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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
No. IMO, it would not have to be a huge cushion if both people have decent earnings, but it would have to be a lot more than 3-4K.
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Posted 2/14/09 5:05 PM  |
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BaroqueMama
Chase is one!
Member since 5/05 27530 total posts
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me
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
Not everyone has the luxury of having a ton of money in the bank. And if you think that makes them not responsible enough to have a house, who cares? It's not your life.
We had about 2K left in the bank when we closed on our house. If I waited to have a cushion of extra cash, I'd never own a house. I don't regret it one bit, and my husband recently lost his job, even that didn't make me regret it one bit. Lucky for us he's employed again, but we would have made it work no matter what. I'd shovel sh-t to make money to keep my house if it came to it. I am of the mind that if you want something to work, you find a way. It just so happens that 6 months after closing on our house, I came into an inheritance and now we do have that cushion, so I'm even more happy we bought the house because I'd kick myself if I didn't.
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| Posted 2/14/09 9:34 PM |
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KartveliT
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
Posted by prncss
Not everyone has the luxury of having a ton of money in the bank. And if you think that makes them not responsible enough to have a house, who cares? It's not your life.
Not sure if you are referring to me or to everyone in general....... But going to reply anyway;)
No it's not my life and I do know that not everyone has a luxury of having a ton of money in the bank( I know DH and I will not once we buy a house or a co-op). But I think you should have some , even 3000 is better than 0.
I do care. I care about their well being, but I didn't say anything to her to make her feel like she is not responsible or shouldn't get a house. I am sure they are stressed enough about their situation and they don't need me sticking my nose in their business and giving them advice or opinion they didn't ask for.
They are my friends and I expressed concern on here (LIF) and wanted to get some opinions about the situation, that's all.
Message edited 2/14/2009 11:58:47 PM.
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| Posted 2/14/09 11:57 PM |
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BaroqueMama
Chase is one!
Member since 5/05 27530 total posts
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me
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
I was responding in general, not to you specifically, I'm sorry I didn't make that clear. I was a bit taken back by many of the responses on here, though. No one I know has the kind of cash to be able to have a huge cushion in the bank after buying a house. All my friends who have recently purchased homes are in the same boat as me (and your friend), so it hits very close to home for me, and I felt people were saying it's irresponsible to buy something without a huge cushion. for some of us, we just want a roof over our heads and we'll work our tails off to keep it that way. That's all a lot of us can do. (again, this is to everyone in general)
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| Posted 2/15/09 1:13 AM |
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KartveliT
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
Posted by prncss
I was responding in general, not to you specifically, I'm sorry I didn't make that clear. I was a bit taken back by many of the responses on here, though. No one I know has the kind of cash to be able to have a huge cushion in the bank after buying a house. All my friends who have recently purchased homes are in the same boat as me (and your friend), so it hits very close to home for me, and I felt people were saying it's irresponsible to buy something without a huge cushion. for some of us, we just want a roof over our heads and we'll work our tails off to keep it that way. That's all a lot of us can do. (again, this is to everyone in general)
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| Posted 2/15/09 8:02 AM |
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skew
LIF Adult
Member since 5/05 6794 total posts
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
$1,500 in savings and a co-op is definitely better than $0 in savings and a house. my irresponsibility comment was moreso in reference to the child. and, i am sorry but my thoughts still remain.
i know many people that did not have a savings cushion after the purchase of a house. for many young first time buyers, this is common. modification are made and spending habits are drastically altered. again, to each his/her own but i would NEVER feel comfortable living paycheck to paycheck with virtually no savings if i had a child.
in this economy, there is NO job security. i sincerely wish your friends the best but her statement of not being worried about it at all since it's a co-op and that they'll save up again since they both have jobs and next month she is going to start working full time(and get paid more) is a HUGE assumption.
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| Posted 2/15/09 9:04 AM |
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LIPrincess
Foxy Lady
Member since 6/05 1610 total posts
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Jaimie
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
I did that and was very sorry I did. It took a long time to get that $$ back in the bank after we bought the house
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| Posted 2/15/09 9:16 AM |
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mosh913
baby boy coming spring '11
Member since 5/05 3133 total posts
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
Posted by prncss
I was responding in general, not to you specifically, I'm sorry I didn't make that clear. I was a bit taken back by many of the responses on here, though. No one I know has the kind of cash to be able to have a huge cushion in the bank after buying a house. All my friends who have recently purchased homes are in the same boat as me (and your friend), so it hits very close to home for me, and I felt people were saying it's irresponsible to buy something without a huge cushion. for some of us, we just want a roof over our heads and we'll work our tails off to keep it that way. That's all a lot of us can do. (again, this is to everyone in general)
ITA!! We thought we were going to have 10K after closing but our broker f'd up our interest rate and we walked away with 3K. So after our tax return and the tax credit, we should have a bit more of a cushion. But Rachel's right...not everyone can do that. I know more people who walked away with nothing than people who had money left over for renovations and a cushion.
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| Posted 2/15/09 1:39 PM |
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beachgirl13
Mommy to 3 boys!
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
I totally agree with prnccs. I wouldnt own a home if I had waited for a cushion in the bank.
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| Posted 2/15/09 2:40 PM |
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Octobermom
LIF Adult
Member since 1/09 972 total posts
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Anna Maria
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
That kind of thinking is why there are so many homes being sold as short sales/foreclosures. They need to save more before buying.
