Would love your feedback and input!
We have been trying to sell our condo in SE FL for almost one year. It has been a draining, stressful, disappointing process. The property was originally appraised at around $460K. But, unlike with single-family homes, the condo market has been on a steady downhill trend, and the unit is currently listed at $375K.
This place has been our home for almost 10 years, but we are really tired of the beach condo "lifestyle" (ie: everybody is always on vacation, except for you) and would love something more spacious, less noisy and without the hassle of an association, etc. I am also self-employed, work from home, and value privacy and peace and quiet above all else. There are months were new, short-term tenants move in close to our unit and make our life an absolute nightmare.
We are sick of the glorified apartment life where tenants seem to have more privileges than owners.
There is also ALWAYS somebody renovating something next door, to the point where the noise becomes unbearable and I can not even hear my clients on the phone. I have been forced to leave my own home many, many times due to the noise. Plus, the area is just ridiculously overcrowded and has become a magnet for anchor babies and all sorts of activities of dubious merit (I wish I was exaggerating, but I assure I am not).
The condo is paid in full. No mortgage. Total cost to live here is about $18K / year. This includes property taxes (a crazy $7500+!), HOA's ($650/month), insurance and electric. In 10 years, we have only had one single special assessment of $1K. But our building reserves went from almost 2 million to $0 this past year due to structural renovations, etc., so I anticipate additional special assessments down the road.Today, nothing really words. 3 elevators are broken, trash is not being collected on time, etc, etc. The building is deteriorating rapidly.
So we have been looking for a single-family home thinking we could sell our condo for around $425K or so, and then buy a home around $450K. Sadly, that was 2019, and in 2020 we would be lucky to sell in the first place and, if we do, we are looking at around $340K in our pocket after closing costs and commissions. The picture has changed dramatically for us due to the fact that our condo keeps depreciating while every other house we like keeps appreciating. In short: we can now afford a lot LESS.
Our numbers:
We are both in our early 40's, have zero debt and about $650K between cash savings and investments, etc. The condo is by far our largest expense. We live well below our means, usually on one pay-check, and we try to save/invest the other one. No kids. Let's just say that if it wasn't for the condo, our fixed expenses would be really low, and we could potentially retire at 55.
We also have about $15K in passive income from dividends and interest.
So, here is where I would love your input:
- Assuming we are lucky to finally sell our condo for about $375K, we would net about $340K.
- The average asking price for the type of single-family home we love is $450 to $500K.
- So, all in all, even after selling the condo we still would need to put down anywhere between $100K to $150K or so.
- I really do not want a mortgage, period. I have never have debt in my life. The mere idea of signing such a document shakes me to the core. I can picture myself awake at night simply by realizing that "crap, I now have a mortgage!"
- But I also HATE the idea of using about $100K to $150K from our hard-earned and hard-saved cash. Having said this, even if we used $100K from savings, we would still have about $500K left.
Perhaps a change in mindset would make sense. We could have the house we love, and hopefully this would translate into a less stressful life.
Also, let's assume we sell the condo, put $400K down to buy a $500K house, and mortgage $100K. The monthly payment for a $100K mortgage is about $500. In other words, $150 LESS than what we pay now in HOA's ***without*** a mortgage!
But who am I kidding? I come from a different country and culture. We buy things we can afford. If you can not pay cash for something, you do not buy it, period. I am also, like most of you, the epitome of frugality, and a savings-addict. The idea of using such a large amount from our savings literally petrifies me.
What would you do?
Your thoughts and experience are truly appreciated.
EDIT: Just as an edit to my original post, and for multiple reasons, renting would not be an option for us.
We have been trying to sell our condo in SE FL for almost one year. It has been a draining, stressful, disappointing process. The property was originally appraised at around $460K. But, unlike with single-family homes, the condo market has been on a steady downhill trend, and the unit is currently listed at $375K.
This place has been our home for almost 10 years, but we are really tired of the beach condo "lifestyle" (ie: everybody is always on vacation, except for you) and would love something more spacious, less noisy and without the hassle of an association, etc. I am also self-employed, work from home, and value privacy and peace and quiet above all else. There are months were new, short-term tenants move in close to our unit and make our life an absolute nightmare.
We are sick of the glorified apartment life where tenants seem to have more privileges than owners.
There is also ALWAYS somebody renovating something next door, to the point where the noise becomes unbearable and I can not even hear my clients on the phone. I have been forced to leave my own home many, many times due to the noise. Plus, the area is just ridiculously overcrowded and has become a magnet for anchor babies and all sorts of activities of dubious merit (I wish I was exaggerating, but I assure I am not).
The condo is paid in full. No mortgage. Total cost to live here is about $18K / year. This includes property taxes (a crazy $7500+!), HOA's ($650/month), insurance and electric. In 10 years, we have only had one single special assessment of $1K. But our building reserves went from almost 2 million to $0 this past year due to structural renovations, etc., so I anticipate additional special assessments down the road.Today, nothing really words. 3 elevators are broken, trash is not being collected on time, etc, etc. The building is deteriorating rapidly.
So we have been looking for a single-family home thinking we could sell our condo for around $425K or so, and then buy a home around $450K. Sadly, that was 2019, and in 2020 we would be lucky to sell in the first place and, if we do, we are looking at around $340K in our pocket after closing costs and commissions. The picture has changed dramatically for us due to the fact that our condo keeps depreciating while every other house we like keeps appreciating. In short: we can now afford a lot LESS.
Our numbers:
We are both in our early 40's, have zero debt and about $650K between cash savings and investments, etc. The condo is by far our largest expense. We live well below our means, usually on one pay-check, and we try to save/invest the other one. No kids. Let's just say that if it wasn't for the condo, our fixed expenses would be really low, and we could potentially retire at 55.
We also have about $15K in passive income from dividends and interest.
So, here is where I would love your input:
- Assuming we are lucky to finally sell our condo for about $375K, we would net about $340K.
- The average asking price for the type of single-family home we love is $450 to $500K.
- So, all in all, even after selling the condo we still would need to put down anywhere between $100K to $150K or so.
- I really do not want a mortgage, period. I have never have debt in my life. The mere idea of signing such a document shakes me to the core. I can picture myself awake at night simply by realizing that "crap, I now have a mortgage!"
- But I also HATE the idea of using about $100K to $150K from our hard-earned and hard-saved cash. Having said this, even if we used $100K from savings, we would still have about $500K left.
Perhaps a change in mindset would make sense. We could have the house we love, and hopefully this would translate into a less stressful life.
Also, let's assume we sell the condo, put $400K down to buy a $500K house, and mortgage $100K. The monthly payment for a $100K mortgage is about $500. In other words, $150 LESS than what we pay now in HOA's ***without*** a mortgage!
But who am I kidding? I come from a different country and culture. We buy things we can afford. If you can not pay cash for something, you do not buy it, period. I am also, like most of you, the epitome of frugality, and a savings-addict. The idea of using such a large amount from our savings literally petrifies me.
What would you do?
Your thoughts and experience are truly appreciated.
EDIT: Just as an edit to my original post, and for multiple reasons, renting would not be an option for us.
Last edited: