Hi Isadora:

I hear you say your primary goal is to have both children in the same school district - you also have clearly defined the reasons - great school - avoid inconvenience - avoid different schedules. Kudos to you - that decision s the difficult part. Now you can commit to moving to the desirable school district.

My advise is to sell, as long as you are not upside down in the mortgage/loan-to-value.

Reason: Houses can and often times take a beating, additionally they require on going management. You will also need to pay for non-home owner 'Home Insurance" - in addition to "Rental Insurance" where you move to.

Now you can focus on a savings plan which will allow you to save and buy in your desirable neighborhood.

Enjoy being involved in your childrens' education.

Warmly,
Mary

Isadora,

In fact, there is no standard answer as to whether owning or leasing is a better solution. If it were a pure investment decision, home ownership does not in fact by itself prove to be a good investment. There are other ways to "just" invest your money that provide better returns. But home ownership satisfies other personal needs, so it comes down to what you're trying to achieve.

In fact, I live in a very nice house, but it is located in AISD, however, we are considering leasing a home in Eanes for several years so our 2 children can get what we consider one of the best educations available in Austin.

You have a lot of issues to consider. There will be a sales cost to selling your home, and now is not the best time to be selling, depending on your neighborhood. To answer the question as to whether it's a good idea to sell, the answer depends on a lot of factors about where your home is, what condition it's in, etc.

You might also find that leasing out your home, less your PITI costs, plus the cost of private school, could allow you to afford leasing something in the location where you want your other child to go to school.

However, if both children are going to be in the same school, or same elementary/middle school setup, have you not approached the school board and told them about the hardship of your situation? I know that Eanes has given special consideration for siblings, where one was accepted but the other was not.

I'm certainly willing to help explore all avenues, and not many of them require you to sell anything. Give me a call if you want to brainstorm on some ideas. Check out my profile first so you get an idea of how I approach things. Oftens times buying or selling are not good solutions to your problems.

Take care,

Jeffrey
512-913-7480

Hello Isadora,

You are in a unique situation but, I am sure there are others who have been there also. I'm sure we all agree that a quality education is hard to beat but go with your instinct and not what someone else tells you.

Just an fyi, it is always better to own real estate than to lease it. You only pay for someone else's investment and you are not helping your credit. What if you could use your net proceeds from the sale of your current home to put down on another property? We may find you a home that qualifies for the USDA loan program (100% financing) or for an FHA loan (only 3.5% down).

Are you thinking about renting yours out and then renting another?

Jeffrey Nyland, REALTOR®, GRI, SRS