Selling house, probably underwater

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I didn’t mention was that the 20k of our savings is the majority of our 35k emergency fund. Obviously we’ve been putting our extra cash each month towards paying down our mortgage rather than into savings. That’s another reason I’m not comfortable with taking a risk by renting out our house – we’ve lost so much in that house already, if I had to use a big chunk of change because it was empty I’d really be bitter. Also, with the houses being so cheap in our neighborhood, I’m not confident in the strength of the rental market; but that is something I could research I guess.

Why on earth would you try and put all of that extra money into your mortgage when you are so far underwater it is crazy? You are throwing away your money.

Stop putting extra money towards your mortgage and start putting the money in savings.

Send your child to public schools and look into getting your child some extra enrichment. I suspect you will find the public school to be better than you think. Get involved in the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I'd stay put for another couple of years, start saving more aggressively (not prepaying your mortgage but saving - if you then want to sell instead of eventually rent out your house, you can prepay with your savings) and suck up the public school.

How bad can the public school really be for K and 1st grade? I think it would need to be a safety issue (which I bet it isn't) for me to say that it is better than a parachial school. What is it exactly that you aren't impressed with re: teachers/school?

I personally don't think $35K is an awful lot of savings, especially when you are under water on your mortgage. You are doing more for your child if you save and send her/him to public than if you shell out $$ for what is probably not even that better of an education.

That was my thought as well. Why not give the schools a chance while you get into a better financial position?

They can be pretty bad. If we hadn't gotten in to a charter, we'd have paid for private or moved. There's no way in the world I'd have sent my kid to our in-bounds elementary school. It's about 150 feet from my house, and I see the behavior of the students every day. No freakin' way.

You're in DC; OP said she's in Silver Spring. There might be some SS elementary schools that would necessitate heading for the hills, but most of them are acceptable, even if not preferred.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I didn’t mention was that the 20k of our savings is the majority of our 35k emergency fund. Obviously we’ve been putting our extra cash each month towards paying down our mortgage rather than into savings. That’s another reason I’m not comfortable with taking a risk by renting out our house – we’ve lost so much in that house already, if I had to use a big chunk of change because it was empty I’d really be bitter. Also, with the houses being so cheap in our neighborhood, I’m not confident in the strength of the rental market; but that is something I could research I guess.

Why on earth would you try and put all of that extra money into your mortgage when you are so far underwater it is crazy? You are throwing away your money.

Stop putting extra money towards your mortgage and start putting the money in savings.

.

I'm "only" 50k underwater, I see the light at the end of the tunnel - what's the alternative? Just paying the minimum mortgage and waiting decades to gain equity?


And for everyone that is saying the public school is probably better than i think, would be improved with my parental involvement and diversity would enrich DC - are any of you in a similar situation, or are you all in good/great schools and advising me from a completely different situation???

[Anonymous]

And for everyone that is saying the public school is probably better than i think, would be improved with my parental involvement and diversity would enrich DC - are any of you in a similar situation, or are you all in good/great schools and advising me from a completely different situation???

I'm in your situation, have been monitoring local schools (Silver Spring), and have decided that the recent improvements warrant a second look. I think it's much more dependent on the kid than the school - some kids thrive in smaller or more specialized environments. Some succeed in larger social atmospheres.

And as DS gets older, we'll continue to evaluate the choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
And for everyone that is saying the public school is probably better than i think, would be improved with my parental involvement and diversity would enrich DC - are any of you in a similar situation, or are you all in good/great schools and advising me from a completely different situation???

It has been proven that active parent involvement makes for a better school experience for your child. This is not something new and it does not matter what your socioeconomic level is or the school you attend.

And yes, diversity is good for all students -- unless you are a skinhead which seems doubtful.

Is it possible you are being narrowminded about your school? Have you talked with parents who's kids attend the school?

[Anonymous]

I am also in SS and I hear you on the schools, OP. Looking at the test scores and other data on the MCPS web site for the school we would go to was a pretty stark reality check that we need to do private or move. Kids are so easily influenced at a young age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am also in SS and I hear you on the schools, OP. Looking at the test scores and other data on the MCPS web site for the school we would go to was a pretty stark reality check that we need to do private or move. Kids are so easily influenced at a young age.

Do you have gangs in elementary school in SS?

[Anonymous]

OP, what ES are you zoned to?

