OK, so this is a month late, but today is Black Friday so I figure its a perfect time to talk about the Spooky and the Scary.
Lucy and Stella's first Halloween was spent with our friends Andy and Ania over at Ania's sister house with her family, Kasha, Ben, Daniel, and Adam. They live in Severna Park, MD and I tell ya, when we pulled up to a cute house with lots of trees , a big back yard, and right across the way from the water, I thought of our crib in the city and I was dreaming of the suburbs.
BUT, these suburbs were not cookie cutter so it makes it OK right?! Both Dave and I love living in the city- being able to walk to stores, restaurants, and pubs is pretty convenient- not to mention that Dave can walk or bike to work which makes our one-car household work. However, I can't deny that since we found out we were expecting, visions of our girls running around a yard, being able to ride bikes down the street without worrying about the projects a couple blocks away, and having space inside to have crawling kids without blocking off 3 levels of stairwells is pretty attractive.
However, we purchased our home 3 years ago (September 2007) and I am pretty sure we are underwater on our mortgage. While it may not be as much as many folks, we would likely have to dip into our retirement if we sold the house, because we would probably end up owing money at this point. Zillow has informed us that our house is valued at $160ish; when we bought our house it was valued at $220K and at the beginning of the year it was still $200. Granted, we didn't pay $220K, but our neighbor (who purchased a similar house around the same time we did for about the same price,) thinks we would be lucky to get $130-$140K. We know that we do not want to be here for more than a few more years, so the question becomes, will the market recover by then? Dave thinks it is going to continue on the decline for several more years. I am more the optimist... am I being idealistic? Maybe.
So what do we do? Do we make improvements to our home gradually over the next couple years, or do we leave it as is and rent it down the line? Or are we going to have to make improvements just to rent it for a decent amount? I like the idea of making aesthetic changes like changing the fixtures in the bathrooms, and putting in a new kitchen floor etc. And I would love a deck:)
Lucy and Stella's first Halloween was spent with our friends Andy and Ania over at Ania's sister house with her family, Kasha, Ben, Daniel, and Adam. They live in Severna Park, MD and I tell ya, when we pulled up to a cute house with lots of trees , a big back yard, and right across the way from the water, I thought of our crib in the city and I was dreaming of the suburbs.
BUT, these suburbs were not cookie cutter so it makes it OK right?! Both Dave and I love living in the city- being able to walk to stores, restaurants, and pubs is pretty convenient- not to mention that Dave can walk or bike to work which makes our one-car household work. However, I can't deny that since we found out we were expecting, visions of our girls running around a yard, being able to ride bikes down the street without worrying about the projects a couple blocks away, and having space inside to have crawling kids without blocking off 3 levels of stairwells is pretty attractive.
However, we purchased our home 3 years ago (September 2007) and I am pretty sure we are underwater on our mortgage. While it may not be as much as many folks, we would likely have to dip into our retirement if we sold the house, because we would probably end up owing money at this point. Zillow has informed us that our house is valued at $160ish; when we bought our house it was valued at $220K and at the beginning of the year it was still $200. Granted, we didn't pay $220K, but our neighbor (who purchased a similar house around the same time we did for about the same price,) thinks we would be lucky to get $130-$140K. We know that we do not want to be here for more than a few more years, so the question becomes, will the market recover by then? Dave thinks it is going to continue on the decline for several more years. I am more the optimist... am I being idealistic? Maybe.
So what do we do? Do we make improvements to our home gradually over the next couple years, or do we leave it as is and rent it down the line? Or are we going to have to make improvements just to rent it for a decent amount? I like the idea of making aesthetic changes like changing the fixtures in the bathrooms, and putting in a new kitchen floor etc. And I would love a deck:)
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