Hello All- New to the forums but over the last few months I have started to read a few MMM blogs (reading as many as I can now) and read a Dave Ramsey Book last week- so I am starting to turn the ship around so to speak. We are currently working on paying off our debt, but I wanted to present our housing situation to see what you guys would do in our situation.
Purchased our home in Dec 2011
Owe- 255,000
Appraised 2 months ago- 350,000
Mortgage- 1272
Ins/Tax- 500 (per month, not impounded)
My office is 35 miles away- Ive been with my company 12+ years
Hers is 55 miles away- Shes been with her company 7+ years
Distance between the two is 12 miles
Situated between the two is an area with good schools and semi affordable homes, but more than the area we currently live in.
At the time of purchase we were eager to get into the market and get a great deal on a house that sold 5 years prior for 500k. Now the drive is killing us, and worse we have lost any resemblance of a life on weekdays. We carpool together and bring our daughter (her preschool is near work) but we are basically gone 12 hours a day and have to rush in the evenings to cook and then get to bed. In addition all the costs for cars, etc- Not a good situation.
So here we are, living in an area that we love, is considered CHEAP for the general part of the state we live in, but totally insane for where we work and earn our income. Together our yearly income is 180k, and we do not want to find new jobs in our area and to be honest the job market is completely different.
I have thought about 2 options but would love to hear what you all think and would recommend:
1. SELL HOME and BUY a CONDO in the area between our offices.
Condos are around 350k-400k. (Some older homes are around same price). Homes comparable to ours are north of 550K and we realize that downsizing could be a blessing in disguise.
2. SELL HOME and RENT in the area between our offices.
Rent for CONDOS is approx 2000-2400
Homes are about the same for older or Upwards of 3000 in several cases
Apartments are 1600-1900
Either option is going to be more expensive per month when compared to our current mortgage but will obviously save a ton in time commuting/fuel/etc. I guess what I would like it know is- is it better to rent and focus on clearing debt and eliminating commute or worth it to buy something small for more than what our house is now but be able to sell later and continue to focus on paying off debt?
Not sure if it matters but our current debt load:
49k- 2 Cars (selling mine which will eliminate 26k plus 13k profit from parts on it- my hobby and Im confident in these #'s. Will use 13k to buy a 5-6k car and use the rest for debt)
17k- SBA Loan
20k- Student Loans (Was at 70k)
7k- Credit Cards (was 12k last month, will be paid off in 2 months)
Thanks in advance! Looking forward to implementing what we learn here and from the blogs.
-J