selling a sentimental/childhood home... your experience?

[oklahomajewel]

Keep in mind that renting the house puts you in the position of being responsible for repairs and such. Depending on the kind of people you get it can get real expensive in hurry.
Just something to think about. Personally I'd sell it.

yeah, I don't know that "I" wanna be the landlord and deal with late payments or calls saying "come fix this" ... but then using a prop. mgmt company would eat up any profit .

I need to talk to the ex and the kids... it's not the end of the world. Actually, the thought of being out of debt and living is sooo appealing (hear me , Dave Ramsey?)

[robfisher]

Renting the house might also put you in a different position on Capital Gains Taxes. Check it out before making that choice.

[angib]

It is just a house, it's not my dad, it's not something I can 'take with me'.

There you are - you had already made the decision, but needed to write it down (like saying it out loud) to recognise it as the truth.

It's like the T&TTT&T forum here (teardrops & tiny travel trailers & therapy).

One suggestion - go round with a camera and photo the place before you sell - even if you remember every square inch, your sons will like the photos ten or twenty years from now.

Andrew

[asianflava]

Funny that wou should mention this. We have finally gotten around to purging the house of stuff/junk. There were 3 piles (as of last night) in the dining room: Goodwill, Garage Sale, Stuff we still have to go thru. I got sick of the Goodwill pile and mentioned that I may load it up into Mel's car. Then she said OK, lets go thru our clothes and see what we can give or throw away.

She decided to give away the dress that her mom wore to our wedding. It has been in our closet since she passed away. It's not her mom, nor will keeping it bring her back. She has her own memories (and scrapbooks) that will remind her.

I loaded it up last night and this morning she stopped off at Goodwill and dropped it off. Hopefully, someone else will get some use out of the things we weren't using.

[Sierrajack]

Here's my 2 cents worth having lived it and recently gone through a similar deal.
My first wife and I bought a beautiful 2 story house in a small town in Utah. The house was built in 1941 and was a 1 owner who kept it immaculate but the interior was somewhat dated. I loved that house, I put a great deal of cash and labor into it so that it was the very best it could be. Every time I walked into the front door, it kinda took me back to my childhood days (remembering the 40s and 50s). My wife passed away rather unexpectedly and suddenly and I found myself alone in this giant house I loved but, the payments and size was just too much. I moved to another state and decided that at my age, apartment living especially with a small dog wasn't exactly what I wanted. I was fortunate enough to find a good real estate agent and we found a very nice townhouse for an extremely reasonable price and I bought it. Well, as things have gone, I've gotten remarried and live in a house that's paid for. I think the best way to go is to dress your house up - I call it "Hollywood". Make a potential buyer "think" what they see is terrific. Ask your Real Estate Agent for their tips and tricks and follow them. Sell, it, down size with something you are comfortable with and can afford and just do it. Life is way too short and if you think about it, it's past time that you get selfish and do things for yourself. The house you live in may continue to degrade and cost you precious money which at this point in time, sounds like you can't afford.. I have learned so much about buying and selling homes over the past 4 years that I think I could write a book.
By the way, I sold that house and still made $11,000.00 over and above what I invested in it plus cost of upgrades and only lived there for 9 months. The house I grew up in is about 100 years old, maybe 1200 square feet and would cost 50-60K to upgrade and the market value would be less than what any investment was.

[Podunkfla]

Julie... I hafta agree with most of the others here. Downsizing makes sense in your situation; but renting is not such a great idea (in my view) because you are just buying a house for your landlord. You might as well build that equity for yourself with the same money. Unfortunately, real estate prices are down right now. I can't belive your nice 2300 sq. ft. house and "barn" workshop would only bring $95,000. though? Maybe there is that much difference in OK prices and backwoods Florida I live in... I don't know? But, even in my small town (almost in Georgia) that house would bring $165,000. or more. On the other hand, now may be a good time to find a deal on a smaller house closer to work with the prices going down. I wish you all the best in making this change in your life. Sounds like you have it well in hand.

friend ~ Brick

[Elumia]

I'll take the other side of the coin. This likely represents your largest single investment Currently the housing market appears to be down, so if you are selling now, you are selling low to later buy high unless the market goes lower - do you think it will?. Once you are out of the housing market the price of entry will usually get higher later. If you go rent, yes your rent may be less, but you will probably pay more income tax. If it is less will you save the money or just spend it elswhere on a higher standard of living?

I would talk to a financial advisor to help you make this choice. even if your current house is too big for needs, they can advise what might work best to meet your financial goals. I suspect you borrowed money from your 401K from your ealier message. I did the same when I divorced to help make ends meet. I paid it back later by taking a second mortgage. If I had not bought a house when I divorced, right now I would be priced out of the California market even at it's depressed state. The tax free sale of your house will likely be more important for your retirement than your 401K. You will always have to live somewhere. A mortgage is the best form of rent control. Maybe refinancing the whole mortgage is an idea to help you consolidate your finances - just don't dig the same hole again (if you have consumer debt problems). Selling to move closer to work and your Son's school may be your best choice. Do you have opportunities for roomates? can you rent out the barn to some one for storage? research your options.

Mark

[oklahomajewel]

Funny , I got this in my email just the other day....



Bank Account

A 92 yr old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coiffed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, he was provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet curtains that had been hung on his window.
"I love it", he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room: just wait"
"That doesn't have anything to do with it" he replied.
"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice: I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life."

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. So my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! "Thank you for your part in filling my memory bank. I am still depositing. "

Remember these five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

[Podunkfla]

Julie... I got that one too. And, I absolute love it! It really made me think about how lucky I actually am. Sure I've had my share of health problems and other setbacks over the years; but I'm still a lot better off than most people I know. I to am now doing my best to keep on "making deposits."

Someone once told me there were only two rules to live by:

Rule 1). Don't sweat the small stuff.
Rule 2). It's all small stuff.

[madjack]

Rule 1). Don't sweat the small stuff.
Rule 2). It's all small stuff.

...my version of that...and I live by it religiously...
1) don't sweat the small stuff...it is afterall...small stuff
2) don't bother sweating the big stuff 'cause it is big stuff and you can't do anything about it.
...t'ain't nuthin' but a thang....
madjack

[kajamelu4]

Julie-
Remember....No matter what you decide, your friends will support your decision. We'll laugh with you, cry with you, whatever it takes. And if it takes more than that, Lucas, Meggie, and I are only 1 hour away. Just call.
We'll be right there.

Karol