more moving questions...

[Crazy4Disney72]

....piggy-backing off of another thread I just read about how much money is enough to make moving worthwhile....I read that thread with great interest as dh and I are currently debating this issue.

Here's the situation....dh has been offered another job within the same company that he's been with since 2005. It's a position with much more growth potential and doing more what he loves to do, so there would be great job satisfaction. Currently he doesn't hate his job, but he doesn't love it either. The kicker is, we live in PA and the job is in MI. The company has offered him an 11% raise, $10,000 towards miscellaneous expenses, and they will completely pay for our move. The CoL for the area we are looking at is approximately 5% less than it is here.

If we are going to move, it needs to be before our DD starts high school. Currently she is in 7th grade, so this is the time to do it. Our middle DS is used to changing schools, as he has cognitive disabilities and has changed programs a couple times, or the program has changed what district it is run out of. That's another thing in favor of this move, in MI, he can stay in public school until he is 26, here in PA it's only 21.

The big negative....selling our house here. We are not going to get what we paid for it in 2007, we know that, but we are wondering just how hard of a hit we are going to take by the time we figure real estate commissions, sellers closing costs, etc. For sure we would not be coming away from this house with much of anything to put towards a new house, though housing is much cheaper out there.

My dad thinks we're crazy to even consider it, he says nobody picks up and moves 10 hours away to only make 11% more a year, it should be more like 20%. I think we could probably get the company to go a little higher, since that's just what they started out with, plus they are the ones who came after dh, not the other way around, but not 20%. I think dh's potential for growth in this job plus the 5 extra years of schooling for DS are a big factor, but do they outweigh possibly losing a lot of money on the house, to the point that at the very least we would use up our savings and we might possibly have to borrow against 401(k) for some or all of the downpayment on the new house. Any thoughts?

 

[akcire]

....piggy-backing off of another thread I just read about how much money is enough to make moving worthwhile....I read that thread with great interest as dh and I are currently debating this issue.

Here's the situation....dh has been offered another job within the same company that he's been with since 2005. It's a position with much more growth potential and doing more what he loves to do, so there would be great job satisfaction. Currently he doesn't hate his job, but he doesn't love it either. The kicker is, we live in PA and the job is in MI. The company has offered him an 11% raise, $10,000 towards miscellaneous expenses, and they will completely pay for our move. The CoL for the area we are looking at is approximately 5% less than it is here.

If we are going to move, it needs to be before our DD starts high school. Currently she is in 7th grade, so this is the time to do it. Our middle DS is used to changing schools, as he has cognitive disabilities and has changed programs a couple times, or the program has changed what district it is run out of. That's another thing in favor of this move, in MI, he can stay in public school until he is 26, here in PA it's only 21.

The big negative....selling our house here. We are not going to get what we paid for it in 2007, we know that, but we are wondering just how hard of a hit we are going to take by the time we figure real estate commissions, sellers closing costs, etc. For sure we would not be coming away from this house with much of anything to put towards a new house, though housing is much cheaper out there.

My dad thinks we're crazy to even consider it, he says nobody picks up and moves 10 hours away to only make 11% more a year, it should be more like 20%. I think we could probably get the company to go a little higher, since that's just what they started out with, plus they are the ones who came after dh, not the other way around, but not 20%. I think dh's potential for growth in this job plus the 5 extra years of schooling for DS are a big factor, but do they outweigh possibly losing a lot of money on the house, to the point that at the very least we would use up our savings and we might possibly have to borrow against 401(k) for some or all of the downpayment on the new house. Any thoughts?

The company relo package should pick up the real estate costs, agent fees or other transactional costs. If not have hubby negotiate.

Also not sure where in Mi but you may be able get more house for less than you expect. I'd rent for a while.

I think 11% is a good opening offer.

The fact that your son would not age out for an extra 5 years is huge. Look at pricing for services for him. I watch a boy who aged out last year for my neighbor. I do it 4 hours a month. It is a challenge and not safe for my child (she stays with grandma), it is the only respite they get. They can't afford private services and public options have been closed. I do it for free but no $$ would make me help more. Of course every kids needs are different, but these poor people need a break. Their lives changed dramatically when he aged out.

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

Bases on what you have told us, I would really look into the move. What part of MI is it? With the cost of living being less PLUS the raise, your son could stay in school longer, and the potential job growth, it sounds like a pretty good deal. Will your DH's company help with the selling of the house? I know some companies will buy the home if it doesn't sell in 3 months.

