House costing 40K more?

[tycanis]

I am going to relocating with my job and looking at possible houses I can either get a place 1-2 miles from work for 40K more and my wife and I can get rid of one of our cars or I could get a place 15 miles from work for less but still probably need two cars.  Thoughts and suggestions????

[Hurley82]

You would really need to do a cost analysis to see at what point you break even on the extra 40k vs. having two cars. Other things to consider would be utility costs, taxes  vs extra insurance, repairs and gas on a second car. I'd probably choose closer to work because I hate rush hour traffic and spending time in the car before and after work.

[CashFlowDiaries]

"or I could get a place 15 miles from work for less"

How much less?

[CptCool]

"or I could get a place 15 miles from work for less"

How much less?

I'm guessing 40k less

[Ricky]

Too little information really...size differences, neighborhood differences, cost of second car, condition of houses, etc.

[Sam E]

What I'd personally do is but the cheaper house, sell the second car, and bike the 15 miles to work. (I do 10 miles each way currently, so I really would do this, I'm not just blowing smoke.) It's an hour long commute, but it's one that keeps you fit, healthy, and feeling good every day. You come out way ahead on the financial side, too! :)

[The Accidental Mustachian]

all other things being equal, closer closer closer, every time.

Not only will you soon recoup the money by not owning and running a car, but you will probably gain a huge amount of time back in your life, Maybe like an hour per day? Thats a huge reward when multiplied out over your working life.

One of my major regrets looking back over my working life was choosing to do some crazy commutes, sometimes spending up to twelve hours per week away from my family acheiving nothing productive. (Let alone the cost!!)

[Davids]

Without knowing about the details of the 2 neighborhoods I can't really offer an opinion.

[tycanis]

Some more details.

The closer house costs 40K more than the other.  The sizes are virtually identical with the closer having a smaller yard.  The closer house is a 1970's traditional split level while the further out is an older house from the 1920's but updated.  Taxes are a wash between the two.  The 15 mile commute would actually be through rural Iowa, so not really any traffic and about 20 minutes time.

In addition, to this there is another house about 15 miles out again but about half the price of the one within a mile of my employment.  It needs updating as the price reflects.

The vehicles I own.  My car is a 2008 Nissan Versa while my wife's is a 2004 Chevy Metro.  We would likely drop the Metro simply because of age and size as our family will soon be adding another member.

I hope the additional info helps as many noted there needed to be more details.

[tycanis]

Without knowing about the details of the 2 neighborhoods I can't really offer an opinion.
[/quote

The closer, more expensive is a lake community highly used for vacation homes.  Quiet outside of summer but everyone with a boat goes there in the summer.

The further out home is in a small farming community of around 1000 people.  Quiet would be an understatement.

[music lover]

Commute time = unpaid labour. I value my time too much to waste it on excessive commuting.

[seattlecyclone]

Besides commuting, how far are the two houses from other things you might want to go to? How far is each house from the nearest grocery store, library, restaurant, church or other community gathering place? On a farmhouse in rural Iowa, you could be facing 15 mile drives to get to each of these things, and the cost will add up.

[nobodyspecial]

Commute time = unpaid labour. I value my time too much to waste it on excessive commuting.

Depends on the value of the labor and how long you plan to do it for.
I saved $1M on the house because I have a 30min ferry crossing on each end of my commute. I also get to live in a much nicer community.
I only plan to do this for a few years until FIRE then I benefit from the $1M mortgage saving, and the community, for decades