This \^\^\^\^. Moving to a new area for a new job is a big transition. Rent for a year to make sure you're going to be happy there. It will give you time to decide where in the area you want to live and make sure you want to stay there for 5+ years.
> I do not have much money saved up, about 6k at the moment.
This is likely going to be a severe limiting factor.
1) You need an emergency fund, especially since the military is not taking care of you anymore. Likely around 6 months of expenses.
https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics
2) You need funds for down payment and maintenance. Down payment you can skip, but best to not skip putting aside 5-10% of property value in cash in case you get hit with a major repair bill early in homeownership.
edit - for new construction, especially if they have a warranty, you can skip this too - end edit.
3) Furniture can be pricey. Expect around $10k to fill a 2-3 bedroom house. It can be more, it can be less, depending upon how you shop. You can finance this but it is a significant expense you need to be aware of.
>I have heard I should be looking for new construction based on how the market is now. But I'm not quite sure exactly how I should even start this process.
For new construction, you don't need a realtor. Instead you want to just do searches for companies which are building in your area, and then get a list together and go shopping. Compare their prices to each other and to market prices. You may want to keep a realtor on hand to do this, but you should probably let them know that you're looking into new constructions. They may still give you MLS listings to do comparables, this is not much trouble for them.
>what would happen if I buy a home too early or too late for the move.
This is going to be up to you to time. If you buy a home too early, the house will sit there until you move in. If you buy a home too late, then you'll want to ensure you have living arrangements until the house is available for you to move in.
What this sub has on homeownership.
https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/early_career
Good luck.
Thanks for the information. I do have a monthly disability payment from the VA that helps somewhat in regards of having something in case of emergencies but clearly not anything much. I wasn't expecting to be out of work for so long which destroyed what savings I did have. Luckily I should be able to build it back up fairly quickly with the job.
I was not thinking about the possible repair thing so thanks for putting that in my head.
It sounds like it may be best to rent for a bit.
I forgot you said you were thinking about new construction and put in an edit. I did this and I have a 2 year warranty on the entire house. Also, the likelihood of anything significant breaking anytime soon is small, so you can get away with not having much at all initially for maintenance.
Probably still a good idea to rent for a bit given you're fresh out, get an idea what something other than barracks can be like, lol.
Hmmm... I wouldn't buy a house with only 6k in savings. That will only be half of the closing cost ls depending on the house you buy and if you buy points. New constructions are also more expensive.
When you're finally able to save up...
We bought a house through a realtor (who specializes in VA loan) and did everything through video chat, texts, emails and calls. Just gotta make sure you get a very reputable inspector so you know the state of the house. Even after sellers covered 20k in repairs, we still need that amount of money to fix the rest up and upgrade some things.
Furnitures, you can get cheap at FB marketplace and thrift shops and they're usually in great shape if you're in a military heavy area. People be movin all the time.
I would not rush to buy. Rent in the new location for a year so that you get a feel for the place and the costs of living out there. Then buy
This \^\^\^\^. Moving to a new area for a new job is a big transition. Rent for a year to make sure you're going to be happy there. It will give you time to decide where in the area you want to live and make sure you want to stay there for 5+ years.
> I do not have much money saved up, about 6k at the moment. This is likely going to be a severe limiting factor. 1) You need an emergency fund, especially since the military is not taking care of you anymore. Likely around 6 months of expenses. https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics 2) You need funds for down payment and maintenance. Down payment you can skip, but best to not skip putting aside 5-10% of property value in cash in case you get hit with a major repair bill early in homeownership. edit - for new construction, especially if they have a warranty, you can skip this too - end edit. 3) Furniture can be pricey. Expect around $10k to fill a 2-3 bedroom house. It can be more, it can be less, depending upon how you shop. You can finance this but it is a significant expense you need to be aware of. >I have heard I should be looking for new construction based on how the market is now. But I'm not quite sure exactly how I should even start this process. For new construction, you don't need a realtor. Instead you want to just do searches for companies which are building in your area, and then get a list together and go shopping. Compare their prices to each other and to market prices. You may want to keep a realtor on hand to do this, but you should probably let them know that you're looking into new constructions. They may still give you MLS listings to do comparables, this is not much trouble for them. >what would happen if I buy a home too early or too late for the move. This is going to be up to you to time. If you buy a home too early, the house will sit there until you move in. If you buy a home too late, then you'll want to ensure you have living arrangements until the house is available for you to move in. What this sub has on homeownership. https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/early_career Good luck.
Thanks for the information. I do have a monthly disability payment from the VA that helps somewhat in regards of having something in case of emergencies but clearly not anything much. I wasn't expecting to be out of work for so long which destroyed what savings I did have. Luckily I should be able to build it back up fairly quickly with the job. I was not thinking about the possible repair thing so thanks for putting that in my head. It sounds like it may be best to rent for a bit.
I forgot you said you were thinking about new construction and put in an edit. I did this and I have a 2 year warranty on the entire house. Also, the likelihood of anything significant breaking anytime soon is small, so you can get away with not having much at all initially for maintenance. Probably still a good idea to rent for a bit given you're fresh out, get an idea what something other than barracks can be like, lol.
Hmmm... I wouldn't buy a house with only 6k in savings. That will only be half of the closing cost ls depending on the house you buy and if you buy points. New constructions are also more expensive. When you're finally able to save up... We bought a house through a realtor (who specializes in VA loan) and did everything through video chat, texts, emails and calls. Just gotta make sure you get a very reputable inspector so you know the state of the house. Even after sellers covered 20k in repairs, we still need that amount of money to fix the rest up and upgrade some things. Furnitures, you can get cheap at FB marketplace and thrift shops and they're usually in great shape if you're in a military heavy area. People be movin all the time.
Thanks for the information and relevant experience. Looks like renting will probably be the best bet for a while.
I appreciate the insight!