Looking to Move?
Many who could work from home discovered they could work from home in a different location. One which costs less. One which had more room. As a result, large cities like San Francisco and New York saw an outflow of mobile workers. Many were looking to move to better manage finances or acquire additional space from which to work. Both cities shared a common bond—highly expensive for small areas of indoor space. Each city had its own personality, but these were little to be found during lockdowns and shutdowns. Recent lifting of mask mandates many lockdowns begins a slow return to normalcy. Will the larger, expensive cities recover faster or more slowly than other areas?
Where to Move?
Do you have the flexibility to move? Perhaps no family ties keep you in your current city. Perhaps flexible work, remote work, or multiple company offices offer options to transfer. Maybe income levels in an expensive city don’t provide sufficient pay to afford it. Many forced into work from home found a better balance along with increased savings and want to continue that trend.
What does this have to do with mortgage advice you ask? If you’ve read Winning Mortgage, Winning Home or posts from our website, you understand the minimum down payment requirements to get into a home. You also understand how mortgage pricing moves up or down with the amount of that down payment. Winning Mortgage, Winning Home and this website complement each other. But the information differs. As a result, Winning Mortgage, Winning Home provides much more detailed and important information not available on My Winning Mortgage.
You think you understand the minimum down payment requirement. What if the minimum down payment reflects a negative number instead of cash out of your pocket? In other words, what if you essentially can get paid to get a home?
Incentives
New incentives have cropped up to lure you to areas with lower costs of living, walkable neighborhoods, and larger spaces. Cities have started paying remote workers to relocate! Two examples:
A Tulsa, Oklahoma, nonprofit called Tulsa Remote offers workers $10,000 to move there.
A new program in West Virginia, Ascend WVA, combines cash and financial incentives equaling $20,000 to people willing to work from there. The program received funding of $25 million from executive chairman of Intuit and state native Brad Smith.
Why did the programs kick in? The current work-from-anywhere opportunity may last for a much longer time and may not disappear with vaccines. Demand for “digital nomads” increased with competition offering cash to relocate. The programs have many adherents and converts across the country. The poachers don’t want the workers to quit their jobs. They just want them to do those jobs from somewhere else. These cities believe the additional wrokforce boosts the local economy and diversity.
Some cities and non-profits teamed together and additional offer social programs and opportunities to get connected and plugged in to the community. Many young college graduates moved to the job and have no deep ties. These individuals get an opportunity to meet new friends since that opportunity diminishes significantly after college when moving to a new town.
A new website, MakeMyMove.com, tracks incentives and opportunities.
Support Goes Beyond Cash Incentives
In West Virginia in addition to Smith’s financial contribution, the state of West Virginia provides other support to the program. It committed equal investments in amenities like broadband, affordable housing, and the infrastructure required to make these communities welcoming for these remote workers. Those moving will have the opportunity to work in co-working facilities with fellow peers.
Similarly, Tulsa offers pay to move and started its program well before the pandemic hit. The average price of a home in Tulsa increased 11% compared with a year ago according to Zillow. But it remained less than $150,000, well below the national average. A $10,000 incentive on a $150,000 home effectively represents a 7% down payment! With no cash from you, this equates to -7% needed for that down payment.
While these programs look to diversify the economies of each respective city, those moving may find that the new location offers a different lifestyle which may or may not be attractive. However, the West Virginia incentive already has received substantial interest and may need to be expanded.
So, are you looking to move? You might even be able to avoid the froth in the market being seen in the major cities.
An Added Bonus for Military
Did you acquire an in demand skill while in the military? Perhaps a separation from the military comes with your desire to move to an area away from your duty station. The military assists with moving expenses. Do It Yourself moving can come with an additional payment to you on top of incentives from one of the many cities looking to pay you to relocate. For more details, check out the military’s Personally Procured Move information.