It’s exciting times in the Free From Broke household! Just yesterday we had a Realtor come over to go through the process of putting our co-op apartment for sale on the market. After a lot of hoping and saving we think it’s finally time to sell and try to upgrade to a house. Over the Summer we started renovating by having the kitchen re-done and we are currently working on our bathroom and painting the living room and dining room. We want to make our apartment as nice and clean looking as possible for potential buyers.
But why now?
Just last year we could have put the apartment for sale and asked for thousands more than today’s market and probably gotten it. Prices have certainly dropped, even in a mighty market like New York City. But that’s the point too! Even as our apartment price has dropped so have the prices of houses in nearby Long Island. By a lot! Now could be our best time to buy a new house at a price relatively lower than it’s been in years. What we lose on the price of our co-op we more than gain by the drop in price of houses.
And buying a house is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time; we just couldn’t afford it. We knew a change would be inevitable with the birth of our son. We have a two bedroom with my wife, son and I in the large room and our daughter in the other. We can’t stay too much longer without bigger accommodations.
And if you thought we were running out of room already…
Did I mention my wife is expecting? She’s due in July! So you can see space just got a whole lot smaller. Having a larger place to fit us all would be really nice.
But we have a plan (I think)
When we last checked both my wife and I had great credit scores which will go a long way to securing a mortgage. We’ve also been saving for years now, putting away things like tax returns and stimulus checks into our ING account so we could buy a house. We’re putting our current place up for sale before we seriously start looking to hep make sure we sell before we buy (we may rent for a bit if needed). We don’t want to be stuck with two properties to pay for. And if we sell our place we’ll have cash to put down towards the new place which puts us in a strong position (a seller won’t have to wait for us to sell first). We want to take at least half of our sale and put it towards the house to lower the payments and help secure a mortgage. If you recall my wife isn’t working now (and probably won’t be for a while) but when she goes back we’ll have a nice second income to help pay for things. A big down payment will help us get a house. The rest of the sale will go into a “just in case” fund to help cover unexpected costs and emergencies.
So things have been a little hectic around the house lately. I think I still have some grout on my hands from work I was doing in the bathroom. (Off to Home Depot for lunch again!)
These are exciting, and a bit scary, times for us.
Wish us luck and any advice would be great! I’ll keep you in the loop to what is happening.
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Congratulations to you and your family! I am a big supporter of the “just in case” fund. Last Christmas my husband and I bought new living room furniture (it was nice to replace our old couch, which was older than we were!)…it seems like whenever a large purchase is made, there is a snowball effect, despite our best efforts to stop it. Once we had the new couch and recliner, we thought new end tables would be nice, then we realized the end tables need some lamps, etc. Fortunately, we got a great deal on the furniture and had some extra money to spend on the “extras.” I think that happens to people when they move into a new home, too (needing new furniture to adapt to new living spaces, for example). If you give yourself some wiggle room, you can afford to reward yourself with some new purchases!
Hannah’s last blog post..Timothy’s World Coffee
@ Hannah – Thanks! Having never owned a home I can imagine a lot of “just in case instances” furniture and otherwise. We really want to make sure we can handle the payments in any event.
I would agree. My wife and I just moved to our new house this weekend. There are all kinds of expenses that you didn’t think of that just add up. Seems like everybody wants a fee for anything, so it ends up costing hundreds in “connection fees” just to get utilities turned on. If you’re upgrading you have more rooms and end up needing random stuff like trash cans, etc. Nothing big, but it does all add up. Then there’s always the urge to “well while we’re already shuffling around let’s get this …”
@ Justin – Ughh! I do understand though. I remember when I first moved out on my own. All of a sudden I needed plates, cooking utensils, broom, all these little things I didn’t have as my own before (my tv stand was an old night table I found). We’re pretty good with our expenses though but we know there will be some unexpected expenses (I’m already thinking we may need a washer and dryer depending on where we end up).
Another “fun” set of expenses I just thought of…lawn mower, string trimmer, rake, snow shovel, etc. Ah, the joy of being your own groundskeeper!
Hannah’s last blog post..Timothy’s World Coffee
@ Hannah – Yes, these are all things we would probably need in some sort. Still, it would be home! And a lot of things don’t need to be bought at once (if we need a lawn mower and a snow shovel at the same time then we may have bigger problems!).
I think it all sounds very exciting! Good luck!!
Emily@remodelingthislife’s last blog post..Link Love: Baby, It’s Cold Outside Edition
@ Emily – Thanks!
Congrats on the impending addition to the family! And for the excitement of a new home!
You’re right, though, about all those hidden expenses that you don’t think about until you’re in the process of buying/selling a place. Makes me vaguely glad that I got out of the landlord business when I did.
Abigail’s last blog post..A shout-out for carnival love
@ Abigail – Thanks! We considered renting our place out but the thought of worrying about tenants didn’t sit well with us. Too many things can go wrong.
Congrats!!! Sounds like great fun ahead!
Ashley @ Wide Open Wallet’s last blog post..Interview with Mrs. Money
@ Ashley – Thanks! Another little one will be fun but I’m a little anxious over getting a house. We’ll see!
sounds exciting! Good luck, I hope your place sells quickly for twice the price you’re looking for!
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@ BMM – If only! Thanks!