Should I buy my own home now/later/or never?

ok - I am a single working mum with 2 children aged 10 & 13 and have been renting for the past 10 years after having to sell own home after divorce and being left with no $$$. I have discovered that I can borrow enough to buy a modest home and the repayments would not be that much more than what I am currently paying in rent/car loan if I can manage to get some funds together for fees etc.
It has always been my dream to own my own home as I am a mad renovator (bit hard when renting) however I am concerned about getting into the market at 44. I don't have any super either so retirement is not looking good. Is home ownership the way to go? Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Building up equity is usually always preferable to paying rent. Go for it!

go for it sandy, i did as a single mum and dont regret it at all.
get some thing that needs a bit of work and put your mark on it.
now is always the right time and if you buy cheap enough and do a good job of renovating then you maybe able to sell for a profit and go again to something better.
i would suggest a mortgage broker and if you are in aussie then the first home buyers grant may help with fees etc. ( go under you mainden name if you have to).
good luck in your quest.
keep us updated

Sandy, I can only tell you that this would be the smartest and best decision that you can make for yourself and your children. Don't worry about your age; you are a youngster in today's world, haven鈥檛 you heard that 40 is the new 30? It is never too late to buy and based on what you are saying it would be crazy not to buy. If you can afford the payments on the house; they why not do it? It is such an amazing feeling to come home to your own home; your home that you can decorate and remodel to what you want. Your home, where your kids can be as loud as they want without having to worry about the other tenants. The timing is perfect right now; the market has changed dramatically and the values have come down significantly in some areas. So you can get in at a perfect time.

The only things that I would tell you to be careful about are the following:
Don't get suckered by some of the lenders/brokers out there. They can paint a beautiful picture for you and make it sound like everything is going to be very easy. There are some very big crooks out there so be very careful. When you are dealing with a broker for example, make sure to ask appropriate questions regarding the cost. Ask them how many points will this cost you up front and how many rebate points they are getting back. There are two kinds; the kind that you pay and the kind that the lender that is buying the loan from the broker will pay them. This is how some brokers can magically lower the rate for you when you tell them you got a better deal somewhere else; all they do is take a slightly lower rebate and give you a better rate. How that works is that the lender will pay them more on the loan if they can sell you an adjustable loan, a higher rate and a prepayment penalty. Basically, the worst loan they give you the more money the lender will pay them for the loan. Another thing that they will do is inflate the costs; they will tell you that it's zero points but then charge you very high costs to make up for the points. Remember that they are out to make money and are looking out for their best interest; not yours.

Don't get fooled by some of these sales people; they can act like the nicest people but can be ripping you off. That鈥檚 there job; there job is to sell and part of a good sales person is to make you comfortable and make you drop your guard. Lenders are usually a safer bet then brokers since the lenders are going to give you the loan directly; the fees are lower and the points will be also. Keep in mind that the more down payment you can do and the higher your credit scores the better. If you can qualify using your full income documentation (showing your tax returns and pay stubs), it will give you an even better rate.

Make sure you get a lot of quotes from a lot of different people; it won't hurt to compare what everyone is offering. You would be surprised on how different the rates and fees can be depending on who you speak with. I will recommend that you pull your credit only once so that you can find out what's on your credit report and make sure that there are no errors on it. You would be surprised how many people have incorrect reporting鈥檚 on their credit that are significantly lowering their fico scores. Once you know your credit scores you can provide the scores to the lenders/brokers for them to give you a quote. If they tell you that they need to pull it themselves then tell them thank you and call the next person. They can give you a quote based on that number without having to pull their own credit. The only time they need to pull your credit is if you are actually going to apply with someone. Don't give them your personal information until then; since the more your credit is pulled the lower your credit score goes. A lot of them will tell you that if you pull it with one lender and then pull it with everyone else within 30 days it won't affect your score. That鈥檚 a lie; an inquiry on your credit is an inquiry and inquiries will lower your scores.

Another thing to keep in mind is that brokers shop for you with many lenders which is how they try to get you a better rate and a better rebate for themselves. Sometimes they will try to get you the loan from the lender that is going to pay them the most. They will shop you with 5-10 different lenders and sometimes they will all pull your credit. So even though you thought that only the broker was going to pull it now you have 10 people pulling it. They don't need to pull it just go give you a quote on what their rates and fees are like. Just keep in mind that if your scores are different then what you are providing them once you pull it then your rate can be very different.

Don't let any of this scare you; I tell you these things so that you can be more aware and can be a smarter consumer. You would be surprised how many people get caught by this; especially first time buyers. If you need anything else let me know, email me directly at laguy82@yahoo.com

Buy now. Rates are fairly low . If your rent payment is near what your mortgage payment would be then the choice is easy. As a home owner having a mortgage will allow you to write off the interest payments you made on your income tax statement. And you can also write off the real estate tax as well. The money you get back from these alone is worth buying rather than renting. In addition you will be gaining equity as your home goes up in value over the years.