House-poor single parent looking to downsize to townhome. Have been searching for 7 months and ready to be done. Which would you choose? (Payments are with 20% down.)
New construction:
Purchase price: $335K (with fridge and washer/dryer)
Rate: 5.5% fixed OR 4.25% ARM
Monthly payment: $2211 fixed (PITI + HOA) or $2007 ARM (PITI+ HOA)
Pros: walking distance to children's current school, in current neighborhood, beautiful view, backyard, low-traffic street, minimal disruption for kids
Cons: interior unit, close-ish to train line (but cannot hear train with windows closed), would have to purchase water softener and filtration system, blinds, and gutters.
Resale:
Purchase price: $275K
Rate: 6.5% fixed (and that's with some points)
Monthly payment: $2027 (PITI + HOA)
Pros: end unit, yard, good assigned school (same district as new construction, but not children's current school), current owner has made some updates (roof, AC, water heater, appliances)
Cons: built 2004, only one full bathroom, North-facing, farther out from many of the places we frequent, would require school change (kind of a pain with IEPs), interest rate
Income: $5K take-home monthly from full-time job. Variable additional income of $1-6K, which is what's making me nervous about staying in current home ($2650 monthly, PITI + HOA). Without the variable income, I would be living paycheck to paycheck in the current home. I have 1 year's emergency savings plus down payment for either home and no debt other than the current mortgage.
I am not interested in a roommate and cannot leave my current job because I need the health care benefits and pension. I have no option/interest/time in changing/adding jobs to increase income at this time.
[link] [comments]
source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1v74fv4/new_construction_vs_resale/
Comments
Post a Comment