Move now or later?

[neddy]

Are you stuck on SW Austin? There are other districts better schools in a price range that you don't have to be so house poor and can have all the things you want...

[Mom2NAC]

Really kisssanta? Is it on the market now, because I check the MLS (well, what I have access to anyway) pretty much daily. I looooove Meridian! I need more information!

[Mom2NAC]

Originally Posted by neddy

Are you stuck on SW Austin? There are other districts better schools in a price range that you don't have to be so house poor and can have all the things you want...

Other school districts? We have explored the possibility of going to Belterra or Buda, but my husband works downtown, and doesn't want to make the commute. He also insists on staying south of the river.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Mom2NAC

Really kisssanta? Is it on the market now, because I check the MLS (well, what I have access to anyway) pretty much daily. I looooove Meridian! I need more information!

Use trulia.com to do a good map based search (and get a realtor).

Trulia is only showing 3 houses in the circle C area (betwen mopac, 1826 and wm cannon that meet your general criteria

There are some foreclosures and other houses that are >2500 and 300K or less, but not many. There is a foreclosure on argyle for 300K that is 4br 3ba, 2800 sq ft. I would typically expect you can get about 5% of the asking price, 10% if they are desperate. So if they are listed at 300, you may be able to get 285 or so.

the one on argyle is the only one with 4br. Trulia data can be slightly out of date so there might not be any (or there might be more )

[Mom2NAC]

Thanks, I do have a realtor, and she has been sending me house updates. She also tells me that there will be more houses on the market next spring/summer when we will be looking, so I'm hoping there will be a few more options then!

[Mom2NAC]

And we don't HAVE to have 2500+ square feet, but that is what we would like ultimately, which is possibly a reason to wait to move. We do need 4 bedrooms, though, and probably at least 2000sf.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by Mom2NAC

...

1. Transfer my son to one of the elementary schools in those areas (Baldwin and Mills were not frozen to transfers last year), and move in 3-4 years. Of course, if we choose this option, when we are looking to buy we will be limited to a small area to stay within those school boundaries. Plus we might miss out on good interest rates.

2. Buy a small house in those areas and upgrade in 3-4 years.

3. Stretch our budget and buy the best house we can get for $300k and just stay there.

Thoughts??? My husband really doesn't want to move twice, but he will agree reluctantly.

Option 3 offers the most financial and lifestyle certainty, except I don't like the "stretch the budget" part. Assuming you truly can afford it, there is intrinsic value is having 1 home to raise the kids K-12. Moving is expensive and stressful, so there is value in "move avoidance" over time.

I would not assume that interest rates will stay low for the next several years. I would not assume anything at all in the current financial world we live in. You can still buy now with a 4% interest rate. The value of that over the life of a 30 year mortgage is substantial.

Steve

[Mom2NAC]

It would be a little bit of a stretch, but only until I went back to work in 3 years. I currently have a part time online tutoring job that I can work as many hours as I want at, but since I stay home with 3 kids during the day, I want to minimize the amount of my nightly free time I use to work. I agree about the interest rates raising by then, and I am well aware how much difference even a small increase can make in your monthly payment.