Im in tempe az should i sellbuy sellrent or refinance my house?

Angelina
I bought 1.5 y ago 30y old place near University. I may make 20K selling in 6 months and buying new place farther away (cheaper). Or sell and wait 2y for market to cool down.Or refinance and stay here? I find it hard to decide...

Eboni
Many of us who live here in Arizona are debating the same thing. My only issue right now is the number of homes currently on the market for sale and the length most of them are there before they actually sell. I recently refinanced to pull some cash out to invest myself while the market has slowed. I just couldn't see adding my home to the market and then getting back into renting and paying someone else's mortgage. That's just my two cents but I hope it helps you but if you have any questions email me tadgeman@yahoo.com.

Audrie
Darren - you didn't even answer the person's question, no offense - just got done reading it all, and I am a Mortgage Broker and if I did not know the business as well as I do, I would be totally confused. You have a delima - It sounds like you may want to sell - take part of your 20, 000 as a down payment, and pay the rest on your debit. If you are looking to find a place cheaper. This will lower your DTI (debit-to-income ratio). Not sure how much you make, or what your bills are, so I am assuming you have a few bills you want to pay off, correct? Would this put you in a better financial position? - Take a Legal Tablet - and put it all down on paper - walk away from it for a day, and come back to it again, when you are re-freshed. If you sell, and wait 2 years for the market to cool down before you purchase something else...PUT the money into a CD (let it earn interest, and do not touch it)...if you decided to payoff a high interest credit card, do that, than put the balance into a CD - that away you paid down some debit, and earning interest on your money at the same time.2 - types of refinance - makes a slight difference in rate - Varies with Lenders (ok)Cash out Refinance: get cash back (if you like your home, and want to stay there) and pay off all your bills. Your interest on your mortgage, you take off on taxes at year end. Your lender will send to you a 1099 INT form. You should have gotten one this year. Auto interest, credit card interest you can not take offRate and Term Refinance: where you lower your interest or term (years), and still can get up to 2 % of the loan amount back in cash.Hope this helps - I am all for saving money, so would go for the living in the cheaper home, as long as it was in a decent area, less crime wave, so check out the area - ok - but if you have to commute further, think of the gas prices...One more thing, if you decide to sell, or refinance. Talk with a broker, a broker underwrites for many company's (I underwrite for 150 companies) so I only have to pull credit 1 time, and they look at my credit. A single lender (not a broker) has programs available, but they may not be able to help you and your situation, so you go elsewhere, and than that person pulls your credit (see what I mean.) If you shop, your credit is pulled and that is considered a soft pull, for a 30 day period. Just like shopping for a auto, it is good for 30 days. If you apply for a credit card, that is considered a "hard" pull and it drags down your credit score. When looking for a home, please do not apply for a credit card, Department Charge Card, Gasoline Card or make any major purchases, like a auto, etc. This will pull your credit down.Good luck to you.

Alesia
FIRST of all a HELOC should NOT be another option for you UNLESS it is really necessary. Helocs have a variable interest rate and they way it is expected for interest rates to continue rising I would not suggest that being a smart choice.Now in order to decide to either sell/buy, sell/rent or refinance, the decision really falls in your lap because we dont have the specifics of your future goals financially. BUT sell/rent should be your LAST choice because renting is basically flushing money down the toilet. I dont think you want to do that.In order for you to sell/buy you have to understand that eventhough the market has slowed down and you will not get what you may expect from the value of your home you will also benefit when purchasing the new property as you will have the power of negotiation being a buyer. But like I said that really depends of where you will be living, what your financial situation looks like now and in the future and what your future goals are.If you are considering refinancing, simply comsider that you might end up with higher mortgage payment due to an increase in the loan amount of course and the interest rate as well. UNLESS you do you homework and are able to get a loan that will be more beneficial to you in the long run than your current mortgage loan. You can read an article titled "Should I refinance or not??" that might help you decide if refinancing is right for you. You will find it in my blog in the February archive.Good luck and I hope this information helps you decide.

