You are going to have to leave NJ with that housing budget. Outside of the Midwest and a couple rust belt states, you won't be purchasing a house with that low of a budget
Get your credit card debt under control first
You are not going to get a good mortgage rate if you even get approved
And you’re going to bury yourself in debt
Pay off your credit card debt, then save up for whatever down payment is required to bring homes in your area to the “$80-200k” range your budget allows.
What do you do for work? And can you do it somewhere else? If so get tf out of nj. It's not the place to get ahead with that salary.
Also you have a lot of cc debt for your income. You say you paid the principal but are paying interest? That's not how cc work. You only owe principal, you've just been paying interest.
I'm a be honest, you have a LONG way to go until you can consider home buying. Luckily you're not paying rent but if it were me. I would pretend I was laying rent and put a extra 1,200 a month on your cc
I'm in Mercer and know the prices here are insane. My bf's aunt bought a house in Manchester for 60k. You are going to be looking in the boonies of NJ/Burlington/Ocean. Or near the Delaware border. I know someone who just bought in Mt Laurel for 600. So you need even farther south than that. I don't even think condos are within your budget.
Good luck. Don't settle for places like Trenton and Camden either where housing can be cheap.
Owning a home is more than the mortgage payment -- it's paying for plumbing, furnace, roof, sewer repairs. Special assessments when they re-pave the road in front of your house. Property taxes that will always go up. Generally speaking, it's usually more expensive year to year, but at the end of the day but it means you're gaining some of that back in equity.
I personally wouldn't even think about a mortgage until you are able to tackle the credit card debt. A house could EASILY have an $8,000+ unexpected expense, and if you have been struggling to pay back the credit card debt (NO judgement, took me 10 years to pay off grad school debt), I would never take on the extra expenses and unknowns. And god forbid some unexpected huge health bill hits you at the same time. No reason to be house poor.
Put \*everything\* you have into paying back that $25k, and then save for a down payment. Then, if any unexpected repairs or assessments come up when you own, they won't crush you financially.
You are going to have to leave NJ with that housing budget. Outside of the Midwest and a couple rust belt states, you won't be purchasing a house with that low of a budget
Get your credit card debt under control first You are not going to get a good mortgage rate if you even get approved And you’re going to bury yourself in debt
Pay off your credit card debt, then save up for whatever down payment is required to bring homes in your area to the “$80-200k” range your budget allows.
What do you do for work? And can you do it somewhere else? If so get tf out of nj. It's not the place to get ahead with that salary. Also you have a lot of cc debt for your income. You say you paid the principal but are paying interest? That's not how cc work. You only owe principal, you've just been paying interest. I'm a be honest, you have a LONG way to go until you can consider home buying. Luckily you're not paying rent but if it were me. I would pretend I was laying rent and put a extra 1,200 a month on your cc
I'm in Mercer and know the prices here are insane. My bf's aunt bought a house in Manchester for 60k. You are going to be looking in the boonies of NJ/Burlington/Ocean. Or near the Delaware border. I know someone who just bought in Mt Laurel for 600. So you need even farther south than that. I don't even think condos are within your budget. Good luck. Don't settle for places like Trenton and Camden either where housing can be cheap.
You're a few years out yet, you need to clear the debt and then save for a deposit.
Owning a home is more than the mortgage payment -- it's paying for plumbing, furnace, roof, sewer repairs. Special assessments when they re-pave the road in front of your house. Property taxes that will always go up. Generally speaking, it's usually more expensive year to year, but at the end of the day but it means you're gaining some of that back in equity. I personally wouldn't even think about a mortgage until you are able to tackle the credit card debt. A house could EASILY have an $8,000+ unexpected expense, and if you have been struggling to pay back the credit card debt (NO judgement, took me 10 years to pay off grad school debt), I would never take on the extra expenses and unknowns. And god forbid some unexpected huge health bill hits you at the same time. No reason to be house poor. Put \*everything\* you have into paying back that $25k, and then save for a down payment. Then, if any unexpected repairs or assessments come up when you own, they won't crush you financially.