Present woes
Jul. 31st, 2003 09:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nockergeekHome today. Don't know if it's allergies or a cold or what, but it's bodyaches and sinus pressure and drainage and it's kicking my ass. Getting my system re-set up, because somehow the audio drivers got totally b0rked, and I was unable to fix them with anything short of a full scrub and reinstall. That, and I wasn't able to get my CD burner to work, but I think that might have been due to some odd Nvidia IDE drivers that I didn't install this time around. Let's see if that fixes things.
And the other issue... our house. That's in some doubt right now. The situation is this:
The person who owns the house is moving to Colorado because of his job. He's a friend of the family, and wants to help us get into a house, so he's giving us a rent-to-own deal. He takes out a home equity loan so he has money to start building a house in Colorado, and we pay the payments on the loan for 3 years. Once that's up (and our debt has been paid off and our credit rating improved), we get a home loan for the remaining value of the house (minus the cost of any improvements we've made), and the house is ours. Well, he just got the numbers on what the monthly payments will be. He was aiming for $500 a month, but he could only get $715 a month.
To put that in perspective, we pay $595 a month rent right now. Also, that number doesn't include property tax, which we'd also be paying. There's also a couple of other new bills that'd be involved, like garbage and water, which we don't pay now. So, all told, I'm guessing that the total cost would be around $250 to $300 more a month than we pay now. We just don't have that kind of stretch in our budget.
So, what are our options?
1) Z gets a job.
This one's great; it covers our extra income needs nicely, and possibly gets Z some health insurance. Downside is that she's very limited in where she can work, thanks to her lack of driving ability. There's some jobs within walking distance of the new house, but not many, and we'd need her to get the job ASAP, which is not that likely in this job market.
2) Z's mom sells her house
Z's mom is moving out this way, and she's selling her condo in St. Louis. If it sells, she could get as much as $80,000 for it, and she's already promised that $10,000 of that is ours. If we got that, $5,000 would go into savings - which would give us some nice emergency reserves - and $5.000 could go to paying off debt. That could pay off my Gateway account and our two Discover cards... which would free up around $200 a month, and that would get us back to where we need to be. Only problem is, we don't know how soon that house will sell, so we can't bank on that money.
3) Get a roommate
We're looking at this option right now, and we've got 2 or three possibilities. The upside is that we get someone to take 1/3rd of the costs - rent/payment, tax, utilities, groceries - which helps out a ton. Downside is we lose our privacy to an extent, and if that roommate decides to leave, we're back to being in an unhappy place.
4) Mom and Dad help out
Talked to Dad brielfy on the phone last night, and he had mentioned this in passing, but adding that their ability to help would be very limited. My mom's quitting her job, you see, and becoming a personal chef, and that switch in jobs is going to tax their budget. What I think would happen is that the $800 or so of remodeling money they were going to give us would become rent money, doled out over a period of a few months. Problem is, it would only last a few months. Even if that was able to last us for 6 months, that only covers us through the holiday season... just when things are getting cold and our gas bill would skyrocket. Not a long term solution.
5) The seller eats the extra cost
Not a likely option, but to be thorough, I'll list it. The person selling us the house could absorb the extra $215 a month (or a lesser amount) until we're caught up on debt and can take over in full. Don't know if I can ask for this option, though. That's a hefty sacrifice just to help us out.
6) We don't move
This is our least favorite option, but unless we can swing one or more of the other 5 above -- and quickly, since our lease ends in September -- it's reality. Not trying to be a pessimist, but I'd be a fool to not take this possibility into account.
So, that's where we are and that's what's going on. We're going to be praying for help and guidance, and if anyone wants to add us to their prayers, we'd be very thankful.
And the other issue... our house. That's in some doubt right now. The situation is this:
The person who owns the house is moving to Colorado because of his job. He's a friend of the family, and wants to help us get into a house, so he's giving us a rent-to-own deal. He takes out a home equity loan so he has money to start building a house in Colorado, and we pay the payments on the loan for 3 years. Once that's up (and our debt has been paid off and our credit rating improved), we get a home loan for the remaining value of the house (minus the cost of any improvements we've made), and the house is ours. Well, he just got the numbers on what the monthly payments will be. He was aiming for $500 a month, but he could only get $715 a month.
