I am interested in buying a house but have no clue where to start or if I should even start. My husband and I have lived in our apartment for three years, we have quite a bit saved for a down payment roughly $25-30K, have excellent credit almost no debt, but we both just started new jobs and I only work part-time because of school. Right now we pay roughly $1K for rent. I would really appreciate any help and advice. Thanks.

Well it might have helped if you gave us a clue as to your location. But not matter where the place to start is with a realtor. Go see one in the neighborhood you would like to live. They can advise you of what you can expect.

Go see a local realitor, try to find one that is a member of the national
REALOTOR group.

They will know some mortgage brokers and companies

And yes depending on where you live all things are relevant.
In Sparta TN with three bedroom bick homes on a acre of ground costing about 150,000 you would be in good shape, in downtown NY with a small 1 bedroom condo going for about 500,000 you may not be able to afford it.

Yes, sorry I live in MN in the Twin Cities. Usually, a brand new town home would go for $200K. I was told to talk with my bank to see if I would even qualify for a loan?

Yes, it would help to get prequalified for a loan. This will help you know how much house you can afford.

New homes may be more expensive. If new town homes are going for $200K you should be able to find an older home for less than that. Without kinowing your income, its hard for us to say what you might qualify for. Also property taxes play a part in this.

Thanks for your help Scott and Chuck

Angel,

I would talk with several realtors before deciding on which one to use. Finding one that you can trust and has you and your family's needs best interest in mind is important. When you speak with them keep in mind that they will be very pleasant with you, but will start to push eventually (most of them make roughly 3% of the total sale, so on a $200,000 home they would stand to make $6,000). One that truly has your family's best interest in mind will cover all aspects of the purchase with you. Make sure you look in areas that are expected to appreciate in value.

Good luck.

Also your bank is not the only place to get a loan, most mortgage brokers can get people will less credit also approved where the bank would not touch it.

Also there are often homes on the market with various government loans that you may be able to assume the mortgage.

The whole thing is extremely over whelming. I don't know if my husband and I should wait it out until I finish college in a year to look for a house or if we should look now? We have to give our apartment complex notice by March. It's so hard not to feel like we are just throwing our money away.

I would wait to finish college. With you working, you will be able to qualify for a mortgage (as well as afford one). See if your complex will allow you to renew on a month to month basis or maybe a 6 month lease.

This really shouldn't be so overwhelming. That's what you have realtors to help you for.