1. Housing near Chicago Surburbs are so beat up even now that it will most likely to go up. It is cheaper than Denver Metro area. Denver metro and surburb area housing price is much higher than 2006-7 now.
I would rather live in a huge 4500+ sq-ft house in Chicago burbs than 300sq-ft trailer home at Palo Alto CA for a same price.
2. BMW? You already bought it. Keep it, unless your debt/income needed to be leveraged.
3. BOLD HIGHLIGHT- DO NOT do that,
unless you guys are engaged. GF? you kidding? rent free. have her pay off the debt. no way.
I had friends' former gf bailed on them for richer guy after they paid off debt and saved enough cash.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3 Stripes
So I recently accomplished one of my life time goals - buying my brand new bmw  ! It's time to move on to the next big purchase - a place I can call home! I currently live in a 1 bedroom apartment and am paying 1k a month on rent :/ I feel like that money is definitely going to waste! My girlfriend and i have been talking about buying a property (house/condo/town house). I know little about this subject and thought this would be a good place to start!
I'm 24. Just bought my BMW 5 months ago. I have no money in the bank! (Have been spending what i have on car parts :/ Young and stupid hehe). I have two major loans - 25k left on my bmw and 40k left on my school loan. I have a pretty good credit score (780). My girlfriend (21 years old) has been living with me for over a year now. I don't need her to help me out financially at this point because i am letting her pay off some of her debts (she has horrible credit - got declined on her first credit cart application) since she just started her career as a massage therapist and finally reaping the rewards of hard work. She agreed to help out once we buy a home.... I'm living comfortable in a nice suburb outside of Chicago. For the amount of rent I'm paying - I'm better off paying another 200 dollars more a month and be living in my own home.
Ive received some good advice so far! I'm looking at foreclosed homes - but don't necessarily have to stick to that. My girlfriends grandmother can help us out in the buying process - she is real estate broker and has several properties. Ive also heard of first time home buyer grants, but i wouldn't know where to start!! HELP!!!!
Update:
I decided to pull the trigger on a fixer upper in July. You can get a better bang for your buck in the suburbs outside of chicago! 2,300 sf, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, unfinished basement. It came with new appliances, washer & dryer, new furnace, and new water heater. The buying process was a little stressful but easier than I thought. I didn’t really have any problems getting approved for a loan under my name even though I already had a lot of debt. The house was valued under market due to the condition of the house and came well below my budget of $200k. I gave a lower down payment in order to do some renovations. From August-September the house underwent some renovations. We decided to get laminate flooring, new carpet, new paint, and 18 new windows. We have paid under $20k for material and labor due to the fact that my uncle’s company did most of the contracting work (except for the windows). As it stands, I have gained a lot of equity in the home in a short amount of time. In the coming months I will be re-doing the family room and kitchen.
Check out the vid below!
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