Hello, So I know we are all over here, so I live in a city called Pleasant grove, its not really a city, but a suburb of dallas. But its real hood. They do have its nice parts, but you can just google Pleasant Grove of Dallas and see what you find. But this has never really bothered us because We both grew up in this kind of environment, Im from here. Also, our neiborhood, doesnt have alot of traffic, or crazy stuff. BUT.. I work like an hour away, so does my husband.
So, I want to move to a nicer area, better schools, and closer to our jobs. We currently own now, and I know If I sold, I would not be approved for another mortgage seeing as my credit is HORRIBLE. (my husband also, but ill ask a sepeate question about his).
So my question is, how can I buy another one. Or Should I rent till Our credit is better? I dont have a problem renting, but I know hubby will not want to go for it. I just sent him a text and told him we should move, we have no reason to stay, another reason was becasue we were close to my grandmother, but we are still phyically close to her, but not any where close in a family sense.
What do yall think? would you sell and then rent. Obviously im going to try to see what all my options are or a lease or rent to own at least, but this is all just a thought...
If I had to do it again I would rent, repair bills suck, let it be someone else’s responsibility. With the economy the way it is now, the housing market isn’t getting better,
B., FIX YOUR CREDIT. I can't sugar-coat it. You and your husband need to be doing that more than you need to be doing anything else. Part of the reason the US economy is in such a bind is because of the mortgage market. Allowing subprime buyers to hold mortgages almost blew up the economy. If you don't know much about this, you aren't alone. But you should learn about it so that you understand how it applies to you.
Thankfully, lenders have gotten wiser in the past 3 years and will NOT loan money to people who can't afford to buy a home. And they won't loan to people with bad credit. It is even hard to RENT now with bad credit. Someone who takes a chance in a renter wants to know that the person living in their house is accountable for what they spend and that they pay for what they buy. They want to see that you pay your bills to the utilities too, because the utility can attach a lien on the house that is in the OWNER'S name (not your name, the renter) and screw the owner over you not paying your utility bill. What owner of a rental property wants to deal with that?
So get credit counseling if you need to (use the free, government ones that won't screw you). Go to the library and check out a Dave Ramsey book on how to fix your credit. I don't agree with everything he says, but I think it would really help you. Spend at least a year on this, and then see where you stand on your credit score.
Good luck,
Dawn
I live in a suburb of New York City, and I don't know about Dallas, but you can absolutely live here and get an apartment with bad credit. People do it all the time. Will it be tough? Maybe. Impossible? Absolutely not. Don't get discouraged because of that.
You also have to remember that you may be upside down with your mortgage, meaning, you own more than your house is worth. A LOT of people are in this situation, unless you've bought your house within the last year or two, or did it right the first time around. My neighbor paid 200K more for his house 7 years ago, and our houses are worth the same. Also, if you have been in your home for a handful of years, odds are, you've just been paying interest. Meaning, you haven't touched the principal! The first step you need to make is figuring that out. That could put some things in perspective for you. People tend to think selling a house is a piece of cake, but it's simply not the case, especially considering the area in which you live (you said it's hood, and I know what that means!). It's not going to be easy to sell your house at a profit. You'll be lucky to break even, and that came from my realtor when a friend of mine was trying to sell her condo a few months back.
Lastly, figure out if this is a want or a need. Do you want to sell your house or do you need to sell your house? If want to then, get your credit together and make SURE you sell your house and will break even. It will take some time, but at least you're getting what you want. If you NEED to sell your house, then you gotta do what you gotta do. If you have to sell short, look forward to your credit being messed up, and having no choice but to rent, but something tells me you're not in this position, at least I hope not. For right now, get into the position to sell your home and doing everything correctly.
BTW.…99.9999% of credit repair can be done on your own. I did it for mine, and I did it for my husband's.
http://www.creditmagic.org/repair/index.html
http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?s=fbf41a9ca472be...
These are two sites that I used the most. There is no flim flam, funny business. These are not pay sites, you're not going to get seedy pop-ups, it's good clean information on how to repair your credit the right way. I fixed our credit in about six months, but I was working hard! Good luck to you, you got this! I hope I was at least a little bit encouraging ;-)
When we move we are planning on renting out our current house.
Have you looked into that? Just an idea.
Good Luck with your decison. =)
Whatever you choose, please budget so that 1/2 of one parent's salary can cover the rent/mortgage.
That way you have "livelihood insurance" and can still pay bills in case one of you gets laid off.
Go with what the others have said. Can you take your lunches to work with you? This could free up $100 to $150 a month per person. That could be used to cut down your debt.
