with ~6 months left on our lease, I am starting to wonder what we should do next. We love our location, but we could really use a little more space. Now, do we rent or buy??? We really don't want to move AGAIN unless it is a more permanent place. That being said, we really are not sure about purchasing a home. Here are our pros and cons with buying:
Cons:
Expensive (starting out and upkeep)
Don't have enough for 20% down (it's hard to get a loan these days without some $ and we don't want a government loan)
Yard upkeep and time spent doing it
More house to clean
Property Taxes
What if we have to move and can't sell (it's not an investment anymore)
Less $ to spend on the weekends/vacations or for kids activities
Pros:
No more white walls
Feel more settled
Have more space
Right now it looks like the cons are winning. hmmmm...is it wrong for us to hope the market collapses even more by the end of the year and we have some capital to cash in on a great deal??? Oh well, the right thing to do will eventually come along.
The perfect situation would be that the house I want (interior already painted) will become available to rent for as long as we need it and the rent won't ever be raised. I know...Pipe dream!
Cons:
Expensive (starting out and upkeep)
Don't have enough for 20% down (it's hard to get a loan these days without some $ and we don't want a government loan)
Yard upkeep and time spent doing it
More house to clean
Property Taxes
What if we have to move and can't sell (it's not an investment anymore)
Less $ to spend on the weekends/vacations or for kids activities
Pros:
No more white walls
Feel more settled
Have more space
Right now it looks like the cons are winning. hmmmm...is it wrong for us to hope the market collapses even more by the end of the year and we have some capital to cash in on a great deal??? Oh well, the right thing to do will eventually come along.
The perfect situation would be that the house I want (interior already painted) will become available to rent for as long as we need it and the rent won't ever be raised. I know...Pipe dream!
4 comments:
I feel for you! With us moving every 9-10 months, of course it doesn't make any sense at all to buy. But we do want to eventually make a place our own.
That being said, with little ones running around, I'm so glad I just have to make a phone call when the sewage is leaking all over the place, or my fire alarms are fritzing. You know what I mean? There are some definite benefits to not being in charge. I may just rent forever!
we'll buy if you buy :) he he!
You've got a good list. We broke even on our first house, but when I reflect on what could have happened (say, we tried to sell a few months later) I get the heebie jeebies. With this house we were smarter and we've paid off enough that we'll be fine whatever happens, and I love it and I would be going bonkers in an apartment...but, sometimes I do look at how much more we would have in the bank and kind of regret the space that never gets used in our home. If I had a do over I would buy smaller than I did.
Megan, no buying in CA! ;)
Bekah, Loving the maintenance calls at no extra cost to me. Especially since we have already had 2 water leaks. I really don't want to buy unless I absolutely love it.
Carmen, I am loving the tutorials on your blog. Happy to hear you didn't lose out with the 1st one and hopefully things will turn around if you move again. At least you know if you had to stay there, you could without worrying about needing more space. :)
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