(no subject)

[msmemory_archive]

So we found this house.... it's pretty, it's very large, it's in move-in shape (though it could stand a few fiddly things like water-seal on the deck, and we would need to make sure the house inspector isn't seeing things we're missing). The catch is, it's in Framingham.

jducoeur posted in his journal that we are dithering. Unfortunately, it seems that most of the comments seem to be non-supportive of our moving out there. Waaaah!

I readily admit, we would already have earnest money on this house if it were closer in. No question, if it were in Waltham, or Watertown, we'd be all over it. (Though in Waltham, I think it would be in the upper 7s or low 8s in price.) Would our friends really not come to Framingham? Don't they already not visit us, and if so, does it matter if they still don't? We want to entertain - will we be refused?

More dither.

Comments

[jducoeur]

As msmemory says, this is intended to be a quasi-permanent purchase. If my ship comes in and I suddenly find myself with a million bucks from stock options we might change our minds, but the mindset is that this is our house at least until retirement. That's why the comfort level with the house itself is critical: we're going to be spending a long time there.

We're not going to wind up underwater. Suffice it to say, I have other financial means available to me, and I don't really expect to be financing more than half this house. The bubble burst is a concern for selling the old house (which we will want to do as quickly as possible to avoid getting stuck holding the bag), but a lesser consideration for the value of the new one.

And yes, we seriously considered the rental option. But the pain in the meantime is just too considerable. We're already suffering from a *lot* of excess stress caused by a living arrangement that doesn't really work for us; renting in the medium term is likely to only make that worse, especially given the currently obscene level that rents are at...

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

All good thoughts. Just for conversation: especially given the currently obscene level that rents are at...

Not so high. Figure the average rent per year, and compare to the mortgage rate for a home of comparable size. You end up with something like 15-20 years before break even... So, if you rented (and waited for the balloon to pop, presuming it does) - there is a very good chance that houses would lose MORE in that year or two in purchase cost than you would spend on rent.

In theory. Maybe. But it doesn't apply. Rents are high in comparison to the rest of the world. But not so high compared to housing prices.