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Last hurrah for awhile?

Here's my latest purchase. I've collected Peyton Manning since his days at UT and I've always wanted this card. Considering that I gave around the going rate for this in a PSA 9 that a raw sales for, I was well pleased:

image

I mention last hurrah because my wife and I have decided that it might be the time for us to buy own first home. We found a beautiful home that would be a great blessing. We're currently looking over the numbers to see if we can actually "afford" it or not without sacrificing anything essential or getting in over our heads and/or becoming another housing market casualty. Needless to say, it is an exciting yet intimidating time to say the least looking over the various loan offers.

I have to be honest though in that I hope it works out. It would bless not only our lives but the young people that I work with. Either way, we should know by Sunday night if the money situation works or not and could possibly make an offer on Monday morning.

Comments

  • DavemriDavemri Posts: 2,011 ✭✭✭
    Good Luck!!

    Nice card BTW..

    FINISHED 12/8/2008!!!
    image
  • Good luck with the house man. It's definitely the right time to buy. Keep us in the loop.

    And yes, that's a great card!

  • good luck, owning a house is amazing...just dont recommend the NE due to the escalating oil prices.....either that or make sure you have natural gas instead
  • good luck with this big decision. Surprisingly, a lot of people find that their free cash flow actually increases somethimes when they make the purchase since they now have deductions (mortgage interest and property taxes) they didn't have before. Hopefully you'll be able to continue collecting and enjoy the benefits of home ownership at the same time.
    Mark B.

    Seeking primarily PSA graded pre-war "type" cards

    My PSA Registry Sets

    34 Goudey, 75 Topps Mini, Hall of Fame Complete Set, 1985 Topps Tiffany, Hall of Fame Players Complete Set
  • larryallen73larryallen73 Posts: 6,069 ✭✭✭
    Make a low offer! At least out here it is a BUYERS market. Don't buy an emotion if you can help it.

    Also, listen to your own instincts on what you can afford and not what the mortgage person or Realtor tell you that you can afford. No offense to either but that's why so many people are having to lose their homes to foreclosure; they listened to BAD advice. You know what you can afford! Also, home ownership costs more than you think it will!

    Good luck!
  • I also wish you luck on purchasing a new home.



    image
  • JackWESQJackWESQ Posts: 2,133 ✭✭✭
    Dear Ripken In The Minors,

    Good luck with the house. And when you come to learn (assuming you don't already know) of itemized deductions, you can take that refund and resume your card purchasing ways.

    /s/ JackWESQ
    image
  • Just a suggestion - make sure you also add insurance and taxes into your monthly payment calculation. Also if you're not paying for sewer and/or trash removal now add another $50 or so image Oh and don't forgot about homeowners association dues image

    Best of luck!
  • storm888storm888 Posts: 11,701 ✭✭✭
    Low offers are the best offers.

    good luck





    image
    Folks Who Bite Get Bitten. Folks Who Don't Bite Get Eaten.
  • digicatdigicat Posts: 8,551 ✭✭
    My wife and I just bought a house back in November. image

    We bought a new home in a new development, so working with them was pretty easy, as they wanted to get that house off their hands ASAP with the housing market slumping like it is. They ended up giving us something that was better than what we said we wanted.

    Anyways, one thing that my wife and I did when we first got married was save 40% of our income every month. We wanted to get used to not having that money around, and it worked. My wife and I aren't really extravagant people, and found that our combined income (minus 40%) was actually MORE than we needed, and found that we could live a pretty care-free life style. Anyways, when the time came to get a house, we adjusted the 40% to absorb the increase from rent to a mortgage, and we've been fine.

    Yes, having your own house is pretty awesome. I'm still not totally used to it yet, and feel like I'm visiting someone sometimes. image
    My Giants collection want list

    WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
  • Good luck, having your own home is awesome!
  • stownstown Posts: 11,321 ✭✭✭
    Depending on where you live, may want to wait a little bit before purchasing a home.

    Between the uncertainty of our economy, 5 year ARMs maturing without appreciation, and a glut of empty homes eating in the developers' pockets, A LOT of opportunites will be available to cherry pick.

