December House Madness

So, about a month ago we were looking at some home prices in the greater Newberg area and were amazed at how much they have dropped. Jeremy and I have been dreaming about the day he can commute to work on his bike. Or at least get home in about 5 minutes if I need him to. Last summer we were considering putting our house on the market, but did not for various reasons. We called my dear friend David Policar to help us determine the right price for our house. David and I worked together back at my Celestica/C&D days and we were fast friends. It helps he is completely adorable and silly. It has been nice to see his change in vocation. Going from an inside sales position to a Real Estate Broker is a bit different, but he really knows his stuff, and he is so good and honest. I love his work ethic and am thankful for all the time he has given us.

To not get into too many details, we need to get out of our loan. The loan itself is OK, but the interest rate is quite high having locked in a few years ago when interest rates weren't much to look at(That is what we get for refinancing to an adjustable back when the going was good.). We figured if we could sell our house and have a bit of cash in our pockets that would be cool. The first CMA we looked at seemed we could do that. We cleaned up the house, boxed up clothes and towels and kitchen things we rarely use, but still have a bit more to do. We did a pre-inspection and found some items we need to take care of. David brought some brokers into our home and they reviewed the price we wanted to list it at, and did another CMA, and we determined if we wanted to sell our house quickly(And at this point we did because I would much rather move before she got here than after), we needed to drop it even more. Of course, we set our price on our home and we could go as high or as low as we want. But honestly, if you want to move property you have to be realistic and competitive. Dropping the price meant we would likely need to come up with some cash to make the difference- and that isn't cool. Our 401Ks were hurt with the last downfall and it makes no sense to drain them.

I was depressed. I wanted to move closer to Jeremy's work. We had already talked to a loan guy and knew what we could afford and knew what type of loan we would be getting(It was an USDA loan to encourage us suburbanites to move out to the country- very good loan opportunity if anyone is interested in living in "rural" county.). Not only did I want to move to a bigger home or even the same size home on a bigger lot, I was looking forward to finding myself again. Change can be difficult, but normally I like it. Its exciting to learn new things and figure out a new way of life. I had several things I was worried about in moving: being further away from family, not being in a community with such a great parks and recreation and library system, leaving my friends in my ward who I love and I look forward to them getting to know my newest little one. But overall, I was excited at the opportunity for change.

Since we felt selling was not an optimal option with the pricing situation, we called our mortgage company to revisit our loan. And this is a very interesting option. If anyone is having problems with their loans, please call your existing mortgage company. Ours in particular has hired on teams of loan officers to deal with people like us: needing something new for the change in the market. Our house is loosing value and we are scared we will get in over our heads if it keeps up. The mortgage company will even pay down points to get us a better interest rate- that is how desperate these companies are to keep clients, and have healthy clients in a time when foreclosures are everywhere.

We are still waiting on our mortgage company to get back to us, but at this point- seeing the baby is a month away, I really don't want to list our house and be in the midst of a possible selling/moving shortly after she is born. So, long story short, December was full of anxiety and the unknown. I don't mind change too much, but I do despise the unknown. Just let me know what is the right thing to do... let me make my plan on a super big poster board so I can view everything that will happen.

Today our house is not on the market, but maybe after the baby gets here you will read a post of future change. But at this moment in time, I feel very confident that we are going to stick around for a while. So, you know where to find us. :o)