It's gotta be Karma...

[MikeyTN]

I hate having roommates....they steal from me....Except my best friend whom never stole a single thing from me and treated me great. We're still friends til this day. It's VERY HARD to find anyone like that!!!! When I first moved in with my partner, there was another roommate living there. She had a 3 year old daughter living there too. First time she lost her job it's understandable and we helped her to get a job by talking to some friends of ours. I paid her part of the rent which was $500. She lost her job and humiliated us as we were the one who talk to the manager who we know to give her the job. Which I would NEVER do that again....She took my partner's car for a joyride and disappeared the day when rent was due. I went to homedepot the following day and changed the lock. My partner's car was impounded, we find out later on when the cops called us, it was more expensive then what the car was worth to get it back out so we give it to the pound. I let my partner drive my car to work as I was only 15min walking distance from my work. I did that for 2 years then I finally got me another car. I couldn't at that time because I used up all my money paying off my car and redid our place when we got rid of her. She got the place roach infested and it was disgusting....Then we bought our house and there were friends asking to move in, we both say no way! My partner's sister tries to stay, I say no way, which later prove me right to say no way. She's got issues....So sometimes it's better to live alone or with your partner. Someone else could cause you issues or even losing a friendship over it. Our house with utilities runs us around $1700 a month, tell her she's crazy trying to get something for $200.

 

[Amber]

I've also got some GREAT housemate horror stories, but I'll save you all

Is that $375 per month? If so, that is cheap! I pay $480 p/m (Aus) for a granny flat type place through uni (it is in someone's backyard, but we get along well, and it's not like we are sharing living quarters) and that includes my water and gas... Mind you though, everything but the hot water service is electric. Once I factor in electricity (which I am guilty of using a lot of!) that will be more. And I consider this place a pretty good deal, a whole duplex/house for under 100 per week would be fantastic!

Last place of mine, well I'm not entirely innocent in the drama that happened, but it was hell. Four people jammed into a tiny 2 bedroom place (NOT by my choice. Originally it was just the two of us, then the three, then they invited a FOURTH). Communication was a huge issue, but it just snowballed into a terrible situation. Never again will I live with people besides a very select few friends again unless it is 100% unavoidable.

 

[Helitorian]

I kinda started thinking about buying my own house. I found a beautiful old victorian with 3 beds and 2 baths for $49,900. I figure I could pay the mortgage, taxes, and garbage leaving electric, water, and cable to her. She's the one who wants cable anyway and I could care less about it. It would cost her more than $200 but with 3 bedrooms, I could always get another friend to rent as well. This is all just a lovely dream by the way lol I wish I could get a house...

Yeah it's $375 a month with all utilities. It's an amazing deal really but no...can't do it unless I pick up the rest of her rent.

 

[Safira]

Now is the PERFECT time to buy a house. Mortgage rates are at record, record lows.

Look into first-time home buyer programs in your state/city. Several states have programs where the first-time home buyer needs NO money down, or they offer 5,000-10,000 to help with down payment and closing cost.

If you think that's the area you are going to live in for the next few years, go for it.

I just purchased my first home a year ago, I didn't pay a dime for a downpayment, or closing cost. However be aware that home-inspections, and other inspections can run from 100-400 dollers.

 

[roxynoodle]

Now is the best time in history to buy a house. I bought mine when I was 24. With an old house though, take a serious look at the heat bill. Based on the price of it I'm guessing the windows, doors and insulation (if there is any) are old. I paid $57k for mine back in the day. Old houses have a lot of windows and they are all huge. I spent more than $20k replacing them. I've been working on this house for 18.5 years, lol, because it's expensive even doing it myself. But, I'm proud of everything I've done, and if I had to do it all over, I'm sure I would. Old houses are very overbuilt compared to new ones. It means they will still be standing for a long time. They also have a lot of charm, and usually beautiful wood work that you would never be able to afford with a new house.

However with the housing market as bad as it is, you may not be able to turn it over quickly to a new buyer if you need to relocate. The economy wasn't good in 1990 either when I graduated from college and I ended up moving all over the state my first 3 years as a young teacher before I settled here and didn't get laid off. So that's a consideration for you right now not necessarily knowing where you will find a job (and keep the job).

You also need to be prepared that you will be responsible whenever something goes wrong. When the fridge dies, you need to buy a new one. When the hot water heater blows up all over the basement, you will need to clean it up and buy a new one (gee, didn't that just happen to me? lol!). When your lawn mower gets old and the engine blows up, you will need to buy another one, etc.

 

[Helitorian]

319 Main Leigh, NE 68643 - Real Estate | CENTURY 21

This is the house I'm looking at. I adore old woodwork and I understand that everything falls on me when it comes to replacing and fixing. There are several well paying jobs available in my hometown (we have an unbelievably low rate of unemployment) and I can get a job that's $18.75 starting but it would be a night shift so not much time with my bird but it would definitely pay for the house. I'd just have to drive about half an hour to get to my job since this house is in a small town nearby.

