What things should you keep in mind if you are thinking about moving?
It’s just been a hot minute and there has been a lot of happening around the world. So you are ready to take the plunge and considering moving near friends or family, and/or returning to your hometown. Or are you among those considering moving away. The level of upheaval, turmoil, and unrest globally makes you think deeply on the things to consider when relocating.
Historically, young homeowners either looking for more space to accommodate their growing family or looking for a better school district were more likely to move every 5 years. – Lawrence Yun, the Chief Economist of NAR… Click To Tweet
You no longer have the luxury of the natural impression that you are safe because what happened then instilled fear and aggression, hindering your creativity and ability to think deeply. But, every post conventional moral reasoning is imploring you to move you out of your comfort zone and start considering moving to another country, a new city, or a new state.
Starting out in a new city can be tough.
Is now a good time to move?
You may not have a choice in considering moving right away at times of emergency. If you get a sudden job deployment overseas or unforeseen events like war or a coup or, worse off, a tragedy like a house burning down or being ripped apart by a hurricane et, you will just up and go. The last thing on your mind is asking yourself questions if you are considering moving because safety comes first.
When the news broke that Elon Musk, now aged 50, sold most of his real estate portfolio and moved into a $50K home in Boca Chica, Texas, it caused a stir on Twitter.
What are your reasons propelling you to start considering moving way from a place that you have lived long enough to fall in love with it, the neighborhood, and its likable people? Whatever the answer, the whole process of relocating is inconvenient or full of unexpected surprises or obstacles.
You are now considering moving. Right? Are you ready to up the ante on the stress levels of you and your household?
When do you know it is time to move?
U.S. homeowners with mortgages (roughly 63% of all properties*) have seen their equity increase by a total of over $3.2 trillion since the third quarter of 2020, an increase of 31.1% year over year.
*Homeownership mortgage source: 2016 American Community Survey.
Considering moving because of spending more time at home and now want to move away?
If you are rethinking where you want to live as a result of the Covid-19 altering your work-life, there’s never a good time to move. Have you taken the time to calculate your payments and make the best estimates of all bills so that you are not caught unawares by unexpected bills?
We have witnessed the life’s most stressful events in history.
A global financial crisis has been brewing – if not yet spilled over by now.
Covid-19 pandemic added stress burdens by changing how we work, tearing lives apart, and rummaging living as we knew it, leading to a personal and professional virtual existence. Even though the mortgage industry was able to adapt pretty quickly to the circumstances of COVID-19, it’s no secret that people are reacting to the COVID-19 crisis because it is impacting real estate.
The strong increase in home prices from the U.S. Housing and Mortgage Market attests to this.
Home prices in September were 21 percent higher than in June2020. Home price increases are also widespread. In September, about 90 percent of American cities had experienced rising home prices over the past three months, and the home price increases were substantial in most of these cities.
The U.S. Housing and Mortgage Market: Risks and Resilience by Michelle W. Bowman Member Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Does it make sense to rent vs buy a home?
Are you torn between considering moving to rent or buy a home? There is no wrong or right answer if you are considering moving to another rental or purchasing a home.
Are things getting tight?
Depending on the city around the world and for some individuals, buying a home may make more sense, while for others, renting a home may be the better choice. With low-interest rates and climbing market values, buying a home must be on your radar. But with obstacles like paying down debt, it will wipe out your savings.
What if you were to refinance at a longer repayment term? Yes. It may lower your monthly payments, but may also increase the total interest paid over the life of the loan.
Figure your payment, interest rate, number of months or principal amount on a loan – if you must take one.
What is a long time to be in one place?
The typical American homeowner has spent 13 years in their home, up from eight years in 2010, according to Redfin.
The median tenure of a family in a home from 1985 to -2008) averaged exactly six years. However, since 2008, that average is an increase of almost 50%, hence nine years. National Association of Realtors (NAR) @nardotrealtor… Click To Tweet
The pros and cons of staying in one place for a long time vary from person to person. Is the incentive to stay in a place because your kids got to a school nearby?
How different is the cost of living?
How important is the cost of living when considering moving?
Portland is 44% more expensive than in Savannah. (And housing costs nearly three times as much here as it does in Georgia!)
CNN cost of living calculator
What is the cost of living difference? How much do you need to make in the new location to maintain your current standard of living?
New York City’s cost of living is 80.4 percent higher than the national average, while the sales tax is 4%. #consideringmoving #thextraordinarionly #smartcities #realestate Click To Tweet
Considering moving out of state? If you are considering moving to Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, or Wyoming, these states do not have income tax at all. Also, Michigan and Iowa States are deliberating on prepositions to eliminate retirement income taxes:
“These folks have contributed to their communities, their families, [and] their churches all along and then, because of our tax code, there’s an incentive for them to leave Iowa once they reach their retirement age.”