    / $0.02
    So basically my kid won't be able to go to college, but at least I'll have a set where the three most expensive cards are of a player I despise ~ CDsNuts
  • perkdogperkdog Posts: 31,994 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Like Stown said, I am 100% ready to buy right now but I am waiting a little bit myself. The rates seem to keep getting lower but the most important thing in my book is I dont want to be "House Poor" like a ton of people I know.


    And that Manning card is awesome! The way Manning is pictured it has a nice vintage style to it!
  • Blessings on this and all that goes along with it. Buying a house is scary. But, I know it'll all work out.
  • good luck on the house hunting!!! Nice card, I don't know about the pose though, lol. Although that looks about right for Payton. "Weeee, I like man love!!!"
    Sorry, I couldn't resist. I respect the guy as a player, just not a fan of the dude.
    "I've never been able to properly explain myself in this climate" -Raul Duke

    ebay i.d. clydecoolidge - Lots of vintage stars and HOFers, raw, condition fully disclosed.


  • << <i>good luck with this big decision. Surprisingly, a lot of people find that their free cash flow actually increases somethimes when they make the purchase since they now have deductions (mortgage interest and property taxes) they didn't have before. Hopefully you'll be able to continue collecting and enjoy the benefits of home ownership at the same time. >>



    I wish this was the case for me. Just ran my preliminary taxes last night and I owe the government money (about $250) this year. I guess me and the wife made too much this year, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.


    J
  • just curious what area of the country your in?

    the housing market is still declining in most areas, you might hold off for a bit and save some scratch on this new home your interested in if you have the patience.


  • << <i>Here's my latest purchase. I've collected Peyton Manning since his days at UT and I've always wanted this card. Considering that I gave around the going rate for this in a PSA 9 that a raw sales for, I was well pleased:

    image

    I mention last hurrah because my wife and I have decided that it might be the time for us to buy own first home. We found a beautiful home that would be a great blessing. We're currently looking over the numbers to see if we can actually "afford" it or not without sacrificing anything essential or getting in over our heads and/or becoming another housing market casualty. Needless to say, it is an exciting yet intimidating time to say the least looking over the various loan offers.

    I have to be honest though in that I hope it works out. It would bless not only our lives but the young people that I work with. Either way, we should know by Sunday night if the money situation works or not and could possibly make an offer on Monday morning. >>



    All I can say is that if you decide to buy please spend a few bucks and hire a lawyer. I can't believe how many people enter into such a big purchase and sign papers they most likely don't understand. Don't be penny wise and dollar foolish!
  • Thanks for the feedback everyone. I appreciate all of the good information and well wishes.

    I've been listening to banks and learning a lot. We have no clue as to what the cost would be, but we have been running loans on a "worse case scenario" outline while checking in on insurance and estimated utility expenses based on 12 month averages.

    One of the big issues here is whether we want to pay a big down payment 3-5% or take a different loan that doesn't require a down payment. Granted, it's a small fraction higher in regards to the APR, but it has a much lower closing cost and doesn't require the down payment. In addition, I learned that this loan has an accelerated payment program which means that we are allowed to pay the principle off faster if we ever have extra cash. I was stunned to learn that one of the fixed rate loans would not so much as allow us to pay a large chunk in the event that we were to receive something like an inheritance. That would screw us over, especially once we get our car and student loans paid off and have the extra money every month. In addition, I learned the loan that doesn't require the down payment drops off the Mortgage Insurance a lot sooner, thus dropping the overall payment some 10-12% as soon as 3 years into the agreement.

    It may be dumb on my part, but I really want to keep my savings as a safety net.




    << <i>just curious what area of the country your in? >>



    We're in middle Tennessee. The housing market is as bad here as anywhere else. According to the local loan reps, the recent Fed cut has not taken shape in the local rates. The rates are already as low as 5.5% on a 100% loan, which is pretty good IMHO. I know a lot of families in the area with mortgages over 7% on a 30 year note.
  • 1neatstuff1neatstuff Posts: 1,156 ✭✭✭
    image
  • digicatdigicat Posts: 8,551 ✭✭
    Find a good mortgage calculator (tons on the net), open up Excell, and figure out all the numbers. You'll be able to see how much interest you'll be paying over the life of the loan. That should help you in your decision.

