Why Would a Realtor Rent??

As I alluded to in my last post, many people express surprise when they hear that we currently rent our house and are planning on renting again. Those that don't outright ask "why?" are sometimes secretly wondering and, I think maybe, just maybe they think it means we must not be very good Realtors if we "can't afford to buy". The truth is we could definately buy something right now, but there are many other things to consider other than just whether we can afford it right now. So here is some info on why renting is sometimes the best choice - maybe it will help you or someone you know in trying to decide whether to rent or buy sometime soon.

Why renting is better for us:
1.) First and foremost, with our constant involvement in real estate and tracking the market locally and nationally it is our opinion that next summer/fall would be a better time for us to buy - more house for even lower prices! Since we can wait, we will. We anticipate home prices will fall at least another 10%, but we don't have a crystal ball so we could be wrong! Some people HAVE to buy now and now is still an excellent time to buy, but next year looks to be even better. Since we don't have a house to sell, we don't have to worry about the value of our house plummeting even more in the next year.
2.) Matt's job - the UMC has an itinerant system, meaning they can move their pastors whenever they want to, usually in the late spring. We don't think Matt will be moved next year, but we don't know for sure.
3.) Buying can be a great investment, but you should usually plan on either living there for 5-7 years minimum or be able to and interested in renting it out if the market won't support selling the home at that time. Markets such as the one we saw from about 2002-2005 when you could buy a place and sell it the next week for thousands more are extremely rare. The 5-7 year timeline is a better guideline, though also not foolproof.
4.) When you buy a house you are responsible for sometimes costly upkeep such as replacing the AC system, roof and appliances. Personally, it's been a load off my mind to not have to worry about that in the last year and a half having a new baby and going to one income.
5.) Between us, Matt and I have owned 6 homes (8 residences if you include the duplexes) and been landlords for 4 of them. It has been a great experience for us and we lucked out with our timing, thankfully, but we are comfortable kicking back and being tenants for at least one more year.

So that's pretty much it for why we are choosing to rent for another year. I hope this provides some insight to any of you who are making the choice to move any time soon. Feel free to e-mail me for more specifics if you have any questions! ** Shameful Plug Alert!! (Hey, my baby has to eat - okay?!!!!) **By the way, I do still have my real estate license and I still work part-time with my dad. If you need any real estate help, let us know. I've been doing real estate since 2001 and my dad has been in real estate since he retired from the Air Force 20 years ago. I can't believe it's been that long. We've seen all kinds of markets, so don't worry - things WILL get better with the current housing market. At this point, I mostly give referrals to my dad and I help with the clerical things, but I still show the ocassional house and write the ocassional offer or rental application. I'm willing to be more invloved for friends, so keep us in mind!!

Mi Vida Loca!

I keep trying to find time and inspiration to write a new post, but things are a bit nuts around here right now. In the last week and a half we've decided that we should move to Manassas to be closer to Matt's church. Since then we have been praying and talking and driving the neighborhoods we're interested in and looking at several houses. These are the times it's great that both of us are licensed Realtors. We are able to check the system ourselves, look at houses whenever we want to and write offers and rental applications without waiting around for someone else. We have an application in on a nice end-unit townhouse in Manassas that's a 4-6 minute drive from Matt's church. We should hear in a couple days if we get it or not. Regardless of if we're accepted, we've put in our 30 days notice on our current home, so we will be homeless as of August 31st unless we find something. Good times!*

On top of that, Max had his worst night of sleep since he was a newborn last night. He was awake from 11 p.m. til after 4 a.m. What made it extra fun was the routine we developed over those 5 hours - 1.) Max cries pitifully and in pain, from what I can't tell 2.) Mommy goes in to rock him, nurse him, etc., 3.) Max calms down and falls asleep 4.) Mommy puts him in crib, goes to guest room next to nursery and begins to fall asleep for 5-10 minutes 5.) Max wakes up and cries pitifully and in pain again 6. ) Lather, rinse, repeat for 5 hours. I was really perplexed about what the matter was as I have never seen him like that for that length of time. He was also rubbing his head a lot, so I thought maybe he had a headache or that he had another ear infection. We went to the drs. this morning and we learned that his molars are arriving!

So that's the latest with us. I will try to post some new pics soon!

* For those who may be wondering why Realtors would rent instead of buy, we are thinking of buying next year once prices come down even more. Anyone else who'd like to discuss the market, shoot me an e-mail. It's a favorite topic around here.*