Question for the recently relocated. (Durham, Cary: for sale, real estate market, foreclosure)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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In reading through my favorite forums I've encountered an interesting question posted in other regions that I wanted to pose here.
If you had stayed where you were prior to moving to the Triangle how do you think you would've fared with the current economic and real estate market conditions?
I know I narrowly avoided disaster by making the move. Beyond the myriad benefits we've enjoyed by coming here I'm also very mindful of the huge, life altering financial bullet I avoided by doing so.
I know for a fact, if we had not made the move when we did, we would most likely be looking at bankruptcy and foreclosure. And it had nothing to do with buying above our means. It was just bad timing on all aspects.
We built our house when both my husband and I had great paying jobs and a child on the way. We could pay mortgage, utilities, car, and still have enough money left over for savings (the only thing that saved us in the end) and vacations. Then the economy tanked, we had our first child, and daycare cost as much as I was bringing in, not including gas to get to and from my work. I started working part time at nights to stay home with the little guy. Husband lost his job with all the lay offs, and took a job with a huge paycut. Sadly, things never got better. The mortgage was still the same, but with oil and gas prices continually skyrocketing, we found ourselves losing money per month.
It took us over a year to sell a beautiful, large house, only 6 years old, 2 acres on a cul de sac, right near the highway for convenience because the market was flooded with people dying to get out of state. We sold the house way under what we could have held out for *if* we were not in a rush, and got out of it only enough to help us move here.
I dont like to think about where we would be if we hadnt made it out. We have a few years of cautious living to get us back to where we want to be, but we're finally seeing the difference in a positive light. We're able to pay everything we need, make a dent and save every month. We're so happy, both with the quality of life here, and the burden we carried now gone.
We would manage as we have for the last 18 years in Socal...but why manage if you can thrive elsewhere!...(i.e.) paid $1800 on a 1800 sq. ft. rental, as opposed to 1500 morgage on a 2650 sq. ft home.
A big draw is to be some place our teens can persue a good fulfilling lifestyle and education. In Cali that is not easily accomplished without becoming overworked materialistic junkies. Not a pretty picture but a reality for most.
Some sacrifices are made in the move to be sure, but in this phase of life, NC is gladly our best option.
Moderator cut: off topic
For now, this is a good move and we like to think the benefits are mutual.
it's all good man
Last edited by autumngal; 03-30-2008 at 08:29 AM..
We would manage as we have for the last 18 years in Socal...but why manage if you can thrive elsewhere!...(i.e.) paid $1800 on a 1800 sq. ft. rental, as opposed to 1500 morgage on a 2650 sq. ft home.
A big draw is to be some place our teens can persue a good fulfilling lifestyle and education. In Cali that is not easily accomplished without becoming overworked materialistic junkies. Not a pretty picture but a reality for most.
Some sacrifices are made in the move to be sure, but in this phase of life, NC is gladly our best option.
BTW: hate that I feel I should have to advertise our worthyness to move to NC. I understand that there are growing pains BUT We have paid for a house and added to good economy overall. Bottom line is, NC economy has expressed a need, Hubby has the secular qualifications to meet that need.
For now, this is a good move and we like to think the benefits are mutual.
it's all good man
We left New Orleans in 1989, one step from the Jefferson Parish homeless shelter. Total economic meltdown.
Did have to file Chapter 7 to get out from a mortgage.
Moderator cut: off topic
Last edited by autumngal; 03-30-2008 at 08:29 AM..
My husband and i lived in MA for a while before moving to Ottawa, Canada. Our work visas expired and so we had to move out of the country atleast for a year before getting back. We lived in Canada for almost 3 years. Relocated to the US last sept. After renting for almost 10 years, our offer for a house near Bond Park has been accepted. Given our simple lifestyle, my husband and i would have fared well anywhere.
We would probably not be able to buy a house in a nice town in MA (we used to live in Acton), but a nice townhouse? Sure. We would have done well in Ottawa too if we had continued to live there. So far living in Cary has been equally good. Good weather is the cherry on the cake!
