We messed up - how to fix?

[Anonymous]

Do you have kids? If so, then how old are they?

I'm asking because it can sometimes be harder to make neighborhood friends when they're little, but then it's so much easier once they go to school and you meet everyone.

[Anonymous]

What type of maintenance are you talking about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Apply for a HELOC now, then you can use that money for a downpayment on another house before you sell this one. Or you could rent so you know the neighborhood and commute better before buying. You’re definitely going to sell for less than you paid but you might as well cut your losses.

That's such a stupid idea. It could take a long time to see their house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have kids? If so, then how old are they?

I'm asking because it can sometimes be harder to make neighborhood friends when they're little, but then it's so much easier once they go to school and you meet everyone.

This is OP - we have a 7 and 10 year old. I know it's silly but we want the kids riding their bikes and playing outside in a neighborhood kind of life. We don't have that here at all. Also I am a SAHM so I feel a bit isolated. Again, I don't know what we were thinking and I am kicking myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What type of maintenance are you talking about?

Acres... we thought the kids would love running around but they are outside for five seconds and then come inside complaining about bugs sigh. There is lawn care, constant rodent mitigation, bug invasions, weeding in all the beds, etc, and the house is too big and so much to keep clean, things breaking. I don't mean to complain, we just didn't realize how much we were taking on.

[Anonymous]

Take your time finding the right house for you and then put your house on the market for a competitive price.

[Anonymous]

Are you in great falls, OP?
Can you rent it out and buy another home?
Will the income from the rental offset the monthly mortgage to be affordable?

[Anonymous]

Yes we are in Great Falls... renting out is an idea I hadn't considered before and is interesting. I will look into that more

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes we are in Great Falls... renting out is an idea I hadn't considered before and is interesting. I will look into that more

Move to Oakton! Lots of culs-de-sac and kids riding around on bikes, playing in the woods, etc.

[Anonymous]

Also the kids may not like the yard now because it is JULY! Hot and buggy everywhere, even in the neighborhoods with sidewalks. Put on a sprinkler, a play set, etc. It is definitely a lifestyle choice to be on acreage and not an urban development.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Do you have kids? If so, then how old are they?

I'm asking because it can sometimes be harder to make neighborhood friends when they're little, but then it's so much easier once they go to school and you meet everyone.


This is OP - we have a 7 and 10 year old. I know it's silly but we want the kids riding their bikes and playing outside in a neighborhood kind of life. We don't have that here at all. Also I am a SAHM so I feel a bit isolated. Again, I don't know what we were thinking and I am kicking myself.

I don't know if it's any solace, but you could be in a more urban environment and not have kids riding their bikes or playing outside. Many kids go to camps or are on vacations in summer and many neighborhoods have older people past the kid stage (or kids are teens who don't play outside anymore).

Look into rec center camps or local summer activities for your kids. If you bought all cash you certainly have money for those kinds of things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes we are in Great Falls... renting out is an idea I hadn't considered before and is interesting. I will look into that more

Renting out seems terrible, based on what you described. You really think a renter is going to do all the maintenance that not even you want to do? And then you get to deal with a possible terrible tenant to further complicate your life? You'll just be making your mistake even worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What type of maintenance are you talking about?

Acres... we thought the kids would love running around but they are outside for five seconds and then come inside complaining about bugs sigh. There is lawn care, constant rodent mitigation, bug invasions, weeding in all the beds, etc, and the house is too big and so much to keep clean, things breaking. I don't mean to complain, we just didn't realize how much we were taking on.

We didn’t go as far as buying acres, but did move to far reaches of Fairfax County many years ago because we got wrapped up in the idea that we were supposed to buy a big, newer house to raise our kids in. And our experience was similar. Immediate regret. My commute made me cry some days. There were rooms we barely used. It didn’t help that it was mostly older people around us, so no neighbor kids to play with. Plus totally car dependent so they couldn’t even ride bikes beyond a few streets in our small neighborhood.

In our case we had scraped together all the money we could for our first home so we couldn’t take the financial hit. Ended up living there nearly 5 years, but did walk away with some money that we rolled into our next house back inside the beltway. Our house now is much older and less than 2/3 the size of our last house. There are occasional days I wish we had an extra room for flex space, but overall we are sooooo much happier now. We can walk/bike to all sorts of stuff, have tons of kids on our street (small lots = more people around), and a smaller house is less to maintain (mentally and financially).

This is my long way of saying if you know right now it’s not the right fit for your family, and you can take a financial hit, then move. Your setup may be amazing for another family who will hopefully see the value in snapping up a good deal.

Outsourcing things may help in the short term, but if you wait a few years then your kids will be the ages where it’s hard to rip them from their schools, sports teams, etc.

[Anonymous]

I would sell and buy close in McLean or North Arlington

[Anonymous]

Never mind the house. Who the heck buys cash? Sell, invest the money, rent your next home.