:iagree: It doesn't help that it's so darn difficult to convey tone and intent with the written word!

I was not laughing at her. It was more a realization that different parts of the country might be going through things a little differently. Here, lots of people are looking for rentals, so lots of people are renting out their houses and buying bigger ones. I'm assuming such is not the case where she lives. Hence, "I find your response funny, just because I know several people who have done this successfully." (Sorry if I didn't make my intent clear.)

I've already stated several times that our "dream" house is no longer in the running. No one seems to pay attention to those posts, though. Again, thanks for all of the responses. Your opinions have all helped.

I find your response funny, just because I know several people who have done this successfully. One of my very good friends has renters in her house who are probably going to sign a new lease for their 4th year of renting. A lot of people around here have walked away from their homes, driving our prices down. It's just the way things are in this area right now. It's the only option for a lot of people who need to upsize or just want out of the area. We never intended to be here for more than 5 years, and it's going on 9 now. The area is falling apart and we do not want to raise our children here. We want to be further away from the city and near likeminded individuals. If I had to guess, on our street, half of the houses are probably people who own, 1/4 are probably renters, and the other 1/4 are bank owned properties that sit empty. It's not pretty. So, yeah, I'm going to move. But no, I'm not going to let it eat 35% of our income. :D

I do work, but it is very flexible, and I only work when I want or when we need extra money for something. (In 2011, when I was pregnant, I didn't even make enough to get a 1099!) If I had to, I could work as many hours as needed to make ends meet. I keep my job just for that reason. When my husband was out of work for 6 months several years ago, we realized we needed a backup plan in case something like that ever happened again.

Insurance won't pay for damage/wear and tear. BUT... if there is fire, roof damage, etc., our deductible is taken care of. However, the rental company does cover up to $1000 of damages incurred by the renter. Any painting or carpet cleaning that has to take place between renters we would cover, but the extra income from renting and the extra tax benefits are going to be put in a separate savings account to cover that when the time comes. There is also an option to allow a renter to purchase. Since a lot of renters out there now want to purchase eventually, they have a program that allows the renter to use $100/month of their rent as a future down payment to purchase. We pick what we are willing to sell the house for, and if the rental company finds a buyer, they act as the agent in that respect.

Yes. We cannot sell our house for what we owe. After about another year or two of payments we should be back in the black. A couple years after that, we should be able to get money back. Provided the values don't start going back down in my area. Right now they are on the way up, just not up enough for us to sell yet.

Yes, this is factoring in the higher taxes after they are no longer homesteaded and the higher landlord insurance. The leasing company pays the first $1000 of any renter damages, and they suggest that we carry a $1000 deductible for the landlord insurance. That way, when renters move out, they basically cover our deductible and insurance covers the rest. Yes, an extra $120 would make it so that we could no longer put as much into savings, and that is not acceptable to me. I won't purchase anything without being able to continue to save.

I would love to do that! But, in order to sell my house right now, I would have to pay the bank!

Unfortunately, no, which is the part that makes the payment so high. I think our long-term goal is to get the current house to the point where we can get some money back when we sell, and then use that money to pay some principal or refinance or whatever makes the most sense at the time to get our payment down on our new house.

Our hard-earned savings and a little bit of a tax return. :D

Hmmm... I need to change my signature... :glare:

The house we're looking at now is not 34% of take-home - we opted to not go with that one. But it is just the new mortgage. We are going to be using a company that guarantees us rent for up to 6 years on our old home. Since the company is leasing the home directly from us and then subleasing it out, even if they do not have renters, we are guaranteed that money for 70 out of 72 months. (We pay the first 2 months mortgage to give them time to market the home.) This is a perk that a lot of builders are offering as an incentive to help people who need to get into bigger homes but who are not able to sell their current ones. They pay the company a commission at closing as if they were a real estate agent. It's a win/win/win for all involved. According to our real estate analysis, the principal that we will owe in 6 years on our current house should be comparable to what we could get out of our house if we were to sell it now. With home prices going back up in the area, we should still be able to get some money back when we are ready to sell in a few years. And yes, we have done a pre-pre-approval (back in September) and are aware of what we can afford by the bank's standards.

