We are so overwhelmed with our housing situation.
What to do...
What to do......
Do we buy a large house in town and have a mortgage that makes money tight for us just to buy something??
or
Do we rent out in the country for little rent, with property where we can homestead...but we don't own it??
I guess that probably seems obvious to some especially since we want to homestead, but we are really struggling with what the right decision is.
If we move out to the country and rent;
....we will have a 40 minute drive into town. Our daughter will have to ride a bus into town, but there is a nice group of kids that she will carpool with.
....we will have inexpensive rent which means we can both cut down to part time on work.
....we can have horses, a few head of cattle, chickens etc.
....we can fish for Steelhead from the backyard
....we can pick our own fruit and grow a garden
....we will have to fix up the quirky manufactured house a bit because it's run down and old and chances are we will lose money when we eventually move.
If we buy in town;
....Our daughter will be within walking distance to school and friends. Sports will be easier because we will be so close.
....We will own our own small plot with a nice, new larger home
....we can garden
....we can have chickens
....we can't have the horse because it's in town
....we will have to work more to make a mortgage payment
....we will have a nice investment that we can turn around and sell in a few years that will, in turn, give us the money to buy our own place out of town.
We are just at a loss...we don't know what to do.
I know that J and I have to sit down and write down a pro and con list for both of us. I think J is more wigged about living so far out more than I am.
Please give us your thoughts. We need some input from other people.
Thanks!
8 comments:
Oh, tough choice. We started with the house in town and gardening with a friend who lives outside of town and had more room. Now we have enough equity in our current home that we took the leap to move out. But it took us about a year and a half of looking to find a place that fit all our requirement. Land, large enough house and school district requirements (our daughter is in high school and I don't want her to have to change schools.
The house we got isn't the dream house- it's run down and needs work, but everything is falling into place. We're fortunate as well that it isn't far out of town. It's now a 15 minute drive to school for our daughter rather than 5 but that's not too bad.
I guess I didn't really give much advice, did I. But this is something that you need to make your own choice. I'm a big one for paying attention to what 'feels right'.
Good luck, I'm sure you'll make the right decision for you.
Judy
I was thinking that a house in a city is a good option especially if you get a garden :).And investing in a property is always a good option in the long run.And its good idea to own a home now when the markets are down.
We would love to own one too.But recesssion has hit us harder then we thought it would.
so go ahead and buy the house.you can always sell it and move to the coubtry whenever you feel like it
I don't really know what to tell you, since ultimately it's a decision you and your family is going to have to live with (literally! =p), but I definitely think a pro/con list is a good idea. It's really just a matter of deciding what you want more, what bothers you the most, and what are deal breakers. If it's the right choice, you'll know!
Personally, I'm no fan of debt, mortgage included. If it were me, I'd pick the country home. From your list, you'd have better quality of life. In town, you'd be a slave to that mortgage debt and there's a few things missing from the in town list that you seem to really like. Just an opinion from a complete stranger though. Good luck with your decision. :D
I can see the complexity. How come you cannot buy something in country?
And if you are looking at your house as an investment... well, I think you could leave that factor out for a few years due to the housing market.
I think it comes to a real lifestyle choice. Although, I do not know the age of your daughter most children are very good at adapting.
Perhaps, the choice is to stay in the city for a few years more so that your child is close to school. Keep renting and save for a place in the country. Keep practicing your life change until you have all your "eggs in a basket".
Don't buy in the city yet, because it sounds like you will be financially stressed. And that's not good for any marriage/family.
Well, that is all my opinion. What to do...
Sorry to post again... but I thought that you might like this post in regards to your situation (click here)
I'm not sure what the better option would be for your life. But I wanted to tell you good luck.
As always, I sound like a know it all, but here are my thoughts:
AVOID THE HOME AS INVESTMENT TRAP!!!!!!!! (whew! glad that's out) Here in {uber-trendy central-area city in your own state) we were at one time the most-increased-home-appreciation place in the entire NATION. Two quarters later we were the 3rd most OVERVALUED real estate market in the nation. We are sitting on 16% unemployment.
If you rent, do NOT make the mistake of thinking that the landowner is making his mortgage payment with your rent payment. Often, the rent doesn't even cover the payment. He may. He may not. It's a crapshoot. Just don't be surprised if the answer is NOT. Keep abreast of foreclosures and lawsuits in your county's tax records and such.
Please don't fall for the "bigger is better" because it really isn't.
That said, are you sure you couldn't hold off a bit longer for that magical piece of property that you can OWN, yet be further out? Anyway, crossing my fingers for you.
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