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Should I Sell My House?

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Killbynumbers

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 29, 2019
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Some of you may or may not know that the housing market here in Colorado is just insane. Property values have skyrocketed and my 1,000 square foot house that was worth $150,000 10 years ago is worth $400,000 today. I do love owning a home BUT the property taxes and maintenance are getting to be too much. The house needs a new roof soon due to wind blowing shingles off and that will be costly. It also needs some small repairs inside but they're too expensive for me to take on. I owe $93,000 on the mortgage. My mortgage payment is $686 and total monthly including utilities would be about what a one bedroom apartment costs in Denver these days, about $1200. Homes are selling in under a week here.

I'm thinking of selling the house, paying off the car and two small credit cards and then moving to an apartment and banking $200,000+ for retirement, I am 57.

Would you do this? The housing market won't be this hot forever and I'm worried all that equity will disappear if I wait too long. Only problem would be what to do with all the furniture.
 
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Killbynumbers said:
that was worth $150,000 10 years ago is worth $4000,000 today
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I think you may have an extra zero on today's worth.

If it is worth $4M, I would sell it ASAP.


Killbynumbers said:
The housing market won't be this hot forever and I'm worried all that equity will disappear if I wait too long.
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I think the housing boom will not end up like it did in the mid 2000's, that was a very different situation back then compared to now.

There could be a decrease when the market stabilizes, but more gradual and probably not that much if any.

That said, you might as well sell it now, as there are many other people thinking of doing the same. The market might be flooded with people looking to cash in on the crazy sellers' market, and the super quick sales for 15% over listed price might be coming to an end in the next few months.

Also, just my opinion, but maybe you should talk to a financial advisor and/or a local real estate agent for advice, or at least take any advice given on the forum with a grain of salt. This is a tech forum, and probably not the best place for financial advice based off of your local market.
 
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vertical smile said:
I think you may have an extra zero on today's worth.

If it is worth $4M, I would sell it ASAP.



I think the housing boom will not end up like it did in the mid 2000's, that was a very different situation back then compared to now.

There could be a decrease when the market stabilizes, but more gradual and probably not that much if any.

That said, you might as well sell it now, as there are many other people thinking of doing the same. The market might be flooded with people looking to cash in on the crazy sellers' market, and the super quick sales for 15% over listed price might be coming to an end in the next few months.

Also, just my opinion, but maybe you should talk to a financial advisor and/or a local real estate agent for advice, or at least take any advice given on the forum with a grain of salt. This is a tech forum, and probably not the best place for financial advice based off of your local market.
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I fixed the typo above, thanks. I know this is a tech forum but since this is the general topics section, I just figured it wouldn't hurt to get some opinions. Thanks for your helpful reply.
 
Killbynumbers said:
I know this is a tech forum but since this is the general topics section, I just figured it wouldn't hurt to get some opinions.
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You definitely could get some helpful opinions here, but again, I personally would at least get some opinions elsewhere when making a huge life decision like this.

For example, advice for not just selling your home, but what to do with this if you sell:
Killbynumbers said:
and banking $200,000+ for retirement, I am 57.
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Financial advisors would be helpful for that as well.
 
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My parents did something like this. They had a house they had bought for £108,000, which they fixed up and sold at the height of the market for £450,000. They ended up buying a cheaper house and living mortgage free since then, which really saves on the outgoings.
 
Killbynumbers said:
Some of you may or may not know that the housing market here in Colorado is just insane. Property values have skyrocketed and my 1,000 square foot house that was worth $150,000 10 years ago is worth $400,000 today. I do love owning a home BUT the property taxes and maintenance are getting to be too much. The house needs a new roof soon due to wind blowing shingles off and that will be costly. It also needs some small repairs inside but they're too expensive for me to take on. I owe $93,000 on the mortgage. My mortgage payment is $686 and total monthly including utilities would be about what a one bedroom apartment costs in Denver these days, about $1200. Homes are selling in under a week here.

I'm thinking of selling the house, paying off the car and two small credit cards and then moving to an apartment and banking $200,000+ for retirement, I am 57.

Would you do this? The housing market won't be this hot forever and I'm worried all that equity will disappear if I wait too long. Only problem would be what to do with all the furniture.
Click to expand...
You absolutely could. We just finished selling our house (of 13 years) and made $215K on it. Same market and price range you’re in. We paid for our rent in another house for a year and signed to start a new build in an awesome neighborhood and will be putting $175K down. I’m much younger so not looking to be mortgage free but needed more space for the 5 of us instead. I say go for it!
 
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We were considering selling our house.

The plan was to sell, And then sit out the market for a while.

The RE agent told us we could get even more then our high bar asking price.

He also reminded us that if you try to time the market going down, there is a good chance that you will never be able to get back in.

You may need to rent for the rest of your life.

We opted to stay, only time will tell if it was a good decision.
 
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Killbynumbers said:
I'm thinking of selling the house, paying off the car and two small credit cards and then moving to an apartment and banking $200,000+ for retirement, I am 57.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you are selling a house and then renting. I mean you need professional advice to weigh up all the options. What happens if you can't afford the rent? The $200k starts to go down and so on.

