Someone talk some financial sense into me. Haven't posted in awhile, but I am at a housing/life altering decision place and I am overwhelmed. We moved into the condo we're renting 4 years ago, as just a way to get our rent lower and pay off debt. It was only supposed to be 2/3 years, but I ended up leaving my FT job and am just working a part time gig due to some health issues. But we've managed very well decreasing & not going into more debt on my husband's salary (he's got a new job paying more & a short commute). It's been really great but now our landlord announces he is selling the condo. This is the 4th house we have to move out of in 6 years. I am tired of this game. So part of me just wants to buy the condo. Income about $115k. It will be sold for about $400k with a $350/mo HOA fee. Landlord said he would give a small discount since he wouldn't have to find someone else, but I would like still to use a realtor because I have NO idea everything that needs to be done. We have about $13k in savings. And could pull a bit from IRA, to get in, or find some crappy no downpayment program. But we never wanted to live in a condo. We love house living. My husband does not want to buy it and since he has the option to work remote from anywhere, would like to move to a cheaper state (we're in CA) and buy what we want eventually (3/2, large yard for dogs/gardens/chickens, a drive way to wash my car/car repairs, etc).
My mom lives nearby and does not want us to move (other family has bailed out of state). I do not want to lose out of the last thing we could potentially get into in CA. But even if we bought, our total payment would be around $2900 and we could not rent for that (currently could get maybe $2400) if we wanted to move away. Also, we the condo has not been maintained by our landlord at all and needs a new HVAC system, new garage door track/opener, dishwasher, blinds on every window (the paint flakes off when I try to dust), new bathroom flooring and carpet on stairs and bedrooms (it's 800 years old). The parking here is also a disaster, which almost causes us to have a curfew because we need a spot.
Condo sold for about $450 in 2006, sold again for $255 in 2011. It never fully recovered and I feel like we would be stuck here for a long time since the market is already feeling "peaky".
Someone remind me that this is not in our financial best interest. I know we don't have the funds but I know some people just make things work, just to get your foot in the door.
