Now that we know THAT won't work...

Okay, so, the house. Let's tackle that one. 

If you didn't catch it (AND WHY DIDN'T YOU?) I wrote about what happened when the real estate agent came to my house last week. It's embarrassing. Go read it. I'll wait. 

Back? Shaking your head at me? Alrighty then.

If we sell our house at the top of the agent's recommended price range, we will lose about $20K. Not an insignificant amount. So here are the options, as we see them:

• Price our house higher. I vote no. All this means to me is that our house will be on the market for God knows how long, maybe it won't even sell, and that is something I cannot handle. We could try it and "see what happens!" like everyone keeps saying, but I can't do that for very long. So no. I could price it a teeny bit higher, but not as high as we'd need to go to break even.  
• Negotiate commissions. I don't like this. I am fully aware that this is because of my Nice Girl tendencies, which, I admit, do not always serve me well. It drives Phillip around the bend that I am so icked out by the thought, but I pointed out that even if we negotiated our agent down to zero, we still wouldn't break even. So that's out. It also means we can't sell by ourselves or use Redfin, since we'd still have to pay another agent's commission (right?)
• Rent the house. Ummmm. I was super duper extremely against this idea, which came up long before we ever talked about selling. I don't have any particular rational reason for this, except that it sounds like great way to make my life more complicated. Do I want to be a landlord? What if our renters mess up the house? What if we have to fix stuff all the time? What if they don't pay rent? I am LAZY. I want a CLEAN BREAK. However, I'm more open to it this time around, especially since, after a bit of Google research, it looks like we could get what we want (or more) in rent. Also, Phillip's dad has a lot of experience in the landlord department and with him in the mix I wouldn't feel so blind going into a rental situation.
• Staying put. This is probably what we'll end up doing. Phillip and I are spectacularly awesome at maintaining the status quo.

On one hand, I feel fine about the whole thing. If I haven't made it abundantly clear, I really love this house and I really love how close it is to absolutely everywhere I want to be. I'm kind of in the middle of all the people I like to see, I can walk to the lake, it takes me two minutes to get anywhere and we're right on an easy and quick busline - a big deal when you're dying for your husband to get home at night. I have been thinking (A LOT) about the kids' sleeping situations and my options for musical beds. It's nap time that worries me - Molly can't sleep in the pack 'n play in my bedroom forever, and one of these days Jack will stop taking an afternoon nap - but I have an idea or two. Nothing perfect, but things that could work. I have to figure out what to do about storage, but I have an imagination and I can put it to work! I'm even realizing that a small living space hasn't ever stopped me from having company. Yes, it's frustrating to have friends for dinner and the kids are practically playing under the table, but we still have parties and people for holidays. It's tight, but it works. 

That's the mantra - it will work. 

On the other hand, I'm nervous. I'd gotten kind of used to the idea of living in a rental and taking my sweet time to find The Next Perfect House. Where I wouldn't have to worry about timing closing dates or having to live with our parents for a week or two while we're in between houses. I know that's borrowing a HUGE amount of trouble, but I can't help but think about it. And it's likely we won't break even next year either. We're not stuck here by any means, but it'd be nice to get all our money back, right? 

So... yeah. That's that. 

In this whole process I'm realizing how much easier my life is now that both of my kids are toddlers. Jack will be three in May and Molly is walking and going up and down stairs by herself. They eat the same food, they play with the same toys, they use the same cups, they even fit into the same size diaper (in a pinch!) They're not on the same sleeping track, but putting them down at night is getting a lot easier - we're able to put them down at the same time now. I feel really grateful for this, and that I can see it and know that we can stay in this house. If we got pregnant again we'd have to move. Immediately. We could put a third baby in our closet, but I'm pretty sure Phillip and I would book ourselves into the crazy bin before it came to that. 

Any thoughts on renting out your house? 

Comments

[Dr. Maureen]

Andrew and I are landlords, and it definitely can be difficult. But it can also go fine. However. The real estate law, at least in my state, is crazy slanted towards tenants, so my advice is to hire a lawyer who specializes in tenant law to get advice BEFORE you rent so you can make sure you are doing everything right. There are a lot of stupid little things that are easy to get wrong and the lawyer is WELL WORTH the investment.

[Sarah in Ottawa]

Your house is super adorable, and don't forgot about the office as a possible nap location. You could get some sort of travel crib (larger than a P&P but collapsable) and go from there. There are options.

In my neighbourhood, there are LOTS of military, RCMP and Foreign Affairs families. As a result, many get postings abroad and choose to rent their houses in the meantime. In almost every case I know about, tenants have been IDIOTS and done stupid, damaging things to the house. I would NEVER rent my house; I would be way too scared about the tenants. YMMV, though.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[Christiana]

Thoughts on renting a house:

On one hand, I've heard some real horror stories about tennants who are terrible, run crack houses out of the place, break everything and start fires, etc.

But on the other hand, I know my own next-door neighbor (as a kid - now my mom's neighbor) rented out their house to a young guy when they had to move to St Louis for a year and it worked out beautifully. And I've known other people who are very responsible and take care of their rental houses, etc. So...

I think it's in the luck of the draw as far as who your tenant is. Not much help, of course, but...

Personally, I don't want to do that, but I have to admit I considered doing the sell-the-house, rent-for-a-year thing that you initially talked about. But we are so upside down on our mortgage that that wouldn't make any sense.

[Jess]

I would be nervous about renting out for the same reason as you, but if you find the right renters and set things up carefully, it could work. I am still amazed at how high rent prices have stayed, given the plunge in house purchase prices. Definitely an interesting thought.

One way or another, it WILL work. Good mantra!

[Jen @ The Short Years]

As far as the naptime situation goes, I always give one of my girls "quiet time" (which is not always naptime anymore, since my oldest are 3 and 5) in a location other than the bedroom the two oldest share. One of them will be in the bedroom, the other in my bed or on the couch. I give them favorite blankies, books, and warn them of severe, horrible consequences if they get off the designated bed or couch. Of course still sometimes they DO get off, and as I said before, it's now a rare thing that all three of my kids do actually fall asleep during quiet time, but it's enough a part of our routine that I do generally get an hour or more of guaranteed time to go in the office, shut the door, and do whatever I need to do. It's not as perfect as it would be if each person in the house had their own room, I suppose, but it works fine.

[HereWeGoAJen]

I've been a renter before, so not all tenants suck. If that helps.

Don't put it on the market just to see. It won't sell and you'll have to keep it clean ALL THE TIME and that sucks. I am a clean freak and it still sucked.

[Carolyn]

Our condo is currently rented out while we're living overseas, and my biggest comment is USE A MANAGEMENT COMPANY!

Our property manager warned us to expect it to be vacant for quite a while up front, and while it took three months to find a tenant we now have a single gal, young professional, whose parents cosigned the lease agreement and who is interested in staying for up to three years. Taking the time, having a professional to vet potential renters (especially regarding handling a credit check), is absolutely worth it.

While there is still plenty of potential for something to go wrong with this tenant I have a lot of confidence that our management company picked someone who will care for the place well.

[janey]

I second being prepared to have your house empty for a while if you are going to rent it. Being desperate to fill it will only lead to getting a bad tenant. But, you were a tenant once, so you know there are good tenants out there.