If you were able to sell, bank a little and still buy something else outright it would be more attractive. But, that is just me.
 
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Well, at least you shouldn't owe capital gains. If you don't meet any of the other exclusions and your profit is $250,000 or less single or $500,000 or less married.

I wouldn't advise getting an apartment though. As you'll always be paying every month and that price will go up. With that sale. You can pay off your mortgage. Then find a decent residence in some other part of the country and have it paid for free and clear. Perhaps with some money left over.

There are many great states to live in. Ones which cost a whole heck of a lot less. Especially if you don't want to live in a city. Maine and Vermont are good examples.

Then all you'll have to worry about is maintenance and property taxes. Which are much more manageable than a rental. Especially if you are DIY on the maintenance and repairs. At least a place to live will be taken care of for retirement. With budgeting you can plan for repairs, insurance and property taxes. To avoid big surprises.

DIY saves a ton of money. Especially if you are proactive and take care of minor problems before they become big ones. Like a small leak that just needs a few dollars to seal can save thousands in repairs from water damage.

Other than that. See a financial advisor. Plan a budget, savings and investments. As you don't know if you'll only be able to keep working for another five years or twenty five years. Before you have to live off your retirement funds and social security.

-------------------------

As for those shingles. Have you contacted your homeowners insurance about your roof? I've had two roofs replaced so far through my homeowners insurance. On one house they paid all of it. On the other about half. I'm surprised roofers aren't knocking at your door after a big storm. That's what they do around here if they see a bad looking roof. They ask to inspect then do most of the dealing with your insurer. Of course storm damage to roofs happens a lot around here with all the trees and storms.

It isn't just replacing your roof. You're risking a lot of money in water damage if you don't repair ASAP. Have you checked your attic for mold?
 
The housing market is absolutely insane right now. We are not selling our current home, however; My wife and I were looking to build a second home in a newer suburb near a regional airport that has a new subdivision, [we live in the countryside right now], and even with some of these building contractors, they can’t even give you an accurate quote, because The inflation changes weekly, where lumber is five times the net value of what it was 16 months ago. Not only that, I was told that even some of the installation hardware is becoming limited, which is direct from China that is seeing inflation.

My neighbor builds custom decks for a living, and he’s having to use synthetic wood (Which is exponentially more expensive), because he can’t even accrue the necessary natural lumber he needs for lower cost decks.

It’s to a point depending on your demographic, it’s becoming nearly impossible to build. If you have a house that is in a decent neighborhood/location, with some modernized construction, you’re pretty much guaranteed you can sell it for well above value. I personally would take advantage of the market while things are above the norm, but most realtors would probably say ‘sit on your house’ longer, watch the value rise. But I guess like I said, really depends on your state, where you are in the overall value of your house with ownership.
 
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I would not sell (if you can afford to stay). The high demand for housing is here to stay, along high real estate value in my opinion. With the pandemic winding down, people will have more secure jobs and salaries will increase, and these folks will be wanting to buy a place of their own. At the same time, renting costs will also likely increase.

You need a place to live. Why give up a place of your own and can be proud of, to live in someone else's along with the uncertainty of future rent increases? The caveat with this at your age is to pay down and eventually off that mortgage before fully retiring.
 
I never recommend the move to renting. Not only will the price keep moving but you don't know what kind of neighbors you'll end up with. The only time this is an exception is if you're going into a long term care facility.
 
dukebound85 said:
I am in the same market as the OP (Colorado) and it is nuts. However, I am thinking of selling my rental (not primary). Not sure if that is a smart idea or not
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If your rental property is making money, then I'd keep it--unless it's a hassle to maintain. Owning property is how the middle class builds wealth. I sold one of my rental property because it was a pain in the (_!_) to drive 30 minutes across town whenever I had to collect rent, pay a repairman, deal with issues. I've got another house in my neighborhood, which I ain't selling unless someone's willing to pay 2-3x the appraised value.🧐
My wife stays at home to take care of the kids, so the money our rental properties is her discretionary income.
 
My wife and I are in a similar situation, but in Idaho. We paid $121k, then put on an addition, which took us to around $160k. Purchased 20 years ago. Our house is worth over half a million. I'm 10-15 years from retirement. We're going to sell soon and leave the West. We'll buy a place for cash, pick a state with reasonable property taxes, and have some money left over. I wasn't sure I'd ever be in a position to retire, but this will make that possible.
 
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Stay in your house and refinance your mortgage. As you said, the value of your house has gone up, and mortgage rates are probably lower now than when you first got in. Refinancing would give you the money to fix the roof and other repairs you need done, and you could probably even lower your payment.

Selling sounds great because you pay off all of your debt now and have lots of extra cash, but it has a few downsides. If you don't buy something else and decide to rent, you're likely stuck renting for the rest of your life, as it could be hard to get back in the market as house prices continue to increase.

The other option would be to sell your place for $400K and then try to find a new build for $300K if there are any new neighborhoods in your area.

If you go the refinance route, you can start by looking at this site: https://www.savewithconrad.com/ I listen to his wrestling podcasts all the time, but his main business is mortgages. I can't use him because I'm not in the US, but he seems to know what he's talking about and has some good reviews our there.
 
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