NBR: Moving

SnShne322

Here's my current situation.  We live in a small home now, bursting at the seams.  Our initial goal was to try to stick it out in this home until Wes starts kindergarten; so about 3 years.  I would still be fine with this plan, but I had a conversation with a coworker today that made me wonder if now was the time to sell/buy.  Houses in my town are selling like hot cakes.  4 houses on my road have sold in the last month, all within a month.  One as short as a week.  I think there is a reasonable market for my house. I'm also fearful of what interest rates and housing prices will do in the next three years when right now seems fairly prime.  I have a real estate agent that I trust that could come over and give me an idea of what she thinks my house is worth.  We have room in the budget for a bigger house.

I know this is limited information, but in our position, what would you do? I know I don't have to go full force into anything, but getting J to make any decisions is like moving cold molasses.  I really value your opinions, and I would love to hear some feedback.

Bonus information is that we have a new roof on the house (done in May) and will be replacing the siding by the end of the summer.  So the house will be in great shape to sell, less a couple of things like touching up paint, fixing a couple of tiles, etc. In the next month or two.

MrsJenE

I live in your state.  Yea, market is good for selling right now but all of my friends who are buying homes are being outbid by people who are offering way over asking price.  Several houses that they've seen have sold for $50k over asking.  That might be the type of situation you might get stuck in.  You can always refinance for a better interest rate, but you can't change how much you paid for a house.

Menrandes

I would say it doesn't hurt to see what your house is worth and if it's a decent amount to put it on the market and see if anyone bites. 
Make sure that you will definitely get approved for a mortgage for a larger/potentially more expensive house if your house sells though.
If you have the funds to move sooner, I say why not?  Who knows where the market will be in three years.

SnShne322

MrsJenE said:

I live in your state.  Yea, market is good for selling right now but all of my friends who are buying homes are being outbid by people who are offering way over asking price.  Several houses that they've seen have sold for $50k over asking.  That might be the type of situation you might get stuck in.  You can always refinance for a better interest rate, but you can't change how much you paid for a house.

Interesting.  This did happen to my ILs parents neighbor in the next time over.  Sold after the first open house, over the asking price. Though granted, not by that much.

Lauren620

I think it's a good idea to start talking with a realtor about a realistic price for your current house and to start doing some of your own research on houses that are for sale.  I started looking at houses way before we were ready to buy and there were times that I got frustrated, but it really helped us take our time looking for exactly what we wanted.  I probably wouldn't list your house yet, but definitely get some information on what to expect for your house and wherever you are looking at to move into next.

packfan20

It's definitely not a bad idea to talk to a realtor and see where you are at.  Sounds like you are in a good area and may have good luck (unlike us and my SIL who were told we were SOL because we would never sell for what we needed.  Womp womp.)  Just because you put it on the market doesn't mean it will sell.  And just because you may get an offer, doesn't mean you have to accept it.  It's okay to test the waters.

I would also look to see what's available for you to buy.  Are there houses in your price range/area that you like?  What happens if your house sells before you find a new house?  Where would you live?  Rent?  Move in with family?

And get preapproved with a lender.  Sometimes the whole house buying thing moves so fast and if you find a new house you like and want to put an offer in, it's so much easier if you have that preapproval letter in hand already.

sonore32

I agree with everyone to at least test the waters and dig a bit deeper to see what all is out there. Especially if your H is the kind that will drag his feet the sooner you can start getting him to think about the possibilities it sounds like the sooner all this might happen.

j*&p*

I'd definitely consult with the realtor you mentioned just to get an idea of what you might get for your current house and what something bigger might go for. 

MrsC7

I'd get as much info as possible - meet with your realtor, stalk houses on Redfin and Zillow - especially given how slow J moves to make a decision.

It can't hurt to gather info and hopefully, if the intel is favorable, you'll have enough ammo of force J into making a decision.

sweetrhythms

I'd definitely call the realtor and see what your prospects are.  If the market is good and you have the money to move up sooner than later, there's no time like the present.  My DH is just like J, takes forever to make a decision so you'll want to get an idea of where things stand to make your case and move J along.

You might also want to hold off on the new siding depending on what the realtor says and how badly you really need it.  That might be something new owners might take on.  When we moved a few years ago, we did some things to our house that we thought would add a lot of value and ended up not really adding anything.  Basically, it was a waste of money except that it made our house sell faster.  We hadn't really been in a rush and our house would have sold whether we did the changes or not and it sounds like you might be in a similar situation.  Anyway, just my two cents!  Good luck!

SnShne322

Ooohhh, interesting. 

GreenBride624

lindseymortgagespecialist said:

If you need a good realtor or need a preapproval to see what you can qualify for a new home purchase, I would love to answer any questions you have.

Lindsey 763-267-3818

Ldavison@lendsmartmortgage.com

http://ldavison.lenderama.com/

NMLS 400931

Read any good books recently?

cnthrdlywt2bwZ

We're in a similar situation right now, although it sounds like you have a better sellers' market. We are talking to our broker and by next week we should have a good idea of what we can afford and whether anyone would give us a second loan to buy while we sell. It's unlikely here that anyone would accept a contingency offer.

We are pretty firm in the general location that we want to move and have some neighborhoods picked out, so whatever our choice is, and when, we know we're going to where we want to be.

We're also having a realtor come check our house to see what it's worth in the next couple of weeks.

We also have been creating a significant savings for a down payment. In our case, it might be what we need to buy our way out.

I think it's great to plan ahead though, and I think that what you've said you've done with the house should help it sell as fast a you're thinking.

nocturnalintimacy

We're in a similar situation, but instead of growing out of our house, we want out of the city. I have a love/hate relationship with Miami.

Anyway...we had a realtor come and tell us what we should do to get the house ready to sell. That really helped us to determine where to invest money in smaller projects.

Definitely ask a realtor what they'd put your house on the market for!