Need Some advice...

[swampfox88]

I currently have a dilemma. I inherited a single wide and 1 acre of land out side of the town I grew up in. My wife, newborn and I are currently living in it. No one knew that the modified roof that my grand parents put on it like 18 years ago was dry rotted and was slowly letting water seep into the ceiling and walls. After there death and it was in probate for a year it got passed on to me. We have put a free standing roof with a 5/12 pitch over the mobile home and are remodeling it a little at a time as we can afford. My self and a few friends did the roof over but racked up a lot of credit card debt and I had to take a personal loan. Since the insurance company had a clause saying that if the roof had been modified it wouldn't cover a thing. The bank wouldn't give us a equity loan due to it being a mobile home. Even though the 1 acre of land is valued at $19,000. Land is expensive in my area due to close proximity to a major metropolitan area and being near the lake. Are neighbors are all dicks and pill heads. I can't walk out to my out building without at least one neighbor being perched like a buzzard over a gut pile. Ready to call the fire department if I burn leaves or brush in a burn barrel. Sorry got on a rant there....My wife and I really despise living here, but we know that we are blessed that we have a "home" and land that is ours at such a young age. I am 25 and she is 22. Been together now 6 years in September..We long for a "cabin in the woods" as JC would put it. Like most young adults in our generation before we was giving this opportunity we racked up a little debt from credit cards and I wasn't on board with saving money. We are just now starting to change our habits so that we can have our dream. Should we sell out after the home renovations or should we rent it out. In my area a single wide 2b 2 bath in great shape will at least fetch 650 a month in rent. Oh and I've cut up all the credit cards we have so we will stop using those damn things.

[farmertrappe]

Good job cutting the credit cards up, all I can tell you is it sucks to come home to a place you hate. Good luck moving forwood.

[yankeebushman]

I would just sell it off. Rentals are a huge pain. I've dealt with them for years now. When I build my next house, I fully plan on selling my current house even though it will be paid off soon. That being said, a rental can be a good income source and a great place to take additional tax deductions. You have quite a bit to think about my friend.

[ontariotrapper]

A rental property that you only paid (whatever your current investment in the roof is) for and will fetch $650 per month rent would be pretty hard for me to give up. That thing would provide a 25% return every year almost......you aint gonna get that in the stock market.


A rental with bad tenants can be a huge pain in the rear-end but with good tenants its really pretty easy money. What are the yearly municipal taxes on it? It all depends on your situation I guess.


Can you afford to buy another home in a better area that you would like to live?

Could the rent from the double wide cover your mortgage on the new house or would the new house be much more costly?

Depending on the credit card debt load maybe its better to sell the place, clear the debt and start down a new debt free path??

Its very hard to give good advice without knowing more of your situation outside of what you have told here but the fact you are looking for advice is a good thing. Get lots of advice from those you trust and think about it a good while before jumping into anything.

[swampfox88]

Thank you all for the advice. We are leaning towards renting it out. We will live there for another 3 years while we knock out the debt and build a nest egg.

[ctwatertrapper]

Depends on how fast you want out. Sell now you could be in that cabin in the woods soone.

I would sit on it though. Build that nest egg as you mentioned. Renting can be a good investment. Get rid of those credit cards and you're well on your way to that cabin in woods. Plan it out, you have time.
good luck

[Admin]

Renting to a GOOD tenant could be a good thing but it could be your worst nightmare too. If the area you live in sucks and the neighbors are dicks AND the property alone is worth what you say, then it's time to move and move to an area that offers you what you want at an affordable price. I had to leave NH so that I could fulfill my dream of owning a hundred acres. Not everyone is willing to make sacrifices like that so they don't... and nothing changes... and they spend the rest of their lives bitching about it. Up here you can still find decent houses in the 30 to 40 grand area and land from 400 an acre on up. I paid 9 grand for the 23 acres my cabin is on and 18 grand for the 28 acres my house is on. Sounds like you need to move.

[derekdutton]

Speaking from experience, renting can be a nightmare or worse. Good renters are hard to find and when you do find one they dont stay long cause they are looking to buy. A simple drip under a sink wont be reported to you until the floor falls thru. Things like that, and thats downplaying it. It can take over a year to get a non paying renter out of your house that they have destroyed. I would do some research of areas your interested in and consider selling it outright.

