M$D: 3/6/2041
Meet Alyssa
Age: 25
Alyssa’s main concerns, in her words:
Hey there! My fiance and I (wedding September 2016) are debt free, making ~150k / year pre-tax. We are self-employed and have spent the last few years bouncing around the southwestern USA in a cool old school bus that we turned into an RV. (photos! http://outsidefound.com/)
We are now feeling ready to put down roots and settle down in Bozeman, MT, and would like to buy a house in the near future. Here are some other details about our situation / other things we’re thinking about:
– We currently have ~50k in savings for a down payment (outside of our 3-month emergency fund and two Roth IRAs that have been funded for the past two years.)
– We have not ever held any debt (went to state college, never bought any new cars, etc etc) and so do not have very long standing credit history. We’re each sitting at ~765, I think mostly because our accounts are relatively new.
– We are in a unique spot. In the summer, we travel full time in the bus, which means we pay more in gas / food / etc, but no rent or utilities. In the winter we act as caretakers for Will’s grandparent’s house here in West Yellowstone. We don’t pay rent but utilities (including firewood, snowplow services, etc) run about ~400 / month.
– We co-own an S-Corp. What extra hoops will we have to jump through because we are young and self-employed? What additional documentation (if any) should we be gathering to make the loan process as easy as possible?
– Would buying a property with multiple rentable units make sense for us? Example: larger house with a separate mother in law apartment, where we live in the MIL and rent out the main house.
– Are we currently in a good position to purchase a home? What can we do over the next few years to better our position?
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Peter Dunn a.k.a. Pete the Planner® is an award-winning financial mind and a former comedian. He’s a USA TODAY columnist, author of ten books, and is the host of the popular radio show and podcast, The Pete the Planner Show. Pete is considered one of the foremost experts on financial wellness in the world, but he’s just as likely to talk your ear off about bass fishing.