How Can We Swing This?

[Tiffany_PartyOf5]

Any ideas? lol. We found our DREAM house.. seriously.. Its just this small 3/2 rundown house on an amazing piece of land. It has some really run down stables and a nice huge pasture. Its about 3 acres or so.. A bunch of trees for forts, swings, and climbing, some orange trees, a lot of room for a garden, its got a wooden jungle gym/swing set in the back, a huge storage shed, an extra 1 car garage separate from the house (its got a 2 car garage attached to the house) and its just a mile from my parents in the middle of the town we LOVE to be in. But the problem is this.. MONEY lol

Its only for rent lol.. but from the sounds of it, the guy is looking to rent it out until the market is better and then sell, so I was hoping if we could work something out, then maybe we could end up doing a rent to own or something... We first need to figure out our budget.

Hes asking $1700 per month but said its negotiable.. as if hes just really needing to rent it out.. It does need a lot of work. Hurricanes came like 2 yrs ago and tore the roof off of the stables, and a lot of other issues.. A lot would need to be fixed up.. my husband is a handyman. He can do anything seriously.. Hes worked professionally as a handyman, an a/c man, a maintenance man, and now as a cable installer so everything that needs to be done to this place, he can do.


We are currently living with my parents and here is what I figure our bills would be if we could talk him down to $1000 a month and we fix everything (dh thinks its possible.. hes the one who talked to the guy)

Rent - 1000

Electric - 150

Water - Its well water

Gas - 700 (we cant go any lower because dhs job requires he drive all day long installing cable and he has to use his own gas)

Food - 350 (i think thats the lowest I could get it)

Truck - 380 (cant get rid of this because dh uses it for work)

Van - 465 (owe more than its worth and must have a van for 4 kids)

Car Insurance - 200 (this is the lowest we have had it in YEARS)

Cell - DH - 120 (again, for work he MUST have the data package and high minutes)

Cell - Me - 60 (lowest plan I can get right now and I cant change providers until I get out of contract in Feb)

I think thats it... I have it written down but thats downstairs lol..

DH gets paid piecework.. so everyday is different.. some days he is bringing home $80 and some days $300 lol.. It sucks because we never know what hes going to get, but its good because usually the pay is good.

Right now we are averaging a bring home of $700 a week, although some weeks have been $400 or so.

That would be $2800 per month income and $3425 outgoing.. Soo a difference of -$625??

Is there anything someone else can see that I cant? Any way this could be possible if we did something different? Anything at all? lol.. I guess this is just my wishful thinking but OMG I am just in love with this old worn out house on this amazing land in the perfect spot. Its all I think about now and Im depressed that we cant afford it.. sooo please if you can think of anything, let me know.

[mommaof3boz]

doing my math it appears for vehicles (payment/insurance/gas) is 1745. Which, and I DO NOT mean this snide, is : to me. I understand part of it is work related, but dang. Also on phones 180 per month is quite a bit. Is the house totally electric? If so I doubt in an old house 150 per month will heat it or cool it in the summer/winter.

Not to totally deflate you but I just can't see how this would work, unless you could do in home childcare to off set some of this. And something on the vehicles has to change. Maybe you need to sell off the van and keep paying on the balance. I'm not sure what to tell you but it just doesn't look feasible.

[LEAW]

If you guys are doign the repair work, who is paying for the materials and supplies? And where is the time to do the work going to come from?

If you can't get out of the contracts/car loans, you'll have to find more income. If your dh takes another job, he wont' have time to do the fixup on the new place. If you take a job, it'll have to be when he doesn't work so that you don't have to find childcare, or when your mom can watch the kids.

Got any prospects?

[boysrus]

What about clothes, savings, medical costs, emergencies, activities, vehicle maintenance? None of those are accounted for
Also, how much time will your dh be spending fixing the house? If it is a real mess, that could be super time consuming and not leave time for anything else. That can really suck, especially if you don't own the place so there is no return on your investment and most especially if he is working day and night and you are still really struggling to float above water

[sandygirl]

well - if you are that commited to moving into this house - have you considered foodstamps, etc? I know they have special rules for self-employed {which is sounds like your husband is}. That would bring a little extra income into the house. Running your income figures using the calculator I have access to shows you would get around $200 a month.

Do you know anything about horses??? I see you wrote it had stables and a pasture - maybe you could bring in some income by boarding a horse or two?

[jennlyn]

What would scare me off is the fact that your dh doesn't bring home a set amount in his paycheck. You mentioned it is 700 average and you will still be 625 short each month. What if things are slow for a couple of weeks? How long have you been averaging for? If he has been there a few years, then those figures are probably good. If not, I would re-think this. You are currently living with your parents and likely have plenty to pay your bills each month and then some for extras. Going into a situation where you are short money to begin with, have a rundown house , no money for extras, plus work to be done on the place sounds like a great recipe for stress. Fixing a fixer-upper for yourselves is one thing. Fixing a fixer-upper so someone else can sell it for a good profit is another. The housing market is going down. Is it possible for you to stay with your parents until you have a downpayment on a house of your own?

