Katie and Travis: Will It Last?

[JillyO]

The fact that an 18 year old "college" freshman, who appears to have never worked a day in his life, can buy a house blows my mind.

[raayx01]

Where did he get the money and does this mean wedding bells are coming soon

[Tangy Bee]

Does he make money singing? His parents might be like JB Duggar and help out...because he's been such a good, Christian boy.

[Italiangirl]

I feel this could be mean a summer engagement or around that time since they are usually pretty fast with the reno, giving all the help and free time they have (they meaning fundie in general and Bates/Duggar in particular). Maybe an autumn wedding? Around October? Or even September

[raayx01]

I highly doubt he makes that much from his music, plus the family albums they make the profit has to be split five plus ways. I bet he gets overpaid for having some part time job at his families college

So will Esther and Nathan get married first or travis and Katie?

[marmalade]

8 minutes ago, raayx01 said:

I highly doubt he makes that much from his music, plus the family albums they make the profit has to be split five plus ways. I bet he gets overpaid for having some part time job at his families college

So will Esther and Nathan get married first or travis and Katie?

Don't forget Lawson and Tiff. 

[Alysabeth]

So the house is in New Jersey, unless he’s planning on flipping it looks like Katie might be moving when they get married! 
 

Also, Travis replied to a comment from his brother on the house post about him ‘returning the favour’ which I took to mean that he has helped his brother renovate a property. Maybe their parents help them all out with buying their first home? 
 

Does anyone know roughly how much this house would have cost? I’m in the UK (southern England) where house prices are pretty extortionate. It took my husband and I 8 years to save for a deposit to buy our own place and even then we had some help in the form of inheritance. Blows my mind that someone 12 years younger than me with no life experience can afford to buy a house. 

Edited February 13, 2021 by Alysabeth
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[llucie]

Well obviously the money comes from his parents. They are rich so makes sense that they would help out their kids to buy their first house if they are expected to get married so young. The house is pretty small but as a first house and taking into account he doesnt work i say him and Katie got pretty lucky. It probably means the wedding is nearer than we thought.

Edit: it is also possible he is a trust fund kid or he inherited the money from grandparents.

Edited February 13, 2021 by llucie
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[January1231]

6 hours ago, Alysabeth said:

So the house is in New Jersey, unless he’s planning on flipping it looks like Katie might be moving when they get married! 
 

Also, Travis replied to a comment from his brother on the house post about him ‘returning the favour’ which I took to mean that he has helped his brother renovate a property. Maybe their parents help them all out with buying their first home? 
 

Does anyone know roughly how much this house would have cost? I’m in the UK (southern England) where house prices are pretty extortionate. It took my husband and I 8 years to save for a deposit to buy our own place and even then we had some help in the form of inheritance. Blows my mind that someone 12 years younger than me with no life experience can afford to buy a house. 

If the house is close to the same area his parents live in and the church is in then probably around 150k or so.  The houses are fairly affordable in that area.  The property taxes are high though.  South Jersey is way more affordable than North Jersey.  Berlin Borough tends to be a little more pricey than the areas closest to it like West Berlin, Atco, Pine Hill.  If he bought in a surrounding town near his parents and it needs a bunch of work it is plausible he got it closer to 100k.

Edited February 13, 2021 by January1231
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[irish_dancing_canadian]

I definitely think Travis’s parents purchased the house. I wonder how Katie will adjust to life in New Jersey. 

I think they’ll be married by the end of this year. Don’t think Katie can wait much longer. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

His parents definitely paid for that house. Maybe they gave him the money for “singing” in the family band. But that house was bought and paid for with their money.

[raayx01]

The houses in new Jersey are actually quite affordable, under 200 grand. if he did pay for it he probably got his parents to cosign a loan

[hollyfeller]

On 2/5/2021 at 11:40 PM, Melissa1977 said:

Mike Clark's girlfriend (I assume she is) is very modest-looking. I wonder what the family think about Katie's looks.

That dress looks like it was made out of a flour sack.  Obviously she can wear whatever she wants, but it is possible to be both modest *and* flattering!

[Melissa1977]

10 hours ago, Alysabeth said:

I’m in the UK (southern England) where house prices are pretty extortionate. It took my husband and I 8 years to save for a deposit to buy our own place and even then we had some help in the form of inheritance. Blows my mind that someone 12 years younger than me with no life experience can afford to buy a house

Same in Barcelona. People Katie's age cannot buy. Most of them can barely rent! But frankly, if she was my daughter I would advice her that marrying an unemployed man is not a good idea... and I would encourage her to get a job! 

Edited February 13, 2021 by Melissa1977
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[raayx01]

Im 19 and trying to buy a house over renting an apartment, houses in the 100,s are in my price range, but down in Texas houses like the one Travis got are over 200 grand. It is possible for a young person to buy a house, but Ive been working over 30 hours since I was 14, I don't know what Travis does or if he got a loan.

[artdecades]

On 2/5/2021 at 11:40 PM, Melissa1977 said:

Mike Clark's girlfriend (I assume she is) is very modest-looking. I wonder what the family think about Katie's looks.

Her Instagram shows a variety of fashions that seem pretty close to Katie’s style. I don’t think Katie looks out of place modesty wise at all. Aside from her bleach blonde hair, which is just hair, her style is consistent with his sister and his brothers girlfriend. 

