Looking to build or buy a home!

[NERDNDORK]

Hi folks! Myself (dork) and my Fiance (Nerd), are coming up on one of the most important decisions in our lives. Obtaining Our first home! We aren't sure what We'd like to do though. As of right now, there is a program in our State which is led by HUD. It's called the Self Help Program. If you are approoved, you get to build a house through them after they set down with you and decide how much house you can afford and what you are comfortable paying for the size of house you NEED, not WANT. Then, you give a few hours to building the house like picking up trash, painting, hanging sheetrock etc. One setback to that is, you dont have but usually an acre, you live in a neighborhood, and with the low income housing divisions, sometimes can also bring trouble such as drugs, gangs and other violence. We are on that list and should hear something by October which will be the end of the one year waiting period. On the other hand, We'd also like to purchase an older home on a couple of acres or more so we can have a garden and fix up the house a little bit and then flip it if We'd like. I dont want to go over the amount that We can afford to pay and don't know ANYTHING, about what all this adventure is going to entail. We want this to be one of the most enjoyable adventures in Our young relationship and lives, not ONE GIANT HEADACHE. If this information helps, I'm a U.S. Marine Veteran who has been honorably discharged.


Any tips and advice on how this can go as smoothly as possible and all the steps involved would be so greatly appreciated! Thank you all so much and thank you Bob for creating such a wonderful website! God Bless you all

[4jacks]

Hi, Welcome to the forums, congrats on your engagement and getting ready to purchase a house.

Wow I can't believe the low income properties in your area get one acre! Maybe it's a Arkansas thing. One acre where i'm from will set you back up to $500k. We work with habitat for humanity and such and they generally build little ranchers on lots less than a tenth of an acre.

Anyway. I really can't imagine having too much Gang Violence on One Acre in Arkansas. I could be completely wrong. My advice would be don't move your wife into the ghetto. My first house was a cheap one in the boon docks with the rednecks which we felt was a lot safer than what we could afford in the ghetto neighborhoods.

Second Advice is to not buy a fixer-uper unless you are a pretty handy at general repairs and willing to take on some heavy projects. Our first house was a fixer upper and we put a lot into it. It helped that we both worked at the Home Depot, but after all the repairs and renovations, we have sworn that our next house will not be a fixer upper, we just don't want to do that again.

If you can't really find anything in your budget that works, it's honestly not a bad to time to sit and wait. The housing market is falling, which is a good time to wait.

[Channing]

Hell everyone.......,
I have both of these things money and property and now I am thinking about my home that I should have to make it my own land ins beneficial or to buy a new home. Please generate some ideas or comments for me.

[BananaRama48]

It depends, if you don't like where your current properties are then it would be in your best interest to find somewhere you would like to stay if you have the money to afford it then it should not be a problem. Honestly the decision is yours, I don't have either of those things so I would probably not be the best person to give you advice on it.

(Get out of my kitchen 4jacks, I just bought those cookies.)