Status Update
So it’s about time for an update. Things have been a bit… interesting lately, and not really what I’d call a good way.
The Saturday before Mother’s Day, we received two phone calls; from our realtor here in Boston, and from our landlord. Turns out, the owners of the house (our landlord’s wife and her sister in law) are kind of done with having a house that’s losing money, as the third floor hasn’t been rented out for over a year, and I suspect they have some sort of reduced rent arrangement going on with the 2nd floor tenant, as he’s supposed to be the caretaker.
Long story short, the house is on the market to be sold, and while our current landlords have said they want to make it a condition of the sale that we are ‘taken care of’, legally once the title changes hands, there is absolutely nothing that can be done. Our apartment is the only one that is remodeled, and while the realtor showing the place assures us that everyone looking has no plans of living there… we’re not really comfortable with assuming that the new owner will want us as tenants.
Our initial thought was, ‘Maybe we can buy the place ourselves!’ Much glee and daydreaming ensued until we sat down and heard the asking price. Maybe in 10 years we could afford that, but I wouldn’t pay it for this house; the 2nd and 3rd floors need extensive remodeling, new siding, the porch needs to be scrapped and redone, new windows in the basement (They are not up to current code, neither, I suspect, is some of the electrical work in the basement). The 715k asking price is, I think, way steep for the area, but… Davis Square IS a happening place, so.
So anyway, we discussed with our Boston realtor (the same agency selling the place, which is handy), and talked amongst ourselves. We want a bigger place, because we have a couple of folks wanting to move in with us, and while I love our small apartment, 4 people would be claustrophobic in it.
We had a couple of weeks to adjust to the knowledge that we were going to be moving; and start gearing up to look…. When we got a phone call from OUR tenants in Illinois. Without going into details of their personal lives; they have to break the lease and will be moved out by the end of the month. So… we’re faced with having to make that mortgage again.
We’re working with our Illinois realtor, and are going to put the place back on the market (If anyone is looking for a sweet little duplex up on the Wisconsin border, have we got a deal for you!!). On a whole, this is a very frustrating and stressful position to be in, but we’re hoping that the changes we put in (some improvements to the deck, new furnace/AC, new dishwasher, all new carpet, new ceiling in the basement, the bamboo flooring, new paint, etc etc) will entice someone to buy it and we can cut loose of that responsibility.
I have nightmares of last year repeating itself; the house on the market for months with no movement, the house we’re in getting sold out from under us and we have to scramble to find something and move… agh. Ultimately it would be simpler for us to just buy here in Boston, but obviously with the Illinois house still a question mark…. Yeah.
Apparently the universe decided things were going too smoothly for us. -.-
The Saturday before Mother’s Day, we received two phone calls; from our realtor here in Boston, and from our landlord. Turns out, the owners of the house (our landlord’s wife and her sister in law) are kind of done with having a house that’s losing money, as the third floor hasn’t been rented out for over a year, and I suspect they have some sort of reduced rent arrangement going on with the 2nd floor tenant, as he’s supposed to be the caretaker.
Long story short, the house is on the market to be sold, and while our current landlords have said they want to make it a condition of the sale that we are ‘taken care of’, legally once the title changes hands, there is absolutely nothing that can be done. Our apartment is the only one that is remodeled, and while the realtor showing the place assures us that everyone looking has no plans of living there… we’re not really comfortable with assuming that the new owner will want us as tenants.
Our initial thought was, ‘Maybe we can buy the place ourselves!’ Much glee and daydreaming ensued until we sat down and heard the asking price. Maybe in 10 years we could afford that, but I wouldn’t pay it for this house; the 2nd and 3rd floors need extensive remodeling, new siding, the porch needs to be scrapped and redone, new windows in the basement (They are not up to current code, neither, I suspect, is some of the electrical work in the basement). The 715k asking price is, I think, way steep for the area, but… Davis Square IS a happening place, so.
So anyway, we discussed with our Boston realtor (the same agency selling the place, which is handy), and talked amongst ourselves. We want a bigger place, because we have a couple of folks wanting to move in with us, and while I love our small apartment, 4 people would be claustrophobic in it.
We had a couple of weeks to adjust to the knowledge that we were going to be moving; and start gearing up to look…. When we got a phone call from OUR tenants in Illinois. Without going into details of their personal lives; they have to break the lease and will be moved out by the end of the month. So… we’re faced with having to make that mortgage again.
We’re working with our Illinois realtor, and are going to put the place back on the market (If anyone is looking for a sweet little duplex up on the Wisconsin border, have we got a deal for you!!). On a whole, this is a very frustrating and stressful position to be in, but we’re hoping that the changes we put in (some improvements to the deck, new furnace/AC, new dishwasher, all new carpet, new ceiling in the basement, the bamboo flooring, new paint, etc etc) will entice someone to buy it and we can cut loose of that responsibility.
I have nightmares of last year repeating itself; the house on the market for months with no movement, the house we’re in getting sold out from under us and we have to scramble to find something and move… agh. Ultimately it would be simpler for us to just buy here in Boston, but obviously with the Illinois house still a question mark…. Yeah.
Apparently the universe decided things were going too smoothly for us. -.-