And now, because I'm still loaded, I think it's time to sell and move back to CA.

[Spiky Bugger]

I love me my house. Lots of potential. Been fun, in a warped kind of way, fixing it up. (Work in progress.). Keeps me off the streets. I spend VERY LITTLE money gambling, usually when guests are in town and I seldom drink booze. We don't go to shows....tried to, but medical issues arose. So, I dumped $40k into this...and I need to spend, maybe, another $8k.

Question is, can we break even on this?

Last month, the across-the-street house that was totally trashed sold for about $100-110k less than it might bring in fixed up. An identical house on a little bigger lot, very close by, that had a pool-this one doesn't) went for $125k more than the one right here went for. We believe these buyers to be house flippers. We hope so. If they can bring that eyesore up to market value, then that will raise the average comps considerably, and we can walk away with a break even situation. (I'm not talking about being underwater on a loan...we don't have that problem. I just want the sales price less commissions to cover what we have spent.)

So now we are entering our usual fix-up-for-sale mode. I hate it and I love it.

Reason...we are getting old and falling apart. A while back, we discovered it was cheaper to fly our kid up here to get Mr. Sue to outpatient surgery and back home (I was dealing with C Diff at the time) than it was to get a taxi or limo from where we were to where he needed to go. This Monday night, our kid got to stay up and worry about both of us when the hospital decided that I should be discharged at 1:00 a.m.

My sister is filling in for my Mom-Ersatz Grandma duties and I'm jealous. My daughter is considering taking a position that will make her occasionally unavailable for helping her boyfriend get his daughter to and from school. We can move close to the little princess's school and Mr. Sue can walk her to school or be added as a driver. Even falling apart, I know how to throw together Giada's chicken stew or a platter of enchiladas. And cooking those kind of things for four or five makes more sense than cooking them for two. (We would not need group dining, but knowing that a dinner is ready is a good thing for working couples.). (And, no...I wouldn't cook daily...I don't like it that much.)

And, from time to time, my sister would like me to go with her to the doctor to help her understand what diagnoses she's receiving or what options are being offered.

Also, at L.A. prices, a lot of people are hitting 40 and discovering that their retirement plan starts with, "First, mom and dad die..." We would not share housing...ever. But if I found a two on a lot or a duplex of sufficient size, I'd consider it.

And that's what drugs can do to executive cognitive skills!

Oh! The one way we can comfortably travel now is by train. Amtrak stopped coming to Las Vegas decades ago. So living in LA would allow us to use the train without a four or five hour drive at each end. We have freebies to use, you know!!

 

[star0210]

Sounds like a good plan to me...loaded or not!

 

[DianaCox]

I'm hoping you plan to use one of those freebies to come up here before WE move.

I'd love to move (back) to LA, but I don't think we can afford to do that, at least not to the beach where I'd want to live. Plus, about 6 million people need to leave before I'd want to share the freeways with the locals again.

We're starting to think about packing it up and moving too - only probably out of state. One current thought is Santa Fe NM. Two sets of people I know have left CA to semi-retire in Santa Fe in the last year, and they are posting Chamber of Commerce type pix of all the fun they're having there. Lovely homes with casitas for family members are pretty common there.

 

[JackieOnLine]

We would not share housing...ever.

I know you are talking family, but what about community? and sharing not the house, but the neighborhood? these things are also options.

and what's being loaded FOR if not looking at options you might not otherwise consider?


http://www.cohousing.org/

 

[Spiky Bugger]

I'm hoping you plan to use one of those freebies to come up here before WE move.

I'd love to move (back) to LA, but I don't think we can afford to do that, at least not to the beach where I'd want to live. Plus, about 6 million people need to leave before I'd want to share the freeways with the locals again.

We're starting to think about packing it up and moving too - only probably out of state. One current thought is Santa Fe NM. Two sets of people I know have left CA to semi-retire in Santa Fe in the last year, and they are posting Chamber of Commerce type pix of all the fun they're having there. Lovely homes with casitas for family members are pretty common there.

Me, too...but the train goes east, too! The traffic makes me nutz. And to ride alone in the HOV lane, at the time she needs it, costs our kid $250/month! That doesn't include what the car, its maintenance, insurance and fuel cost!

I can't sell this house until the house flippers across the street make a move.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

I know you are talking family, but what about community? and sharing not the house, but the neighborhood? these things are also options.

and what's being loaded FOR if not looking at options you might not otherwise consider?


http://www.cohousing.org/

I may not be a good candidate for that. I tend to prefer my relationship with neighbors to consist of a smile and friendly wave. Looks like excess togetherness, but I will read.