I just closed on my first home.

It is a 90-year-old Arts & Crafts foursquare home in the city, near the park, bike trails, and train. It's in beautiful condition. I will be able to continue living without a car.

The monthly payment is $16 higher than my budget -- which was well below my limits -- because of the interest rate spike. I locked in the middle of it, so I am paying more than expected but less than I could have. I budgeted so that I could pay the mortgage on unemployment if the worst happened, have a reasonable cash reserve, and be able to prepay a lot. The 3.5% down FHA mortgage makes me a little nervous, but that is what the prepayment is for!

I chose not to get a distressed sale because all of the ones in locations that worked without a car need a lot of work. I am not handy, and I think it is better to invest my time in my career and education now. I'll finish school in about a year. A fixer-upper was just not something I could handle.

Congratulations!!
I'm glad you found a great house in good conditions and met your qualifications. Enjoy every waking moment in that house. Keep up the hard work! I'm odinga happy dance for you. I remember the day I closed on my house. I was ecstatic.

The value of having your own house is hard to quantify. It sounds like you made all the right choices. Congrats! We ahve a 1920's California Bungalow, and my inner historian has had a lot of appreciation for the quality and craftsmanship of the construction.

Enjoy!

Sandi

Growing up, I ionly ever lived in houses that were built between 1890 and 1930, and I had a lot more confidence in the quality than I do in my current (7 years old) house. Happy for you. I miss living in a city and walking/riding everywhere.

Thank you to everyone!

Home Despot is my new best friend. It is very disturbing! I am so happy they are open until 10 pm, but really....

My reserves are so far safe! The only real problem I've found so far is that I may need to refinish the upstairs maple floors; we'll see what they look like under the carpet once we get it pulled out.