I need Advice from the Tacoma world.

You buy a home when you need to buy a home. Having said that, if you can delay until interest rates come down then this would definitely help you buy more house for your buck. The problem is it's hard to know when the Fed is going to stop raising rates and start lowering them.

Good luck with everything brother!

 

How would selling the truck get you into a house? Socal housing is 7 figures to start for a tear down. A loaded Tacoma isn’t even 1/4 of a down payment

 

I believe he's trying to reduce his debt service by getting rid of a loan payment, not come up with cash for a downpayment.

 

Sell the truck. Part it out and sell components as you can.
I have lived your dream. I am 60yo. You do not have your dream truck when you have an 8 yo and a middle schooler. You put everything into your family in shelter and food. get your dream when they get out of college.

 

I do not know you or your life story, so just accept this as "objective statement" ...

Too many people, many college-educated/well-meaning, "transitioning between housing" due to focus on the short-term replacables like a vehicle. Sit tight, make a solid plan before giving up an established residence. Having a stable bedroom at night makes hard decision easier.

 

You'd get more parting out accessories. Maybe sell some things and put towards the payoff? Will selling the truck free up enough to make a housing change worthwhile? Probably not. Long term find a cheaper state to buy a house in.

It sounds like the in laws have given a family deal in this economy. Minimizing debt and saving would be logical.

OP we can't make life decisions for you.

 

Maybe, average mortgage is around 10k a month. Don’t think it’ll make a dent.

 

This isn’t an ideal time to buy a house but throwing money away on rent totally sucks. At least in your case your rent is going to your in-laws, so in theory you’ll get it back some day. Your kids need separate rooms. Take the mods off and sell separately from the truck. Buy a house then refinance when the interest rates come back down. I’d rather buy with a high interest rate and be working towards owning a home, while building equity, than tossing the money out the window on rent. People that say “this is a bad time to buy” typically already own a home.

 

To be honest, it is just the idea of having two car payments and a large mortgage. Where I live the average home price is in the low to mid 400's. Leaving me with a $4,000 plus mortgage, because of the interest rates. My plan, was to buy now is to wait out the interest rates and refinance when they drop (gambling on the unknown). Or, I can just wait for them to drop and that might land me back in the market of bidding wars. From my understanding, when the interest rates drop there will be a slew of people waiting to buy, which will cause prices to increase. I figured, if I can find a house at a lower price, I can always refinance an interest rate. I see the high interest rates as my only leverage as a home buyer.

Knowing me.....I will likely wait for the market to drop.

Also, there is a massive home development taking part in my city. 15,600 new homes next year. It is supposed to be a big ordeal. I have a lot to work over and figure out.

So, this is why I bounce it off of a group of Tacoma owners. I figure, 10 brains are better than one.

Thanks again for all your input.

 

ugh, this is a jam, I feel for ya. the great news is, you have cheap rent,,,, the bad news is, you live in California.

My GF is in a similar spot, she rents (not cheap) and has saved for a house for years. I keep doing the numbers, while her rent is pretty high (for the midwest) it's just not enough to create any urgency to buy with the prices and interest rates. We looked for a while and it's just a stupid waste of time, every house that is listed is already sold, or sells Saturday morning after a bidding war. So for now, she has funneled more funds in to paying off her 4R and savings. I followed up on a few recent home sales she was interested in, and the amount and conditions in which they sold were unreal. I am talking dumb shit, like double digit percentages over asking price, no inspections or repairs, closing quick or waiting a long period of time for sellers to move, etc.


I like @FL_TRD Sport idea of selling off the truck and using that cheap family-plan rent, to really save some serious down payment money for later.

 

Honestly I’d wait. Dang you’re lucky that you can get a house for 450k!

 

@FrozenE is looking for a Taco.

 

Ask the in-laws if they would consider a bedroom addition to the house. A good investment for them, maybe up your contribution to help off-set the expense.
What are your skills? Can you do the construction or some part of it? Do you have family in construction trades?
Maybe a great opportunity to do some father/son bonding on week-ends?
You may need the truck to haul construction materials.
Discuss your plan to sell the truck with your father-in-law. Get some wisdom from someone with skin in the game.

PS: Three little girls live with me (as do their mom and dad). It's tough out there and families got to stick together.

 

I would buy the house if you can get a good deal. If the interest rates drop, refinance. Take the tax deduction for real-estate interest paid although you only get the percentage of the tax bracket. Rent is going up much faster than home prices.

 

That’s relatively sound advice. Plus, if homes are 400k where he’s looking, he’s far enough from the coast to expect a somewhat linear increase in price matched to time and inflation. If it’s the coast where I am, well, those are million dollar homes.

OP, if you buy, you’ll want an extra 10-20k cash in the bank when all is said and done with your mortgage, and you will also want 6mo income saved in case you lose your job or are injured or something. Typical stuff.

I like California. I’m here, and I rule.[/QUOTE]

 

My advice, keep the cheap rent and starting cutting down your finances to save for a larger down payment. This will assist you when you take out a loan. Start making a plan and budget accordingly to wait this horrid of a market. You'll over pay for a home right with the high interest. Once the interest has come down, you may not even need to sell the Tacoma to be honest. If so, part it out and you can start now to get ahead of the curve.

Saving with a larger down payment and lower interest rate will help get you into the right home as well.

 

The only problem is everyone is waiting for the market to drop. Like you said, there are a ton of people waiting out the interest rates.

But then if you don't wait for the market to drop, your current purchasing power is like 20-25% lower than it used to be a year ago. which isn't a huge deal if you can find a home you like, but if you're being pushed into a home, it could mean settling, and then having to go through this again at a later date when the market is more affordable but way more competitive.

In response to the guy who said "those who say now is a bad time to buy already own a home", certainly possible. But now especially is a bad time to buy, with interest rates continuously rising which means you have less purchasing power, lower supply because many sellers are still living in the clouds trying to get COVID prices, and even lower demand because of inflation, interest rates, and everyone who is waiting for the "bubble" to pop. Made even worse so by the fact no one really knows where the market is going...market has slowed down but interest rates keep rising.

And no I don't own a home lol. I rent at what was a stupid high cost a couple years ago, but is now on the lower end of rent in my area now thanks to inflation and rising prices, and my landlord not gutting us with yearly increases

If you can find a good deal for what you want/need and the only issue is the interest rates, jump on it, since you can always refinance. Otherwise some trust, LLC, corporation, or foreign buyer will. But otherwise, I'd wait as long as possible to buy. Which sounds feasible with that development you mentioned.

 

Wait if you can, the fed is going to raise the interest rates at least once more and possibly twice more before they back off.

 

If I could do it over, I would devote everything to family first.
Dream Truck would come later.
Now is not the time to buy a house, especially in SoCal.

 

I truly appreciate all the sound knowledge and advice. I believe in leaning on those in our community with the knowledge in areas i lack (definition of ignorance [mine]). I understand that you all can’t make the decision for me. But, it helps me make a decision.

I am in the field of education. So leaving the state is not an option for me. I work for one of the highest paid districts in the country for what I do. My retirement is locked in for CalPers, so that is another anchor. But, to be honest.




I appreciate you all.