I'm the worst at making decisions but sometimes I do try to break it down. Like, it seems clear you do need to leave the current house, so you can leave that out of the question and look at what the options are for what you can move to. Can you afford to rent the current house out, rather than selling it? I would have thought the rent would more than cover that mortgage. But I don't know what that would mean for your payments. Also you'd have to be careful of capital gains tax etc if you move out for too long.
I have been thinking about similar things (as you know) and I have reached the tentative conclusion that if you are going to be out of the housing market, this is probably a decent time to do it. I could be wrong but I feel like it will only bump along for a few years, you have already got the big gains so you shouldn't miss out on those. I mean, who knows, but I'd hope not.
Personally I'd get some financial advice before selling the house. I didn't get any before selling my Elwood apartment and in retrospect it was a mistake. They can be surprisingly helpful.
What about that stretch from Mordialloc to Cheltenham? Or around Moorabbin or McKinnon? that's inland but closer to the beach than glen waverley and seems to still have schools in the top 20 or so of state schools. But you've probably already considered those. You went to Kilvington right, so you must know that area without me telling you! I do really like mordialloc these days, but it isn't a heap closer in than where you are now.
the only other thing is I have some friends trying to buy around Glen Waverley at the moment and according to them that is the area where the market has gone nuts with overseas buyers who are willing to pay huge sums and that kind of thing. For some reason it's particularly around there. So I'd go to some actual auctions if I were you just to see what's happening in reality, because they are telling me that basic houses are selling for 100,000s over the reserve.
It's really tough, I keep struggling with it too because moving and selling and whatever is such an upheaval. In my case I keep swivelling between what I want and reality/$$$. It's especially hard in your case when you are trying to anticipate what will be two years down the track. I think in theory I'd probably get some financial advice - like from a buyer's advocate type person - and then just try to make the right decision for now, because you have no hope of predicting the future really. Ugh. Anyway. Good luck.
Houses in those areas are hopelessly expensive too. Like, Edithvale is the most affordable and it's seriously only fifteen min on the train line closer. Those suburbs you mentioned are well into the 8-9 hundreds. How much was your place if you don't mind me asking?
:( I think I'm out of touch as I bought here before things went really nuts. I was going to say Bentleigh East but I think even that has rocketed (which I don't understand, I don't like it there at all. Not that I'm saying you should live in a yucky place. But it is close to decent schools, which is probably why everyone else is there too). Is even Moorabbin crazy? When I was looking I looked at a lot of places in Moorabbin as it was quite reasonable then. Hampton east was too (not hampton itself, it's on the other side of south road). But it has no train station and I never liked the feel of it so I think there's a reason it's cheaper. You would know better than me how things are currently though :(
Yeah agree that edithvale wouldn't be a good choice for you. Not if being closer is your goal. It's lovely in other ways.
My place was 620k when I bought it. It's only two bedrooms, so too small for you, although it would be very easy to convert the dining room into a bedroom or (less easy) build up. I mean, the space is there to build up but that's a big undertaking. When I was thinking of selling it last year they quoted me 770k though so I think even this area has gone up.
It is really shitty. I think it's much harder when you're looking for a family home. I could get on the ladder because I could do crappy apartment then small house. My friends i mentioned have 3 year old twins so they're similar to you and they are finding all the places out of their budget. And they're looking in places like burwood that I didn't think were particularly posh. and both work full time.
Yeah I think that if we both work full time we would earn maybe 100-120 between us to start. I think that would get us a 600k house. Does that sound right, haha is that how much you earn lol? That mortgage isn't much these days, I think maybe I can start looking at Springvale, it's not beautiful but I grew up there and I do love it. I wonder if I can still send Liam to the Glen Waverley primary schools though if we rented there first. With high school I think we'd go the non government route anyway so I'm not fussed about high schools as yet.
I think that would get you a 600k house, yes. Especially if you have equity already. I earn about 160k, but when I bought this house I probably earned 130k. But I would be approved for much more if I wanted to take it on (I don't. My current mortgage makes me feel ill sometimes!) I'm positive you are better at living frugally than I ma though, so I would like your chances of pulling it off better than mine.
What about oakleigh? That's maybe a bit more pretty than springvale. Worth a look. Yeah I think if you were renting in the area he'd get into the school, I don't think they care what you do afterwards as long as you're in zone to start with. Where I used to live was in the zone for elwood primary, which seems to be very popular, and we had a lot of families rent in my block for ayear then move, presumably to get the kids into the school.
