Growing families often outgrow the home that has served them well for years. Additional or older children create the need for more bedrooms, a bigger yard, or a more desirable school district location. Homeowners typically get the itch to sell, or move up, between 6-9 years of living in their current home. Whatever the reason, when considering a move, we recommend that you consider the following:
- How much equity do you have in your home? Look at your annual mortgage statement or call your lender to find out. Usually, you don’t build up much equity in the first few years of paying a mortgage, but if you’ve owned your home for a number of years, you may have significant unrealized gains.
- Has your income increased enough to cover the extra mortgage costs and the costs of moving?
- Is the neighborhood still a good one for your needs? For example, if you’ve had children, the quality of the schools may be more of a concern now than when you first purchased.
- Can you add on or remodel? If you have a large yard, there might be room to expand your home. If not, your options may be limited? Also, do you want to undertake the headaches of remodeling yourself?
- What is are local market conditions for Buyers and Sellers? In the Portland Metro area inventory is very low, so it is a great time to list and sell your home. But your buying choices maybe be limited once you sell. As the “listing season” is under way from now through Spring there will be more and more choices that enter the market. We publish a monthly analysis of local market conditions.
- How do current interest rates affect you? Lower rates mean lower payments. Rates are still very low which helps you buy more home, and also makes it easier to find a buyer.
We LOVE talking with people just interested in asking questions and collecting information to help them make informed decisions. If you are in the “thinking” stage, please feel free to give us a call. We want to be a resource for you, and can connect you with mortgage lenders to help you further analyze the financial implications of “moving up.”
