Young, w/2 kids, military pay, no cash, not great credit

[Danielle Hinderliter]

But the good news is that we DO qualify for a 100% VA loan and we CAN afford a small house! :lol:

Dh and I are 22 yrs old and i have the real estate bug although i've never done anything with it. Yes i am scared. We have to small children and I don't want to hurt my family and/or make us homeless. We are in the process of buying our first home and wouldn't you know it....every house i LOVE is a fixer. Liveable usually but still a fixer. We don't plan to flip right away but wait 2 years since EVERYTHING 2 years from now will make us move.

Heres a quick info about a house I looked at today that i LOVE already (and can see the wonderful way it will look). We are in tucson so prices SUCK but at least its a "bad" market...for sellers!

1700 s.f. 3/1.5 1 carport HUGE lot. Formal dining, large living room, regular dining, large bedrooms. No landscaping, decent curb appeal as is.
$163k asking price....my realtor/friend called and asked if $150k is possible and got a "possible" answer so we looked.
Needs: carpet in all bedrooms and hall. formal dining needs flooring (although for our use i would use it as afamily room so i would use the same carpet). All new windows, install a/c (only has swamp cooler), dryer plug (weirdest thing in the laundry room it only has a normal outlet and no 3 prong dryer but has gas hookups). Extras that would make it even nicer: add a master bathroom suite, covered patio, 1-2 car garage depending on permits, minor landscaping, love :mrgreen:

Some renovation costs i would guess at $15k for carpet, a/c, dryer plug, windows. No idea on the addition, garage and covered patio.

Realtor said this home would easily be worth $200k w/small renovations in CURRENT market. If we held onto it for 2 years maybe $250K considering its in the DESIRABLE part of town.

Anyways I am just wondering what you would do in this situation as a first time homeowner, investor/flipper. I wonder if we would be better of getting a townhome that needs less renovations but only keeping it 6 months while we fix it up. I just hate moving!! :shock: