Why I'll Miss My Home

Spring

I'll miss my home because of spring.

I won't miss a realtor leaving the key in an unlocked door today, unnecessarily exposing my house to the random drive-by rubberneckers, robbers and dog-nappers.

P.S.  You can't smell this tree just from a photo, which is such a shame.

Short Sale Taxes

It's tax season, and taxes are on my mind.  I think taxes are super boring, and sometimes terrible.  Before we decided to sell our house for less than we owe, we went to a real estate lawyer.  It was our hope to avoid any potentially terrible/taxable/illegal things happening that we were not ready for.  We wanted to be informed.

If we short sell our house, the difference between what we owe, and what the buyer pays is potentially and usually taxable by the federal and state governments.  This seems silly as we would never see the cash, but it is because the government sees the difference as a 'gift' from the lender.  It would be a gift to be out from under an extravagant loan.

Fortunately, George Bush made a federal tax shelter on short sale income until December 2010.  The state can tax the difference if the house is not your primary residence and you have lived in it less than 2 years.  It seems as if we are in the clear on the tax front, but nothing is a sure thing.

If we are taxed on the difference, the tax will be negligible compared to the extreme cost of the loan and house we currently live in over the lifetime of the loan, or until we could sell and make money (in 37 yrs. looking at statistics).  We are having faith that this might work out, and by faith, I mean faith with a lawyer as an angel.

Short Sale Sob Story

Here is the latest on the short sale.  There is no news.

Though the price of our house dropped $40,000 last week, and more than 8 groups of realtors and potential buyer cruised through my immaculate house (opening my closets!!) over the weekend, no offers.

In 2 weeks the price will drop again, and it will stop dropping there, I hope.  The irony here is the lower the price, the more folks come to see the joint, and the less I want to keep it clean.  Taking excellent care of something that is worth so much less than we paid is disheartening.  Also, the lower the price goes, the less likely the bank will approve of a short sale.  They want the money we owe them, and at this point, it will be a big gap they would forgive.

Today, I threw the bag I carried on my bike ride on the counter along with the mail, all the dishes are undone, and 5 days worth of clean laundry is on the couch.  I have not vacuumed in 3 days (my vacuum broke).  If a realtor calls to show it, I'll just say no.  It kinda seems that it doesn't matter.

On an up note, the longer we stay in our house, the more likely my veggies will be mine at the end of the summer.  90 days of a short sale from now would be mid-June!  A few more weeks out, and I have tomatoes in August.

Mortgage Weight Gain

Talking about your mortgage is in an area of taboo topics. The others include bathroom and bedroom habits, personal salaries and weight.  The World Wide Web is rife with taboo topics, so this post fits perfectly.  I know banking and real estate are big business, but my house is personal.  I'll pick the lesser personal topic as an analogy of my mortgage.

We need to eat, just as we need shelter.  Could you imagine if you sat down to an average, everyday breakfast, nothing fancy, just fuel to keep yourself going during the day, but there was something amiss?

It looks like a piece of toast and and egg, but you have this nagging feeling.  You have been eating this breakfast everyday for 4 years.  It is healthy, it has whole grains, protein, and you need it.  It is high in fiber, just enough fat, and seemingly, the right amount to get you to lunch.

Contributing to your doubts are 50lbs you have gained in the last 4 years.  Though this reasonable meal seem perfect, what should have 350 calories, really has 2,000 calories.  You don't feel any fuller, but the scale, and your waistline tell you differently.  The toast and egg people are telling you to eat it anyway saying you can lose the weight in 40 years.

This is a perfect analogy of me and my mortgage.  I am a sensible and reasonable person in most areas of my life, especially those 'unmentionable' areas.  Paying for this house, is thinking you are eating diet food, and actually eating everything on the McMenu.

Though the 7-8 groups of potential buyers that walked through my house this weekend made me grieve the loss of this house, I also want to get my diet back in check so that I am not a 70 year old, sick homeowner.