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cu97tiger
member
Question about houses
So my BF and I live in the same house that he bought with his ex-wife several years ago. It's too expensive for us (I have a mountain of student loan debt that she didn't have) and our roommate is getting ready to move out. Neither of us wants to have a roommate forever, and to be honest, the house is just too big for two people.
Like most other people, the mortgage on the house is well over what we could get for it (the first year I was here, it was on the market, no offers).
Has anyone had experience buying a home while still owning another home? Short-selling? Foreclosing? We are just now starting to look at the different options but my BF is uber-responsible and hates the thought of 1) walking away and/or 2) messing up his credit. I just want us to be starting off our marriage on solid financial ground.
Like most other people, the mortgage on the house is well over what we could get for it (the first year I was here, it was on the market, no offers).
Has anyone had experience buying a home while still owning another home? Short-selling? Foreclosing? We are just now starting to look at the different options but my BF is uber-responsible and hates the thought of 1) walking away and/or 2) messing up his credit. I just want us to be starting off our marriage on solid financial ground.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Question about houses
I agree with talking to your bank, however you may need to talk to numerous people to see all of your options.
My Bio - updated 26/3/2011
Good luck!
[QUOTE]What about re-financing the mortgage for a lower payment and hanging onto it until you're less upside down?
Posted by desertsun[/QUOTE]
That could be a really good idea, if you can do it! Also, if you're able to, you can probably get more money out of the property by renting it out (at the least what you owe on the mortgage each month, probably a good bit more, but I don't know your real estate market), and meanwhile live somewhere else (rent or buy) that costs less per month.
We'd love to stay in the house, but with an interest-only loan that is so far underwater, it might take us 10 years to even get back to even. And the loan expires in 6, so then we'd be REALLY screwed.
One of the things we'll talk to the realtor/friend about is renting it out. In our market we're not sure what we could get for rent, and it might be several hundred dollars short of the mortgage, which makes moving to a less expensive place kind of pointless (since the difference would put us right back up to what we're paying now).
We want to do the 'right' thing but I'm definitely against draining our savings and every spare penny we make because of this mortgage crisis. We didn't do anything wrong so I don't think we should be punished for it. (For example, if the housing bubble hadn't collapsed, BF would have sold this house when he got divorced and bought something smaller, but because of the slump, he couldn't get what he paid for it). Hopefully the realtor/friend tells us there's a chance we could sell the house and only lose $10k... if so, we'd be out in a heartbeat.
Still here and still fabulous!
[QUOTE]When I saw this topic on the board, I thought it said "Question about <strong>HORSES</strong>." Hmmm. Maybe I'm still tired.
Posted by Elle1036[/QUOTE]
You'll never see anything about horses coming from me. I'm HIGHLY allergic and had two bad incidents when I was a kid. I think they are beautiful but must admire them from afar. :)
Still here and still fabulous!
Elle- I keep reading horses too. I have also came back to read it and thought "Why is she asking about horses?" LOL
It's Friday, you (and I) are forgiven.
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Question about houses : You'll never see anything about horses coming from me. <strong>I'm HIGHLY allergic and had two bad incidents when I was a kid.</strong> I think they are beautiful but must admire them from afar. :)
Posted by cu97tiger[/QUOTE]
High Five! Me too!
A couple years ago, I was in New Mexico with some friends and we decided to do a horseback tour. I thought "I haven't been around horses in years; maybe it's not a bad allergy anymore..." Wrong.
Ekath - Thanks! I feel better.
It really stinks that someone who wants to find a way to make it work is someone they won't work with, while they'll work with someone who isn't taking responsibility for their obligations. So backwards! Ugh!
Good luck!
How bad is the housing market in Phoenix?
My Bio - updated 26/3/2011
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Question about houses : That could be a really good idea, if you can do it! Also, if you're able to, you can probably get more money out of the property by renting it out (at the least what you owe on the mortgage each month, probably a good bit more, but I don't know your real estate market), and meanwhile live somewhere else (rent or buy) that costs less per month.
Posted by calindi[/QUOTE]
<div>I was actually going to suggest renting it out! My dad has 4 rent houses, and he's still paying off the last one. He can easily rent it out for more than the mortgage costs, I'm not sure how this would be in your area, however I was intending to suggest exactly the same thing as Cate, rent someplace a bit cozier and a bit more your size.</div>
BF is doing lots of research about our options. It's stressing him out and my heart hurts for him. In the end though, we're making the decision together and I'm confident that we'll figure out the best thing for 'us'. Thanks to all for the advice!
PS - Elle: I used to be super-allergic to dogs and cats as well as horses (really, anything with fur). Now I'm not at all allergic to dogs, cats don't bother me nearly as much as they used to, but I still nearly hold my breath every time I pass a horse farm (there are actually a couple within a mile of our house).
Still here and still fabulous!