part 1
Well, more has been decided and less is up in the air.
A few weeks ago, we got an email from Michelle, detailing her dilemma. The pros and cons of moving to CA, why she was still undecided, when she needed to decide, etc.
Luckily for her (ha!), I love giving advice. I happen to think I’m smart at some things and if you ask me for advice, I’m going to give it to you.
So I told Michelle basically the same thing I told Lisa:
Don’t worry about what other people think. Do what is best for YOU.
Which is true. Turns out what is best for Michelle is NOT moving to California in November. What is best for Michelle is staying in Tucson for another few months and taking advantage of a new position (for her) at work that she is really excited about.
And we’re excited for her. Sure, that means that we are living with Andrew’s family longer. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing (for us, you’ll have to ask Julie), and Michelle really should take this chance.
So as it stands now:
- Michelle signed a 6 month lease at her apt. That puts her through the training period (her new position) as well as all the overtime in April to save more $ for moving.
- Michelle will see what’s up at the end of that 6 months to decide if she would move to CA then. Although she’s going to be a great trainer, so they probably will want to keep her.
- Jay (and another real estate agent) advised us to wait until after Jan 2009 to think about buying a home. Hopefully I’ll see him in Dec at Christmas and we can talk about it more then.
- Andrew and I are going to live with his parents and continue saving $$ against the hopeful chance that we will be in a good place to buy a condo/townhome/house in the spring.
- FYI- at the risk of being judged – as of this posting we have almost $15,000 in savings (about $10,000 of which is specifically designated for the house/closing costs). Still not nearly enough, though
- Totals do not include retirement accts
- Would have been more if we hadn’t had to buy a car in the last year.
- IF we buy, we’ll definitely make sure there is a room to rent to Michelle if she moves out here.
- We may push the ‘buy’ date back, again, depending on how the market develops. Being open to renting for a year.
So, that’s that. Stay tuned.
I’m glad to see that you’re doing so well on saving for a down payment. That’s always the hardest part about getting a home. Even though the economy is tough on everyone right now, it may be a blessing in disguise to lower the housing market so you can afford to get into a place. Otherwise that would have been really hard to do in So Cal. We’ll be praying for the perfect place for you to buy and the perfect timing for when to buy it.