Starter house or stay in one nicer house from the start is better?

[Anonymous]

I’m 20, & i’m debating on if i should move into a nice house that i want from the start or move into a small starter house & sell it & move into a nicer house. I see people staying in a smaller houses for years & im confused on why they don’t sell it even if they didn’t finish paying it off because they can still sell it so i’m cautious about that even though it seems smart.

[LazerBean]

Starter house. Living outside of ones means is often why people are unable to increase their means. I think a lot of people stick with their starter house because of financial reasons, but I think a lot of it is just that they get attached to it as well. Personally, I love our home. And even though I know we will have to upgrade to a bigger one after our family grows a certain amount, I already know it's going to be hard to leave.

[Asker]

Right that’s understandable, there’s many reasons like memories and such but if you have a bigger family i think it would benefit to move

[BoopBoopBeep]

There are a lot more expenses to owning a house than the mortgage and insurance. Start with something small so you can get an appreciation for that before you blow your budget and live paycheck to paycheck, then have to replace two AC units at the same time or need a new roof or something.

[Asker]

The thing is i’ve been saving money & i’ll be married so it shouldn’t be that expensive and im going to graduate with a good job so

[BoopBoopBeep]

It's the nonstandard expenses. When you have to get a new a-coil because the old one is shot. I spent $500 on freon this month that was unexpected. I had to get a new roof earlier in the year that was a few grand, gutters the year before, same same. If you're like, I make 60k and the mortgage is only 20k I'm good to go. Well the actual expense of that home may be closer to 30 or 40k depending on how handy you are. Plus why start off in a nicer home if you're early in your career and may end up somewhere else?

[Astarlessnightsky]

Why don't you just rent and see where life takes you. If you are around 20ish years old, you life has just begun so who knows where you are in 5 years, why burden yourself with an entire house and the debt coming with it.

[Anonymous]

you got a lot to learn about how all that works. it depends on what your downpayment is what the bank is going to give you for a mortgage what the interest rate is and your monthly payments will be what your pmi will be what your maintaince each time something breaks will be what your insurance each month will cost what your property taxes and sewer tax will be what your water bill and electric bill will be each month

[Asker]

right so we’ll see! that’s why i save

[Staximus]

Get what you can afford. You don't want to have your electricity and water shut off because you can't afford your mortgage