Most of what Joe and I talk about and hope for is home ownership. We have been saving for about a year now.. but mainly since Joe got hired at Yahoo. We made cuts to our expenses like giving up our cell phone, and moving to a not as cute but cheaper energy efficient apartment. We are doing ok with the savings. It is such a good year to buy a house I wish we had the down payment right now. There is an 8 thousand dollar tax credit if we buy a house before November 30. We signed up yesterday to start taking classes at the Portland Housing Center. They explain the process of buying a home and loans. We can get counciling and other services for the next two years. They also tell you what programs you are qualified for. We are interested in an Oregon Bond loan. This loan is for low income families looking to buy their first home. It has a fixed interest rate currently at 4.5% which is sooo low! There are restrictions on income and when you can sell the house. The money saved would make that worth it though.
We look at houses all the time online. We are thinking we might buy a two bedroom to start. We can get a nice one with updates for about 175k. We are discussing not living in Portland. If we move out of the city taxes will be less, also the school system will be better. Portland public has a lot of problems. There is a 43% drop out rate in high school. We would have to send any future children to private school. The tuition at our church is currently about 5k a year.
I mainly want a nice kitchen. I want there to be enough room on the counters to fit all my appliances so I don't have to put them away.
Hmm I will keep dreaming and hoping we can afford a downpayment before too long.
