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27 April 2007

Ask Mecha: Housing Quandary I am all affixed to the horns of a large, very lengthy, snorting dilemma here. Help![More:]As we know, I got evicted - from a house I love, in a neighborhood I love, where I've lived for 6 years - in the beginning of the month. Since then I've been through all the various stages of grief and I also went and spoke with a mortgage broker & a real estate agent, figuring that they would probably tell me that my credit and my income were too abysmal for me to buy a house. Well. Turns out I was wrong about that and I do qualify to buy a house - if the house is under $115,000. Unfortunately, in Asheville right now and particularly in West Asheville, where I live and where I want to live, that is nothing at all.

Then, amazing, I found a house for sale that I liked. Not in West Asheville but actually in a very nice neighborhood a bit farther out of the city, in North Asheville which is usually fancy so finding a house in my price range there seemed miraculous. The house needs a lot of work - specifically, it needs a new roof pretty damn soon and a lot of other stuff but the other stuff is all stuff that my friends and I can kind of fix at leisure if I'm willing to live in a construction zone for a few months. Which I am and I've done that kind of work before.

But of course someone else had already put a contract in on it. So I put in the backup contract and then as I thought about the house more and more I thought, hmm, maybe not, it's so much farther away from my son's school and it's so far away from everywhere I usually go and all my friends' houses and everything and I love my neighborhood. But it didn't look like the primary contract was going to fall through right then anyway so I decided, since time is a wastin', to go look at rentals. The rental market here is tight as hell, it's hard to find anything and it's gotten way expensive. Particularly if you have 2 dogs.

Today I found a rental. It's not great - it's kind of crummy, actually, but not that bad, just a little small and low ceilings and paneling and yuck, carpet - but it's in my neighborhood, it has a great yard, the landlady is supercool and doesn't care what I do to or in the house, the dogs are fine and I can fence the yard and put in a garden or do whatever I want and it's slightly cheaper than the house I'm living in now. So I told her great, I'll take it, and she's supposed to be emailing me an application tonight which I think is just a formality; I think I have it if I want it.

Then I came back to work to a message from my real estate agent telling me that the primary contract on the house I was looking to buy was in the process of falling through and so I could in fact buy it. Except that I have to get an inspector in there to see if it will qualify for a CO, which is this weird Asheville thing whereby they won't turn the water on or let you live there if they think the house is substandard until repairs are made. I can't afford to live in one place and work on this house - I have to have the work done as I live there but I already have a roofer lined up who can do the roof in a weekend (it's an 800 sq. ft. house.) It's also possible that the mortgage people will get cold feet because the house needs work.

So, what do I do? I don't know whether to drop the contract on the house for sale and live in the rental house for a year or so while I look for other houses to buy in my neighborhood, knowing that chances of finding one are pretty much nil since it is the hot real estate neighborhood and the housing crash isn't going to hit Asheville any time soon, unfortunately. Or should I buy the house - assuming they'll let me - which isn't a sure thing anyway and thus let this rental, which is the first one I've seen that's even doable, slip through my fingers?

I can stall them all through the weekend, I think. Meanwhile, I asked the real estate guy to schedule an inspector post haste so we can see what the city is going to demand. But I'm still not sure that I want to leave my neighborhood, where my kid can walk to the store and has tons of friends and I have tons of friends and my local bars that are right down the street, for a neighborhood that kind of feels like it's way out in the woods (which is also nice, though and I genuinely like the house - 1925 wood bungalow) and where it's 2 miles to the nearest store and that's on a busy as hell street. Now, my kid needs to learn to drive soon anyway but, argh.

O Bunnies of the Magic 8 Ball, should I rent or buy or what? Hope me now!
If you have the chance, buy. Equity is a many splendored thing.

What would be the consequences of signing a lease and breaking it a month later? Losing a month's rent could be worth the risk if it kept your options open longer.
posted by danostuporstar 27 April | 14:25
I would try to buy the house, if you can. Sounds like a good investment, particularly when the neighborhood you live in now is all bought up and the place where you buy becomes the next Hot Spot.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 27 April | 14:28
I'm leaning toward buy, but I don't know jack about this kind of stuff.