What will you be leaving behind?
Home is a feeling. It’s not a place. You can find a home just about anywhere in the world.
Are you ready to leave behind everything you know and start a new life? Trust yourself to make a decision alone – not unless you are considering moving in together with a partner. Are you making a mistake?
If you are considering moving out of your parent’s house, you will ask yourself if you are you doing this for the right reasons. Live your life for you.
Isn’t relocation a great time to purge items you no longer need? Can you get rid of items that are easy to replace? Changing things up and moving increases the odds that your new home won’t fall victim to the same old clutter.
Have a thorough conversation with your household to declutter your house efficiently.
Crucial things to consider before moving abroad
Let us try to put the following happenings into perspective, because, apart from entrepreneurs who are exploring new markets, we also have future global leaders seeking international internship reading this right now :
Europe and Asia
The Russia and Ukraine drama (or conspiracy) is playing out right under our nose. The mischievous cat and mouse game is ruining the livelihood and lives of lovely people in both nations. Consequently, causing a change in behavioral traits of people across the globe as witnessed by media outlets and social media (will we ever uncover the real truth?).
North America
It is crucial to note that we do not condone or support any forms of violence and other unlawful activities.
However, the Canadian courts were in the news because of choking off donations for the trucker blockade protests at the US- Canadian border. money markets have completely changed if fundraising platforms like GoFundMe, GiveSendGo, etc received court injuctions to choke off donations for protestors fuel, not to release funds raised via the platforms
Middle East
Afghanistan fell into the hands of the Taliban.
Africa
The fears of regime change in Africa are true– with proven coups in toe – Sudan, Chad, Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso. Sad, but true, fifteen of the twenty countries topping the 2021 fragile states index (FSI)report are in Africa.
Yes, such a report exists.
If you want to move to another country, you are better off considering moving to Timor-Leste, Pakistan, Bhutan, or Kenya which have very low FSI.
Use the link in the ‘sources section’ below to confirm the latest statistics to evaluate when moving overseas.
“If there’s one thing that 2020 taught us it’s that if we prepare for a health crisis as if it were only a health crisis, then we miss the boat. We learned that when a shock hits, as important as a strong economy might be; or even a good health system, or infrastructure, a necessary precondition for resilience is a stock of social capital. A country that cannot take collective action, a population that cannot make shared sacrifices, a country where there’s no collective buy-in to a national strategy, cannot be resilient, no matter how good the economy is or how many doctors or ventilators you might have.”
Nate Haken, Programs Director – Fragile States Index, The Fund for Peace
Are you considering moving right away?
The great news for real estate business owners is that the lack of housing inventory is a major challenge in the current housing market, and yet the average homeowner gained approximately $9,600 in the first quarter of 2020 alone.
Who is considering moving right now? Baby boomers living in an empty, four-bedroom colonial, or a millennial couple planning to start a family that currently lives in a one-bedroom condo. What about you?
Sources
- Vision Statement to Make Your Dream a Reality: Doggedly Developing and Tinkering Vision Statements to Adapt Lest You Are Left Behind (Part 6)
- Jay Parsons (2021), “U.S. Apartment Vacancy Plunges in September to Record Low as Leave Renewals Surge,” RealPage Analytics Blog, October 6, https://www.realpage.com/analytics/apartment-vacancy-plunges-lease-renewals-surge-september-2021.
- Province of Ontario gets court order choking off donations meant to fund truck protesters
- Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (2021), Examining Resolution of Mortgage Forbearances and Delinquencies (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Fed, October 21), https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/frbp/assets/consumer-finance/reports/21-10-tracking-resolutions-of-mortgage-forbearances-and-delinquencies.pdf
- The countries hosting the most refugee: https://www.statista.com/chart/22047/countries-hosting-most-refugees/
- State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets for 2022
- Gov. Whitmer’s Plan to Repeal the Retirement Tax
- 4 reasons you are hemorrhaging money – and how to fix it
- Measuring Fragility,Risk and Vulnerability in 179 Countries
Further references
Cost of Living in New York, NY https://www.salary.com/research/cost-of-living/new-york-ny
Cost of living: Why you should choose a cheap place to live https://www.getrichslowly.org/cost-of-living/
How Long Do Most Families Stay in Their Home? https://www.keepingcurrentmatters.com/2017/02/28/how-long-do-most-families-stay-in-their-home/