    In my scenario, putting more money down meant paying way less money later, as it brings your monthly minimum payment down, and allows you to pay more twards principle each month. Just a little extra each month can delete years off of your mortgage.
    My Giants collection want list

    WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
  • Agreed. Lesson learned in that we were not putting money away for a big down payment. However, the money we had we tried to put towards student loans and into retirement accounts.

    We really never planned on buying our own home until the opportunity happened.
  • SheamasterSheamaster Posts: 542 ✭✭✭
    Here's some mortgage information I found interesting...

    - Through 15 years of a 30 year-loan, you still owe over 70% of your loan.
    - You don't even pay off one-half of your loan until like year 22.




  • << <i>Here's some mortgage information I found interesting...

    - Through 15 years of a 30 year-loan, you still owe over 70% of your loan.
    - You don't even pay off one-half of your loan until like year 22. >>



    Yeah, it's nuts. Again, the good thing about the loan I am leaning towards is that you can make additional payments toward the principle over the life of the loan. If we can just pay a little extra here and there it will really pay off long term.
  • not sure why you would want to pay off your mortgage loan early. if you're not maxing your retirement plans just to pay down 6% money earlier than you have to, that is not a good thing. Talk to your CPA. Chances are, you'll buy two or three homes during your working lifetime and hopefully, each time you do, you'll have a little more equity built up. That's what your goal should be - equity. The main thing is get a loan that you can afford and doesn't change dramatically over it's lifetime. People run into trouble when they get sucked into low interest rate teaser loans that adjust dramatically, or interest only loans.
    Mark B.

    Seeking primarily PSA graded pre-war "type" cards

    My PSA Registry Sets

    34 Goudey, 75 Topps Mini, Hall of Fame Complete Set, 1985 Topps Tiffany, Hall of Fame Players Complete Set
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,873 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Good luck! It's a nice market for buyers and every month you pay rent is just making your landlord richer, so I wish you the best in building up your own home equity!


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • SidePocketSidePocket Posts: 2,901 ✭✭✭
    Good luck,

    30 year fixed will allow you to keep your payment stable as your income rises over the years, essentially making your payment "cheaper". And you can always pay additional principal if you desire with your monthly payment.

    Stay away from creative financing, especially with 100% financing. It signals you may be buying more house than you can afford.

    Don't forget to figure in property tax and homeowners insurance.

    "Molon Labe"



  • << <i>Stay away from creative financing, especially with 100% financing. >>



    In all honesty, the loan we're looking at is a 100% loan at a 30 year fixed APR. My wife is a teacher and it is a special loan set up just for full time teachers in public or private schools. The APR is just a fraction above the FHA loan although the loan is still under the national average. It prevents us from paying a big down payment while at the same time dimishes closing costs which may help us get a better price.
  • storm888storm888 Posts: 11,701 ✭✭✭
    The advice to chat up a lawyer about any mortgage docs
    is good, since you have not had much experience dealing
    with the subject.

    If I recall, TN uses lawyers to close; and, they also use
    escrow companies to close. YOUR lawyer should look over
    all of the docs before you close, and he can attend the
    closing.

    To get an idea of how bad RE is in TN, try this google ST:

    tennessee real estate foreclosures news


    It is entirely possible that for the next 10-years, there
    will be little/no equity to be built in most residential
    RE. That makes it even more important that you STEAL
    the property; if you cannot find a property for less
    than 20% of 2005/06' retail price, don't buy it.

    The "equity" - in this market - has to be captured on the
    front-end of the deal.

    BUT, a house is not ONLY an investment. It is OK to
    pay a little more for something that REALLY appeals
    to you. Especially if you plan to be there for awhile.

