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A couple who bought a $400,000 home in the Austin, Texas area with cash is ready to walk away, even if it means taking a $40,000 loss.
“We tried to make it work for a year, but we hate it here,” the original poster wrote on Reddit. Now, they say they’re eyeing Denver or Dallas but have discovered they may only be able to sell for $380,000 or $390,000. Once closing costs are factored in, they estimate the loss will be about $40,000.
The post prompted hundreds of replies from people who had gone through the same thing, many of whom urged the couple to just sell and move on.
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“Asset prices go up. Asset prices go down. No sense in beating yourself up,” one person wrote. “Make the best decision based on where you stand today. Don’t give in to the feelings of regret or sunk cost fallacies.”
Another person summed up the harsh truth: “If you hate it, forget the money and move on.”
Some homeowners shared similar regrets. “I bought a house and then 11 months later I sold it,” one commenter said. “I lost a lot of money on that house. I don’t regret selling it. I do regret buying it, and I haven’t recovered financially.”
One person explained they had a bad gut feeling before closing and should have listened: “The basement flooded five days after moving in and caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage.”
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Several replies emphasized the importance of renting before buying in a new city. “Rent for a year before buying anything again,” one wrote. Another added, “I rented after selling and couldn’t have been happier.”
Some said that instead of selling, the couple should consider renting out the house. But many experienced landlords pushed back. “There are tons of unexpected costs. Time between tenants is a loss. Tenants are all assholes,” one commenter wrote.
