I'm so proud of Lynnae. She's really been an inspiration to me, both in matters of personal finance and frugality and also in blogging advice. While my husband  and I aren't ready to buy a house yet, when we are I'll be looking back at her posts on the subject for information and inspiration.

Kelly

http://almostfrugal.com

Lynnae, you truly are an inspiration! Thanks.

Congratulations! And what a smart way to have made your purchase! As you'll see below, sometimes things don't always work out the way we'd anticipated.

When I purchased my home (before the real estate market went crazy), my husband had been out of work for a bit and hadn't yet started his new job so we decided to look in a price range that was affordable on one income. Given that my then-husband and I were both extremely handy, we were pleased to have found a long-neglected but structurally sound Victorian in a nice neighborhood. As can happen, the husband didn't stick around, but it was no hardship at all for me to assume the mortage on my own. At present, despite the market having declined, the house is worth 1 3/4 times what I paid for it a mere six years ago. It was a good decision made at exactly the right time.

Congratulations! My wife and I are doing the same thing.

The mortgage (30 year fixed) will be based on my income.

We found the perfect townhome in a wonderful neighborhood.

We will have the house inspected.

We're putting 6% down (that's what we've saved), and are making bi-weekly payments instead of monthly payments (the equivalent of 13 payments a year, paying the loan off six years early).

Best of everything for your new home.

Way to go.

               I'm glad to here a story like this.My wife & i have been married for 6 years. She & her first husband {passed away }never owned a home they always rented.My first wife passed away 10 years ago had owned homes before.I'm retired now with an income of 1800 a month.My now wife still works.We live in northern Illinois where homes run pretty high.We want to move in 5 years after my wife can retire to a place more affordable.With some internet help I found out that western Ky.would be nice low priced homes low crime rate.We found a forclosed home in need of alot of work.There was a balance of 89,000 on the home,The VA had dropped the price down to 61,000 it had been on the market for a year.The day we made a trip to look at it the VA dropped the price to 37,500 We bought itIt appraised at over 2 times the cost.As I said it needed some woprk.I did all the work myself.Some drywall replaced,1200 sq.foot of oak hardwood floors,new kitchen cabinets carpet,and some paint The house looks great.We now have a retirement home that is worth maybe 175,000 and only borrowed 30,000 to buy it and spent about the same for repairs for a total of 60,000 in the house.

OH did I mention My wife did this own her income none of mine The house is her first and last.                    

                                                                       Pappy

Congrats, but with a concern.  I am a mortgage lender and Manufactured Homes (MFH) are not the "best buy" in mortgage lending world. For whatever reason, investors don't like to "re-lend" or "refinance"  MFH.  So I hope she doesn't ever need to refinance.  She will only be able to get 70% of the value and it will be a 20 yr term. Plus in future years, when she sells, it could be difficult for her new buyer to find financing.  I personally like MFH...good value for the money.  I have even owned one.  But when it came to selling or refinancing, it was troublesome.

Congrats with another concern.  I collect on mortgage loans and you should always put down 10-22% depending on you financial institution's requirements for not having to carry private mortgage insurance which is calculated into your monthly payments if you fail to meet said requirements.  Also while fixed mortgages are the way to go you should never finance over 15 years.  What few people know is that interest is front loaded on mortgages.  In other words, the first half of your loan in this case would be 15yrs for a 30 year mortgage you pay more interest than you do toward your principle.  In the fifteenth year your monthly payment (we will use 900.00 for example) approximately 450.00 will be going towards your principle.  This front loaded interest insures the banks profits even if you manage to turn around and re-sell the home quickly.

We had bought and sold our home a few years ago after 10 years (we relocated to a different state).  All went well and we were ahead of the game (nice "seed" money) for a new start  by the extras payments made.  It was always stated that if you pay one extra mortgage payment a year you can knock off a few years of the mortgage.  This is true, however I wasn't in a position to come up with a full extra month, so I divided the month's mortgage by 12 (12 months in a year) and that was the minimum extra that was sent and applied to the principal.  I was surprised (and thrilled) at the difference that made.

Would anyone care to comment on the advantages and disadvantages of buying a townhome? I'm looking at a foreclosed townhome, but have gotten some negative comments from people I know about surprise assessments and raises in association fees that are out of your control. Also, the home is being sold "as is," and my realtor has some concerns about that. Any input will be appreciated.

Hello:  I am self employed, (which is great and a little scary at the same time- kind of like my own private roller coaster ride) and as a result of a fluctuating income, I wonder if I would even qualify for any home purchase / building options.  However, I have managed to save bewteen 30 to 50% of my proposed purchase price.  Any thoughts?

J9