    In THIS residential market:

    NEVER accept a loan with ANY prepayment penalty.

    NEVER accept an adjustable-rate mortgage.

    Look for a loan that can be easily assumed by a qualified
    third-party.

    NEVER agree to any kind of balloon payment.

    Interest-Only loans are the BEST, if you can get the
    same/lower rate you could get on an amortized loan.
    Take the money you would have spent on amortizing
    the loan and invest it in CDs or stocks. (There is NO
    point in paying-off something that will not increase
    in value rapidly. As I said, you MUST get your "equity"
    on the buy-end. Sort of like in cards, "You make your
    money when you buy, NOT when you sell;" in this market.)

    Countrywide (CFC) has $1+ billion in foreclosed property (REO)
    on their books. They are making GREAT deals on NICE
    properties. 25% off of 2005 retail is the WORST deal
    I have seen.

    Buy the worst house in the BEST neighborhood.

    If you use a real estate agent, retain one to represent
    YOU. The listing agent represents the seller, NOT you.
    There is no fee charged to you for a buyer's agent; they
    take half of the listing agent's cut.

    Cash is KING and it is about to be GOD. Just because
    your cash is borrowed, does NOT make it any less
    powerful.

    LOW OFFERS are the best offers.

    Read, study, and get legal advice BEFORE you act.

    After you win on your first deal, you will know how to
    do many more. Those deals are the source of all wealth.

    gl


    NOTE: The only reason I took the liberty of offering advice
    was because other posters were.


    image
    Folks Who Bite Get Bitten. Folks Who Don't Bite Get Eaten.
  • storm888storm888 Posts: 11,701 ✭✭✭
    The BofA (BAC) "teachers loans" are excellent.
    Zero down, 30-year fixed; as you described.

    Other lenders have good ones, too.,
    Folks Who Bite Get Bitten. Folks Who Don't Bite Get Eaten.
  • SidePocketSidePocket Posts: 2,901 ✭✭✭
    Sounds like a nice deal, especially if you're planning to stay there, and its a great time to buy. Best of luck and turn the house into a home!

    "Molon Labe"



  • << <i>The BofA (BAC) "teachers loans" are excellent.
    Zero down, 30-year fixed; as you described.

    Other lenders have good ones, too., >>



    Thanks for all of the help. That was some great information. I'll have to look at the retail notes on the home in 05/06. In defense of the seller, a lot of work has gone in the residence. The only area yet to be updated is the flooring. The deck will need to be rebuilt at some point as well but we'll worry about that later. For the amount of space and the small amount of work to be done it really looks like a great situation. It also looks like the seller is agressively looking to sell. Apparently they already have a new home and are ready to sell it.

    FWIW I do already have an agent representing me through the process that has been more than helpful.
  • I just closed on a new home w/ Bank of America. Everything went great, got a nice rate, and they picked up a lot of the closing costs. As the other poster said...make sure that you figure in the property tax. Mine adds over 1000 a month to my payment, so it can be a factor, if you do not account for it....good luck
  • yikes on the property tax increase.

    Our tentative payment does inlude the house payment (priniple/interest), home insurance, and the property taxes. I think the property taxes were not more than $65 per month. The current rate on the sheet is around 5.8 but I think we can get it lower. They said that we can buy the deduction in the rate but given the market I don't see the average going up.


  • << <i>yikes on the property tax increase.

    Our tentative payment does inlude the house payment (priniple/interest), home insurance, and the property taxes. I think the property taxes were not more than $65 per month. The current rate on the sheet is around 5.8 but I think we can get it lower. They said that we can buy the deduction in the rate but given the market I don't see the average going up. >>



    That is pretty good on the property tax. I happen to live in the worst state(NJ), when it comes to taxes. I hate NJ...lol
  • rube26105rube26105 Posts: 10,225 ✭✭
    NJ-the tollbooth capitol of the worldimage they sure like to put them up dont they,they are everywhere-like every 5 feetimage
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,873 ✭✭✭✭✭
    That is pretty good on the property tax. I happen to live in the worst state(NJ), when it comes to taxes. I hate NJ...lol

    Long Island must be a close second, then--I have a one-family 90x195 lot and I'm paying 7K!! LOL!


