I moved into my dream house almost seven years ago -- it's a four-storey Victorian row house with marble fireplaces, pocket doors, mahogany banisters... it's gorgeous! It needed a lot of work, and I have it about half-renovated. Brand-new kitchen, gorgeous historic wallpaper, stripped wood-work. But -- but... I'm living beyond my means. My mortgage payment (due to reckless refinancing) is about 75% of my monthly outlay, and is more than twice what it originally was when I bought the house with 25% down seven years ago. I've kept tapping my house for equity and kept hoping that my job situation would improve. And it's not -- I am really stretched, and I am giving real thought to selling the house and all the stuff that goes with it.
It's such an emotional decision, and I haven't decided 100%, but I think it's probably the right thing to do. I'm self-employed and living month to month. I keep scraping by, but I am not living comfortably, and I'm working as much as I can right now. My (new) boyfriend and I have discussed my moving in with him (to his brand-new, very comfortable, no renovation work needed house), and that is what has put this whole plan in motion. I owe about half of what my house is worth (so I own two of the four floors, is the way I see it), plus a TON of student loans. If I could sell my house and all my stuff and move in with him, I would be totally out of debt, my monthly expenses would be about half of what they are now, and I would be living within my means.
It seems like the rational thing to do (maybe not the moving in with the boyfriend, but if not that, at least getting a little condo or even renting an apartment again), but it's such an emotional decision. I love my house, it is so special, but I'm walking around in a hat because i can't afford heat. And I've been waiting two years for my business to thrive, and it's still not happening.....
I welcome any thoughts as I make this decision.
