent individuals. But live under your budget, and factor in cost increases over the next five years before you buy.

We had a hard time over the summer because we did not factor in the raise in fuel prices. Normally I take ten percent of my pay and put it away, then another ten percent goes to the church, that left us (with our original budget plan) with about 300 a month slush fund (after expenses). Well when the price of fuel rose, so obviously power and of course driving. It was costing me 4x as much to drive to work every week and 2x as much to cool our house. If we would have planned like we were living paycheck to paycheck like some people do, we could have very easily lost our home.