Sell our house and rent?

**disneysteve** · 02-22-2015, 01:14 PM

Tough choice. I hate moving so I wouldn't want to voluntarily do it twice.

However, since you are certain you are leaving the area, it may be a good idea to put the house on the market sooner rather than later. You have no way of knowing how long it will take to sell and you don't want to be stuck leaving town with it still unsold. So you could put it on the market now (or whenever you are ready) and if it sells and you need to get out, you could then rent for however many months you need to until you make your cross country move.

Personally, I think the specific numbers aren't that important in this decision.

**Green43** · 02-22-2015, 05:12 PM

Easy choice for me, if I can sell (or spend a year trying to sell) I would in a heartbeat, if you know you are going to move, liquidity is everything, of course I sat on our last house for close to 2 years and still "gave it away" in my opinion but that was during the recession.. Sell the house, get rid of what you dont need to minimize the load cross country, and take off when you are ready. JM$.02

**AnotherReader** · 02-22-2015, 05:37 PM

You are in the DC area and right now housing there is at a premium. Rates are very low and look like they will rise later this year so there is a rush to buy. Next year is a presidential election year, and more DC buyers will sit out the market, waiting to see how their party fares. Yes, it's a good time to sell.

Although you say you are moving, it's not a done deal. There is no job waiting for your DH or you. A lot of things can change in a year, and your plans could easily change, even though you are determined to move.

Although it is a very attractive time to sell, in your shoes, I would not do so. I would wait until I knew where I was going and when. While you wait, DH can continue to network and apply for jobs. Perhaps something will come up sooner than next year, and you can sell when the move is definite. In the meantime, you have a reasonable if not perfect place to live and you continue to build equity. Staying where you are means you won't have to move twice.

In my opinion, after years of complaining about living in DC, selling the house for you is a way to cut your ties to the area and force the issue. If you and your husband are really in agreement about moving back to the west coast, there's no need to do this. When the job opportunity appears, then it's time to sell.

**HappySaver** · 02-23-2015, 06:46 AM

I agree with AnotherReader. This is not a new situation for you. It has been years and your husband has not found a job on the west coast - he may not find one by your determined deadline either. I think it's a terrible idea to try to force this, and be even more unhappy in a rental as opposed to your own home. Once he finds the new job, you can sell at any time. You live in an area that's in demand and that won't change.

**LivingAlmostLarge** · 02-27-2015, 10:56 AM

No we are moving without a job AR. It's a done deal. June 2016 the house had better be gone. There will not be a job opportunity possibly but things are changing on the job front as well. My DH is happy now to leave his job and hoping if there are layoffs he'll get the axe. Probably not since he got a "2,2 average rating" at work, while 40% of his department got "1,2 or 2,1 ratings" = probation. So he's "safe" but wishes he wasn't. New management is not going well. So he's actually dying to leave.

I worry about not selling and carrying it. I don't want to be a long distance landlord. HappySaver we are unfortunately leaving without jobs if need be. The time is now and it's a good time and place to do it.

DS I think we might have to pay a premium to move into a month to month rental, plus the dog. So instead of paying $2500/month for our place (including equity) we might be paying $2500/month rent. So I guess it's not peanuts since our equity is $800/month. Although it might be a smaller wash since utilities will be lower and no home owners insurance.

Green, thanks for the perspective of sitting on a property. I do worry about carrying our place, which I know we can rent out for more but still it's nerve wracking.

Something I haven't mentioned is the stress of dealing with a multifamily property. It's stressful dealing with my neighbors. Dealing with all repairs because they don't do it. Shouldering the burden of taxes, paying association bills, meeting all contractors and repair men and having everyone else say they are too busy and working. I stay at home with the kids so I do all calls, I shift my schedule and no one helps me. Everyone wants stuff done but no one else does it. It's like how we ended up paying people to do the lawn because the other two families won't do it. So either we do it all or at least to be fair they pay their fair share.

I am tired of dealing with them and everything. This is a longer term problem. Getting phone calls and text about the kids running around, not vaccuming at 9 am, or having too many kids over stomping. I hate it. But I could deal I guess for another year with the devil I know instead of the devil I don't.

**TBH** · 03-01-2015, 01:49 PM

It does sound like you're very unhappy. If it were me I would step up the job search, and stay in the house until a few months before you're actually ready to leave, and then put it on the market. The cost of moving is another factor. Even moving across town is thousands of dollars. Doing that unnecessarily seems like it will add AT LEAST as much stress as you're currently experiencing in your townhouse. No, it seems better to stay put and save save save to make the move easier.

**LivingAlmostLarge** · 03-12-2015, 12:40 PM

So as my blog post said my DH missed the layoffs at work. Perfect situation for us and would have saved another family. But it definitely puts on the question of when we are leaving? He's not sure about doing the internship he wants to do in June but they may have one in September/October in which case he wants to do it. But do we sell the house now?

**JoeP** · 03-12-2015, 01:41 PM

I don't know the full back story, but why are you considering moving to such expensive places? Are other cities or locations possibilities? I ask because it seems like you are dealing with enough stress now living in a high cost area with lengthy commutes; expenses and time, even if you can afford them, do take a toll. You could end up being in a similar situation in SF or Seattle. Maybe you're used to it by now, but your blog posts sound like they are coming from someone who is under a lot of stress and frustration, and they go back many years.

**LivingAlmostLarge** · 03-12-2015, 04:52 PM

JoeP mostly because it's where we can land jobs. We'd move if we were guaranteed to land jobs elsewhere but moving without jobs we are targeting areas that we have a high likelyhood of finding a job. I'd like to move somewhere cheaper but am unsure if it's possible. Also Seattle is substantially cheaper than where we are, but SF is not. That metric Seattle wins. Personally I like San Diego but my DH isn't fond of it so it is what it is.

**JoeP** · 03-12-2015, 05:05 PM

Sounds like your DH is getting into software development, and I can assure you that there are a LOT of jobs in that industry outside of those two locations. For example: Chicago, Orlando, research triangle, Huntsville, Dallas/Ft Worth, even Virginia. Many are far less expensive than those HCOLAs you mentioned. Just saying, he might be able to land a job more quickly there, and with your equity, you could buy a house with cash.

You said, "I'd like to move somewhere cheaper but am unsure if it's possible." I'd suggest you try, to see if it is possible, before limiting yourselves to just 2 expensive cities.

Sell our house and rent?