[Anonymous]

I'm one of the PPs that said give public a chance, and I am also in Silver Spring, zoned to a Title I school with not so hot test scores. However, I've talked to the parents in my neighborhood, and they have been very encouraging. So we are going to try it out before doing something drastic like moving (we're not underwater, but definitely would lose money if we sold now) or forking out money for private. Now, there are some SS schools that I probably wouldn't take a chance on, but you can't just go by the test scores. You need to talk to parents in the neighborhood and visit the school as well. We will visit the school next year just to make sure we're comfortable with it, then DC will start school in 2013. I really do have the attitude of "it's just K-2, how bad can it be?" If I'm proven wrong, then we'll do something about it, but I don't see the point in rushing to the conclusion that it won't work out.

[Anonymous]

Most SS public schools aren't very good. But they're still better than any private school in the area that charges less than $20K/year in tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most SS public schools aren't very good. But they're still better than any private school in the area that charges less than $20K/year in tuition.

How do you define good? Our SS elementary has the most active parents in the county (as defined by volunteer hours), high test scores despite having lower income kids for whom english isn't their first language. Oh, and my son has 18 kids in his class.

Is it the minorities that make you uncomfortable? Because you think they will...what? Drag your precious white snowflake into a first grade gang? or you are uncomfortable with the fact they don't shop at NM?

Also since when is the price tag a sign of a good school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most SS public schools aren't very good. But they're still better than any private school in the area that charges less than $20K/year in tuition.

So, according to PP, the only worthwhile private schools are the expensive ones? What an elitist fool.

[Anonymous]

If you aren't comfortable renting out your current place in order to rent in another neighborhood, and I understand that because I am also risk averse that way, and you don't believe the local school would work for a year or two, I would go the private school route but focused on affordable, good value not the 20k and up schools. There was a thread maybe a year ago on DCUM about affordable private schools in Silver Spring. Many of schools people mentioned had a religious aspect but not all. I don't know what you are paying for childcare but it may be possible to pay less. I moved my youngest from daycare that was $1300 per month to a preschool that was $900 per month (at the time) with extended care. Part of that difference was location and lease costs. I wouldn't just move my kids because of cost if I could afford it and in this case I needed an easier commute and needed both kids the same place meaning beyond pre-k offered. It was great finding high quality, easier drop-off and less money. Downside being for the youngest we went from very few days the daycare was closed to strictly following MCPS (did I even get to work a full day all those I see a snowflake so early dismissal or late start days Dec-Feb) plus some breaks like ending a week before MCPS.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And for everyone that is saying the public school is probably better than i think, would be improved with my parental involvement and diversity would enrich DC - are any of you in a similar situation, or are you all in good/great schools and advising me from a completely different situation???

It has been proven that active parent involvement makes for a better school experience for your child. This is not something new and it does not matter what your socioeconomic level is or the school you attend.

And yes, diversity is good for all students -- unless you are a skinhead which seems doubtful.

wow
Do you have a need to say that poorly performing students do not have parents who are actively involved?
So now it is the parents fault?

I assume people with means send their kids to privates because that statement is not true

[Anonymous]

NP here.

I personally would stop prepaying on your mortgage. Convert to paying just the minimum amount on your mortgage per month. Put the balance into your savings. Put the money that you were spending on daycare into savings. Put the $35K into a 9 month CD to get a better rate. Cut back on your spending as much as you possibly can. Put all the money into savings. Over the next year, ideally, you should be able to save at least $25K (the daycare money alone is $11K). Whatever you think of the schools, going to a mediocre Kindergarten program is not going to permanently ruin your DC's education. Next year, with the money that you have in emergency and with the new savings, you can sell the house at a loss and get out of the house. Move into a rental in the right area that you can afford to pay for and still save some money so that your kid enters first grade in a school district that you like. You will get back some money on your taxes for selling your home at a loss, put that money into savings. Save and scrimp your pennies for another couple of years and then buy into your new school district for the house you'll live in long term.

I do not believe in living on a teeter-totter such as trying to rent out your current property and then renting in your desired neighborhood. There are thousands of stories of people who tried this type of deal and ended up in worse shape. What do you do if you rent out your home and at the end of a year or two, you come back to find that your departing tenants trashed your home (go on HGTV and see some of the cases on "My First Sale" where just that happened) and you have to put more money into fixing up the damage before you can rerent the property? You could end up eating up all of your savings. Additionally, being a landlord s*cks if you don't have completely trustworthy tenants. Even if they don't damage the place, but they don't take care of it, you could have costly issues in your property. You properly maintain it when you live there. Many tenants do not and leave the maintenance to the landlords when the landlord comes back to the property.

Bite the bullet and make short term sacrifices including having your DC go to SS public school for kindergarten and cutting back on your own personal spending and hopefully in a year, you will be able to move on with a lot less risk than some of the other proposals given here.