First time mortgage jitters...

The difference between mortgage payment and rent. Well... rent is like throwing your money down the drain, because you don't own that property, you aren't getting any equity out of it, you are just handing the money over in return for a short period of time with a roof over your head. A person renting signs a lease,and it can be week to week, month to month, yearly, 6 months, two years... whatever. I personally have never heard of anyone signing a 30 year lease on a property... it's a little bit more of a committment to have a mortgage than to just rent. If you end up having financial troubles, well, while you might be out a place to live not having the money for either one, well... say you want to move or something. Renting, you just wait till your lease is up and you go. Mortgage, well you have to either sell your house, be foreclosed on, or be burdened with that payment. It's more responsibility. However, that has nothing to do with the original topic that I started, nor does any of your response. Thanks for the tip on ARM's, but I assure you I didn't my homework and I did not sign an ARM mortgage. So I am not ignorant.

Didn't say you were ignorant. And we arei n a foreclosue nightmare because people did ARMs without bothering to learn what they were doing. If what you say is how you feel, why were you jittery? And my mention of difference between rent nad mortgage - you are paying the same money out. So for that matter, what's the difference. The difference comes when you have the equity if you buy, but if you don't have the comittment you'd better just rent.

Coffeebreak, I am not saying that I don't have the committment. I am simply making the point that buying your first home is a HUGE step, and I was nervous. It's a huge thing in life! But no, I am not paying out the same as I was in rent money. In this area that just doesn't happen! You live in a little piddly run down place that the landlords don't like to take care of, or you buy a nice home that you can keep up nicely... but payments cost you a lot more. But I have played the rent game for 6 years and I was ready to have something of my own, and as Unselfish put it, have more control! But signing those papers is a nervewracking experience!!!!

See... I was all worked up before the closing and sooo nervous. But the first time I turned the key to this house knowing it was mine and I could start working on it... it was instant relief and the most awesome feeling in the world, short of seeing my kids for the first time... lol. I would love to be able to have a second home to rent out someday. But it just isn't in the budget and with the economy right now, there is no guarantee I could keep tenants in there! That must be great though!

I think it would be hard to rent a property out to people, especially if you don't know them. It's like "I paid money for this, and put my own sweat and tears into this, and these people could just destroy it and not even care". I don't know if I would be able to do it!

I enjoy being a person who owns a rent home. I am very picky about who I rent to. I don't rent to families with children. I had my house totally destroyed by a 5 year old who lived there and his 7 year old cousin who came to visit. After they moved out, I spent nearly $2500 in repairs to the flooring, walls, bathtub, doors, cabinets and sheetrock to get it ready to rent again. That little kid destroyed it. I had to go to small claims court to get my money back. I've got a wonderful couple in there now who are about 50ish....so no kids there. =)

Good luck to you and Merry Christmas too. I am glad that you were able to own a home before you expected, it's a great feeling!

See that's the thing with me as well... we knew that financially we would be fine. We went over EVERYTHING more than twoce to be sure that we really would be able to afford it and commit to making that payment every month. I was just terribly nervous because it IS such a big step! Thanks for the reply!