Yes we are good at living frugally, at least I think we don't eat fancy things, I think you can spend lots of money eating out and eating really lovely food and so you can save a lot eating more basic food or shopping at markets. And you know, packing lunch for work. So I think it's more habit than effort, really. I'm always so surprised by peoples wages, I think wages in general seem to have gone up a lot in the past five years? Like most of my friends are into 6 figures like yourself and I never would have dreamed it.
Yes. I think that's where lots of my money goes. And on convenience. Not convenience food. But like, oh I'll just get a cab instead of waiting 20 minutes for the train. I should shop at markets. I actually enoy that anyway. I got in a really good run of packing lunch but this year have been bad.
I think they went up a lot a few years ago and then have stalled in the last year or so. I got a promotion which is the only reason mine went up, we have a wage freeze this year otherwise :( But I do agree that 100k isn't what it was, like it used to be this amazingly high salary and I don't thin kit is now.
And I almost died, looking at the trend graphs on real estate dot com like, houses in so many places have gone up 200k in the past 5 years and in Frankston they've gone up 50k and it makes me so upset
Ugh, yeah, that's really annoying. That's why Iget annoyed at people who are older and tell you to start out in caroline springs or something and trade up. I think that's really old fashioned advice. Doesn't work anymore as yuo stay priced out of the inner suburbs.
Haha I know but it's just the way, isn't it. You have a decent wage, but you can't just do whatever you want, you still have to live within your means in an area you can afford. Like I think even if you were a millionaire you'd feel you'd have limitations.
haha yees, exactly. I feel hard done by because I can't afford elwood. Even though I can if I got an apartment. And my salary is good. But it takes two of my salary to buy a nice house there!
I have been thinking about similar things (as you know) and I have reached the tentative conclusion that if you are going to be out of the housing market, this is probably a decent time to do it. I could be wrong but I feel like it will only bump along for a few years, you have already got the big gains so you shouldn't miss out on those. I mean, who knows, but I'd hope not.
Personally I'd get some financial advice before selling the house. I didn't get any before selling my Elwood apartment and in retrospect it was a mistake. They can be surprisingly helpful.
What about that stretch from Mordialloc to Cheltenham? Or around Moorabbin or McKinnon? that's inland but closer to the beach than glen waverley and seems to still have schools in the top 20 or so of state schools. But you've probably already considered those. You went to Kilvington right, so you must know that area without me telling you! I do really like mordialloc these days, but it isn't a heap closer in than where you are now.
the only other thing is I have some friends trying to buy around Glen Waverley at the moment and according to them that is the area where the market has gone nuts with overseas buyers who are willing to pay huge sums and that kind of thing. For some reason it's particularly around there. So I'd go to some actual auctions if I were you just to see what's happening in reality, because they are telling me that basic houses are selling for 100,000s over the reserve.
It's really tough, I keep struggling with it too because moving and selling and whatever is such an upheaval. In my case I keep swivelling between what I want and reality/$$$. It's especially hard in your case when you are trying to anticipate what will be two years down the track. I think in theory I'd probably get some financial advice - like from a buyer's advocate type person - and then just try to make the right decision for now, because you have no hope of predicting the future really. Ugh. Anyway. Good luck.
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Yeah agree that edithvale wouldn't be a good choice for you. Not if being closer is your goal. It's lovely in other ways.
My place was 620k when I bought it. It's only two bedrooms, so too small for you, although it would be very easy to convert the dining room into a bedroom or (less easy) build up. I mean, the space is there to build up but that's a big undertaking. When I was thinking of selling it last year they quoted me 770k though so I think even this area has gone up.
It is really shitty. I think it's much harder when you're looking for a family home. I could get on the ladder because I could do crappy apartment then small house. My friends i mentioned have 3 year old twins so they're similar to you and they are finding all the places out of their budget. And they're looking in places like burwood that I didn't think were particularly posh. and both work full time.
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What about oakleigh? That's maybe a bit more pretty than springvale. Worth a look. Yeah I think if you were renting in the area he'd get into the school, I don't think they care what you do afterwards as long as you're in zone to start with. Where I used to live was in the zone for elwood primary, which seems to be very popular, and we had a lot of families rent in my block for ayear then move, presumably to get the kids into the school.
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I think they went up a lot a few years ago and then have stalled in the last year or so. I got a promotion which is the only reason mine went up, we have a wage freeze this year otherwise :( But I do agree that 100k isn't what it was, like it used to be this amazingly high salary and I don't thin kit is now.
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