[rendezvous]

Aug 20, 2014 8:59:41 GMT -5 swampfox88 said:

Thank you all for the advice. We are leaning towards renting it out. We will live there for another 3 years while we knock out the debt and build a nest egg.

Living there, knocking out the debt and building a nest egg is a great plan. Your position and the market will change with time, so should your plan. To reach your goals will require determination, sacrifice and great discipline. Make sure you and your wife on the same page and never take advice from someone who has less than you... 

[swampfox88]

Aug 21, 2014 8:23:12 GMT -5 rendezvous said:

Aug 20, 2014 8:59:41 GMT -5 swampfox88 said:

Thank you all for the advice. We are leaning towards renting it out. We will live there for another 3 years while we knock out the debt and build a nest egg.




We have plenty of time to figure out what we are going to do with this place. Thank you all once again for the advice and personal experiences.

Living there, knocking out the debt and building a nest egg is a great plan. Your position and the market will change with time, so should your plan. To reach your goals will require determination, sacrifice and great discipline. Make sure you and your wife on the same page and never take advice from someone who has less than you... 

[histopicker]

I rented a house out once to some people who checked out as being very good renters. It only ended up costing me 10,000.00 aver a nine month period. I had to break the law finally and physically remove them from the house, I will never rent another property out again.

[ontariotrapper]

Sept 2, 2014 16:14:02 GMT -5 histopicker said:

I rented a house out once to some people who checked out as being very good renters. It only ended up costing me 10,000.00 aver a nine month period. I had to break the law finally and physically remove them from the house, I will never rent another property out again.

I appreciate your input and I feel I have been lucky so far with my tennants.

Without rental properties what do you invest in? I'm at a loss. I dont like the stock market, if you think bad renters are bad have a look into stock brokers....


What kind of "real" things can a guy invest some money in. I 'm not looking for a get rich quick scheme, but long term appreciable growth. Base metals only provide a good hedge against inflation and dont provide good long term gains.


I'm less than 20 years from retirement, I'm always looking for ways to invest money. I have had business investment propositions before but bad partners can be worse than bad tennants...........

[histopicker]

I stopped looking for things to put money into to make profit and started looking at financial freedom by having my land, home, paid off. living off the grid, supplying my own power and water, growing my own food. This to me is wealth; being dependent on no one but myself. It also means true happiness for me. I retired three years ago without a retirement. Right now I am looking at 30 acres of land that is 3 miles from any power or water source provided by a public utilities and am thrilled about how easy it will be to live very comfortably there. It has 4 acres ready to grow crops, a culinary well that pumps 10 gal/min. It has mule deer, turkey, trees, sagebrush and all the rock you could ever want. To me this is an investment in a sustainable future for me and my progeny. I do think a little different than most folks but I was raised this way and feel like I am imprisoned in the city.

[ontariotrapper]

Sept 2, 2014 22:50:07 GMT -5 histopicker said:

I stopped looking for things to put money into to make profit and started looking at financial freedom by having my land, home, paid off. living off the grid, supplying my own power and water, growing my own food. This to me is wealth; being dependent on no one but myself. It also means true happiness for me. I retired three years ago without a retirement. Right now I am looking at 30 acres of land that is 3 miles from any power or water source provided by a public utilities and am thrilled about how easy it will be to live very comfortably there. It has 4 acres ready to grow crops, a culinary well that pumps 10 gal/min. It has mule deer, turkey, trees, sagebrush and all the rock you could ever want. To me this is an investment in a sustainable future for me and my progeny. I do think a little different than most folks but I was raised this way and feel like I am imprisoned in the city.

Thanks, Thats a great outlook on investing.

[swampfox88]

Histopicker, I really admire your way of living. I have one question though. You said you retired with out a retirement. How about when you get sick what do you do for health insurance. If you ever rack up alot of medical debt god forbid wouldn't they seize your assets when you pass on? Wouldn't that leave your kids SOL?

[jimo]

Histopicker has a great plan and outlook. I'm with ontariotrapper though and his question about what to invest in. I have no debt and own a little land to hunt, besides the couple acres with my house. I have a wife and 2 sons who count on me supplying insurance and a living so I will be working for a while. We do live a pretty simple life though so I'm looking for something to put a little money into. Oh and my oldest son has type 1 diabetes so the whole not needing insurance thing is not an option.