#PersonalFinance #HomeBuying #Townhouse #Budgeting #RealEstate
Hey everyone! 🏡💸 So, I stumbled upon this $400,000 townhouse in a prime location near downtown. As much as I love the area, I’m a bit uncertain if I can really afford it on my $100,000 salary with no debts or dependents. Here are some key points to help me decide:
– House needs a new roof, furnace, asbestos removal, and renovations
– Monthly expenses leave me with $900 leftover after all necessities
– I can put down $50,000 and still have $15,000 in savings
Do you think it’s a good idea for me to take the plunge and invest in this townhouse, or should I pass and keep looking for something more within my budget? Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated! 🤔💭
Personally, I’m leaning towards passing on this one and continuing my search for a more affordable option to ensure financial stability in the long run. What do you guys think? Let’s discuss! 👍🗣️
Yes you can, but you absolutely need to stick to your budget
You clearly have higher-than-normal debt, below average income, and buying a house that’s disproportionally higher than the market average. You should totally buy this house.
Yes. With quite a bit of breathing room.
? Trying to understand how you bring home 4800 per month on 100k salary, should be around 5500 or more depending the province. I m about 6000 in ontario with same salary
Absolutely. I have a $450k home on $88k with a dependent and car payment.
yes..
Asbestos does not have to be removed if its in good shape. If its crumbling, then have it professionally removed.
Yes.
Next.
Yes though I would consider getting a loc for the roof and getting a roommate initially to pay it off.
I’m less optimistic than others. How are you paying for the new roof/furnace, let alone the other updates. Even if you do the work, the materials cost money and $900 month isn’t much to cover all that plus any unexpected life stuff or other “wants” (travel, electronic repayment etc).
My only caution is it sounds like this house is a money pit with all the renovations it needs. Just make sure you have adequate budget for these things. A new furnace can be up to 8K, new roof, up to 15K, probably.
If you’re doing renos yourself, it’ll be cheaper, obviously. But if you aren’t: a full basement reno, size dependent obviously, will probably be between 25-50K. A bathroom renovation is about 15K and a kitchen would be about 25K. I’d say you could probably third or half the budget if you do it yourself.
don’t stretch yourself too thin, always leave a margin for unexpected expenses, more interest rate hikes.
Above all – buy a home with someone and split the mortgage (spouse, friend, family)
Be mindful that a roof, furnace and asbestos abatement could easily add $50k+ to the purchase cost of this property. Call around, get some quotes.
Unfortunately, no. Unless you cut down on almost everything discretionary. You will be house poor with these interest rates.
Is it possible you can ask whoever is selling it to do the roof and furnance before they sell and you add the amount onto the asking price? I have seen it happen before. We had the people we bought from redo all the windows before we bought as they were OG wooden ones.
You can but roof may cost you $20K (I think it should be less than $10K for a townhouse), furnace would be about $6k, and asbestos could be $10K to $100K.
Where is the asbestos? It really depends on how badly it has asbestos.
Then you have to close the area you removed the asbestos from – so drywall, painting and maybe tiles… depending on the location.
I don’t think you accounted for cost of the reno’s. I mean even if you do them all yourself you have to pay for materials. Are you confident that you can do the kitchen and basement without labor costs? Seems like a big job. Removing the asbestos will be a huge cost. Yes you can leave it but honestly I wouldn’t feel comfortable with asbestos in the house even though I realize it is not a risk to my health. But that’s just me. I would pass. I would rather rent and have a car. Again my opinion for what it’s worth. It may be perfect for you.
How secure is your job? $15k leftover is not that much when the place needs all this work. You should absolutely keep an emergency fund as a homeowner, and $15k is pretty small for that.
So you should consider yourself having no money for any of the repairs, essentially.
Quick napkin math says yes and you can pay it off in 4 years….
If a similar house that had a lot of upgrades was $100,000 more and this one not only does not have the upgrades but needs significant renovations do you still think it is worth the 400k$. That is a separate and equally as important question other than just whether or not you can afford it.
Get a thorough home inspection. Probably good to have more than one. That sounds like a money pit.
Dude. First home purchase will always be risky and scary. Do it if the price is right and you can barely afford it and figure it out later if an issue.
If troubled you have options such as getting a better paying job or renting rooms.
Do you want to be a slave to your mortgage? That’s the big question here.