Buy a GTR or a House?
 

Kinda a weird question, but thats where Im at. I got a pretty good job, but have only been there for about 3 months and its going well. Im not in love with it, but pay is good, sooo.....
The house is a foreclosure with a few unknowns. But its dirt cheap at $126k. Pretty large, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath that needs a little cosmetic work. Some new flooring and paint and things of that nature.
So, I love cars and have always wanted that serious premier sports car, but realize that at my age, 27, perhaps I should be thinking of the future. But man the present is too fun to think far ahead.
So, what would you do?

If you've only had your job for 3 months I wouldn't buy anything right now.

Buy the house. People keep calling it a down market for houses. I say houses are on the best sale in years. When the market rebounds you will sell it for a nice profit plus recoup money you would have thrown away to a landlord.

As nice as a GTR is you wont ever sell it for a profit.

^ That too

Get the house! You won't regret it....

House!

That's the best advice by far! There are huge inventories on the market for distressed houses that won't go away this year or next for that matter at least till the job market improves; there would always be a GTR available when the time is right. I would build at least a year of emergency funds before thinking about buying anything, especially this early into your new job. You wouldn't want any bad surprise in the event of unforeseen job loss (not wishing this on you at all but good to plan for it)

house

This cant be a serious question. As said, considering you have only been working for 3 months I would hold off on both. Give yourself some time to get job security, you never know if you're going to be laid off since you're the new guy and be stuck in huge payments on what you buy. Keep working, save up money so you have a cushion and buy a house. Houses hold more value than a car and in the long run you could actually make profit if you choose to sell it.

:iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree::i agree:

Hmm great advice and I find this especially helpful for myself. How long after getting a new job should you wait before buying a house (which will be my first major purchase)? How much would be a year's worth of emergency funds? My situation is a little different though. You and Steve already know this, but I'm gonna be finishing school in May and hopefully will land a nice engineering job right afterwards. House is definitely the first major purchase, no questions about it. I live with my parents and they have emergency funds saved up, plus their own incomes. I will probably be paying for the house by myself with both my parents incomes being saved up for emergency funds. Appreciate the advice :tup:

Also planning to buy a GT-R after a couple years on the job and after having settled into the house :tup:

I say wait until you have a years worth of essential living expenses saved. So enough to cover 12 months worth of rent, car payment, insurance, food expense, and other necessities.

6 months is the minimum recommended safety net, but in this environment 12 months gives you more of a buffer.

In your case, just focus on saving for a down payment since your parents have the other expenses covered.

Yeah that's kind of what I was planning on. Should I pay off the car first or just use that money for the down payment of house? I was also thinking about transferring the car to my name after I get full time work and I can get a loan. This way I can start building up my credit since I will be the main person on the loan. I have a better credit score than both my parents right now, but am lacking in credit history.

:iagree: Plus I don't think you'll be able to get a home loan with just 3 months on the job. Home loan requirements are pretty strict now. Just save up your money for now.

Yeah that's the plan for me at least. My family was actually trying to buy a house last summer, but the loan was rejected a month before we were supposed to move in. This was a brand new house that we saw get built throughout the whole process. The reason we didn't get the loan was because the combined salary was too low. The loan we get in the future would have me and both my parents on it. They have the credit history and with my added salary we should be ok.