05-30-2006, 03:35 AM
After way too many years of renting, my wife and I are seriously considering buying a home of our own. We've always intended on owning our own place, but it always seemed like we had an excuse not to make the risky jump. We finally both have decent job security, and our outstanding debt is less significant now that our student loans are both pretty much paid off. I think we're ready to go ahead and do it, but applying for a mortage is a scary process when you are looking being six figures in debt for the next few decades.
I should mention that I live in Canada, so please don't confuse me with advice only applicable to *insert country that is not Canada here*:huh:General advice would be great.
The actual price of the home doesn't scare me as much as the other costs that can pop up. I'm thinking about things like lawyer's fees, property taxes, property surveys, home inspection fees, and so on. My mom was a life-long real estate agent and she used to talk about stuff that goes along with every real estate purchase which always went way over my head. I have never fully understood the world of finance, which is why I married a banker and let her handle all of the bills.
Speaking of which, since my wife works for a bank, she tells me that if we apply for a mortage through her bank we get a 1.5% discount on the mortage rate. I was playing around with some online mortgage calculators, and THIS IS HUGE!
We're not looking for anything flashy or big. We've been renting a pretty nice 2 bedroom apartment for quite a few years now, but we would dearly love to move to something with some more space and a reason for me to buy and operate a lawn mower.
I should mention that I live in Canada, so please don't confuse me with advice only applicable to *insert country that is not Canada here*:huh:General advice would be great.
The actual price of the home doesn't scare me as much as the other costs that can pop up. I'm thinking about things like lawyer's fees, property taxes, property surveys, home inspection fees, and so on. My mom was a life-long real estate agent and she used to talk about stuff that goes along with every real estate purchase which always went way over my head. I have never fully understood the world of finance, which is why I married a banker and let her handle all of the bills.
Speaking of which, since my wife works for a bank, she tells me that if we apply for a mortage through her bank we get a 1.5% discount on the mortage rate. I was playing around with some online mortgage calculators, and THIS IS HUGE!
We're not looking for anything flashy or big. We've been renting a pretty nice 2 bedroom apartment for quite a few years now, but we would dearly love to move to something with some more space and a reason for me to buy and operate a lawn mower.