[HereticHick]

On 2/13/2021 at 2:32 AM, Alysabeth said:

Does anyone know roughly how much this house would have cost? I’m in the UK (southern England) where house prices are pretty extortionate. It took my husband and I 8 years to save for a deposit to buy our own place and even then we had some help in the form of inheritance. Blows my mind that someone 12 years younger than me with no life experience can afford to buy a house. 

Americans often put down a much smaller deposit on purchasing a house than Europeans do. The average deposit on a house in the US is about 6% I believe; the average deposit in the UK is about 15%. 

[rebeccawriter01]

39 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

Americans often put down a much smaller deposit on purchasing a house than Europeans do. The average deposit on a house in the US is about 6% I believe; the average deposit in the UK is about 15%. 

That can depend a lot on the loan type. Some loans that are FHA, VA, or USDA are 3% down or even $0 down. I have never gotten one of those. I have always had to put 20% down for a traditional mortgage or been told I would pay private mortgage insurance (about $200 a month more). When I bought my condo where I live now, they wanted 30% down. 

[nausicaa]

57 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

Americans often put down a much smaller deposit on purchasing a house than Europeans do. The average deposit on a house in the US is about 6% I believe; the average deposit in the UK is about 15%. 

They can, but they'll have to pay PMI, making their monthly mortgage payment even more, and it always goes against a lot of Dave Ramsey/conservative Christian financial advice to always put at least 20% down and try to pay off a house as fast as possible. And if the area is competitive at all, it's easy to lose out to people with more money to put down. 

I'm still scratching my head at how these people afford these lives. I realize I live in the D.C. area where home prices are insane, but I'm barely able to afford a fixed upper out in Warrenton. And I don't have a passel of kids on the way and have worked a good job for over ten years. 

I desperately want to see budgets. I know I never will and it's none of my business, but God what I would give to see some household financial breakdowns. 

[just_ordinary]

In Germany the ancillary acquisition costs are substantial too. Depending on council you pay up to 6% property transfer tax. Another 1-2% are lawyer, the deed registration, if there was an estate agent involved you would have to pay him (often both parties split, or the seller pays nowadays). And that is all money that doesn’t add any value to the property or brings any actual ownership. You pretty much need to have it because banks don’t like to borrow money that isn’t covered by the object worth. They often send someone to estimate the property. If their estimated value doesn’t match the price they will be hesitant to give you more (most likely they won’t). 100% financing isn’t the norm and banks are very careful in their vetting process. Many also try to come up with a few ten thousands of their own. So the actual mortgage on the object is lower and they get a better rate in their mortgage. Bringing in 50.00-80.000€ of your own money to the process is pretty standard. But coming up with that money while renting isn’t easy. Remember that most people move out in their early twenties - so at the start of their careers or while still studying.

Many only buy once in their lifetime. The concept of starter homes like for example in the UK is unheard of.

Edited February 15, 2021 by just_ordinary

[OHFL2009]

The US is very similar in ancillary costs (we often lump them together and call them closing costs, although some of them like appraisals or inspections might be paid before closing). They vary from state to state and loan type to loan type depending on document taxes, loan underwriting fees, survey costs, inspection costs, etc. Real estate agent fees are generally paid by the seller, at least in my experience. Lenders in the US also order property appraisals and their guidelines can vary depending on the type of loan and the amount the buyer is putting down.

 

The most stressful part of selling our last house was the appraisal because they use recent sales of similar homes to help determine the value, and someone in our neighborhood with a very similar home had just sold theirs for a crazy low price ($30,000 less than ours) because they were moving across the country and just wanted it sold. Our buyer was also using an FHA loan with a low down payment so we knew if the appraisal came in low we'd either have to lower our price or find a new buyer. Luckily it came in at exactly the sale price. 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

1 hour ago, nausicaa said:

They can, but they'll have to pay PMI, making their monthly mortgage payment even more, and it always goes against a lot of Dave Ramsey/conservative Christian financial advice to always put at least 20% down and try to pay off a house as fast as possible. And if the area is competitive at all, it's easy to lose out to people with more money to put down. 

I'm still scratching my head at how these people afford these lives. I realize I live in the D.C. area where home prices are insane, but I'm barely able to afford a fixed upper out in Warrenton. And I don't have a passel of kids on the way and have worked a good job for over ten years. 

I desperately want to see budgets. I know I never will and it's none of my business, but God what I would give to see some household financial breakdowns. 

The budget I want to see is the Rods.  It's none of my business either but I'm dying to know what they rake in in grift, enough that they qualified for a mortgage with neither having a job.

[nausicaa]

1 hour ago, just_ordinary said:

Many only buy once in their lifetime. The concept of starter homes like for example in the UK is unheard of.

I've heard this before (and that it's incredibly difficult to buy in some European countries like Switzerland). Is it a big deal when people do buy a house? Like a large housewarming? And is there a focus on paying off your mortgage?

[Lgirlrocks]

On 2/12/2021 at 6:04 PM, VBOY9977 said:

So Travis just posted that he bought a house and will be doing renovations. I don’t know if it’s an investment sort of thing or potential future home for him and Katie. 

How does he have money for that? He is a college kid that doesn’t work. No way could he have made enough on his own from record sales. Wish my mom was rich enough to buy me a house. 

[nelliebelle1197]

On 2/6/2021 at 2:40 AM, Melissa1977 said:

Mike Clark's girlfriend (I assume she is) is very modest-looking. I wonder what the family think about Katie's looks.

She would be absolutely stunning if she was not dressed like Teri Maxwell in 1986.

Edited February 16, 2021 by nelliebelle1197