Well, we started our hunt for a 4 bedroom, at least 2 bath, in our area. I am excited, I cannot believe the day has come. I am nervous too, we cannot go much over a $550-600 payment a month so I know we can get a nice house in our area, I am just glad we live here instead of somewhere with higher living costs. I have found a few that I like already, I just need to see what else I can find and show them to DH. Well, wish us luck, it will still be a couple months but we are getting the ball rolling.

By Trina~moderator on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 07:11 pm:

House hunting can be both exciting and stressful! Have you done any surfing at Realtor.com? Another good resource is Domania.com. Keep in mind that when the right house comes along everything will work out smoothly! At least that's what I told myself when an offer was already accepted or a house deal fell through for whatever reason. Have fun and keep us posted!

By Vicki on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 07:27 pm:

I LOVE looking at houses!! If you have the time to take to be picky, make sure you take it!! Wait for the house of your dreams. You'll know it as soon as you see it!! Have fun with it and good luck!!

By Amecmom on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 07:36 pm:

$550 to $600 a month! Holy Cow, where do you live, and when can I move there! A four bedroom, two bath home in our area is at least $550,000. 20 min. south of us, the price goes up $100,000. And that's just straight sale price, not including taxes, which are astronomical!
It's so amazing to me how different prices are throughout the country.

Good luck in finding your home! It's such an exciting time.

Ame

By Kate on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 07:45 pm:

Tell me about it. When a friend showed me online a house her brother was looking at, I was SHOCKED at the taxes. My friend said she was shocked, too...she didn't know why they were so HIGH!!! The taxes were EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS!! That's $800. Around here it's $6,000 to $10,000. HUGE difference. It's amazing. I'm NY, she's WV and she said WV is famous for their low taxes. SHE pays $250 a year!!!! I'm still stunned.

Anyway, good luck on your house hunting! I found it really fun.

By Trisa on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 07:51 pm:

Yes the town I grew up in you can get a NICE
house for around 80 thou. When family asked how
much we paid here they about flipped! But people do make alot less for a living in my home town
than where we live now. I saw a nice house for sale down the street and looked it up online and its $295,000. Have fun looking!! I still love that show House Hunters.

By Amecmom on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 08:04 pm:

Don't get me started on property taxes! We have no services, our taxes go mainly to the school district! We were happy to see a decrease of $2000 in our yearly taxes (STAR and a reassessment). That gives you an idea of how high they are. Where are you, Kate? We're in Putnam County, right on the boarder or Northern Westchester.
Ame

By My2cuties on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 08:27 pm:

lol, Ame, we are in Putnam county too....Putnam County, Tennessee that is. Alot of nice houses are around 100,000 but you *could* get one around here for 300,000 (or even more)...but that is not our price range. The average person only makes around $8 an hour around here, so you can't expect someone to buy a house for 500,000 making THAT. The only way I am able to stay at home is because my DH drives a truck and brings in more than average, and he knows how to work on them so he is *hopefully* going to get a job doing that in the near future so he doesn't have to be away from us alot and still make the money.

Trina, thanks for the sites, I found a few (about 5) that I liked at realtor.com. I will look at the other also.

By Yjja123 on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 08:39 pm:

Wow you are so lucky. Here houses START at $250,000 and thats a fixer upper!

By Trina~moderator on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 10:18 pm:

You're welcome, Candis! Sometimes I surf Realtor.com and view virtual tours. FUN!

Where I live you can't even rent an apartment for $550-600. LOL! Taxes aren't cheap here either.

By Boxzgrl on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 11:06 pm:

Where I live you cant rent a hole in the ground for $550-600, lol!

By My2cuties on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 11:54 pm:

we are not buying anything huge, let me show you what kind of house is for 100,000 around here:



I would love to have a house for 250,000 one day but not right now, maybe after I start working and the kids are older we will be able to get one.

By My2cuties on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 11:55 pm:

thought I might clarify just incase someone thought I was getting some elaborate house for 100,000...lol

By Tink on Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 12:03 am:

Candis, that house would go for at least $300,000 here and you'd have payments around $1400/month for it! Maybe I should move to TN!

By Paulas on Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 12:22 am:

That house would go for over $200000 here as well.

By Boxzgrl on Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 02:48 am:

That house would go for over 500K here, AT LEAST!!!! LOL, good luck though!

By Amecmom on Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 09:41 am:

$450 to 500K here, too, depending on the property and the town. If it has any fancy ammenities inside - granite countertops, jacuzzi, you are looking at $6K

By Karen~moderator on Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 11:28 am:

That house would go for probably over $200,000 in my area. It looks really nice!

However, housing costs and property values in my area are going UP because of the public schools in my Parish. Lots of people moving out here. And property taxes are LOW, relatively speaking.

By Yjja123 on Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 12:44 pm:

Definitely over $400,000 for that house here!
Very nice loking house! Enjoy!

By Trisa on Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 12:50 pm:

Wow I cant believe how cheap that home is!!

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 10:52 pm:

We bought a 3 bedroom, 1-1/2 bath, detached garage, huge yard, for under $100,000, 8 years ago! Those house prices are outrageous! We have 1600 sq ft.