HousingFeb 10, 2020
Newfghi123

75% of my paycheck is mortgage+utilities. What to do?

Sorry for the long post, but all the info is important in making the right decision. 3 bed 3 bath house was bought less than a year for 1 Million in bay area (east bay). It was supposed to be a double income household but now fiancee is moving out as we broke up. The mortgage and title is under my name. I put 10% down and closed the mortgage at 4.375% 7/1ARM. The plan was that he contributes another %10 in less than a year and we refinance for a much better rate, but this isn't happening. My base salary is 183k, and after 401k, hsa, and all other taxes and fees, my paycheck is around $8000/mo. With this I can barely save anything from regular paychecks. Mortgage+utilities+property tax+ home insurance is around $6000/mo. Here's a breakdown: -$1200 equity -$3250 interest -$1150 tax -$400 all utilities+gardener+home insurance - I get around $1100/mo or more back for tax return from mortgage interest I'm paying. I started my tech career only 3 years ago, and I don't have a big net worth, so it's hard to put down another %10 down to refinance. I need to sell my vested Microsoft RSUs which are growing, and still I don't have enough, but also not so far from it. However, I don't know if it's financially a good idea to put all my net worth in this house. I talked with selling agents in the area and they say market is hot right now, I see similar houses go around $1,050,000. They charge %5. Agents say I can sell for at least that amount, since there is very low inventory of nice houses in the area. The house is really nice and well maintained. House is located in an east bay area with good schools and it has been growing well. Given all these, what do you think I should do? 1) save for refinancing 2) sell 3) stay still and try to get a roommate. One room goes for $1200. I'm not sure if I can handle more than one tenant. Even one is a hassle. Some details: I bought so much furniture for about 15k. Selling those would have a significant loss, and it's sooo much work. I've been through so much lately, and selling the house, selling furniture, and finding a new apartment sounds like a lot of work. If I sell the house, I won't buy for some time and I have to rent a 1 bedroom around $2500-$3000. Renting out is not an option since after agent fees it will be about $3200 based on their estimate, so I'm $2400 short and still need to rent a place for myself. As a newly single, living in the suburbs, where the house is, is not desirable, but I want to do what is financially best. TC 320k

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Netflix crocs Feb 10, 2020

Can you rent a room and get a roommate? Or two

SAP snci Feb 10, 2020

why did u buy a house

New
fghi123 OP Feb 10, 2020

It's too late to ask that, but at the time we thought it's a good idea and we wanted to start a family. Not a good decision clearly.

Snapchat ghostmang Feb 10, 2020

Find a sugar daddy

RF-SMART eanV32 Feb 11, 2020

with a lot of sugar....

HPE sra- Feb 10, 2020

Rent the rooms out AND refi ASAP.

Microsoft Salva Feb 10, 2020

Sell if the market got hotter, you're in a a bad spot and 1 roommate won't solve it. Another option is to move out to a cheap place and rent the entire house to a family.

Google Ben Dover. Feb 10, 2020

Shouldn’t buy a house with fiancé/fiancée. I don’t think you’d really be happy living in a house you bought with an ex. Memories and all that. Sell the house for good profit, live peacefully, sleep better at nights and find a better partner and buy a house later. That’s just my opinion.

New
fghi123 OP Feb 10, 2020

We're in good terms, so I don't feel emotionally devastated I guess. I can't sell for profit. There will be some loss and so much hassle. True about not buying a house with fiance.

Microsoft Redmond_ Feb 10, 2020

Get 2 roommates since you have 3 bedrooms. Check with BofA for refinancing deals. They have special MSFT offers.

Oracle LakersFan Feb 10, 2020

Wow 😳 your TC is 320k and you’re in financial constraints. I would say rent it out.

New
fghi123 OP Feb 10, 2020

I need to sustain with only base. I don't know if it's a good idea that I sell stock and put it all into real estate. I definitely shouldn't sell stocks to pay for monthly expenses.

Veritas jBVD78 Feb 10, 2020

You don’t need to sell all your stocks all at once. You can sell every month to cover what is required. This will allow you to hedge against stock market downturn while building equity in the house. That’s the essence of diversification. Right now all your wealth is vested in a single trick pony - MSFT. It’s obviously lucrative to think the stock will continue to fly. Remember though that market cap already at $1Tn there’s significantly lower room for price increases.

Apple eijh41 Feb 10, 2020

Stay there by finding a roommate. You will have at least 10% upside this year on your house based on current market trends.

Snapchat sjsh892 Feb 10, 2020

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