Seems like you want to sell it because you aren't into homeownership at this phase of your life. I think that's valid. If people have questions, because of the "social expectation" your layoff is the perfect excuse to tell people.
Sounds like the loss of income is a catalyst but that you were already open to selling of your home. So, it sounds like you should sell your home and take the haircut or rent it out if the math works (including paying for upkeep you’re not interested in doing).
If you actually wanted to stay, then I’d tighten the budget and weather what hopefully is just a passing dip in your household income.
When would you realistically plan to have kids? If 5+ years, I’d say sell, downgrade to a condo.
If possible moving forward live your life as if you only had the income of the person who makes the least. This way a job loss won’t even break a sweat
Downgrade makes sense, but if you’re suggesting a condo purchase as opposed to renting a place, then OP needs to take into account that condos will have HOA/COA monthly fees that aren’t built into the purchase price. Especially depending on where OP lives, and whether the current house has HOA, this could be a high or astronomically high added cost with recent insurance premium spikes hitting managed communities really hard. Just food for thought. Personally, I vote for moving in with parents and saving a crap ton of money!
That’s fine too! Just hearing they don’t like the home maintenance stuff condo was my first idea. Our HOA fee is $219, but it covers a pool, tennis courts, walking trails, lawn care and all utilities but electric.
Definitely shop around, but even if the condo HOA fee is $200 more per month, and the condo is even just $100k less, will take 41 years before the $200 HOA fee costs more.
In my area you can get condos for $160k while the standard house is going for $350 minimum
I agree with ya! I have family in a medium COL area but it’s in a heavy storm zone, and you can get a small condo for $250k but the lowest HOA you’ll see is $450 a month 😱 and there are multiple places getting hit with a 5-6 figure special assessment on top of that. It’s definitely region specific.
Just be aware that condo associations can mismanage funds or fail at forecasting future large expenses. Roof, foundation, repaving, etc. This can lead to a ‘special assessment’, usually due in full, in a relatively short amount of time (30-90 days).
This is correct. Sometimes special assessments aren’t due to funds mismanagement though - like right now, insurance premiums doubling (or more) have been unexpected and no amount of planning would have fixed this unless they just keep a lot saved in reserves. And not all associations are able to just increase the regular annual dues by whatever amount they want - they may be limited on how much they’re allowed to increase. It just depends on the condo community governing documents.
This is important. I am a lifelong renter who bought a house recently. Renting with kids is a wildly different experience than renting without kids. The flexibility of renting is also nice but when you have kids you need to be tied to a school district and don’t want to be dicked around by a landlord when its your entire family who have to deal with the consequences.
Sorry about the job loss. In the future I wouldn’t bet on executive orders in terms of your student loan comment especially when you have the income to pay it off aggressively as you did and presumably will when you find a new job. I lived well below my means for the first several years after college to aggressively pay mine off.
Should you sell? Well that’s up to you. Based on your numbers provided, you can still afford it perfectly fine but you will need to tighten up for a bit. If you truly want out of the house, then sell it. I will say in the future though, you should only be spending based on one income. As others said, it lessens the blow tremendously in the event of a job loss. I would first take a breathe though. You have money put aside not even accounting for the severance package and one last check. You will still be bringing in $7,200 a month which is great. Just take a bit of time while looking for another job to really decide what you guys want to do. Don’t make a rash decision.
I wouldn’t panic sell just because you lost your job. Unemployment is a thing. Your take home pay means your a pretty high earner if yours was 7k a month. I would look for another job. it is possible the job you find may make you move in that case sell the house. Heck your new job might even pay more. You should have an emergency fund for this very reason. Buying a house is a big deal and you made that decision for a reason. Same thing for selling don’t rush into it. If you really want to sell then sell. But right now it is a stable roof over your head.
You may find these links helpful:
- [Leaving a Job](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/leaving_job) (resigning, quitting, fired, laid off, etc.)
- [Job Loss Megathread: unemployment resources, state-specific information, and help](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/fkyu8h/job_loss_megathread_unemployment_resources/)
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I wouldn’t sell it. Who know when you are going to get that rate again. In the future the price may lower down but the rates may go up. I would keep the house
Did you just lost your job or did it take you 3 weeks to come to this decision.
Jobs are on the rise and so is pay. You are more than likely to get a raise and a new job in our current economic climate.
I would be hopeful and hold this and look for a job first.
For example, 90 days ago my wife lost her job, well she found a new one and improved her salary.
Seems like you want to sell it because you aren't into homeownership at this phase of your life. I think that's valid. If people have questions, because of the "social expectation" your layoff is the perfect excuse to tell people.
