Hi all,
I am 34 and want to start a family asap in order to diminish chances of age-related pregnancy/birth complications. We also want to buy our first home just before our future child arrives, hopefully about 1 to 1.5 years from now. My husband and I currently rent ($850/mo) a run-down single family 2BR home, which has had the following problems since we started renting 10 months ago:
-bugs (this place is an entomologist's dream)
-sewage line backup (ugh - but at least we didn't have to pay for it!)
-flooded basement and garage (it's a sunken garage) during heavy rainfalls
-allergy issues due to previous occupant's pets & extremely old carpet (even after 2 rounds of professional carpet cleaning, and scrubbing and repainting walls
-electrical issues (crackling lights, burned out microwave, wiring likely not up to code)
-moisture problems in bathroom due to lack of a vent fan (!)
-crumbling grout in the original 1950's tilework surrounding the tub/shower
-doors swollen due to humidity will not close, and even if they did the doors don't latch properly
-doors on original kitchen cabinets actually falling off of hinges
-oven door broke off hinge first time it was opened (after 2 years of non-use by previous occupant)
To sum it up, the place is a real stinker! The owner is not interested in putting any money into the house since they are severely underwater on the mortage, and interestingly will not allow us to rip out & replace carpet, fix the grout ourselves (as if we could make this place any worse!).
We are concerned that this isn't a safe place for an infant or small child, and prefer to buy a very modest 2-3 BR home in good condition.
A little about our monthly finances:
Income: $4K
Student loans (ah, our misspent youth = $67K at 3.5%, one of the loans on IBR): $500
Rent: $850
Utilities, internet, 2x cell phones, groceries, sundries, gas: $550
Savings cushion for clothes, automotive repair, gifts to others: $100
Monthly cash flow: +$2K
Cash: $10K
HSA: $4K (maxing out contributions this year in preparation for hospital bills)
401K and Roth IRAs: $17K (stopped contributions to max out HSA and save)
CC debt: none
Car payments: none
Possible income from side hustles next year: $3K-5K.
Side-hustle income aside, as long as we keep saving cash at our current rate we should have about $30K 1 year from now, which would be enough for 20% down on a $150K house. We have moved 4 times in the past 4 years and are ready for a break. The rental market here is pretty expensive so we will likely have to spend more money in rent for anything nicer than we have now. We prefer to stay in the same area close to our jobs. My husband is able to walk to work and I have a 10 minute commute by car (or 40 by bus+shuttle).
Do you think it is realistic for us to buy a house or should we put our efforts into finding a better rental?
We appreciate your thoughts. Please let me know if further info. is needed.