First-Time Home Buying

[ochotona]

We might be getting into another housing bubble... go to stockcharts.com and look at the index $$HPI. But it varies, market-to-market. San Francisco, Portland, Seattle? Bubble!!!

But, obviously you need a place to live... if buying is cheaper than renting, on a monthly cash flow basis, net of everything, then do it. And finance it so you're not badly upside-down if values go down by 25%. That is your stress-test. That might change how much house you buy. That $$HPI is 190 now, what if it went back to the 140-150 area in the next few years? We're going to have a recession someday. Yellen has not outlawed them.

But don't buy it if you're thinking of a house as an "investment". They're bad investments, unless you bad near the bottom and sell near the top.

Get a fixed-rate mortgage, don't get a floating POS. You want a steady budget.

[boglerdude]

Well constructed townhomes with no one above you might be worth considering. They probably wont have earthquake insurance though, and you cant buy your own.

Find out what fire insurance will cost. Some areas of socal cant get it cheap.