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My husband and I have been searching for a home that we can afford without getting a mortgage. We are in the process of doing a short sale on our current home because it has been on the market for well over a year now without a buyer. As there are several foreclosed properties in our upscale newer subdivision in schererville selling for almost half of what our home is listed for, we are seriously underwater on our mortgage. We are also seriously behind on our mortgage and are currently in foreclosure. This was do to my husband losing his job, being unemployed for almost a year, and having to take another job for way less money along with a much longer commute.
Our current mortgage, taxes, and insurance comes out to just under $2,500 a month and we can no longer afford the home of our dreams longterm, without slowly burning through all of our savings on a monthly basis. This is do to my husband earning far less at his new job then he was making before he was laid off. We have attempted to work out a modification with our bank for over a year. Although we have repeatedly been told by the bank that we qualify for a mortgage work out, apparently now they would rather foreclose on us at a huge loss and sell our home for less than half of what we owe on it. Makes perfect sense ha? So, we have decided to downsize and lower our monthly expenses while we still have most of our savings instead of continuing to use our savings to pay for a mortgage on a home that we can no longer comfortably afford, and will end up losing eventually anyway without a modification of our mortgage.
Well we have looked at several homes this week and have found several homes in nice and decent neighborhoods within our budget of under 110k. As we are looking to pay cash because we will of course not be able to qualify for a mortgage. And we are looking not to have any large monthly housing expenses, so we can start rebuilding our savings again. What we have found were several foreclosed homes for under 110k that need minimal updating. Our realtor has written an offer on the first one for us already today and sent it to us for our signature. Looking for opinions on which of these properties are in the most desirable area. Along with which one is the best deal and potentially has the most value.
My husband and I have been searching for a home that we can afford without getting a mortgage. We are in the process of doing a short sale on our current home because it has been on the market for well over a year now without a buyer. As there are several foreclosed properties in our upscale newer subdivision in schererville selling for almost half of what our home is listed for, we are seriously underwater on our mortgage. We are also seriously behind on our mortgage and are currently in foreclosure. This was do to my husband losing his job, being unemployed for almost a year, and having to take another job for way less money along with a much longer commute.
Our current mortgage, taxes, and insurance comes out to just under $2,500 a month and we can no longer afford the home of our dreams longterm, without slowly burning through all of our savings on a monthly basis. This is do to my husband earning far less at his new job then he was making before he was laid off. We have attempted to work out a modification with our bank for over a year. Although we have repeatedly been told by the bank that we qualify for a mortgage work out, apparently now they would rather foreclose on us at a huge loss and sell our home for less than half of what we owe on it. Makes perfect sense ha? So, we have decided to downsize and lower our monthly expenses while we still have most of our savings instead of continuing to use our savings to pay for a mortgage on a home that we can no longer comfortably afford, and will end up losing eventually anyway without a modification of our mortgage.
Well we have looked at several homes this week and have found several homes in nice and decent neighborhoods within our budget of under 110k. As we are looking to pay cash because we will of course not be able to qualify for a mortgage. And we are looking not to have any large monthly housing expenses, so we can start rebuilding our savings again. What we have found were several foreclosed homes for under 110k that need minimal updating. Our realtor has written an offer on the first one for us already today and sent it to us for our signature. Looking for opinions on which of these properties are in the most desirable area. Along with which one is the best deal and potentially has the most value.
First, let me say that I am sorry to hear about your situation, but I (as well as other posters) will be sure to guide you in the right direction. As far as desirability goes, I would put the listings in this order:
Munster and Crown Point both have excellent school systems (with Munster overall being the better one) and your home in either town will maintain its value. Although the home is actually not in Crown Point itself, which I will explain later. Griffith (while not a completely undesirable town in and of itself) is kind of iffy right now with the schools and it is difficult to see what direction the town is going to go in.
The home in Munster is also a unique mid-century modern style architecture that is nearly impossible to find in this area at that price. While the house is definitely underpriced, if there are no major problems, than I would take a serious look. Also, if you made modern-style upgrades (think European modern style), the house will definitely look nicer. The main drawback to that home is that there is no basement and no garage. But since there is covered parking and it is in a very safe area, it should not pose a problem. Taxes in Munster do get you good services, but are also higher than other areas. The home is 5 minutes from 80/94 to Chicago which is a huge plus and a big draw to Munster. Munster is a mature area, but is showing increasingly more upscale growth being reflected by the redevelopment of retail areas with more upscale tenants and residential teardowns in older parts of town.
