NBR: WWYD? RE: Renting vs. Buying (long)

JL2003

We started renting a house in March and our lease goes until February. At that time we were going to take our tax money and buy a house. We are looking at buying a fixer up so our budget is very low at around 125,000. I have found quite a few properties actually.

In April we found swarming termites in the house we are renting. We told that landlord and he said he sprayed and they still kept coming back. This happened for 4 weeks. He claimed his exterminator said they are not in the house and we didn't have to worry

Now in September we found live termites in the wood in the ceiling in our son's room. We notified the landlord and again he said he was going to spray. We hired our own exterminator that said the only way to get rid of them is to tent which I am sure our landlord will not due.

 My question is we can probably get together a few thousand to buy a house now and struggle a little bit or should we find someplace else to rent and buy around this time next year.

 WWYD?? TIA

JustMarried2005

Your landlord is legally obligated to fix this ASAP.  Contact your local housing board if you want to push him to fix it.  

If you buy and close before December 1st, and have not owned a house in the last 3 years, you should qualify for the $8K housing tax refund this year. It's a good chunk of change, but you would have to move quickly on finding and closing on a house.   

kgb1411

Do you get the $8500 if you buy now?  I think you can actually apply it to your down payment. 

goodgollie

I agree with pp, now is a great time to buy a house, especially if you are planning to fix one up.  The market can't stay down forever and if you buy now and fix it up, you are sure to make a good profit.

mel41g

If you can afford a house now, then buy.  If it is going to be a struggle or you are going to be settling for a house you don't really want, I'd wait.  Your landlord HAS to fix it.  I know you want a house, but when you buy, you WILL have issues.  It just goes with the territory, so if you can't afford to fix any problems, you shouldn't buy just because it is a good time to buy.  Also, remember that it could take at least a month (40 days) to get into a new house, so you will still be living with the termite issue until then.  I'd make your landlord fix the issue.  Termites should NOT come back for 2 years after they have been sprayed for.  It sounds to me like your landlord took a cheap solution that didn't work.  Tell him point blank that if he doesn't fix it, you will do it yourself and take him to small claims court or hire a lawyer. Usually a threat will work. 

~Baby1~

Are you a 1st time home buyer?  If so I would buy by 11/30, you would receive the 8,000.00 1st time home buyers tax check!

JDB3358

The 8,000 1st homebuyer credit is a great incentive to buy, but please be aware that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines have changed drastically.  If you are planning on buying a "fixer-upper", you may have a hard time finding a bank to finance it.

Just as an FYI:  my husband and I are in the process of purchasing our first investment property, a foreclosure that needs little work.  The bank sent the appraiser out and they denied our loan saying that because the house is missing a few light fixtures, a fridge, and a couple of shingles (due to wind damage, even though there are no leaks), the home is not "livable" and therefore, they will not provide funding unless we get in there before closing and make these repairs.  So basicially, the bank wants us to make approximately $3000 worth of repairs to a home that we don't own yet.  Umm... no thanks.

 If you plan on buying a fixer-upper, you may want to stay away from homes being sold "as is" so you can negotiate with the seller to make these required repairs, especially if you are on a time crunch to get the tax credits.