Tough call

[Pappy]

Our plan was to live here and then sell and pay cash for our next home with much , much more land. We can probably sell here for between $325,000 and $399,000 and leave with no bills and $200k to pay cash for a place of atleast 100 acres further down in WV


Now we had intended on staying put till the boys got out of school but not really sure what to do seeing I dont think the realestate bubble will reinflate anytime soon. I have acreage here that will make it a probable quick sell and I could take advantage of the depressed market in a new area.

I would have to literally sell everything here related to the shop because there isnt any way I could expect a ready made shop at a new location so this indeed would be a HUGE step as it would be 1/2 my income gone as well as the wife having to find employment and leave her job here.

This is like big time in the change department, but if done right, I would be 39 and have no mortgage, enough land to retire on and be able to work a joe job at least or continue on growing doing the camera work and such.

Whats your take on something like this? NOTHING will be done at this point, merely speculating the what if's. Sometimes the wrong time is exactly the right time....or so I am told!

[IRISH-RACER-14]

any pics of the new home/old home?id say go for it

[Ralph]

does the area get broadband? haha

[insaneracin2003]

Well, first off I would see that your present home would sell for as much as you think. Just like you said, you will be taking advantage of the market when you buy, you have to remember that you will also be a seller during these times.

How long will your shop be down and are you planning to re-open the pc shop?< that is the shop you are talking about right?

Having no mortage is definately a plus.

[Pappy]

LOL..Harlen asked the same question...at worst I would have to go back to satelite

I doubt anything will be done, just skimming the idea around and seeing where it lands.

I know that if I hold out until the market comes back around I will make out like a bandit. It isnt out of the question to sell here for the $500k mark. Properties with over 3 acres are fast drying up and we have a good bit more then that. Comparable sales in teh area are getting close to the $400k mark most with half the land.

This is a game...play it right and you win big, play it wrong and you lose....

I doubt the area we are looking will increase in value even after the market comes around so playing it safe should work out, but as this economy stays stalled, its getting tougher and tougher to make ends meet and the thought of being debt free sure is looking good.

[quadracer707]

Debt free is great but what is your goal?? Your kids future goals?? Do you just want to free lance pics & pc when needed, what real jobs are out there for your wife?? What do the boys want to do, can you send them to a collage if so they chose. Iam self employed ice cream maker at our family restaurant, burnt out & would love to sell everything & get my oldest son in the atv/ motocycle engine building & services,(he just graduated from MMI with honors) but with 3 more kids oldest daughter just going to collage & a 15 year old & 13 year old I have to make sure they are taking care of. I would say if you have enough for 2 years of money saved to do what you fine, if not iam not so sure, but thats just my opinion,

Ken

[Pappy]

Both kids would prefer if we lived in BFE

Both want more ground to stomp

Both will go to college, most likely WVU

Both have college funds established and we will help them where we can.

The PC work is solid, I coulld eaily move the operation, but was thinking of expanding when i moved, replace things and get larger oven.

The camera alone can provide my income if need be, I turn down weddings non stop, the atv stuff is for keeping bills paid and fun but coudl easily be ramped up if needed to supply my entire income.

Like I said...thinking stage at this point :p

hell, with 100 acres I could feed the family for sure....almost doing it now on what we have!

[2000ex]

Ken,

You gave me PC advice about 7 years ago when I was a 25yo who was sick of corporate america looking for something I enjoyed. I realized after a year that the PC business was not for me. I had a BS in business and economics and a good head on my shoulders and realized I was not cut out to do that. Since that time I got into the mortgage business. Currently I am 32 and now own my own mortgage company with 7 employees. If you need any financial advice I am more than willing to help out.

I finally got the Dale rebuilt after the mess you captured at Walden. Hopefully I will catch up with you before the end of the season at an NEATV race.

[Pappy]

Oh sweet! I was hoping you would get it fixed!!!

Glad to see atleast the advice I gave you was sound, cant help you with not finding it to your liking:D Fun tho aint it;) Im nobody special, I excell in doing what i like and if I aint happy I just dont do it. Thankfully, I had employer for a long time that allowed me so much freedom that I was able to get what I have and do what I needed....god bless him.

I will meet with my agent and see what she thinks. She made me a mint on my old house and found me this steal so I trust her....but I really doubt we will do anything right away.

The smart thing may be to stay put and keep working hard until the kids are done school, and the youngest is in college, then decide. The whole family wants to remain close so waiting might give us a better clue of where to move once the boys have decided on what they will end up doing.

[TRXman86]

To be honest, I personally always try to do what my family would like to do. But having to get rid of so much, and then try to gain it back...I don't know if I'd go that far or not... Going to have to say this, it's a family decision there...

Your right... TOUGH call....

[Guy400]

Everyone's different as to their priorities but retiring completely debt free is great. Being retired and not worrying how the bills are going to get paid certainly makes it easier to sip the lemonade on the backporch:D

But, one thing for consideration (and maybe you've already got it covered but just didn't say in your post) is health insurance. This is probably more important than income during the retirement years. If you move to this new location and your wife goes back to work is she going to have to work for health benefits?

[Pappy]

We dont have any now:( We have the boys covered but cant swing it for ourselves. At the very least we will be getting a policy for us that covers major medical......ofcourse we could always rely on Obamacare:chinese:


If I did not have a mortgage payment, I could afford health care.

Hell taxes alone here have taken our house payment from $1050 to $1600 in jst the past 2 years. This county thinks its an anex of Maryland:grr:

[insaneracin2003]

Thats a shame with the taxes.
My father is on medicare, he has heart problems that will not allow him to work. After Hurricane Katrina, he moved to Houston by me. He was covered on medicare in La., but when he got to texas, they wouldn't cover him:confused: So he settled here in Texas, bought a house and was moving on with life. Well, he had an escrow account with his home for taxes and paying for health care on his own.
His taxes got so high in 2 years that he was unable to pay his mortage because of his escrow. Sad to say that he lost his home and has since moved to Mississippi and had to start all over again at 62.
Sorry about the long ramble about taxes, but they STINK!!! :grr:

[Guy400]

Originally posted by Pappy
ofcourse we could always rely on Obamacare:chinese: :grr:

Don't get me started :)

I'm still lucky on the taxes front, only $800/year for me. That's just one of the benefits of being in a rural county but I'm sure it's just a matter of time before mine go up like everyone else's.