Someone make sense of this chaos in my head..

[MommaOfalotta]

We have 3 things to do in order to relocate... (more than that obviously, but these are the biggies)

 

--Sell both of our cars and buy one, decent car to take with us (with AC, because it will be HOT)

 

--Get dh a job in the area (ha, might be important right?)

 

--Buy a house

 

 

Here are my issues... Dh just got a call today about a job (he just started applying.. we are in step 1 of relocating). He has a good job now so Step 1 is without a doubt securing a good job with equal pay before we go anywhere!

 

So, lets imagine dh just lined up a good job... now, here comes to confusion.

 

We want to sell or trade in both of our older cars, and buy a used but reliable car for the drive down (we would also be taking a Uhaul.) If we do that though, when we get down there and try to buy.. they will see the amount for the car and wont that be a not so good debt to income ratio?

 

Dh said something about buying the home while we are still up here, and he could pay for it with his nice current job, until we moved. Okay.... what!? I'm not even going to go into all of the red flags that raises. While it would be nice, it seems a very risky or near impossible task. This would, however, work well in 3 areas. One, we wouldn't have to worry about the car loan preventing us from getting approved for a home because we would be purchasing the home first.. Two, dh wouldn't have to worry about not being at his new job for six months (which is what they required before) in order to be approved, because they would be going off of his current job. Three, we could just MOVE when dh accepted new job.

 

One obvious problem to the second plan is what if Dh is unable to find a "good job?"

 

I've lived in the same small town my entire life. We are relocating 1000+ miles away. I am a planner. I need a plan. All of this "wait and see" or "how do we know what will happen first" is about to make my hair fall out.

 

 

Now that I have totally rambled and probably didn't make any sense at all... I will stop typing, lol. This MESS has been in my head for weeks. Help me, please? :)

 

P.S. I know a lot of people say to rent first. Rent in the area is SKY HIGH. Housing is beyond perfect for the buyer right now. I mean, the deals are insane. Which is why we can afford to buy, but probably not to rent. We are saving like mad now, but that is to cover moving costs, utility deposits, etc etc.

[NorthwestMom]

How much savings do you have? Do your current cars still have outstanding loans? How much are they? Why not save and pay cash for a good car instead of taking out another loan? (that would be better for you, credit-wise, I think). Where are you relocating to?

 

I can already advise, with confidence, that buying a house before your DH gets a job in that town is an incredibly risky plan and NOT worth it.

[MommaOfalotta]

Both cars are totally paid off. No other loans or anything. I definitely agree about it being a risky move, it just sounded so nice in my head ;)

 

I dont like all of this uncertainty!

[hillfarm]

You can LOOK at houses in the area before your dh gets a job, but don't commit to anything. Do you know anyone in the area you could ask about neighborhoods, etc? We rented a really cute bungalow in Florida when we had a similar move. It was adorable and in a nice, quiet neighborhood - during the day. However, at night we came to find that there were three bars in a triangle around the neighborhood, a gay bar, a biker bar, and a college bar. So every.single.night we had to listen to an all out war between drunken patrons. I clearly remember one night having to take shelter in the middle part of the house because we were hearing gun shots ricochet off the street in front of the house. One morning I was watering my flowers early before work and nearly jumped out of my skin when I discovered that I had been also watering a passed-out biker on the other side of my flower bed. :w00t: But by day, it was adorable.

 

Regarding the car, would a short term lease arrangement (4 to 6 months)be any easier for you? Also, I think most lenders expect that people will have car debt.

 

Be very cautious with this plan. It could work out fine, but it is a bit of a risk. By all means, get the job situation nailed down before committing to anything else. But you can start doing your research on the house and car situations now.

[MommaOfalotta]

Thank you both for the advice. We have started looking at houses in the area and we really love a few. He got a call about a job yesterday but obviously we wont take one that makes less than he makes now, and we will for sure have a job before we move. Even then it worries me! :)

 

I guess it just stresses me out that these three things need to fall into place at about the same time, but we have no idea *when* that will be, kwim?

 

I was hoping if there was something I could check off now, it would make me feel better. I'm going to get in contact with a realtor and lender in the area that we are familiar with and ask their advice.

 

Thanks again, ladies!

[Jan in SC]

I would try to keep your cars until after you are settled from your move. Unless they truly can't make it that far, deal with them later. We have purchased several homes and the rule was always- don't buy any large items six months before a new mortgage. You really don't want that many people checking your credit score, either.

 

I wouldn't go down to one car until you are sure it will work. What seems like a good idea now might be a logistical nightmare in another city. We moved to a suburb of a city that required a commute over a bridge. The traffic was fine and the commute was manageable for the first sic months. Then the city started replacing the bridge and the commute was almost an hour at any time of day. If we only has one car it would mean that one of us was stuck at home most of the time. (Unless you are moving to a massive city that has great public transportation!)

[elfgivas]

as much as you'd like to, i think its important to have the horse before the cart, kwim?

 

so

 

1. declutter and garage sale like a crazy woman (this gives you something to do now), and start saving for a new car.

2. meanwhile, dh looks for a job. perhaps he would consider something that earns a bit less if the cost of living would be less? and if there were potential for advancement?

3. once he has a job, then start house hunting in earnest.

4. leave cars for last. really.

 

do not worry. ;)

ann

[Unicorn.]

Keep the cars you have. Having only 1 can create all kinds of problems, and you don't want any debt right now.

1st priority is finding a job.

2nd priority is housing, but not until after you have a job, and make sure this is an area that he could easily find another job in, if this one falls through. (layoffs, downsizing, etc)

Don't even think about replacing a vehicle until you have lived there several months, and have a plan if something happens to that ONE car. Ie- is there public transit, carpooling available for dh, can you walk to the grocery store....etc I say this, because we have been in a position where we ended up w/ no vehicle- luckily dh being a school teacher, was able to ride the school bus in to work.... not fun. And right now, my toyota that was supposed to last me 20 years has been in the shop for a month now. Luckily, we were able to borrow an extra car from a relative.

 

I know you want to have it all planned out, but life doesn't really work that way. Plan by decluttering, and finding employment, look for housing, but don't become attached before you get there!

[Saddlemomma]

We were faced with the "temptation" to buy a house in the state we were relocating to while trying to sell our existing home. Thankfully, we didn't take the bait. It could have been disastrous! I would definitely advise against that scenario.

 

Why do you need to sell your cars if both are paid for? Why not sell one and keep the better one to get you to FL? This will give you some cash from selling one and no new debt? If it's just because of air conditioning, couldn't you use one of your existing cars until you get a house and dh gets a job and then sell it to upgrade? If you don't have to, don't buy a newer car until you're settled in your new state.

 

Sell everything you absolutely don't need. This can raise quite a bit of cash.

[MommaOfalotta]

Right now I'm going through everything we have to toss/sell... so check :)

 

As for the cars.. mine is up and running right now but no AC.. and who knows how long it will run. I have been without a car for a year before, due to problem after problem with this thing. So I'm used to it. We have sunk a ton of money into fixing it, but I dont even know if it would make it down there. Dh is really rough on cars anyway, and on top of that his is in rough shape (its just a little "work car") So thats why we need another vehicle. Especially when you consider we will be living in an area that we have NO family, friends etc. So if our car acts up, hes not getting to work.

They are both running fine right now but I dont want to chance a 1000+ mile trip, etc. If we are going to be that far away and completely on our own, we need something reliable.

[fraidycat]

We lived in Yuma, AZ and drove a vehicle with no A/C. We survived. Before we got the truck, DH was commuting 8 miles (each direction) on his bicycle.