July 9, 2008

• Life: The Rollercoaster

  So, lots has been going on here. Our biggest decision, in recent days, has been to put our house up for sale. Just typing those words makes my stomach knot up, but after days of thinking of possible alternatives, it seems to be the best and most logical decision. The biggest problem has been the old house. It isn't selling and we have been dropping and dropping and dropping the price and still nothing. We started at $599K and just this week, dropped it another $20K, so now we are at $449K.

  Even with the statistics on home sales, we have dropped it much more than overall prices have been reported to have dropped. We had counted on being able to make some profit, after paying off the debts on it, and now we are hoping we can break even on the loans against it. I can't complain, we are in much better shape then most. We do have a roof over our heads, and we can put food on the table. But we have also tried to be very careful in our investments and choices. And even with all that, things are falling apart.

  Our plan is to sell this house, pay off the debts on the old house, and then move back into the old house. I don't mind the house, I did after all pick it out back in 2000 when we moved in, and it is in a lot better shape than it had been, but it will mean returning to a school district that is very poorly rated and seems to just try to push kids from grade to grade, regardless of how they are doing. It was that school district that just shrugged their shoulders when Becca tested at a 2nd grade level of math skills while in 5th grade. We ended up spending over $8000 to send her to private tutoring at Sylvan to help her catch up and get back on track. The school offered nothing more than to tell us that her teacher thought Sylvan was a 'scam' and would not cooperate in any help they asked for.

  For now, I think I can keep them in the good school district for one more year, but after that, it will likely be impossible.

  Joe and I are looking for work, and are hoping to sell both cars and trade down to something smaller and more gas efficient. Meanwhile, we will stay in the Carlsbad house, till we have to leave. The hardest part will be to get this place in shape to show to prospective buyers and keep it that clean. The girls, especially, are not the best at neat. They do seem to be taking it all well, however. They like the old house, it is where they have spent most of their lives, and they especially like it now that it is cleaned up. They would still have their own rooms.

  So if I am not around much this summer, it will probably be because I am busy running around trying to deal with two homes and big moves.

  A big thank you to all you idiots who took loans you knew you could not afford and all you people who pushed people to take them. Thanks for destroying the value of all our homes, even if we were careful in the loans we accepted and have been diligent about paying our mortgage payments. Oh, and don't forget to keep whining about how horrible it is, so congress can refinance you for being bad credit risks you lied about your income.

  • 6:11 pm
  • 6 Comments