First thing that comes to my mind is when you rent, the landlord fixes whatever breaks... When you own, you have to do all that yourself. Other than that, I'm not real sure!

hmm well. when you own the place you have to fix it all yourself. so if anything ever goes wrong then you have to fix it wheras the landlord fixes it if your renting


thats really all i can think of. ive never owned a house lol
oh and property taxes?

^^ lol michelle i was posting at the same time as you!

When you are buying a house you are putting your money towards something. If renting its like a bottomless pit of throwing the money away because it isnt going towards anything for you. If you buy then you can do whatever to the house you want whereas if you are renting you have to talk to the landlord and have it all okayed first. That is just a few. Im sure I can think of more.

Don't jump into anything big, have you thought about maybe renting to own a mobile? I know its not a palace, but they are super affordable to buy, and when you're ready, just sell it for a down payment on a house.

thats a really good idea
or maybe even a duplex or a condo?

Exactly, make a smaller jump first. You can buy one half of a duplex, and that way you even get a yard ^^

If you buy a trailer, Katie, please make sure it's a decent one.
Our was a piece of shit. Horrible place to raise Gabe.
It was falling apart, pretty much. & Take good care of it.
Otherwise when you sell it, you won't get nearly what you paid back.

Keep the ideas coming

As a side note, does anyone know of any good websites to look for homes?

i like realtor.com you can also find a local agent who can help yall come up with a budget and find homes in that range. The best part about buying now is sellers are more likely to take a reasonable offer than hold out for their asking price especially the ones that have been on the market for a while. I think youd be able find a really good price 2 brdm since most ppl look for larger homes.

what do you pay for rent? if you can get a loan with mortgage payments that are the same or less than rent I could see it being a possibility. Is there a limit on how long Nick can get unemployment? and how are yall gunna have money when your on maternity leave? you def dont wanna miss a mortgage payment and have that on your credit history.

Do you have a job? What about Nick? Do you guys have a down payment? Do you make enough to pay for utilities, groceries, and everything else that comes along with owning a home? It adds up. My brother tried to buy something at 19 and got a slap in the face when we went to the bank. He couldn't afford the note plus everything else AND him and his girlfriend has a good paying job.
I think young people try to jump into things and you really don't understand everything that goes along with it. My husband and I had to live in his brother's 1 bdrm rent house until I finished college and started teaching.
You said to let you have it, so no hard feelings.

I do have a job. Nick collects unemployment right now. We know what it's like to pay for utilities, yes (obviously it's going to be more expensive for a house, I realize this). We are renting an apartment right now, but it seems like a waste of money.

It's obvious I'm not jumping into this. It's obvious I don't understand. I'm trying to educate myself. I'm asking about it, Betsy. I specifically said I didn't want to jump into anything. Did you even read my post?

I also said my dad would be helping us make this down payment and a few other things for right now.

Edited to add: Not that it counts for a whole lot, but when we move out of this apartment, we will get our security deposit back.

How is your credit? What about Nick? Would you both be on the mortgage with your dad, or just you? The reason I ask is because even if you have a co-signer, your credit and income vs. debt is still taken into consideration. (as would be your dad's, do you know what his credit is like?)

I tried to buy a house a few months ago (I was 21) and I couldn't get approved because my credit history wasn't long enough. Now being that you are pregnant there may be more options available for you through government sponsered programs and whatnot, but I don't know. I suggest you call a mortgage broker and tell them about your situation. They should be able to tell you if you could get approved and whatnot without filling anything out (or at least your odds)

Maybe you dad could buy the house for now and you guys buy it from him? It might be easier for you that way.

Nick's credit is terrible. My credit is good. My dad's credit is literally perfect.

I emailed my dad and asked him what he thought about home ownership but he hasn't replied yet. He is really educated about things like this. I haven't asked him to do anything yet. I'm just looking for as many opinions as I can get.

When you own you are your own boss. You can do what you want to your home. You are building credit and you'll have some equity for when you want to buy a bigger home.

You really have to do some good research on schools if your going to buy. You don't want to live in an area that has a not so great school district.

You are responsible for it's upkeep, property taxes, and let me tell you from experience, just when you think one more bad thing can't happen....something else happens. If you own and your neighbors suck, your SOL. Heating a home these days is crazy expensive, especially in Maine. You have to have insurance on your home, it's contents, and your property.

I love owning a home..but it can be a real pain in the butt.

katie

i think you are one of the most responsible people i know. i think that if your dad is willing to help and you have a backup plan then go for it. after you research on it a bit if it seems like it would be a fit idea then go for it girl. you know what your doing. your not stupid.
owning a home for anyone is a hard thing to do. just because your young, just because you dont have a million dollar paying job doesnt mean you CANT do it.

go to realtors.com and look around. even craigslist and the newspaper have home listings
maybe even you can find a place rent to own? that wuld be a great option.
also sometimes apartments can be just as/if not MORE expensive than a house. i know most of the places around here (suplex's and condos) are even LESS than most apartments.

definatley look into it some and continue taking all of the POSITIVE ADVICE that people give

like i said your a smart girl. good luck babe

ok i didn't read all of the replys but I did just want to comment on someone saying to buy a duplex... At least where I am they cost as much as a nice house does! I'm working on buying a house to..I've been lookin so much my head hurts! I did just see on the news today that the prices of houses are going to be going down because the sales have went down like 4% or something so maybe if you wait a while you can find osomething cheaper!

Someone brought up a good point, maybe your dad could buy a house for you to live in, then you pay him rent. My parents were able to do this for me. It was just like having my own home.

If Nicks credit is really that bad, he probably couldn't be on the mortgage at all. Which means if things don't work out between you two, it will only effect you and your dad's credit. So, it needs to be cheap enough for you to afford by yourself or with a roommate.

Look into property tax rates in the surronding counties. Sometimes there can be a HUGE difference in the price you will pay just between a couple streets.

And I totally agree, look into school districts. That is super important.

Oh, and don't trust any of these little "mortgage calculators" you see at the bottom of the realtor sights. They lie. And they are based on a bunch of perfect circumstances. They also don't include insurance and taxes. Just as a heads up.

Other then that, you will just have to wait until you hear from your dad so you know where you stand and what your options are.