Have I been looking at this wrong all along!?

[Dmy0013]

Hello fellow mustacians,

[The_path_less_taken]

Not Canadian. But have had rental property.

Your statement that "carrying two mortgages on just my salary" followed by "but they'd be rented out" made me whine like a poodle: you HOPE they'd be rented out.

Even with ironclad "this is a time/term agreement: if you leave early you are still required to pay xxx rent" leases...people leave. People die. Get married. Have babies. Move back with family. Get arrested...whatever.

I would never cut it that close to the bone, where if you had a coupla vacancies you'd be shopping for a cardboard box in an alley to live in.

So I'd probably stick until the numbers worked a bit better for you. At least until you had the 20% down payment to avoid the bs insurance thing. Because it sounds like you could stay and save a bit and not have things be so close to the edge? The condo is too small for kids but you don't have them yet? They don't arrive overnight ya know, unless you adopt?

And....having that much 'stuff/services' move close to the condo improves the value UNLESS those green fields and the view/privacy were the selling point: were they? Did the ad read "Bucolic setting" or mention all the green fields when you bought?

Because that could be why they're saying it hadn't gone up on price. I would still do comparables and pay special attention to recently solds in your area.

[catccc]

I say stay put.  DH and I welcomed our first baby while living in a 399 sqft 1 bedroom apartment.  It was a lovely little place, and we dealt with the size quite easily by not having so much stuff.

You have been looking at this the wrong way (IMO) in terms of thinking the condo was going to be a money maker for you.  A house isn't an investment, it's a place to live.  It sounds pretty sweet in terms of location.  Our apartment was in a small town, and it was totally priceless that i could just strap the baby into a carrier, and walk into town for the library or whatnot.  Carseats and driving a baby around is such a hassle.

Is your wife set on being a SAHM?  Because I out-earn my husband by about 300%.  I hated my job at the time our first arrived, so I quit and stayed home for a year.  But for the 5+ following years, he's been the stay at home parent, except some part time work that coincided with maternity leave with our second kid, and recently taking some seasonal full time work.  (kids are almost 7 and 4 now.)

[zolotiyeruki]

DW and I spent our last two years of college in a 1-bedroom apartment.  Our first kid slept in a pack 'n' play our closet.  No problems at all.

I would suggest that you stay for the following reasons:'
1) $450k is a lot more than $270k. 
2) You don't really *need* more room right now.
3) You don't know how long it'll be before junior arrives (if ever)
4) You can always move later if the need arises.

Is there something about the condo that makes you *want* to move out?  How big is it?

[tanguera]

Yes, babies really don't take up much space. You don't need all the gear that many people will tell you that you do.

By the time our daughter was about 2 we did want more of a yard space for her to play, but not before that. Getting a baby in and out of a car and trying to keep him/her warm (it's not safe to put children in carseats when they're wearing snowsuits) is not fun. Being in a walkable area with a baby is really ideal.

Particularly given that many people find it takes longer to conceive than they anticipate (if you're not planning on adopting, which is also usually not quick) I would wait a few years and save up some more money before buying a house.

[okits]

What is your previous experience as a landlord?  It can be a lot of work and risk, which are two things I would avoid adding to my life with a baby on the scene (or hoped for, soon.) Also concerned at the thought of you loading up on debt to buy residential real estate (all in the same city.)  If the local economy takes a dive you may be worrying for your jobs at the same time that property values and rental rates are under pressure (if layoffs hit or the general economic mood turns pessimistic.)

[mxt0133]

When we had our first child a relative said so I guess your going to have to move out of your one bedroom.  To which I replied we'll see.

When when our second child arrived again he said now I know your definitely going to be moving out of your place.  To which I replied we'll see.

After the birth of our third child and with still no plans of moving out of our one bedroom apartment, said relative doesn't even bring it up anymore.

I'm not saying it can work for everyone but yeah kids don't really take up that much space.  I prefer the small space because we have to be very conscious about bringing crap in our place.

[UnleashHell]

sell the condo, buy the house, finish the basement while living in the house.
 move to basement and rent out the house.

the aim being for someone else to pay your mortgage.

Investment all the money. retire.

[Jon Bon]

Sell the condo, or stay put.

I don't know your market but condos in general are much worse rental investments than sfh or mfh.

Think of your condo as a stock, would you sell a stock that has had no capital gains in 4 years? Sure you get some "dividends" in getting to live here or potential rental income. Plus how much does down payment cash do you have sunk into a non performing asset?

100,000 in equity, how much is your rental net net income going to be? 500 a month?

Only 6% return on a risky asset!!

Hope this helps you think of it in a different light.

My .02 on family. Who says your wife has to stay home? If she is the breadwinner it might make more sense for you to stay at home.(As a father of 3 who really wants to be a stay at home dad.)

[FLBiker]

We just had our first kid.  We've got a 4 bedroom house (bigger than we wanted, but the 2/2s in bike range from work were in lousy neighborhoods).  The baby sleeps in our room. :)

She's 6 mos. old, and it makes breastfeeding much easier.  You could absolutely have a baby in your condo, and it sounds like you'd appreciate the financial breathing room.  My wife is staying home for 1.5 years (1 year unpaid) and we're only able to do that because our housing expense is low.