Real Estate Advice Needed

[Platinum Pete]

How does one go about calming down when they are about to buy a house equal to six times their salary?
All the right numbers seem to add up so that in essence, I'll be out of pocket only a couple hundred more dollars per month than my insanely cheap apartment. It's in an awesome neighbor hood (41st & Clinton in SE Portland) that will continue to gain value. My mortgage seems like a good deal for the risk I am. My agent thought my offer would get rejected, so it should be a good deal for the market. It doesn't seem to be haunted. There is room for improvements that I can either do myself or afford to have a pro do.
Still, I am shaking nervous.

How am I supposed to believe that I'll be able to be responsible for a committment of so much money? What if I lose my job? What if I want to go on adventure for a year? What if next winter sucks this bad and I have to move away?
Dudes, help me get a grip on this. My offer was accepted and we are getting ready to schedule an inspection. Help me understand how awesome home ownership is. Help me see that I'll be able to pay the bills. Advices!!

[Theodore]

Me thinks its a step you gotta take if thats the road you want to go. Once you get settled you'll be able to budget accordingly and still take trips, just maybe not for a couple of years. If you are wanting to settle down, it sounds like you have a good opprotunaty(sp?) to do so. If you decide its not what you want, wait a few(3+) years, make some improvements to the property, and sell for more. Use the $ to travel/ head to where the snow is good and the women flock like the salmon of capastrano.

[FreakofSnow]

Go for it man. If you have come this far, you should already have decided if you can make the payments. As far as the other what-ifs, they will always be there. But the good thing is real estate is one the best investments out there IMO right now. As Theo said, its not like you are locked in for life, you can always sell. Especially after having lived there for 2 years, you should be able to take the gains/equity tax free and walk away a pimp daddy or roll it into another home. Good luck mang

[EastCoastSkiBum]

I wouldn't know but I'd try drinking a beer.

Seriously though, I've been told to look at it this way: "It's like your renting the house from the bank for the next 30 or so years....and if something goes drastically wrong you just break the lease (sell it) move on..."

[jpcski]

Someone gave me some advice when I was buying my house. Get a pizza and 6 pack or bottle of wine. Eat and drink while sitting on the floor with no furniture in the house the first night. That way no matter how bad things get in the future, you can always go back to where you started - sitting on the floor with no furniture.

Good luck. You will enjoy being a home owner, even cutting your own grass is kind of cool.

[TeleAl]

You are building a savings in the form of equity.
And, you should save lots on taxes in both the interest paid as well as the improvements.

Save all reciepts and find a few at the local Home Depot.
I usually check the carriages as people leave reciepts in them all the time.

Do the work yourself, as much as you can. Slinging mud is fun.
Electric and Plumbing require pros.

Pizza & Beer idea in empty room is a good one.
Me, I lived in a hammock on my balcony until I finished a room for my bed.
Seeing the snow in the hills motivated me to finish one promptly.

And have fun with it, it is your castle.