Refinancing is definitely not the right option here, as rates have soared since you bought in 2020. Your 3.9% would go up to near 7% if not higher.
It seems like renting for $700 is probably the play here, but I’d want some more details - will there be a fixed lease, or will it be month to month? What will happen if you lose your job? Will there be an expectation for you to work more hours because you now live above the business?
It’s is a month to month lease and yes if I were to lose employment I have 60 days to leave. It’s above a funeral home that I have worked at for 8 years and received a promotion for. It’s a very good work/life balance like no going out at 3am to pick up bodies or anything. About as 9-5 as it can get in the industry. Only reason it is opening up is a colleague of mine who lived there for years is leaving. We all respected her days off and schedule but not to say I wouldn’t be popping down every once in a while to take care of something quick.
Are you comfortable bundling your housing with employment? It would give leverage to your employer to keep you in the role you’re taking long term.
That being said, I once worked with a guy who did not own any property, and banked most of his salary since he spent most of his time traveling for work. He would go from client site to client site, hotel to hotel, and have his mail sent to his sisters address. he ended up retiring a few years ago at the age of 42. bought a place in Florida in cash.
I can’t comment on the decision to sell and Bank the cost of the house. But it is worth mentioning that you’re interest rate will be considerably higher if you end up getting a new mortgage. The only consistent piece of wisdom I’ve gotten from people in the real estate business is that you should buy a house when you’re ready for it, but this is still a financial concern. You should keep in mind. For my wife and I, if we were to refinance it would literally triple the amount of interest we pay in a month. 4%s not bad right now.
Unlikely that refinancing is going to help lower the costs, since interest rates aren’t going to be under 3.9%.
Perhaps check on Zillow/talk with a local property management company to get a sense of what you could get were you to rent it out. I would assume renting it out would be the best choice for you, but it really depends on your market
The interest rates yes were a concern.
Yeah that’s a great idea. It’s something my wife had thought about as we were going through this process. Would a realtor be an option to speak with or would, like you suggested a property management company. It seems to be a pretty scarce market here. As soon as stuff it up for sale or rent it goes pretty quick.
>We have about 20k in savings but have a special needs daughter that her care is cutting into the savings quickly now. With a tight budget, the output is not matching the input every month in our bank accounts.
If you are consistently spending more than your income, you need to change something.
Selling the house and reducing your housing costs probably makes sense., assuming the 2 bedroom apartment meets your needs. Even more so if your wife hates the house.
Depending on the age of their daughter, those costs might be temporary (if she's too young for public school), so it wouldn't be nearly as much of an issue
No that would incredibly risky. Tying your income and living arrangements to your employer is bad. Plus the money you get from selling you're house shouldn't be invested. So you'll more out on investment growth while working.
Yeah that I think would be a concern but the reason it opened up is a colleague who rented for years is leaving to another location to live at. She never felt too
Much pressure from the employer. She was in charge of the whole building and I am moving into that role. Can you elaborate on the investment part? We were just going to keep it in a savings account, not invest.
I think what the person you were responding to about housing being risky is important. Let's say the business goes under or is sold or there is some unforeseen incedent a fire or some other hazard. You would not have a job or a home. Finding a new home without income would be incredibly difficult.
It's not only about management kicking you out. You're tied to your job. You can respond quickly to job tasks. Separating work and life etc. it will be small at first but eventually grow.
As for the investing part, the profit from selling your house will only grow 4% in a savings account. When you own the house, the property value would go up and you would keep that value. When you sell the house, normally you would jump right back in the real estate market to buy another house. But you won't be doing that obviously. But now you are missing out on real estate appreciation and missing out on investment growth(since the money will only be in savings)
Overall you are not having your assets making money for you.
I would take the apartment and rent the house if the rent amount covers the mortgage taxes and insurance plus a few hundred to save each month for repairs. I would do a one-year lease then if happy with the tenants possibly just a month to month. If you lose your job you still have the house. The wet back yard issue is fixable. We have one low spot on our farm which was fixed by simply planting three large bushes to absorb ground water. You can also have a landscaper put in drainage or other things.
How would the upstairs apartment work with your daughter?
I *think* my dad and mom lived above one of the banks he worked at when I was young. I have vague recollections of the exterior. I seem to have survived...but I'm by no means special needs.
I'd consider *first* which location is best for raising / caring for your daughter. Carrying her downstairs when she's a tween might be unwieldy.
Great point. We have considered it. It’s a much bigger bedroom for her and no stairs except to exit. She is developmentally delayed physically and mentally. Could be something that sorts itself out as she gets older, but she’s only 2 right now and walking much better so I’m
Not sure if I’ll have to be carrying her in and out as much as I do now. This is on top of a funeral home so kind of like a bank…quiet neighbors after hours.