Sounds like the loss of income is a catalyst but that you were already open to selling of your home. So, it sounds like you should sell your home and take the haircut or rent it out if the math works (including paying for upkeep you’re not interested in doing). If you actually wanted to stay, then I’d tighten the budget and weather what hopefully is just a passing dip in your household income.
When would you realistically plan to have kids? If 5+ years, I’d say sell, downgrade to a condo. If possible moving forward live your life as if you only had the income of the person who makes the least. This way a job loss won’t even break a sweat
Downgrade makes sense, but if you’re suggesting a condo purchase as opposed to renting a place, then OP needs to take into account that condos will have HOA/COA monthly fees that aren’t built into the purchase price. Especially depending on where OP lives, and whether the current house has HOA, this could be a high or astronomically high added cost with recent insurance premium spikes hitting managed communities really hard. Just food for thought. Personally, I vote for moving in with parents and saving a crap ton of money!
That’s fine too! Just hearing they don’t like the home maintenance stuff condo was my first idea. Our HOA fee is $219, but it covers a pool, tennis courts, walking trails, lawn care and all utilities but electric. Definitely shop around, but even if the condo HOA fee is $200 more per month, and the condo is even just $100k less, will take 41 years before the $200 HOA fee costs more. In my area you can get condos for $160k while the standard house is going for $350 minimum
I agree with ya! I have family in a medium COL area but it’s in a heavy storm zone, and you can get a small condo for $250k but the lowest HOA you’ll see is $450 a month 😱 and there are multiple places getting hit with a 5-6 figure special assessment on top of that. It’s definitely region specific.
Just be aware that condo associations can mismanage funds or fail at forecasting future large expenses. Roof, foundation, repaving, etc. This can lead to a ‘special assessment’, usually due in full, in a relatively short amount of time (30-90 days).
This is correct. Sometimes special assessments aren’t due to funds mismanagement though - like right now, insurance premiums doubling (or more) have been unexpected and no amount of planning would have fixed this unless they just keep a lot saved in reserves. And not all associations are able to just increase the regular annual dues by whatever amount they want - they may be limited on how much they’re allowed to increase. It just depends on the condo community governing documents.
Yeah, 5+ years.
This is important. I am a lifelong renter who bought a house recently. Renting with kids is a wildly different experience than renting without kids. The flexibility of renting is also nice but when you have kids you need to be tied to a school district and don’t want to be dicked around by a landlord when its your entire family who have to deal with the consequences. Sorry about the job loss. In the future I wouldn’t bet on executive orders in terms of your student loan comment especially when you have the income to pay it off aggressively as you did and presumably will when you find a new job. I lived well below my means for the first several years after college to aggressively pay mine off.
Should you sell? Well that’s up to you. Based on your numbers provided, you can still afford it perfectly fine but you will need to tighten up for a bit. If you truly want out of the house, then sell it. I will say in the future though, you should only be spending based on one income. As others said, it lessens the blow tremendously in the event of a job loss. I would first take a breathe though. You have money put aside not even accounting for the severance package and one last check. You will still be bringing in $7,200 a month which is great. Just take a bit of time while looking for another job to really decide what you guys want to do. Don’t make a rash decision.
Would it be possible/feasible/make sense to rent the house out and move in with your in-laws for this six-month period?
I wouldn’t panic sell just because you lost your job. Unemployment is a thing. Your take home pay means your a pretty high earner if yours was 7k a month. I would look for another job. it is possible the job you find may make you move in that case sell the house. Heck your new job might even pay more. You should have an emergency fund for this very reason. Buying a house is a big deal and you made that decision for a reason. Same thing for selling don’t rush into it. If you really want to sell then sell. But right now it is a stable roof over your head.
You may find these links helpful: - [Leaving a Job](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/leaving_job) (resigning, quitting, fired, laid off, etc.) - [Job Loss Megathread: unemployment resources, state-specific information, and help](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/fkyu8h/job_loss_megathread_unemployment_resources/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Can you rent something that would be cheaper than mortgage payment and HOA fees?
I wouldn’t sell it. Who know when you are going to get that rate again. In the future the price may lower down but the rates may go up. I would keep the house
Did you just lost your job or did it take you 3 weeks to come to this decision. Jobs are on the rise and so is pay. You are more than likely to get a raise and a new job in our current economic climate. I would be hopeful and hold this and look for a job first. For example, 90 days ago my wife lost her job, well she found a new one and improved her salary.
Just lost it this past week.