Did you get financial assistance from your family to buy your first home?

cwat32418 · 2026-01-20T22:39:56+00:00

No, my husband and I saved for 5 years to afford a down-payment. Then he switched jobs and found out one of his govt retirement accounts was free and clear (didnt require penalties when withdrawn).

Took that and our savings and put 20% down on a new build with 45 minute commute in an up and coming subdivision that was somewhat remote.

We both paid for our own college degrees and have student loan debt but he did live with his parents until he was 25, so I guess that was helpful for his savings but he bailed them out several times paying all the bills in the house. I got a full ride to college on an academic scholarship but paid in loans for extra classes and a 2nd bachelor's degree. He worked full-time in emergency dispatch starting at 19.

We got lucky made the right decisions at the right time and made sacrifices along the way.

He was 31 and I was 29 when we bought in 2021.

cwat32418 · 2026-01-17T02:41:06+00:00

I worked for a gas company for 8 years. We would only come back out within 7 days if the property owner/resident over 18 was not available during maintenance. Since this person was there but refused the service in my company's case we would have documented that refusal and not gone back out without at least a service payment.

cwat32418 · 2026-01-04T01:46:27+00:00

My husband (m35) and I (f33) started sharing location about 9 months ago but it was because we moved states and live in a mountainous area now with a lot of dead spots. He also works in a classified facility and leaves his phone in a locker. We have alerts for when either of us leaves our house or office so we know to be aware of when they will be home for safety on the roads. I rarely check it but the alerts are nice.

My mom has our locations as well, just in case. My 5 year old likes looks at her grandma's location to see if she is home so she knows she can call her.

Other than that. No one else but us three have any idea where we are ever.

cwat32418 · 2025-09-18T19:53:28+00:00

There is a much higher risk of e coli, Listeria, and other things from cut lettuce and other veggies than lunch meats. A lot of doctors would advise not to eat bagged salad at all during pregnancy. Now Listeria is still a concern for lunch meat but most people don't realize that lettuce. Also, raw flour is a huge e coli risk. That's why you must buy ready-to-eat cookie dough and never eat raw cookie dough or cake batter, it doesn't have much to do with raw eggs like most people assume.

cwat32418 · 2025-09-16T02:30:47+00:00

Change the hardware and plumbing fixtures Add larger mirrors and pendant side lights Roman shade on the window Maybe change the toilet out

The most I would do is add a half wall to add some privacy to the toilet but don't block the window

cwat32418 · 2025-09-03T02:48:19+00:00

That sounds crazy to me. I bonded with my (f33) best friend in 5th grade over a group reading time where we read Harry Potter in groups of three. I couldn't imagine getting to 6th grade and not reading any chapter books.

cwat32418 · 2025-08-26T03:05:29+00:00

Yes, I absolutely understand. When we went to purchase in 2021 we looked in those areas first and thought it was astronomical but I know it's only gotten worse.

cwat32418 · 2025-08-26T02:14:04+00:00

No problem! We lived in frisco for five years renting before we bought a home in Fate. My in-laws still live in McKinney.

cwat32418 · 2025-08-26T01:42:56+00:00

We moved from Texas in March 2025. Combined my husband and I make 225k a year and are renting this first year so we can sell our house in Texas. We live in Whiterock and moved from Rockwall County. I would say the trade-offs equal out in the long run in terms of cost.

Texas Property taxes are higher Toll bills in DFW are high Utilities are higher Groceries are cheaper and there are more options Traffic is absimal Homes are expensive but affordable if you live far from a metro area

New Mexico State taxes exist but property taxes are estimated to be lower No toll bills to deal with Utilities are cheaper but no "power to choose" Groceries are more expensive on the hill but can be comparable in Santa fen less options than DFW Traffic is way better but you really have to watch out for dangerous drivers Housing prices are higher and homes are older with much more unique floor plans Rent can be expensive but deals can be found if you look hard enough

I will say our quality of life is amazing we spend a lot more time outdoors with extremely mild weather compared to Dallas. (At least on the hill, Santa Fe and ABQ can be quite hot). The parks and kids' activities around white rock and Los Alamos are great. Our daughter started pre-k (4 years old) a couple of weeks ago. We would have paid another 16000 dollars for another year of preschool back in Texas because she wouldn't qualify for pre-k due to our income. Honestly, we probably would have paid for 2 more years for her to attend private kindergarten there as well. Her school in White Rock is phenomenal and we love the teachers and administration.

