How did you decide it was time to sell your house? (sale, fee)

[bande1102]

Originally Posted by cargoman

I see your bio tag says stuck on the east coast hoping to head west. You also mentioned that 1000 dollar mortgage being converted into a luxury apartment. Honestly....stay on the east coast if you hope for this! Here on the west coast rents are through the roof. Here is an example. Two and a half years ago I rented an apartment billed as "luxury" it was a one bedroom, with a gas fireplace on the second story no utilities included. It was built in 91 and had never been updated. I paid 750 a month. There was nothing luxury about it! That same, still not updated, apartment is now going for 1,050. A three hundred dollar increase in less than two years. $1000.00 will get you little luxury out here. It is the rental situation here which has caused me to be a home owner. I will never go back to hearing my neighbors through walls and floors and being constantly at the whims of my landlords.

Yea, our rental market is tight right now, too; however, there are still many options. I was using the luxury apartment as my dream living space example, but we could rent for less than the mentioned $1000/difference.

But that's what I liked about renting. When I was renting, I had a really crappy job and lived in a nice (as in no bugs--that was my only criteria back then), but incredibly old (WWII era) apartment. When I got a better job, I got a nicer apartment. When I wanted to save, I stepped down. If the neighborhood started getting crappy or I got irritated with the landlord I moved. Only reason, I bought house was because we had kids and I wanted to give them stability. I have been bored out of my mind for years.

[bande1102]

Originally Posted by AfternoonCoffee

Ha! I think our husbands must be neighbors in that magical place! Mine seems to think that when he leaves for work, time stands completely still inside the walls of our house, during which time no daily living takes place, no messes are made, no grass grows, no passage of time affects various home systems--everything just stops. Oh, except for the magic home maintenance fairies who come and trim bushes, pull weeds, sweep and vacuum, wash and replace the dishes into the cabinets, cook the dinner, put fresh sheets on the beds and wash and put away his socks and t-shirts...

Ha, I hear you! I only have one more round of renovations/repairs left in me. I keep telling my husband that once I get this house ready for sale, I am done. If we don't sell soon after I get all of the stuff done, I am not devoting any more time/money/effort into upkeep. I have hit a wall. Mentally, I just can't do it any more.

Example: I live in a SFH. Our HOA does periodic inspections and then gives us a list of repairs. I did them all--and have before and after, date-stamped pictures since I've been through this before.. HOA claims I didn't and summons me to an upcoming hearing and threats of daily fines. Oh, and I live next door to the president.

Anyway, it's like 88 degrees and humidity is off the charts. I spend 6 hours (!) outside doing yardwork, cleaning siding, etc, sweating my a** off, taking more pictures and then another hour sending emails and certified letters stating I did, indeed do all of maintenance and required upkeep. This is reason 114 that I'm done with ownership. I mean, it was a hot, humid, sunny day and I could have been swimming. I don't want this life any more. There were lots of tears that day--especially after my I broke my stupid weed wacker and spilled gas on my shoes.

[NOLA2SGF]

Originally Posted by bande1102

Ha, I hear you! I only have one more round of renovations/repairs left in me. I keep telling my husband that once I get this house ready for sale, I am done. If we don't sell soon after I get all of the stuff done, I am not devoting any more time/money/effort into upkeep. I have hit a wall. Mentally, I just can't do it any more.

Example: I live in a SFH. Our HOA does periodic inspections and then gives us a list of repairs. I did them all--and have before and after, date-stamped pictures since I've been through this before.. HOA claims I didn't and summons me to an upcoming hearing and threats of daily fines. Oh, and I live next door to the president.

Anyway, it's like 88 degrees and humidity is off the charts. I spend 6 hours (!) outside doing yardwork, cleaning siding, etc, sweating my a** off, taking more pictures and then another hour sending emails and certified letters stating I did, indeed do all of maintenance and required upkeep. This is reason 114 that I'm done with ownership. I mean, it was a hot, humid, sunny day and I could have been swimming. I don't want this life any more. There were lots of tears that day--especially after my I broke my stupid weed wacker and spilled gas on my shoes.

I have never had to deal with an HOA but it sounds like yours is awful!

I own my home, but no HOA. I am older so I hire people to do things like mow the lawn or do heavy maintenance. I'd rather do this than deal with an apartment. If you look for a modest home that you can easily afford, you will probably have enough financial leeway to pay people to do these things.

Apartments do have the advantage of being able to move easily, but moving is a lot of work and I'd rather stay put if possible. I just moved and that refreshed my memory about what an incredible PITA moving is, so that is why I put that phrase in bold/underline. I hope to never move again.

I just wrote and deleted a paragraph describing my last experience living in an apartment (years ago), and detailing why I hate living in apartments. I know that some people prefer apartments and some prefer homes so it was pointless. To make a long story short, I greatly prefer owning my own home.

[KayT15]

House #1, in year 5 of ownership, the older neighbors on one side started letting things slide and their house was becoming an eyesore. The neighbor on the other side added a second story and maxed out the size up to the legal limit per the building codes but it was totally out of character for the neighborhood and stood out like a sore thumb. To add insult to injury, they put a window on the second story overlooking our backyard. And forgot to hide the binoculars when they gave us a tour of the unfinished space.

Soon after we started talking about selling, my husband's company transferred his job to a different state.

House #2 in that different state, after 7 years I realized I hated the area and asked my husband to put in for another transfer to yet another state.

