Home is Where... ?? (Day 77)

Mmm K, so for those of you who've been following more than a minute may know Hubby McHubberson and I bought a house. We were super stoked about this, even as a military couple. Many people didn't understand why on earth we'd do that so our reasoning was as follows:
  • The mortgage on the house we bought would be less than renting a house of that size and it would be our house, to do whatever we want with, build equity, etc. etc.
  • In the Marine Corps, there aren't as many places you can be sent as in, say, the Army. Theoretically speaking, we could request to stay at Lejeune for a long, long time.
  • Although our rental is working for us right now, we are outgrowing our current space. A family of 3 in a 2bedroom, one bath house is a little snug, to say the least.
  • I don't want to live in on-base housing. They take your BAH away and we're saving by having BAH, as our rent PLUS bills, is still less than BAH. We're making money of Uncle Sam, yo.
  • I want to PAINT rooms.
  • Our house is brand spankin' new, hasn't even finished being built yet. And it is SO cute.
  • Renting is pretty much just throwing money away, month after month...
Now, recent events and information have caused us to rethink our decision. Luckily, we have the rethink luxury, as we don't close on the house until it is built - May. We are not currently locked into an interest rate (can't do that until March-ish, 60 days out). So, what may cause us to rethink our cute brand new house, you may ask? Well...
  • As I said, our neighborhood is brand new. SO in the event that we did get stationed somewhere else upon reenlistment, resale will be super hard if the neighborhood is not finished yet (Why buy a "used" house for more when you can have a brand new one for less?) and renting is just a total pain, I hear such horror stories from people who have to rent their homes out.
  • Mr. P is looking at the option of becoming an instructor at MOS school (where we met) which will be in Virginia by the time that comes around. Instructor = no deployment. I can not argue with that.
  • I really don't want to get stuck with a house if the two points above happen and if we get stuck without renters then we will be broke!
  • When you own a house, anything that goes wrong is on you (after the one year builder's warranty that comes with our brand new house, of course). So the dishwasher breaks when hubs is deployed, it's on me. It snows, I gotta shovel. I gotta mow. Lots to maintain and upkeep, especially when I'm on my own.
I am so torn. On one hand, I want my house. And I am beginning to fall in love with North Carolina (I mean the beaches... HELLO!) but on the other I really don't want to get stuck with something as permanent as a 30 year mortgage. Oh the decisions of grown-ups (Gag). I've only got a short time to decide too, and I'm mostly making this decision alone as hubby is out playin' in the sand. YIKES.

Speaking of the sandbox, I had written a whole post on the second worst day of the deployment which I had beginning at midnight last night continuing in to today. Basically, if you've been watching the news, you're seeing hubby's unit. I had spent lots of time scouring photos for people I know, friends' spouses... well now, I'll be looking for my own as well. Hubby is now... more in the action than he was before, so to speak. I had a severe nervous breakdown at around 1 o'clock this morning but now I am just pray, pray, praying. I've never prayed this hard in my life. I'm not going to post the whole thing I wrote before because it was just too much of a downer and I need to focus primarily on staying positive, even though it's getting harder.

Ok, back to the task at hand. House. Right. So. We put a $500 Earnest Money Deposit down, which of course I wouldn't want to just throw away but it, honestly wouldn't be the largest amount of money I've "wasted" in my life if we choose to back out. And if the interest rates happen to go above a certain rate then we can get out of the contract and get our EMD back anyway.
So the task to you, fellow blog-ites, is to give me some opinions. Those of you who own, those of you who rent, those of you who are military. All are welcome. I may not agree with what you have to say but I will consider it and use all knowledge in making a decision. Right now we're leaning towards getting out of it, but I still have my heart set on my home. I told hubbers he was crushing my dreams of buying a house he says "We did buy a house, now we're just returning it" hahaha clever monkey.

15 comments

  1. I rent my apartment, so does David. We should probably live together to save money. I feel like I am throwing away all this money just to move out one day. At least everything in it, I own. He doesn't want to live together, until after we are married.

    I say that you did the right thing!

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  2. I don't have any advice - SoldierMan is still in OCS, after all - but I just wanted to comment and say I'm praying for you and for Mr P, for safety and low stress and wisdom. You can do this!

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  3. Can't offer much help on the house, but wanted to send you lots of prayers and good thoughts for your hubby!

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  4. Kent and I rent for the reasons you stated - not having to fix things, etc, but MOSTLY because the BAH covers the rent PLUS bills, PLUS some extra stuff. I honestly don't know IF we ever buy a house until he's ready to get out, because with the Army, unlike the Marines, there are a ton of places they can send you. The one thing we do agree on, is that we will never EVER live on post, because then they don't give you BAH and you lose that extra money (hello - my name is Noel and I like to buy shoes with our leftover money)

    Honestly, I'd say you're doing the right thing by backing out until you have a better idea of what's going on with his potential teaching and whatnot.

