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Timing is everything

November 24th, 2013 at 10:44 pm

So, I had been thinking how great it would be if i could put my house on the market this spring. It would seem I'd have plenty of time (this winter and early spring) to get done all the many things that I feel should be done.

I hate looking forward to another tough winter and another season of lawn mowing after that.

However, this bank contract job I have lasts until July 2014. The bank hires a LOT of contractors like me, and it's not uncommon for a contractor's initial term of 10 months to be renewed for another 3 months, and sometimes, another 3 months after that. There have also been any number of people who were offered a permanent position there.

So any of those scenarios, especially the last one, would be wonderful, OF COURSE. Being a contractor worker at a company with lots of perm employees makes me feel like the poor little match girl (if you remember that children's story) outside in the cold and wintry night, looking in the window at all the other children laughing and playing and having a grand old time.

I don't think I can consider putting the house on the market before I find out what's going to happen with this job in July.

After years of going to condo open houses in my area (I'm committed to staying in this general area because my mother is here, and I will need to look after her), I feel no closer to knowing where I might end up than I did 4 years ago.

I have yet to find a condo complex that meets all my key requirements (gas heat, c/a, newer construction (1985 would be about the oldest I'd want to go), updated kitchen and baths and a woodsy, "uncondo-like" setting, plus reasonable price and property taxes.

I don't really plan on moving again after this, so I want this condo to be my retirement home, the home I've worked hard all my life to finally enjoy.

One complex I've been interested in, with its brand new construction and large square footage in a nice country town near my mother is in the opposite direction of where my commute to the bank is. It would add another half hour to my current 35-minute commute, and if you've been reading my blog from time to time, you KNOW how i hate a lengthy commute.

There's another condo, built around 1985 with electric heat. Some units have been very nicely updated, while others, not. But it is in a lovely country woodsy setting and very private outdoor patio or deck. The kind of outdoor privacy and peaceful setting is unlike any other condo I've seen in the area. The outdoor space and privacy is SO important to me as I'm not used to condo living. However, this condo, too, would add about 15 minutes to my drive for a total 50-minute drive.

So for as long as I keep this job, whether it's for another few months or possibly longer, I don't think I want to move further away. So it could put my whole move on hold.

I guess it's not the end of the world. In the event I got a perm job offer from them, I think I'd be in a position to hire someone to cut the grass. I still clear my own 100-foot driveway of snow as there's an upward slope involved and lots of broken up areas/cracks. Plows in the past tore of asphalt. I use a small snowblower, which works quite well. Still a lot of work though, at a time in my life when I want the physical labor to wind down a little.

So I may still be here for a while. But if the job eventually ends, perhaps by winter of next year, I would then have time to clean the place up, do final repairs and put it on market in the spring of 2015.

Although even then, if I wound up at either of the 2 condos I mentioned above, it might make the doability of a future job a little difficult becus both of those towns are further out from job centers, not closer. If I were ready to retire totally, it wouldn't matter, but truth be told, I am still just in my early 50s and financially, I'm not quite there yet. I'd like to retire at age 60, so a possible 35 years in retirement is a whole lot of years to cover. I need to work a little longer. I'm not sure I can hold out til 60 becus working f/t really doesn't appeal to me, but I suppose a lot of people share that sentiment. At 60, I would still do my freelance writing from home, and perhaps even a simple p/t job in the local community, just to keep busy.

I'm a planner, and it's frustrating to have things up in the air like they are, but that's the way it goes, I guess.

At least I'll have a brand new roof.

2 Responses to “Timing is everything”

  1. snafu Says:
    1385334369

    Very interesting decision of possibilities. I wonder if you'd consider having 3, experienced realtors from your area come in and have them do a write up of what they consider important fix-its, updates which would add benefits to listing price. You need to understand the listing/selling price ratio in your specific area.

    Condo: Your outline was interesting and full of contradiction. I recall my oh so different condo criteria when our house unexpectedly sold in a matter of days and my DKs were worried we'd be 'homeless.' I hope it's ok to suggest you create a spreadsheet, possibly over the holidays when there are a few holiday, mid week no work days. I'm sure your many followers would be willing to toss in ideas for consideration. New possibiliities to consider in the New Year.

  2. PatientSaver Says:
    1385335480

    My condo preferences were full of contradictions? I didn't notice any....Well, I have done a few spreadsheets in the past detailing pros and cons and basics of many different condo communities around here. Is that what you mean?

    I think I am going to have to compromise on my list of wants. That is, there's a good chance i can get gas heat and newer construction in my price range (around $250K) but the outdoor space/privacy is problematic, as a lot of builders around are putting up condos that are really lacking in any outdoor space/privacy beyond a postage-stamp sized deck, which just won't cut it for me. I like a country setting, or at least suburban as opposed to urban.

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