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30% down payment?

September 26th, 2008 at 01:34 pm





(Up above is a house Baseball boy and I have been admiring online....)

Well...my house down payment is locked up at WAMU/J.P.Morgan. No sweat...not looking for a home...well not looking for a home seriously.

I am wondering about mortgage interest rates though. I wonder if this bailout will mean they raise interest rates because the economy is more stable/ to help the banks a bit more.

I am lucky to have seen this housing crisis from the beginning as an outsider. I learned alot. It confirmed that my initial plan was good to put down 20% despite pressure from peers and advertisements to "jump in now- you are a fool if you miss this opportunity." I decided on the 20% route because that's the way homeowners who still own their home 10,20,40 years later did. It's a proven course to success...all this other stuff was just trendy bling.

But sadly...I think I am a bit spoiled on the mortgage rates. 5% interest sounds good. Quite tasty. Now people are remembering interest rates from the eighties for 10-11%? No way! I'm not paying that! I want to lock in now!

So off to crunch the numbers I went last night. We cant afford it....I am having an opposite problem of most people- I finally have a decent down payment-but don't think we can afford the monthly mortgage.

So now the new goal is to put 30% down. Frown I am kind of sad about it because 30% of $200-250,000 is a long way off...but to sleep at peace Baseball boy and I want to keep the mortgage and all house bills at or under $1600 a month.

So...nothing much to report here. I am financially the same as I was yesterday, just a bit further behind in our life-goals. But we are still going house hunting in November. ~Just to look though!

4 Responses to “30% down payment?”

  1. fruitbowlk Says:
    1222434023

    Girl that's good. You rather be safe than sorry. The more money you save the better.

  2. thriftorama Says:
    1222436216

    30 percent is a great idea. Because, the loan payment you sign up for in the beginning is the one you are stuck with until the house is paid off, so it needs to be a number you are comfortable with, and if 30 percent gets you there, it's the right thing to do.

    We did about 28 percent down on our first house and it made a difference.

  3. merch Says:
    1222438244

    I think what you are doing is very smart. Look at what you can afford and go from there. I recommend that you should strive for a 15 year fixed with payments no more then 25% of your income. You should never feel pressured into buying and should always look at it as a blessing.

  4. gamecock43 Says:
    1222438749

    ahhh...the 25% of our income equation. Well, that's the bugger. I get $1200 a month from a rental income- Baseball boy is- well playing baseball. And I am employable...but have not worked steady in almost 3 years and we are looking to settle down in another state so it may take me some time to find a job there. The 25% of our income does not really work since our income changes every few months and it is hard to predict our income even a year from now.
    -not to say we are not ready for this- we are and we can pay a mortgage. We have been paying rent and bills in a house for 4 years (cant believe we have rented this house for so long!) now with this life. It just needs to be a low monthly payment so we can handle all the highs/lows.

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