We moved into our first house last November.
We signed up for new house construction in same area in Novi, Michigan during Feb this year. Most likely the closing will be on end of September. We thought of staying in current house and keep the new house rented (could get 3.5k easy) but mortgage lender contact told us, we may need to put 20% down and rate would increase. We invested the money elsewhere which is growing and would grow better than this down, so we decided to move to this for a year and if we get a change in work place then rent this as well.
We had our discussion on new construction (wife) associated cost vs idea of buying few year old but little cheaper (my suggestion). I let Wife get the trophy, so I am not here to discuss them again.
Our gross is 200K and likely i might change jobs to increase some cash flow. Except 1600 on first house mortgage (it has 275k on mortgage, house is in pretty good shape), we don't have any other payments other than insurances. We would rent that house, which on average goes 2000/above in that area. May be first few months we will build emergency fund with excess cash flow and then keep 100 dollars for fixing issues and remaining goes to principal.
Here are list of open questions which i still search an answer on new house
1. we put 5% down on 605k house, 30yr mortgage locked in 4.75% with closing costs in it. The appraisal started for new house. If the rates goes down, can i go with another lender? What would i lose in terms of cost? Trying to see how much is the breakeven.
2. For Lawn and landscaping - I may need to level the land and do landscaping and lawn.
How far i could do myself vs calling landscaping companies just for leveling with may be 2 to 3 truck load of soil. And may be get one truck of compost to spread across for sowing grass seeds? I am not sure if i could sow as first freeze is Oct 2nd week and not sure if grass would take off in 2 weeks. SOD may be expensive if it didnt work. I may have time till next June as the winter time doesnt count on the 6 month time they put on contract. But not sure though
3. Appliances: We need to buy a fridge and washer and dryer. Rest included in the cost. If we move in October, not sure if there is any best way to shop for the fridge as i thought most price shopping will be at Thanks giving. Wife wanted three door and dont need any ice cube fancy stuff. it seems to be around 2k mark. On dryer, should i get a gas one? or electric?
4. Solar: The builder doesnt allow anyone to work on their site before turning the keys on. I think the current timelines on solar for 26% was end of this year. I dont have any clue on used panel + new component build or a reliable solar installer who will work on reasonable cost in Michigan. The Agent seemed not encouraging as he seemed to think that I may anyway need the electric for sure and cost to breakeven the electric cost with energy efficient new build with LEDs will be minimum 10 years+ and
he said if we arent going to live for sure, then why invest the money as it is not going to add much value when we sell. Not sure of true cost involved here and need to get the cost from pocket, it seems to be a hard decision to make.
5. Curtain/blinds: What is the good way to reduce cost and any suggested pattern which is easy for manageable in terms of maintenance?
6. We seemed to keep very minimal stuff on the new house and try to stay with whatever we have for first 3 months until we seem to think it is really needed. But i am not sure what are the small appliance/items that we are missing
7. Inspection: A friend suggested to pay for a home inspector to do the inspection and get the report agreed by builder to fix any issues. How do we do it correctly? Right now the dry wall is up (I have photos of bare structure) and cabinets, LVP installed on living area.
8. Patio: We are looking into simple diy patio, we cant go without it as we have a 3.5 yo who like to play outside. This has a lot of time during winter. I was thinking of doing something a 15x15 in cement blocks.
9. We got some Ring security systems for the current house but havent installed and a Eufy door bell, smart key with its hub. Do you guys pay for these security services? The area is pretty safe per crime stats, I thought i may install them and decide later. A friend told me to go for paid services.
10. The builder manager contact told me not to finish basement until 18 months, so if anything is identified the builder would fix under 1 year warranty. How good will these warranty? Any suggestions on how to keep myself sharp?
