My wife says we should move…

We built our small house in 2020. We have about $150k in equity. The monthly mortgage is $1,200 at a 3.375% rate.

Something happened in our family and neighborhood, and my wife insists we leave. She wants a house around $400k. We make about $120k together yearly. Her plan is to use our house equity to pay off the car and credit cards, leaving about $110k for the new down payment.

What do you think? We live in NW Florida, and home prices are high. If we move, our new mortgage could double. But we wouldn’t have car or credit card bills. Sorry if this is unclear. Ask if you need more details.

I would keep the place unless you are in danger. Your mortgage rate is good, and I’d hate to see you lose it.

Chase said:
I would keep the place unless you are in danger. Your mortgage rate is good, and I’d hate to see you lose it.

Thanks for sharing your view.

Shai said:

Chase said:
I would keep the place unless you are in danger. Your mortgage rate is good, and I’d hate to see you lose it.

Thanks for sharing your view.

I would hold off too. Your interest rate is way lower than what’s offered now.

@Quincy
Agreed. Anything below 3.5% is rare now, so you might want to hold on until rates improve one day.

Shai said:

Chase said:
I would keep the place unless you are in danger. Your mortgage rate is good, and I’d hate to see you lose it.

Thanks for sharing your view.

Don’t sell right now. Talk to your wife about why she wants this so much. A new rate will be at least 6%, and on your income, that’s rough.

@Hollis
Agreed. You might clear your debt, but you could end up with even bigger bills if your monthly costs jump so high.

@Hollis
Yes, that is the main truth here!

@Hollis
Moving can cost you extra money right away. Your house is pretty new, so it likely needs fewer repairs. A different home might need pricey fixes.

A $400k house on $120k income can work, but you won’t beat your $1,200 payment or that 3.375% rate. I’d try to stay at least a year or two and grow more equity.

Charlie said:
A $400k house on $120k income can work, but you won’t beat your $1,200 payment or that 3.375% rate. I’d try to stay at least a year or two and grow more equity.

I feel the same. We won’t see those low rates for a long time, and our current payment is great in our area.

@Shai
Really, the only way to move now is having a lot of equity or a higher income to offset higher rates. Care to share what’s causing all of this?

Hollis said:
@Shai
Really, the only way to move now is having a lot of equity or a higher income to offset higher rates. Care to share what’s causing all of this?

We want to move away from certain family members. It’s just gotten annoying, and my wife doesn’t want our kids around theirs anymore.

@Shai
Ah, so it’s family drama, not an unsafe situation. If you’re not in real danger, maybe hold out until your finances are stronger. If you move, you can’t be sure the new neighbors will be better.

Hollis said:
@Shai
Ah, so it’s family drama, not an unsafe situation. If you’re not in real danger, maybe hold out until your finances are stronger. If you move, you can’t be sure the new neighbors will be better.

We are talking about Florida… might be 10 meth labs there.

@Shai
What if you rent out your current house and rent somewhere else yourselves? Then you keep your sweet mortgage while living away from them.

Vale said:
@Shai
What if you rent out your current house and rent somewhere else yourselves? Then you keep your sweet mortgage while living away from them.

Just be careful with renters who can wreck your house. It might not be worth it if you rely on rent to pay the mortgage.

@Shai
Don’t move thinking you’ll make more later. If one of you loses a job, you might end up losing the house if the payment’s too high.

@Shai
Set stronger boundaries with your family, so your kids aren’t forced to hang out with their kids. That might fix the issue without an expensive move.

@Shai
We might never see anything near 3.5% again, or if we do, it’ll mean something big happened in the economy.