https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:17:42 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2504826 Wed, 23 Mar 2016 21:21:42 +0000 cam 2504826@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Big renovations always scare me budget wise because you never know what issues will be uncovered when things are opened up. Less risk if your house is newer. </p> <p>If you have 2 in daycare and are 5 years away from paying off your mortgage I would say you're in great shape and if I were you I would try to move and lengthen the mortgage if needed. Yes you pay more interest but... I like getting what I want. Other considerations are that ideally I wouldn't want my kid to have to switch schools so if I thought I wanted to move I would do it sooner than later. Also, after you're done paying daycare you could use some of that as extra payments to your mortgage to bring it down more (if your mortgage allows that)</p> <p>Good luck with whatever you choose! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2504727 Wed, 23 Mar 2016 19:09:07 +0000 Pancakes 2504727@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@skipper2010: I am not sure if anyone else suggested this but would it be a possibility, but would you consider selling your house and moving to a rental for a few years? You could possibly get more house for your money and while there are lots of perks to owning, in some markets I think renting makes a lot of sense. Maybe just rent until you can save up for a house that you really want to buy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494709 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 21:12:30 +0000 Anagram 2494709@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@skipper2010: can you just stay put a couple more years till kids are in public school and you have more $ each month? And in those years, save hard so you have more money for either the addition option or the down payment on a bigger house? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494707 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 21:08:40 +0000 Boogs 2494707@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs D: Yup, we know. To our knowledge it would still be less than buying another home. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494688 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 20:51:10 +0000 catlady 2494688@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Raindrop: I could have written this post. We are in almost exactly the same situation. We are also staying put for a little while (we only have one LO right now so it's easier) but we are hoping to have a second and at that point, I'm not sure what we will do because we only have 2 bedrooms. DH has tossed around the idea of renovating and creating a third bedroom, and admittedly, it would cost us alot less, but having seen my parents go through multiple large renovations (and having hellish outcomes every time), I am really hesitant to do it myself. I guess if I were in a situation that was less extreme (like, it would cost roughly the same to move vs renovate), I would move. Even though it's a hassle to move, it's much less of a hassle than to renovate, in my opinion. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494684 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 20:46:33 +0000 Mrs. Lion 2494684@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs D: yep, this happened to us too! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494668 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 20:32:43 +0000 Mrs D 2494668@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@skipper2010: @Boogs: fyi - If you do an addition and have it permitted the city will know of the improvements and may change you taxable value as a result...this happened to us after our big remodel </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494647 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 20:19:11 +0000 Mrs. Lion 2494647@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We were in a similar situation. We decided to invest some money into an addition instead of moving to a bigger house, but that was only because we really love our location, and houses in our neighborhood are hard to find for sale. We added a 3rd bedroom, a dining room/office, and we tore out a wall between the living room and kitchen to open up the space. We spent more on the addition than we will get back in increased home value, but we didn't have the cost of selling either. The addition was stressful though, and we still feel like the house isn't quite as big as we would like with 2 kids and me working from home. It works for now, but we probably won't stay for more than a couple more years. </p> <p>All that to say, you are probably better off moving when you are ready! I would definitely not recommend moving to a 30 year mortgage. When you break it down and look at how much more interest you pay over the life of a 30 year loan vs. a shorter loan, it is pretty astounding! When we considered moving and looked at the numbers for a 30 instead of the 15 we currently have, we are putting almost $5000 more every YEAR into equity by having a shorter term than we would be if we had a 30 year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494638 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 20:11:33 +0000 Raindrop 2494638@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>*sigh* Similar boat as you but we are in a townhouse so we can't expand even if we wanted to. We are in a super pricey area which if we were to move even laddery we would be doubling our mortgage (aka buying a single family the same size). If we want something slightly bigger it would triple what we are paying now.</p> <p>We can stay where we are for a few more years but I also worry about what the market will be in the future.</p> <p>For us we are just trying to minimize as much as possible - selling and getting rid of junk. Which is actually working out for us! </p> <p>Good luck. