I’m back to answer another one of your great questions. This week’s question is, “I want to move to a better school district for my children, should I wait for the market to improve first?”

This is actually a two-part question. The first question is if you should move to a better school district. If that’s something important to you, the answer is absolutely yes. I don’t think anyone should rely on the market when making this decision. If there is a way to make it happen, I think you should.

Now, the second question is “What do I do with my existing home?” If you bought it at the peak of the market and its value isn’t quite where you want it to be yet, you have a few options.

The first is to check the property’s cash flow. If you rented it out, would you be able to cover all of its expenses and create a positive cash flow? If there is, then it might make sense to rent out the property and buy or rent another one. Then you can sell once the equity is back where you want it to be.

If the existing home won’t give you a positive cash flow, I think you should bite the bullet and sell. Buy another house in your new school district and start building equity there.

If your goal is to set up your kids for success in the future, I wouldn’t wait. Make the move now. Each case is different, however.

If you have any questions for us about your individual case or anything else relating to Chicagoland real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you.