Buying a house

[LT72884]

Ok guys. Im not buying one yet because i dont even own my own car yet and im not married BUT hopefully in the next 1.5 years i will be in the market for a house. I have decided that where i live (draper utah), there is no possible way to afford it and i seriously dont know how people can afford living in my town.

Right now 85% are over 1.2 million dollars. the average is 2 million. If i go farther west the homes are an average of 1 million and some are 6-7 hundred thousand. Park City is totally not an option. I can go South but then there is nothing there and i mean nothing. I just find it so discouraging when i see a normal house go for like 700,000$

Is any one else's area like this. it just seems way over priced. ill post some pics of what i mean.

these are pics of my cousins neighbors house. the sad thing is, all the houses are like this. they think they live on a gold mine here in utah.

http://www.devahomes.com/pics/IMG_1089.jpg
http://www.devahomes.com/pics/IMG_1107.jpg
http://www.devahomes.com/pics/IMG_1104.jpg

ok those above pics are the kitchen and what not. those are the like way uber homes that are way out of my league. the area is called sun crest because its on top of a mountain. they have snow in the summer sometimes because they are so high. form my house to there takes me about 20 minutes, same zip code to. its an ant hill.

the bellow pics are the normal everyday house out here but they still want 700,000 to over 1 mill for. and they are west of me.

http://www.monarch-interiors.com/images/IMGP3384-A.jpg
http://oldsite.helpusell.com/images/properties/117797119.jpg

here is the thing that bugs me. my house right now is only 3 bedrooms and 1 bath. the house was built in 1940 and is only 1100 sq feet and they want over 310,000$ for it. thats ridiculous. I live in the old school part of Draper. the once so called "farm" land. we used to raise chickens and all that good stuff out here. now its all homes. i dont mind that its all houses but the price they are charging is ridiculous Im just wondering how people my age or anyone for that matter can afford living. I think its way to overrated, out here that is. I probably would think defernetly if i was older and had a carer. but since im a noob at all this, its crazy what people my age trying to start a life are going to go through to get it. Not just here in Utah but all over. Oh and on top of housing, rising gas prices and food prices.

I just hope that by the time i need to buy a house (which i hope is in a couple of years or so) that the market is a lil better.

 

[Jeekinz]

That's pretty expensive for a "fly over state"

 

[David Cottrell]

Ok LT, what would be your price range, considering affordable monthly payment, realestate taxes if any and home owners insurance?

 

[LT72884]

That's pretty expensive for a "fly over state"

BINGO. i mean i love this place because of snow and summer but not for the price.

 

[LT72884]

Ok LT, what would be your price range, considering affordable monthly payment, realestate taxes if any and home owners insurance?

ok to ME and this is just me because i have no exp in the home market, but to me a affordable home would be something like

300,000$ for at least 5 bedrooms and 2 baths. Modest and well taken care of. Nice living room and kitchen. Monthly payment i have no idea.. lol. i would go possibly with nation wide for insurance but i dont know how much that is.

 

[Jeekinz]

BINGO. i mean i love this place because of snow and summer but not for the price.

An item is only worth what someone will pay for it.

Never look at the asking price. Call a realtor and have them fax/email/mail you "Comps" - comparable houses that sold. These will show you what the seller listed the home at and what price the two parties agreed on. That will be the true market value.

Good luck! Owning a home is awesome. I can do whatever the ________ I want. Plus, real estate values always go up.

 

[NAchef]

Why do you want to stay in Draper? Do you work out there?

I know out where I am the prices are a little different but I can get a 5 acre lot 3k - 4k sq. ft. for 300k - 400k depending on builder.

 

[NAchef]

ok to ME and this is just me because i have no exp in the home market, but to me a affordable home would be something like

300,000$ for at least 5 bedrooms and 2 baths. Modest and well taken care of. Nice living room and kitchen. Monthly payment i have no idea.. lol. i would go possibly with nation wide for insurance but i dont know how much that is.

Here is one in your price range, I used to live down the street from this house. If you are familiar with Dan the Maytag man, this was his house, he had the addition done. Utah Real Estate - Your One Stop Source for Searching Real Estate in Utah

 

[LT72884]

An item is only worth what someone will pay for it.

Never look at the asking price. Call a realtor and have them fax/email/mail you "Comps" - comparable houses that sold. These will show you what the seller listed the home at and what price the two parties agreed on.

Good luck! Owning a home is awesome. I can do whatever the ________ I want.

hmm thats a good idea. i know with my friends house that was 2100 sq feet they asked 500,000$ and got 479,000$. so they did pretty well but thats alot of money for a 2100 sq foot home with 4 bedrooms and 2 baths

 

[LT72884]

Here is one in your price range, I used to live down the street from this house. If you are familiar with Dan the Maytag man, this was his house, he had the addition done. Utah Real Estate - Your One Stop Source for Searching Real Estate in Utah

sweet NAChef i was hoping i would catch you on this subject. maybe im lookin in the wrong places but Draper sucks. ok sucks as in price. Heriman is getting just as bad. Have you been out there lately. its amazing how many live out there now. That house in salt lake aint to bad. I would paint it a different color though. What about Murry OR i could move outside of Utah but then i cant snowboard. lol.