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494627 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 20:01:45 +0000 Boogs 2494627@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@skipper2010: Totally same boat and totally get it. I hope you are able to find the right answer from your family. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494593 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 19:35:49 +0000 Eko 2494593@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>There are sooo many little factors it's hard to tell. The extra add ons you are looking for sound pretty substantial top. That would take a lot of time and money. My vote is to go house hunting and actually see what you would get. The market overall is on the up swing so pricing is sometimes all relative. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494588 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 19:30:47 +0000 MrsBeluga 2494588@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>WARNING: I have no real knowledge of this, but I think you might be better off finding a house that has everything you want with a 30 year mortgage (to help keep your monthly down for now). In the future you could always refi into a 20 year (I think) or you could keep your 30 year and send a little extra each month. I would vote for selling because you would know exactly what you are getting in your new home, as opposed to living through an expensive remodel and not knowing exactly how it might turn out. The cost of a kitchen and larger family room/master could easily run over $50K, and I personally would be afraid to spend that not knowing exactly how it will turn out and exactly what the final price tag might be. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494580 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 19:22:52 +0000 skipper2010 2494580@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@skipra: Thanks for your input! We can stay here a couple more years, but I'm concerned about what the market will look like in a few years. We don't need to make an immediate decision, but would like to have it figured out by next year. </p> <p>@Boogs: Ugh I didn't think about taxes! Our taxes now are relatively low for our area, so they would def go up if we decide to move.</p> <p>@T.H.O.U.: It's so hard isn't it?! And the thing is I love my neighborhood, but I don't LOVE my yard and other things about my house so it would be nice to move, but I'm just not sure if it's the right decision financially. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494362 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 15:13:21 +0000 Boogs 2494362@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>In our area a remodel/addition makes more financial sense. Something to also consider when buying a new place is an increase in property taxes. Buying a new home in this market would cause ours to double, so buying at this time is not an option. We have the same amount of space as you, so I completely understand the struggle. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494303 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 14:30:16 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2494303@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are in a similar tough position. We started looking around and to go to a bigger house (adding that 4th bedroom and something relatively updated) the price jumps significantly (more than our current equity would cover). We just aren't comfortable jumping that much in price when we have daycare payments right now. </p> <p>I wish I knew more about additions. We have a huge yard (although lots of trees that would have to come out) so we wouldn't necessarily have to go up but would have to be creative on how to bump the house out. We are on a slab foundation so that should make it slightly cheaper. Part of that renovation would have to be updating our kitchen because that needs to be done as well. But I really think because home prices are rising and our location is TOP notch, we would really get our money back out of a $50k renovation. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494299 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 14:25:55 +0000 skipra 2494299@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It is a tough situation! We outgrew our house a couple years ago and moves and I do wish we had done things differently because money is pretty tight now.</p> <p>I suppose one thing you could do is refinance into a 30 year mortgage and taking out some of the equity for a renovation. Or just refinancing to 30 years and getting a heloc. Hopefully neither option would up your monthly payment much.<br /> But before making any decisions I would meet with contractors to get estimates, a mortgage person, and a realtor. Also is there any way you could rearrange some thing in the house, get some more storage, etc. so you can push off a move or renovation so that you can save up more? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mortgage-savvy-beesneed-your-help#post-2494290 Mon, 14 Mar 2016 14:09:17 +0000 skipper2010 2494290@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>With two kids it's becoming clear that we are outgrowing our 3 bedroom 1100 sq ft ranch. The problem is we don't know where to go from here. Does it make more sense financially to sell and buy a new house or add on to our existing one? Here are some key facts..<br /> -We have a 20 year mortgage that we are 5 years into paying off.<br /> -Because of having a 20 year vs 30 and 2 daycare payments, our monthly payments are about the max we want to spend. We could probably swing another couple hundred more, and more than that in a few years.<br /> -We don't need a second story addition, but would like a bigger kitchen, master bedroom, and family room.<br /> The home prices in our town and the surrounding towns are not cheap, so our monthly payment wouldn't be lower, but at least we could use the money from selling towards a down payment. Even with that though, I'm worried we could get a bigger, but not necessarily nicer house.<br /> -We only have enough money in our savings right now for maybe a kitchen remodel</p> <p>I'm stumped </p>