Hi,
We are a DINK couple in the San Francisco bay area, and I am trying to assess if I should sell my home, to save more.
Stats
Home in nice neighborhood with parks, and strong community.
Mortgage: $3813 including property taxes (10K/yr)
Stupidly we bought a house with a pool we dont use and utility bills are high.
Wins:
Utilities and property taxes are my main reason to want to move. Rent is $3000 (same as mortgage w/o property taxes) if we were to move out.
Based on my calculations $500 savings per month on utilities and 10K property taxes, will be a 16K savings right off the bat (if we go back to renting)
We come up on the 2yr mark of purchase, equity in the house is probably ~150K, but after paying realtor ~70K, that will probably be ~80K tax free gain.
Losses:
Backyard: we have a dog, and the freedom of letting the dog out in the backyard will be gone! Also pacifying the baby outdoors (in the first few months) maybe useful?
Neighborhood: I can take the stroller and go for a quick walk round the block to a park. Very safe neighborhood, cant say the same with apartments.
Bottomline: It feels like I can keep my sanity in a house with a new baby, but I dont know how much of that is just fear of the unknown.
I would like some new or old parents to weigh in, to see if beyond the monetary benefits of renting, if there is any real reason a house is better to bring a baby home than an apartment? or even convince me otherwise.