opinions please! going nutz!

[One Half Full]

Okay, if anyone has been following my plight, I decided to give up house, car, go BK. I wanted to move to an area like the city and bike to work and so on because I wanted to later go to a college there. Finding that the rents in the city were way high and I would be treated like a vampire, I thought I might want to get a little cute loft in the smaller town I live in, only 5 minutes from the big city. Thats the Background.

Today, I was stunned to realize that I lived within walking distance of the ideal little apartment, and the price is the same. The only difference is that this is a house (mine) and the apartment would be owned by a land lord.

Am I totally stupid? I can live here in the house as much as I hate it for at least 2 years while I go to the college.

I have not paid for one month and have thus defaulted on the loan. But I am only one month in arrears!

The house is not much, I am embarrassed to say. I hate that I will be tied down by it. I would never get a decent rent situation of the same sort.

Save the house? Dont save the house?

[One Half Full]

Yes, you are totally "Moderator deleteded insult"

does not answer the question. But thanks for your valuable input.

[FLBK7]

I think there are a lot of other factors that need to be examined here. How long have you owned the house? Do you have any equity in it at all? Do you have a fixed-rate mortgage? Does the house need major repairs (not remodeling, but REPAIRS)? You say the house "is not much" -- but it's yours. Whether or not it's worth keeping depends on the answer to these questions, and also, of course, on how YOU feel about it all.

[One Half Full]

I'm planning to get into a college program here, so I will need a place to live for about 2 years. I also have more pets than a landlord would probably accept unless it was another house (at the same cost with the same headaches). The winter bills are rather high, but warm season bills are alright. I was thinking about having a heating stove put in. I have something like 1000.00 in equity after 6 years. The payment is about on par with apartments in the area, but much lower than the ones in the city as my original post stated. With the BK it could be harder than I think to get into another place. It is a fixed rate mortgage. I don't see any major repairs, though some of the original work looks iffy, it has held up so far. The house is nearly 100 years old and made with that really thick 2X8 lumber (unfinished). The roof is 5 years old, the furnace is 6, the electrical wiring and plumbing are all recent (6-10 years). The lot is large, but unfenced. The windows all need to be replaced, and it is a bit drafty at times. Some walls are cracked due to normal settling (age) and there are some jacks under the house (I'm told this is normal).

I think in about 2 years people who were in BK will be looking for housing, and this is a fairly inexpensive house.

It is near a bus route (short walk) near grocery, hardware, courthouse, diners, movie theater, in fact the whole "downtown" area of the town is within walking distance. It is a great house for someone wanting to walk/bike around, at least most of the time. I work a short bus ride away as well. That's what I was saying-- that I was looking for a place where I could go car-less, and I realized I am already in it.

I still have to think about this, but I feel I should catch up on my mortgage payments if they will allow it. I doubt it. If I do, it will take quite a while to file for BK because it will take me longer to save for the lawyer.

[danaf]

Does your current home have an extra bedroom that you could rent out so as to share expenses while you are in school?

[FLBK7]

I still have to think about this, but I feel I should catch up on my mortgage payments if they will allow it. I doubt it. If I do, it will take quite a while to file for BK because it will take me longer to save for the lawyer.

The mortgage crisis being as serious as it is, I'm pretty confident your lender would be willing to work with you to get caught up. The last thing lenders want today is yet another house to foreclose on! But you would need to contact them soon and explain the situation. It's always better to be proactive in these situations.

All things considered, I think staying in the house would be the best option. I know I would stay if I were in your shoes. But only you can decide what's best for you, and for your beloved animals as well. Let us know how it goes!

[DVDFreaker]

does not answer the question. But thanks for your valuable input.

Well, you asked

[HRx]

Yes, you are totally stupid

Let's please refrain from the snide comments that serve no use.

[DVDFreaker]

Let's please refrain from the snide comments that serve no use.

She said "Am I totally stupid?" So I replied to her question

[HRx]

She said "Am I totally stupid?" So I replied to her question

I think she was asking a rhetorical question...

[One Half Full]

Does your current home have an extra bedroom that you could rent out so as to share expenses while you are in school?

The problem with that is that I am actually in another state. The college has extended a reciprocity agreement of 150% to border towns. This agreement only begins in fall. This is the first time I will be allowed to go to a school that offers a masters. Out of state tuition is something like 500 dollars a credit hour. I don't think any student looking for a place to stay would trade an instate tuition rate for an out of state one, and people with degrees out here are rarer than hens teeth.

Now, the reason that I am willing to do this (not move to that big town) is that I have the equivalent of about an 800 dollar rent (no utilities) for 500.00 the cost of a low rent apt in a bad neighborhood.

Even if I had to give up the house, I think I would continue to live here because the rent is much lower and you get more for your dollar in housing.

Paying just a bit more tuition is worth it because it evens out with the cost of housing