my house situation, advice sought

so. right now, I have a very manageable mortgage and a deal with the company that bought mine through 2012. my current house is too small for the family but i could make it liveable. the other house is perfect size wise, pool, one of ny's best high schools. but, my payment would go up 60%. I can afford it, but if i stayed in the current house, I could bank tons of cash and be in a good spot. however, the high schools are meh and the house is way too small. what to do?

30 year mortgage?

yes

I was in the same situation as you. I put my house on the market two and a half years ago after finding the perfect house. Tons of space, great backyard, better schools. The problem was that I couldn't get any decent offers on my house, and the sellers wouldn't come off their price for my "dream house." Like you, I could have afforded the bigger house, but it wouldn't have been as comfortable as I am now. I ended up taking my house off the market and walking away from the better place. I couldn't be happier with the decision. I'm in a great financial spot now. Part of the reason I wanted the house was that we had a kid on the way, and I wanted a nice yard for him to run around in. We still don't have that, but by staying in the cheaper house my wife was able to quit her job and stay home with my son, which I think is better than a yard. Obviously, strangers on an internet forum can't give terribly valuable input into your situation, but don't underestimate the value of financial security when making this decision.

thanks. we have 3 boys and the bigger house, yard and pool is what is drawing me in.

What's the odds of a fast and beneficial resale on your current house? Also, income plans at 2012?

^base is fine, I have a buyer now for my current home



thekunk07 said:

^base is fine, I have a buyer now for my current home

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Go for it. Life is short.



Piobaire said:

Go for it. Life is short.

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i was gonna say something like that. if you can afford it. i would do it.

either way. good luck kunk.



thekunk07 said:

thanks. we have 3 boys and the bigger house, yard and pool is what is drawing me in.

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Oh. Well that's a different situation altogether. I've only got one boy, so the space would seem like a luxury to me at this point. If I added two more of him bouncing off the walls, I'd probably need more space too. Good luck.

First you say it's small but can make it work, then it's too small. Is it manageable or not? If so, I'd take a smaller home and financial security.

i suppose it depends on what one defines as manageable. 1400 sq ft for 5 people and a dog

I would say that is small for that amount of people and a dog. For a family I would say 500 square feet per person would be about right. Getting the bigger place could end up being a good investment. in the future.

The better school district is more important than the pool and yard. Of course those are nice to have but they aren't so essential if everyone has somewhere they can go for some alone time.

Save the cash. You can have all your kids college funds setup in no time. Then, when they all move out, you and the wife can move to Aruba.