moving logistics

[chhotii]

Lots of thoughts tonight, about death, suffering, and tragedy, and bleak black cracks in the soul. None of which I can post about, because this would get into posting very personal details about other people on the Internet. Even the deceased need some amount of privacy. So, I'm going to post about things that I'm keeping busy with.

So! Remember what I was posting about before all this happened. I have (sooner than I expected) possession of my new apartment. But the lease on my old apartment doesn't expire until June 30.

Well, I was going to use this ridiculous amount of overlap to do some renovation on the new place. New windows? Bathroom? Paint? And what to do about the 1970's-era kitchen cabinets? So, yeah, Sophia and I are kind of camping out in the new apartment, but I hadn't brought over much stuff, so we can get out of the way of any renovation in a hurry and easily. The only obstacle, really, was indecisiveness. What shade of paint? Which projects to prioritize? Make the small cosmetic fixes, or really thoroughly fix things for good?

Now, none of this is going to happen any time soon. Clearly I need to sell the house-- continuing to support the house is not sustainable on my income. Clearly, I am going to need to have a bunch of stuff fixed and taken care of, or else I will be penalized hundreds of thousands on the selling price of the house. Things that make the house look dreadful (like the state of the yard). Things that make the house inspectors turn beet-red. This, I'm sure, is going to suck up every bit of cash I can liquidate. Also, this will keep me busy. (Like I wasn't busy already! Hah!) So, renovations on new apartment later. Much later. I am getting new carpet for Sophia's room, a bit of an indulgence, because that one thing I think it's too late to back out on. But the rest goes way, way down lower on the to-do list.

So if I'm not doing renovations on the new apartment any time soon, I might as well just move all my stuff into it ASAP.

Things that I cannot tackle on my own:
Twin-size mattress.
Full-size mattress.
Twin-size loft bed (will require minor disassembly and re-assembly)
Dining room table (small but heavy)
Enormous Expidit shelving unit (will require disassembly and re-assembly)
3 narrow Expidit shelving units

...Can I bribe some of you with pizza and beer? Or should I go to TaskRabbit?

Comments

[istemi.livejournal.com]

What times could you be home for moving your stuff? It would have to be nights or weekends, weekends better. I know your schedule will be even more complicated now.

[istemi.livejournal.com]

Duplicated in email- is there a good time tomorrow?

[gosling.livejournal.com]

You so so so have our help with anything you need. *hugs*

Just let us know. Chip says he can move things all day Saturday as needed, and I am absolutely available for childcare all weekend if that is helpful. (There are some things we may need to take Sophia with us to for parts of the weekend, especially Sunday, but we can do that...)

I also strongly suspect you will have other offers of help. And ask people. You *absolutely* get to ask people for all the help you need. *hugs*

And I am here to listen as much as you need to talk.

I am so so so sorry. *hug*

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I was thinking that I wonder if we picked a time where a couple of adults could watch a passel of kids, thus leaving a bunch of parents available to help.

[gosling.livejournal.com]

An excellent idea. I could absolutely do that at my house on Saturday.

[theloriest.livejournal.com]

I can help watch kids. After my own move I'd be fairly useless at this point in hauling anything. But I can free up parents.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

I sent email re: scheduling but will follow up by phone.

Hang in there. You're in our thoughts.

(Edited to fix comment location.)

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

I am at your disposal today and tomorrow until about 6 pm both days. I have arms/legs/car-that-can-hold-many-things. Put out a message here or send email or call. Note I don't know exactly where your apartment is in the city. I might have a few boxes from the store that could help too.

[persis.livejournal.com]

I have some boxes I could bring to you, later today or this evening.

[http://users.livejournal.com/cgull_/]

This isn't something that should need bribes. I'll accept anyway.

[drwex]

My availability remains the same as on your previous email. I will cancel other plans in event of emergencies, and I always go to the funeral. Our boxes supply is depleted but you're welcome to come pick it over and take anything you can use.

My sympathies are ongoing.

[feste-sylvain.livejournal.com]

I have no idea whether there's a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) available on the house, but if there is (or could be), it does make sense to get the money for home repairs (sprucening, staging, etc.) from it.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

No. I know for a fact that when the bank looks at my salary vs. the burden of property taxes and insurance on both properties, they are going to say that the mortgage already on the house has me over-extended already. This makes me nervous about what might happen when the bank finds out that Rich (and his spluffty salary) are gone.

I do have investments that I could liquify, though. At a loss. Which is pissing me off. Anyway, I should keep those in reserve in case I need to dip into them to keep the mortgage payments going.

[underwatercolor.livejournal.com]

I can probably help with some things! <3

Moving stuff

[sweetmmeblue.livejournal.com]

I'm not so sure I should be doing too much lifting with my knees acting up but I'm great at packing.

[blipvert.livejournal.com]

Please add me to the list of people offering help in any way you need. I can't imagine what you must be going through and it's the very least I could do.

[kimberlogic.livejournal.com]

JB is able to help with moving your stuff.
If there are house-repair/prep things that need doing before you sell it, we will all help.
*hugs*

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

what town is the apt in?

i have a magical 5x8 utility trailer, though it will be raining on the weekend.

rented covered moving trailer might be a better thought though, and then just move ALL the things once.

#

[whitebird.livejournal.com]

I can't help with the move, but perhaps I can give you a little food for thought?

Might it make sense to rent the house?

Of course, I know nothing of any of the particulars, but I view real estate as an asset that is something to be kept if possible. An income producing piece of real estate might be something good for Sophie later on. That was what popped into my head upon reading you needed to sell it ASAP.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

Maybe.

Regardless, it would need to be cleaned up / fixed up before it could be rented, just as much as if I'm going to sell it. So the sell vs rent distinction doesn't make any difference to what I need to do with the house right now.

When I get to the point of picking out a seller's agent, I will see what they think about what they could rent it for. I do agree that real estate that can be rented out is a good investment, and transaction costs of buying and selling are something to be avoided. As a rental property, though, I feel it's not great. There's a lot of work involved in keeping the place up. There's less demand than in the city. I think people will pay more to get a lot of room when they are buying than when they are renting. As long as they are renting, they tend to be more frugal and so they are willing to cram themselves into a smaller space, but when they are buying, they want to buy all the room they might ever need, and look at the correspondingly higher mortgage payment as an "investment". (The house has some absurdly large rooms, and many of them. Plus absurdly large garage + studio space, and a reasonably large yard.)

I will keep an open mind about the possibility, though.