Things I'm looking forward to in the next place we live:
Neighbors that know how to park without damaging other people's property
Parking spaces wide enough to encourage neighbors not to damage others' property
A shorter commute for Cory
No HOA fees or assessments
No HOA board or meetings
Neighbors that don't have domestic disputes, drunk arrivals, or outdoor telephone conversations, all at 3am. In English or otherwise, I'm not picky.
Bedroom windows that don't face a parking lot where such events would still happen anyway
Windows on more than one side of the house
A kitchen big enough for two
More counter space
Enough space for a table AND computer desks AND guests over, all at the same time
An interstate that's more than a block away
Walking to restaurants
Being debt-free
Temporarily pretending spiders don't live in the new place
Central heating, and I wouldn't complain if there's air conditioning
I think we can get all that in an apartment. The only questions will be where, and for how much. If we didn't leave the neighborhood we're in now, we could get all that for the same as the mortgage used to cost us. We'd really like if we could get it all for less than the mortgage. If we go to the nice areas of the city, the areas we'd really like to live in eventually, we really couldn't get it for any less than our mortgage+HOA dues. While we could afford that, I'd rather put less rent in to the apartment and be saving the difference for a future down payment. Or if we find we're permanently disillusioned with home ownership, save it for retirement or a great vacation or something.
They say rents are at an almost all-time high right now though - a response to home ownership and home prices being at almost all-time lows. So everyone in this foreclosure situation is pretty much doing the exact opposite of what we "should" be. But we've all got extenuating circumstances that make foreclosure the only thing we can do. I'd sure love to be able to go out and buy a house right now. Prices are low, interest rates are low, and if I ever buy a house again, it'd be one I plan to live in for the full 30 years of the mortgage. But it's not practical. The $100,000 debt on the condo is looming over my head and forcing me in to renting for a pretty long time. Sorry Market, I can't help ya.
I am in full agreement! Apartment living will always mean you can't choose your neighbors, but you can sure let your landlord take care of HOA balogna! Maybe you could even rent a house, or a duplex/fourplex in a neighborhood rather than an apartment/condo complex. High density living isn't all it's cracked up to be!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if we'll want to buy again either. At least not until we are sure it's a house we'll live in the rest of our lives, because it's just not smart anymore to assume you can sell when you need to move.
I've been looking at house rentals! If I can find one in our price range, I think I'd like that more than a big apartment complex. I'm feeling done with high density living, yes. Money will decide if I'm really done though.
DeleteYes, I'd love to help the market too! But precisely because of the market, I can't! I remember learning about the stock market crash of 1929 in school, and thinking what a great opportunity it would have been to buy very low and wait a decade or so to sell high. Of course, most people couldn't, which made things worse. Same sort of feeling here, like the nightmare where you know you need to run but your feet are inexplicably frozen to the floor. Best wishes to you and your readers in your/our attempts to get unstuck!
ReplyDeleteI can relate to that dream. :) Being underwater on the condo felt a lot like it, for sure. Having a plan now, and seeing progress on that plan, is definitely helping.
DeleteI think this article pertains to what you're worried about regarding the tax burden after your foreclosure, correct?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.salon.com/2012/08/01/underwater_homeowners_face_a_tax_time_bomb/
However, I doubt the banks are going to move any faster on a condo property before the end of the year in your area (just a hunch), but if I read that article correctly it seems your tax worries might be for naught?