Home is Where the House Is

We may be selling our house in Charlotte. It breaks my heart- I love that house, love that neighborhood. That's the house we brought Caetlin home to! I have all these memories of that house- in my head the sun always shines on it. Even now thinking of selling the house leaves me bereft. I am selling my home, to a large extent. To the extent my home is centered on a place, rather than with my family, that house is it.

But, as I have said to Bruce, holding on to a house for only sentimental reasons is the ultimate example of pack-rattery, and it doesn't look like we'll be going back anytime soon, if ever. The market is so depressed in Charlotte; there is no opportunity for either of us to get a job there. By the time the market recovers enough, we will probably have moved on to somewhere, and something, different.

Plus, our renter has asked to buy the house, and when we told him our price, he thought it was fair and that he needed to talk to his wife about it. The price is what we thought would be fair, given that the neighborhood is still hot, and also that we are not having to pay a broker. If we can sell at this price, we will clear enough to eliminate our remaining debt (student loans, plus a small amount of credit card debt) entirely. As in, be 100% debt free. That's a powerful draw.

We would also have a substantial nut to invest. We are already maxing out our 401K accounts each year, and we have several other investment accounts apart from those that we can put this cash into. We probably will not buy another house until we decide where we want to be for longer than a couple years at a time. Interest rates are higher now than they were when we bought the house, and we can't bank on rapid appreciation as we have been able to do in the last few years. Owning a house only makes sense financially if you stay in it for about 10 years. Otherwise, we can invest for a better return. Plus we will have enough in a non-tax-deferred account to have a down payment more or less any time we decide to buy. The other thing for me- we're in a great school district in our rental house, and we couldn't buy a house in this school district for as cheaply as we're renting. I'm not willing to give that up unless we are positive we will be here for a good while.

So, I think we will be selling the house. If I dwell on that thought too long, I will be really saddened by that, by what that represents. But it makes too much financial sense not to, and it really doesn't make much financial sense to keep it. Renting it is a hassle, and it doesn't quite cover our principal, interest, taxes and insurance every month. We would be foolish, I think, to gamble that the house will continue to appreciate in this market, even though that particular neighborhood remains pretty hot. So all signs point to yes that it is a good thing to go ahead and cash out.

I'm still sad about it. Bruce keeps asking me if I'm okay with it, and I tell him that I just can't go back to Charlotte until it's done. If I have to go look at it, I will lose my resolve. I miss that house, that neighborhood. I miss my friends there. But, as I tell him, I have my memories, whether I have the house to go with them or not.