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  5. You're last reason... about being having the sole responsibilty for maintaining the place is my biggest reason for not buying. Plus, at this point, Hubby and I can't decide where we want to stay for a while... But we will probably be living off base to bank on our BAH when we move. Haha... Good luck figuring it out and don't be dissapointed if you don't buy one just yet, you're young!!!
    xx

    P.S. I really want to make your page all super pretty... not that it isnt... but I think it could be even cuter. wink wink.

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  6. Congrats on getting a house! I saw your profile over at Following the Sun and noticed you were a fellow Phi Mu sister! It's always nice finding a fellow alum!

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  7. That's a tough decision. I don't think I would want to buy a house if I didn't get to live in it for at least a year or two before renting it out. I wish I had some wise words to share with you, but I'm drawing a blank...sorry chickadee :( I know you'll make the best decision for you guys though :)

    P.S. I'll be sending positive thoughts your way during this time.

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  8. We are about to PCS to the states from Germany and thought about buying a house when we get there. We are Army but a lot of people stay a while where we are going. We wanted to buy because we want our own house, don't want to throw money away. Monthly payment vs mortgage would be the same. But then we decided to rent. The big reason is right now we don't have a lot of extra money. In 2-3 years we hope DH will be promoted and we will be debt free. So if we wait a few more years, we can get something a lot nicer. We also wouldn't really have a lot of extra for house repairs. The 3rd reason is that we have never been to the new post. We have heard awesome things and assume we will like it but we just don't know. We figure in a couple of years he will re-enlist and if we love it there, we will try to stay for a while.

    It is such a hard choice but you have to go with your gut on it I think. Better to loose the $500 if you just aren't sure they feel it was a mistake after that fact. *hugs* to you as you try to figure it all out.

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  9. I agree with what Noel said...I will be praying for you and your hubby...

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  10. Hey Rachel! I've never commented on your blog before because I felt like a creeper for reading it (i guess because i don't blog myself), but there's a link on your facebook, so how could I not? It's been very sad at times, yet happy and heart warming, so I've picked up a habit of following it.

    Anyway, I honestly think that even though we want the house and the picket fence right away, there is no harm in waiting. Buying is a big deal, and once you have your first mortgage, you'll probably have one for the rest of your life. Your life has so many new things in it, that it might be nice to go with the flow for a while, and enjoy the carefree life of a renter. I'd wait until things calm down, and you know what the next 5 years hold for you before taking such a life changing step. Plus, it'll give you time to save for a bigger down payment (NICE!), which can either lead to less years indebted, or cheaper mortgage payments (NICER!).

    -Sarah Jo

    P.s. I want to paint walls too, and I'm trying to find other things to fill that void. Like making wall art/sculptures.

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  11. So, I don't think I can be much help because really you need the advice of someone who is in your shoes (military family) to advise you. I'm SO glad we bought a house, it was the right thing to do for us at the time, but we aren't going to be moving any time soon and we don't have a family. I can tell you one thing though, you really miss renting when you own your house and your roof starts leaking and your dishwasher breaks and the a/c stops working at the same time. :/

    But what I CAN tell you is that I gave you a bloggie award over at my blog!! Yay!

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  12. tough. It is good to buy right now. I have to take care of our house when my husband works away...and can't you just call some other military people to help if needed?? :)
    I call my dad...but he is only half hour away.
    ehh...Are you saying that the NEW house may not get a good resell value or price because the area it is being built on is new?
    In these situations...I ask my mom and dad. they are the money pros.

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  13. I don't know how much help I can be because I currently rent my apartment but I totally feel like I am just throwing money away. When R gets home from Iraq we are going to be buying a house but that is because we are moving to his hometown and he is going to take over his family's farm so we know that we will be there, forever.

    If there is any chance that Mr. P is truly thinking about doing the Instructor thing, I would get out of it. I think it boils down to the question of whether or not you want to stay there a long time, so if there is that chance you will be moving I wouldn't do it. I know it sucks because you want to have your own house, but once you get to your new place (maybe Virginia) you can buy a house!

    Constant prayers for you, Mr. P, and your little girl. Stay strong!

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  14. We currently rent but we have owned a home before.

    It can be a really great investment. From what you're saying about the neighborhood and the size... it sounds like a good investment. It just depends on how long you're there. Typically it makes sense to buy if you're going to live there for 5 years or more.

    There are added expenses to owning a home compared to renting like paying to get the vents cleaned out and when they air conditioning breaks (because it always does. Even a new one). So that is something to consider.

    But owning your own home rocks!

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  15. I think that one you must make this decision with your husband, even with him deployed. If your husband is seriously considering going to Va, then buying the house would possibly be a huge mistake. You need to look at what reality is doing in your area, is it selling easily, are the owners getting what they're asking for (or at least close to it), etc. Will you have the extra money for home repairs, even new homes need repairs and there's of course the maintance. Is renting truly throwing your money away? Will your house payment be less than rent? Don't forget to add in taxes on your house, insurance (it's a lot more than rental insurance), money set aside for maintance and/or repairs. Is your rental closer to base or is your new home closer? If the new home is farther, add in extra gas as well as wear and tear on your husband's vehicle (tires wear out faster, oil changes, etc. etc) It's often the little things that add up the most. Most importantly, have you prayed over it?

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