House Hunters

Bluh, why does buying a house have to be so flipping ridiculous?  Who decided it should be next to impossible?

Oh, we're probably not going to be buying a house.  Forget all the stress it causes when you actually have the means, just multiply that by a thousand when you apparently don't.

So there is this great deal, a guaranteed loan if you buy in a rural area, and it doesn't require a down payment.  The catch?  Deferred student loans.  I mean, after thinking about it, I guess it makes sense.  Deferment is a temporary thing, a home loan is 30 years.  But if  the loans weren't in deferment, that would mean Nick was out of school with a real job making a lot more money.  So too many what ifs with that.  Unfortunately, the same thing applies to conventional loans.  Deferred students loans and being a grad student make you too much of a liability, the bank can't issue a loan to such an unknown.

But wait!  There is another option!  First time home buyers have the option of using an FHA loan, where the interest rate is super low, down payment percent is super low, down payment money can come from pretty much anywhere, and student loans are not taken into account.  If we were to go that rout, we would qualify for a $135,000 home.  Not too bad for young people like us, wouldn't you say?  However, FHA loans cannot be used in conjunction with rural housing deals, so a down payment has to be made no matter what.  So with that, the mortgage insurance and tax, FHA loan tax, and closing costs, our total out of pocket cost for a home purchase, for even a $90,000 home, would be around $5,000.   I guess that's not too much for established people.  But for young college people like us, trying to afford a new baby and the move to Iowa.........looks like home buying is going to be something for when we are in our 30's.

Ah, so let the apartment hunt begin.  I sure hope we have better luck with landlords in Iowa than we have in Utah.........