The home in Crown Point is actually in an unincorporated area of Schererville. Basically, you have a Crown Point address, Schererville telephone number, and will be zoned to the Lake Central School system (which is good system, although crowded). By the looks of it, this home is bound to have some expensive problems given the low price. Also, since it is in an unincorporated area, you might want to check about various rates for things such as garbage pickup, sewer, water, etc. and whether you are on septic or not. Once again, the area is safe. Schererville (as well as Crown Point itself) are very nice areas that have shown a lot of growth in this past decade.
The home in Griffith seems underpriced even for Griffith so you might want to look into that. As I stated before, the schools in Griffith are a bit iffy right now and personally, it might be a risky investment should you plan to move in the future. As far as location, it is convenient to the expressway to Chicago as well so that is a plus.
With all of the factors you provided, I would choose Munster. Now yes, I am biased towards Munster, but I honestly do believe it will be the best value long term. It is in an excellent school district, in an incorporated area, and in a convenient and safe area. Also, the style of the house is unique and while it is a non-traditional style, it would definitely be easier to furnish should you update in the future. (Btw, Ikea has great afffordable, yet modern furniture and applicances for updating )
I would like to add that you should consider looking for places in Highland as well. The schools are very solid, and the town is very stable and becoming a little more "trendy" as more retailers and restaurants are locating there as their first locations in Northwest Indiana!
Actually, the thread says OP moved there 9 years ago...d/n necessarily mean they purchased 9 yrs ago...they could have rented or bought a new house since then, etc..
My husband and I have been searching for a home that we can afford without getting a mortgage. We are in the process of doing a short sale on our current home because it has been on the market for well over a year now without a buyer. As there are several foreclosed properties in our upscale newer subdivision in schererville selling for almost half of what our home is listed for, we are seriously underwater on our mortgage. We are also seriously behind on our mortgage and are currently in foreclosure. This was do to my husband losing his job, being unemployed for almost a year, and having to take another job for way less money along with a much longer commute.
Our current mortgage, taxes, and insurance comes out to just under $2,500 a month and we can no longer afford the home of our dreams longterm, without slowly burning through all of our savings on a monthly basis. This is do to my husband earning far less at his new job then he was making before he was laid off. We have attempted to work out a modification with our bank for over a year. Although we have repeatedly been told by the bank that we qualify for a mortgage work out, apparently now they would rather foreclose on us at a huge loss and sell our home for less than half of what we owe on it. Makes perfect sense ha? So, we have decided to downsize and lower our monthly expenses while we still have most of our savings instead of continuing to use our savings to pay for a mortgage on a home that we can no longer comfortably afford, and will end up losing eventually anyway without a modification of our mortgage.
Well we have looked at several homes this week and have found several homes in nice and decent neighborhoods within our budget of under 110k. As we are looking to pay cash because we will of course not be able to qualify for a mortgage. And we are looking not to have any large monthly housing expenses, so we can start rebuilding our savings again. What we have found were several foreclosed homes for under 110k that need minimal updating. Our realtor has written an offer on the first one for us already today and sent it to us for our signature. Looking for opinions on which of these properties are in the most desirable area. Along with which one is the best deal and potentially has the most value.
I'm sorry that you are going through this difficult time and hope things improve for you and your family. However, I'm pretty confused about this whole scenario. If you have around $100,000 in savings to buy your next home outright, why would you NOT use that to pay the current mortgage? I see you said that you don't want to keep using your savings on this current house. But, I'm not sure what else would be more important to save up for instead of keeping your house and financial reputation.
Personally, I would have continued to pay the mortgage, partially with the money in savings, then slashed the listing price of the home significantly. I just think it'd be better off for your financial future to take a (potentially huge) loss on the home value instead of getting foreclosed on. However, each personal has different views of each situation, and the decision is ultimately yours of course.
It sounds like the Crown Point house is off the market and Munster's may be gone soon too. However if I were in your situation, if those three houses were still available, the Munster house would be the easy choice. The Crown Point (address) home is in a very safe and pleasant area with good schools, but it would be an additional 25 min commute for your husband to the west suburbs when compared to the Munster location.
Also, the Munster and CP houses seem very very cheap, even for a more modest home. I would make sure you have an inspector come out before moving forward with anything. I'd be afraid there's more than just "minimal updating" needed.
Finally, I'd personally steer clear from the Griffith home. If you're looking for a house with value that may be a good investment for you, Griffith may not be the first place you want to look. In Lake County, I'd stick to Munster or the Tri-Town area for that (didn't include CP because of the proximity to your husband's work as previously discussed - but CP appears to be a solid place to invest in a home too).
