Monday, October 26, 2020

9 Signs You’re Ready to Stop Renting and Buy Your First Place

Do you dream of a future with a yard and a white picket fence? One where you’re not writing away 30 percent of your salary to your landlord every month? Being able to buy a home is a big part of what we’re sold as “The American Dream,” but it’s not for everyone.

Renting an apartment forever is absolutely an option, and a damn good one. But still, many people every year decide to give up the rental life for home ownership (32 percent of home sales were to first-time buyers in 2016). Wondering if you should be one of them? Here are nine signs you’re ready.

This isn’t a checklist, and these things certainly aren’t requirements for your first foray into real estate. But if you can say “yes” to more than a few items on the list, it’s a good indicator that buying might be a solid next step for you.

1. You’re out of debt.

2. You have an emergency fund saved up.

3. You have a down payment saved up.

The minimum for an FHA loan is 3.5 percent of the purchase price. More than 5 percent will get you into a fixed-rate conventional loan (where you pay private mortgage insurance monthly). And if you can manage 20 percent, you’re in the very best shape to avoid fees altogether.

4. You have good credit.

→This Is What Your Credit Score Should Be to Buy a House

5. You own a basic set of tools and know how to make small repairs.

6. Your current apartment doesn’t fit your needs.

Here are some ways to know.

7. Buying is a better deal for you where you live.

The New York Times has a great tool on weighing your buying vs. renting options.

Selling a home is sometimes just as costly as buying one.

9. You want this home for the life you have now.

Don’t feel like you have to buy a home for some hypothetical future time when you get married and have 2.5 kids.

byTARYN WILLIFORD

published By Apartment Therapy, NOV 29, 2018

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Monday, October 19, 2020

Generation Z Is Buying Up Homes In Salt Lake City

Kids These Days! Gen Z Is Buying Up Homes in These 10 Cities

While millennials are seeking out starter homes and baby boomers are hoping to downsize, Generation Z is trying to elbow its way into the frenzied housing market marked by record-low mortgage rates and all-time-high home prices.

These predominantly first-time buyers are purchasing property mostly in the nation's more affordable metropolitan areas that boast much more reasonable home prices than the high-priced coasts, according to a recent LendingTree study. This group, born after 1996, is stereotypically more frugal and better with money than prior generations. It makes up a little less than 10% of potential home buyers in the country's biggest metropolitan areas.

The online financial services marketplace looked at mortgage purchase requests by folks aged 18 to 23 from Jan. 1 through Oct. 1. The study included requests made only in the 50 largest metropolitan areas. (Metros include the main city and surrounding suburbs, small towns, and other urban areas.)

"Gen Z buyers are young, but that's not stopping some from getting into or trying to get into the housing market," says realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. "Areas where Gen Z buyers are finding success are generally affordable, which makes sense since younger buyers tend to have a harder time scraping together a down payment and also tend to have lower incomes."

However Salt Lake City, founded by Mormons, is still significantly cheaper than other big West Coast cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Denver. They have median home prices of $1,03,750, $995,050, and $522,050 respectively.

The average age of these buyers was just 21.5—barely old enough to legally drink. They had an average credit score of 672, had an average down payment of nearly $33,000, and requested mortgages of an average $244,365.

We see a lot of Gen Z buyers in Salt Lake City in part because that's where Gen Zers are.

"Salt Lake City's younger population means we see the younger generation well-represented," says Hale.

After Salt Lake City, members of Gen Z submitted the most mortgage requests in Oklahoma City, at 8.01%, and Indianapolis, at 7.74%. Both have median home prices below $300,000. Prospective Gen Z borrowers requested mortgages of $141, 396 in Oklahoma City, where the median list price is $286,700, and $146,349 in Indianapolis, which has a median price tag of $286,200.