I moved from MA 2.5 years ago. Thank God I did. My house in MA doubled in value in 4 years. I cashed out right as the market started to slow down. Had I stayed in MA, I would not have gotten the price I did for my home. Jobs were all but nonexistent, so if I lost the one I had (which paid less than what I make now in NC) I would have been screwed. I had to drive at least 45 minutes to get to anything, so the gas prices would have killed me. The taxes there were out of control, along with the expensive heating and electricity costs would have just ruined me. I would have been working 3 jobs, just to get by.
I am sooooooooo thrilled I made the move to paradise. This area is amazing and has made everyday of my life a joy!!!!!!!!
Last edited by autumngal; 03-30-2008 at 08:31 AM..
My husband and I had to move, one way or another. In England Mr. Steel had been laid off twice in less than 2 years. His industry just wasn't doing well there, but there were many more job opportunities for him state-side. Unfortunately, none of those opportunities were in my home state! So the job hunt began. A number of companies across the country were interested in him, but he really liked the gang at the company in Durham. And there we are!
In short, we're definitely better off here because the other option was unemployment!
Here's a story from the other side. We also had a beautiful house in a lovely town in MA. We also lived within our means as I was able to stay home with the kids, taking in a freelance project here and there when it suited me, while hubby worked full time. We even managed to build an addition and gut our kitchen and still have it all within our means.
The economy tanked, he lost his job, he couldn't find another, he started a business. It sort of existed in spurts but eventually failed. I was working PT as we couldn't afford childcare. We went through our savings. COL continued to skyrocket. We filed bankruptcy--first Chap 7 but when we couldn't keep up with the mortgage, we converted to Chap 11 and put the arrears in the Chap11 payoff. That kept us afloat for a while but we fell behind again. Eventually, to avoid foreclosure and stay one step ahead of the bank, we sold the house well below market value to an investor who was planning to flip it. (He lost a lot of money on that deal because it took him almost a year to flip the house and he had to reduce his price a lot--that's how soft the MA market had become).
Anyway, let me bring this all back to the topic by saying if we had put our house on the market 4-5 years ago and taken the equity, moved to NC to start over and lived frugually maybe a year or so while we got jobs and got back on our feet I think we would be homeowners today in a nice house probably in CH or Hillsborough vs. renters here in town still struggling to get by. Our credit would have been spared since we wouldn't have filed bankruptcy (which we eventually got dismissed from and the creditors came back at us so we had to use a huge chunk of our little remaining house equity to get them off our backs).
In short, we would have been one heck of a lot better off if we'd made the move out of MA 4-5 years ago. Hindsight is 20/20 and there's not a day that goes by that I don't regret the decision we made to try to stay here to recover.
Well, the last 5 years we spent in Massachusetts, my husband and I were laid off a total of 5 times. He spent about 2.5 years out of work. We were renting a townhouse 30 miles outside of Boston for $200 more than our current mortgage. We were making do only because of our savings.
In the three years since we've been in NC, we've both found gainful employment, bought our first house, and had our first (and only!) baby. The baby and the house were definitely out of the question in Massachusetts and the chances for gainful employment were dim.
It took us 2yrs to sell in NJ. We also had nice house , great property ,and so close to the shore. We decided to relocate for #1. The worst neighbor's any person could have. #2. The high mortgage and taxes we were just scrapping by to pay and realizing it just wasn't worth all this money we were paying for a 30 yr. old house next to the neighbor's from hell. Now since we finally sold, the house's for sale in the neighborhood dropped $25k. So, I'm glad I got out when I did. My husbands business also went down hill pretty fast. His former co-workers call all the time and let him know how bad things have gotten. All they say is you were smart to get out when you did. The economy here is much better then NJ right now. For us anyway. It was a good move. It took me alot of time to adjust, but I'm adjusted now.
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I understand that there are growing pains BUT We have paid for a house and added to good economy overall. Bottom line is, NC economy has expressed a need, Hubby has the secular qualifications to meet that need. 
