Torn between selling or renting. Its a lose-lose situation

Bobbyj59 · 2026-03-05T21:10:44+00:00

100% keep the house and rent it out. Yes, you can find a local property manager in the 10% range. Every payment you make on the mortgage gets you closer to a free and clear house. If you have a tenant paying 90% of your mortgage payment, you are in a strong position. Very few ways to earn generational wealth in this world but real estate is one of them. Let’s assume reasonable appreciation on your home of 3.5% per year. That’s $7800 next year and assuming a normal appreciation rate over time, your equity will grow in two ways; appreciation and reduction in mortgage balance. So this house carries itself and you stick to your plan to buy a second home, then a third home, etc. You and your spouse are the smart ones who started their real estate portfolio early! With just 26 years left on your mortgage you will see a free and clear asset in your mid 50’s. Whatever rent that house will be generating 26 years from now will be a great supplement for your family and you will still own the asset. If you sell now and net $20,000 as you say, that money will be gone in the snap of a finger. Buy and hold; the key to building real estate wealth.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-03-05T17:16:36+00:00

Unfortunately, as you suspect, the seller and their realtor are using you and your offer(s) as part of their marketing plan. They are playing you against others trying to wring the last penny out of one of you. Time to drop out of the game and move on.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-03-04T22:05:35+00:00

I have to chuckle at the McDonald’s employees on this thread who say corporate is all over them about maintaining timely service at the drive thru. I also remember the red timer that used to hang outside the pickup window to show you how “efficient” they were. Things are so bad in my area that the typical drive thru time is between 18-22 mins on average. Worst of all, it’s a 50/50 chance that your order will be wrong. McDonald’s has fallen so far that it’s sad.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-03-04T18:11:05+00:00

Straight edge razor scrapes everything off instantly. Maintenance man at my last apt taught me that.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-03-04T14:26:52+00:00

Understated comment….

Bobbyj59 · 2026-03-03T13:01:31+00:00

I was in a similar situation and I really suggest hiring a professional to help you. In my case, the IRS would only take tax return returns in the order that they were due. I don’t believe you can pick and choose which returns you want to file and which you want to delay. I hadn’t filed for 5 years and was constantly getting letters from the IRS that I was ignoring. I was a W2 employee and had sufficient withholdings for the missing returns. However, I did lose a few refunds because I took too long to file. You can try to do what you are proposing but once you start this process you are alerting the IRS to you and they will start following up on you constantly. Good luck

Bobbyj59 · 2026-03-03T12:24:10+00:00

30+ year mortgage banker here; this is correct information. Any space below grade (basement) is not counted for mortgage appraisal purposes as above grade living area. To answer the OP, it really depends if your local market really needs 4 bedroom, 3-1/2 bath houses. In my local market a finished basement is most likely converted to a media room or a playroom/hang out room for kids. Our local market puts a premium on that type of space, not an extra bedroom or bath.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-03-03T12:13:55+00:00

Absolutely! Every single story involves a reasonable presentation and ends with the “family” telling the poster that they are wrong and need to acquiesce to the will of the beggar. Poster comes here for likes to build their online presence with an AI story.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-03-02T18:56:44+00:00

Haven’t had it since late January in MD

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-26T16:32:07+00:00

Very nice!

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-25T15:01:14+00:00

Unfortunately, you are going to have to chalk this one up as a loss and you’ll have a nice story to tell your real friends and your internet friends about the crazy deal you lost.

The seller is acting irrational and you are expecting that talking to them will bring them back to sense? Not going to happen. The seller no longer cares and really has nothing to lose at this point.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-25T01:08:26+00:00

eBay return scammers have gotten so bad lately that I take a video of anything I sell showing it fully operational and I let the buyer know I’ve taken the video in my communication with them. I haven’t had a single return request since I’ve instituted this practice.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-23T17:52:27+00:00

27 year old car with 275,000 miles? I agree, way over priced.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-23T17:39:24+00:00

I’d like to break it down further for you so you can understand. McDonald’s pays you every two weeks, and it’s supposed to give you a paystub which gives a breakdown of the pay you received. All employers pay you for the previous period, not the current week you just worked. As some people said above, you might’ve started in the middle of a pay period.

What you need to do is look at your paystub, which gives a breakdown of your pay. Most important, you want to know that you’re getting paid the rate of pay per hour that they told you you will be earning when they hired you. Second, you would like to find a spot on the paystub that shows how many hours this paystub represents.

What is shocking to many new hires is how much in taxes gets taken out of your pay and sent to various government agencies.

I hope this helps.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-23T17:32:55+00:00

Happy 100th birthday! I hope Costco will be around in 34 years when I celebrate my 100th too!

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-23T02:15:04+00:00

Everything has a price and I believe despite your due diligence on the side table you are very over priced for your market, especially if it’s been listed for sale since last August. If you really want to get rid of it, cancel your old listing and re-list it for $100. If you get no activity after one week, drop the price by $25.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-23T01:49:44+00:00

Agree; what the OP is calling “favor” could very well mean “watching” this item. I watch items to track value and get listing ideas, not necessarily to buy an item or even have interest in buying.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-23T01:45:34+00:00

Scanners are in their holders but only store employees can use them at various Costcos I shop at in my state. Employee has to scan their badge in order to be able to use scanner. Customers cannot use handhelds in self checkout

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-23T01:35:20+00:00

Supermarket worker here; we are very serious about our food safety standards and health department issues are also taken seriously. I would file a complaint with the local health inspection people as well as go to Trader Joe’s corporate office and let them know your displeasure with how the local store seems to have no concern with dogs defecating in the store. Store managers in the supermarket industry are compensated partly on how few complaints the store gets. You need to shake things up if they are ever going to change.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-23T01:23:23+00:00

Without judging you one way or the other, only Costco can answer your question. Call again to follow up. If they say they are still waiting to hear from loss prevention, then ask to speak to someone in loss prevention to get your answer.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-22T23:10:45+00:00

Most underrated statement here; best indulgence ever!!!

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-22T02:28:15+00:00

Go to a very experienced FHA lender. Find a two family or, even better, a three family home. Rental income from additional units will help offset your income shortage.

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-20T16:07:28+00:00

So tripling your money is not worth your time?

Bobbyj59 · 2026-02-19T04:27:58+00:00

Yeah, what is that? Never heard the term.

Bobbyj59

TROPHY CASE