from our trip to the Virgin Islands ... St. John, USVI
When thinking of cruising and "the other side", we can't help but think ... as they say, "the grass is greener". If only our daily life were as simple as being monotonous!
The past week has been a blur, and we feel like somebody needs to throw us a line. Yep, as hard as we try .. some things never change. Without boring you with the same ole details may I just say ... Being a landlord SUCKS!!
Home inspection, heated "discussions" on the phone with deadbeat tenant, calls for repair estimates, another inspection Saturday ... ugh! We're again preparing for a couple of weeks of missed work and spent dollars to get the house back in shape. I digress, and I bore you with details. Anyway, we're going to fix up the house and try to sell it as well. The house is starting to suffer from the neglect of others, and we hate to get it looking good again ... just to be trashed again.
We really hoped that we'd have our own house sold before being faced with a vacant rental. We'd have the money to sit on the rental until it sold, and we could move into that rental until it sold. It would make perfect sense instead of renting an apartment for 6 months while we prepare Nirvana for cruising. We could "stage" the home, live out of boxes, and "sail away" soon after the closing.
In just a few days, we'll be faced with paying two mortgages. I'm not gonna lie ... this is scary stuff! We can't do it for very long. We're going to lower the price again on our current home, and hope we can sell it in the next few months. If we can't, then we'll have no choice but to rent the other home again. Timing is everything. At least we're not losing the house, so we've gotta be thankful that we can rent it if needed.
Sorry cruisers and liveaboards, but maintaining one boat sounds like a "breeze"! The grass has gotta be greener ... and the water is definitely bluer!
While we visualize the gray hairs sprouting from our heads from worry, we're keeping our chin up and a smile on our face. We've never been the type to give up and when we're on the "other side", it will be so sweet cause we'll have overcome so many obstacles and we did it on our own. Thanks to the amazing people that follow our blog and give us hope ... we know we'll get there!
Hasta luego ... until then. Mid-Life Cruising!
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9 comments:
A very difficult situation indeed! You're right, it would have been great to have the rental to live in while preparing to cruise, but it's probably a good idea to get it on the market so perhaps one of the two houses will sell soon -- and maybe both! Spring is the best time to sell, and it will be here down south before you know it. Pulling for you guys and sorry you're having to do so much extra work yet again. It's just not right!
I wouldn't rent for anything. I'd not let some deadbeat ruin my home. I just couldn't do it. I'm so sorry this is happening yet again.
Have a terrific day. :)
Keep pushing through the guys! If it were easy to get there everyone would be doing it! One day at a time!
It took a trip back to the states for us to re-set our cruising mindset. It is easy no matter where one is to feel the strain. Now we can't wait to go back to our boat work!
I am so sorry to hear you're back to the same old sh*t! When did renters get the idea it's okay to trash someone else's home? I really do feel so bad for you, but I say get rid of it too!! Sometimes I get so disgusted with what our society has come to, and yes, I'd rather deal with our own boat issues as opposed to cleaning up after a bunch of idiots.
I wonder if this will work out where you don't have any kind of 'attachment' to land when you go off cruising. Sorry it's happening, but perhaps there is a silver lining later. Keep a good thought!
Oh, man, sorry to read this is happening to you AGAIN! We've had really good success using reputable property-management firms when we couldn't/didn't want to sell our rentals. The 7% - 10% fee they charge pays us back a zillionfold in stress relief while we're out in tropical waters somewhere. We've instructed them to price it a little below market rate so they can get a lot of applicants to choose from, then they can be picky about prospective tenant's credit history, etc. and we get stable long-term tenants. Don't know if this solution applies where you are, but might be worth exploring. Hope to see you "out there" really soon!
Geesh! We are really rooting for you that you sell you house quick!
Maybe you two can live on Nirvana and rent both the house and the rental until the house sells? I know Oak Harbor has facilities and has to be cheaper then renting an apartment. Just a thought.
Good Luck!!
Thanks for all the kind words! We are really hoping that the upcoming Spring will cause the housing market to pick up. We could use a property management service, but I'm a real estate agent and I already run the credit check, take the application, etc. I know of several great management companies that also have their share of deadbeats. I think we'll save the extra costs for now.
Dani, your idea is a great one IF we could find tenants that would take good care of the houses. That's been the problem the past few years, and we just finished renovating our personal home. We couldn't bear to turn it into a rental as well .. we'd probably never get anything sold! =)
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