cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Fiscal Cliff consequences to home purchase?

tag
MystiAnne
New Member

Re: Fiscal Cliff consequences to home purchase?

The concern is that if you buy a house on 12/31, then the markets, including housing markets, respond negatively to the fiscal cliff, you could lose value from your home. In some markets like San Francisco (we bought in Dec of 2011), there's still plenty of price to fall. In markets that haven't recovered, I'm not sure how much value there is left to lose. 

 

If you're planning on staying put for 15 years, this probably doesn't matter as much. Austerity measures don't work, but we may need to try them to figure that out. 

Message 11 of 14
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Fiscal Cliff consequences to home purchase?

Your comment "..Austerity measures don't work, ..."  makes me laugh and cry at the same time.  What website are we on anyway?  It is a credit scoring site that determines your potential financial strength based upon your credit to debt ratio.  If you truly believe what our present administration is doing then why do you care what your FICO score is?  Just keep borrowing and spending money and everything will be fine in your world... only your world!

Message 12 of 14
jnkp2001
Regular Contributor

Re: Fiscal Cliff consequences to home purchase?


@Cloudlb wrote:

My boss thinks we'll go off the fiscal cliff and recommended that I not close on a house prior to Dec. 31 because of it.  I have no idea how much a difference this would make to me.  I guess the idea is taxes will go up, stock values will go down and I'll be poor.  I'm already poor!

 

Does anyone here have some useful insight into this conundrum?


yeah,  don't believe everything you hear......Smiley LOL

FICO EQ: 633 8/15/12
lender pulled 11/3/12 EQ 661 TU 650 EX598
credit Karma 674 credit sesame: 663
B/K discharged 2/2006......closed 8/2012

May your limits be high and your balances low!

Message 13 of 14
student-of-credit
Established Member

Re: Fiscal Cliff consequences to home purchase?

Buying a home should have criteria specific to you and not necessarily "timing the market" or "timing the economy." If I were to give myself such "timing" advice, it would be not to buy any time during the G. W. Bush administration, although that is 20/20 hindsight. I bought and kept my home (from almost 7 years ago) but it was not a great deal. I got laid off 2 months after I bought the house but was able to get another job, a month after that (no thanks to the "great" economy of that time). Here are financial considerations I would think about, for buying a home: 1. Do you and your spouse have stable work (aside, do you think your boss is implying you might get laid off in the "cliff" uncertainty)? 2. Can you get a very stable loan (fixed more than 10 years) that is much less than your available income (less than 25% of your AGI)? 3. What percentage of your AGI does the loan payment absorb? Can you pay all costs for the mortgage out of your *own* savings? (If you cannot, that is a warning sign to me). 4. In your state, what is the law regarding your liability if, worst case, your must give up your home? Stated another way, is the home the only collateral for the loan, or must you possibly declare bankruptcy to get out of the loan (the situation for the last few years in Florida)? 5. How would you handle the mortgage, if you or your spouse got laid off (an apartment lease usually is not as large, and can't follow you around like a mortgage).
Message 14 of 14
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.