Thanks for all your advise. Closed the escrow on refi for 30-year 6.125%, no prepayment penalty. We were lucky in that our house appraised with 20% equity right now. As many in this board would say that situation will drastically change in upcoming 5 years. I will not only lose my equity but also high carrying costs due to HOA, high P&I, property tax, etc.
We did calculations based on what it would cost to rent similar housing like ours right now in the same area and compared it to owning our house for the next 5 years. As Perrychase said, we could not get a positive spin on it, even with tax deductions. (this is what will bring down the market as you all predict)
I am not trying to explain or protect my decision here (might sound like it), just saying that we took all the risks into calculation with a worst case scenario (50% loss in the next 5 years) versus renting at the same time. As SDR, Rustico have pointed out repeatedly, our decision to stay put in spite of loss was made upon job situation of both spouses, what we might lose by selling right now compared to selling after 5 years etc.
No one knows what will happen in the next 5 to 10 years. Everything might change financially for us. It might get better or it might get worse. I am hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.
Once again, this website is awesome. I have learnt a lot from many people here. Thank you all.