The top 10 metros where Gen Z is requesting the most mortgages:

Salt Lake City, UT, with a median home list price of $482,550
Oklahoma City, OK, at $286,700
Indianapolis, IN, at $286,200
Cincinnati, OH, at $318,050
Minneapolis, MN, at $354,450
Kansas City, MO, at $339,500
Phoenix, AZ, at $413,500
Louisville, KY, at $267,500
St. Louis, MO, at $250,050
Buffalo, NY, at $229,950

Where is Generation Z requesting the fewest mortgages?

These youngsters sought out the fewest mortgages in the most expensive real estate markets. That makes sense as most of these folks, the oldest of whom would be about 24, are just embarking on their careers.

They submitted the fewest mortgage requests in San Francisco, at 2.19%. Silicon Valley's San Jose was next, with just 2.98% of requests, followed by New York City, at 3.3%.

Median prices in the metros were $1,03,750, $1,199,450, and $625,000 respectively. New York City may look like a bargain compared with the California cities, but it's worth noting that the New York City metro area is the largest in the nation. It encompasses much less expensive swaths of upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New Jersey.

In San Francisco, average Gen Z buyers were 21.6 years old, had a 710 credit score, and had come up with $124,530 down payments. They requested an average mortgage amount of $575,723 due to the higher prices.

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Utah Ranks as One of The Happiest States

Utah is the 2nd happiest state, according to study

Utah isn’t the happiest place in the United States, but it’s close. According to a new study, it’s the second-happiest state in the union. And, somewhat surprisingly, a second study found Utah is the second-best state for teachers.

The personal finance website Wallethub.com compared the states across 32 “key indicators of happiness,” including depression and divorce rates, work hours and income growth, and COVID-19 factors. Only Hawaii factored out happier than the Beehive State.

Utah ranked No. 1 in fewest number of hours worked, volunteer rate, and separation and divorce rate; fourth in safety and sports participation; and sixth in adequate rate, long-term unemployment rate and income growth. The state also ranked second among states with fewest coronavirus restrictions and 26th in positive COVID-19 testing rate over the four weeks leading up to the study, which was completed before Utah’s recent spike in coronavirus cases.

The study wasn’t all good news for Utah, however. The state ranked 47th for its rate of adult depression. Only Tennessee, Oregon and West Virginia had higher rates.

According to the Wallethub study, the 10 happiest states are:

1. Hawaii

2. Utah

3. Minnesota

5. Maryland

6. California

7. North Dakota

8. Iowa

9. Idaho

And the 10 least happy states are:

41. Oregon

42. Alaska

43. Alabama

44. Mississippi

46. Kentucky

47. Louisiana

48. Oklahoma

49. Arkansas

50. West Virginia

In a separate study, WalletHub also ranked Utah No. 2. The Beehive State tends to fare poorly in many national rankings related to public education — coming in last in per-pupil spending every year for more than two decades, and ranking 42nd in teacher salaries — but according to WalletHub, the state is No. 2 for “teacher-friendliness,” trailing only Washington.

The personal finance site analyzed 25 key metrics, including teachers' income growth potential, pupil-teacher ratio and whether the state has a digital learning plan, to come up with the rankings.

Utah ranked No. 1 in existence of a digital learning plan; No. 3 in teachers' income growth potential; No. 8 in projected competition in the year 2028; No. 9 in statewide school reopening; No. 13 in average teachers starting salary (adjusted for cost of living); No. 15 in 10-year change in teacher salaries; and No. 18 in quality of school system.

Again, not all the numbers were good. Utah ranks 49th in pupil-teacher ratio. And, according to WalletHub, 50th (out of 51, including the District of Columbia) in per-pupil spending.

According to the Wallethub study, the 10 best state for teachers are:

1. Washington

2. Utah

3. New Jersey

4. Delaware

5. Pennsylvania

6. North Dakota

7. Delaware

8. Maryland

9. New York

10. Oregon

And the 10 worst states for teachers are:

42. Hawaii

43. Tennessee

44. Missouri

45. Arkansas

46. District of Columbia