Day 158: Gotta Make A Decision

1. August 1st marks the beginning of No Spend Month. It's a great idea that I've loosely toyed with over the past year BUT the whole family has to be on board for this to work. Informed everyone last night that we're going to really, really try to see if we can do this. I'm tired of watching money flow out of the bank. Really.

2. I miss England today for some strange reason. That is to say, I miss the England I used to know back in the 70s and 80s. I miss the family and friends that I left behind so long ago even though most of them have died, gone awol or just plain gone nuts! I wish things hadn't gone so bad between me and my parents. I wish I'd just hung on until my dad was back on that plane home and that I'd kept my mouth shut. I couldn't care less about him, however, I just miss my mum. I miss talking to her and I despise my father even more for finally being able to come between us, the jealous fool.

3. Talked with my realtor friend last night about the lowball offer we received for our house. She tells me that the pilot dude is a serious buyer and that we shouldn't let him get away. LOL. PIL says that the realtor just wants to make a sale which obviously wouldn't be too far from the truth. The questions:

A. Do we let the house go for a lower price than we planned to get and then lowball our own offers to make up for that loss until we find someone/something desperate enough to go for it?

B. Do we keep the house and hope that the market turns around within the next couple of years?

Some people I've talked to think the housing market here will be down only for the next 2 years or so. I disagree. The last housing downturn took over 10 years to shake and, even then, only because of the fake lender-created housing boom.

I think we should cut our losses and downsize just as we planned. The house is getting to the point that we're going to need to put some serious money into it - new flooring is needed, new paint inside and out, and LANDSCAPING. The landscaping alone is going to run into the tens of thousands and I just don't have the heart for it. I really don't. I've come to the conclusion that I really don't like this house that much. I don't like it enough to want to stay here. The floorplan bugs me now - the layout is all wrong.

Instead of building the family and living rooms in the front of the house, with a nice view of the mountains, those rooms were built at the back. Even though it's a somewhat new custom design, the house is too dark. The windows don't let in enough light and we need to install skylights, especially in the hallway. A wall cuts off the entire flow of the house - the wall runs the width of the house, right through the middle. When entering through the front door, there's the wall right in front of your face, blocking light, energy and flow. This wall would not be considered good fung shui. Someone needs to take that wall out and redesign the kitchen area. The house is just feeling too pokey now.

Emotionally, I have already cut ties to this house. I want to move. I never stay in a house more than 2 or 3 years and I've been here for almost 6. I'll still be living in the same neighborhood, just a smaller house. I showed DC#2 the house I'd like to buy on the internet last night - DC#2 didn't say much of anything other than to ask why I'm selling, but I could feel the vibes: cheap, cheap, cheap. The tract house definitely looks more cheaply built than the house I'm in.

The kids will all be in university two years from now and I need to do what's best for PIL and me. I've literally mortgaged the past 5 years, and those are 5 years that I cannot get back. I want to take some vacations with the kids while we still can. I want to pay the next house off quickly. I want to save for early retirement. I don't think I can do any of that with the house I currently own around my neck. There is just too much of a monetary outlay involved.

So, if the pilot dude gets real and makes us an offer that will allow us to put down a large downpayment on the next house, we will take the loss and sell. He's going to have to offer at least $525K for that to happen and the realtor is going to have to take a commission cut as well. Luckily, she's already suggested that.