On being a growed up
I got a late start in things. I didn’t have a career until roughly ‘99 because I was busy taking care of the kids. As detailed in other blogs, I ran my credit into the ground while trying to make ends meet. It’s been a long and interesting road to get to where I am now.
I live in a decent enough place. I have a car that I love and adore (and pay through the nose for) and another car that gets me from point A to point B without too many issues. But one thing I don’t have is a place of my own. One where I can remodel without calling for approval, one where I can adopt a furry feline baby or two and bring home, one that counts as “stability” in an ownership based society.
The housing market got a little out of control a couple of years back, and prices are astronomical. But the recent trend is that they are coming down. Within the next year, most of the sub-prime and ARMs are going to foreclose. The foreclosure rate is insane in some areas. Housings prices are dropping, steadily, and are expected to stabilize within the next year.
I’ve had a very strong urge to purchase a home for about two years now. But the time has never been “just so” due to either my own financial set-up or the market. I’ve worked on getting my credit back to respectable numbers, have been steadily pushing my career forward, and am now seriously looking at what I can afford.
Of course, it should be noted that I cannot move out of the area that I’m in for at least seven years. Cricket is settled into school here, and I cannot, in good conscious, pull her out and move her to a new district. So now it’s a waiting game. Prices are still outrageous here, with the least expensive townhouse in the area being one in my community that was bank owned and listed at $265,000. And it seemed a bit run down at that. Most of the others in my neighborhood are listed at $350,000 and up. The nicer townhouses? $450,000 and up. Single family homes? Let’s not talk about it, okay?
I make a decent salary, but not quite that decent. However, I did a little calculating and found something very interesting out. If I get rid of my beloved Z, the amount of mortgage I qualify for changes significantly. And if I drop all remaining credit balances to zero, it changes even more.
So here’s the dilemma though: if Cricket graduates on time in 2013 and I’m free to move, would I remain here? Neither Tetris nor I work in the area, we both work on the other side of the river in Maryland. If I am no longer held here due to her needs, why would I remain in a place where the commute is nuts?
And getting rid of my Z… the thought is enough to literally bring tears to my eyes. It’s a stupid thing, I know, but I love that car. When I’m driving her, I feel free, at peace, and ready to take on anything. It’s hard to put a price on that type of unfettered pleasure.
Here are my options to date:
Get rid of the Z, pay off credit card balances, and buy a house early next spring… that I may or not be able to sell in 7 or 8 years, depending upon how the market bounces.
Get rid of the Z, put that money to work for me, and wait until after Cricket graduates before looking into ownership in a place I plan on staying in.
Keep the Z, and the subsequent joy of driving her, and wait until after Cricket graduates and find the place I want to spend the rest of my life before even contemplating buying.
Find a long term rental in the same area for slightly more than I’m paying now with enough room to move and entertain.
Two other things can come into play here. If I were to magically find a new job with a considerable annual increase or if the market were to completely bottom out. Or if something else happens… Or if, or if, or if…
Being a growed up is hard!