We purchased our current home new in 2006. Our previous home was a condo which was also in schererville. The primary reason for our trouble was my husband getting laid off. The second reason was the mortgage that we took out was what is called an Adjustible ARM with an introductory rate. Our monthly mortgage payment has gone up substantially. The real trouble arose when we were unable to refinance this arm that now has a ridiculous interest rate because our home has lost so much value. As it was explained to us by our mortgage broker at the time of getting the loan, refinancing it into a lower fixed rate mortgage down the line will not be a problem. Since we are now so underwater on our mortgage we no longer have the adequate equity to get refinanced, and are trapped in this ridiculous mortgage. So, a modification was our only option. Since almost a year ago of starting the modification process we have submitted our documents numerous times. Up until 5 months ago we had hope until we got served with a foreclosure notice. As of now we have exhausted all of our options including placing our home on the market for over a year with no luck. Property values have just declined by too much to sell our home right now. So that is why we have now listed it as a short sale.
As far as us having savings to move on. We feel like throwing the rest of our savings away at the problem would just prolong the inevitable. The ball really is in the banks court, and they have decided not to modify our loan. We have to accept this decision and move on. Using our savings to continue to pay a mortgage that we can't afford would be essentially stealing from our kids college funds and futures. I know some people hate to here about someone foreclosing on a home as it further hurts property values. But, the problem already existed before us in my neighborhood anyway. And we are just as much a victim as everyone else.
We purchased our current home new in 2006. Our previous home was a condo which was also in schererville. The primary reason for our trouble was my husband getting laid off. The second reason was the mortgage that we took out was what is called an Adjustible ARM with an introductory rate. Our monthly mortgage payment has gone up substantially. The real trouble arose when we were unable to refinance this arm that now has a ridiculous interest rate because our home has lost so much value. As it was explained to us by our mortgage broker at the time of getting the loan, refinancing it into a lower fixed rate mortgage down the line will not be a problem. Since we are now so underwater on our mortgage we no longer have the adequate equity to get refinanced, and are trapped in this ridiculous mortgage. So, a modification was our only option. Since almost a year ago of starting the modification process we have submitted our documents numerous times. Up until 5 months ago we had hope until we got served with a foreclosure notice. As of now we have exhausted all of our options including placing our home on the market for over a year with no luck. Property values have just declined by too much to sell our home right now. So that is why we have now listed it as a short sale.
As far as us having savings to move on. We feel like throwing the rest of our savings away at the problem would just prolong the inevitable. The ball really is in the banks court, and they have decided not to modify our loan. We have to accept this decision and move on. Using our savings to continue to pay a mortgage that we can't afford would be essentially stealing from our kids college funds and futures. I know some people hate to here about someone foreclosing on a home as it further hurts property values. But, the problem already existed before us in my neighborhood anyway. And we are just as much a victim as everyone else.
Sorry. Not buying it. You could've brought cash to the table to refianance. You could have slashed the price of your house appropriately and brought money to the table to close.
It's no wonder the bank wouldn't do a loan modification - you have over a $100K in assets. And they won't approve a short sale as long as you have those assets either. Which is one of the reasons you're taking those assets and buying a house w/ cash - and if I had to guess, you'll be holding title with either a LLC or a trust, right? No need to answer - I know I'm right.
You are in no way shape or form a victim. Don't blame the mortgage broker - you've said your husband works for a bank so if anyone should've been financially savvy about this kind of transaction, it should've been him. Have there been real "victims" in this real estate mess? Yes - but they're few and far between and sure ain't you. It's not someone who works in the financial industry and has $100K in assets.
This is part of the reason the real estate market isn't recovering. It's like a fat guy eating cake - he knows he's fat so just having one more piece of cake won't hurt him. No, but eating that one more piece KEEPS him fat. One more foreclosure (on top of one more, on top of one more) KEEPS the real estate market from recovering.
Again, our number one issue with being able to get refinanced has been my husband's loss of income. And now my husbands drastically lower income. We simply no longer qualify for a mortgage of this size. The second issue is that the mortgage is currently underwater by a serious amount. We would need to bring to the table something in the ball park of $85,000 to get a conventional mortgage refinance done. We can't afford this option. Believe me we have gone over every option thoroughly. Paying down the mortgage would allow us to qualify for a refinance. But the monthly payments would still consume over 60 percent of my husbands current monthly take home pay. Without our savings we would run into financial trouble making even the reduced monthly payments unaffordable eventually. Using our savings to reduce the listing price in order to sell our home would allow us to sell our home without having to do a short sale. But again would not leave us with enough savings to move on in a manner where we can rebuild our future.
Our savings really is all that we have left from the high paying career that my husband once had. His current income just can't cover this house. We would like nothing more than to be able to sell our dream home without doing a short sale or foreclosure. Or to get our mortgage modified which we have been told by the bank that we qualify for several time. Only to have foreclosure proceedings started on our home while still in the modification limbo. In the end we have tried for close to two years to avoid foreclosure with no success.
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