Housing woes

I finally got my house off of the market. It was listed in June before I moved in August. I decided to rent it out due to $850 mortgage note and $150 in utilities coming out of my pocket monthly. Also, there were about 2,000 homes on the market thanks to the glut and new construction. The somewhat “good news” is that I used a 5/1 ARM instead of a 3/1 ARM. I got a renter in Oct, much to my realtor’s anger. She did not mind me paying $12,000 over 12 months before paying her commission of possibly $6,000. You gotta pay to play in this market. Why on earth did I decide to purchase in 2004?

The false/unreliable premises that based my decision:

— Houses always go up in value
— Hoped to gain $30,000 in equity that would be used in paying off Salliemae and building an emergency fund
— Prove to family/friends that I made it even though I had already purchased a home in Louisiana
— Wanted the experience of “selling” a home
— More importantly, there was an unavailability of suitable apartments for my oversized furniture; needed cathedral ceilings and a basement

I also was lulled in a false sense of security…the market was still “hot” in
2004. The Louisiana house practically sold itself. I could have made $10,000 after living in it for 2 1/2 years. It is not a lot of money–but would consider myself a winner if I could get that much now on my 2nd house.

Boy, have times changed.