WWYD? Sell or Stay?

[OceansEve]

Our real estate market is still great here. This is our situation

We desperately want land. Currently we are stuck on a corner lot,

Scenario 1 - Sell our corner lot, we would have enough money left to pay off our 20K debt + have enough left over for a down payment on some land - not as much as we would really like to have, but better than what we have now

2 - Stay put, pay off the debt, then sell. which would be about a year from now.

3 -Stay put, pay off debt, save for another 2 years, buy land outright (or pretty dang close to outright)

Keeping in mind, Our market is probably just behind the curve of everyone else. My fear - even though we would be paying more for less now, that we would get considerably less for our house down the line, which would make option 2 impossible. So do it now, or wait 3 years? We were totally sold on doing it now, but we are getting cold feet. WWYD?

[jentilla]

I'd do it now, but are you buying land with a house or just land?

[MonkeyPrincess]

I'd sell. But, I'm impatient.

What will you live in on your land? Or will you rent until you build something?

[baileyandmikey]

hmmm.... are you going to have to build a new home on that land?

[OceansEve]

It all depends on what route we go.

We have a distant relative willing to sell her land w/ no house to us, the location is great (its actually the land I grew up on the first 8 years of my life), but we would probably have to move in w/ inlaws or my parents till we could put a mobile or modular on it. We haven't discussed a definate price yet, because we don't want to look finicky. You know, tell her we want it, then change our minds, then a few months later say we want it again. Its less than we really want, but family owns the land around it so down the line we may (no guarantee (sp?)) be able to buy more. Right now its 10 acres, my grt aunt & uncle used to own over 100 there but not sure how much of it they've sold over the years.

Then there are options w and w/o homes but they are much further from DH job (which is only a convenience issue they pay for his gas) The only problem there is my gas, but I'm already down to working 2 days a week. It would be more land though and probably a very similar price.

[texmati]

I dunno, the family land sounds like a great idea, I'd def. go with that if you want to buy (and can afford it).

I'd sell as soon as you could afford a down payment on a house on the family land.

[Violet2]

Sell. Get situated now where you want to live. The economy is not going to improve any time soon. You already know the housing bust is coming your way, don't wait.

But be sure you'll qualify for the mortgage you'll need for the new place. Mortgage funding has been cut in half due to all the default drama.

V

[alaska]

I'd sell now, too.

[Peony]

I'd sell now as well.

[zersha]

I agree to sell now, and buy the family land.

You don't know what the market will be like in 1-2 yrs. You may only get a fraction of your money back, or have no buyers at all. If you feel confident you can sell now, do it.

The family land sounds really great. With where our economy is headed, it will be great to get out on your own land as soon as possible and get it going. It's a plus to be next to family. That way you can help each other out if things get tough - or buy more land if they want to sell like you said.

If you get out now, you will have more time to get your home built, get gardens/orchards going, or just basically have it set up how you want.

Like the recent threads about the long emergency/food stockpiling have suggested, I agree that the american way of life is going to change sometime in our lifetime. If you can get your family set up to be more self sufficient, it will be better to do it sooner rather than later.

[annethcz]

The land situation sounds great. But I'd advise you to think carefully about what you're going to do with the land once you get there. How much will it cost to:
-build a house (including permits)
-get a well and septic
-get power lines to the land.
-commute to work
-drive to the store, to the library, to the kids' activities

Also, I'd talk to a mortgage broker about what it will take to get a mortgage on the land. Lending standards have changed, it may be hard to find a mortgage on bare land. Also keep in mind that traditionally, mortgages on bare land usually have higher interest rates than on developed properties.

I live in the country, and I love it. I've been here for a year and just now do I feel like I'm figuring out how to combine trips successfully and feel content just hanging out at home instead of going to the store on Saturday.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't sell now, but that you should make sure you have all of your ducks in a row before you go for it.

[OceansEve]

What's funny is it will be about the same distance to grocery/markets as I am now, maybe an extra mile or two. That was part of the appeal of this neighborhood, it was kind of hidden on the edge of town, but all the building puts us on a main road into three different neighborhoods now

anne - you bring up the point that is making me drag my feet. The only way we could probably afford to put a home on the land right now is if she will deed us one acre and absord the cost of it into the other 9. It is almost impossible to get a loan around here unless you own the land. DH used to work for a bank we looked at doing this when we got married, but we would either have to wait till the land was paid for or finance through the mobile home company, which I have heard so many nightmares about.

The family land is not going anywhere right now. She has owned it for many years and wasn't looking to sell it but when my mother mentioned we were looking she jumped at the thought of keeping it in the family.

I am gonna have to talk to DH about it, I really think we should do it, I guess we'll see if we can get all the ducks in a line.

[Emmeline II]

You could also sell now and rent. That is what we are doing after we sell our house while the new one is being built.

[LEAW]

Sell now, buy now, rent or move in with family for a year.

[A&A]

I'd sell now, rent for a couple of years, and buy when the market tanks.

[mightymoo]

I agree, sell now, rent and get rid of debt and buy in a few years.

This is a great opportunity I think where you already know you are planning a transition to give a temporary extreme frugal approach to debt reduction / savings a shot. What I mean is looking for an extremely cheap living situation, cut things down to essentials, try to pay down debt fast fast fast. The situation may not be ideal, but knowing its temporary and you will get what you want soon might make it doable.

[amyamanda]

Definitely sell now. I'm in a similar situation and also worried about the market, though our house won't be fixed up enough to sell for several months, so we're waiting until Spring. If I could sell it now I would.

As for the land, is there any chance she'd finance it for you directly if the bank won't loan you what you need? You know, pay her plus interest same as you'd pay a bank? Lots of people do this.

Then you could buy it outright as soon as you have enough money saved.

But do it now, do it now, do it now, and don't worry that it's smaller than you thought you wanted. Especially since you have the possible option of buying up adjacent land later on.

Do it!

(And we're also planning to sell our house and buy land without housing on it. There are a lot of creative ideas for how to live temporarily on your land while you build. I think Mortgage Free by Rob Roy has some ideas, or maybe that just got me thinking. We are planning to live in a tent and build something winterproof (small cabin) and then think about the house after that first winter.

People sometimes freecycle old mobile homes.

Depending on your climate, a camper or RV might work for awhile.

Good luck!!