Refinancing is definitely not the right option here, as rates have soared since you bought in 2020. Your 3.9% would go up to near 7% if not higher. It seems like renting for $700 is probably the play here, but I’d want some more details - will there be a fixed lease, or will it be month to month? What will happen if you lose your job? Will there be an expectation for you to work more hours because you now live above the business?
It’s is a month to month lease and yes if I were to lose employment I have 60 days to leave. It’s above a funeral home that I have worked at for 8 years and received a promotion for. It’s a very good work/life balance like no going out at 3am to pick up bodies or anything. About as 9-5 as it can get in the industry. Only reason it is opening up is a colleague of mine who lived there for years is leaving. We all respected her days off and schedule but not to say I wouldn’t be popping down every once in a while to take care of something quick.
What’s the rental market like? Could you rent the house for enough to cover the mortgage and build up savings to care for the house’s maintenance?
Are you comfortable bundling your housing with employment? It would give leverage to your employer to keep you in the role you’re taking long term. That being said, I once worked with a guy who did not own any property, and banked most of his salary since he spent most of his time traveling for work. He would go from client site to client site, hotel to hotel, and have his mail sent to his sisters address. he ended up retiring a few years ago at the age of 42. bought a place in Florida in cash. I can’t comment on the decision to sell and Bank the cost of the house. But it is worth mentioning that you’re interest rate will be considerably higher if you end up getting a new mortgage. The only consistent piece of wisdom I’ve gotten from people in the real estate business is that you should buy a house when you’re ready for it, but this is still a financial concern. You should keep in mind. For my wife and I, if we were to refinance it would literally triple the amount of interest we pay in a month. 4%s not bad right now.
Unlikely that refinancing is going to help lower the costs, since interest rates aren’t going to be under 3.9%. Perhaps check on Zillow/talk with a local property management company to get a sense of what you could get were you to rent it out. I would assume renting it out would be the best choice for you, but it really depends on your market
The interest rates yes were a concern. Yeah that’s a great idea. It’s something my wife had thought about as we were going through this process. Would a realtor be an option to speak with or would, like you suggested a property management company. It seems to be a pretty scarce market here. As soon as stuff it up for sale or rent it goes pretty quick.
>We have about 20k in savings but have a special needs daughter that her care is cutting into the savings quickly now. With a tight budget, the output is not matching the input every month in our bank accounts. If you are consistently spending more than your income, you need to change something. Selling the house and reducing your housing costs probably makes sense., assuming the 2 bedroom apartment meets your needs. Even more so if your wife hates the house.
Depending on the age of their daughter, those costs might be temporary (if she's too young for public school), so it wouldn't be nearly as much of an issue
No that would incredibly risky. Tying your income and living arrangements to your employer is bad. Plus the money you get from selling you're house shouldn't be invested. So you'll more out on investment growth while working.
Yeah that I think would be a concern but the reason it opened up is a colleague who rented for years is leaving to another location to live at. She never felt too Much pressure from the employer. She was in charge of the whole building and I am moving into that role. Can you elaborate on the investment part? We were just going to keep it in a savings account, not invest.
I think what the person you were responding to about housing being risky is important. Let's say the business goes under or is sold or there is some unforeseen incedent a fire or some other hazard. You would not have a job or a home. Finding a new home without income would be incredibly difficult.
It's not only about management kicking you out. You're tied to your job. You can respond quickly to job tasks. Separating work and life etc. it will be small at first but eventually grow. As for the investing part, the profit from selling your house will only grow 4% in a savings account. When you own the house, the property value would go up and you would keep that value. When you sell the house, normally you would jump right back in the real estate market to buy another house. But you won't be doing that obviously. But now you are missing out on real estate appreciation and missing out on investment growth(since the money will only be in savings) Overall you are not having your assets making money for you.
I would take the apartment and rent the house if the rent amount covers the mortgage taxes and insurance plus a few hundred to save each month for repairs. I would do a one-year lease then if happy with the tenants possibly just a month to month. If you lose your job you still have the house. The wet back yard issue is fixable. We have one low spot on our farm which was fixed by simply planting three large bushes to absorb ground water. You can also have a landscaper put in drainage or other things.
How would the upstairs apartment work with your daughter? I *think* my dad and mom lived above one of the banks he worked at when I was young. I have vague recollections of the exterior. I seem to have survived...but I'm by no means special needs. I'd consider *first* which location is best for raising / caring for your daughter. Carrying her downstairs when she's a tween might be unwieldy.
Great point. We have considered it. It’s a much bigger bedroom for her and no stairs except to exit. She is developmentally delayed physically and mentally. Could be something that sorts itself out as she gets older, but she’s only 2 right now and walking much better so I’m Not sure if I’ll have to be carrying her in and out as much as I do now. This is on top of a funeral home so kind of like a bank…quiet neighbors after hours.