Additions

Potential costs associated with moving to a new house:

• First, you have to find a house that you both like. Lots of time wasted on weekends fighting with your spouse…
• Pay a house inspector to investigate the house before purchasing.
• Get a mortgage for the new house. Don’t forget to pay for the appraisal and loan origination fees.
• You buy the house. Congratulations, now you have 2 mortgages.
• Then comes the yard sale… Get rid of the stuff and clean up your current home. Pray for sunshine in Seattle, if there is such a thing… Pay a real estate agent 6% on the sale price of your home.
• The Buyer’s (of your current home) house inspector points out 284 items that need repairs. Of course, the Buyer’s agent negotiates with your agent to drop the sale price by the “perceived” repair cost; or you can hire a Contractor to repair everything so you don’t lose the Buyer in escrow (we’d be glad to help you with that).
• Pay the excise tax (1.28% – 3%) on the sale of your home.
• Your doctor prescribes you sleeping pills since you’ve had to endure countless sleepless nights praying that your “new” house purchase would go through escrow without a hitch since you were contingent on selling your current home.
• More fights with your spouse (because you both are now grumpy).
• Pay the moving company.
• Buy new curtains, drapes, blinds for the new house. Oh, don’t forget, your old furniture kind of looks funny for the new house.
• Pay the contractor to remodel before you move in to the new house since it actually isn’t a new house (we’d be glad to help you with that).
• The kids don’t like the new school and you miss the old neighborhood. You hire a shrink at $150/hour.
• More fights with your spouse (because, ummm, everyone is now grumpy).