Should I buy a house?

[barclay13]

So, I just got married and I am closing on the sale of my house this week. I have been moving into my new husband's home but there is still a mortgage on it. I also own a rental home that is in my name. His home is way too small for us. I have a 5 year old daughter. I am getting claustrophobic in this house and clutter really does make me nuts. I cannot live in a home full of boxes and stuff. My home was a 6 bedroom new home and I had a full house full of stuff. His home is a 3 bedroom ranch and it's just nuts for us to combine these households. I did get rid of more than half of my possessions in the move.

So, the question is....should we buy a larger home now and rent his home out or try and sell his home? His mortgage payment is very reasonable and we would have no problem paying 2 mortgages if we didn't have a renter. The economy is GREAT for buyers and not so great for sellers right now. So, I would definitely try and get a really good deal.

Sigh.

It's just hard to be in a small house when I'm used to a large house with lots of storage and space.

[barclay13]

I wasn't quite finished...haha. So, I need the pros and cons and everyone's opinion on this. He wants to bank cash for awhile and take some time to chill. But, who is to say that housing prices will stay reasonable? Why should we live like this when we could get into a bigger home and save the amount of money we would lose if the market steadies a little. What I mean is, if we save for 6 months and the home prices go up in value, what was the point of saving?

I just keep going back and forth on this. Part of me wants to save and stay here for awhile and part of me wants to try and find a killer deal and move.

[2mnyteens]

How many people are living in the home? If there are 3, why move? It sounds to me like it is more of a 'stuff' problem than a house problem. A 3 bedroom house should be large enough for 3 people.

[JulieDB]

It would really depend on how the market is in your area. Here, it's really bad. Good if you are looking to buy. But bad if you are trying to sell.

I personally would not do a rental. Just too much work.

We live in a 3 bedroom ranch. There are currently 2 of us here all the time. Husband is in the military and living elsewhere most of the time. Yes, it is small. But it is all that we can afford. If you can afford more, more power to ya.

[434Teresa]

I would not. I would pay the extra money on the house live in and pay it off as fast as I could. Then add a room or two unilt I made the house into what I want it to be.

The way people are loseing jobs these there is no way I would buy another house when I already have one. For the rental no I would not do that, its great if you find the "right" people to rent from you but if you dont you could end with a BIG headach.

I am a person that dont like to owe for anything for it makes for a better life.

[434Teresa]

I wasn't quite finished...haha. So, I need the pros and cons and everyone's opinion on this. He wants to bank cash for awhile and take some time to chill. But, who is to say that housing prices will stay reasonable? Why should we live like this when we could get into a bigger home and save the amount of money we would lose if the market steadies a little. What I mean is, if we save for 6 months and the home prices go up in value, what was the point of saving?

I just keep going back and forth on this. Part of me wants to save and stay here for awhile and part of me wants to try and find a killer deal and move.

Bigger dose not mean better! I dont know why so many people feel thsi way about stuff now days. If you have 3 people three bedrooms why be in a hurry? I am with him save the money for awhile and pay off the house you have now with the money you save onpaying the one you have off fast you will be just as well off as buying a new house now, anyway no one knows what the hosueing market is going to do, it could go lower than it already is reither then going back up.

Myself I think you need to sale some more of you stuff so you dont have all the boxes setting around. I also dont mean to sound harsh here but if you had a 4 bedrooms full of stuff in the home you had for you and your child other than your own bedrooms I feel that you may have a shopping problem of sorts. You knew that you were going to have to combine the two homes when you got married. Why did you sale the bigger home and not the smaller home if you feel so strong about keeping all this or most of this stuff? I am sorry but I am thinking that you are just hard to please and never going to be happy with what you have unless you are willing to change.

[barclay13]

thanks guys for all of the advice.

The reason we sold the large house is because of the location. I lived 60 miles from my job. It was a rough commute...1.5 hours each way including dropping my daughter off at daycare. Keeping that house was not an option.

Hubby's house is a 3 bedroom but one of the bedrooms is his music studio and is unusable to us, so really only 2 bedrooms. And he's taking up half of my daughter's room with computers and bookshelves. We came up with a plan for him to move everything of his out of her room so she has a full room. This is where most of the clutter is. She doesn't have enough space for her clothes and there are no toys at all in there right now. Just no room at all. I am actually not the one with too much stuff. I would say that he is.

I'm not offended at all Teresa. hee hee. I'm actually thankful for everyone's opinion. It's tough being unbiased when you are in the situation, which is why I asked everyone. I don't have a shopping problem in the least. I don't really like to shop much at all. I gave away over half of my possessions in the move and didn't bring too much with me at all. Now hubs...well, he needs to start getting rid of things!! The garage is full of boxes and winter is coming. I need a place to park.

We are currently looking at leasing management companies for his home. My rental is occupied and has been for 6 years straight. I've made my money back on that home and the rent has gotten me through some rough times, that is for sure. I would love if we had his home to do the same for us. If not, we could use the tax deductions.

For me, it's not necessarily that bigger is better. It's that clutter-free is stress-free and open space is calming. I am just content in my mind when I have organization and neatness. I'm OCD and I'm an Engineer so my brain works more like a machine than an emotion. I need to walk into a home that is open, neat and free of clutter. It's my weakness and my strength.

And I do 100% agree wrt debt. I do not like debt at all. We are in good shape in that area. No debt other than the mortgage. I bought a new car last year but I am just going to pay it off when I close on my house. His vehicles are paid off and we have a decent savings.

[amylynne01]

Moving to a new house means all the stuff comes with you, so not sure why you think it will magically be clean and organized. Tell your hubby to clean up his stuff quick. There's no reason why it should be in your DD's room. That's her space, not his.

Sounds like the issue is your hubby's stuff, not the house.

[barclay13]

But three people cannot fit into 2 bedrooms. What do all of you guys do in your homes? What about the computer area? What about bookshelves? I thought about purging all books and just using laptops and downloading books. We could even buy Kindles or Nooks for simple reading. But, you still have printers and shredders and paperwork. It seems to me that we need another bedroom. I don't know how people do it, honestly.

[amylynne01]

Three people CAN fit in 2 bedrooms. You're just choosing not to. We have 4 people (soon to be 5) in a 3 bdrm home. DH and I share a room, and we have some bookshleves and an easy chair in our room. My girls share a room, and they only have their beds since their room is super tiny. The 3rd bdrm is a playroom/space for office stuff like the printer, shredder, and a filing cabinet. DH's desk is in the living room, and I have a laptop that lives on our end table. I have a Kindle, and I've stopped buying books since I can also get them at the library for free.

No matter how you cut it, his stuff needs to leave your daughter's room. She needs her own space to call her own in a new house. I still think he needs to realize that you can't NOT get rid of stuff when your SO and her DD and all their stuff move in. Two households of stuff in one house equals disaster.

I personally am wary of buying a home right now only because the selling market is so rough. We want to move desperately because we want just one more room to use as a playroom or family room, but there is no way we would sell our home. There are so many homes just like ours for sale in our area. There are 5 homes that touch our property, THREE of which are for sale.