 

[NAchef]

I live in Stansbury Park now but have a house in Taylorsville that I bought about 9 years ago. 5 bed, 2.5 bath, 2100 sq ft and paid $100k for it I rent it out now, but I would head elsewhere.

Where do you work? This may help with a shorter commute. Also check out that utah realestate site, you can narrow your search down quit a bit.

 

[jabbur]

You also need to look at the lot size. Do the houses come on a large plot of land? I know here in VA home values have skyrocketed. My home is 2400 sq ft on a 1/4 acre lot. My sister's home is 1800 sq ft on a 2 acre lot and her home is priced about $100,000 more because of the land she has with it. If you want to know how much of a house you can afford, DO NOT TALK WITH A RELATOR! Go to a financial advisor who has real estate experience. Most relators will steer you to the most expensive house that you feel you can afford. Finacial people will look at all your assests and give you a better plan for affording a home and still be able to live in it and plan for retirement, kids college etc. They can also help you plan now for the eventual home purchase in several years so that when the time is right you will be ready with the money.

 

[LT72884]

You also need to look at the lot size. Do the houses come on a large plot of land? I know here in VA home values have skyrocketed. My home is 2400 sq ft on a 1/4 acre lot. My sister's home is 1800 sq ft on a 2 acre lot and her home is priced about $100,000 more because of the land she has with it. If you want to know how much of a house you can afford, DO NOT TALK WITH A RELATOR! Go to a financial advisor who has real estate experience. Most relators will steer you to the most expensive house that you feel you can afford. Finacial people will look at all your assests and give you a better plan for affording a home and still be able to live in it and plan for retirement, kids college etc. They can also help you plan now for the eventual home purchase in several years so that when the time is right you will be ready with the money.

my house right now is on 1/10th of an acre. Most houses here in my area are on 1/4 lot. yeah bigger lots means more money.

 

[jkath]

If you want to know how much of a house you can afford, DO NOT TALK WITH A RELATOR! Go to a financial advisor who has real estate experience. Most relators will steer you to the most expensive house that you feel you can afford. Finacial people will look at all your assests and give you a better plan for affording a home and still be able to live in it and plan for retirement, kids college etc. They can also help you plan now for the eventual home purchase in several years so that when the time is right you will be ready with the money.

That's probably the BEST advice you could get!!!

 

[LT72884]

I live in Stansbury Park now but have a house in Taylorsville that I bought about 9 years ago. 5 bed, 2.5 bath, 2100 sq ft and paid $100k for it I rent it out now, but I would head elsewhere.

Where do you work? This may help with a shorter commute. Also check out that utah realestate site, you can narrow your search down quit a bit.

Stansbury park is cool. thats the one with the little lake and by the great slat lake.
right now i work at Rasmussen Equipment but after school i will be working somewhere else.

my goal is in 1.5 -2 years to start buying a house. is it possible yes but practicle at that age, im not sure.

 

[jennyema]

I just hope that by the time i need to buy a house (which i hope is in a couple of years or so) that the market is a lil better.

Don't you mean a little worse?

I'd suggest moving, if you can.

Also, being single (or newly married) there is no way you need "at least a 5 br, 2 bath" home. Space is nice, but it's expensive to buy and maintain.

A better strategy is to buy something smaller, build up the equity in your investment, and then use the equity to buy something larger when/if you need it.

 

[NAchef]

What do you do at Rasmussen?

 

[LT72884]

That's probably the BEST advice you could get!!!

where do i go to find these so called financial adviser's. i have never heard of them before. Do you find them at credit unions and banks? would a credit union and or bank be able to direct me to a financial adviser?

 

[GotGarlic]

Plus, real estate values always go up.

Well, not always. With the economy we're in now, lots of people can't get loans so people who want or need to sell their homes can't find sellers, so they have to lower the price in order to sell. I know over the last year, I've seen many houses on the market for many months just in my neighborhood alone, whereas two years ago they would have sold fast, for $300k or more. An important principle of economics is that when supply goes up, the price goes down. It works for houses, too.

I would expect home values to decline significantly in Utah in the next couple of years. A lot of those expensive homes were bought by California real estate investors, aka speculators, who will eventually sell at a loss so they won't have to pay property taxes and insurance anymore. The housing bubble has burst.

 

[LT72884]

Don't you mean a little worse?

I'd suggest moving, if you can.

LOL i was afraid someone was going to say that. If i HAD to move i would go to VA because they have awesome summers i have heard.