Deana
There is a great debate within the inner-mortgage circles these days. Should we, as loan professionals, encourage clients to borrow as much money as possible? Or would consumers benefit more if we helped them to understand the advantages of 15-year amortization schedules and pre-paying principal? Let's examine the pros and cons of both strategies. Leveraging Your Property. In order to understand why you'd want to borrow as much as possible for your home purchase, you must first grasp the concept that equity has a zero rate of return. Here's an example: If Consumer "A" buys a home for $300, 000, and puts 20% down, then they have $60, 000 in equity. Over the next 5 years, the property appreciates $100, 000 in value. Consumer "A" now has $160, 000 in equity. Consumer "B" buys a home for $300, 000, and puts no money down. At the end of 5 years, that same home is now worth $400, 000. Consumer "B" has $100, 000 in equity, which is the same appreciation as Consumer "A", a net $100, 000. As you can see, your down payment has nothing to do with your rate of return. What becomes important is how you choose to manage the $60, 000 you didn't use as a down payment. If you use it for frivolous activities, such as buying toys or going to Las Vegas, it would be more prudent for you to use that money as a down payment. Especially since this will enable you to obtain a lower interest rate. However, if you were to invest the $60, 000 in a vehicle that can out-earn the cost of that debt, then this could be a formula for success. This is why some lending professionals suggest putting as little down as you possibly can, maximizing your tax write-off, and investing the rest. This principle has been applied for many years in the life insurance game. The old saying goes, "Buy term and invest the rest." The key component is taking the money you would have used as a down payment and creating an asset accumulation account. This account should earn a significant enough rate of return to enable you to pay your mortgage off entirely and achieve the ultimate goal of being debt-free. Paying Your Home Down Rapidly. There are very few times over the course of my career that I have seen a client with zero debt and no financial difficulties. Choosing to pay off all of your debt can reduce stress and help you to gain freedom of cash flow for investment opportunities. A 15-year mortgage or a bi-weekly payment strategy provides structure. It can also put you on track to have your mortgage paid off within a set timeframe. Simply put, it contains built-in discipline. It's important, however, to understand that regardless of how rapidly you pay your home off, you're not getting any greater rate of return on your investment than if you paid it off slowly. Conclusion. So how does one determine which scenario is best? The choice depends entirely upon the individual. Savvy consumers who are disciplined, and are comfortable taking chances from an investment perspective, would do well with the first scenario. Over the course of time, it's been proven that your rate of return over the long-haul will be far greater than the rate you'd pay for a mortgage in today's rate environment. It's important to seek the advice of a skilled investment advisor to ensure success with this strategy. The second scenario is best for those who have a difficult time managing their money or who'll sleep easier at night knowing they have a plan in place to pay their loan off more rapidly. Be sure that your budget can handle accelerated payments. When consumers "bite off more than they can chew" with a 15-year mortgage, they frequently end up having to refinance back into a 30-year schedule.If you find this subject intriguing and would like to know more, I recommend that you read a book titled, Missed Fortune 101, by Douglas Andrew. It's an outstanding read that is very simplistic and goes into far greater detail than I can cover in this reply. Douglas is a financial planner who advises safe-structured investments such as whole life policies and tax-free fixed income instruments.

Nikole
Hi HgO, Tempe is still on the back side of the curve. You sill have quit a bit more appreciation to realize if you were to hold tight.I understand happy feet, however, you could wind up making a lot more than 20 large on the deal if you stick it out for a bit more.Just my two cents.~Trey

Donte
I will preface my answer by stating that I am a licensed Realtor® in Arizona.Without knowing your address and being able to pull the comparable homes in your area, I could not possibly know what your home is worth in the market today. You have to forget about the overheated market that we are coming out of. The inventory of homes in the valley is on the rise and the number of buyers in on the decline. The buyers out there are looking for a bargain. As of this minute there are 671 active listings on the market in Tempe, with an average price of about $350, 000. Keep in mind that the average prices seem to be trending downward. If you are looking to make a killing in “cashing out” now may not be the time to sell, if you are looking to get more “bang for your buck” as far as the size of you home goes you may be looking to go to the outskirts of the valley or into the center of the city.I will also throw one other idea into your mix of choices, when you refinance you could also look into a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) and make some improvements to your home so that when you are ready to sell, your home will be worth even more.One other factor you may want to look into with your tax professional is capital gains. You may be subject to taxes as you have only been in the house for 18 months.I hope that you found this helpful. Good luck in whatever choice you make. Feel free to drop me a line if you have any other questions.