All Forum Posts by: Kan Grrl

Thanks Michael. If we do rent it out, I'd definitely refi first. Selling does sound WAY more appealing at this point, even with taking a loss. Feel confident we could buy into a new place for a song.

Ok. I'm going to give you more deets on my house and situation. If you were in my shoes, what would YOU do?

Own one ranch home 2 bd, 1 ba, 2 car gar, full concrete basement, huge .25 acre level lot , purchased for $137k in 2005. Sunk about $30,000 inside, it looks absolutely magazine perfect w/ new bathroom and kitchen (granite, limestone tile, the works), was inspected in 2009, no issues. Had offer in spring 2009 for $150K, but buyer's financing fell through at last minute. Tried to sell "by owner" listed at $148,500 but no hits that summer. It's been off the market since then. We owe $123K on our mortgage still, so about $15k in equity.

We live in a very trendy, desirable, young neighborhood and good houses still sell easily. There are a few short sales near me, similar houses, which might pull my price down.

My mortgage (which we got in 2005) is an 80/20 ARM. The 80% is sitting at 3.8% and adjusts each year. The 20% is a home equity loan and is at 7.25%. My monthly payment combined is about $950. I know I could save from refinancing, but since we've always been intending to move- didn't think I could reach a break-even point to make it worthwhile.

So now, we want to get out. Could get $1000/mo in rent. Realtor is stopping by tonight with comps to talk about pricing.

What would you do?

Many good and sobering points Jon, esp the point about how we are actually in a normal market. I've resisted refinancing for a few years, thinking we would sell soon and lose the break-even. More than ever I'd like to sell now, take the hit, and buy into a nice new rate on my mortgage, then pay off the house in 15 years (or sooner). I'm thinking this may be a better approach than renting out our current home. With 2 little kids and not much spare time or $ to chase tenant issues.

Tim, your point about not being able to get 2 mortgages is what I recently discovered from our bank as well. Friends of ours told us they knew of ppl who created an LLC to shelter their assets, and transferred the house to the business, thereby freeing up their income to qualify for another mortgage. This wasn't explained in detail to us, and sounds rather "too good to be true" but have you heard of such a thing?

Smart idea...I like it. Problem is, I just became a stay-at-home mom for the time being, therefore only one income (my husband's). Could I transfer the title to another family member, then try for house B?

We are owners of a home in Kansas City, MO. We've owned for about 7 years, but need to move to the Kansas side for school. Friends of ours have offered to lease our property so we don't have to sell in this depressed market. I'm very tempted but ideally want to buy another home right away, since rates are awesome and house prices are too. However, the bank we have our mortgage with doesn't want to give us 2 mortgages, even with our lease agreement in hand. There has to be a way around this...anyone know what the trick or approach is so that I can go ahead and buy another home now? Thanks ahead.