Buying/renting after the wedding

We rented together for a year and a half before buying a house. That helped us understand what we really needed vs wanted in a home. For example, we knew we would want 3 bedrooms and a fenced yard for our dog, an updated kitchen was nice but not a deal breaker, and I needed a straight shot to the highway because I have a longer commute than FH. We also learned what our expenses are each month and while we could have been pre approved for 3x what we ended up with, we limited our search to what we could afford without going "house poor", and that took a lot of stress off of us.

View Quoted Comment Ideally most of those issues would be identified during the home inspection, though sometimes they do get missed. Also, make sure there's a clause in your P&S agreement that if the house does not appraise for equal to or more than the agreed upon sale price that the buyers can walk away with their deposit - we didn't have that but luckily the other real estate agent didn't know about that and we were able to convince the seller to bring the price down. Otherwise we would have been stuck paying the difference out of pocket rather than building it into our mortgage.

View Quoted Comment I know, right!? I think they are awesome. You should take him to see one so he can witness how amazing (and surprisingly big) they are!

We are currently renting and will probably rent for an additional year after we get married. FH is on track to be promoted soon and this could mean that we have to move to a different state or that we stay where we currently are. So until that promotion happens, we will be renting. Plus most of our extra cash right now is going towards the wedding so we want some time for us to save up so our first home can be a blessing and not a curse.

FH and I are buying my parents home from them. They want to downsize but they want to keep the home in the family. I work in rentals and real estate and there are pros and cons to both - I think it depends on the area you're living/finances and personal preference.

I personally don't like renting for similar reasons that have already been expressed. (your money isn't making money, you're at the will of the landlord, less control in your space)

However renting is not bad. I have a great deal of longtime home buyers come to me wanting a rental community because you don't have to worry about repairs, landscaping, taxes, ect. Depending on the market or location renting can be MUCH more cost effective as well.

If you want to buy a home but want to rent to save first I just recommend knowing what the plan is before you pick an apartment, have a savings deadline, do not choose a community gearing up for renovations (you'll get in for a year then they'll hike your rent to push you out so they can reno), ask if there are any lease break fees up front, and maintain/improve your credit. Oh! and take a 1st time home buyers class and consult with a broker. If you find the right one they are SO helpful.

hope the rambling helps!

Were going to rent for a few more years, work on our credit, and then try to buy a home. You can never have too much money saved either so we're just focusing on that.

FH and I bought our house last March, got engaged in May and immediately started wedding planning. Buying the house was EXTREMELY stressful. And we were starting off in a starter 3 bedroom 2 bath house with plans to move or build in 5 years.

Financially, we just couldn't move a lot of money around for the banks but we actually didn't spend a penny of our own money. We got very lucky with the loan we got and the Florida bond, so even though we paid an escrow and paid for the inspection and everything we got a check back at closing for everything. This was a stressful few months trying to get things together, sending documents and documents and documents to the mortgage people, trying to make sure our credit was perfect, house hunting, not spending too much money at once, etc. After the stress of wedding planning I'm looking forward to relaxing, I wouldn't personally want to immediately house hunt.

My best advice is to make sure all of your ducks are in a row financially, then go from there. Personally now that I own, I think renting is the BIGGEST waste of money but I suggest speaking with a loan officer and going from there.

Definitely speak with a private mortgage broker DO NOT GO TO THE BANK. And never NEVER spend as much as you can afford. You never want to be house poor. Good luck.

View Quoted Comment Oh yes definitely live below your means. I recently graduated and am planning to get a “big girl” job this summer with a substantial pay increase. Plan to keep living according to the salary I make now. Especially since I have a lot of student loan debt.

View Quoted Comment My parents have been trying to sell us their home too, but it is just too big for us and not neccessarily where we want to be! I never heard of a first time home buyers class but I am definitely going to look into that!

We're currently looking at houses to buy. We don't live together. Our wedding date is May 5 so we're busy searching. It just makes sense to us to buy.

The best thing to do is go get pre-approved and see what you can afford.

View Quoted Comment I feel you! I was so lucky to have my parents pay for my Bachelors, and I paid out of pocket for my Masters. Unfortunately my FH still has student loans which makes it hard to start life off positive!

I am planning on buying a house within the first year and a half or so. I wish I could buy right now, but I am graduating college two months before we get married, and I do not know where I will be working or where we want to live yet, so we have decided to wait.

Until then, we plan on just continuing to live in our apartment which will only cost us 9% of our monthly income after I graduate so we will be able to save a lot.

In addition, we really want to try and save 20% down so we do not have to pay for mortgage insurance so we just need a little bit longer to save for that since we have gone a little bit over budget on the wedding thus far.

We are getting married in April and plan on signing a one year lease with an apartment. With wedding planning and being newlyweds we didnt want the stress of a home. But we are planning on seriously looking towards end of 2018 or beginning of 2019. He also is working a part-time job to help pay off some of his debt and depending on how wedding things end up I may also get a part-time seasonal summer or Christmas job this year so we can go into finding a home with as little "unnecessary" debt as possible.

We will be renting for a couple of years. we are both pretty young and still trying to get things together. I will also be relocating, so I won't have a job right away,