House #3, after 11 years, we were now empty nesters, house was too big, planned community was geared toward little kids and I was tired of the commotion, and I was bored with the area. Unfortunately, it took two more years until we were able to move due to family crises.

House #4, we've only had it for two months, but will probably live here until we're too old for a single-family house.

I rented from age 19 to 35. I was single most of that time and had no kids - bought house #1 when I was pregnant. I enjoyed renting because I could pick up and move often. However, I don't plan to rent again until/unless I need to move to assisted living. Too many rules now about pets and smoking. Some landlords won't even allow smoking outside. I don't allow smoking in my house, but I have male family members who enjoy after-dinner cigars and a friend who smokes. I want to make the rules.

[Aredhel]

If you'd like the security of ownership, OP, but hate dealing with maintenance issues, a townhouse or condo might also be an option to consider. It offers most of the benefits of apartment living (no yardwork! the association takes care of the roofing and siding!), but with fewer of the downsides. And these days they come in all forms: patio homes which are freestanding like a single family home but with all the exterior work done by the association, traditional townhouses, and apartment-style condo buildings. It's something to consider.

[Sigequinox]

Originally Posted by bande1102

Good for you!

Ahhh, see this is what I'm talking about. I live on a cul-de-sac and have a shared driveway. I can't step out my door without seeing neighbors. We have a renter who moved in and I have noticed upkeep going down. We have an HOA, but still, I live in aging neighborhood and it shows.

The HOA is another issue. I feel like they might as well be a landlord, especially since the President lives next door and drives me insane.

I feel like we're in a transitional phase of our life right now. I've got 2 in college and youngest is in last year of high school. Yeah, there's a good chance they will come back for a year or two, but they also talking about leaving the state. The $1000 difference is max. Renting would give me some flexibility to go bigger or downsize as I want. Also, hubby is unhappy in job and our house is holding us back.

I don't feel any kind of emotional attachment to the house. To me, it is a money pit and time sucker. I think that's why I was okay with renting.

Based on your OP I would say your crazy for renting @ 1k/mnth more. Your 5 year plan still nets you way into financial positive.

Roof-paid for in 2 years @ 1k/mnth (assuming roof around 20k).
HVAC-paid for in 1 year @ 1k/mnth (around 10-12k).

That leaves another 24 thousand dollars of discretionary money in your account at the end of the 5 years compared to renting.


However, after reading this post, the most important factor comes into play: you AND your husband are not happy. Not to get all hippie-stoner on you but, what is the point of it all if your unhappy? I know what unhappiness is too because I made the mistake of buying a house a few years ago with my wife @ 25 years of age here in CT. We absolutely HATE it here. With no kids yet we should be super flexible. Cannot wait to move. Boy, what an anchor a house is. Young and stupid we never did our research. I finish grad school in a little over a year, hopefully we can leave without a loss. The flexibility of an apartment really is priceless while you're in a period of unhappiness.

Best of luck to you two.

[Stripes17]

We downsized after I had made a schedule to go into some of our extra bathrooms every week to flush the toilets since they weren't used anymore.

[RustinginSeattle]

For me the hardest part is getting my husband on the same "time to move" schedule! :-) I'm there.

Keep in mind that condos come with HOA's and those HOA fees can keep going up, out of your control. And if your downstairs neighbor likes to smoke and it wafts up to your open windows, there isn't much that can be done. Condo living can be great, but it can also be a nightmare. Study the HOA meeting notes before moving in. Maybe even try to rent in the complex before buying, just to make sure.

Here in Seattle I feel fortunate to own. I could rent my house out right now for $1000 over my mortgage. I feel really sorry for people trying to find (compete for) rentals and dealing with the prices going up by hundreds every year. Yikes!

[bande1102]

We actually plan to leave this area completely. The problem is getting getting an anticipated move date out of my husband. If we're only planning to stay in the area one more year, then I'd sell asap and rent until we find our new home elsewhere...even $1000 more a month b/c it really wouldn't matter.

If my husband wants to stay for at least 5 more years (and this is his hometown so I worry that is a possibility despite what he says) than I'd resign myself to putting more money into the house and move more towards doing what I want vs what future homeowners want.

Hubby insists he wants to move, but he seems to think we can move from one state to another in a relatively short time frame. I think he really believes we can pack up and move and find another place in another state in 60 days. Completely unrealistic. Our reality is that we'll have to sell and then rent here for a brief period and then rent in another state while deciding when/if to buy again.

Thanks for all of your responses, everyone. Each and every post has given me something to consider.

I think I'm going to go ahead and prep the house for sale---it's probably going to take me a 8 months anyway.

I don't know if I'd want to be a landlord, although the rental market is so tight here right now that I could net $1200/month. That's real tempting.

[Sigequinox]

Originally Posted by bande1102

I don't know if I'd want to be a landlord, although the rental market is so tight here right now that I could net $1200/month. That's real tempting.

If renting was an option I'd already be gone, lol. Unfortunately, the area my house is located in and the amount it would cost to rent (most people who could afford it could just buy their own house) limit the potential market to the extent where I don't even consider it a viable option.

If you can afford to move without the proceeds from selling the house, and your house is viable to the renting market, that is a huge advantage. You will have extra cash flow from your now investment property + the market value of the house and you get to move. Do make sure to consider the costs of a property manager in your figures. Being out of state, you will need someone else to attend problems with the house.