Suze Orman? Asking DIS instead!

[shaylyn]

Dh and I are thinking about selling the house we thought we might retire in but are having a hard time deciding if we should do it. Here's some financial info:

We have $160,000 left on the mortgage
House is worth $460,000 at least after repairs are done
We could take the profit and buy a house outright in another city--or stay our current city if we buy a house that does not have land (our house has just over an acre & a half, hard to find in our area)

We bring home $5000 a month
Our current mortgage is $1450 a month, this includes $4300/yr for tax our house insurance
We have 21 years left on our 30 year mortgage
Taxes would be similar for any house we would buy
We have no other debt besides our mortgage

There are things we need to do to fix up our current house to sell: replace all of the pipes in the house, replace a 1960's sliding glass door that doesn't slide, new carpet, new cabinet doors and counter in the kitchen, repaint. We do have enough cash in our savings account to do all of these things, so we don't need any loans.

Perhaps it's coming down to emotions and not finances?

Anyone have any advice or thoughts?

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

The housing market is just so shaky right now.

If you sold your house and got a new one out right would you will work?

 

[kacaju]

Dh and I are thinking about selling the house we thought we might retire in but are having a hard time deciding if we should do it. Here's some financial info:

We have $160,000 left on the mortgage
House is worth $460,000 at least after repairs are done
We could take the profit and buy a house outright in another city--or stay our current city if we buy a house that does not have land (our house has just over an acre & a half, hard to find in our area)

We bring home $5000 a month
Our current mortgage is $1450 a month, this includes $4300/yr for tax our house insurance
We have 21 years left on our 30 year mortgage
Taxes would be similar for any house we would buy
We have no other debt besides our mortgage

There are things we need to do to fix up our current house to sell: replace all of the pipes in the house, replace a 1960's sliding glass door that doesn't slide, new carpet, new cabinet doors and counter in the kitchen, repaint. We do have enough cash in our savings account to do all of these things, so we don't need any loans.

Perhaps it's coming down to emotions and not finances?

Anyone have any advice or thoughts?

If you have no reason to stay in this house (ie...kids in school, or it really is your dream home)

and you could REALLY sell your house for that amount, I would sell.

Why do you want to continue paying a martgage if you don't have to?

 

[princessnoelly]

Our neighbors were going to sell their home and once they started fixing it up realized how much they like their house.

Go and look at other homes you might want to live in, you'll either fall back in love with your home or fall in love with another home.

I'd look at what available first.

 

[ilovemk76]

For me I would sell. I would not want to enter retirement with a mortgage. If you can see for what you say and buy for what you think then you will have an extra $1000 that can be invested for your retirement.

 

[mjejj]

Are you sure that your house is still worth as much as you think it is? I only ask because our neighbors put their house on the market within the past month and it appraised for $80,000 less than what they paid for it. (Ouch!!) If you can sell it for as much as you think and can buy another house outright, I would go for it. I love my house, but I know I would love a house just as much or even more if I didn't have to worry about a mortgage. Good Luck!! I really hope it works out for you

BTW, just from personal experience, don't put too much extra effort into "fixing" up the house. There are soooo many houses on the market, it may not make much of a difference in the long run. I would just do what an inspector might question, like the pipes and leave the rest up to the new owners. Plus, it gives you a little barganing tool if you can throw in new carpet to get a contract or something like that.

 

[WeLuvDCL]

If you really like the house, my advice would be to start paying more toward your principal. If you bring home $5000 a month and $1450/m is your only debt for mortgage/taxes and insurance, I would think you could apply at least $500 more a month to your current payment. You will then have the house paid off in probably 15 years if not sooner - use this calculator to see how much money you would save and how quickly it will be paid off. http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/mortgages/mortgage-calculator.aspx

Then in a few years, you will most likely be able to sell your house for a lot more and owe a lot less. You may even decide to stay once you only have to pay ins/taxes.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Jeff_G]

Ok I gota ask why do you need to replace ALL the pipes in your house?

 

[chris31997]

Why are you selling? Is there a need to sell or a want? I do not want to do yard work, house repairs.... or I want a new house, smaller house.... or We are close to retirement and looking at downsizing. Make a list of the reasons of why you want to sell. Maybe even talk to a real estate brooker. Like the PP said I would pay more towards your principal and start tackling repairs. Pick one repair and save cash to do that repair.

 

[shaylyn]

The housing market is just so shaky right now.

If you sold your house and got a new one out right would you will work?

Yes, any extra we have goes straight to savings. Dh works, he would go nuts if he didn't, lol, so we would take the extra money every month and save or invest it.

Our neighbors were going to sell their home and once they started fixing it up realized how much they like their house.

Go and look at other homes you might want to live in, you'll either fall back in love with your home or fall in love with another home.

I'd look at what available first.

Good advice! We started looking and have found that we do like what is available. That's probably what made us think that we should look into this to begin with.

For me I would sell. I would not want to enter retirement with a mortgage. If you can see for what you say and buy for what you think then you will have an extra $1000 that can be invested for your retirement.

Are you sure that your house is still worth as much as you think it is? I only ask because our neighbors put their house on the market within the past month and it appraised for $80,000 less than what they paid for it. (Ouch!!) If you can sell it for as much as you think and can buy another house outright, I would go for it. I love my house, but I know I would love a house just as much or even more if I didn't have to worry about a mortgage. Good Luck!! I really hope it works out for you

BTW, just from personal experience, don't put too much extra effort into "fixing" up the house. There are soooo many houses on the market, it may not make much of a difference in the long run. I would just do what an inspector might question, like the pipes and leave the rest up to the new owners. Plus, it gives you a little barganing tool if you can throw in new carpet to get a contract or something like that.

I'm being conservative with our estimate. The house next to us, with the same amt of land and a house that is not as nice just sold for $599,000.

Ok I gota ask why do you need to replace ALL the pipes in your house?

The house was built in 1920. It has old pipes. I don't think anyone would buy it like this, but then again, maybe they would? The upstairs bathroom water pressure is so poor that it takes nearly an hour to fill the bathtub. There is a "trick" to turning off the main shower (lower level of the house) so that the water does not leak all day. When we flush the toilet, the shower groans. I'm serious, it makes a groaning sound

Why are you selling? Is there a need to sell or a want? I do not want to do yard work, house repairs.... or I want a new house, smaller house.... or We are close to retirement and looking at downsizing. Make a list of the reasons of why you want to sell. Maybe even talk to a real estate brooker. Like the PP said I would pay more towards your principal and start tackling repairs. Pick one repair and save cash to do that repair.

Good ideas. We have the cash to do all of the repairs now. In fact, we have a lot of cash available. We are big time savers Every extra dime we have goes into savings.

I think that we are outgrowing the house. It has 5 bedrooms. We moved here with two children, now we have 6 There is only one shower. It takes forever to get the whole family ready to go somewhere. We live in a city with a school district with an A+ reputation, but they have done so much infill building houses that there are 42 students in my son's 2nd grade math class.

Thanks for all of the advice everybody!