How is anyone enlisted still buying a house ?

[turtledove13]

Enlisted E-7 with enlisted wife and kid stationed in SoCal. We’ve been wanting to buy a house but it is impossible now with the loan rates.

The beauty of the VA loan before was being able to put 0 down and have a monthly mortgage payment on homes in the 400-500k range that are less than your BAH.

Now with rates so high and then add in HOA your looking at a 5-6k mortgage if you do 0 down.

Even if you could afford 20% down your still talking about a mortgage high enough that will not be competitive to rent out once you PCS and have positive cash flow.

Maybe I’m just missing something or maybe it’s only because of SoCal. But how is everyone doing it nowadays ?

 

[kay11]

@turtledove13 Maybe it’s ok to accept you can’t buy where you are stationed. It’s a ok truth to accept. I have accepted that I just save my money for the down payment for the future. Us poors will have to enjoy a different place to live.

 

[iwely]

@kay11 I am in this boat exactly. Bought in SD, relocated to LA for recruiting, and was not able to purchase again. It’s okay. Plan to purchase upon next PCS. Held on to the property in SD which is working out great for me. But for now, we’re renting and I’m okay with that holding on to another property with a loose plan to buy another.

 

[choiceschangedestiny]

@turtledove13 Only own a home here because bought 10 years ago. It’s doubled in value and is unaffordable to buy at current interest rates. Mortgage is 2.3k currently at a 2.25 APR and if bought at current value and a 5-6% APR somewhere between 4100-4600 monthly. It’s higher than E7 BAH and makes it nearly impossible to purchase a house as an enlisted service member.

 

[resjudicata]

@choiceschangedestiny So you're selling?

 

[melanieclair]

@turtledove13 Yeah San Diego is a tough place to buy a house unless the market is down. I bought one at the bottom of the market in 2010 as an E5 but that house is now 700K.

It's why I have avoided the area since. You can get a nice house elsewhere for within your BAH. Until they give you COLA in San Diego, it's going to be rough until the market crashes.

I recommend renting or base housing and saving cash until the market crashes then use the saved money to make your payment as low as possible once the prices and rates drop.

 

[aryanna]

@turtledove13 My husband and I are both E-5, no kids. We thought about purchasing a home in Temecula but once we got serious and started looking at how much it would actually cost us, we backed out. Currently renting an apartment that’s just $1000 under our combined BAH. It’s tough. I don’t know how people are currently doing it.

 

[thongcongnghetcucre]

@aryanna Well, CA is only getting more and more expensive. Get stationed somewhere that has a low cost of living compared to the high cost of living areas.

I'm in SC and just bought a brand new 2000 sq ft home for 250k. BAH is 1958, and my mortgage, property tax, and insurance is 1600.

 

[struggling26]

@thongcongnghetcucre This. We bought a 2400 square foot home with 2 car garage in a great school district in South Carolina in 21, it’s worth 300k now. It’s just location, hate to say it but you need one of these southern states

 

[billthecableman]

@turtledove13 My civilian friends only buy homes with 2 good incomes, not one.

 

[greatseams]

@turtledove13 E4 in SC. Bought mine a little over a year ago. I was returning from a deployment and honestly got really lucky. There weren't many options out here and the few that were available were WAY outside single enlisted budget. Only reason I could afford it was the money saved while deployed, that and it cost FAR more to rent an apartment for some reason. My mortgage is lower than any apartment in the area for a much larger home that's actually clean and increases in value.

Edit: I should clarify, I mean South Carolina and not SoCal lol.

 

[dashestodashes]

@turtledove13 This does not give me any hope. You are dual income and you still cannot afford to buy a house? I am a single E-7 so I guess I am boned then.

 

[saved1994]

@dashestodashes They're in SoCal. Housing is obnoxious everywhere, but it's extra obnoxious in SoCal.

You very likely could afford a house in many other parts of the country.

 

[dashestodashes]

@saved1994 I’m in NorCal

 

[kay11]

@dashestodashes Also matters where in NorCal. Bay Area or Coastal city below SF it’s going to be challenging.

 

[afterthought]

@dashestodashes You can def buy. Maybe not a house but a condo or really nice townhome beats paying rent. And easier to rent out if you move

 

[dashestodashes]

@afterthought I actually saw a condo in Sac within my price range. What’s the benefit versus waiting out for a house? Will I be able to sell it?

 

[afterthought]

@dashestodashes How realistic is it that you get a house in your price range? Considering mortage and not being house broke if u buy? Who knows when the next crash is but even if it happens I kinda doubt you’ll be the only one waiting on a crash. You can always refinance if u buy a condo rn and have an even cheaper mortage.
ESPECIALLY Consider if this is your forever home or just a starter. If you plan on living in Sac for the next 10+ years then sure maybe wait for a house. But if it’s just cus your stationed there then You can rent out a condo or Airbnb it, or sell it and make back what u bought it for and at least it didn’t go down the drain on rent.

 

[afterthought]

@dashestodashes How realistic is it that you get a house in your price range? Considering mortage and not being house broke if u buy? Who knows when the next crash is but even if it happens I kinda doubt you’ll be the only one waiting on a crash. You can always refinance if u buy a condo rn and have an even cheaper mortage.
ESPECIALLY Consider if this is your forever home or just a starter. If you plan on living in Sac for the next 10+ years then sure maybe wait for a house. But if it’s just cus your stationed there then You can rent out a condo or Airbnb it, or sell it and make back what u bought it for and at least it didn’t go down the drain on rent.

 

[fullquiver]

@dashestodashes I left sac back in 2020 and now I am trying to comeback for my twilight tour. We are looking at a new build in our desired area in the low $600s. With an E-7 salary and my wife working we will be just fine. We have been planning this for awhile now. I really don’t see Sacramento having another crash like it did in 2008. With teleworking you have a ton of Bay Area refugees buying up real estate in sac. We want to buy out there before it’s too late.