Hi MMM Members!
I am new to MMM, but have worked toward the debt free lifestyle taught by a "beginner" financial personality for a few years. I am finally debt-free aside from my mortgage.
My question is about moving to reduce expenses my biking to work and local necessities. I live 26 miles from my office and the commute typically takes 45min-1hr. My fiance and I live together and she commutes to college 39 miles, typically taking an hour+ each way. The commutes alone are making us crazy, not to mention the cost!
I have a 07 manual civic and would like it to last another 10 years by rarely using it. I could also eliminate $130/mo parking, $125/mo gas, etc. by moving within biking distance to work. My fiance has a 05 Mazda Tribute (Ford Escape) and spends $250+ on gas each month. I would like to move to the city I work in to be bilking distance from work and necessities, drastically reducing our transportation costs. She will also, most likely, work in the city upon graduation.
I currently owe $139k on my home and zilliow est mkt price is $148k, so I would not walk way with much after fees&costs. In addition the home could use around $5k of work to make it ready to sell. Oh and best of all my subdivision's HOA does not allow renting. I know dumb me, but I was young and didn't have foresight.
At what point is the cost savings of moving worth it?
I have around $7,000 saved, but know it will take significantly more to get myself ready for the move. My savings rate is around $1k/month.
I am trying to figure out the fastest way to be able to make the move happen. The other hurdle is the fiance and I have 4 dogs (merged household) so it will be difficult to keep our place showing ready while living in it. This issue also makes renting a place short term while purchasing a new home almost impossible (that I know of I would love to be wrong!).
I would love any advice regarding moving while owning a home you need to sell. Also would a non conventional (not 20% down) mortgage be worth considering to facilitate a quicker move? I never want to have PMI again (current home is on a 3.5% down FHA that quickly was underwater). I have heard of 80/10/10 mortgages putting 10% down and the other 10% as a line of credit to avoid the PMI. IS this sort of thinking anti-mustachian? Any other ideas for making the move happen sooner rather than later?
I filled out most of the case study info below to add the details I missed. Fiance will graduate in 2 years and is basically earning enough to cover her tuition and personal expenses and trying to stay debt free until graduation.
Income: $26/hour, 40 hrs week with opportunity for OT. After 401K, taxes, parking, and insurance coming out of my check I take home $1450-$1700 bi-weekly.
Current expenses:
Mortgage $939.95
Utilites $300
Internet $49.95
DirectTV $76.71
HOA $40.00
Car Insurance $103.00
Car Gas/Oil Change $160.00
Cell $82
Groceries $500.00
Dog Food/Meds $100.00
Assets: Savings $7k, 401k - $35k, Honda ~9k, Home (Mortgage below) - $148k
Liabilities: Mortgage - $139k
Thank you All! I look forward to a fun discussion below!