- Find a Real Estate Professional
- Realtors®
- Mortgage Lenders
- Home Improvement Pros
- Other Real Estate Services
- Review an Agent, Lender or Pro
- Marketing on Zillow
- Real Estate Agent Advertising
- Join the Professional Directory
- Popular
- Real Estate Market Reports
- More
Answers (7)
Best Answer
- sunnyview
- Contributions:25139
Truthfully, I am uncomfortable with you buying a house for 150K with an income of 32K. It sounds like you have stable employment, but you do not sound sure if you want to commit to staying in Denver. House prices in Denver have corrected a little bit, but have a higher median price here than some other parts of the country. You should not buy because of the tax credit. I have a sense that you are feeling pressed into buying now because of it.
If the only areas that you can afford are not good, I would not buy in Denver. Bad areas tend to appreciate slower and drop faster when the RE market corrects. I think you should save more money for a down payment to give yourself more house choices that are affordable in good areas. That may sound like a crappy answer, but it works over the long term to get you a better house for a more reasonable price. You might also consider buying a duplex instead of a single family if you can find a decent one. Duplexes would still get you a percentage of the buyers credit, would give you the flexibility to defray expenses by renting out one side and also allow you to move to another area while your tenants build equity in the property for you over time.
I would like to hear more bout how old you are, whether you have a family, how much you have saved for down payment and what your goals are for buying a house. All those things may help me and other people on the site give you better input so that you can make the decision that you feel will work best for you.
If the only areas that you can afford are not good, I would not buy in Denver. Bad areas tend to appreciate slower and drop faster when the RE market corrects. I think you should save more money for a down payment to give yourself more house choices that are affordable in good areas. That may sound like a crappy answer, but it works over the long term to get you a better house for a more reasonable price. You might also consider buying a duplex instead of a single family if you can find a decent one. Duplexes would still get you a percentage of the buyers credit, would give you the flexibility to defray expenses by renting out one side and also allow you to move to another area while your tenants build equity in the property for you over time.
I would like to hear more bout how old you are, whether you have a family, how much you have saved for down payment and what your goals are for buying a house. All those things may help me and other people on the site give you better input so that you can make the decision that you feel will work best for you.
- Johnny James, "Palmdale Mortgage"
- Contributions:406
if you have children to consider always go with the best neighborhood you can afford.
- Joetta of Arvada
- Contributions:14
Only YOU can answer the question, should I stay or should I go? If there's nothing holding you here, and your employer doesn't care where you live, I know places in this country where you can get a beauty of a house for $150,000. I know exactly what that will buy you in Denver, but even Commercy City would get you a better house.
- Jessica McAnally, "Homes by Jess"
- Contributions:8
I completely understand your dilemma. I have thought of leaving Colorado many times because it would afford me more but in the end my heart and family is here. So I would suggest really seriously prioritizing what's the most important thing, location, convenience, functionality, affordability ect.. Then decide from there if it makes sense to stay in Colorado or even Denver Metro or move outside the area. Depending on your situation you may find leaving all together is what will make the most sense. If in your heart you really want to stay, there really are plenty of homes under $150K in good neighborhoods, you just need a realtor to work for you to get you that info. The first thing I would suggest doing is to contact a lender to make sure you know exactly what you qualify for so you don't have any surprises. Then you need a realtor to work for you and get you some listings to start looking at. If you need any names and numbers for some lenders, let me know. If there is anything else I can do for you, I'm happy to help.
Jessica McAnally
Your Castle Real Estate
[content removed by moderator]
Jessica McAnally
Your Castle Real Estate
[content removed by moderator]
- Donna Schilling, "descrs"
- Contributions:20
You can buy a house wherever you want as a first-time homebuyer and get the $8,000 credit as long as you meet all of the criteria to qualify.
- marlene14
- Contributions:5
I have my downpayment, but my credit score went sour to enable me to get a loan due to the fact of a money I expected to arrive yet it took almost six months vs three weeks) to finally get to me. It lead to failure in payments to most of my creditors and some sent me to collections. Even though my credit score in 1st Q of 2009 was 620, my credit score must be bad and I am trying to get the Tax Credit and get out of a rental situation which is not healthfull.
I need 2000 sf in North Harris County or South Montgomery County. Lookinf ro a 3-4 bd and minim of 2bath. Willing to pay 80-120K.
Any suggestions?
I need 2000 sf in North Harris County or South Montgomery County. Lookinf ro a 3-4 bd and minim of 2bath. Willing to pay 80-120K.
Any suggestions?
- David Sachleben, "DSachleben"
- Contributions:27
This is a hard to reasonably answer this question not knowing the size and type of house you need, your location requirements, amount of downpayment you have, your credit score, income level and your monthly payment requirement. While it is true you can get much more house for the money in Pueblo, for example, there are still many deals here in Denver Metro area.
For example, there are 21 homes in the South Aurora area that have 3+ Bedrooms, 2+ Baths and are under $125,000 (5 that are under $100K). My quess is that you would be paying less per month that your current rent especially considering the tax savings from interest deduction. (Not including tax credit) Hope this helps.
Dave Sachleben
[content removed by moderator]
For example, there are 21 homes in the South Aurora area that have 3+ Bedrooms, 2+ Baths and are under $125,000 (5 that are under $100K). My quess is that you would be paying less per month that your current rent especially considering the tax savings from interest deduction. (Not including tax credit) Hope this helps.
Dave Sachleben
[content removed by moderator]
first-time home buyer dilemma
new where my income as a truck driver will afford me a much more suitable
and desirable house? I have exhausted the real estate sites for the Denver metro
and have come to the conclusion that in my price range all I will be able to get
is a small older rectangular house in a less-than-desirable neighborhood.
I am struggling with this decision and would appreciate your input. I could
leave Denver when my lease is up in April. But then I would be giving up the
tax credit. I asked this question last night but only got two answers neither
of which addressed my question.
Stating a discriminatory preference in an advertisement for housing is illegal. If you think this content is discriminatory or otherwise inappropriate and feel it should be removed from Zillow, please let us know by completing the information above.
We will review this content. Thanks for helping make the site more useful to everyone. To learn more, read Zillow's Good Neighbor Policy.