Related topics
- - Examining your housing budget
- - Figuring your expected expenses after trading up
- - Determining the financial impact on your future goals
- - Exploring the other costs of trading up
Buying a home can seriously shake up your personal finances. But selling your house and then buying another one generally leads to even bigger financial shock waves. If you're considering the sale of your house, you may think, 'No big deal. After all, the sale will pay off my mortgage debt and bring a big chunk of money my way. What do I have to stress over?'
In fact, the financial consequences of selling your house can be serious, especially if you're trading up to a more expensive home. You must be well prepared and alert as you sail through the often-treacherous waters of house selling. Consider this chapter your first mate, helping you make all the best moves you can.
Many people who still are in their prime working years and who want to sell their houses and buy others in the same general geographic areas are planning to trade up, which usually means moving into a 'better' - and, therefore, more expensive - home. The desire to trade up is only natural; people usually want their next car, their next job, and their next set of living room or bedroom furniture to be better than the last. After all, you work hard for a living; you deserve 'better.'
A nicer neighborhood, better schools, more rooms, bigger rooms, more luxurious bathrooms, a more spacious kitchen, better shopping nearby, a bigger yard, better parking and storage space - the list of things that can be better in your life is limitless. Your budget, on the other hand, is not.
Although you may want all these extra features and amenities in the next home that you buy, those extra goodies are going to cost more money - in some cases, much more. So, unless you've recently won the lottery or earned a huge windfall from stock options or the like, you're going to have to prioritize your desires. You can't have it all - only what fits with your budget and longerterm financial and personal plans.