Course if I got that house, I'd have to get a new vehicle. Driving a Mustang in Nebraska isn't the smartest thing to do. I found that out this morning at 6 when I went to start my car and found a foot of snow on the ground and more coming. Needless to say, I didn't go to work lol

But I can just see that living room turned into a sitting room/bird room Cages and tanks and cats oh my! xD

 

[roxynoodle]

It looks a lot like mine, lol! How old are the windows? It does have a lot of them, all large and all will need to be custom made. At least it has gas heat and city water and sewer. The taxes are cheap, too. It looks in pretty good shape though. Mine was definitely ugly when I bought it.

Find out what their heat and electric bills run, and see if you think that's doable for you. The mortgage company will put the taxes and insurance into your mortgage so you pay a bit each month instead of all at once.

Yeah, Mustang in Nebraska is probably not easy, lol! I used to have one, and often couldn't drive it in the winter. But, for me it was a second car.

 

[Safira]

Very pretty. I love the staircase. Houses like that in my area would be soooo expensive.

 

[Helitorian]

I called the realtor company about the house and a realtor said the windows must be original (it wasn't the realtor selling the house). The house has been on the market for about 4 months. If I go to look at this house, I will be taking my dad along. He knows his way around building and carpentry and will be a huge help on whether I should do this. I'm kind of excited yet scared at the same time. This is a huge step for me since I'm so young. I'm not even 22 yet and I'm already a "mom" and looking to be a homeowner lol oh boy...

 

[roxynoodle]

I thought they might be original as well. If so they may even be single pane. I can tell you right now they will let in a lot of cold in the winter and a lot of heat in the summer. My house had gotten new windows around 1950 and they were at least double pane. But the downstairs ones were super drafty and I replaced them pretty quickly. The upstairs ones weren't so drafty, but they were kind of dangerous. One time I went to close one and the top part came down hard and trapped all 4 of my fingers between them. It took me a good half hour to get out, and I was starting to think I never would! 2 of my fingers were broken. As soon as I had the money, they got replaced as well.

 

[Safira]

It's a great feeling knowing you own your own home. It took me a few months to realize that it was mine and I could do anything I wanted to it (though I had to remember eventually I plan on selling it, and upgrading to one with more land.)

Defiantly weigh the pro's and cons, and the cost of owning vs renting.. include the repairs and upgrades you'll need to make. But go look, looking at houses can be fun.

 

[Helitorian]

It's a great feeling knowing you own your own home. It took me a few months to realize that it was mine and I could do anything I wanted to it (though I had to remember eventually I plan on selling it, and upgrading to one with more land.)

Defiantly weigh the pro's and cons, and the cost of owning vs renting.. include the repairs and upgrades you'll need to make. But go look, looking at houses can be fun.

I'm guessing owning your first home is like how I felt when I got my first car. I'd go stare at it and smile at least 10 times a day! I would be so proud if I could own my own home. I feel that I am stable enough and my credit is pretty good. I just have to pay off my car and school loans ($8,500 combined) and get a good job then see what happens. I doubt I'll get that house I want but something else might come along. The best part is no one can tell me no about getting another bird! That's what started all of this xD

 

[MikeyTN]

All I can say is WOW! That house is soooooooo cheap!!!!! I would buy it in a heartbeat and fix it up myself. Except we spent way more then that for our house and I'm still sticking money into it fixing it up.

 

[Amber]

That is a lovely place! You can make good money renovating a place like that too when you sell! My parents bought a similar style property for around the 50 grand mark when we were kids. Renovations and some hard work, and when they went to sell 9/10 years later (we needed a bigger place, three kids, a dog, a cat, guineapigs, chickens, the list goes on! Was a bit cramped!) they sold it for over $220,000 . Of course they bought at a time like this and sold at a very good time for selling, but once we factored in the cost of renos, they still made a good $100,000+

 

[Helitorian]

I don't think I'd ever sell it unless an old farm house and some land came up for sale. I prefer old houses with some personality to those cookie cutter boxes that spring up around golf courses and in Suburbia. I mentioned it to my best friend last night and she didn't object to living in my house. I doubt she gave any thought to the fact it'd be my rules and she's paying ME the rent and that she can't tell me no more birds! Mwahahaha! I'm glad you guys like it though

 

[usamimi]

Shame the landlord doesn't like outdoor dogs.

 

[Helitorian]

Shame the landlord doesn't like outdoor dogs.

The landlord actually prefers dogs that potty outside then come and sleep on her feet under her desk

 

[roxynoodle]

Even if you aren't sure about buying yet, go look at it anyway to get ideas. I looked at a lot of crappy houses when I started my search, and then when I saw this one, I knew it was what I wanted. I really liked the lot and the way the house was laid out.

And that house doesn't need a lot of work, except maybe windows. And city gas is cheaper than propane or fuel oil like you would have in the country. And city water and sewer are nicer than a well and septic tank.

 

[Helitorian]

I've got 3 days off this week (unfortunately...) and I'm going to talk to my dad and see if we can go out and look at it. I want to check how big the yard is (for an aviary maybe) and see if there is a basement. And of course while I'm town I'm going to put some applications in. The sooner I can get 40+ hrs a week the better!

Thanks for all your help and advice everyone!

 

[Helitorian]

AWESOME NEWS!!!!

I've been guaranteed the job I'm looking at and offered up to 30 hours overtime a week if I want them! In the space of 7 hours, everything fell together perfectly Now I just gotta start saving for a house!