I'm in the process of selling a house, I moved into a house last month, and rented out another house.

Houses suck.

We're contemplating buying (in the UK) sometime in the next 6 to 8 months. Is there something I should be doing to prepare?

Aside from joining Swampy's support group, I mean.

I'm buying a house on Monday - my first. I know Chumpy is buying one soon as well, and I think Leaping bought one recently.

The housing market is tanking in my market, and in most of the US markets that were "hot" the last few years. I would not hope to be selling anytime soon. I am waiting until it hits bottom to buy.

Trying to buy a house myself here. Might put an offer in on Monday.

I'm preparing to buy a house. I'm still in the process of waiting for the VA to send me the letter saying that I'm elible for a VA loan. Then I get to do all the fun financial stuff.

As a first timer the process seems already be rather daunting.

It's a sad fact of life that going hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt generally does not equal fun. Do you have some agreement with your girlfiend about what happens to the house and mortgage if you break up?

I had a nightmare time selling my house in this market.. constant low ball offers.. eventually I took the last decent offer once they met me in the middle.. throwing in my Plasma in the bedroom sealed the deal.

Pain in the ass.. I'm going to buy again in 2 years once the market has settled down and things are somewhat "normal" but I'm sure my interest rate will be twice what it is today.

Wow crazy how fast things change...bought about 2 years ago, and if you werent there on day one and willing to pay full price you werent getting a house. Even meeting those criteria I lost 2 bidding wars before I finally got a house.

My house is under contract for the fourth time now. I have been trying to sell it for the past 18 months, and for the past 12 I have lived in another state (with my mother in law). First contract died when the dude could not get financing. Second died when the f**king wench (I am still bitter) walked away from my contract 2 days before we were supposed to close, and would not return any phone calls. Legal threats did nothing, and I didn't have the money to pursue sueing her for damages. Third contract died 2 days ago when the deposit money check bounced, after they had done the inspection. Luckily, someone put a contract on the house later that day when my savvy agent reposted the house back to active, it showed, and they put a contract on it the same day.

My house is in Charlotte, in the northwest side of town, and that market is absolute crap if you are selling. Buying you can get a huge house for dirt cheap. Buying a house here in Richmond should be much easier, as the market is in freefall.

Yeah its bad.. and for example take downtown Philly.. all the johnny come lately management companies are converting their previous Apt buildings into "luxury" condos with the idea that like 5 years ago.. they could basically name their price and get it.. only to find that 1000 other companies had the exact same idea.. and just now.. hitting the market with it..

So they are charging $500K up for 1200sq ft. condos kicking out all their renters and waiting for the buyers..

Problem.. no buyers.. or not enough buyers..

Huge condo glut that will only get larger in the next 18 months.. dopes.

Funny about the condos... the Seattle/Bellevue area is undergoing a huge condo explosion right now, with many of them priced upwards of 600K and those with the really nice views are fetching as much as 1.5million.

Anyway, as for the original question, we bought a 1.5 acre wooded piece of property in a nice waterfront neighborhood (ours is 1/4 mile off the water) that we were planning on building a log home on. This was in NC. We've since moved to WA but we're holding onto the property because the payment is so cheap.

Flash forward to two years ago. We were all set to have a house built in the development we're in. We put a bid down on the property and then went looking at the model homes and went to the companie's bit showroom where you pick everything from molding to doorknobs to tile and cabinets and bathroom fixtures. Holy cow, was it a nervewracking experience.

We ended up calling a realtor and buying a house in that same development that was 6 years old, barely lived in (not a single nail hole in the entire house), and in a much better location as far as proximity to the school/parks/stores. We bought it for the same price we were going to be paying for new construction. We just refinanced this week, just 2 years later, and the house appraised for 40% more than we paid. Cha-ching!

So, yeah, I think the anxiety you're likely feeling is very understandable and both times we were in a situation to have a home built, we quickly ran from that situation. Now we're thinking of getting some land in the mountains and having a cabin built, but we'll probably go pre-fab for that. Or maybe for one of those swanky treehouses. Good luck! And just think about how happy and proud you'll be when it's done. Most people don't have the sack to put up with a house being built. Myself included, obviously.

I certainly feel for you. We're on our third buyer, but at least these guys seem serious. All in all, I expect to lose half of what we put into the house, to say nothing about the improvements we did. After owning, but not living in the house for over two years, I just want to lose it. Fortunately we can take the financial hit with no problem-- I just can't wait to no longer have to worry about the darn thing.

We are losing every cent we put into the house, plus a loss paying the real estate fees. But it will be worth it when we can finally get away from living with a 59 year old person who still acts like a 5 year old. Dropping 20k into a house I don't live in hurts though.

$10,000.01