The ‘big move’ is a MarketWatch column that looks at things inside real estate, from navigating in search of a new home to applying for a mortgage.
Do you have any questions about buying or selling a home? Want to know where your next move should be? Send an email to Jacob Passy at TheBigMove@marketwatch.com.
I have been living in my house for 40 years. I live on 5.25 acres of land, and I went to the city to divide the land into a subdivision and overcome it.
I like the place where I live, but the house is getting old and the kids are gone. I am a 58 year old nurse. I pay $ 800 a month in real estate taxes plus my mortgage, which is together $ 2,500 a month.
More than two years ago they offered me a pretty good amount to sell my house for $ 500,000. I liked another one and since I was going to buy it, I wanted to sell it. But the sale fell on my house, so I had to leave the house I wanted to buy.
Now there are no houses for sale and I haven’t found anything I like. So I would have to rent it until I found something. Do I have to do that? Or do you just wait until I find something until I get more houses on the market and sell them? I probably won’t get that much but the houses won’t be as expensive to buy either. Isn’t everything equal?
It would be nice to spend money, go on vacation and not have to work so hard. But I don’t want to be included in the rent as much as I was paid when I was in my house and be happy because I rent it in a place I don’t want to live in.
I like the house I live in! But property taxes are too expensive, and I’m close to retirement and will have to sell. I still owe him money at my house and I won’t pay him before retirement unless he changes.
Home ownership costs are rising rapidly across the country, so you’re not alone in feeling burdened.
According to a recent study by data-owned company Attom Data Solutions, owning a home for the average household was only affordable in 41% of the national regions. In other words, in 59% of other counties in the region, the average family would have to spend more than a third of their home pay on housing expenses, including mortgage payments and property taxes.
Many vendors are on the same boat as you. They would sell it in a hurry – if they could find a house to buy. The inventory of homes for sale is on record, which creates a vicious cycle. Home sellers are hesitant to put their properties on the market because there is almost no guarantee of having a home when the sale is completed.
It may seem like a one-way card to save on rent, but that’s not for sure. You don’t say where you live, but there are plenty of options for renting that aren’t much cheaper. In fact, rents in the suburbs and rural areas have risen sharply amid the pandemic, as families have sought more space to live outside major cities. According to a report released by Attom Data Solutions, owning a three-bedroom home (on average house price) is cheaper than renting a three-bedroom home in nearly two-thirds of the country.
There are other downsides to renting, for sure. You have no control over future housing costs; so if you can pay rent in the first year, there is nothing when you go to renovate the landlord. And when you own a home, you’re building it to get valuable financial assets.
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Recent research suggests that owning a home is still cheaper than renting in nearly two-thirds of the U.S., despite rising housing prices.
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With rent, the money you spend is not refunded. Even if you have lower monthly costs, it goes a long way depending on what you do with these savings. Ideally, you would invest or save on a rainy day and not spend it.
You are not protected, however. Given the still low mortgage rates – although they have risen in recent weeks – I would suggest looking at whether a refinancing was appropriate. Considering how long you have been in your home and that you continue to work on paying your mortgage, I assume you have recently financed it somewhat.
You don’t say what you did to your local government after you went to distribute your land, but if it were sitting there, I would think of selling it. Since you have a mortgage, however, it doesn’t have to be the right process.
When the land is divided, you must give written permission from the mortgage lender or server under the property, said Tom Trott, a branch manager with Maryland’s Embrace Home Loans.
“This condition is in most mortgages and in standard language in the deed of trust of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” Trott said. To sell a portion of the property, you will need the permission of your lender. If that’s hard to achieve, you still have options.
“Assuming they can’t get the current approval, then another option would be to refinance the sale and the remaining balance at the same time,” Trott said.
