Buying A House Right Now

by Pauletta
(Willoughby, OH, USA)

Buying a house right now is what we like to do. My husband and I own a small 2 bedroom, 1 bath home. We have run out of room because this house has only 980 square feet. It was built in 1953 and has no basement, a small attic and very, very small closets.

Needless to say we would love to "upgrade" and move into something a little larger that has lots and lots of closet space, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and something my husband has wanted for years - a 2 car garage.

Economic times being what they are, we have decided to wait until the economy picks up before we start to look for a new home. We have discussed all of the issues and realize that right now we can get a nice house for a bargain because houses just aren't selling and people are willing to come down in price. The interest rate is low and that is a plus.

The downside is that during these bad economic times, one or both of us could be laid off from our jobs. Our current house payment is only $685.00 which can easily be paid if we lose our jobs.

Furthermore, we have been saving $400.00 per month for the last few years so that we can have a nest egg to either buy a nicer home or pay this one off early.

Another issue we have been discussing is utility bills, food prices and the cost of gas. We have a comfort zone and are afraid to take that first step toward buying a house when everything is so uncertain economically.

The fact that we can probably find a nicer house for a good bargain also means that we would have to in turn, sell our house for less than we want. This would factor into our down payment on the new home.

We are hoping that the economy gets a boost over the next 2 years so that we can start looking for our dream house. By that time we should have an additional $10,000.00 saved towards a down payment and moving expenses. Because after all, buying a house takes planning.

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