To put that in perspective, we pay $595 a month rent right now. Also, that number doesn't include property tax, which we'd also be paying. There's also a couple of other new bills that'd be involved, like garbage and water, which we don't pay now. So, all told, I'm guessing that the total cost would be around $250 to $300 more a month than we pay now. We just don't have that kind of stretch in our budget.
So, what are our options?
1) Z gets a job.
This one's great; it covers our extra income needs nicely, and possibly gets Z some health insurance. Downside is that she's very limited in where she can work, thanks to her lack of driving ability. There's some jobs within walking distance of the new house, but not many, and we'd need her to get the job ASAP, which is not that likely in this job market.
2) Z's mom sells her house
Z's mom is moving out this way, and she's selling her condo in St. Louis. If it sells, she could get as much as $80,000 for it, and she's already promised that $10,000 of that is ours. If we got that, $5,000 would go into savings - which would give us some nice emergency reserves - and $5.000 could go to paying off debt. That could pay off my Gateway account and our two Discover cards... which would free up around $200 a month, and that would get us back to where we need to be. Only problem is, we don't know how soon that house will sell, so we can't bank on that money.
3) Get a roommate
We're looking at this option right now, and we've got 2 or three possibilities. The upside is that we get someone to take 1/3rd of the costs - rent/payment, tax, utilities, groceries - which helps out a ton. Downside is we lose our privacy to an extent, and if that roommate decides to leave, we're back to being in an unhappy place.
4) Mom and Dad help out
Talked to Dad brielfy on the phone last night, and he had mentioned this in passing, but adding that their ability to help would be very limited. My mom's quitting her job, you see, and becoming a personal chef, and that switch in jobs is going to tax their budget. What I think would happen is that the $800 or so of remodeling money they were going to give us would become rent money, doled out over a period of a few months. Problem is, it would only last a few months. Even if that was able to last us for 6 months, that only covers us through the holiday season... just when things are getting cold and our gas bill would skyrocket. Not a long term solution.
5) The seller eats the extra cost
Not a likely option, but to be thorough, I'll list it. The person selling us the house could absorb the extra $215 a month (or a lesser amount) until we're caught up on debt and can take over in full. Don't know if I can ask for this option, though. That's a hefty sacrifice just to help us out.
6) We don't move
This is our least favorite option, but unless we can swing one or more of the other 5 above -- and quickly, since our lease ends in September -- it's reality. Not trying to be a pessimist, but I'd be a fool to not take this possibility into account.
So, that's where we are and that's what's going on. We're going to be praying for help and guidance, and if anyone wants to add us to their prayers, we'd be very thankful.
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analyzing the options...
on 2003-07-31 08:26 am (UTC)1) job market isn't terrible for service retail stuff...(esp in the next month when all the high school kids go back to school) however there would be the problem of getting the job now with no transport...ala the same problem dan has atm...that and this would have to be something Z would want to do, since if I remember correctly she did less art when she was working...
2)without the knowledge of when, means you can't bank on it...that and once out of debt (in my opinion) it's better to have a feel of you acomplished something rather than still being strapped for money...
3)i'm very indifferent about this one...since I remember when all of us were talking about emulating the liberty crew and get a duplex...and one of the reasons that talk got dropped was the two of you didn't want a roommate, and from experience you do loose privacy and have to come to a new way of living with having one...and now that i've been without one for awhile, i think it would be tough to change my habbits and get one...so i would say getting a roommate would be as big if not a bigger stress than just moving to a house...
4) yeah, this wouldn't be a long term solution, and I wouldn't want to follow this one myself, since your mom is finally following a dream, and as you said, that is going to leave them with less money to fend with themselves...
5) try it...if it works, all your problems are solved...for now...but I agree i don't know if this could happen, but then again, for them if it's 500 or 0, they might take the 500...
6) yeah, that would be a rough option, but there's the closeness of the stores there so Z could earn a few extra dollars during the holiday season if she went back to part time working...
7) other location...unless there's no credit place that would give you a loan...some ppl at work have been trying to talk me into getting a condo...
8) trying to think of one...really am...er,m well, there could be the grandious get everyone into a place plan...where we get you two, kat, dan, me, mark, richard all in a condo/duplex situation...but don't know who all would be interested and don't know where to find one...
9) grasp at straws...well, there's always the lottery...spend a dollar a week and try to hit it big...
10) really grasping at straws...a plane carrying gold bars from Brazil crashes outside your apartment and you get the gold before the plane bursts into flames...
11) okay, i'm out of ideas...but i'll keep trying to think of things...