We are rethinking the way we do things. Currently, we plan to set aside a certain amount per month for school supplies, but usually what happens is when I don't need anything, I allocate the money somewhere else, and when I need more, I take from somewhere else. We are thinking of setting aside money from our taxes instead. My normal budget has me using $100/month, but like I said, I'm not consistently setting that money aside. So, I'm thinking of putting $1200 from our taxes into a separate account. Approximately $400 of it would be for co-op expenses for all 3 of my children and the other $600 would be for curricula and supplies for 2 of my children. Is it realistic to assume I can get curricula and supplies for $600? Or should I set aside more?

Thanks for the input. We are looking at a different house now, that is a bit cheaper than the other one, but would still be a bit more than what we're paying now for our mortgage. I'm with you about jumping in while the rates are lower. I think I had calculated that a half percent interest rate would raise our mortgage $30/month. That could cripple us if rates go up a percent or two in the next couple years. I have a proposed budget figured out, and we are more than capable of handling it, but it's just still such a hard pill to swallow when you figure you're doubling your current mortgage. But... on the flip side of that, our current mortgage is super low - about $400 less than it was when we purchased the house 8 years ago.

Well, I'm glad I didn't post there then!

Thanks! And thanks to everyone who gave me sound advice and brought me back down to reality. It truly was helpful in my decision making.

Same here. My husband is an IT director, so our house is very computer friendly. :D I also work from home, so I'm on my computer a lot. There's really no way around it for us.

:iagree: This is my experience, as well, unless they get a new game and play it all day on a cold weekend day when nothing else is going on.

My 17-month-old knows how to unlock my phone and the iPad. :p My oldest was probably around 3 when she began playing things like JumpStart Kindergarten and Starfall, and probably around 4 to 4-1/2 when she began using Spelling City. My younger daughter was probably closer to 5, but mostly because she couldn't read yet and didn't quite get how to play the educational games. She loved watching her sister, though. My oldest, who is now 9, uses the Notes app on the phone and the iPad to write short stories and poems.

I did not mean to sound uppity in my post regarding my husband's job. I understand nothing is 100% certain. If my husband worked for any company other than the one he worked for, I'd always be worried about job security, but the company he works for is very family oriented. We have had some crazy medical expenses, too, some of which we are just about to finally have paid off. (My newborn was whisked away for surgery about 12 hours after he was born--very unexpected!) We have also lived through the six months without either of us working and the 25% paycut. And somehow, God has seen us through to the other side. I do, all too well, understand the warning bell you speak of. :)

Sorry to confuse you all! The first of my last two posts was merely to address other people's concerns and the fact that I had already considered all of that. We decided last week that we were not going to rush into anything. We will still be saving for the house, but we are also about to have several credit cards completely paid off by the end of April. Within about a year, our main car will be paid off, too, but in the meantime, my husband's car is on its last leg, I'm afraid. It has around 212,000 miles on it, other than the engine, which was replaced a few years ago. However, he cannot drive over about 50-55 in it, so he has to avoid the freeways on his way home. Our saving grace on that end is that in the summer he rides his motorcycle instead, which also saves a TON on gas. So, basically, with the few hundred extra dollars about to be freed up from becoming just about debt free, other than the current house, and the most recent raise, which we have not gotten used to having yet (we were adamant about keeping our old budget intact, rather than getting used to living within the new means--we have learned a few things from our past tragedies!), we should still have plenty to replace my husband's car and save up for the new house and replace our broken sofa.

No, actually, we have decided against that house for now. It looks like we are stuck here for a while. It's okay, though, because we can use that extra money to do fun things like buy new furniture and new cars and new curriculum!

You should double check that your state will accept this one, though. I'm not sure if they all do. My daughter did take the test about a year ago, and I really liked it, but we don't have testing requirements in Michigan.

Growing With Grammar is a great grammar worktext that is written to the student.