Sunday, March 30, 2008

Why would we even want to sell?

Given the current dramatic decline in the real estate market, this is a fair question, and we’ve been asked it more than once. I’m sure our neighbors are convinced that we must be on the verge of foreclosure! Sometimes it seems like we’re about the only seller not in that unfortunate position. But it basically comes down to the fact that even though we’re selling low, we also may have the opportunity to buy low. Property taxes in California are based on the sales price of the home - whether it was 2 years ago or 20. If you bought the median home in Los Angeles county in 1985 for $125,000 your property taxes are still holding steady at $1500 per year. However, if you bought the median home in 2005 at $500,000, your taxes will forever be a minimum $6250 annually. All of that to say, if we trade houses now, even if our mortgage goes up, we could end up saving money living in a significantly larger home. So as much as we love our home, it would be kind of a bummer to miss out on that opportunity. We can’t wait to see what God has planned!

1 comment:

Kim said...

I SO feel your pain!