Author Topic: Sell home or get renter  (Read 3211 times)

staccee

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Sell home or get renter
« on: August 28, 2017, 01:22:18 AM »
Hi,

I am wondering if anyone has some good suggestions for me.  I recently lost my job.  Although I miss the income, my profession had become highly political and it no longer aligned with my values.  While I am looking for work,  I can at least receive a pension although it is not enough to pay for my current life style.  I would like to sell my home as I could get between 100K & 150K in equity. I really like the idea of being completely debt free and free to move anywhere.  But I live in Sacramento, CA and rents are OUTRAGEOUS!  I feel like I'm in a catch 22 situation.  I could get someone to rent a room in my home but I would much rather be on my own.  Plus I can't really see retiring here as all of the expenses are just too high.  I'm afraid if I wait to sell the market will go down and I will have missed my opportunity.  Does anyone have any good alternative housing solutions for under $1000 per month temporarily?  To complicate things more I have two kitties so I need some place to "Nest".  If I sell I will have a pretty good bank account but my income would only be about 30K until I find other work.  So buying something else would be difficult to qualify.  Thanks!  Stacie
« Last Edit: August 28, 2017, 08:37:26 AM by staccee »

Goldielocks

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Re: Sell home or get renter
« Reply #1 on: August 28, 2017, 01:45:20 AM »
Sacramento fluctutes in home prices greatly, depending on the local economy.  Honestly, if you are not stuck on staying there, I would sell and move to another place with either a lower cost of living, or a larger city area with a job lined up.  Some of my friends found it harder to find jobs if you only look in Sacramento, although it is better there now than 8 years ago.

Dicey

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Re: Sell home or get renter
« Reply #2 on: August 28, 2017, 05:21:11 AM »
Wait a minute. You don't want to have a roommate, you have two cats, you don't want to work, you live in one of the comparably lower cost parts of CA and you're whinging about how expensive it is?

This is facepunch land, not fairy godmother-ville.

staccee

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Re: Sell home or get renter
« Reply #3 on: August 28, 2017, 08:34:53 AM »
I clearly stated "until I find other work".  I lost my job last month.  I may have a job lined up where I will be able to work remotely but the position will not be available from anywhere between 2 and 10 months.  In the meantime I am looking for other work and am also working to start my own business.  It is just that I know I could get a decent amount of $ from selling my house now, and I am not confident that the housing market will stay up.  I also don't think CA is the best place to retire with the high cost of living.
« Last Edit: August 28, 2017, 08:38:40 AM by staccee »

Gimesalot

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Re: Sell home or get renter
« Reply #4 on: August 28, 2017, 08:43:40 AM »
If you do get the $100k to $150k that you expect, that will only add $4k to $6k a year to your pension income, total $34k to $36k.  Is that enough to sell, that's for you to decide.  If I were you, I would start looking for a low cost of living place or situation.  If rents are so outrageous, maybe you can rent your house out, and use that money to live in lower cost area. 

staccee

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Re: Sell home or get renter
« Reply #5 on: August 28, 2017, 08:49:22 AM »
Thank you Goldielocks and Gimesalot!  Definitely food for thought.

Imma

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Re: Sell home or get renter
« Reply #6 on: August 28, 2017, 09:11:48 AM »
To me, it makes no sense to sell a home and then rent in the same area, unless you're seriously downsizing. 99% of the time you're going to pay a lot more money for basically the same.

It makes more sense to either keep the home and find a roommate (or rent out the garage for storage) or to sell and settle in area that's preferably cheaper but mainly has more job opportunities. Do you know where the jobs in your field are?

A third option would be to sell up and (temporarily) live in an RV until you know where the job search takes you.

Goldielocks

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Re: Sell home or get renter
« Reply #7 on: August 28, 2017, 09:18:24 AM »
I clearly stated "until I find other work".  I lost my job last month.  I may have a job lined up where I will be able to work remotely but the position will not be available from anywhere between 2 and 10 months.  In the meantime I am looking for other work and am also working to start my own business.  It is just that I know I could get a decent amount of $ from selling my house now, and I am not confident that the housing market will stay up.  I also don't think CA is the best place to retire with the high cost of living.

Move to Fresno or Merced...   ?? 
Or, to Salem Oregon or another place not in a large city with temperate climate so that utilities are a lot lower if you will retire.

staccee

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Re: Sell home or get renter
« Reply #8 on: August 28, 2017, 09:33:23 AM »
Thanks again, Goldielocks!  Actually Oregon is on my radar.  If I sell I do have a place to stay that will be inexpensive for several months until I decide where to go from there.  I figured during that time I could explore the best places to live.  I'm also looking at whether or not it would be better to rent out my house completely or sell.   I really appreciate your input!

staccee

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Re: Sell home or get renter
« Reply #9 on: August 28, 2017, 09:40:11 AM »
Imma,

Thanks for your feedback!  With the company that will likely hire me within 2 - 10 months the job could be in one of several cities.  This company contracts with law enforcement agencies but these agencies are in the funding approval stage so I'm not sure which cities will get the approval.  There are also two agencies that I was told would be willing to have the contractor work remotely.  So if I sell or rent out my house I will be free to move where ever the job will be. 

FoundPeace

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Re: Sell home or get renter
« Reply #10 on: November 08, 2017, 08:10:24 PM »
If you were willing to share your monthly house expenses and how much you would be able to rent the house out for, then we could be more helpful.

And if the pension is a permanent thing, then if I were in your situation, I would probably be really tempted to retire. $30k passive income plus any savings you have and whatever else you get out of the house would definitely be enough if you were willing to reduce expenses or live outside the country.


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DoubleDown

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Re: Sell home or get renter
« Reply #11 on: November 09, 2017, 10:12:27 AM »
You've gotta run the numbers to make any kind of fair comparison. See what you could reasonably charge for renting your house out, cut that in half (see: "50% rule), subtract your mortgage payments, that is your net income (or loss) from renting your house to others. Subtract your net rental income (or add in the case of a net loss) from the cost for you to rent yourself, and compare that to your current housing payment.

Make sure you consider all your housing costs, such as maintenance, utilities, etc.

Without knowing any of the numbers, I'd venture to guess that continuing to hold your house will end up being a better choice, especially with pets. Plus, you can be assured your house payment will not go up, whereas rent certainly will.

That's the financial side of the decision. Only you can weigh freedom vs. certainty, whether you're prepared to be a landlord (it's no picnic or free lunch), whether you can handle a tenant destroying your house and fleeing, whether you're prepared to move again if your own rent is raised 20% all at once, etc.

Cali Nonya

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Re: Sell home or get renter
« Reply #12 on: November 10, 2017, 05:39:06 PM »
From someone else wanting to get out of California ...

I know you said you want to be on your own, but really if you are looking at a couple month gap before you know what will be going on with future employment.  If there ever was a time to stay with family (or very understanding friends), this is it (especially considering the pets).
Is there someone you could impose on for the short term?  If so, I would sell, suck up my pride and stay with family, then move on once the future and employment gets to be more clear.  I know this might not be an option, but is the wanting to be on your own pride or need?

Another thing to consider would be month to month vacation rentals out of state.  Head to Nevada or Oregon for a few months and you can easily rent for under $1k as you mentioned.  That would be a decent short term gap while other things shake out.  You'd need to do some hunting for a place that takes pets, but I am sure that can be found.

The other question is, how much stuff do you have?  Can it all go into storage fairly easily, or are you assuming it all goes with you?