Money Matters
JuneMrs
member
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Emotional housing situation...
So here's the deal. When DH and I got married we did the responsible thing and put down a big down payment on a small and affordable condo in a nice area. We didn't over spend, we didn't buy more than we could afford, it was just a good practical step towards our future. Fast forward a few years we talked about selling and since it was still just us we didn't see any reason to move from our cheap and maintenance free property. Fast forward a few more years to today (more than 8 years in) and we have baby #2 on the way and two energetic dogs (so 6 of us in our "practical" little home). DH and I would love to sell our property and move on but it would be a good 20k in loss before we could do that and the prices haven't gotten any better. We have been approved to rent the current property and spend a decent amount on a new home (we would spend significantly less than our approval amount). Here's the big dilemma for me I'm in Finance for a living and the money side of me says make due until we can sell and just get comfortable. However it is SO stressful being in our not only small condo but we also have to climb a full flight of stairs just to get to (groceries, dogs, kids, all of our stuff in tow!). So what would you do? If you had to make a decision with your "practical side" vs. your "emotional side" what would you do. Also knowing there's no crystal ball we don't know when our property would be valued enough to break even, we don't know what kind of renters we would get, we don't know if interest rates will go up, or down. Who knows!
Re: Emotional housing situation...
Definitely a tough choice!
First of all, interest rates are on the rise. The days of 3% rates are falling behind us. So, that's a reason to buy now.
Many markets are climbing out of a depressed state and many others are having huge home sales. But, it's still a buyer's market and will be for a long time because there are still a ton of foreclosures and new ones that are being processed are continually still entering the market. That's another reason to buy now...you will be waiting awhile for a seller's market.
You could look at it this way...the buyer's market that causes you to take a $20k loss will benefit you when you go to buy.
It doesn't sound like you have been irresponsible with your past housing decisions. I think you clearly want to do what's best for your family and are capable of making a facts-only decision.
But, the facts are what I mentioned above (rates on the rise and continuing buyers' markets).
I think if you can save for a good DP and you buy a home that's within your price range (maybe you want to budget the cost of it on one income), you should feel okay about looking for a new place.
Renting it out is an option, but renters do damage and then you have to make repairs, which is a costly thing. And, you'd need to either hire a property manager or be that yourselves so that means you might have to go over there at 3am to fix a leaking water heater...
On bad days I remind myself that my dad lived with 7 brothers and sister and two parents in a 1200 square foot home. Everything is workable.
We also declutter a lot. Change the furniture around a lot and invest in small improvements that make our home feel livable to get us through
Although practical is great, if you are all really unhappy in your current situation and can do other options, to me that is worth the sacrifice.
As to being a landlord, that I can speak to directly. It is certainly not for everyone, but I love it and don't find it that much of a hassle or that time consuming. However, I also live in an area that has a vibrant renter pool, so I never have to wait long to find a good renter. Check Craig's List or ask your realtor to get a good idea on what you can expect for rent. And do realize that you may need to make some upgrades/improvements to your current condo to rent it. You will also usually have a lag of 2-4 weeks between tenants, so make sure you can afford both mortgages for at least short periods of time.