Renting my Condo in January

Just an update on my situation as of November 2009.

I have been married a little over a year and I am currently taking Organic Chemistry and doing well. I am working two jobs still and have been slowly paying down debt.

My wife pretty much hates the condo because the location is 20 minutes away from her job, and her mom, and about 40 minutes away from her second job. We qualified for a 120,000 dollar mortgage, meaning we could keep ownership of the current condo and still be able to buy another 120,000 dollar home. In California or Florida that may sound like a joke but in Michigan 6 months ago that would have got you a lot of house.

The real estate market in Michigan is not working in my favor though as of right now. The problem involves the first time homebuyers credit. As a result of the credit all the good foreclosures are being fought over and are gone off the MLS in a week or two. It is not so much that the real estate market is recovering. It is just that people are looking for steals and deals and they fly off the market while the regular priced homes languish forever. We put a bid in on a house we loved and were outbid and we have not really found anything else that we like as much.

The Government just expanded the tax credit it to people who already own a home and want to buy another one.
Great!!? right??? I could just use the credit to buy another 120,000 house! and compete on equal ground with the first time home buyers!
WRONG!!! You have to own your home for 5 years, and I have only owned mine for 4 years! Talk about adding insult to injury.

My sisters lease expires in January and she agreed to lease my condo. Because we don't see any good deals right now in terms of housing, and I don't want to lose the ability to get a good renter I could trust I think I am going to rent a place 20 minutes south of here for the same price I am paying on my condo. I would simultaneously rent my old condo to my sister.

This allows me to have a tenant in my condo who I know will not destroy my place.
It makes my wife happy because she is in a location she likes much better.
And it allows me to buy some time for the first time homebuyers credit to expire and the second wave of option arms to hit possibly producing more foreclosures that I could snatch up at the end of 2010.




They say Patience is a virtue... Lets hope that stays true.