[Selesai]

Does your DH get reimbursed for mileage or anything? His work related expenses (phone, truck, gas, maintenance) are rather high-- are you writing them off on your taxes?

[velochic]

Boy, I just don't see how this is doable at all. First of all, I agree with the pp who said that you shouldn't be using your own money to fix up a rental. Who's to say that after all that time/money you sink into it that the guy won't sell it out from under you. Also, you are assuming that this guy is going to drop his rent by $700/month. That's $8400/year or over 40% reduction. My father is a landlord and never in a million years would he drop a price like that. I'd first find out what the rent would be because I can't see someone dropping their rent that severely. That alone might make the decision for you.

If your dh were to have several "low income" weeks in a row, just your vehicle expenses would be over 100% of your income, not to mention living expenses or housing. The prospect of that would scare me to death.

Since your dh is paying for phone, gas, and vehicle, I, too, assume he is self employed. Are you figuring into your expenses self-employment tax that you have to pay quarterly?

Do you work or are you willing to work to live in this place?

Just some things to think about. It's hard to find *the* place and let it go. I know... I did it about 5 times in my early 20's before I had finally saved enough down payment to buy my house.

Good luck!

[Starr]

The only thing I wanted to add was that living in a house requires alot of unexpected fixups. Heating can be a bit more, I can almost bet $150 wont cover heat. Also even if you fix it up who is buying the supplies? What if he wont take $1000? Thats a $700 loss. I think if it were me I would be asking myself which would I want more, my dream house and being financially strapped or money being not so tight?

[vanilla]

I would start saving and buy it in a few years!

[MissLotus]

I can see why it's such an appealing idea, but financially doesn't seem like a good idea. You don't mention health insurance in your budget, or if you have any savings, from living with your parents, to back you up in case of other emergencies.

I would only be fixing up a place I KNEW I was going to own. Because even if that landlord paid for the materials to fix the place, once it's fixed, it will be worth a lot more and the landlord will know he can get a lot more than $1000 for it. So he'll either raise your rent a lot, or rent it to someone who will pay a lot more, or simply sell it out from under you. Perhaps he's a nice guy, I don't know, but even a nice guy will want a profit from his investment.

It would seem wiser to remain with your parents a while longer and save up a down payment for a home where there would be no "ifs" and "maybes" involved.

[phathui5]

Has your dh considered getting a job with a regular salary? Then you wouldn't have to worry about low pay weeks.

[mrskennedy]

Originally Posted by MissLotus

I can see why it's such an appealing idea, but financially doesn't seem like a good idea. You don't mention health insurance in your budget, or if you have any savings, from living with your parents, to back you up in case of other emergencies.

I would only be fixing up a place I KNEW I was going to own. Because even if that landlord paid for the materials to fix the place, once it's fixed, it will be worth a lot more and the landlord will know he can get a lot more than $1000 for it. So he'll either raise your rent a lot, or rent it to someone who will pay a lot more, or simply sell it out from under you. Perhaps he's a nice guy, I don't know, but even a nice guy will want a profit from his investment.

It would seem wiser to remain with your parents a while longer and save up a down payment for a home where there would be no "ifs" and "maybes" involved.

: Think about your family and finances, not just your dream. Life has a way of... reeking havock on our best-laid plans... So imagine what it could do to your plans, which are iffy, at best.

[beansmama]

Originally Posted by Selesai

Does your DH get reimbursed for mileage or anything? His work related expenses (phone, truck, gas, maintenance) are rather high-- are you writing them off on your taxes?

I'm wondering the same thing...His gas/phone that is "mandatory" for his job is more than 1/4 of your monthly income. I don't know WHO he works for...but they need to re-evaluate how they pay their employees.

[beachmouse]

Just in general, it might be worth it to talk with a tax professional about the vehicle and phone issues. If it's required for work, and he doesn't get reimbursed, then you should be able to write a fair amount of those expenses off come tax time.

[mommyddeville]

If I figure this right, you pay about $550 for DH's gas for the month (if you think you use $150 in gas, which is generous), $380 for the truck for his work, $100 for the insurance (which I know is probably much higher for him), $120 for the cell (we can even say $90, since you and DH could get a family plan for $90 with tons of minutes, so the difference is $90/month).

If you add those up ($550 + $380 + $100 + $90), it is $1120 per month. Your DH's work expenses are $1120 per month, without counting anything like clothing, food, etc which everyone has. On a GOOD month, he makes $2800. On a bad month, it could be as low as $1600 from your numbers. That means his pay after expenses is between $1680 and $480. Your family could not possibly pay $1000 rent on a house. Honestly, I think $500 would be a stretch.

If it were me, I'd sit down with DH and see if he could get some other type of job. Or mileage reimbursement. Or his gas paid. Or something. You're making almost nothing for how many hours DH works. He could work somewhere for minimum wage and make as much as he makes on a good month.

I'm not trying to attack you. I'm just coming at this from an outside perspective.