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Considering downsizing from a 550K home we moved into a year ago to a 375-425K home. Will that amount of money really effect my monthly mortgage payment to make it worth it? Other factors include less hassle, upkeep, cheaper home costs, smaller yard, less cost for utilities. Thanks
Big picture yes.
Less house=less maintenance.
Less square footage will be cheaper to heat/cool.
You may or may not save on property taxes.
Should be a considerable difference in the mortgage payment.
But...there are factors that could make it almost a wash, you need to do homework and crunch numbers to see if it is really worth the headache of selling and buying.
Tax rates (the multiplier) being equal, that difference is so slight. In this town that'd be like going from a split to a cape or ranch. And you have to pay commission & closing costs and bring the new place up to your standards. I can see going from $700k to $400k, but that - no.
Utilities as it relates to sqft is a strange thing. You don't heat or cool the entire house at once, do you? That's why you have zones. Going from our ranch to colonial did not phase our electric cost one bit either. If anything, it has gone down. "Upkeep" and "hassle" does not affect costs much, just time.
If you're worried about your monthly mortgage payment, your best bet is to move into a lower-taxed town in addition (giving up better schools) since that likely makes up half your mortgage. If that's what you mean, it's easy to do the math after doing some comps. I can tell you in our town a $400k house from a $550k house is taxed $2-300/mo. less. Doesn't seem like much in the grand scheme.
Considering downsizing from a 550K home we moved into a year ago to a 375-425K home. Will that amount of money really effect my monthly mortgage payment to make it worth it? Other factors include less hassle, upkeep, cheaper home costs, smaller yard, less cost for utilities. Thanks
How old are you? Will owing less on the house mean you can save more for kids' college? We need more info...
Don't you live in TN now? Or did you sneak back to LI?
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