Exodus
So it's been a weird couple of days. I've been lurking on a Portland real estate site, spying on houses for sale for over a year now. I did a similar thing when I was moving to Seattle. Anyway, I found a place 5 blocks from where Dee and her friends are currently living for a disgustingly low price ($200k for 5bd). I mentioned it to Dee, and she mentioned that their lease is almost up, and they have to move. Wouldn't it be great if they could stay in the same location and have a sweet place without a rental agency constantly all over their shit? At the same time, I'm getting word from the boss that the startup is going away in less than 3 months. It's either started or stopped by that point, which means I'm either fired or rich. At the same time, one of my friends from TechShop was here for the weekend, doing a really good job of reminding me of all the really cool shit I could be doing with my life if I weren't so bogged down by bills and other commitments.
So I made up my mind, I was going to try to dump this place, even if it meant a loss, and grab the house in Portland outright. That would likely mean all my outstanding debt wiped away, $1600/mo income (regardless of employment status), and I'd still have a room to sleep in. I could use the new-found freedom to work on projects at TechShop in Portland, help out with Watershed, start teaching part-time at community colleges, etc.
Of course, it didn't work out (the place is basically already sold), and that wasn't a surprise. But really getting into the nuts and bolts of things, it will take 2-3 months to sell this place, even if it's a fire-sale. And since I'm going to (probably) be unemployed and unable to pay bills in 2-3 months, that means it's time to go. At the very least, it's time for the house to go. If the startup starts up (which honestly, is a distinct possibility), I can always just get an apartment and stay here, working. But an hour after the startup goes under, I want to be south of Olympia.
I've been talking about doing this for a while now (every summer, it seems) and I've always held off on it because of financial reasons (like the house would get $50k more if I did $10k worth of work on it, but I don't have $10k). Now though, the cost of not-selling-now is approaching parity with the cost of selling-now, and I'm trying to head it off.
So I made up my mind, I was going to try to dump this place, even if it meant a loss, and grab the house in Portland outright. That would likely mean all my outstanding debt wiped away, $1600/mo income (regardless of employment status), and I'd still have a room to sleep in. I could use the new-found freedom to work on projects at TechShop in Portland, help out with Watershed, start teaching part-time at community colleges, etc.
Of course, it didn't work out (the place is basically already sold), and that wasn't a surprise. But really getting into the nuts and bolts of things, it will take 2-3 months to sell this place, even if it's a fire-sale. And since I'm going to (probably) be unemployed and unable to pay bills in 2-3 months, that means it's time to go. At the very least, it's time for the house to go. If the startup starts up (which honestly, is a distinct possibility), I can always just get an apartment and stay here, working. But an hour after the startup goes under, I want to be south of Olympia.
I've been talking about doing this for a while now (every summer, it seems) and I've always held off on it because of financial reasons (like the house would get $50k more if I did $10k worth of work on it, but I don't have $10k). Now though, the cost of not-selling-now is approaching parity with the cost of selling-now, and I'm trying to head it off.