Credit
Score: 651
Three
weeks till our foreclosure auction! Our condo is now posted publicly online for
sale and hopefully the bank has published the sale notice in a newspaper like
they're required to do. I'm not really going to complain if they didn't
though.
Since
we're at the final days before no longer owning this place (yay), we went
apartment hunting. We seemed to be looking a little early for people's
expectations, but some complexes had units that would be available for December
move-ins. We definitely wanted to get something solidified for our move sooner
than later. The 20 day window after the sale just seems so tiny to find a
place and move out. Especially when Christmas is in that window. While
apartment hunting, we learned that our biggest priority was still having a
washer and dryer in our unit. Any size, any condition, we had a range of prices
we'd consider, but it'd better have a washing machine. :)
After
visiting a few apartments and condo sublets, we picked a place and signed a
lease! We'll be paying $500 less per month than if we were paying the mortgage
and HOA dues here. Plus, it's in our target home-buying neighborhood. It's
going to be great to walk to restaurants and great for me to learn the much
longer commute. It is about half the size of our condo but it'll be
enough. My in-laws have offered to let us stash all our excess stuff in their
basement for up to a year. We're hoping to not need it that long.
With
the savings we've been able to pocket for not paying the mortgage for the last
10 months, and the savings from a relatively cheap apartment for the next seven
months, we're estimating that we can afford a 20% down payment on a house by
June. Just in time for a ton of houses to come on the market for the
summer.
Unfortunately,
nobody is really offering six-month leases anymore. At least not cheaply. With
the down economy in the last few years and millions of people losing their
homes, demand for rentals has skyrocketed. We signed a one-year lease after
closely examining the lease breaking consequences. I couldn't really believe
that after essentially breaking the lease on our condo, we're intending to do
it again on an apartment, when it really does impact someone else directly -
the landlord. But, the lease breaking agreement was pretty clear. There's a
$1000 fee and we're responsible for rent for any months between our move out
and a new renter moving in. So, we've included that fee and two months of rent
into our estimate for how much of a down payment we'll be able to afford. If we
don't find a home, or find a short sale that we have to wait on, or find a
place that needs some renovations first, maybe we will fulfill the lease.
We'll see.
Despite
the extra cost of breaking the lease, I feel tons better about the foreclosure
knowing that we have somewhere to go. The bank can still postpone it if they
want, though. Even up until the moment the auction starts, they can decide to
postpone. While I don't see why they would, I'm still planning to attend the
auction so I can verify for myself immediately that the auction happens.
