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Need some real estate advice. What should I do here?

I currently rent a three bedroom house. I've been here for several years and I really like the house and the neighborhood. I don't want to move and I'd like to stay here if I could. Over the past few years the rental company told me that they won't sell the house to me. However earlier this year they indicated that it might be a possibility. The house needs a lot of work though. Rotten wood, sinking foundation in the back, kitchen needs to be redone, bathroom needs to be redone, needs a new septic system, and lots of smaller stuff. Since I moved in well before 2020 when the real estate market got crazy my rent is very cheap compared to the surrounding area. If I wanted to renew my lease again it would be $1,200 a month which is nothing for me. I have a very good income, a decent bit of savings, and excellent credit. I don't think I would have any trouble getting a mortgage if I wanted one. I don't want to throw money away on rent forever but I'm tempted to just sign another lease and see what the housing market looks like in another year.

What says the ODT experts, should I stay or should I go?
If you like the house and the area and are ok with the repairs that need to be made…go for it. But I would not include the cost of repairs in the loan. Unless you are going to just pay someone else to do the work. If you do the work, it can be done on your time schedule (And cheaper). The banks usually put a time limit on repairs like they do on a new build.
 
Interest rates are still low compared to Historical averages.

5% vs 7% on a $250k house {30 year} is- Monthly payment, principle and interest only

5%- $1342
7%- $1663

$321 per month difference, $3852 per year, $115,560 over the life of the loan.

I would say buy now, rates are going to go up for a while as inflation keeps soaring.
 
unless it's REAAAAAALLLY cheap and you REAAAAALLLY like fixing things, I wouldn't buy a house that has a bunch of problems that you are aware of. Sounds like a money pit, especially since the things you don't know about almost always are more expensive and untimely that the ones you do.
If I found myself homeless right now, I would buy a new or used fifth wheel, pay someone to drop it in an RV park for me, and live there for at least the next couple of years, or until I stumbled on a good deal that I couldn't pass up.


You can buy a nice brand new fifth wheel for $50 to $60k right now (which is inflated I know), and stay there while looking for your dream home. RV parks vary in price. When we were looking for a new house in the Cumming area we stayed in our camper at an RV park in Cumming, it was 750ish per month. They can be cheaper if you are able to be further out. Currently, our camper is on a permanent site in Alabama for $360 per month plus power.

While I don't see the housing market crashing, I don't see prices coming down much either. Tough place to be for sure.
 
I wanted to add to the fifth wheel recommendation. I have a good friend who did that very thing 20 years ago because housing had gotten so expensive. 20 years later and he is still living in a fifth wheel and his dad lives in one parked right next to him in his own fifth wheel. What started as a temporary thing ended up being a lifestyle they both love and you couldn't get either one of them out of that RV park now.

It's actually kinda cool, they have built a deck that wraps all the way around both fifth wheels with a few covered areas and an open firepit area in the middle. If I wasn't married I would probably have the spot next to them and my fifth wheel right there as well,
 
Not in real estate but I'll give you my two cents on the last couple of homes we bought. Once you know their asking price & are serious, get a good home inspector, one that's meticulous & will estimate the cost of repairs. On the house we live in now we did that & it was easily the best $450 I've ever spent. The bank had accepted the initial offer, but after the inspection where the guy literally checked every light switch & outlet, we provided the report to them with a new offer that was $20k less based on needed repairs. This was on a short sale house that was supposedly listed as is, but they accepted the new offer & we did about half of the work needed ourselves.
 
It’s probably better to get locked into a mortgage now than it will be 3 years from now, but that’s just my wild ass guess. I’d be afraid to buy anything that needed more than cosmetic repairs and/or updates. Personally, if I sold my house right now I’d rent and wait for an opportunity to get something for cash, which might not be an option in the more expensive parts of the state.
 
Not in real estate but I'll give you my two cents on the last couple of homes we bought. Once you know their asking price & are serious, get a good home inspector, one that's meticulous & will estimate the cost of repairs. On the house we live in now we did that & it was easily the best $450 I've ever spent. The bank had accepted the initial offer, but after the inspection where the guy literally checked every light switch & outlet, we provided the report to them with a new offer that was $20k less based on needed repairs. This was on a short sale house that was supposedly listed as is, but they accepted the new offer & we did about half of the work needed ourselves.
I was just going to say this - get a good inspector to identify all of the issues, and a contractor to give you a price to repair. Compare the repair cost + the asking price to the value of houses in your area to see if the deal makes sense.
 
Can I get a mortgage for a house that needs a lot of work and then include the cost of the repairs in the loan?
grainchaser grainchaser Is correct. The FHA 203k loan is available for renovation loans. There are also Conventional versions available as well. However, my opinion would be to NOT purchase a fixer upper right now. The supply chain is bad and getting worse. It sounds like there are significant repairs to be completed and they would all be outlined in your budget to be completed in a certain fashion is requirements of your renovation loan, etc. I think it will just take a very long time and a very drawn out process.

Throw in that if the renovations are over 40k, then you would most likely be required to hire a contractor. This would be ideal as you do not want to deal with chasing down subs who took the money, or bought the wrong product(s), who don't show up and/or who just plainly took off.

If this is truly something you want to explore, DM me and we can schedule a call to discuss your options, etc.

Hope this helps, even a little. :)
 
Sounds like I need to contact my rental company and find out if it's an option to buy the house. They have given me several different answers over the last few years but if they would be willing to sell I need to know how much they would want. And living in a fifth wheel isn't an option. I have too much crap to store.

If your monthly payment for buying it is cheaper than what you're currently paying rent I think the answer you seek is obvious.

No way. $1,200 a month is way cheaper than any rent or mortgage. Which is why I'm really leaning towards signing another lease. I have no problem paying the rent and continuing to grow my savings. Although I don't know anything about real estate I feel like this is probably the top of the market and a bad time to buy.
 
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