Posted by Soapymac on October 28, 1998 at 08:48:02:
I am going to tell you a western and a fairy tale…all at once. Your e-mail address doesn’t tell me where you are in this US of A, so…
As to acquiring the knowledge just for your own home, you may want to check with your local county extension service or a local housing council. Find out if they have classes to educate yourself seeing as you may qualify for first time home buyers programs.
No, that’s not very creative BUT for the cost of a credit report on you, you can receive a great deal of knowledge about what government assisted homebuyer programs are available to you. You’ll meet with an attorney, a real estate broker, and a financial counselor of some sort that will give you the basics. Hint: if you find a home that qualifies for an FHA loan, having this class behind you will speed up the paperwork.
Go to the library. Look for books that will explain the home buying process. Invest some time in reading. There may also be some books on creative real estate investing there, too. Price is right, anyway.
Go to a major bookstore. Do the same thing as you did in the library. Maybe you will want to buy a book or two. BEFORE YOU DO, check back with us here. There are enough people on this board to help you separate the wheat from the chaff.
One book you SHOULD buy is “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. The best money you will ever spend on yourself.
When the questions come up…and they will…post it. Someone will answer it. That’s why we’re here.
I just want to buy a house to live in! - Posted by Jess O’Leary
Posted by Jess O’Leary on October 28, 1998 at 04:09:35:
Lately I’ve been trying to learn as much as I can about creative real estate, but at this point I have just one goal. I’m not ready to be an investor, a landlord, or anything like that – I would just rather be paying down a mortgage every month rather than paying rent and throwing money down the drain. I guess I’m feeling just a little overwhelmed and don’t know where or how to start. If there is such a thing, what is the best strategy for getting into a house of my own with little or no money down? I actually have about $25k to work with, but obviously don’t want to make too many costly mistakes. Should I be learning my local foreclosure market, lease options, or what? If anyone can point me in the right direction I’d sure appreciate it. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to stop being a renter, but I don’t want to buy a house the “traditional” way.
Re: I just want to buy a house to live in! - Posted by Phillip ¶
Posted by Phillip ¶ on October 29, 1998 at 08:27:37:
Jess,
The points made by the previous posters are all excellent. Take their advice to heart.
The main point in not buying a nicer house is that you’ll pay more in: Property taxes, maintenance, and keeping up with the Joneses… When instead that money can be set aside for future investing (be it RE or stocks or whatever).
As an owner-occupant, I highly suggest the FHA 203K program, where you find a house that needs some fixup and then borrow the money to buy and fix it up. You only put down 3-5%, so it’s almost no-money down, and you get “instant equity”.
Re: I just want to buy a house to live in! - Posted by Cathryn
Posted by Cathryn on October 29, 1998 at 06:27:08:
I don’t quite understand your aversion to “traditional” methods.
In this country, to a great extent, real estate transactions are very slanted in favor of owner/occupants. They can get government guaranteed loans, often with less than 10% down. Most of the creative solutions found on this site have to do with overcoming the much less favorable conditions investors have to deal with–including requirements for much higher down payments and toughter qualifying criteria from financial institutions. If you have no money for a down payment, you might need to get creative, but that doesn’t seem to be your problem. Do you have a problem? Bad credit, low income? If not, check out those “traditional” methods. Run the numbers…as an owner occupant, you already have a huge advantage, and with today’s low interest rates, you can probably get a great deal on a “boring” traditional mortgage.
One thing I would suggest…buy a little less house than the banks will let you qualify for. The current high rate of personal bankruptcies in this country points out that banks are often a bit too generous in the amounts they’ll lend, esepcially on government guaranteed loans. If the bank will lend you enough for a 150,000 house, buy a 110,000 instead. Save the difference in payments for future investing. Or maybe find a stucturally sound house in a great neighborhood that needs some cosmetic rehabbing and improve it to build equity. I suggest you read “The Millionaire Next Door” a great book that points out that one secret to accumulating wealth is to live a little below your means…and invest the savings! Good luck.
Re: I just want to buy a house to live in! - Posted by Jess O’Leary
Posted by Jess O’Leary on October 28, 1998 at 20:03:22:
Thanks for the comments folks. Maybe I didn’t state my intentions clearly, or maybe I’m just clueless. I don’t think I want to do this the “traditional” way. Yes I could probably afford to make a normal down payment and go through a realtor, but here’s what I was thinking. If I were to use some of the more “creative” techniques to find and purchase a house, I was thinking that I could probably get into a nicer house cheaper. Does that make any sense? I don’t necessarily need a “no money down” situation, but I was thinking that I can use the money I do have to take advantage of a really great win-win deal once I found it. I have read just about everything on this web site, and a few books including those by Robert Allen, etc.