OK my hubby and I have been house searching for about 8 months now.. we was going up to 100,000 dollars not actually knowing the terms and conditions of our loan.. we thought we would be paying 550 dollars a month come to find out we have to pay the taxes and home owners insurance monthly bringing our 550 dollars a month payment up to 750 a month! and we didn’t find out until after we put an offer in.. nothing is finalized yet and we can still back out if we want to.. the taxes on the home was 1600 last yr and it is a foreclosure so it has been empty the realitor said we can not file exemptions on it until after a yr and after we have been in it a yr and file exemptions our mortgage payment will then go down.. my question is how much will it go down? Do we pay taxes annual instead of monthly after the first yr and how much would they be then? Do we have to pay home owners insurance monthly for the life of the loan or would be to be able to pay those annually after 1 yr? Based on our income we can barely afford this house.. (with the surprise increase in monthly payments) with a cushy bank account of 17600 dollars I feel a lil bit better but I want to keep saving not scraping pennies and getting into our savings each month.. This house is priced for about 50k less then its actually worth because it is a foreclosure and I am totally in love with it! but I am also not willing to be the next person foreclosing on it.. so any help on future payments is greatly appreciated! We could get through it for the first yr but I am not willing to do it for the entire life of the loan.. Thanks for any help you can give me.

1. NEVER fall in love with a house. It will NOT love you back! If you do, walk away.
2. Foreclosures sell for close to market value. Many have reduced market value because of deterioration as they stood vacant for a long time or because of deferred maintenance by the former owner, or even deliberate damage by a former owner.
3. Property taxes are what they are. You MIGHT be able to appeal the value of the home for tax purposes. That only works if your home is overvalued compared to similar homes in the tax district. If everyone is equally over-valued, your appeal will usually fail. Some states, TX and CA for example, automatically reset the taxable value to the purchase price. Contact the local tax assessor’s office for information on how the appeals process works.
4. Homeowner’s insurance is mandatory for the life of the loan, to protect the lender’s interest as well as yours. If you let it lapse, they’ll put a policy in force that will protect them only. Those policies are usually grossly overpriced!
5. Most lenders will require escrowed payments of homeowner’s insurance and property taxes on a monthly basis, added on to the P&I payment for the loan itself. If you have excellent credit, SOME lenders will allow you to manage your own property taxes and insurance. If you’re a first time buyer that won’t be likely for a few years at least though.
6. NEVER buy at the limit of what you can afford! That sets you up for disaster with the first minor emergency that comes along. If you’re pre-qualified for a $125k mortgage, aim for $100k or less. I was pre-qualified for a $250k mortgage when I bought my current home 10 years ago. I bought one for $117k instead. I owe about $92k on it now and my payments are barely 11% of my monthly gross. When I lost my job last December I was able to survive on the unemployment benefits without tapping into savings. Had I gone with the $250k loan, I’d be in foreclosure now. You’ve done well building up a small nest egg. Don’t blow it all now by buying foolishly!
Welcome to the real world. Now you see why the housing market went into the toilet. Your mortgage loan is only part of the process. Real Estate taxes and homeowners Insurance go along with it. You must pay those through escrow to begin with. Once you have built up 20% equity in the home you can pay them separately. Also, there are always further expenses in dealing with a home. I suggest that if you do not have at least $900 a month to spend on the home, you are in over your head. Best wishes.