All Forum Posts by: Serena Sun

 The return isn't good....We rent out in a hurry and I suppose we can increase the rent a little next year. The house is located in a good area, so I hope it will appreciate more in the future. 

My husband like the idea to sell, get tax free money, use to buy a new house and another investment property~. 

We will think about your suggestions. 

Again, thanks for sharing your ideas :)

 The houses in Seattle are quite expensive now. I might be able to find houses around $500K to rent for $2400 or so, but not as good location and smaller lot. I haven't thought about that option, I will think it through. Thanks for the new idea~

Thanks Kevin, I probably should start to ask bankers about the interest rate :)

hi Charlie, 

If we put $300K down payment for the new house, the mortgage will be over $4.2K. It might be challenging to afford a higher pmt with smaller down payment. 

If our goal is to retired in 10, 15 yrs, will you still recommend to extend the new mortgage to a 30 yr? (we do have couple rentals now (all 15 yr loan), so we want to pay them off in 15 yrs, so we can retire earlier).  

Thanks again for your reply.

 Thanks Steve, 

If we refinance the old house, the monthly pmt should be about the same as the rent. We might have a little positive cash flow for 20 yr loan. I feel refinance is a better option too. Thanks

hi All, 

I am not professional RE investors, so I hope that you can give me some advice for my situation.

We bought our primary home in 2002 for $300K, the mortgage plus taxes and insurance is $2600/mon. The house should be worth about $650K now, $47K mortgage balance remaining (should be paid off in two yrs), and we have $40K HELOC debt. We rented the house out in March this year for $2500, and the lease won't due till next summer. So we don't have any positive cash flow.

We are expecting a baby, so want to buy a bigger house (around $800K range).

We have two options:

1. Sell the old house, paid off mortgage and HELOC debt, after fees, we will get about $530K proceeds. Put all the proceeds in the new house as down payment, borrow about $300K for 15 yr fix.

2. Refinance the old house for about $300K for 15-20 yrs, and continue to rent out the house. Use $300K for down payment for new primary and borrow additional $500K for 15-20yrs. This will increase our monthly mortgage pmt to about $4300/month. Because our old house is almost paid off, so we can only use standard deduction on our tax return. New mortgage will give us some tax benefits.

My husband wants to sell the house so we don't have to pay capital gains for the old house, but we will have to wait till the leave is over. I don't know if refinance is a better option because it will be quicker and we will have a rental property on the side. 

Let me know what you think. I appreciate it very much for your analysis.

Thanks

Serena (Seattle)

Mike Franco,

The house is in good shape if they don't damage it when they move out. I don't know if he will really hire professional to do the cleaning. It worries me a bit about keeping the deposit as the termination fee. I was afraid that there are unpaid utility bills that i would find later on.

Anyway, I will try to ask for the fee one more time, and will try to put it in writing.

Thanks for your advice.

Have good night

Ryan, good advice.

Thank you. I don't want to make their move more difficult. It has been tough month for them to need to move right away. I will try to work with them to make it easier.

hi Mike,

Thanks for your opinion. I have no idea that I was "double dipping". I am glad I asked here. Tenant is very cooperative about showing the house. He said he would hire prefessional to clean the house after he moved out. I showed five couple today. I hope it can rent out soon.

Although yesterday the tenant said it's ok to charge termination fee, today, the wife is saying that they don't have extra cash, asked if I can just keep their deposit. Should I do that?

Thanks

@Steve Babiak

Thanks Steve for the advice. I decide just charge him one month. I will try best to rent it out. Hopefully before he moves out.

As I said, he's a good tenant, keep the house very clearn and in good condition. (even better than my home). I did make ads today, and plan to show the house to couple people tomorrow. He said it's ok.

Thanks :)