Now that my family and I have discussed the cutting things to the bone idea, our options have simplified considerably. We've taken a temporary apartment off the table, as well as living with our friends for a couple months. Now we're down to two options:
- Giving the tenants notice and moving into our place whether or not we sell the condo.
- Giving the tenants notice and moving in once we sell the condo.
We're 95% set on the first of the two options. And that one has two options as well: Give the tenants this week so we can move in Oct. 1, or give them notice next month so we can move in Nov. 1.
Again we're leaning toward the first option. Being at the new place but not being able to get into the unit that will be our home makes it so tantalizing to get started in our new place, even if we have to watch every penny to afford it.
The only reason I'm still hesitating is I want one more piece to fall into place. bluesfemme had the excellent idea of getting a student loan for NT's last semester tuition, so we don't have to shell out all that money ($4500) right now and can have a little cushion. As soon as I read that I applied for NT, and we're just waiting to see if the loan is approved. Tuition is due 9/15, but if the loan covers it, we can hold that money and pay the loan off later. I'd like assurance that the loan has gone through before I commit to kicking the renters out. I need to give them notice by 8/16, and it should be sent a day or two earlier so they get it in time for it to be 45 days notice.
If we get confirmation in the next day or two, I'm going to ask the seller's agent (who is offering his services free for the first half of the month to help us transition) to give them notice.
If we decide to hold off, I'll have to give them notice myself, but the seller said he'd send me a form letter I could use.
Either way, I've looked into the rental license change-of-ownership and renewal, and I am going to have to do that anyway since we'll be renting to our friends. So I'm going to get that going, and I'll see how much it costs to get both units approved or just one. (Seller's agent said it would be about $20 more to get both, so I might just do that, especially if we decide to keep the renters for an extra month.)
We had one showing of the condo last week and none this week so far. So I think it would be agony to wait for the place to sell before we moved. (We wouldn't want to kick the renters out in the dead of winter, so if we stayed, we'd need to take the condo off the market if it didn't sell by 9/15.)
Also, living in a staged place is no fun, for the grownups or the kids. My makeup routine that I started in March and really enjoyed has fallen by the wayside because I run around in the morning doing finishing touches to the condo (vacuuming, dusting, wiping surfaces, rearranging things).
And, the budget would only be this tight until about February, when we can try to refinance the mortgage and get rid of PMI. Several raises are imminent and several expenses will be done with next year. Six months of watching every penny vs. six months of watching every bit of dust and clutter? They'll both be challenging, but we're really good at tightening our belts when we need to, so hopefully it'll be less stressful.
Trying to keep the vision simple now & various updates
August 12th, 2014 at 06:23 pm
August 12th, 2014 at 11:01 pm 1407884491
August 12th, 2014 at 11:14 pm 1407885253
When I look at the numbers, the budget is of course way tighter than I'm used to or comfortable with, but it's totally doable. In fact next year we'll be able to carry both mortgages fairly comfortably, so even if we don't sell and can't refi the new place, next year isn't going to be a problem. It's just the rest of this year that we have to cut back on spending money and try and avoid unnecessary spending.
August 13th, 2014 at 03:22 pm 1407943379
Funny how the agent told you to spruce the place up and then list at a price that would get you out of the loan, even though that price was never achievable. Now that she has the commission check from your purchase, she's telling you to be realistic and lower the price. In your shoes, I'd fire her and get an agent that looked out for my interest as well as hers.
August 13th, 2014 at 03:48 pm 1407944894
August 13th, 2014 at 06:26 pm 1407954384
August 13th, 2014 at 08:06 pm 1407960365
Might be time to just admit a) we bought at a terrible time, b) our condo building's prices are not recovering as fast as others in the neighborhood (our high association dues is my guess at the culprit), and c) people don't like the south-facing view, and just get out whatever it takes.