What do you do when you can’t afford your house?

cjp2405: What do you do when you can’t afford your house?
I’m thinking of selling my house and renting for a while. I won’t make much from it, since I’ve only lived here for 2 years. I’m hoping to make about 5-10,000. Would it be better to buy a condo or townhouse untill I’m back on my feet? I’m concerned that if I rent I will never have a down payment to buy again. Can you only have an FHA loan once in your life?
What should I do?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Pixel
how about getting a roommate?

Answer by Windbreaker
yellowpages.com

Answer by ♥ perriwinklegrl13 ♥
umm i dunno but i would buy a apartment

Answer by Just Me
You should sell and downgrade to something you can afford.

Answer by robo372
get an apartment its cheaper and you get to make more money. if you get a loan, it takes alot more money to pay it off. about 5 times more depending on the rate you pay it off.

Answer by hot_tamale
why not just keep it? It cant be much less to rent if any.

Answer by 86Mets
you already have what some people can only dream about. Work work work. Get a second, third job if you have to. Do not give up your house, get to work.

Answer by mel s
buy something if at all possible. most people are not disciplined enough to keep saving and get a larger down payment

Answer by fruit bat
I would try to figure out someway to keep the house. Take on another job until you get caught up. Try refinancing.

Answer by Robin
It may be a possibility to rent out the house you live in and rent a smaller apartment. you can use the rent money to pay your mortgage and save money by having a lower “rent” payment. This would be a way for you to save your house for the future and still be able to catch up on bills. You should talk this over with your bank and real estate agent and see if this would work for you. Best of luck to you.

Answer by PraiseBob
If you sell your house and then spend the small profit you make in order to make ends meet, when the cash runs out you will be left with nothing at all.

What you should do is rent out part of your house to a room mate. They will help offset the cost of the house payments and you will still be building equity.

Answer by Susan
Either refinance your home with a longer loan life or sell your home and buy something more affordable to you. Buy the least expensive home in a neighborhood. While you live there, put a little money into home improvements, and then sell and buy “up.” Perhaps something with a rental; like a duplex; you live in one side, rent the other side out. But that would only work if you can fix things yourself or afford to hire plumbers, etc… because you would have an obligation to tend to the renter’s complaints.

Answer by gebj2002
Read The richest man in Babylon. It is an old book that I read as a young man. The principles are sound and I still find myself adhering to the rules, It Will help you decide what to do.

Answer by shopping
Don’t buy something else if you can’t afford it. A roomate is a great way to make money and still be able to live in your home. When you rent you are paying someone else’s mortgage!

Answer by Ice Queen
Get a better job and/or a second job. Get a roommate. Sell some of your stuff you don’t need or use anymore. Do whatever you can to keep the house. A lot of people would change places with you in a heartbeat.

Answer by tia_dre3
You should talk with your mortgage lender to see if they can do anything to extend the term of the loan or re-finance at a lower interest rate to lower your monthly payment so that you can stay in your home without having to downgrade. Its just never a good idea to sell your primary residence just because money is tight. Your home is your greatest asset and should be your first priority. Evaluate your spending habits and see what you can cut down on such as starbucks, restaurants, movies, the beauty salon, and any uneccesary spending that you can live without for the time being. You can also ask your electric and water servers what you can do to conserve your use of power and water… all without having to put up with a crummy roomate. Your new tight budget wont be forever. Trust me, it’ll pay off.