Total chaos unleashed
05/30/08 11:32 Filed in: Family &
Friends | Medical
Sorry I've been so slow to post lately. I have just
been incredibly busy trying to get things squared
away before starting intern year in just a few weeks.
Plus, there's that small matter of graduation, which
I have barely thought about and is just around the
corner. Frankly, I'm not much for ceremonies, and
I've got so many things going on right now that it is
at the bottom of my list of things to worry about.
Although I guess I should figure out the whole
gown/rehearsal/schedule stuff before I forget.
To make things even more complicated (and what has really been tying up all my time) is that we are now thinking about buying a home. Despite all the media about home prices plummeting, it's a fantastic time for us to consider buying. Around here, homes usually get dozens of bids (and most get more than asking price) but now, there are fewer bidders for the same number of homes, so we have a chance at a reasonable price. And interestingly, home prices have not decreased in this part of California (they just haven't been increasing as much as they usually do). Prices around here are crazy, really crazy. Imagine "crazy" and then at least double that price, maybe triple that price. That's how much you'd pay for an old, dinky house around here. We can't afford a detached, single-family house (and if we don't get in the market soon, we may never be able to), so we are looking at townhomes and condominiums. Is it worth living here? Who knows, but we're at least stuck here for a few more years and it's not smart for us to keep throwing away money into renting (especially if we can try to buy), not to mention take advantage of the tax shelter we'd be getting.
With my older son starting kindergarten next year (we think), we're trying to figure out which school district we'd like to live in so we won't have to move too much and he can make longtime friends. The problem is that the school systems are very complex (not to mention oversubscribed and underfunded) and for the first time, we are actually considering private school as an option (which is totally not something we ever thought we'd do). But I can totally see why people send their kids to private school now. And I'll write more later about all this. I've literally gone from zero to at least 80% in terms of researching homes, schools, and the tax code in the last week. My brains hurts from all the number crunching and decision-making, but I think it'll be worth it. It might be a whirlwind in the next few months, but nothing we're not used to by now. Thank goodness I have these few weeks to work this out.
So between trying to make decisions about schools and whether or not to purchase (we've never owned a property before), there's that other little matter regarding financing. Apparently it is quite difficult to get a loan nowadays (there are unique loans for physicians that we are looking into, but they of course have higher rates), and of course we don't have much equity or fluid assets at the moment. But at least we can probably qualify for a physician loan. Otherwise, how do you tell a bank Um, we don't have much for a down, and we don't have any assets - in fact, we have hundreds of thousands of dollars of school loans, but please loan us several hundreds of thousands of dollars. With this physician loan (low/no down, no PMI, up to $1 million), we will have massive monthly payments for the first little while, but once we build up some equity, we can refinance and bring that down. And if we sit tight and don't move for a few years (which I'd love - student life has resulted in five moves in the last five years, four with at least one child), we'll have a nice springboard to purchase the next home (which would otherwise be impossible).
It's all very crazy right now, and it's going to be even crazier once I start (I'll be sure to post about moving in the middle of my intern year). Nothing has been set in stone yet, but I am chin deep in the middle of the chaos right now and will be sure to update once it's a bit less crazy.
To make things even more complicated (and what has really been tying up all my time) is that we are now thinking about buying a home. Despite all the media about home prices plummeting, it's a fantastic time for us to consider buying. Around here, homes usually get dozens of bids (and most get more than asking price) but now, there are fewer bidders for the same number of homes, so we have a chance at a reasonable price. And interestingly, home prices have not decreased in this part of California (they just haven't been increasing as much as they usually do). Prices around here are crazy, really crazy. Imagine "crazy" and then at least double that price, maybe triple that price. That's how much you'd pay for an old, dinky house around here. We can't afford a detached, single-family house (and if we don't get in the market soon, we may never be able to), so we are looking at townhomes and condominiums. Is it worth living here? Who knows, but we're at least stuck here for a few more years and it's not smart for us to keep throwing away money into renting (especially if we can try to buy), not to mention take advantage of the tax shelter we'd be getting.
With my older son starting kindergarten next year (we think), we're trying to figure out which school district we'd like to live in so we won't have to move too much and he can make longtime friends. The problem is that the school systems are very complex (not to mention oversubscribed and underfunded) and for the first time, we are actually considering private school as an option (which is totally not something we ever thought we'd do). But I can totally see why people send their kids to private school now. And I'll write more later about all this. I've literally gone from zero to at least 80% in terms of researching homes, schools, and the tax code in the last week. My brains hurts from all the number crunching and decision-making, but I think it'll be worth it. It might be a whirlwind in the next few months, but nothing we're not used to by now. Thank goodness I have these few weeks to work this out.
So between trying to make decisions about schools and whether or not to purchase (we've never owned a property before), there's that other little matter regarding financing. Apparently it is quite difficult to get a loan nowadays (there are unique loans for physicians that we are looking into, but they of course have higher rates), and of course we don't have much equity or fluid assets at the moment. But at least we can probably qualify for a physician loan. Otherwise, how do you tell a bank Um, we don't have much for a down, and we don't have any assets - in fact, we have hundreds of thousands of dollars of school loans, but please loan us several hundreds of thousands of dollars. With this physician loan (low/no down, no PMI, up to $1 million), we will have massive monthly payments for the first little while, but once we build up some equity, we can refinance and bring that down. And if we sit tight and don't move for a few years (which I'd love - student life has resulted in five moves in the last five years, four with at least one child), we'll have a nice springboard to purchase the next home (which would otherwise be impossible).
It's all very crazy right now, and it's going to be even crazier once I start (I'll be sure to post about moving in the middle of my intern year). Nothing has been set in stone yet, but I am chin deep in the middle of the chaos right now and will be sure to update once it's a bit less crazy.
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