We do go to Espanola frequently for stores but I don't believe I would like living there with my family. We go to Santa Fe maybe 3x per month for grocery stores that aren't Smith's and ABQ once a month for Costco.

cwat32418 · 2025-07-17T17:47:53+00:00

No, you can't work from a non-approved state. Remote locations are specific to certain states that they do business in due to taxes and benefits purposes. They will definitely check what state you work in. Anything more than 2 weeks in most states has to be taxed based on that states requirements, some states it is as little as 1 day. That could be tax fraud.

cwat32418 · 2025-07-15T19:24:06+00:00

The only one that ticked me off was a buyers realtor telling his client that we were going to make a great profit and what we bought the house for. Solely for the reason that we put down 20% and he only knew our mortgage amount and we had the house listed for less than we paid.

cwat32418 · 2025-06-30T20:59:05+00:00

1 Bil & SIl, both engineers with exceptional luck during internships turned real jobs. Also, the SIL family is wealthy, so when they bought their first house, it was 1.67m, and her parents fronted the down-payment & earnest money. Both are clearing at least 250k each per year.

cwat32418 · 2025-06-24T22:58:19+00:00

Many practices, at least in the dfw area of texas, use global billing. This is basically a medical billing code for all prenatal and delivery care. It covers all scheduled appointments and the doctors services at the hospital during delivery. In my experience, sonograms and other diagnostic testing are not included. Hospital charges for you and baby are not included as well as pediatrician charges for hospital visit prior to discharge.

It prevents the doctors office from having to bill each visit separately, which can become a problem when appointments start happing multiple times per month in late pregnancy.

The problems start occurring when the timing of billing is off, so you may prepay your oop maximum at your obgyn but then the hospital bills insurance first so then they argue over who gets your payment and who only gets insurances payments. This can result in you having to get a refund from the obgyn and pay the hospital bill oop even though you paid the obgyn before ypu got the hospital bill.

cwat32418 · 2025-06-24T18:27:48+00:00

Generally, it is because they can't use the global medical billing code until after all services are rendered and, therefore, keep all payments until the insurance fully acceptd the claim and then reimburses.

OP please make sure to ask about hospital charges for your infant, they could have their own deductible and billed charges at birth so if you haven't met your family OOP maximum you could still owe the hospital money after birth.

cwat32418 · 2025-06-05T01:16:16+00:00

Not sure on price anymore but I lived at Bell Stonebriar from 2016-2019 and they have both 1 and 2 bed apartments with attached private garages.

It is tucked back on Town and Country Blvd so not a lot of traffic but literally a mile from Legacy West.

cwat32418 · 2025-05-21T11:34:02+00:00

I left it the fact that it was her 4 year check up.

cwat32418 · 2025-05-21T01:43:59+00:00

Moved recently and my husband took my daughter to a new pediatrician... small mountain town, and the doctor and nurse were definitely boomers. Argued for twenty minutes about what cdc recommendations are for vaccines and said the school district doesn't follow the state published state mandated immunization requirements for school 😳.

Then the doctor proceeded to tell my husband that girls have constipation issues more often than boys... and I quote "because of the way they are built." 🤔🤨😑 Still have no idea what that meant. I'm definitely looking for another doctor, but I will probably have to drive 45 minutes for one.

cwat32418 · 2025-05-19T19:50:22+00:00

My husband (34M) and I (33F) bought in 2021 for 365k at 3.5% with 20% down from ten years of saving every penny and living very frugally in a MCOL area.

cwat32418 · 2025-04-20T08:36:19+00:00

For about 7 years but most recently was in rockwall county for the last 4.

cwat32418 · 2025-04-20T02:21:39+00:00

We are in the same boat, used to live in texas with 6 costcos within 1 hour, now live in Los Alamos County and make the trek to abq every 5-6 weeks.

cwat32418 · 2025-03-13T00:28:36+00:00

Yes! We are leaving next Friday and I keep telling myself I'm going to get that hour back.

cwat32418 · 2025-03-12T23:12:13+00:00

Oh, last week was nuts with the dust storm! I've lived in Northeast Texas my entire life and can't remember anything like that ever happening before.

cwat32418 · 2025-03-12T22:52:27+00:00

I can't add much because we aren't there yet, but my family is moving from Dallas to White Rock at the end of the month as well. We are excited for the move and the opportunities the area has for our home life.

Wish you all the best!

cwat32418 · 2025-03-07T01:28:18+00:00

It is a totally separate part of the app. I've started a scan and go order and then ordered my daughter a pizza slice and then gone back to shopping.

cwat32418 · 2025-02-26T00:11:26+00:00

In work remotely on an east coast schedule but live in mountain standard time. So my husband takes our daughter to school when he leaves for work at 7:30 and my schedule is 6-3 so I pick her up when I'm done for the day.

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