Help me Please.

If you are taking the time to read this thank you. I am 25, married, and have a baby girl on the way. I have nearly $100,000 in savings. I am in the military where i get $900 a month towards rent/mortgage. I am currently in Afghanistan and when i get back to the states i wanted to buy a house and a new car. I was hoping to use as little of my savings as possible. But ultimately i just want to have my mortgage/bills (aka electric,water) not exceed the amount i get from the military. I was thinking a house around $150,000 would do. my concern is how much should i put down if any at all. I only plan on living in the house for 2-3 years before i would have to move. I don't want to lose savings and i don't want to go broke having to pay a fortune for mortgage. I want to ensure that my wife and child will be taken care of in the future. what should i do to have a new house, car and money for the long run. I understand that with 100k i could be set for success.

The monthly payment on a $150,000 30 yr. fixed mortgage @ 5.8% would be around $880. This would not include any other expenses such as insurance, utilities, property taxes or maintenence.

If you move within 2-3 years of purchase, you MAY lose money when compared with renting for that period of time. There are online calculators that help check that.

You can get some great some deals on home right now, but doc is right you might end up losing if you do sell in only 2-3 years.

I agree...I think you are likely to lose money if you sell within 3 years. I would wait to sell later than this.

GoinPro05,

Thank You for your time and effort in our nation's military.

You have been busy saving. You did not say so I'll assume your $100,000 is in a taxable account and not in a tax deferred account.

To spend a few thousand dollars less, buy a 2-3 year old car. Most car manufacturers have program cars on dealer lots that sell for thousand's less than a new car.

Expenses for your home should not exceed 40% of your after tax income. That would include a mortgage, interest, utilities, insurance, maintenance, heat and AC, trash pu, telephones (including cell), TV, internet, water, sewer, etc.

Other expenses about owning a home, you want to make the home cofortable and that creates some additional expenses. Consider curtains or blinds at the windows, trash cans, door mats, rugs/carpets, and tools to do some yard work.

In 2 to 3 years you will not build much equity in your home unless realestate prices are increasing. Generally that is not the case today.

You should plan on putting down at least 20% of the sell price to avoid the PMI issue and cost. And at closing there are some other costs like property taxes paid by the previous owner. Here is a link to a closing cost calculator: http://www.countrywide.com/Calculators/calculator.aspx?CalcType=ClosingCostEstimator

I hope all goes well with your new daughter, realize she will qualify you for a $1,000 tax credit, and a $300 stimulus tax credit, and an additional $3,500 personal exemption, next tax season.

If you are considering purchasing, you need to consider not only the real estate market in the area you're looking at, but the rental market. You may do well buying a home in a selected area even if the market is not showing much appreciation, as long as the rental market is strong enough that you can rent out your house after you move. In such an event, you'll probably need to hire a property management company to handle things for you, as you'd be an absentee landlord.
Thanks for your service to all of us.