Agent called and I got a response from the bank, they have provided a counter-offer to my revised offer. They want $80k with the rest staying the same basically, which is good news. It's still well within my price range, and HOLY SHIT! I just ran those numbers through a mortgage calculator at Bankrate.com and my monthly mortgage payment would be less than $400.
So yeah, back to what I was saying, I agreed to the changes. Only problem is, they want $1,500 in earnest, and I am only prepared to pay $1,000. Luckily, I have moved some money around and I should hopefully be able to get the extra $500 to them quickly enough to make it work.
I'm really excite about this, but at the same time I'm still really nervous and anxious. I'm still not going to pin my hopes on this, but I can't help but think everything is going to go my way. Moving and such may not quite fit the timing I was planning on, but I will definitely be able to work around it.
Showing posts with label bankrate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bankrate. Show all posts
Friday, March 16, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Save it or spend it?
So, after my earlier post, I had a thought about all the money I have set aside for retirement; I might actually be able to take some money out of my 401(k) for the down payment on a house. It really does sound like a good idea, would allow me to buy a better house, without paying a whole lot more per month. So, before I even looked into the requirements and hurdles I'd have to jump through to get the money, I decided instead to look at the impact doing that would have on my retirement.
I popped on over to Bankrate.com's calculators and checked out the difference between how much I'd have saved for retirement if I started with what I have, or $10,000 less (for the down payment). Obviously, all the numbers are fudged a bit, I have no idea how much any of it will be worth, but with the numbers that were already filled in, by having $10,000 less in my retirement account I would end up with over $100,000 less when I retire.
If I adjust the annual rate of return down, it makes an even bigger impact in the percentage of money I lose over time. At half the return rate, it eats away almost half the money I have saved. Now, none of these calculations take into account any ongoing savings, because those numbers won't change one way or another based on this choice.
So, is it worth taking $10,000 out of my 401(k) for the down payment on a house? No, not at all. Putting that extra amount of money down on a house would save me just around $20,000. But keeping it in my retirement account will net me a lot more than that.
I popped on over to Bankrate.com's calculators and checked out the difference between how much I'd have saved for retirement if I started with what I have, or $10,000 less (for the down payment). Obviously, all the numbers are fudged a bit, I have no idea how much any of it will be worth, but with the numbers that were already filled in, by having $10,000 less in my retirement account I would end up with over $100,000 less when I retire.
If I adjust the annual rate of return down, it makes an even bigger impact in the percentage of money I lose over time. At half the return rate, it eats away almost half the money I have saved. Now, none of these calculations take into account any ongoing savings, because those numbers won't change one way or another based on this choice.
So, is it worth taking $10,000 out of my 401(k) for the down payment on a house? No, not at all. Putting that extra amount of money down on a house would save me just around $20,000. But keeping it in my retirement account will net me a lot more than that.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Bankrate Review
Bankrate.com is THE site to use for all of your loan questions. The site is chock full of information about current loan rates and trends as well as numerous calculators to help you determine what you can afford, or how you can save money. Thanks to this site, I have a decent understanding of the mortgage process, as well as how much house I can afford and how much it will cost me. Using their calculators, I've determined that I could easily buy a better house than I thought I could afford for less than I'm paying in rent now, and still pay it off nearly a decade before the loan is due.
Even with all the information, they also give you access to an untold amount of lenders who are eager to help prospective customers. Once I've gotten my tax return, and am ready to start the pre-approval process for my mortgage, Bankrate will be one of the sites I start with.
Even with all the information, they also give you access to an untold amount of lenders who are eager to help prospective customers. Once I've gotten my tax return, and am ready to start the pre-approval process for my mortgage, Bankrate will be one of the sites I start with.
The Beginning
Hello, my name is Loren and I'm starting a new financial blog. Currently, I'm just beginning the process of buying a house. I'm at the very beginning stages, and I'm going to try to be as transparent about this process as I can. I'll also be going over other financial related stuff on this blog, along with helpful links and tips I come across.
I'll begin with an explanation of where I am as of now. I have not begun more than just trying to get my ducks in a row. I ran a credit report on all three bureaus just over a year ago, and all of them came back with good stuff. I did have one negative thing on a single report from a residence over 5 years ago. It is a debt that went to collections on cleanup costs for an apartment. I won't bore you with the details of why I owe the money or why I didn't pay (Unless you want to hear about it), but since then I've had nothing but on-time payments. I've increased my overall credit since the report was run, and I've kept my debt-to-credit ratio at a decent level.
Currently I am paying around $800 in rent to my parents, which is basically paying their mortgage payment on the house I'm living in. I did some research at BankRate.com and determined that I could hope for a rate around 4% and with that I could easily afford a $100,000 home with a 30 year mortgage.
I've also been watching my credit score using CreditSesame.com. The site will keep your credit score up to date, and it uses the same 300-850 scoring as the real FICO scoring system does, but I don't think what they give you is a true FICO score. Currently my score is 772, which has earned me their Excellent Credit Badge.
I'll begin with an explanation of where I am as of now. I have not begun more than just trying to get my ducks in a row. I ran a credit report on all three bureaus just over a year ago, and all of them came back with good stuff. I did have one negative thing on a single report from a residence over 5 years ago. It is a debt that went to collections on cleanup costs for an apartment. I won't bore you with the details of why I owe the money or why I didn't pay (Unless you want to hear about it), but since then I've had nothing but on-time payments. I've increased my overall credit since the report was run, and I've kept my debt-to-credit ratio at a decent level.
Currently I am paying around $800 in rent to my parents, which is basically paying their mortgage payment on the house I'm living in. I did some research at BankRate.com and determined that I could hope for a rate around 4% and with that I could easily afford a $100,000 home with a 30 year mortgage.
I've also been watching my credit score using CreditSesame.com. The site will keep your credit score up to date, and it uses the same 300-850 scoring as the real FICO scoring system does, but I don't think what they give you is a true FICO score. Currently my score is 772, which has earned me their Excellent Credit Badge.
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