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| Posted 2/15/09 3:06 PM |
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pharmcat2000
Mom of 2 + 1
Member since 10/05 7395 total posts
Name:
Catherine
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
I also know many many people who didn't have a "cushion" left after buying their houses. As for us, we wait until tax return every year for renovations and upgrades to our house. When growing up, my mother was a single mom of 4 and almost always lived paycheck to paycheck, but she always owned our home. We even moved into different houses twice during my lifetime and I'm sure she didn't have a cushion left after she walked out of the closing. I'm sure she didn't plan it that way, but after my father was gone that's the way it turned out. She figured it out and made it work. And by the time she died a few years ago and we sold her house, we split the proceeds and all 4 of us had a down payment for our own homes, and that's basically all she had to leave us. So, I agree that everybody has to make the decisions that they feel are right for their family. And from my experience, while having a big "cushion" is nice, it doesn't always have to be the only way to go.
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| Posted 2/15/09 3:11 PM |
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
Posted by Octobermom
That kind of thinking is why there are so many homes being sold as short sales/foreclosures. They need to save more before buying.
Not for everybody though......If I had to wait for a cushion I would never have a house and I DO NOT regret buying with 100% financing and no money down. It was the only option we had, and we have a 15yr mortgage so our payments are MUCH higher. Not everybody has the luxery to save. I had to move out at a young age and so did my DH
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| Posted 2/15/09 3:50 PM |
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BaroqueMama
Chase is one!
Member since 5/05 27530 total posts
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me
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
Posted by medic6809
Posted by Octobermom
That kind of thinking is why there are so many homes being sold as short sales/foreclosures. They need to save more before buying.
Not for everybody though......If I had to wait for a cushion I would never have a house and I DO NOT regret buying with 100% financing and no money down. It was the only option we had, and we have a 15yr mortgage so our payments are MUCH higher. Not everybody has the luxery to save. I had to move out at a young age and so did my DH
Thank you. I'm not going to foreclose or short sale on my house just because we didn't leave ourselves a big cushion of money. I mean, would it be ideal for everyone to have that? Absolutely, who wouldn't want that? But I would venture to say a majority of this world does not buy a house and leave a huge cushion of money in the bank. And as for the state of the economy: to state that this is the reason people are foreclosing on their houses is absolutely untrue. People buying houses they couldn't afford even if they were working to their full potential, coupled with adjustable rate mortgages and crooked mortgage brokers approving mortgages they shouldn't have, now THAT'S a bigger reason why there are so many houses being foreclosed on. Trust me, I may not have a ton of money in the bank after I worked my azz off to save every last penny I had to buy my house, but I sure as hell know how to make a dollar count and I sure as hell know how to make enough money to cover mortgage if I should lose my job. I wish the OP's friends much luck because I, myself, have been there with a 2 yo that I so badly wanted to provide for and DID and STILL DO.
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| Posted 2/15/09 4:43 PM |
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headoverheels
s'il vous plaît
Member since 6/07 42079 total posts
Name:
LB
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
Posted by prncss
Not everyone has the luxury of having a ton of money in the bank. And if you think that makes them not responsible enough to have a house, who cares? It's not your life.
We had about 2K left in the bank when we closed on our house. If I waited to have a cushion of extra cash, I'd never own a house. I don't regret it one bit, and my husband recently lost his job, even that didn't make me regret it one bit. Lucky for us he's employed again, but we would have made it work no matter what. I'd shovel sh-t to make money to keep my house if it came to it. I am of the mind that if you want something to work, you find a way. It just so happens that 6 months after closing on our house, I came into an inheritance and now we do have that cushion, so I'm even more happy we bought the house because I'd kick myself if I didn't.
i am really really glad you posted this. DH and i are looking to purchase a home this year. we can easily afford the monthly payments - it will be a LOT less than we are paying each month in rent - but we will have to pinch pennies until then just to have enough for a down payment. afterwards i don't know how much we will have left over - i think if it's $1K or $2K we will be lucky!!
i think that if we didn't buy a house this year i would kick myself - the market is just so perfect. obviously we are going to be very cautious, and try to buy a home that is in good condition, and doesn't need to be fixed up immediately, but we do have family to help out in an emergency.
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| Posted 2/15/09 4:43 PM |
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sleepie76
enjoying every minute
Member since 12/07 3881 total posts
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
By the time we were done with closing costs & down payment, we had maybe $1,000 left.
It was worth it to me !
We slowly built back up over time with each paycheck.
4 years in & haven't regretted it once.
Otherwise, we would have continued renting and throwing that money away.
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| Posted 2/15/09 5:02 PM |
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Erica
LIF Adult
Member since 5/05 11767 total posts
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
I thought it was the reason that the first month's morgage payment was paid at closing...to help the buyer save up a bit again.
we lucked out closing on our for sale house a week after buying our current house...so there was only a week where we had practically nothing.
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| Posted 2/15/09 5:34 PM |
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Faithx2
All good things in 2016!!
Member since 8/05 20181 total posts
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Re: would you buy a house if it meant NOT having anything left in the bank?
Posted by beachgirl13
I totally agree with prnccs. I wouldnt own a home if I had waited for a cushion in the bank.
Same here & no regrets. Although we did it 7 years ago and times are a bit different now.
Message edited 2/15/2009 5:39:56 PM.
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| Posted 2/15/09 5:39 PM |
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