I realized I was really vague. I have been preapproved for a loan, looking to a buy a house for upto 200,000, which in MN I can find some good 3 bedroom places that are less than 10 miles from work. Me and my realtor have a list of properties that might work that are less than 5 miles from work, which is awesome as this will enable me to bike instead of relying on driving each day.
I am not urgently looking for a place but I want to close and be able to move in my mid-May, this enables me to time to move in and settle during warmer months. Also it will be easier for me to find roommates if I want to go down that path. Right now these properties are things that I can afford with my salary, and am planning on putting extra down to pay off my mortgage faster. I also have more than enough to pay for the house in cash though that requires cashing in most of my Vanguard fund. I would rather not, I would have this grow and pay down the mortgage slowly. What do you think? Another issue is that for the past 4 years I have lived at home with my parents. For the past years they have liked this arrangement as it is a paid for house that is way too big for just them. The past few months though have been harder, as I know that I need to get out. As far as I can tell they want me to live, but the lack of autonomy is really starting to affect me and I know that until I live on my own, I will always be seen in the same light. This is also coupled with the fact that I cannot relax at home if they are home as every thing I do gets scrutinized by them. This leads to me either trying to spend every waking moment out of the house, or locking myself in my room to avoid them and either thing isn't beneficial.
I have zero to no handyman skills so am not looking at a fixer-upper. Several of my friends work in either construction or home remodeling companies and have offered to help, but I do want to limit how much work I will need to do for my house. The leader of my Bible study owns a kitchen remodeling company and so I think I would be able to get some help from him, but I don't want to rely on favors if I can find a place that I can maintain on my own.
I need any and all advice from everyone here that has bought a home.