To fix or not to fix
The really annoying problem with home buying is the down payment. The monthly payments aren't a problem. My current rent is the same as what I'd pay on a mortgage for a very expensive house if I was able to put 5% down. Its just a problem of where that initial money comes from. When rent is so high and you're forced to live hand-to-mouth you're not able to store up the funds that you need for that colossal downpayment.
Beth's pregnancy has sped everything up. If Rachel wasn't autistic we'd probably be ok with putting her in the same room with the baby if the baby turns out to be a girl. Rachel's bedroom is definitely big enough for two small children. The problem is that Rachel is autistic and there's no way that we can trust her in the same room with the baby so this has spurred us into activity in looking for a house.
We've looked at a few already and with what I can afford downpayment-wise they're either well-kept and tiny or they're big and have problems (like no dishwasher). The mortgage payments will be a joke but I run into the fear of whether or not something major is wrong with one of these. We really need the space for all our stuff and I'd like to have room for guests and to expand if we have another child but I also have this strong fear of getting "in over my head" with foundation problems or something like that. As long as the house is sturdy and just needs to be modernized (like with a dishwasher) its no problem. We could slowly work on it/hire out as needed but if something major and immediate happened we wouldn't be capable of doing anything about it.
It's a very difficult issue and one that is really bothering me. Obviously we're going to keep looking and maybe we will completely luck out but I doubt it. We're going to have to decide between something tiny which we may have to move out of again in a short time or something big where we may end up getting in over our heads. The other annoying thing is that with Beth and I working at different times, it is difficult to find a time when both of us and the real estate agent will be free. We'd love to go out this afternoon but the real estate agent is at a wedding today. :-(
Oh well I suppose the only good news is that probably for the next two months no one here is going to buy a house since no one really wants to move during winter so if there are any "steals" on the market its unlikely that someone will snatch it away from us.
Beth's pregnancy has sped everything up. If Rachel wasn't autistic we'd probably be ok with putting her in the same room with the baby if the baby turns out to be a girl. Rachel's bedroom is definitely big enough for two small children. The problem is that Rachel is autistic and there's no way that we can trust her in the same room with the baby so this has spurred us into activity in looking for a house.
We've looked at a few already and with what I can afford downpayment-wise they're either well-kept and tiny or they're big and have problems (like no dishwasher). The mortgage payments will be a joke but I run into the fear of whether or not something major is wrong with one of these. We really need the space for all our stuff and I'd like to have room for guests and to expand if we have another child but I also have this strong fear of getting "in over my head" with foundation problems or something like that. As long as the house is sturdy and just needs to be modernized (like with a dishwasher) its no problem. We could slowly work on it/hire out as needed but if something major and immediate happened we wouldn't be capable of doing anything about it.
It's a very difficult issue and one that is really bothering me. Obviously we're going to keep looking and maybe we will completely luck out but I doubt it. We're going to have to decide between something tiny which we may have to move out of again in a short time or something big where we may end up getting in over our heads. The other annoying thing is that with Beth and I working at different times, it is difficult to find a time when both of us and the real estate agent will be free. We'd love to go out this afternoon but the real estate agent is at a wedding today. :-(
Oh well I suppose the only good news is that probably for the next two months no one here is going to buy a house since no one really wants to move during winter so if there are any "steals" on the market its unlikely that someone will snatch it away from us.