Only time will help you get your credit where it should be to buy again. Make sure you pay your bills on time. Cut back where you can without donig the binge thing (just like dieting or you will go hog wild and be worse off).
Know that this too shall pass. While working on the credit problem(s). Make a list of what you want in your next home that are different than what you have. Also know that you will be living in this house for the next 10 to 15 years so pick carefully. Find out what plans the city/town has for the area around you so that you are not in the hood again in the next 10 years. Set your goal(s) in order and work them to get what you want.
Good luck to you.
The other S.
PS If you can lease your house througha management company do that. Than rent a house/apartment closer to work.
If you can get what you paid for the house, it might not be a bad idea. BUT you need to realize that landlords also run credit checks and normally do not rent to people with bad credit so you should check it out to see if you even CAN rent something before putting your house on the market.
I will second American Credit Counseling. I know someone using them and he is very happy with their services.
The 2 big things that matter are - what school your kids go to and how economical is it to spend and hour each way in traffic away from the kids and on gas.
The housing market is bad here and especially in economically depressed areas. WIll you lose money if you sell? Will you even get what you owe?
If it were me, and I wouldn't lose anything on selling the house, I would sell. Move closer to work. Rent something in a more upscale neighborhood that will have a better school system. Work on your credit and look into rent to own. If you will lose money selling the house, lease it out through a management company and still move close to work and a better neighborhood.
You are getting some good advice, but I have a couple of more points to add:
1. Why is your credit bad? If you are in the habit of paying bills late or charging too much on your credit cards, can you really afford to not own your home AND pay a rent. I think (but I am not sure) that your rent is going to be higher than your mortgage. Can you afford that?
2. Two years ago, I made the decision to sell my house that had a very reasonable mortgage and buy a house in a much nicer area with a larger mortgage. I ran the math before I did it and I knew I could afford it, but it is harder paying a higher monthly mortgage. The one thing that I had not really taken into account was all the new things that I was going to need - sod for the yard, a refrigerator, a washer and dryer, etc. All of that stuff really added up and ate into my savings way more than I had anticipated. I don't know that you would have these same expenses going from owning to renting, but moving always cost more than you think it will.
3. Really run the numbers - calculate how much money you would save in gas by living closer to your work, calculate rent costs, etc.
4. Do you need to sell your home to pay off your credit card debt - is that way you have bad credit? Remember, it is a LOT harder to get into a new home now than it has been in the past. It is harder to save up enough to put down on a home. You might be better off staying where you are and fixing your credit issues first.
Just run all the numbers!
Good luck!
L.
We just moved from Allen, TX. We were in the expensive part of Allen and if I had to do all over again, I would rent in Texas. The property taxes killed us. Now the downside to renting, especially from an individual is that they can sell the house and you run the risk of having to move year after year. With bad credit, you may have better luck renting than owning. I think you should stay and try to repair your credit and reevaluate in a year.
Rather than making this a person finance decision, why not look at the area you are considering moving to, and see whether it makes more sense to rent than to own, in that neighborhood?
Find the size of place you are interested in, and the neighborhood, and compare the rental prices to the mortgage prices on place listed for sale (mortgage calculators are available on most real estate websites). Would you being paying half (or at least way less) to rent the same size place in the same neighborhood? Then rent (the market may reverse in a few years, so look it up every few months or year to see if you should then get into the market). Why? Consider how much of a new mortgage will go toward your actual loan, and how much will be interest. If it's a crazy mortgage (and therefore crazy amounts of interest), why not consider renting (property) rather than "renting" (money) from the bank? Rent until the numbers are more favorable (via a larger down payment on your part, better interest rates, better credit etc)
On the other hand, if what you'd pay for rent is on par, give or take a bit, what your mortgage would be, then buy. Why pay down someone else's mortgage?
Does this make sense?
I would talk to a bank and see what they said. If you have done well on this house they may support you in your quest for a step up. They may have tons of repossessed houses too that they would like for you to look at.
I am a little confused though, Pleasant Grove is about half way to Houston from Dallas isn't it???? I am picturing it closer to Waco. It's not important I guess, I was thinking that perhaps something in the Flower Mound area closer to Denton might be a great area but you are a lot further away, that's all. I was thinking of nicer areas to suggest looking.
I would rent in a heartbeat and as Dawn said start tackling your credit ASAP. Better credit will lead to better options.
Personally, I would rather rent and have the mobility vs. being tied down to a house like I am now, in my uber-rural area!
Good luck!
American Credit Counseling Service is a good place to start. They helped me BIG TIME years ago. Sure I gave up plastic, but in turn I got my bills consolidated and at a lower interest rate.