How far is the house-to-buy from the local bars and friends' houses and whatnot?
posted by box 27 April | 14:29
Buy! Buy! Buy!
posted by essexjan 27 April | 14:29
GO FOR IT: BUY. Seriously. If the inspection comes back badly, or the deal otherwise falls through, then you can move on. As tough as the rental market is, finding an affordable house is even tougher.
posted by BoringPostcards 27 April | 14:30
Is buying a house something that's really important to you, like a long-term goal? If yes, then I vote go ahead and buy. If not, if you're just thinking about buying because you got evicted and are feeling like you need to do something in a panicky way, then I vote rent.
posted by JanetLand 27 April | 14:33
Tough one, mgl. I'm going to vote for buy, provided the roof is the only "major" thing wrong with the house. You did so much to your current rental and I know you're upset to have to leave it behind. Why not put that effort into something you own?
posted by jrossi4r 27 April | 14:35
Definitely buy.
posted by LoriFLA 27 April | 14:49
Wow, that chorus of 'buy' sure does ring and echo, doesn't it?

Also, an 800-square foot 1925 bungalows that is simultaneously way out in the woods and only 2 miles from the nearest store? That sounds really, really nice.
posted by box 27 April | 15:00
I vote Buy, for the reasons above, but mainly because you describe the rental as "kinda crummy actually" - if you had found a rental you really connected with, that'd be a different consideration.
posted by rainbaby 27 April | 15:05
That's a complicated one, yeah. While equity is indeed a many-splendored thing, it takes a while for your payments to start accumulating an appreciable equity-lump, and in the meanwhile it sounds like you'd need to sink a fair amount of money into making this place liveable. If it feels to you like a place you could be happy living in for more than a few years, buying might well be the best decision (especially with the dogs in the mix). But, as JanetLand notes, if you feel like you'd be grabbing at something out of short-term panic that you wouldn't be happy with long-term, it might make more sense to rent. Best wishes to you whichever way you decide!
posted by kat allison 27 April | 15:12
i'd buy if i could.
posted by syntax 27 April | 16:11
i'd buy if i could.
posted by syntax 27 April | 16:13
I think syntax thinks you should buy. :-)

It definitely sounds like you're a fixer-upper house-owner type, so if you're actually pretty sure you want the house, it does sound lovely. I assume the stability would also be nice, not having to think "Well, we have to leave here in a year and go through all this again..."

Do you or most of your friends drive to each other's places anyway? Or even if not to your place, than to other places? How much of a lifestyle change would it really be?
posted by occhiblu 27 April | 16:26
Don't decide till you get that home inspection. Some problems are much worse than roofs.

Such as bad foundations or asbestos in the insulation. Make VERY VERY sure you don't have that kind of problem, or your life will be all kinds of Real Estate Hell.
posted by bunnyfire 27 April | 16:38
Rent versus buy is never entirely a no brainer, but the factors for you to buy are heavily weighted towards buy. Do a Ben Franklin sheet. Here, I'll help you get started (but you can copy and paste this to the classic columned document format if it helps you feel we're doing it "right"...)

Decision: Should mgl buy or rent?

Buy:
1) Build equity (creates wealth)
2) Minimizes tax burden
3) Changes social status from renter to homeowner
4) Provides sound basis for doing improvements and customizations that she would do anyway to other's rental property
5) Possible improvement of self-image
6) Secures future for child.
7) Dog(s) OK. Even more dogs OK. Secures future for dog(s).
8) Can choose new bathroom tile.
9) New appliances are "investments"!!!
10) Hassle of moving has deeper purposes.
11) Committment to living in community improves mental relationships to community


Rent:
1) Retain neighborhood convenience
2) Retain child's ability to see current friends easily
3) Retain mgl ability to see current bar friends easily
4) Avoids long term commitments


But I agree with bunnyfire that you should never do real estate deals under undue pressure, particularly if you haven't got, still, basic things like home inspections done. If you've got to go through regulatory issues, too, you'd be lucky to close the deal in the just over 30 days you have until your original 60 day rental termination notice is up. On the other hand, you might find that your current landlord would give you an additional week or two wiggle room, if you really needed it, to help you make the buy happen, considering the circumstances.

