thanks for all the comments! I had no idea I’d get so much info so quickly.
As to whether this house is really acceptable for our long term needs – yes and no. Right now our two boys are doubled up and our daughter has her own room. Honestly, it’s not that bad from my perspective, but my wife is adamant that the house is too small. happy wife – happy life. 🙂 I agree, 1900 sq ft is not a small house, but when my wife sees/knows people who all have 3000+ sq ft homes, it makes this one seem small from a relative perspective. I”ve gone round and round with her on the pros/cons. a bigger house is more to heat/cool/clean/etc… but she likes the idea of having m ore “rooms” so that each kid gets their own room, a dedicated playroom, etc etc. by all means, it’s not that we NEED a new house, it’s more that she wants a new house.
another factor I cite to not want to leave is that we scored a nice home and we did a handful of sweat equity and $$ upgrades to make this one nicer. I did the epoxy garage floor myself..painted my finished off garage, installed tons of garage storage – overhead shelving and wall shelving. expense wise it was only maybe $500 for the shelving, but it was a lot of effort to put in. we also put in a really nice $2000 closet system…the former owner who was a flipper and tried to sell, but couldn’t.. upgraded with shutters all the way around the ouse, nice flooring, and a totally done backyard…so overall, the house is very very nice. compared to the house I grew up in, it’s far nicer. compared to the rest of the mcmansions here in temecula, i’d say it’s slightly nicer than average…there are piles of homes here in Temecula / Murrieta with granite, nice cabinets, great flooring, bbq pits in the backyard, etc.
one thing I know for sure – most of the “nice” homes in Tem/Murr were built in the last few years…and my wife would NOT be happy in one ofhte “older” homes in Temecula..given that most of those are “old” in the sense that they lack a lot of the nicer upgrades and niceties.
I do not think my loan mod converted my loan from non-recourse to recourse. i specifically made sure of that when I signed onto it.
my big question now is this:
my first and second mortgage, pllus insurance, comes out to about $2500. i pay another $100 for homeowners insurance. so figure i spend $2500-2600 per month to cover this house.
from a tax scenario – making about $120k/year… how much am I really saving per month/year on taxes by owning vs. renting? that gives me an idea as to how much my house effectively is costing me per month and I can make a direct comparison tow hat it would then cost to rent. if I’m saving $400/month, then I know what I will have to come up with to make up the difference if i go to rent..
essentially, if I pay $2500/month to “buy” this house, I can’t go out and rent a house for $2500 and expect it to cost the same…becuase come tax time, I will be owing uncle Sam a lot of money since I lost/gave up the home interest deduction.
it may be that by dumping my house, and losing the tax savings, that whatver i can rent is no better than what I have right now…resulting in a net loss…
i’m with many of you…my current situation may not be ideal, but hey, it coudl be worse. i’ve got a nice house,, it’s just not “perfect” from my wife’s perspective..but it sure as heck isn’t bad. 🙂 i’m in a nice location, 5 minutes from where i work, with a nice yard, private location, and a lot of upgrades. the ONLY negative is the lack of space.
my solution tot hat, is to put one car outside and convert half our garage to the playroom. i’ve already epoxied the floors..jjust add some cheap flooring, carpet remnant or the rubber mats that section together…and you have a playroom for almost no cost. 🙂
