Going from owning back to renting?

[Anonymous]

Trying to figure out of this is a wise decision or not. We currently live in Fairfax, and I just got a job back in D.C. after a few years (have been working in Northern Virginia). Hours are going to be somewhat unpredictable (general 9-6 schedule but some later evenings). My husband and I are starting to realize that we'd rather be living closer-in and possibly rent (could never afford a great house in N. Arlington), but we've only owned our current home for about 2 years -- we'd lose some money to pay commission on the sale of our home. But we can't get the idea out of our heads to move back to Arlington/Alexandria area. We lived up there for almost 10 years and really loved everything about it. We miss being able to walk to restaurants, activities, being closer to D.C., having a shorter commute into the city, and the general atmosphere of the areas. Fairfax isn't what we had bargained for...

Do I need to get this thought out of my head? Is it crazy to go from owning to renting? Losing money on the sale of a home for no good reason?

[Anonymous]

Renting sounds great to me since I am stuck with major house repair bills!

But, can you rent out your house instead of selling?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Renting sounds great to me since I am stuck with major house repair bills!

But, can you rent out your house instead of selling?

OP here -- not without losing some money, unfortunately. So it sort of equals out with selling at a loss, which sounds so much more desirable than being a landlord.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trying to figure out of this is a wise decision or not. We currently live in Fairfax, and I just got a job back in D.C. after a few years (have been working in Northern Virginia). Hours are going to be somewhat unpredictable (general 9-6 schedule but some later evenings). My husband and I are starting to realize that we'd rather be living closer-in and possibly rent (could never afford a great house in N. Arlington), but we've only owned our current home for about 2 years -- we'd lose some money to pay commission on the sale of our home. But we can't get the idea out of our heads to move back to Arlington/Alexandria area. We lived up there for almost 10 years and really loved everything about it. We miss being able to walk to restaurants, activities, being closer to D.C., having a shorter commute into the city, and the general atmosphere of the areas. Fairfax isn't what we had bargained for...

Do I need to get this thought out of my head? Is it crazy to go from owning to renting? Losing money on the sale of a home for no good reason?

Yes, losing money for no good reason sounds crazy. Do you have children? If not, then you can just spend more time in the city. But don't lose money for some impetuous "feeling."

[Anonymous]

Did it (but didn't lose money on the sale) and couldn't be happier.

Having the shorter commute really does improve your quality of life.

I can honestly say I would have taken a loss on the sale of my outer burbs house if I had to do so when I sold. I didn't but I would have.

[Anonymous]

Are you sure you'd lose money on a house you bought two years ago?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't risk taking money out of the market right now things will be going higher for a few years.

[Anonymous]

I'd probably do it. Life's too short.

[Anonymous]

Living in a neighborhood you don't really like is a drag. And your happiness and quality of life are worth something. How much money do you think you'd lose if you sold now? For less than $10,000, I'd consider it selling, but for more. . . probably I'd just tough it out in the current place.

[Anonymous]

Rent prices in N Arlington are very expensive. If you haven't looked into that, you may to check it out.

[Anonymous]

I appreciate the feedback. Part of me says "this is crazy, just calm down, tough it out", while the other part says "life is too short, happiness and quality of life are important".

14:47 -- we'd lose $10k or less.

14:49 -- we were actually thinking of Fairlington for the time being.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rent prices in N Arlington are very expensive. If you haven't looked into that, you may to check it out.

And inventory is tight- most places I've seen are the weird hold-out student houses along the Orange Line (there must be 20, $900K group houses in Lyon Village alone)

[Anonymous]

We sold our place near the peak and then rented until last year. I don't buy into HGTV or NAR ads about what a "home" should be. There are always trade offs to both owning and renting. For us, it made financial sense to rent during the bubble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate the feedback. Part of me says "this is crazy, just calm down, tough it out", while the other part says "life is too short, happiness and quality of life are important".

14:47 -- we'd lose $10k or less.

14:49 -- we were actually thinking of Fairlington for the time being.

We LOVE Fairlington. The neighbors are great, if you have kids it's a great place to meet other people. Couldn't be happier

[Anonymous]

Sell and be happy! If you don't get your asking price, you can always change your mind.