So, personally, I think you should gear up for some old time Southern dickerin', and start thinking of yourself as a real estate tycoon. Buy the house, and try to have some fun doin' it. People generally want to help you do this. Not only should you let them, you should actively ask all parties you can for their assistance.
posted by paulsc 27 April | 17:16
Sounds like a good house and the biggest problem - roof - you already have a solution for. BUY!
posted by dabitch 27 April | 17:28
I always think of it this way: When you rent, you're making someone else rich. Of course the landlady doesn't care what you're going to do to her place - you're going to improve the value of her property with anything you do (read: pay for).

So get the inspection on the house to see if the roof is the only major thing you'll have to take care of. If it is, I'd say go for it. Then you can improve the value of your own property. Your own property. Doesn't that sound nice?

Also, if your son is getting old enough to drive,is he old enough for you to ask his opinion? Not that you should do exactly what he wants, but it would be interesting to see how he looks at each option. As a kid and teenager, I always felt most at home and secure in a house we owned rather than a house or apartment we rented. Moving from rental to rental really messed with my sanity.
posted by youngergirl44 27 April | 18:00
Buy. And if there's any way, shape, or form that I can help you, for the love of god, call me. I think you should still have my phone number. I used to be a mortgage banker, so I may still remember some stuff about financing and so on.

GOOD LUCK!
posted by Eideteker 27 April | 18:01
i hope things work out so you can buy and at least not have to worry about ever being uprooted without warning again. The bunny army could help with whatever and if you wanted to find greener pastures maybe it could become the first bunny homestead.
Does it have any land with it? A yard at least?
i'm so glad you have found optiioons at least and i hope that med thing has worked out, if not, maybe let me know.
posted by ethylene 27 April | 18:07
Another vote for buying the house, provided the inspection comes out okay.

mgl - I'm living in the first (last?) house I've owned. I never really wanted to own a house. The flexibility of renting always appealed to me. BUT! It's amazing how awesome owning your own place feels.

On preview: similar to Eideteker - I used to be a mortgage loan underwriter (the person who would say yea or nay to a loan). If there's anything I can help with, please don't hesitate to drop me an email.
posted by deborah 27 April | 18:44
Oh, and I forgot to mention I am married to a realtor who is presently the sales manager at his company. So if you have any real estate questions let me know and I will ask him for you. He won't mind.(We live in NC too so he'll know all the local rules and such.)
posted by bunnyfire 27 April | 21:34
Buy.
posted by brujita 28 April | 02:20
Okay, I'll be the naysayer in the bunnypile... The thing is, you didn't even imagine that you could buy a place, but suddenly find out, hey, what do you know? You can! Super! And hey, what do you know? You found a place that you can probably buy right now! To me, that means that you might also be able to find a place you like a lot better, if you take your time. I also really do think you should buy, but I don't know if you should buy the first place that seems not-terrible. You've barely had time to adjust to the idea that you can really buy a house.

The fact that it's on a super-busy road is the swaying point for me, because I know you love your outdoor life, and depending on what the exposure and noise is like, that could really put a damper on things. However, if people you know and trust who know the market really well are saying "omg, you gotta get it" then maybe you should.
posted by taz 28 April | 09:23
It can be good to buy the okay house in a great neighborhood. A new roof on a small house is something you can do if you're willing to get very sweaty & tired, and from the looks of your garden, no problem there.

Make the offer contingent on successful inspection/livability. See if the lender will loan you enough to do any urgent repairs. Get the lender and Real Estate agent to help you find options.

Then have a housepainting party and invite all the Mechzens.
posted by theora55 29 April | 23:20
Things you can do by the light of a laptop || Oh keen!

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