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Updated over 7 years ago on . Most recent reply
Where to start? looking for first house
Hi,
My girlfriend and I are looking for a house in the Akron/Cle Ohio area. We are completely new to the process besides some basic reading that I have done. Currently we each have about 5k in savings. I am a full time entrepreneur and can make about $500 a month in my free time. She goes to school for chemical engineering and will graduate next May. Anyway, instead of paying 500 a month each for an apartment we have decided to buy. We are not sure where we will live once she graduates but most likely in the same area due to family proximity and ease of finding a job. There is a small chance we could move far away. The number one concern is not losing money. We plan on renting out the house in a year or so but do not want to be held down by it. I am handy with tools and have done some minor remodeling so we are open to a minor fixer upper. Also, we plan on using a first time home owners mortgage with a cosign from my parents. Number one question is, is this a smart decision? Next, where to start? Reading material and advice more than appreciated! I would say that we would like to buy within the next 2 months, within a 30 mile proximity to Akron.
Thank you!!
Most Popular Reply
I don't know much about your area so the best start would be find a local real estate agent, talk to them about the area you want to invest in and do some research on the area where you want to buy, is there population growth, job growth etc... Once you figure that out then find out if you can get an FHA loan this will decrease the amount you need to put as down payment. If you do qualify or even if you don't and need a traditional loan you can look into house hacking I believe Brandon Turner talks a lot about it on BP. House hacking is basically getting a multi-family house where you live in one of the units and rent out the others. Since you're going to use the property to live in you can also try to look for HUD houses, if you're going to be an owner occupant you can get a decent price on the property.