We are a family of 4 pre-qualified for conventional loan for the last year, and we made two offers (over list price) and were slaughtered by higher mostly cash offers. We like to live below our means and are simple when it comes to preferences, though we won't commute. Our 12 month lease ended last month, but we are not in a rush as we can go month to month. We've been trying to be smart about things but I want to know what the Mustachian advice would be. I am happy to provide more info if that helps.
My main concerns:
1. Are we getting stuck in some kind of rat race game of first time homebuying? My research says these sales prices are not sustainable, as it is not made up of enough first time home buyers and wages are still stagnant. Investors and low interest rates are not a true real estate recovery from what I have read.
2. We would love to have land (even an acre) and build a straw bale house, or just live on land and get a manufactured house....but we can't get a loan, re-hab loan, USDA loan it seems in these parts. Plus, there is the commute part.
3. We would like to live a more mustachian type life but feel reliant on the wages my husband earns as a mainstream mechanical engineer for a big corporation in Central SD. I know he would love to be some sort of financially sustainable freelancer of sorts doing engineering projects out of a workshop on the property we dream of, but I have no idea how to work in that direction....and that is saying something because I am an experienced career counselor (though at the moment I work only on very p/t and stay home with my children).
4. I know mustachians may say to move to a cheaper area, but we just did that by spending 2 years in WA state (my first time living outside of CA) and although it was affordable, all my family is here in So. Cal and I missed them desperately and family is important to us, especially as we raise our little ones. Besides, we spent all the college years, and early professional years far away from family.
I will stop rambling now....I just feel like maybe we are missing something????
Thanks everyone :)