Good Luck with what ever you decide.

 

[usd2bmd]

My experience with relocation through your employer has been this... Usually you have two or three appraisers in to determine a value of the house...they take an average (maybe you could negotiate it) and if the house doesn't sell in a span of time (3 mos, 6 mos,) they buy it for that figure.

Good luck.

 

[vicki_c]

My experience with relocation through your employer has been this... Usually you have two or three appraisers in to determine a value of the house...they take an average (maybe you could negotiate it) and if the house doesn't sell in a span of time (3 mos, 6 mos,) they buy it for that figure.

Good luck.

I would agree with most of that, but my company would not purchase the house unless it were a senior executive. For us regular peons, the relo offers were not as generous. It all depends on what the company is offering (and whether you get the basic or the platinum package, I guess). So I would just say make sure you understand all the details of the offer. On the bright side, isn't it a seller's market right now?

 

[bearloch]

im a Michigan native! house there are cheaper BUT be carefully that you don't get a forclosed or left house with the winters thoses have been known to have issues!! what area in Mich?

 

[Crazy4Disney72]

im a Michigan native! house there are cheaper BUT be carefully that you don't get a forclosed or left house with the winters thoses have been known to have issues!! what area in Mich?

The office is in Detroit, but we wouldn't want to actually live in Detroit, looking at suburbs that would be within a 45 minute drive.

As for the relocation package, he is being told that they don't ever buy houses, maybe they meant for anybody other than extremely top level people, I don't know.

Thanks for all the information, keep it coming!

 

[akcire]

There are plenty of decent places to live 45 minutes from Detroit. My IL are all from the general Detroit area. You could almost live in Ann Arbor my favorite college town.

It will help your move if you are catholic. As a non-Catholic I find many activities and areas to live are parish based.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

The company relo package should pick up the real estate costs, agent fees or other transactional costs. If not have hubby negotiate . . .

1) This practice went out in the 80's-90's for the most part.
2) Only a few big companies cover existing mortgage/house expenses.
3) They normally pickup the new house expenses, but not the current house.

NOTE1: In my seven job-related moves, only twice did I get coverage
for our current (existing) house. And, in only about one-half of the
cases did they pick up agent fees, transactional costs, etc on new
house.

NOTE2: Unless one super-terrific position, I would not go back to
Michigan. Bad highways, too much traffic, terrible goverments.
Fortunately, this is the OP decision and not mine.

 

[Jenny3]

I'm a relocation certified realtor in PA and definitely see if the company will assist you with moving expenses or a corporate buy-out. Most of the clients I've worked with have had all expenses taken care of on both ends of the move.

From what you posted with the job growth potential and your son, I say go for it! Feel free to PM me with any questions on relocating and good luck!

 

[pyrxtc]

The potential growth might be worth it. I move next month for a job with potential growth and my Dh pay is only 2/3's of what he made here. We will be paying two mortgages for a little while but the company is paying to move us and some of these moving expenses are tax write offs.

 

[Arkansan]

We have had 7 corporate relocations in 12 years--most recently last August--and all of them have included all fees associated with both selling our current home and buying the new one. The company also would have purchased our home if we didn't sell it within a certain period of time. They have also included moving expenses (packing and moving household goods, storage of household goods if needed, moving our cars, airplane tickets for final move and house hunting trips, a set amount of money for other expenses--- new drivers's licenses, pet sitting, new license plates, hotels, cleaning of new house prior to move-in, meals out, etc. However,, all of this was considered income and reported on my husband's W2 at the end of the year. Also, my husband needed to sign a form that said if he left the company within a certain period of time ( has ranged from 12-24 months after new job start date) that we would need to repay all the moving expenses.

Good luck with your decision! Our kids were 14, 13, and 11 (9th, 7th, and 5th grades) for our most recent interstate move. We got to the new location less than a week before school starting, but they started on the real first day. It was lucky for us that each child was starting at a new school for their grade, so all the kids in their grade also were making the transition together. Of course, we couldn't really plan that. It was just a happy accident. We had some adjustments, but all three kids have said at different times that they are happier here. Also, all of them keep in touch with old friends through technology--either Facebook, Instagram, or x-box live depending on the child.

 

[Swimalie]

The deal you are getting sounds like a good one to me. We have been in a similar situation. In the past we have know that ee will pay all moving expenses, we will pay all real estate expenses and we will lose about $100K on our house. But to us it is worth it to get to a job with better potential. Go for it.