‘Are we just dumb?’: This VA couple bought the ‘perfect’ house in their 20s with no inspection. Now they’re giving up a 2.7% mortgage to escape it

“Everybody that we talk to is like, you know, homeownership is the dream,” Chloe told personal finance author Sethi on the Nov. 3 episode of his podcast. “And I’m like, are we just dumb?”

They locked in 2.7% when the average 30-year fixed rate tracked by Freddie Mac, the Virginia-based mortgage buyer, was near its record low of 2.65% in January 2021. Freddie Mac’s Nov. 12 survey put that average at 7.11%. For the second quarter of 2026, data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Freddie Mac, shows just 19.2% of outstanding U.S. mortgages under 3%. Chloe had gone back and forth for about eight months because she didn’t want to add selling to the list of money mistakes they’d already made.

How they ended up in a house appraised at $595K with no inspection

Back then, they were paying $2,400 a month in rent. Jake figured rates that low would never return and saw rent as wasted money. The house appraised at $595K, above the $500K they’d budgeted.

The mortgage went in Jake’s name alone. By his account, averaging their two credit scores would have put them under a 760 cutoff, so Chloe was left off the loan.

“Honestly, signing that though, like I wanted to throw up,” he said of the roughly half-million-dollar loan.

Their monthly payment with escrow has gone from $2,990 to $3,072. Once maintenance and other costs are added, the couple estimated they spend closer to $4,500.

Then came what Chloe calls their “schemes.” Two years ago, an $80K home equity loan paid for renovations meant to turn the house into an Airbnb rental, though Chloe admitted they barely looked at the area’s rental demand, which she said is soft. They also bought a 44-foot, eight-year-old RV for $50K and a new truck to tow it.

Getting the RV off the property proved such a struggle that it never went on a trip, and they sold it two years later for $30K to $32K. As of the episode, they were putting about $7,000 a month toward the $45K left on the home equity loan, which they need to clear before they can sell.

Why Sethi says homeowners must consider more than the math alone

When Sethi pulled up their accounts on the show, the couple was bringing in $30,166 a month before taxes, which he worked out to $361,992 a year. On top of that, they had $304K invested, $68K in savings and a net worth of $692K.

Jake’s been pushing to sell. He’d take the roughly $250K in equity, put it in an S&P 500 index fund and not touch it, so their retirement would be mostly taken care of while they’re young. Chloe would agree when he walked her through it, then start doubting it again half an hour later because the house might keep going up in value.

Sethi figured that, if they keep the house and retire in 25 years, they’d end up with about $4.8 million. Sell now and invest the equity, and he put it closer to $6.2 million, though rent would probably eat into some of that.

“One way or another, both of these decisions will be fine,” Sethi told them. So he kept steering the talk back to what they actually want.