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • Today I received the Manning refractor and thought of this thread again. Beautiful card and great memories. While in college I went to the nearest card shop and the dealer had a new box. Low on funds, I had to buy one pack at a time in search of my first Manning rookie card. Within a few packs I hit the base Manning card. Later on I had to sell it so having the refractor in PSA 9 is nice. Coincidentally, the shop I got it from was where the Lt. of the Police Dept. set up a command post outside the shop after the damage to Union University last night.

    We're still in discussions in regards to the possibility of making a deal for a house happen. There has been a new offer on the table which would be nothing short of amazing. If it works out it would be a great blessing for our family. Hopefully I'll know something in the next week or two. Thanks again for all of the help!

  • Good Luck with the house! Hope all goes well,owning a home is great investment when done right.




    Lou
    Collecting Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell cards.
  • Buying a home, even in this market, is the smartest thing you can do. In the end it all breaks down to you can be paying someone rent, or paying yourself rent.

    Good luck,
    Mark
    Collecting PSA graded Steve Young, Marcus Allen, Bret Saberhagen and 1980s Topps Cards.
    Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
  • ripkenintheminorsripkenintheminors Posts: 2,186 ✭✭✭
    Long story short, we were not able to work out a deal. However, it appears that we were blessed through it all.

    Not long after we couldn't work out a deal, we started up talks about our current residence, where we live rent/utility free. It's been well taken care of and is a nice place to live. We could use more space, but we can get through that at this point in our lives. Either way, we love this town and owning a home could be the difference between staying or going elsewhere for more stability. Given the commitment a deal looks to have been reached. The price allows everyone to have a solid hope of stability. I'm really fortunate to work with/for people that truly have the best interest of my family at heart. I don't want to get too detailed in the specifics, but we're getting the house a little under 30% off the appraisal and the agreed price includes some pretty nice renovations. Again, we're fortunate and blessed.

    Now it's a matter of what deal works best for the family. Of course my biggest requirement of the banks is to present a 30 year fixed APR that does not include any penalty for advanced payments on the principle. I'm not ruling out the FHA loans, but considering that the agreement calls for me to pay 50% of the closing costs, I'm not sure that I like taking a lot of money out of the bank and not having that money for a "just in case". Of course the teacher loan is still on the table. Other options include a urban development (HUD) loan that doesn't require money up front as well as a different 100% loan with down payment assistance. Like the urban development loan it doesn't require any money on the table but the loan is a higher amount due to the fact that I'm not out the 3% + 50% of the closing costs while at the same time having a lower interest rate. Of course any opinions are welcomed as my head is spinning from all of the calls/offers throughout the day.
  • earlycalguyearlycalguy Posts: 1,247 ✭✭
    if you are tight for down payment/closing cost money you could do this....since you are getting the house for a fraction of the market value you are well over the 20% equity for not paying private mortgage insurance. you could get a second mortgage to cover the down payment and closing costs. get a 30 year fixed for the balance. you'd have 2 seperate payments - both tax deductible and you'd keep your money in the bank.

    a good way to go is to use lendingtree.com you could at least get quotes from them and then compare to a local bank. or if lending tree is providing better rates/fees ask a local bank to match the fees/rates from lending tree. I used them last year for a purchase and they were cheaper than the local companies.
  • kidzfundkidzfund Posts: 565 ✭✭✭
    I just went through training on FHA loans (I'm a loan officer in CA). FHA has an upfront 1.5% fee for their mortgage insurance and a monthly fee of .50% for a minimum of 5 years. Be sure to figure these in tor calculations.

    Joe
  • ripkenintheminorsripkenintheminors Posts: 2,186 ✭✭✭
    Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately it looks like the HUD loan isn't going to happen. The loan officer failed to ask the important question of our yearly income. After checking the tax forms for 2007 it looks like we're some $3,000 over the cap. Bummer in that it really looked like our best option on paper.
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