OK, I was supposed to close on a house yesterday, but the deal fell through due to the issues with the title. Somehow, Band of America came into possession of it and the title company is in a twitter because there is no clear chain of title. Based on my schedule, I don't have the time to want to deal with waiting. I signed a Release of Contract to get my earnest money refunded since the seller didn't come through. I am now in a conundrum -- do I find a house to rent until I finish school and can leave the State (my original plan), or do I refinance my current mortgage where I can apply a hefty amount to the existing principal and cut my interest rate almost in half and list it once I do move? I'm looking at *maybe* three years to finish school, which is why I've been leaning toward renting. My neighbor inquired as to what I would be asking for the house as the Army is buying out his son's contract and he's wanting to move to Oklahoma for a couple of years. Their thought process is to buy the property and "join" the two so Dwayne can run his cattle on both. It doesn't matter to me what happens. The pros and cons are almost equal. The cons are that it's so far out from civilization and wireless Internet is a royal PITA along with the other neighbors who don't/won't contribute to maintenance of the road (it's a private gravel road). Pros are that I'm in a house and it's not a pressing need that I move. If I refinance it would be on a 10 year note that would cut my payment by $500; however, if I doubled the new monthly payment, which would be $200 more than I am paying now, I would recoup the refinancing costs in 1.4 months and would have the property paid off in six years.

 

You have kids, and a wife, do you not? What's their take on it? NOT having to move has a certain amount of appeal to me...... Especially if you are thinking about moving out of state in the future. Could always refi- now, and list it when you are ready to relocate.

 

No wife and the only "kids" I have are two cats. The nice thing is that in the spring/summer I can let them out all day/night without worrying about them while I'm at work.

And yes, not having to move is appealing.

 

I have a neighbor in the same boat, he lost his job and can't afford his house but can't sell it because Bank of America assumed his loan and can't find any of the original paperwork, no clear title, no signed contract - nothing!

There is speculation that the original finance company did the "shred anything and everything" when the feds started coming in and checking records during all the problems in '08.

Me thinks this is gonna prove to be a widespread issue as more people try to sell their homes and come to find out that there is no clear title...

 

Exactly. I just knew that if BoA was involved it would end up being a goat rope. The property was originally foreclosed on by Wells-Fargo and I think included it in a package of securities that BoA purchased. That's where the Clear Chain of Title gets sticky.

So, that leads me to my existing conundrum -- stay put for a couple of years or rent before punching out?

 

Of you are going to move out of state either way, Id chose the cheaper route. That way you can save more for a house when you move in a few years. Basically, if you can find a rental cheaper than what youre paying now, I say do that.

 

Around here with NASA basically going out of business there are more houses for sale than you can imagine. I walk about 5 miles three or four times a week and sometimes I'll pass a stretch of a dozen or so houses on a street and four of them will have for sale signs in the yard.

Housing market is about dead! My house was appraised at $255k in '08 and it's at $73k today. I have a friend who owes $188k on his small, wooden framed house on less than half an acre and houses on his block are selling for $55k right now.
The problem here is after the mortgage crash you just about can't get one. They want 20% down minimum and credit scores under 700 need not apply. So people are gouging families that can't get a mortgage on rents. Some of these houses that would only sell for $50-60k are commanding $1000-1200 a month rents. If these poor people could obtain a mortgage they'd only be paying like $400 a month for the same home AND OWN IT!!!

 

I say keep the house and refinance(stay a couple years or however long you want to). Interest rates are real low(like 2.9) or better.


On a side note. Mine was gone last week, but I did a chapter 13 to stop the auction. Just found out today that the 225K the house was appraised at for the 50k home equity loan, and the 275K the damn town appraised it at, is down to 142K. Yahoo, I owe 149K on the first/main mortgage. Bye bye HEL. I hated to do it now that I'm back working and all the issues with my leg are resolved, but I was left with no other choice, other than just renting some dump and living off my SS somehow. Screw that.

 

Well, the housing market in the OKC metro is really good with an uptick forecast this year, plus the State's economy is doing well. Based on an earlier response, I crunched some numbers, and it looks like it would be cheaper if I stayed versus getting a rent house. I had to delay some of the current renovation work due to coming down with the flu a couple of weeks ago, plus waiting on the closing that never came. So, I can proceed at a more moderate rather that rushed pace.

 

"I had to delay some of the current renovation". That's what happened to me 3 years ago or when ever this crap happened with my ankle. Before this crap I tore the place apart with full intention of remodeling. Now that the home equity loan is gone, it is worth finishing what I started. Plus I love where I live(property wise) and I put my heart and soul into adding the addition with my garage. If you feel that way about your house, I say stay. Down the road the housing market will hopefully get better and we can sell and retire, when we are too old and can't work on dodge rams anymore. LOL